Broughton

We are on the Spirit in late July and the itinerary takes us to Venice on a Sunday (08.00 -18.00). Any advice on what is open/closed would be welcome thanks.

That's a bit like what happened to us this year. There were only 2 of us but as things turned out on the 3rd night we ended up at a table with a couple we had shared with on 1st night and another that we had shared with on the 2nd night. We had a good laugh and at the end of the meal the waiter said if we came back at around 6,45 the following evening we could have the same table. We did this for the rest of the week.

It is probably a tactic to try and get some people to eat earlier and therefore lessen the queue at the peak times. It worked for us this year but can quite understand that people want to eat later. Previously we have not stuck to eating early as we like to be on deck as the ship leaves port which usually has meant we have been later.

We have sailed 3 times on Celebration and always found the food to be good. I would not claim to be an expert on food quality but on the Celebration cruises that we have been on we have always shared a table when in the MDR. I have never heard anyone complain about the standard of the food being served there. The menus, if I remember correctly, mark dishes as gluten free or vegetarian.

The MDR opens at 6.30. This year we usually arrived around 6.45 and always got a table straight away. That allowed us to have eaten and out again in time for the first show at 8.30. There are definitely queues after 7ish. Found service normally to be quite quick although there have been a couple of times when there has been a long wait between the main course and the sweet course. Been on AI each time and very rarely have had to ask for a refill. Rather the wine waiters are there asking before our glasses are empty.

Can't speak for the MDR at breakfast and lunch as we always have these in the Lido. Never had any problem with the food in there either and where appropriate food is hot. Was on Majesty one year and a lot of the cooked breakfast was not very warm. It is always busy especially on popular port days.

Have always found the ship to be kept clean and plenty hand cleaning dispensers around.

Can't speak about inside cabins but have been on Celebration three times. Twice deck 2 and this year deck 1. All have been quite big with plenty storage space. Was on Majesty once and cabin was much smaller. It was quite funny in port this year seeing a lot of legs going past the porthole. Haven't had bad weather so cannot comment on that but would say that our cabins at the rear of the ship definitely suffered more vibration than the one we had this year nearer the middle.

Looked back my Cruise News from July last year. It says 'Please be back onboard ship by 5.30pm for General Emergency Drill at 6pm'.

Must admit I never noticed the vibration on Deck 9 as being particularly bad. Possibly because it was pretty bad in our cabin so I was oblivious to it. Most days I was up there were afternoons when we were still in port. I don't remember my drink vibrating excessively.

Anyway each to their own. It's worth a try to see if it suits you.

Thought the new Sun Lounge that was added on Deck 9 was great. Nice comfy sun beds. There was a small bar and a water dispenser on the deck. Also very peaceful. There is no shade though so was only doing an hour or so at a time.

Wasn't on a cruise and stay but think that this appears to have been sorted now. Registration is now done in a large hangar type building parallel to the ship (about 15 metres away). Plenty of desks open so process did not take very long at all for us. We arrived around noon. After registering we were straight on the ship with no hassle.

Great thing about Dubrovnik embarkation/disembarkation was the way main hold luggage was handled. Flew from Glasgow. Was given labels with cabin number there. Put them on cases, had them checked in and never saw them again until they arrived outside our cabin about 1 hour after boarding. Similarly put cases outside cabin prior to 3am on day of departure and never saw them again until we got them off the carousel at Glasgow.

Think on Celebration two years ago it was AI on card and Majesty last year DP.

Another question though. On Celebration we nearly always had to show both cards when getting two drinks. However on Majesty last year one was always sufficient. Going on Celebration again this year does anyone know if we still have to show both cards if we both want a drink.

Thanks for that. We were on in late July and are again this year. Hopefully will not have to call the UK but will have mobiles on different networks in case.

Thanks for replies. It definitely seems to be a bit hit and miss. Will ensure OH has her mobile with her this year as it is on Vodaphone. Unfortunately using Wi-Fi to communicate with my mother-in-law (82) is a no go. She is a complete technophobe. We have tried to get her to use a mobile but even that has failed :-)

Was on the Majesty last summer on the Adriatic Explorer itinerary. I called back to the UK just before we left Venice. I was using a Samsung Galaxy S3 on the O2 network, Pay-As-You-Go). However the following two days we were in Croatia (Dubrovnik and Zadar) and any time I tried to phone home it failed. I tried switching to pick up a local network (Tele2) but couldn't get a connection. I did manage to get some text messages through but definitely no phone calls. Next day we were in Montenegro and all was working fine again.

