ladyjade3

Any advice?

1 hour ago, cgolf1 said:

 

When we were on the Edge in February for the 1/2 PC Transit cruise, the magic carpet was almost always full and it was really hard to even get a seat, which irked me because on our first Edge cruise it was hardly used and it became our favorite spot to sit. Now if the E Class had something that was even a half ****** attempt at a promenade deck it wouldn't have been an issue. Not a lot of oceanview seating on the Edge and I assume the other E class ships.

Oh for oceanview seating at a bar on Ascent you definitely want the Sunset Bar in the back. No question.

Our next cruise makes these 3 stops and we want one really great snorkel experience for our sons, 12 and 13. They are good swimmers, my husband not so much. We want to know where has the best fish, most colorful reefs, best tours, etc. And would you go through the cruise line (Carnival) or would you do an independent thing?  What's your advice? The cruise is in September.

16 minutes ago, Tyler414 said:

It’s an additional bar on upper decks during sea days. It’s outdoor seating for Raw on 5. The best tendering operation at sea hands down. Excellent viewing for watching the pilot boat unload the pilot directly below. The list goes on…

Did I hit a nerve?

6 minutes ago, rowval said:

I love love Cheesecake! Was it really good in the Bistro? Is that a paid restaurant? 

I'm referring to the little coffee shop by the grand plaza (the atrium) and the pastries are FREE FREE FREE. The raspberry cheesecake was a religious experience proving that God wants us all to be happy. So LIGHT and not too sweet. Just perfect in every way.

Top 10 highlights from me:

10.  The free charm necklace from Effy

9. Chateaubriand

8. Plunge pools and champagne glass hot tubs

7. Jorge at the Oceanside Cafe

6. Raspberry cheesecake at the bistro

5. The service/staff

4. the buffet in general

3. the croissants in the buffet

2. The theater show "Awaken"

1. The jogging track

I'll expound in my full review which I will post soon. Will also add top negatives. Overall, this was the best cruise of my life. Too many awesome things to name them all.

1 minute ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

It's an awesome tender area as well.

I've heard that, but that has to be an afterthought. You could get people in a tender with a LOT less engineering than this...

4 hours ago, blueslily said:

 

Awesome, thanks so much for sharing and letting your sons know how valuable your video and information is.

 

Question: was it noisy when thr Magic Carpet was above you. I would guess that when you had your window open, you could hear the sounds from above. Just my guess.

 

Thanks!

I never noticed the magic carpet being heavily trafficked or noisy. Kinda wondered what the point of it is. I imagine a Celebrity board room where some creative type has a cool idea to have an elevator-bar that goes up and down the side of the ship, serving drinks and picking up and dropping off people with a killer view of the ocean, up and down, up and down all day. nnnn-tssss nnnn-tssss nnnn-tssss. A BAR, but also an ELEVATOR. Can't ever have too many of either, right? It probably got greenlit originally this way by the execs. Then the lawyers got involved. And then maybe also the suits that regulate bars and alcohol. One by one they took away each little cool aspect of it piece by piece until we're left with a hugely expensive, over-engineered orange monstrosity that hangs out over the ocean but doesn't really do much for anyone other than need to be cleared out whenever you happen to want to hang out there so it can go from exactly one upper floor (14) to exactly one lower floor (5) and vice versa. I tried to order a martini there and they didn't even have martini glasses. And I am NOT paying for a martini in any other geometric shape than a triangle. It's just not the same. Not when you have bartenders in the Grand Plaza that do fancy flippy tricks when they make martinis....

Anyway. I don't have any insider knowledge. I don't want to start any rumors about the Magic Carpet. That's just what occured to me as I investigated this thing trying to figure the whole thing out. It's cute, but kind of pointless. No, its not going to be noisy. Like, ever.

Loved our cabin right under the magic carpet 12184. Obstructed view from it but we could watch it move and that was fun. 

Getting off the boat for us was super easy. 
 

That show Awaken last night was mind blowing! We loved it! Don't look for a plot. Its not a play. It's Cirque du Soleil with state of the art technology. I walked out of Shimmerbox which was standing room only and good cabaret style dancing and tricks. Went to the end of Funkified . We liked that show better and there was plenty of seating. 

12 hours ago, nimiq said:

We did Le petit Chef on The beyond and also thought it was just ok. For us at the price other specialty restaurants are much more worth it. 
the show is cute the food ok and service unfortunately for us was inattentive and we did not even get asked if we wanted coffee at the end. It was a bye bye and that’s it. 

What they should do to improve it is let people order from 2 or 3 choices, pass out headphones and let the animation be more customized to individuals and different dishes. We don't eat seafood and to switch the cod to chicken pasta just kind of messed up the flow of the experience. Why do you even ask about allergies or substitutions? You should get the menu in advance and be warned that if this menu isn't to your liking, the experience will be off. It needs an overhaul. 

The jogging track and the pool area

5 hours ago, BecciBoo said:

A little story about the cruise pier jewelry shops.  My MIL was with us in Coz and we were at one of the cheaper upstairs shops and she just loved what they told her was a real sapphire.  I warned her it wasn't, sapphires that big are rare and EXPENSIVE and they wanted $400 for this ring.  I walked out of the shop and looked for it at some others, there it was...went back in and warned her again not to buy that all the other shops had this ring (NOT a genuine sapphire obviously).  She argued that she just loved it and bought it.  Months later she had it checked at the jewelers and sure enough, simulated.  That ring wasn't worth $100 much less 4.  So be careful with shops at the pier. 

