TN Vol Fan

I agree- 4 days is just too short! Good luck in guiding a group of 8- it's like herding cats. Patience is a virtue.

We are seeing more folks from TN cruising all the time.

We love the Connie, but we're not on her until November,2016! We're trying a exotic (for us) trip to the Arab Emirates going on to India. Where's your Connie trip going?

I always tell people about room service because so many don't use it in hotels due to the cost. On cruises they can really enjoy it! Great for late night munchies when everything else is closed.

Have you had a time explaining how the drink packages work? It took me 3 long emails a few weeks ago to get a friend of mine in the loop and now she's sold on the Premium pack.

Good luck getting the MDR menus.

If you search for MDR menus, all the ships have the same. A four day cruise will use the first four menus in sequence. I know others have posted them.

Remember to tell your friends that some things change every night and others are available all the time. Also remind them that room service is always available for no extra fee (except a few special items), plus a tip for the server.

It's a lot of fun to watch newcomers.

I know this is a bit off topic, but....

 

Does anyone know if you are Elite and traveling in the same cabin as with a non-Elite, can they go to the Elite Breakfast with you.

 

I believe they can go to the cocktail hour, and other events (is wine tasting and tea), but wasn't sure about the Elite Breakfast.

 

Thanks

Yes, they can. The first time you go, just tell the CC host/hostess that you're in the same cabin.

No trays in buffet anymore and not as formal as in the past on Celebrity. The average age on Celebrity has also gone down but not to the level of RCCL. Celebrity does not have the bells and whistles the very active younger passengers want. RCCL caters more to families while Celebrity is a more adult atmosphere.

As for asking a male to get a jacket, that would only happen on Formal night in the MDR- all the other eating venues are smart causal or more causal than that.

Xport- the vouchers, the Cocktail party and the Elite breakfast do seem to change from ship to ship and Captains Club personnel. I remember when the breakfast went to plated served food and people were so upset. We like the breakfast anyway just to have a nice quiet place out of the buffet. Wonder what it will on the Infinity in just 12 days!

The only consistency on X sometimes is inconsistency.

Even if you get vouchers, there will be a Cocktail Party with unlimited # of drinks. If you save your vouchers, they still have to be used in the Party hours 5-7. You might find a bar that will let you use them later, but it all depends on the bartender.

We've always had early seating and have never been able to take drinks out that early. Someone was always at the door!

I agree about the Elite breakfast. We do love it as it is in on of the specialty restaurants and a very nice way to have a serviced breakfast to start the day. You just need to keep in mind nothing is hot on it. The almond croissants are wonderful!

If you go to the Elite Cocktail Party, you may not carry the drinks to dinner. If you have vouchers good at most of the bars, then you could carry your wine to dinner. But there is no sharing of vouchers with others.

Also you may not have nonElite guests with you at the Cocktail Party. And they do check!

We think the best benefit of being Elite are the better coupons especially for laundry.

Enjoy your cruise.

Thanks again for all of your help! I have another question- what do the different categories for the cabins mean? I noticed that for the oceanview staterooms, they have different category numbers when the rooms are all on the same deck. For example, the continental deck has categories 7 and 8.

Location, location, location! That makes all the difference.

Our favorite OV is as far forward as you can get, cabin 7000- cat.4. We're in it on the Infinity in 2 weeks for 17 days! We've been in it several times before, extra large room with very large circular window. Never had a problem with motion there and no noise problems either. But you do pay more for this cat. Of OV.

Enjoy the Connie, our favorite X ship.

Service is 24 hours but be mindful that there are times when service is pretty slow ( middle of night). Great for breakfast with a wake up call about 5 minutes before arrival. During MDR hours you can order from their menu as well as the regular room service menu. But you cannot do that over the TV, must be called in.

Cajun too specific and can be really bad if not done correctly. Also wonder about appeal to non USA folks. We like Bistro with the enhanced menu.

on how important the quality of your hair dryer is. If you don't care, just want some hot air blowing to dry your hair, then don't bother bringing your own. If you want heat selection and being more mobile than stuck in the bathrm to do your drying, then bring yours.

Hair driers are not on the wall in the bathroom. I've always sat at the vanity and used the outlet there.

We have sailed insides often and never felt a lack of room. They are very dark and we leave the TV turned on to the bridge camera channel to see the sun coming up in the AM.

Enjoy the Connie, one of our favorites.

All of X cabins have a cooler, not a full fridge. They work fine for soft drinks, wine and medicine. If you want ice, ask your room attendant. And the attendant usually will empty the items out if you aren't buying any.

Sorry can't help you on that exact room. You might search the M ship sticky at the beginning of this board.

We'll be on the Infinity after she finishes her Alaskan runs. Still have two months to go!

I have another quick question - I heard that some of the cruiselines have a tv channel that shows what it looks like outside. Does Celebrity have this? If they do, maybe we could just leave the tv on all night and we would be awakened as the sun rises on the tv?

Yes X does have a bridge camera set for the TV. We've done just what you've suggested and found it just fine for getting up with the sun.

