Carried_Away

She said in one of her recent videos that she was asked to extend her contract for a few weeks.

I think you have a good chance of getting the reservation, especially since you're willing to be flexible on time. The app doesn't show all availability. When I've booked specialty dining packages, I haven't had difficulty making reservations on the ship on embarkation day. A number of times, I've also been able to change reservations well into a cruise. My experience is that the specialty restaurant managers try to be as accommodating as possible. Even when their first response is that they're fully booked, they tend to find a way to find a way to make something happen, at least in my experience. I'm assuming you'll have priority as a suite guest. I'm sure the Retreat concierge can help with a reservation, but if the concierge is typically busy on embarkation day, you can go to any specialty restaurant to make a reservation or find the crew taking reservations in other locations. There are usually tables for specialty reservations outside of Oceanview and sometimes in other places around the ship on embarkation day.

Thank you all. Your replies are very helpful.

I did the mixology class at the World Class Bar on one of the S-class ships. The last drink we made was a smoked Zacapa, and it was very nice. I think it's the Zacapa Above the Clouds on the World Class Bar menu. As others have pointed out, it's several dollars above the premium limit, but I recommend it based on your tastes for dark liquor and smoked drinks.

I'm cruising to Alaska for the first time at the end of May and beginning of June. My friend and I are doing a B2B that will take us from Vancouver to Seward and back to Vancouver. I've read the advice on this forum to dress in layers, and I've seen a number of posts in which people talk about wearing hats and gloves. I've also looked at the weather averages and norms for southeastern Alaska in May and June. For example, I see that average high temperatures in Juneau at that time of year are in the upper 50s or low 60s and average lows are in the 40s. I understand that the weather can vary significantly, and I'll check the forecast close to my trip. But assuming the weather is average or normal this year, would you recommend bringing gloves, a hat, and a warm winter coat? I would not wear any of those items when temperatures are in the 50s or 60s at home. Even in the 40s, I wouldn't wear my warmest coat, gloves, or a hat unless I was spending a long time outside. Does wind or proximity to glaciers or something else I'm not thinking of make the weather feel a lot colder on Alaska cruises? For perspective, I'm from Philadelphia, and the friend I'm cruising with is from New England. I'm used to daytime highs in the 40s or colder all winter, and we both prefer cold to heat. Assuming average weather is forecast for our trip, I'm thinking of packing jeans and midweight pants, long- and short-sleeved knit shirts, two or three fleeces or sweaters for layering, and a lightweight waterproof jacket. Do those of you from similar climates think I need warmer items?

I'd go with Aqua because of the extra space in the rooms and Blu. The open partitions, the extra CC points, and the Persian Garden access would be bonuses. The Summit is a sentimental favorite for me, but I don't like how few specialty restaurants it has. Blu helps to make up for that by offering more variety (you can order from the MDR menu as well as the Blu menu), a nicer ambience than the MDR, and excellent service.

In the last several days, I've seen the Elite discount on drink packages in my cruise planner sometimes, and other times I've seen the regular pre-sailing discount. The first time I tried buying the non-alcoholic beverage package that was shown with the Elite discount, my purchase didn't go through; the message I got was that the item wasn't available. The second time I tried the same purchase, the discount reverted to the usual 10% when I tried to check out. I assume I'll be spending a long time waiting on the phone to buy the beverage package.

When my friend and I were on the Summit in last summer, we asked for the MDR menu along with the Blu menu each night, and we ordered from the MDR menu several times. We're looking forward to our B2B on the Summit to Alaska this year. The ship is a sentimental favorite for us.

I really like St. Kitts, and it's my friend's favorite port. I also like St. Thomas. Puerto Plata is on the itinerary for a cruise I have booked in 2025, but I haven't been there yet. I'm thinking it might be a ship day for me.

Almost nothing seems out of place to me on Celebrity's "evening chic" nights. Not many people wear tuxes and evening gowns, but a few do. I see a wide range of styles and formality, and in my view, it all fits. Wear what you like.

Food is so subjective, but I like Tuscan Grille and always have at least one dinner there when I'm on an M- or S-class ship. As with every other specialty restaurant I've dined in, the food and service range from fine to excellent depending on the night. I see quite a few others recommend Murano instead of Tuscan, and to the point that food is subjective and personal, I disagree. There's nothing on the Murano menu that I want to eat. But the friend I cruise with does like that type of food, so I've gone with her to dinner in Murano once each cruise we've done on an S-class ship. The service and ambience haven't impressed me, and I can't figure out why so many people say Murano is so much better than the other specialty restaurants. I recommend looking at the menus on the app as Jim suggested and going to the restaurant with the menu that appeals to you the most.