Has anyone experienced similar issues ? Was there something simple I could have done on the phone to circumvent the problem ? We are not people who usually phone home frequently from abroad but last year my father-in-law had fallen and broken his hip two days before we departed. So we were keeping as closely in touch as possible. Therefore it was not ideal. We are on the Celebration this summer and are in Croatia again (flying to Dubrovnik). So it would be good to know before we go if there is an issue.

As mentioned previously taxis were still 10 Euros each way in August 2014. Pick up just off the ship and drop just outside the walls. Walk through the gate and your in the main street. More or less everything feeds off of this. We were in the city by 09.30 and everything was reasonably quiet then. Definitely got a lot busier as the morning went on. Very nice place to walk around. Great views from the top of the walls. Nice place just to wander around.

We are quite happy to share a table but one evening on the Majesty this year we were shown to a table for 2 without even requesting it. Still we were fine with this. It was a bit of a novel experience as the waiters seemed to be trying to break some sort of record in how fast they could serve our full meal. We were in and out within 45 minutes with courses being served up almost as soon as the last mouthful of the previous course was finished. All a bit too rushed. We were happy to go back to sharing for the remainder of the week and a more leisurely pace of serving.

Even though I booked my cruise in-store Thomson's for this year I still printed off my e-tickets and boarding passes at home. No problems.

However when I booked in-store Thomson's again for next year the assistant said to just come in at the appropriate times and they would print off the e-tickets and boarding passes free of charge as this was one of the benefits of booking in-store. I'll probably still print off at home but it was good to have the option.

Paid the £199 per head on Celebration last year and even though we had quite a few drinks I don't think we covered the cost especially as on the first day we did not arrive at the ship until around 8pm. This year on Majesty we paid £98 per head and it was definitely a saving. Next year we have already booked on Celebration again but this time DP is only £70 per head. So happy days.

In summary I would say from experience that the £199 per person is not a good option. The only good thing about it is that you have already paid the money before you get on the ship. Therefore if you stick to the standard drinks there is no more money to pay.

Just ignore previous post. Was on desk 3 Majesty this year. 707 on the Celebration is deck 2. Definitely need a holiday. I'll go ahead and book.

Sorry not a cabin review but thought someone on this thread might be able to advise. Was on Celebration last year and had cabin 707 Deck 3 outside. It was down an alcove so quiet, very spacious and well placed for lifts. We are thinking of booking the Celebration again next year and thought about paying the extra £42 to get the same cabin. However when I look at the current ship map online the cabin numbers appear to have changed. Can anyone confirm this is the case.

Could be down to less staff cut backs.Our first two cruises on the Dream no probs getting a drink anywhere on the ship when full to capacity.The last twice was almost collapsing with dehydration in the Theatre waiting for a drink so much so we went and got our own

 

On the Majesty this year full to capacity, plenty of staff and you couldn,t finish one drink without a member of staff asking if you,d like another.Excellent service

Agree with you Jim on the speed of service in the Theatre on the Majesty this year. It was excellent. Had no gripes anywhere else on the ship either. On Celebration last year it was not nearly as good although we did find a friendly barman on the open deck outside Liberties which seemed to speed things up.

Was on Celebration last year and paid the £199 each for the AI (or DP as it is called now). Never counted up actual drinks cost consumed. However I'm pretty sure that even though we had plenty of drinks we never totalled that.

This year on Majesty got the package for £98 each. Drinking similar amount to last year (again not actually counting up) it was definitely a saving.

As mentioned previously one good thing about having the package is that the money has been paid up front and unless you go for premium priced items there is no more spend.

Have not seen anyone seriously worst for wear on either cruise.

How was the weather in Venice. It can be prone to flooding. Haven't been for years but would love to go back for another visit.

Did the ship dock near enough to DIY , or better to do a ship tour.

Weather was great in Venice which made it rather hot for all the walking we did. All worth it as it was a lovely place. Started to rain just as we got back to ship. We did the full day Venice on your Own tour which cost around £24 each. That's because we were wary about getting back to the ship. However as there did not appear to be any check on number of people returning on the designated waterbus and we were told we could come back independently if we wished it was not really a safety net. So going it alone is probably just as easy as long as you allow plenty time to get back to the ship.

There were certainly plenty free when the heavens opened in Dubrovnik :-) That was some storm. Agree with the OP though. Could always find a sunbed when I wanted one.

Should be on deck 4 by October then ;)

Kettle was installed in our cabin on deck 3 Majesty one day during the last week.