We've cruised in every class of non suite cabin and have been very happy with insides. I think there are some insides mid ships near the Library that are a little larger than normal. They were great and very convenient. You might want to look for those, but they are not the cheapest insides.

Go for an inside and enjoy Alaska from the deck!

Both classic & premier drink package cover all the coffee drinks, with or without liquor. Classic just covers standard brands, not high end brands. Gelato is for a fee on deck 5, but the buffet ice cream is included. At dinner, MDR, several ice cream flavors change every day. If you like to eat after midnight, your choices for food go down to very limited buffet, Bistro on Five-$10 pp for all you can eat off their menu ( to 1 am) or room service. Our DS and DDIL ordered every night, sandwiches and cheesecake. Cost of a tip.

As for deck 7 forward- great choice. We did a deck 7 OV as far forward as you could go for 28 days around Europe several years ago. Loved it, but be prepared to walk a lot to get there. In September we are in the same cabin on Infinity for 17 days. Can't wait.

The last night of the cruise, you pack everything except a change of clothes and your carry on and place it outside your door by 11 pm. You leave the next day and pick up your luggage in the terminal. Very easy!

Don't forget to wander the ship with a camera- interesting art work everywhere. Wish our cruise would be as soon as yours.

Just remember, when in doubt, ask.

We love the Connie. Your sea pass card is your room key and charge card for the ship. If at any time it is not working, go to Guest Relations and they'll make you another one. They can get demagnetized. As long as you have both cards, you can get 2 drinks. But the bartenders do make you wait about 10 minutes between drinks. Of course, you can always go to another bar. Remember your drink package is good for other kinds of drinks besides alcohol. Try Cafe al Bacio for great coffee drinks and have some pastries from their case.

The ice cream in the buffet area is great, favors change every day- it's free. If you want gelato, you pay on deck 4???? I think.

Check with your TA to verify your paid grats. Sometimes they will not show up until several days into the cruise. You can check your account on the TV anytime.

The beds are twins put together, but if you feel the separation, ask your room attendant for a mattress topper. That always helped us.

If you have any other particular questions, post again.

Enjoy your cruise!

We were in 6135 on the Connie this past March and loved it! Concierge cabins on M ships are a little larger than regular balcony cabins. The balcony on 6135 is very deep, with 2 loungers with foot rests, 2 regular chairs and a small table, with plenty of room to move the chairs around.

We loved the location being very near the aft elevator- very convenient. Also the area was very quiet with very little foot traffic.

I would book this one again any time!

Also be aware that different lines operate differently. You seem to have cruised NCL mostly and their system is probably different from X. We have always found that booking on board gives us the best deals, with price and perks. We check what we want before we board so we know what cabin we would like and then see what the Future Cruise desk can do for us.

Hope you enjoy X.

You do not have to go to the reservations desk. As soon as you enter the ship from the gangway you will see a specialty restaurant table. Go there and they will help you pick nights & times.

Enjoy!

If you are interested in the workings of the ship and don't have the paid tour, be on the lookout for lectures by some of the officers. We've heard talks about the engine system, water system, sanitation systems, etc. Very informative and the officers will answer your questions.

Love the poached fruit there! And the bread there is an nice selection.

You might want to look into the all photos package for one price, sorry I forget the name of it. My GF and I did it (purchased on board) and had lots of fun going to all the different photo ops set up. I think we ended up with over 300 pix just from the 2 of us. With a whole family you would get great value of all the different combos of people.

X also does studio studies but having never participated, don't know about pricing/quality.

Not a single poster mentioned my favorite perk...."20% discount on any digital photo package at the Photo Gallery." Has anyone checked this out? Why on earth would I as Elite+ need this? I find it rather insulting. I seem to recall the least expensive photo package was $175. Who came up with this perk idea?

 

When we sail RCCL as Diamond we get 1 photo free. I think that is a much better deal.

 

We will have the 1-2-3 package on our Feb. 2016 cruise so time will tell. We have never had a beverage package, so I know not of what you speak. We just go to 5 to 7 and then go to dinner in Blu.

If you travel with family or friends, the photo discount might come in handy to participate with them.

We've always gone to the Elite Lounge for a drink before we had the drink package, but find it more convenient to get our drinks elsewhere now with the packages. The idea of getting a free upgrade for the drink packages would be great.

An added perk for Elite+s for us would be to allow our shareholders benefit to be added in with other perks. It's been so long since we have gotten that I sometimes feel it's time to sell the stock at its great price to get some benefit out of it.

But overall we love the benefits we get from the loyalty program and really still like the prices of the cruises we take with X.

Thanks so much for the info. I'll try to get our rep to find us another C2 that's available for our B2B.

We had booked 8102 before realizing being next to the Celebrity suites was not the best location for our veranda. The M ship sticky certainly came in handy!

Does anyone know what class this room is actually? My X rep says it is a C2, but on the deck plans it looks like a C3 to me.

Also can anyone comment on the size of the veranda for this room? I think the C2s have a deeper balcony than C3s on this deck

I've already checked the sticky with no results for this cabin. Any help or recent experience would be much appreciated. Thanks.