lifeisrealygood

Let's try this again. Has anyone ever stayed in a cabin on deck 12 under the Solarium on an Edge class ship? If so, did the overhang from the extended Solarium above distract your view at all or make your cabin too dark. Surely there is someone out there that has booked a cabin directly under the Solarium. Or, is it just a bad cabin that no-one wants?

We just booked a cruise on the Beyond for October of this year, 2024. We normally book a year or so out to make sure we get our choice of Prime Concierge Cabins. But, this cruise is only six months out. Normally on the Edge class, we like deck eleven midship. Cabins above, cabins below. Not this time. We were surprised to see that all of the deck eleven Prime Concierge cabins are gone, except for one connecting cabin. We settled for a cabin on Deck 12 under the Solarium overhang, port side, cabin 12141. The Solarium over us has a bump out, so although we have no obstruction, we have the protrusion from the Solarium above us that looks like it extends five or six feet from the infinite veranda window. Will the cabin be too dark? Any opinions? Has anyone sailed on Deck twelve under the Solarium Edge class with that overhang obstructing your view too look UPWARDS?

As I stated earlier, my wife and I are not ballroom dancers. But, if that is your thing, Celebrity has a lot of opportunities for ballroom dancing. For example, on our last few cruises, there was always an hour of ballroom dancing early evening in a venue somewhere on the ship. We never went, but I believe it would be right up your alley Carol28. Also, before dinner, whichever band happened to be playing, would always play a few ballroom sets.

As far as dance bands, Celebrity normally has both a "house" band and a "party" band to dance the night away. They will have other musical groups, such as classical, duets, guitar, etc, but that is more for your listening pleasure. My wife loves to dance, not the ballroom dancing, but the rock and roll. (We were in College in the sixties) For example, on the E-Class, one band might play in The Club, while the other plays in the Atrium or Eden. On the S-Class, one might play in the Grand Foyer, while the other will be up top in the Sky lounge. Some bands have their select playlists, and that is all they know, so requests may or may not be honored. Many, however, have a vast repertoire, and will play anything you request. Years ago, on the Millennium in Europe, we asked the band to play one of our favorites from the sixties, "The Look of Love" by Sergio Mendes. They said "sorry, we do not know that one." While, the next night before dinner, they saw my wife and I, and said their next song was for us. It was "the Look of Love" by Sergio Mendes. She said she looked it up last night, rehearsed it with her group today, and played it for us that night. That was totally amazing and appreciated.

Thank you for all your responses. It will be just my wife and I in the Cabana. Someone mentioned the split cabanas are on the ends. That makes sense, I guess. We went ahead and booked the cabana for a port day in St Thomas, although the ship does not arrive in port until 11:30 a.m. We have been to St Tomas many times, so we plan to stay on the ship, and although the action may be a little limited around the pool deck on a port day, we will still get to enjoy the cabana. Perhaps we can just go grab two loungers just outside the cabana for our sunshine, and we will have the best of both worlds. It also was nice to hear that if not busy, you may get to move to a full cabana. Nice. On all of our prior cruises on the S-Class, maybe thirty or so cruises, we hardly ever saw anyone in the cabanas, which were located up on the lawn. Perhaps more use around the pool. We will see. I don't think I can wait until next year for this cruise. Let's see if I can book something in the fall, although the last time in the Caribbean in the fall of 2023, we dodged two hurricanes on our ten night excursion.

We will be sailing the Ascent to the Caribbean. We have never had a Cabana on Celebrity before, as on the S-Class they are located up on the Lawn. On Ascent, it appears that the Cabanas are located on the pool deck, actually just behind the pool itself, after the few rows of pool chaises. Since we already have the premium drink package, the "extras" included are really no big deal. But, we would get it just so we would have a nicely situated cabana for the entire day, and not have to worry about "saving" our chairs. So, is it worth the 200 bucks?? Your opinions please.

