cmhdoogalsatsea

Hi!

 

We have an RS booked for an upcoming Summit cruise in December 2018. The itinerary for the exact same week in 2019 sounded quite interesting, so I booked that as well. For the December 2019 cruise, the prices jumped quite a bit, so to keep the December 2019 cruise around the same cost as December 2018, I booked a CS. The December 2019 CS was $100 more than our December 2018 RS. The December 2019 RS was $4,000 more than our December 2018 RS!

 

We are a family of 3, so I'm not terribly concerned about the space difference or the bathtub/shower situation in the CS, however, I'm wondering if the perks are different between RS and CS? We have the Go Best package with the CS, so $300 OBC, wifi, drinks, gratuities. I would most likely send some laundry to be done and perhaps do one or two specialty dining options, however, I can't imagine those would add up to $4,000. Is there anything else I'm missing by going from RS to CS?

 

Thank you so much!

The short answer is "very little";however a longer explanation would include that there's a slight difference in how you get there. Wth the CS you've hit the "big ticket" items of wifi and drinks (not to mention a good bit of laundry or dining w/$300obc as you menioned) through a promotional "perk", the "Go Best" one. With an RS they, along with specialty dining and free laundry, are part of what comes with booking that cabin, regardless of whether the "Go___" promos are offered.

Beyond the differences in accommodations, while I agree that it's not worth $4k (at least not with my humble resources), having stayed in CSs with friends in RSs, I suggest that there is a slight qualitative difference in the attention you'll receive from crew. The only objective instance of this I can point to is the new premium baggage drop/embarkation experience that doesn't include CS or SS.

Although I don't care for Celeb Suites on Solstice class ships ( the aft S1s beat 'em in my estimation!) on millennium class they're super for me. In fact, I'll be in one on the Summit in 3 weeks.

Have a great trip in December and next year too!

Any knitters sailing on Summit October 7? Any interest in gathering to knit on sea days?

You're likely to get more response over on the Cruise Critic "roll call" for that cruise. Click here to go there

Have a great trip!!

We arrived in Seattle on a Saturday and the lines to drop off luggage were wrapped around the entire checkin area, so we loved the free program to transport luggage to the airport. The flight had to be scheduled after 11:00 AM and our flight was scheduled for 11:02 AM so we qualified. We flew Jet Blue and had no cost luggage because we have a Jet Blue Plus Card. It was so convenient - we took a private shuttle to the airport and just printed our boarding passes and went through security to the gate.

It is a super convenient service for sure. I've found that, although a bit pricier, the convenience of using one of the other services for getting bags to embarkation makes for a wonderful start to my trip. Luggage is picked up at my building a few days prior to sailing and, voila it's at my cabin on on embarkation day. The only "complaint" i have with celebrity's luggage valet is that I still have to get the stuff home from the airport! :-)

You mean, “know any better.” Doesn’t make you or anyone else an idiot.

 

Just sharing my experience. Celebrity Soltice out of Alaska might have been the best cruise I have been on.

No I meant "don't know no better." And i do hope you'll share your experience far and wide. The fewer folks buying Celebrity cabins the more likely we'll see prices stabilize.

Still not sure what you mean-- I've not heard of the "Soltice", but am glad it met your standards.

We cruised the Summit out of SJ December 2016. It was the worst cruise ship we have been on.

Last chance Celebrity.

Please, please tell all your friends how bad it was, and enjoy any other line you'd like to be on. Leave celebrity to those of us idiots who just don't know no better...

Original Post from 2010 and you say the Strong sewer smell still present ??? Eight years ???

Some pretty rough bean dishes in OVC back in 2010...results lingering....

Aha!!! Got it! Yes, I was completely confused! Customs, immigration at pier and agricultural screening at airport. Thank you all SO much!

 

So, here's another question. If we are meeting our car at 8:30 am, at what time should we be heading off the ship? I'm just not sure how long it takes to get through customs/immigration at the port.

I'd suggest that you touch base with the MC Concierge at some point during the cruise. (s)he will be able to help you gauge things so that you enjoy the lowest stress disembarkation that you can.