I suspected as much!  They almost got me with an emerald. Glad I passed on it. An emerald that size and clarity should not be $280... 

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

People are funny. Does anyone go hungry on a cruise?  I think not. But when the Captain announced that there would be a special lunch in the buffet today, you’d have thought they had been depriving us all week. The OVC was mobbed with hungry passengers. It was pandemonium at the shrimp station and don’t even get me started on the cold lobster station!  In a word, it was simply the BEST lunch buffet we’ve ever seen. I didn’t get many pics due to the vast amount of people but it was special. 
on offer was peal and eat shrimp, crab claws, lobster, crawfish, fried calamari, lobster salad, crab salad, roasted prime rib, duck, rack of lamb, roasted turkey and a whole host of sweet treats!  The best part was when the entire kitchen staff paraded through the dining room to receive a round of applause for a job well done on the first sailing of the beautiful Ascent! 
 

Agree. This lunch buffet was spectacular!!!

We did Le Petit Chef night 2. Im giving it 2 stars. Not recommended. Takes 2 hours to get through. Food is good but its not better than in the restaurants. The animation show is cute but you have to wait for everyone in the whole seating to start and then move on to the next course. That's why it takes 2 hours. It would be good for kids but for that. It is a lot of sitting and waiting with nothing going on. 
 

My favorite feature of the ship is the jogging track. It goes in a figure 8 around the top of the ship with an incline up to deck 16 and then back to 15. 
 

I'm currently sitting in Eden watching the dancers rehearse for Shimmerbox. It's going to be an awesome show I can tell. Not to be missed! 

Yay! I'm on this cruise tomorrow too! My 13 year old still doesn't know! We're surprising him on the way to the port. We told him we're going caving (true) but he doesn't know that it's a shore excursion....  heee heee!

We're in a concierge class verandah with obstructed view from the magic carpet. I actually thought it might be cool to see that from the underside etc. Will let you know. 

1 hour ago, drakes2 said:

Tea coffee iced tea and orange juice is included. Don't bother with drinks package just pay as you go or bring a bottle of your favorite wine onboard 

I've never brought my own wine onboard. I might just do that this time... Good suggestion!

Wait a second. This is my first time on Celebrity but I've sailed lots on other cruise lines. 

I didn't book a drink package at all. Is anything included? Water? Tea? Coffee? Juice? Do you HAVE to choose a drink package? I'll probably get 2 glasses of wine the whole cruise and hubby won't get anything alcoholic. Our two boys would drink juice the whole time...

On 6/6/2022 at 1:53 PM, Jim_Iain said:

Your host is very helpful if you are entertaining in the Suite and will setup your room with Glasses, Plates etc as well as nibbles.    When in upper suites we have had parties with as many as 50 guests and was handled with no problem.   He even answered the door and invited new arrivals in.   The beauty is after the party you just go to dinner and when you return your suite is cleaned and back in perfect condign.    

What I need to know is - how do I get invited to one of those parties?

Yes, can confirm the ladies at the bar said they are open indefinitely and the deal is off!  We loved St. Kitts and the Shipwreck bar!  Highly recommend!  Here is my video of it - in 360 viewable in virtual reality if you have a viewer like Google Cardboard or Oculus.  

Ah well. The flip side is the many many parents who are raising kids who still need to be on Mommy and Daddy's health insurance at 26...

We plan to all have walkie talkies, so... My main concern really is not my kids. I know they can behave and follow rules and be fine. Honestly I'm worried about getting in trouble with the ship or going afoul of some policy. Obviously they are not allowed in the casino, but I know they'd love to roam free a little bit...

At what age do you not get the side-eye from other passengers and staff if your kids are exploring on their own? Obviously a 3 year old can't be toddling about independently, but a 12 year old should of course be fine a couple hours on their own, yes? If my kids are say 7-9 and I trust them is it OK to let them wander? Need some thoughts...

Perhaps consider hiring a nanny and bringing them on the cruise. You can even put them in a cabin with your boys so you would have someone else for everything.

 

Might be a good solution for you.

Yeah, cause we are made of money. Come on. You're just being mean.

I guess some people don't think families need to be cruising, or that everyone has a family or child care situation that would allow them to go on a cruise without... So I don't get to cruise for 14 more years. I'm sure the cruise industry does not want that. Clearly, from how they are designing the newer boats, they DO want me to be able to cruise and not let my lack of child care resources at home to stop me from giving them my monies.

You may not want me to get a break on my vacation, but they certainly want my money. I'm simply asking advice from the community on who I should give that money to. ;)

PS As a mom of two boys, I do not accept advice nor criticism from parents of one girl. As a general rule. LOL It's a different world, ya'll. It just is.

Thank you! Yes, I think Royal Caribbean is next for us. We did a few RC cruises before kids and LOVED them. A splash pad like that would more than suffice for something for the kids to do. :)

This is actually untrue. On carnival the camp forms ask you to give permission for swimming, but we never do so our kids have not gone. I don't want anyone but myself to supervise my child in a pool.

I agree. At least until my kids are teens. I wouldn't WANT them to swim without me.