As concierge or elite plus, we get to board as one of the first people on. We go right to the buffet, get a great seat, and just chill out until our cabin is ready. The crowds do not bother us. We have our perfect location, have a seat, and, although hectic, it is not ridiculous as many have suggested. We want to get the feel of being on a cruise, and sitting outside the Oceanview Café overlooking the pier is way better for us than an enclosed dining room. And the food is really nothing to write home about at the concierge lunch, and the selections are limited. So, to each their own, but we prefer the Oceanview, even with the crowds. We get the feel that we are on a cruise. And, yes, we have done the concierge lunch twice. The first time was not very good for us, but we said let's give it another try. So, we did, and for the rest of our 35 or so cruises, we have gone directory to the Oceanview Café.

We have an Ascent cruise in March, 2025 and dining reservations for specialty restaurants opened up on-line last Monday, February 5th. We booked five nights at specialty restaurants, no package, just picked the dates and times we wanted.

I am very surprised that no one is mentioning what my wife considers the best perk of all for concierge class. First, the robes you receive in a concierge cabin are the bigger, fluffier robes that are actually robes as opposed to the flimsy one in the normal cabins. She loves the heavy robes for just laying about in the cabin. Also, the towels are of the bigger fluffier variety. I am surprised no one has mentioned those two items. They are delightful, given the nice robes to lounge around the cabin and the big wrap around towels that can be used after the many showers you seem to take while on a cruise. We always book concierge. It is certainly not for the canapes, which are dreadful, or the sparkling wine which is no better than "two buck chuck". We could care less about the embarkation lunch or the breakfast in a certain place reserved for concierge guests. It is all about the robes and the towels, and secondly the location of the cabins, The rest of the stuff is of no benefit to us. Just our two cents.

Thanks Stella TN. I also saw that our dining for our March 16, 2025 cruise opened up this morning. I booked specialty dining for five of the seven nights. I know I paid a lot, but I got what I wanted when I wanted it. There was a meager 8% discount for Fine Cut and Eden, and a 10% discount for Rooftop Grill. I know they will be cheaper later, but I got what I wanted, and I am happy.

Thank you, water babies. I am not planning on booking a specialty dining package. You are not the first one to share your thoughts. As a result, I am planning on booking five reservations independently. I realize I will be paying more, but I will get what I want when I want it. Also, thank you Rustyman. Based on your comment, I should see the reservations for my March cruise come up pretty soon now.

Surely there is someone out there with Ascent cruises coming up in the fall of 2024. it would be nice to know if their specialty dining reservations are available for them to book on-line.

We have a seven night Ascent Cruise booked for March 16, 2025. We know that is still a little over a year out, but we want to make sure we get our specialty dining reservations for the day, time & place that we desire. We would like to book five specialty dining evenings, one in Eden and two each at Fine Cut Steakhouse and the Rooftop Garden Grill. When we go on-line to review our reservation, we can book all of our shore excursions, but when we click on "Dining", we get the following message. "Amazing Experiences Coming Soon. Please Check Back Later." Is there anyone out there with earlier cruises on the Ascent that can shed some light as to about how many months before sailing do the specialty dining reservations open up on line? With the affinity that everyone wants to eat at Eden, there must be many out there that have been watching their cruises closely to see when the on-line specialty dining reservations open up so they can get that much desired Eden dinner.

Really. I have a March 2024 Beyond cruise and I was able to make reservations for the four restaurants for 7 of the ten nights. Are you telling me, even though my cruise planner shows these reservations on the planner at the specific times I booked for the days I wanted, that they are not really reserved times? I find that hard to believe. Is there anyone out there who has made reservations for anytime dining pre-cruise, and when you got on the ship, they said, "Sorry, you do not have any reservations, even though your cruise planner showed them?" Makes no sense. I know Celebrity is the champion of bad IT, but everything you read states that you can make reservations for anytime dining pre-cruise. I was just asking when the dining reservation process opens up for a cruise that is still 15 months away. For my 2025 Ascent cruise.

We have Select Dining on the Ascent. I know we can make reservations for a specific time for any of the four complimentary restaurants and any of the specialty restaurants pre-cruise. Some of the Specialty restaurants like Eden fill up fast. About how many months pre-cruise do the dining reservations open up?

