Silvery Seas Cruiser

4 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

 

They're way ahead of you... 😁

In April this year RCL filed a new trademark with the US Patent office for it's own brand of face masks to be called “Seaface”.

That is really a cute name. I really like it. The masks had better  come in sizes for both  adults and children.

I miss cruising so much I would be willing to wear a mask in public places if everyone was required to do so. It would bother me, however, if some did not when everyone was required to do so. I assume the captain has the right and power to eject passengers from the ship at the next port if they refuse to wear a mask.  Masks should  be for sale in the shops for anyone who loses a mask or forgets to bring one. 

6 hours ago, MEcruzr said:

I don't miss the flights home, unpacking, laundry and putting away of things I won't use until the next cruise. I don't miss afternoon sea days.  

 That is also totally my post cruise grudge...unpacking, laundry, putting things away and missing the room steward cleaning my bathroom twice a day. I get so spoiled on a cruise. 

Will do. I'm really upset to think some folks are getting an attractive offer such as this and I'm not.  With it maybe we could finally reach Zenith, a goal we won't reach at present cruising rate until our early nineties. 

We are Elite Plus, but have not received this offer. I wonder how Celebrity chooses who will get the offer to "Power Up". 

Honestly if I have to wear a mask on a cruise ship, I don't think I will go. Maybe I'd wear the Sea Face mask in port, but what fun can excursions be when one is masked? Also, must you wear a mask in the dining room? How do you eat. And if it is safe to be unmasked in the dining room or at a bar, you might as well not wear one anywhere on the ship. I think I'll wait to cruise until masks are no longer needed.

There are so many favorites of mine, but I'll mention the Colombian man who has been on more than a few cruises we were on. 

He serves coffee and pastries in the morning in the buffet. He is so funny as he circulates among the tables calling out, "Happy, happy morning. Happy, happy coffee!" He gets to know the regular folks and remembers their preferences. He is always funny and pleasant. My sister and I would be there together and he always called us Sisters. We are very pleased when we are on a Celebrity ship and hear him calling out in the morning, "Happy, happy coffee!"

I won't cruise without a balcony. I've cruised with inside rooms and with ocean view rooms, but I don't cruise anymore without a balcony.

We are booked on the 2021 Equinox Mardi Gras cruise next February. I am hoping that a vaccine will be approved before then, there will even be a Mardi Gras next year because currently New Orleans has the highest per capita infection rate in the US, and I am hoping that neither one of us catch COVID-19. Also I fear a consolidation of bankrupt ships into one mega cruise line because I can  imagine loyalty tiers disappearing and  soaring cruise rates to make up for lost revenue. So many concerns about future cruising, maybe a simple land vacation would be a safer bet next year.

I do hate to think of worst case scenarios. The best case scenario would be a return to almost normal cruising by Halloween or Christmas of this year. I hope, but doubt that Corona virus will fade into oblivion be early fall and become a distant memory, but if it doesn't, cruising might be the least of our concerns.

Yikes, we were on that Mardi Gras cruise with you! All three of us are good, thank heavens. We wish you the very best of luck and hope for the very best for you. Thank you for telling us. We will stay alert for any change in our status. Very best regards.

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

For those of you that are healthy are you cruising,  cancelling, or undecided?  I realize that there is an existing poll out there, but that was a week ago and a lot has changed...

We booked on Equinox March 28, seven night cruise. We change our minds about sailing every new news item. The news reports are so conflicting. We really don't know who to believe. Right this minute I plan to cast my fate to the wind and go. Maybe by ten tonight I will change my mind again. We are in our mid seventies but neither of us has a major health condition. I want to go, but sometimes we feel scared and sometimes we feel brave enough to go.

We are booked on a Celebrity cruise March 28. We are in our mid-seventies and in good health. That said, I find myself wishing Celebrity would add a special incentive to actually go on this cruise. Our kids are saying don't go. Some government officials are saying folks our age shouldn't fly or cruise. Others downplay the danger. Messages are contradictory. I'm leaning toward going, but as other cruise lines add incentives to show up for booked cruises, such as open bar for every passenger (probably not top shelf drinks), I wish Celebrity would do a little more for us willing to take the risk. Maybe open bar or OBC or discounts on a future cruise or discounts on tours or premium dining or whatever. 

By the way, Hubby doesn't fear Corona virus. He fears being shut in a cabin for two weeks. He is very hyperactive. Being shut in a ship cabin would be the ultimate torture for him. And that would be bad for me because I'd have to put up with his frustrations plus my own. 

Hubby really likes Murano, but as a vegetarian I can say there is little on that menu to eat. That restaurant is an unabashed  meat and fish eaters' venue. On Reflection, Murano is currently charging $50 a person. If Hubby didn't like it so much, I would not go.

We frequently cruise in early December, almost always on Celebrity. There may be Christmas music on the public background music that plays in public areas day and night, but it is so unobtrusive one hardly notices it. Noise from passengers and ship activities tends to drown out background music anyway. Holiday music is certainly not a major part of early December cruising.

12 hours ago, morfred said:

I would like to make another suggestion. Take enough medication for THREE weeks in case the virus is not found until near the END of the cruise. In that case you would still need days 14 worth. We are sailing in 3 weeks and I am already planning on 3 weeks worth. 

That is a good point. I hadn't thought about it that way. We are cruising very soon. I had planned to take two weeks meds, but now I think I'll take a month's supply for this ten night cruise...just in case of a worst case scenario. Thank you for your advice.