Reflection has the pool and buffet on the same deck- the other S class ships have the buffet one deck up. We like not having to walk steps if we are bringing food or beverages to the pool area. We also like the nicer Sunset Bar. We also like the aft dining area behind the buffet. There are many more tables than the other S class ships, since a bar was not included in the design.

One of the things that is so cool about cruise ships is how there can be something pretty nifty for everybody! I tend not to hit the pools so totally missed that OVC and pool are on the same deck.

I keep checking the price on a June Equinox cruise (hoping to get a reasonable cost differential to upgrade from Concierge to Sky Suite), and it always says "suites get all four perks free" with no disclaimer / exclusion of Sky Suites. Having said that, as per usual, they're not actually free, because there's a lower price for resident rate and senior rate, which come with a "no perks" disclaimer. Oy.

Well, if the Senior or Res rate when combined with the "perks" ala carte is lower than the "Free" perks price others are stuck with, you might count yourself lucky!

Same here. Booked with a TA and when prices dropped after final payment he called at our request and nothing was offered except an upgrade we didn’t want. That was my understanding of how the rules were applied so at the time, it didn’t bother me in the slightest. But when rules are applied inconsistently it leaves a sour taste in your mouth.

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I always book directly thru Celeb and the rule has applied the same--awesome for getting best pre-final booking price for a cabin I want, but when not feeling as choosy, grabbing last minute deals from the leftovers has turned out good sometimes.

I have 2 7 night sailings booked and the pre-cruise price for the unlimited internet for 1 device is $224. 2 different ships & 2 different times of year.

Yup that would be a 10% discount from the price they list (and I quoted) above. As I mentioned, I always have to call to get the deeper CC discount.

cheers

There is a 10% discount for booking prior to the cruise.

I always call in order to get the Captains Club discount, haven't figured a way to get it via the online portal. Click here for The full wifi price list dated May 2018.

4-6 night 1 device $159

7-9 night 1 device $249

24 hours$49.95

1 hour $24.95

Does anyone know:

 

1. If disembarking in Miami, can we use luggage valet to FFL.

2. What airlines are participating in both FFL and MIA?Sent from my iPad using Forums

The answer to #1 is "It depends." If you also embarked from Miami and the trip is at least 7 days, then most likely yes. At least this year I've had the service not be offered when on a re-location cruise and on a 5-nighter.

I'm attempting to attach a link to the Luggage Valet form from last month (click here), but if that doesn't work, as of August, participating airlines were:

FLL:, AA, DL (domestic only), JB, UA and SW

MIA: AA, DL (domestic only), UA

Thank you for all of the suggestions! I booked our car for 8:30 am with The Limo People. One other question - we are staying in a Royal Suite - will concierge help us get through screening? Or do we need a porter? Also, we will only have carry-ons and backpacks (we don't check luggage) - I'm assuming everything goes through the agricultural screening? Thanks so much!

If I'm reading your question correctly, you might be confusing the location of the agricultural screening. It takes place at the airport, not at the pier. Everything goes thru and it's basically like an additional security screening-- a minor annoyance but neither hidden nor overly time consuming.

On the other hand, if i mis-read your question, my apologies. Regarding the pier in San Juan the MC concierge or the person she's passed us off to at the dock, has walked us to Suite luggage pickup (not an issue for you with all carry-ons!) and then we've been on our own for walking thru customs/immigration. But it's not a terribly confusing pier.

Not much, but the Reflection has more capacity than cabins and the others do not. I was just responding to the comment that the Reflection was more crowded in Blu because it had more AQ cabins. It appears from the ship’s fact sheet that they increased the capacity of the Blu more than the cabins.

I am not sure how anyone would experience 4 seats beyond a 50% capacity as beubg more spacious when servicing 300 aq guests.

We are new to Celebrity. What Class is the Reflection? S, M or something else.

 

Thank you.

Welcome to Celebrity!

Officially Reflection is a Solstice class ship, but there are some differences in it from others, namely an extra deck of staterooms, bringing the total number of cabins (1523) to about 100 (97) more than Solstice. Reflection marked Celebrity's discovery that more ( in terms of passengers) isn't necessarily better for the brand. Thus Edge will have a slightly lower capacity, leaving Reflection as the only Celebrity ship with a "double occupancy" capacity of over 3,000 and a maximum passenger capacity of over 3,400. (click for details)

The only other major differences over other Solstice class ships I noted on Reflection, both of which I appreciated, is an improved Persian Garden and self-service refrigerators in Michael's Club.

