bEwAbG

Ditto and will add that sometimes I have learned more from people complaining than from Rah! Rah! Rah! cheerleads which seem to be slim to none these days on the Celebrity board.

I agree. Complaints give you an expectation of things you might encounter. I learned this after I went to my first all-inclusive. I chose it based on the overwhelming positive reviews on another site. However, the handful of complaints all centered around a specific issue, and it turns out they were right on the nose about it. In general, you can throw out the greatest compliments and the worst of the worst reviews and figure out what you can expect.

No worries about the little one in the MDR. They are welcomed by the staff.

I would kindly suggest that the OP check with her tablemates as well, though, or at least try to secure a table for just her party. As evidenced by one reply already, not everyone is fond of kids. I would never be a jerk about it, but I don't want to eat with a toddler. Beyond the noise and interruption to adult conversation, they are usually pretty gross at that age.

Pardon my ignorance, but the chair hog thread has me wanting to just hang out on my deck.

You really only have to be bothered with the chair hogs if you think your vacation will be ruined by not sitting around the pool all day, every day. It is frustrating to see people act like that, but it happens at any resort (land-based ones can be just as bad). There are plenty of deck chairs on the level above the pool deck. There are also ones in the far corners of the pool deck. Some days and times will be more crowded than others, of course, so you just have to consider that "prime" times may suck. That's when I head inside to the casino or a lounge or, yes, to my own balcony.

Just back from X Reflection and the breakfasts were great:) though the menu seemed the same on the days we were there. We did find that although in theory Luminae was only open until 9am guests arriving at 9.25 were seated and served without question.:D I hasten to add we arrived that day at 8.50 and were worried we would not be served:eek:

Thanks for posting this menu. I see at least 4 main dishes that I want to try and a couple of combinations from the sides that I could use to make another few more full meals, so I don't mind that the menu doesn't change. :)

Very much looking forward to trying Luminae on my next trip! Hopefully they'll keep the later hours. I prefer to not see people before 9am or so.

What, you aren't interested in the Tanzanite Sale of the Century??? :)

I'd never even heard of it before I went on a cruise! Same thing with Ammolite until I went to Vancouver the first time. I don't have much of an opinion either way on those, either, except to note that gemstones are generally not a good investment (which goes for diamonds as well). So, those fliers really are a waste on me.

I don't have a strong opinion either way, but it does immediately make me think of a dorm. And until Celebrity stops junking up the mailslot with fliers, then I don't buy the "don't mess up the design aesthetics" reason.

Question for my Celebrity friends.... Would you like me to post some updates while onboard ? I don't see how it's possible to "compare" any Celebrity ship to Oasis, but I'd be happy to share my insights.

 

Am I your friend? I would love for you to post updates since I'm considering trying RCL and would love that type of comparison from a regular Celebrity cruiser viewpoint.

 

OMG, never thought of that. You are a genius.

Well, I'll admit that I didn't notice until a day or two before my first cruise ended that the page of the dailies that lists the activities is designed to be torn out. It is even formatted in columns so that it can be folded in a way to make it easy to carry and still be readable. I felt silly when I had that realization, but I also like the photo method because it's one less thing to remember to take with you.

...many people use their cell phones as a camera, and many take quite good pictures.

When on vacation, it's very easy for me to lose track of time and place, so I find my phone to be a great tool when traveling. In addition to it being a camera, I don't wear a watch, so I use mine for the time. I use it as an alarm clock when traveling anywhere because I know it will wake me up.

On cruises, I can snap a photo of the dailies so I can look up when what is happening without having to carry around the paper all day. If I'm feeling organized, I even make a separate list of things to do each day as well as a list of reservation times.

All of these functions work if you put the phone in Airplane mode.

 

I wonder why I have a MDR time on my reservation when I am in a suite. I won't be dining in the MDR at any time.

 

Same with me. I bet that there are lots of people in Blu and Luminae who are "reserving" spots that others could take simply because that's the way their computer system works. You're required to choose a dining time so we requested the late seating when we made our reservation, but of course we're not even going to be in the MDR at all during our trip.

Folks need to stop worrying about what they can get away with and what is just this side of acceptable, etc, and instead consider meaning and intent. No, ties are not required. They are, however, a typical accoutrement to a suit, tuxedo, dinner jacket, or nearly* anything else a well-dressed gentleman is wearing. They want people to be dress to impress. If that's not your thing, there are plenty of venues to accommodate you.

This is a decidedly out-dated mode of thinking. Formal wear etiquette was reinvented in the 1970s and no longer hews to any specific convention. Unless the invitation specifies classic black tie, then you're allowing all sorts of interpretations, including the use of no tie.

Wearing a tie is a matter of preference, as stated a gazillion times in this thread alone.

I think Celebrity would be better off opening one of the speciality restaurants for formal night and letting those who want to wear tuxes and gowns (and even mandate ties with the tuxes!) have a little party on their own. I'm not opposed to dressing up as it warrants but a lot of people these days don't think that dressing up is something you should have to do on vacay.

ETA: I think fewer and fewer people are really dressing up these days, which is why I advocate a smaller affair.

I would think she should focus on making the customer service experience excellent for anyone who contacts them at whatever level rather than letting those “in the know” have a way to start at the top of the food chain by offering a special email address.

