spearmint

My sister, who has been on Royal and some other Princess ships, just returned from Regal this week. She has been on Celebrity once (Equinox), the last cruise they took prior to Regal. She is not one to gush over anything (while we had been touting Celebrity, for years). All cruises have been good.

However!

This time she said the food was exceptional, the best on any cruise. She did mention that Italian restaurant as being good as well as the main dining room. (We have been disappointed in the Celebrity menus since the demise of the Michel Roux menus, and we think they are still going downhill). She was so positive that we are now considering giving Regal a try (heresy for us), perhaps in the late winter, as we leave for a b-2-b on Silhouette next week.

P.S. She also said that the shows in the theatre were all really good, the best they have seen.

Bill

Other than Main Dining rooms and buffet, what dining venues are included on Reflection?

I cannot think of any in that category on any Celebrity ship.

How much time do you need to be at the airport prior to departure? If two hours, then 9:45 could be tricky unless you can get off the ship early (i.e. take your own luggage off?)

If you are among a large crowd disembarking, then getting luggage, getting through customs and then getting a taxi could be time consuming, even though the airport is not far.

And all this depends on the ship being cleared at normal times. We have never had a delay in this regard, but I have read of it happening on these boards. e.g.I think that one ship was delayed for a couple of hours due to a power failure at the time of departure.

Personally, I would find the 10:45 time stressful, and would not do it.

Bill

This past spring, our stop in Grand Cayman was cancelled due I think to wind/ wave action; port authorities would not let us tender. I would check to see what happens if you have independent tours and the port is bypassed. Are refunds available?

Bill

Bravo, compmann9. I think you have done a fine job of reporting on your trip and feelings; it is difficult to try to present a balanced report when one is angry or disappointed.

I am with you... as a loyal Celebrity fan, I agree that passengers should have been given information immediately after the decision was made; people should not have to go on a trip which is altered so much from the original, main (advertised?) itinerary that they don't want to travel. Celebrity should have allowed time for cancellations, or options to at least re-book for another trip. Sure it would have been a lot of work for Celebrity personnel, but then Celebrity was the cause of the problem in the first place.

And if I read correctly, people were not compensated for pre-booked ship's tours?

Bill

Request table size at booking..with whomever you booked with. Then once on board you can double check with the maitre d before the first dinner.

That is right. If you booked with Celebrity direct, then you deal with them directly. If using a Travel Agent, then you must go through the agent.

Bill

I am one of those who also has found that Celebrity has changed over the years. All of the areas that have overhead speakers are bombarded with loud music....whether it is "your" kind of music or not.... I have often noted to my wife that I feel sorry for the ship's personnel who have to work in such a repetitious environment all the time.

As for the live acts, they are worse. One cannot really have a conversation in the inside bars if one of the performers/groups is there. The exception that I did notice, was on Eclipse last spring; one night, in the Ensemble Lounge, the pianist from the orchestra played. The music was good, the volume acceptable for a lounge i.e. I could talk to my wife, barmates and bartenders without yelling, without asking for a repetition or without having to lean in to hear a reply and yet hear and enjoy the music.

I am not going to take some sort of decibel reader on board! Instead, those of us who are annoyed should definitely keep telling Celebrity. They may not give a damn about us individually, but, hopefully, collectively they will not ignore us.

If Celebrity is solely focusing on "the young" while ignoring "the aging" they are making a big mistake. The baby boomers are still alive, kicking, and continuing to look for places to spend vacation money. If Celebrity doesn't care about us, still one of the largest socio-economic groups around, I expect there are other lines which do care.

OK. Rant over. But this is one of the things on board which really p****es me off! For example, I am sitting on the back deck aft of the cafe, in early morning, having a coffee and just contentedly watching the ship's wake, when I suddenly find that I am so irritable .... then I realize it's the insidious, constant, overhead speaker noise getting on my nerves.

Bill

Summit, like all the M-class ships, has the Rendez-vous Lounge, where you can dance, or listen, to music before/after dinner .... much better than dancing at the bottom of a staircase like the S-class. Check the dailies for exact times. Other small events happen there during the day as well.

Another thing like about Celebrity ships is the "back deck" aft of the cafe. This is one of our favourite places. When you board, you will be invited to go for lunch at the cafe which is aft of the pools.

Bill

The nice thing about Celebrity at present is you do have choices.

 

We enjoy a couple of nights of dressing up, it does make those nights special.

 

We do appreciate the views of those who do not want to dress up and there are other options for them on the formal night. In addition the accepted view of what formal wear is on Celebrity is not over high, formal suits and long gowns are not needed.

 

Don't try to fix something that is not broken!

Well said!

HIlton Fort Lauderdale Hotel and Marina. It is right next to the 17th St. bridge and can be easily seen from the ship. Has a shuttle but not free. In April, the price might be down to around $110 around the time the last Caribbean cruise stops.... just in time for a trans-Atlantic? There is a CVS a block or so away which has wine, munchies etc. It is several blocks down from Embassy Suites. We have stayed there twice before and will do so again after our Nov. Cruise.

Hotel is not so modern but it is clean with great views and pool area.