Here's my two cents. My wife and I are in our mid-seventies, and have been cruising for maybe 25 years. Over the years, we have sailed Regent, Disney, Princess, Royal, Holland America, Tauck & Celebrity. . We have not sailed Carnival or Norwegian, or any of the luxury lines except Regent. We have been on maybe 60 or so cruises, but 45 have been on Celebrity, which quickly became our go-to cruise line. Remember the Celebrity Century, that was our first Celebrity cruise back in the 1990's. We have grown to love Celebrity, as we are not theme park cruisers. We do not need water slides, bumper cars, laser tag, etc. But, we do love Disney. As our family grew, starting in 1972, we took our summer vacations to Walt Disney World every year for 24 years. We started back in the E-ticket days (remember), and grew with Disney as they added park after park over the years. So, we have cruised the world with Celebrity, and have exhausted our bucket list of places to visit on a cruise ship. So now, although we still do the sightseeing in Europe or the catamarans in the Caribbean, shore excursions are no longer our main reason for cruising. We just love the ship itself and its activities. We love the nightly entertainment in the Theatre, and all of the music around the ship. As we grew up in the rock & roll era of the fifties and sixties, we still love to dance, and still enjoy dancing, whether it be in the Grand Foyer, Sky Lounge, Eden, the Club, wherever. In the Caribbean, we're not using our minds much, and love just laying around the pool with a cocktail in hand. So, we still like Celebrity, and will continue cruising with them. I realize that is a different opinion than is being shared here. We are not happy with a lot of what is going on, but "it is what it is". All lines are making changes to help with their bottom line, and I get that. And, no, I am not a fan of the new President of Celebrity. We really liked the 14 day cruises of the past, but over the years those have been reduced to 12 nights, and now 10 nights seems to be the norm for a longer cruise. We have noticed that the quality of food has gone way down for dinner, and that is a little problem, but we are not gourmet eaters, and the food is just fine. We still think the buffet has excellent breakfast and lunch choices and the quality is still okay. Cruising has gotten a lot more expensive, but we'll still travel, and maybe the kids get a little less later. We are not Suite people, which is what Celebrity is pushing these days, so all the comments about losing a butler is no issue for us. We always stay mid-ship, prime concierge class cabin. The canapes received every day are horrible, have been bad for a lot of years. So we realize they have gone from bad to inedible, but we never got them anyway. We go to Cafe El Bacio or the Oceanview Cafe for our afternoon treats. Also the bottle of sparkling wine they give you for concierge class is terrible. Has always been terrible. We just tell the cabin attendant to keep it. We like the concierge class larger cotton towels and robes. We like the free internet and laundry (Elite Plus perks). We know our way around the ships, so we do not need anyone to be at our beckon call to help us. We make our dinner reservations and shore excursions ourselves pre-cruise, and enjoy the Premium drink package. And, yes, as wine drinkers, even the premium package has some pretty weak varieties. So., Celebrity has clean and well appointed ships, have just the proper amount of guests, have a lot to do every day and evening, just no amusement park stuff. We like that there are no announcements made over the loud speaker, except for the Captain each day at 9:45 A.M. Music around the ship is plentiful, whether it be the house band, party band, orchestra, guitar player, string quartet, much variety. Lots of bars to frequent, some louder than others, but also some quiet places like the Ensemble Lounge. The ships are not crowded, no lines anywhere, service remains exceptional. Food is okay, casino is non-smoking, table games in the casino are always available, Although there seems to be a lot of cutbacks, they really do not effect our cruising style much. But, for many posters on here, these changes are considered bad enough for them to abandon Celebrity. Just be careful what you wish for. Celebrity still meets our needs, at least for the stuff we like to do on a cruise. So, Celebrity, we are here to stay, at least for now. We treat Celebrity Cruises like a four or five star hotel, with nice accommodations, daily food, daily entertainment, and great service. While on Regent, for example, a much smaller ship, we were hounded constantly for "what can we help you with", and everyone had to tell you their life stories. The food was excellent, but there was not the same level of entertainment and activities that Celebrity provides. We just like the bigger Celebrity ships where we still get the good service and atmosphere, but can be left alone to do our own thing. So, the luxury cruise lines are not our cup of tea. Just our opinion. The luxury lines are just too small for us. Wow!!! That's a lot of words. But, I wanted to dispel so much negativity on this forum. Celebrity is just not that bad.