Based on those numbers, Blu should be less crowded on the Reflection unless Suite guest are dining there.

 

I agree Luminae is more crowded due to the additional suites with a significant increase in Luminae tables. The Sky Lounge is also more crowded due to the smaller size it’s more people. (Of course the Sky Lounge is not usually very busy, except at select times.)

Numbers are from the ships' fact sheets. Not sure how it would be much more roomy when the ratios are basically 1:2 (Blu seats to people) in each spot. As far as Luminae goes, on Reflection I thought it was woefully understaffed but rarely overcrowded (I tend to dine really late). Similar experience with it on Equinox. I really prefer the size on Summit. Am looking forward to reading about suite experience on Edge, there are so many I can't really see myself choosing it and really hoping that Summit comes out nicely in the the Spring!

Hello,

I have been reading various reviews about this ship and some people have mentioned smelling garbage or burning smells in the hallways outside the staterooms-- has anyone experienced this recently? One person that mentioned this was on deck 6 (penthouse deck)which is the deck that I have booked! I am hoping these were isolated circumstances. Any input on this would be greatly appreciated.

I've been on the Summit 3 different weeks over the past year, always on deck 6 and haven't smelled anything unpleasant in hallways or decks on any of those sailings (well, not counting a few currently popular fragrances I could do without...). Looking forward to getting back onboard in 3 weeks.

I can’t give a 10 to someone that asked or told me to do.

Sorry

Of course not, that'd be like voting for someone who actually asked me to....

I did not realize that the Reflection had a higher number of AQ passengers.

I know they have more suites, thus more people eligible for Luminae dining.

Reflection has 150 Aqua Class cabins vs 130 on Equinox and 107 on Summit.

Blu's capacity is listed as 154,128 and 100 respectively.

The three people I most likely interact with the most are the waiter/assistant, and the stateroom attendant. I take a picture of the placard on the table for the names of the wait staff, and most stateroom attendants lately have a business card with their name and extension. I use that info when filling our any positive/negative comments at the end of the cruise -- mostly positive.

It's got to be pretty memorable for me to add a negative comment so I don't track those moments, but I do keep a "note" on my phone of folks whose service i want to compliment as the cruise goes on. Celebrity ships have some wonderful crew, many working in "nameless" positions polishing handrails and keeping washrooms clean. When any of those folks make a good impression, I jot their name on my phone so that I have a list when it's time to complete the form at the end of the trip or when a comment card appears in the suite.

Sorry to ask some really stupid questions but new to this cruising thing.

 

If you went for Aqua Class, would you also get all the benefits of the Concierge Class too....i.e welcome on board lunch, wine in room, daily delectable delights!!!

 

Trying to decide what room to pick for my husband's retirement in 2020.

 

Thanks

 

Kat

Not a stupid question, and we all like to give our opinions! In my experience on Solstice class ships Aqua class misses out on only 2 things: the embarkation lunch ( no big deal at all) AND quality room location. (In my mind a very big deal.) Although Aqua comes with access to Blu and comped access to Persian Garden, with a concierge room you can buy access to Persian Garden, book specialty restaurants if you prefer spiffier dinner AND gain access to your choice of preferred rooms, including my faves, Afts.

With either, you can't really go wrong, you just get to fret over a few "fine tuning" choices. Enjoy the next many months of planning and my your husband enjoy a long and happy retirement!!

There's diet tonic on the ships? This is excellent news, I never thought to ask!

Yup. Canada Dry Diet Tonic has been the only brand I've found them to carry, but ought to be available @ most bars. Enjoy!

Tea Kettle? I thought they were not allowed?

BYOK is not allowed but using theirs is. I have one placed in the room along with some cups etc on each sailing.

I take it the Alcoves are only available on certain ships as I don’t see anything available to book on my upcoming Equinox cruise.

 

 

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According to Celebrity, click here, Alcoves are being added to Equinox when it's in drydock this coming Spring. I'm hoping that they're an improved product over what's now available on Reflection.