bEwAbG

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.

The only other reason I've seen to book a Concierge cabin is if you need additional points for the Captain's Club because you get more of those for this room category.

If I understood correctly posters indicated that early and late traditional seating were waitlisted on many cruises. If traditional seating is so popular, why would Celebrity do away with it. It makes no sense which means that there is a high probability it will happen!!! When is the last time that a cruise line did something that actually made sense?

Is that a function of popularity or simply that you have to choose one or the other and most people just opt for traditional? After a certain point, all of those reservations fill up the dining room and everyone else is put in select. I posted earlier in the thread my experience of just the two of us sitting at an 8-top table by ourselves almost every night. Our waiter said that the other seats were reserved, yet at least four of the seats were never occupied and we know the other two were only occupied on the first and third night because that couple had plans to go elsewhere the other nights, yet their seats were still held for every night.

We're getting very worked up over a rumor that so far came from one poster who didn't even hear it themself! ... once you have made final payment you can go on their website and make all your reservations for the entire cruise...

Let's pretend Celebrity is floating this rumor so they can gather feedback. As they design the reservations system, please (please please) let it only allow people to make one reservation for each dining period, i.e., if I have a reservation for the MDR and I book a specialty restaurant, then my MDR reservation goes away altogether.

I'm having flashbacks to how terrible the Disney reservation system has become where people are waiting at their computer six months in advance (when they open the system for your trip) to snag all of the prime reservations at multiple restaurants and then wait until the last minute to decide where and when they're going to eat, thereby preventing other people from even making reservations on some nights. Unconscionable, really, but we see posts all the time from people who try to game the system for other aspects on Celebrity (probably an overlap of the people who do it at Disney) so I have no doubt that there will be people who try to game the reservation system if Celebrity allows it to become an issue in the first place. Disney's method introduces a level of stress and planning that no one going on vacation should have to endure.

I guess I will show up at 6:10 then lol. What happened that it was only the first two nights and not every night? Did it sort itself out after?

It typically only happens on the first night because everyone is escorted to their table. After that, people generally seat themselves and that crush at the door is gone after a few minutes. The crush is really just the volume of everyone who showed up waiting for the doors to open. Not sure why that happened a second night on this particular cruise. Maybe they opened the doors late or there was something blocking access to the room for a few minutes? Sounds atypical to me. I'm guessing that now that there is only one door to use, it takes a little longer for people to get inside.

I think the introduction of so many dining venues necessitates this change so that they can better utilize the space. Our experience was that our 8-person table had one other couple seated with us the first night and then we were the only 2 at the table for the other nights we went to the MDR. On our final night, there were the two of us staring across at the 2 people sitting by themselves at their 8-person table. We had a good laugh over it. I was looking forward to meeting other people at dinner but that just didn't happen because everyone at our table didn't show up.

For men, can they wear a turtleneck and jacket for formal night?

Yes, that's fine. Doesn't have to be a tie involved at all. Just a jacket, pants, and a top (shirt or sweater) with sleeves (long or short).

Having printed vouchers takes away from the nicety of a welcome gift. It'd be like getting a coupon book for free hugs! I do agree that there should be the ability to swap it for something non-alcoholic if you don't drink, though.

The sparkling wine isn't the best I've ever had, but it's not swill either. I think their idea is that you will use it for sailaway and to get in the vacation mood. I find it a rather nice gesture.

When looking at the Celebrity site yesterday to see if they had a picture of the grass outside the Reflections Lounge, I noticed that in the photo gallery for the ship, they include a picture of Quasar nightclub, which of course is nowhere to be found on the Constellation. Aside from having a pretty bad website, what is the problem Celebrity has with providing accurate info? It's not like the website is so huge that someone couldn't go page by page to check the accuracy of the information they're presenting to the public. Seems like low-hanging fruit.

Sky Suites don’t have access to Michael’s Club either way. Doing a suite guarantee just means that you don’t get to pick your room in advance-Celebrity will assign you a room at some point before you sail.

Whether it is “worth it” for the extra cost depends entirely on how you value the experience of what is being offered and what you’re looking to get out of the trip. I’ve highlighted the main differences that I can think of below. If you want to consider the tangible differences, consider the additional costs you would incur if you were to book some of this stuff separately. For example, would you pay $35-$45 per person to eat in a specialty restaurant one night? Because you get that for “free” in the Sky Suite rate if your cruise is 6 or 7 nights. It’s really hard to say what appeals to you. At first glance, I would say you should splurge and enjoy the upgrades since it’s going to be your birthday. But if you’re already a fan of Celebrity, then either category is going to be a pleasure to experience for the first time. You also should consider that you’re likely going to be focused on the land portions of your trip if you’ve never been to Greece and Turkey.

The main differences:

--Sky Suite is larger by 56 sq ft. It has access to Luminae as your primary dining room (3 meals a day depending on who you believe). You also get a free meal in a specialty restaurant for a 6 or 7 night cruise or two free specialty restaurant meals for 8 nights or longer. There is also a bottle of sparkling wine in your stateroom. There is also the butler service (which I found pretty negligible since I’m pretty self-sufficient).

--AquaClass has access to Blu as your primary dining room (for breakfast and dinner) and you get free entrance to the Persian Garden area of the spa. Some people think the latter this is a waste since the PG on the Constellation is an interior space with no sea views, unlike the one on the S-class ships.

These are not the only differences but are the ones that I think are the biggest.

Unless they've ripped it out since February, there is grass right outside the Reflections Lounge. A strip down at least one side and a larger area across the front. It is not accessible to cruisers, but the lawn is definitely growing there (purposely). Not the same as the lawn on the Solstice class ships, but it is technically a lawn.