I have two excursions booked for our March 22, 2024 Beyond Caribbean Cruise. I could save over $100 by cancelling and rebooking. So, I cancelled, then went to rebook, and it said, "sorry, sold out" for both excursions. I waited a while to see if my cancellation would add some reservation space, but, alas, it kept saying :'sold out" for both excursions. Maybe a "brain fart", but I went into my "order history". When you cancel anything, excursions, dinner reservations, whatever, it shows "modify" at the bottom of the original order after you have cancelled. I clicked on "modify" and it gave me an option to "purchase", so I clicked to purchase, and it let me rebook at the lower price. So, all is well. I do not know if t his is a glitch or not, but it was "sold out" if you go through the shore excursion drop down box, but I used my order history and it let me rebook. Go figure.

We have been on many Celebrity Cruises. Mass is hit or miss. It seems that if a priest is on board as a passenger, he may say a daily mass or a Saturday evening mass. We have been to many Saturday evening masses in Celebrity Central on the S-Class ships. We have talked to several of the priests saying the masses, and, yes, they are passengers who want to say daily mass. What surprised me is that some of the priests felt their masses were more for the crew, than the passengers. I have no idea where they say the mass for the crew, but the priests have said that the crew love it when a priest is on board to say mass. So, if I had to put a number on it, of our twenty seven or so Celebrity Cruises, maybe about one-third have had a priest onboard to say mass. By the way, the masses we attended in Celebrity Central were of the quick variety, lasting 25 or 30 minutes tops.

How do you sign up for "Go Green". On the ship or pre-cruise?

I have just read that Royal Caribbean is doing away with the two cabin cleanings every day to just one cleaning per day. Does this include Celebrity? For those of you currently on any Celebrity M-Class, S-Class, or E-Class cruise, how many times is your cabin being serviced? And, if it is now just once per day, how do you go about getting your towels changed each evening? Bummer. Once a day in the morning is Okay, but we still like the bathroom cleaned up every evening and towels refreshed while in the Caribbean after your late afternoon shower.

Have any of you been there before? We have been on many S-Class cruises, all five ships. Our cabin always seems to be port side, deck ten, near the library, concierge class, in the cabins between 1201 and 1215. We know our way around the ship, even cabin numbers starboard side, odd numbers port side. Whenever we take the elevators by the front of the ship, for example, when we get off the elevator on deck ten, we seem to pick the wrong side of the ship. Same with getting off the mid bank of elevators. We often turn the wrong way. Also, when we get off the elevator on any floor, and we want to go toward the front of the ship, we turn and then realize we are going toward the aft. Or vice versa. So, even us seasoned cruisers, during our ten or twelve day cruise, we find that we turn the wrong way many times. Has this happened to you, or are you cruise savvy and go the right way? Not really a topic to inform just to add a little humor now and again.

We will be in Miami pre-cruise from March 9th to the 13th. We are staying at the Hampton Inn Brickell. We want to watch the conference basketball tournaments. What is the closest sports bar to the Hampton with multiple TV's, and can I safely walk there and back later in the evening?

Thanks Jim. Good to know. I always thought that if you ordered an appetizer for the entrée, it would be the same size as the appetizer. i did not know you could upsize. I thought that these plates are all pre-plated, so upsizing would not be available. But, as I think about it now, my wife always asks for more carrots on some entrées, and to get rid of some other side item, and they have always done that. So, what was I thinking about not being able to upsize the appetizer?

I have been reading about the changes taking place throughout the Celebrity Fleet. I know that they are now charging for a second lobster on lobster night for concierge class and below. On some nights in the main dining room, I am particularly interested in two entrees, and they have always brought me the two entrees on request. Not often, but I have asked for it. Does the Lobster change carry over to other items ordered? For those of you that have cruised since the first of the year, can you still get a second entrée in the Main Dining room? Sometimes, our party of four each gets an entrée, then gets another to share with the table. So, are second entrees still free?

Agree. The $1,849 per person gets you to around $7,400, and the port fees and vacation protection plan would get you to the $8,000. On the final screen it gives the breakdown, The first line, the cabin fare, should show the 1849 for each of you, then show all other expenses arriving at a total.