Twenty years ago, I worked for a national hotel chain in one of their reservation call centers (one of two that served the US and parts of Europe). Customers who were calling us to be transferred to the CEO’s office were instead given a number with an area code that matched the corporate office location. However, that number rang right back to a group of people sitting across the room—it was staffed by agents who had been there a long time and had a little more training/authority to offer resolution. They would even put up a little flag so everyone knew they were on one of those calls. But, the customer was talking to a rep who was 1500 miles from the corporate office by people who had never even met the CEO. Why not cut out the smoke and mirrors and make sure your staff is appropriately escalating issues for everyone?

Why can't they just post the charges to your account on the website? Oh, wait...

:D

Some people may also be accessing the website from computers for which they don't have admin access rights. For example, I cannot install AdBlock on my work computer and I cannot disable the popup blocker and I'm forced to use an older version of Internet Explorer, though I'm allowed to surf any website I want.

Most of the infected ads come from whatever ad service a particular website is using. It does help to notify the owners of the website if there is an issue so they can contact their ad service. And if you ever see anything remotely strange, do exactly what bobsfamily says: shut down your computer without clicking on any of the screens.

I noticed the condom, too. You'd think one would show some discretion when posting stuff to the internet but maybe he wanted to send a safer sex message. ;)

Interesting to see the quarters, though. I can't imagine having to use that shower everyday. I'd have to walk out to the bedroom to turn around!

...and then there's also what was once something that seemed awful(many sea days in a row, for me) becomes more and more appealing as one get older and learn to enjoy the moment and relax and NOT have something to do constantly....

This is the way I feel about constant internet access, too. I understand that some people feel they really are so indispensable that they must be able to be contacted 24/7, but I purposely have been choosing vacations lately in which that is just not an option. It's nice to unplug from the world and not care, and I find myself talking to people rather than having my head buried in a device. Part of me will miss that as the ships upgrade their technology.

I received an email the other day that offered 20% off if you pre-book for the first night. The fine print says: "Specialty dining reservations must be booked four days prior to departure date. The full reservation fee must be paid when booking online before your cruise, and a 20% refund will be credited to your onboard account." Someone on another thread said they were told this when they called, too, so it appears to be a new (?) thing they're trying.

Probably trying to move traffic to the restaurants for the first night by offering a discount in advance and maybe using on-board discounts to fill the other nights on the ships?

Even though you booked in advance, you could have cancelled and received a credit for the reservation...then you could have booked the discounted fare. Actually, if you ask, they generally will just refund you the difference between what you paid and the offered price.

Never even crossed my mind to ask. If you buy tickets to a show or a seat on a plane, you pay the price you paid, even if the person sitting beside you paid half or twice as much. Shouldn't have to beg to get the deal, but now I know better.

... Showing up late for fixed dining is not polite... that is what "anytime dining" is for.

According to several people from the "will Celebrity switch to only anytime dining?" rumor thread the other day, it sure is! ;)

What I would love to know is how many people actually pay full price to dine in one of the specialty restaurants and how many people only dine when there is a discount offered.

I paid full price on my first cruise. Paid in advance on the website because I hadn't yet discovered Cruise Critic to know the difference. Also, when I got on board and was offered a discount almost every night, I figured out that I'd been had! :D

So the lesson Celebrity taught me is to wait until I'm on board the ship to book a restaurant. Seems counterintuitive to me.

I received an email earlier today that said 20% off if you pre-book for the first night. The fine print says: "Specialty dining reservations must be booked four days prior to departure date. The full reservation fee must be paid when booking online before your cruise, and a 20% refund will be credited to your onboard account."

I know a sports jacket is acceptable because you could argue that it is a suit jacket. Celebrity doesn't split hairs as long as you are wearing a suit-style jacket of some sort.

The point still stands that you don't have to wear a tie. You're not required to uphold any sort of traditional style of dress or adhere to a published style guide. Styles change. I regularly attend formal events, and the attire that uses the basic tuxedo jacket as a base runs the gamut.

I know a sports jacket is acceptable because you could argue that it is a suit jacket. Celebrity doesn't split hairs as long as you are wearing a suit-style jacket of some sort.

The point still stands that you don't have to wear a tie. You're not required to uphold any sort of traditional style of dress or adhere to a published style guide. Styles change. I regularly attend formal events, and the attire that uses the basic tuxedo jacket as a base runs the gamut.

Not to be that guy, but even the clear and concise answer is not exactly correct. It's not even a suggested option to wear a tie, though of course some people always wear a tie when they wear a jacket. However, it is a perfectly acceptable style to not wear a tie for whatever reason.

From the FAQ on Celebrity's site:

"Formal" attire includes:

Ladies: Cocktail dress, gown, or dressy pantsuit.

Gentlemen: Tuxedo, suit, or dinner jacket with slacks.

This applies to only the main dining room and only on formal nights. There is a sticky with the full dress code at the top of the message board, and the first post goes into more detail (and matches what is on the Celebrity website).

In my observation, very few people wear the tux anymore, so that shouldn't be a consideration unless you really want to dress up.

The number of formal nights depends on the length of cruise you take. If you have a specific sailing in mind, people might be able to give you a better idea of how many and on what nights if it's an itinerary that has regular sailings.