At the risk of getting almost to granular, are not all gratuities discretionary ?

 

I understood that if the passenger wants to, they can go to the Customer Service Desk have the gratuities removed or altered.

 

If this is the case and one thinks they have been the victim of the "Bait & Switch" would this be an option ?

Good point. People who do that are a little too gauche for my tastes but it is certainly a possibility. I admit I was thinking more about the beverage package upgrade because that is one that really irked me more than the gratuities. Thankfully the cruise line straightened that one out. The broader point is that travelers shouldn't have to get their blood pressure raised every few weeks. Some foresight and message testing could prevent 99% of the reactions that greet each change.

Additionally, this is one of the strangest threads we have monitored

So diplomatic.

I don't object to the amount (I'm probably overgenerous in paying extra tips) but the one thing I don't like with this structure is that it allows Celebrity to raise the cost of your cruise after you've booked. This is the same issue people were having with the beverage package upgrade increase. You book based on information given to you on a specific date (your cruise costs $X + $Y per day in gratuities). The company cannot change $X at that point, but they do change $Y. There's no reason in the world why this company couldn't charge different $Y rates to those who book before a certain date. Instead, they raise the prices across the board and expect their customers to pay the full freight of their business decision. Rising wages are a cost of business that almost every other company absorbs for a period of time until the higher prices for new customers start covering the extra costs. Good on them for getting people to not revolt, but it does come across as bait and switch.

The smartest people stay out of the sun anyway. I never see the "tan" that so many seem to be proud of...just skin damage.

And then there are related chair tales. DW and I are confirmed "chair hogs" and will often be in a deck chair from around 9 until 6 on a nice sea day. That being said, we only leave our chairs to use the rest rooms or to grab some lunch (which we usually eat at our chairs).

I wouldn't consider this being a "chair hog." You are actually using the chairs all day. A true chair hog puts their stuff out (often very early in the morning) and then leaves for hours at a time, depriving everyone else of the use of what is really an empty chair. This doesn't just happen on Celebrity, though. I've been to plenty of land-based resorts and regular hotels where it's just as big of a problem. It's a universal issue that is indicative of a "me-first" attitude that tends to run rampant with people who think they're entitled to do whatever they want because they're on vacation (while ignoring the fact that everyone else is on vacation, too).

Blaming the spellchecker or auto-correct is only for those too lazy to re-read what they wrote. A computer never takes away your ability to proofread before you hit the Submit button.

But don't they discourage people from bringing these strips?

I thought for sure it was on the list of prohibited items on the terms and conditions, but the website currently says that you cannot bring extension cords.

Actually, I think you're agreeing...or maybe it's semantics. To me a polo shirt has no collar...it's like a Tee shirt and a golf shirt is similar but has a collar.

Maybe this is a country-specific thing, but in the US, a shirt without a collar is a tee shirt. A shirt with a collar is a polo shirt. A "polo neck" is maybe what you're imagining without the collar. A golf shirt looks exactly like a polo shirt...collar, sleeves, etc. It typically is a little roomier to accommodate golf swings and is usually made of polyester or some other synthetic material. Polo shirts are usually made of cotton or a cotton blend.

Dang!!! You slipped in the backdoor with a dress code thread.

To be fair, he was being given advice on how people think he SHOULD dress rather than how he CAN dress. I'm fine with people being told they can't wear flip flops and swimsuits with no shirt, but too many people start trying to split hairs with what's ok on top and bottom when there are not such strict rules.

Polos are fine and you will not feel out of place. Isn't a "golf shirt" more or less the same thing? Dockers (dark or light) or jeans on the bottom are fine as well for all meals (not just breakfast).

I was in a Sky Suite and the butler said that he couldn't get me in Blu for one night I asked but said another night was available. So, it's space-available in Blu for suite guests (not the other way around).

You can also bring on a case or two - as much as you want - of cokes and water.

Just slap a couple luggage tags on it at the pier. It'll be delivered to your room and you can just keep that ice bucket full. If you want "go" cups you can get those in Cafe al Bacio.

This is a good point. I think this argument is better for people who only want one or two a day and don't want to pay $4 each for the privilege. In my case, there were two people drinking 5 or 6 a day, so on a 7-day cruise, you'd need 7 twelve packs. That seems a bit much to deal with (for me) versus paying Celebrity $9/day. Of the beverage packages, the soda one seems the most economical to me (considering that you're also on vacation).

I believe they were $3 each on board Constellation in February. I also believe they may have just gone up to $4 each in the past couple weeks. It was a no-brainer for me. I was paying $8/day so it paid for itself after my third soda (I am on my third Diet Coke this morning). It's now $9/day, but the math works out the same. They serve Coca Cola products.

The Constellation is a lovely ship. I found it to be on the quiet side, though. I picked it because it was rumored to be a little more sedate, and it lived up to that expectation!

And to be honest, their production shows are pretty bad. The performers were all fine and hardworking (there was some genuinely good talent there) and the production values were great. However, the shows they were putting on were very under-cooked, conceptually. There was a weird mix of a very wide array of pop music to sometimes laughable effect, none of it geared to any specific demographic and sometimes not even matching the theme of the show. To be clear, I am perfectly fine with a music revue, but these were badly conceived. Celebrity has announced that they're doing new shows later this year, but the quality of those of course remains to be seen. So if you're going on the strength of the stage shows, I think you'll be disappointed. I was looking forward to at least some cheesy fun, but these didn't even rise to the level of that.