Bill

My math may have been wrong, but I did not take any of the perks. My 55+ cost was the lowest cost. Each of the 1,2,3 perks had a more expensive price tag, and the actual savings were very little in the end.

B.

Thanks for answering Bill. One question, did you get much notice on the change? Glad it worked out well for you. Vancouver is beautiful. Hope to see it again.

If I recall, we had ample notice of the cancellation. And even when we decided to rebook, we still had lots of time to plan and to anticipate the cruise. Sorry I cannot be more specific, but then, it was several years ago, and the brain just isn't what it used to be.:)

Several years ago, we booked Celebrity from Hawaii to Vancouver and it was cancelled for whatever reason. :( However, Celebrity offered us a $400 OBC to use for another cruise (I imagine there was a timeline to use it but I have forgotten.) :)

In any case, we booked a U.S. west coast cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles and it was great. :D We had never previously considered that, as we live on the other side of the country, but for both cruises, we wanted to visit Vancouver as well so opted for the second possibility.

Bill

As one who only sails Celebrity, I would really like a comparison to Princess. I saw some percentage satisfaction results recently (cannot recall where:rolleyes:!!!) which had Celebrity ships each around 89% and various Princess ships from 65%-about 78%. I was really surprised at the difference.

We have been considering trying Princess and HAL, but have been so reluctant to do so....

Bill

We really hate those Blue Chairs (used on several other cruise lines) since we spend a lot of time just lounging on deck and reading. We always preferred the old Celebrity chair/pad combination but one gets the impression that these are gradually disappearing from the fleet.

Hank

That is too bad, as I always thought them more comfortable than and superior to other ones.:(

Bill

Whenever we have done a b2b, we each received a transit pass that allowed us to come and go freely on the turnaround day .

 

True, we do need to go through security again each time we return to re-board the ship, but we bypass the check-in lines for the new passengers who are boarding for the first time.

 

In any case, if we go out touring or shopping that day, the security lines are usually short or non-existent by the time we return to the ship later in the afternoon, after the mad rush is over.

 

So the re-boarding process is quick and easy.

We just place our packages on the conveyor for the x-ray machine, walk right through the metal detector, pick up our belongings and get back on the ship.

 

 

Even if we do not plan to tour that day, it can sometimes be worth getting off the ship for a while just to browse through the shops, take a look around the port area, and pick up brochures or coupon books.

 

I knew someone with more accurate information would assist the OP!:D

It is my understanding from these boards, that you can disembark to tour, but that you will go through security with all the newcomers to the 2nd cruise upon your return to the ship. Although we have done b2b, we have never left the ship to tour.

Perhaps someone with experience will comment on the veracity of my understanding.

Bill

We're doing a B 2 B on Princess in Feb. The Eclipse trip we wanted was already fully booked. From what I've been told on their page you may or may not get moved to a different cabin, but you will have to leave the ship & reboard(but not have to board with all the pax coming on board)

That is true. You will be told by a notice in your cabin where to gather as a group, leave the ship, enter the terminal and proceed to a customs agent who will look at your documents and send you back to reboard. Many of the ship's personnel will be there as well. You are not with the new passengers. You reboard and can go where you want..... get the best spots for sailaway.:D

Bill

We have done a back to back in which we stayed in the same cabin, another in which we had to move rooms right next door, and now have one pending which is aft of the elevators for the first move, and midships on the same floor for the second.

To move, simply put your stuff from around the room and from the drawers and shelves (including your shoes) into your luggage. Roll it down to your new room, and empty the luggage out exactly as you had it in the previous room. The steward(s) will help by moving your clothes for you, leaving them on the hangers and transferring from one closet to the other. It really does not take very long to set up the new room, since you know exactly what goes where; it is faster than setting up when you first arrive on board. Eeeaaasy!

Bill

Be assured that you will have no difficulty signing up on board for the Riedel saless pitch! :rolleyes: They want you to enhance your wine-drinking experience buy purchasing some expensive goblet styles. Our own crystal at home is much better looking, we are not oenophiles and we couldn't tell the difference that they suggested that we could anyway.:D

Bill

Thank you, everyone. It is as I suspected, but I have learned to run stuff by cruise critics if I want to be sure. I am never disappointed.:D

Bill

Since printing my express pass, my credit card number has changed. And, my printer has broken. Will I have a boarding problem if I manually change the cc number on my express pass? I assume not, as I am sure not everyone even shows up at boarding with an express pass. Still, it would be good to know, in th off-chance that there would be difficulties.

Bill

They are monster ships, but check out RCCL's Allure or Oasis of the Seas as they run year round from Fort Lauderdale.

Bill

They are going to want you off by about 9:30 at the latest. You will get a new SeaPass picture and card and then can reboard at your leisure. There is usually a special lunch with officers offered to B2B cruisers. All the details which are often specific to your cruise will be delivered to your room the day before your first cruise ends.

 

Enjoy!

Wow. Have never been offered this on our back-to-back's.

We ask for pitchers of ice water twice a day as my wife must drink lots for medicinal purposes (in fact we are just asking for a service that Celebrity automatically provided for years). I don't think one should have to buy water! I have never had a problem with the tap water in the past, but these days, the "cold" water is warm. Yuck.

Bill