On 1/23/2020 at 9:47 PM, Reijo said:

You have described my husband’s attire right down to the Greg Norman shirt.  😉

We have something else in common. When we lived in Portugal, one of our favorite restaurants was named Reijo!  Honest.

On 1/20/2020 at 6:17 PM, Reijo said:

Cruisestitch, thank you so much for your quick, to the point, response.  I appreciate it.  Sounds like it is just like RCCL as far as attire.

 

Again, Thanks!

As a frequent traveler on both Royal and Celebrity, my impression is that Celebrity is dressier at night, especially on  non-chic nights. That is not to say men absolutely must wear a jacket at night on Celebrity. I include my own husband in this because his favorite attire at nights on the ships is Greg Normal polo shirts and slacks.  He compromises on chic nights and wears a long sleeved shirt, but no tie. He also does this to eat in Murano where guests do seem to be dressier. 

We have done a two-night cruise twice. I didn't care for either one, feeling too rushed to learn much about the ship. Of course, the bigger the ship and the more features available, the more rushed one feels to see it all. One of the two cruises even had a formal night which I thought was an additional amount of pressure when there was so much to try to fit in. 

Now, in retrospect, the only way I would do a two-night cruise is as part of a back-to-back. That makes more sense to me. 

Giving more thought to this topic, I have to mention how much I really appreciate the cold towels and cold refreshing drinks offered by Celebrity right outside their ships for returning passengers after their port excursions. It is so nice to get the grime off your hands and to cool off a little and quench your thirst. This amenity just says "hospitality" and I see it as a very special treat. 

I don't think anyone mentioned this either. About half way through the cruise on Celebrity , each cabin receives a "How Are We Doing?" card to full out for praise or gripes and to name crew who have been outstanding. I have had staff call me to thank me for comments.  Crew members have told me that being mentioned on this sheet earns them awards such as half days off or praise is put in their personnel file.  I don't think Royal C. hands out these comment sheets half way through their cruises. By the way, these sheets are not the same as the e-mail evaluation sheets sent at the end of cruises. 

I hesitate to tell my preferences because then competition for my favorite cabins will increase, but here goes anyway. I prefer so-called hump cabins that face forward and are front facing. We had a very nice aft facing hump cabin on Silhouette in December, but I missed being able to look forward to see where the ship was going.  My sister had what I wanted. She always seemed to have the better view. She was only a few cabins away from us, but it seemed to make such a difference. 

Another  problem we had being further aft was that the chimney smoke often seemed to be hanging right over us. It can smell quite strong. Of course this depends on wind direction. 

Another consideration is your preference for port or starboard locations, if you have a preference that is. 

Almost any concierge class cabin is comfortable and it may not always be possible to get one of the coveted hump cabins or you may not be able to have the deck you want.  

We are Diamond Plus on Royal and Elite Plus on Celebrity, so we really do like both cruise lines and continue to sail on both but for different reasons. We like the quieter, calmer vibe on Celebrity and really appreciate the non-smoking casino. Not that we gamble, but smoke from Royal's casinos can spill out to other areas. Also often walking through the casino makes a good shortcut at times. 

Royal has amazing shows, especially the Aqua Show on Oasis Class ships and ice shows all most Royal ships. Boleros can be great fun if the band is good. The quality of the band there can vary dramatically. We also like the Izumi Japanese restaurant. We don't care for the Windjammer Buffet and believe Celebrity's Ocean View buffet is far superior. This may seem minor, but Celebrity has glass dishes and cups, while Royal's are Melamine. Admittedly we do prefer Royal's Oasis Class ships to other Royal ships  because there is just so much going on. Forgot to mention Royal has a dedicated Diamond Lounge. Celebrity does not have such a place for Elites and up. 

When we cruise with family we do choose Royal. When we are cruising alone, Celebrity is the right mood for us. My two favorite spots on Solstice Class ships are Cafe al Bacio and the Sunset Bar at the back of the ship. We haven't tried Edge yet, so I can't speak for what they offer. 

I hope you really enjoy your cruise on Celebrity and hope you do many more. Lucky for all of us, we can change back and forth between Royal or Celebrity depending on what we want and have a memorable time on either cruise line. 

3 minutes ago, helby said:

Princess and Holland America do not status match at all. None of the Carnival Corp lines recognize each other's points  

The only thing they do is give past passenger rates on their lines but no benefits.

Thank you so much for your quick reply. Very disappointed in the answer, but glad I won't be wasting time trying to get some consideration from those cruise lines.

On 12/21/2019 at 2:46 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

"The worst problem with being Elite Plus is even thinking about trying another mass-market cruise line as we get no perks at all."

 

Not exactly.  Other cruiselines will match your status.  I think the worst part of being Elite+ is the vast distance between that and Zenith.

Just curious. Do you know of Princess will match an Elite Plus status or Holland American, per chance?

We were in this situation a couple of years ago, lacking only 3 or 4 Captain's Club points for Elite Plus, so we took a six night cruise to be Elite Plus for a Mardi Gras cruise. I'm not sure why I cared so much to move up to Elite Plus. We will  be in our mid-eighties by the time we get to Zenith. 

This is what we learned though. If you do book a short cruise to get your three points, make you sure you book it well enough ahead of your next cruise to get the credit. As I recall, it took at least a couple  weeks for the new status to be posted and credited to us. 

Dillards.com currently is showing a very nice variety of formal attire, even in plus sizes.  Macy's has a nice selction too. but I don't know about their sizes.