I was also on the January 19 sailing. It was Captain Kate's first cruise back from vacation, and she said she would be working until mid-April.

I've gotten card holders and tote bags on previous Celebrity cruises, but I didn't get either on the Beyond in January, I am Elite and was staying in Concierge Class.

I cruise with a friend and was able to combine our casino offers for a cruise we just booked. I don't know what the offer codes were. The Blue Chip phone agents were relatively helpful and competent, compared the usual Celebrity shoreside customer service.

I was on the Beyond a few weeks ago in a midship Concierge IV. I heard quite a few thumps and bangs in the room, but it didn’t bother me. It was just something to talk about.

I'm not exactly new to Celebrity, but I'm in the age bracket you asked for (early 40s). I've taken eight cruises, all on Celebrity, since 2017, and I have three more booked. I always enjoy my cruise experience. I've sailed on M-, S-, and E-class ships and liked them all. I like the ambiance on Celebrity, fairly quiet and upscale. In many ways, I feel like the product is a good fit for me. I really like the crew on Celebrity, who provide great hospitality. These are the reasons I keep coming back to Celebrity. I think Celebrity's shoreside operations are awful and very frustrating to deal with. Several times I've vowed to at least try another cruise line, if not swear off Celebrity entirely, after some experience with shoreside customer service. I'm also annoyed at changes Celebrity has made in the last few years. For example, requiring everyone in a cabin to have the same beverage package, removing tips from the "always included"/"all included," and raising a lot of drink prices above the premium package limit reduce the value for me and make Celebrity less of a good fit for me. The nickel-and-diming is increasing and is unappealing. Although I've gotten good deals on cruises with Celebrity, other times I've found prices to be quite high. I'd love to try a suite, especially since Celebrity is emphasizing the suite experience so much with the E-class ships, but I find that even the lowest-priced suites are so much more expensive than Concierge/Aqua that I can't justify the suite. I cruise with a friend, who also generally likes the Celebrity experience but thinks the activities and entertainment are targeted toward an older demographic than us.

The OP says in #11 that they are not asking for a discount. They are just asking for the premium beverage package to be replaced with a package that covers premium nonalcoholic drinks but doesn’t include alcohol — which Celebrity’s website says is possible. Avoiding access to alcohol — by, say, not having a beverage package that allows unlimited alcoholic drinks at any bar — is a reasonable step for someone in recovery to take to support their sobriety.

I thought the OP was asking if the premium package could be downgraded to a nonalcoholic package as a safeguard since they are in recovery — for the same reason someone in recovery might not want alcohol in their room’s minibar. I didn’t read it as asking for a price discount, which I agree is very unlikely. Apologies to the OP if I misunderstood.

No. That's one of the downsides of the M-class ships.

Congratulations on your recovery. Celebrity's fine print and FAQs say that people who are in recovery or have medical reasons for not being able to drink can call to have their premium beverage packages switched to the nonalcoholic package --- which includes the premium water and the drinks at Cafe al Bacio.

I haven't been on the Millie, but the Summit (also a "Revolutionized" M-class ship) is the ship I've sailed on the most. There are some features of the newer ships that I miss on the Summit, but there are also features of the Summit that I prefer to S- and E-class ships. Storage is actually one of the things I prefer on the Summit (I've only sailed in Concierge and Aqua classes, not suites). The Summit is actually my friend's favorite Celebrity ship. Hopefully you'll enjoy its sister Millie.

It feels especially disappointing to hear about these incidents because my experience on Celebrity (never in the Retreat) is that the employees are so incredibly polite. I generally try to be polite in all aspects of my life, but on a cruise ship, I feel like I need to up my manners game to meet the level of respect and hospitality I am treated with.

When my friend had covid on the Reflection a year ago, Paxlovid was not available on the ship. The doctor gave her a prescription for it at her request, but the pharmacy we found in Ft. Lauderdale upon disembarkation wouldn't fill the prescription because it didn't include the information the pharmacy required for prescribers (primarily U.S. license numbers, which I assume the ship doctor didn't have). I am just off the Beyond, and midway through the cruise, I got what I believe is a cold. The symptoms I had are also symptoms of covid, though, so I went to the medical center and asked to be tested for covid. The staff in the medical center said that if they tested me for covid and I was negative, I would have to pay $230 for medical services -- even though the only service I wanted was the test so I would know whether I had to isolate to avoid exposing others to covid. I think this policy makes very clear that Celebrity doesn't really want to know if people have covid on the ship. If they wanted to actively prevent the spread of covid, they would provide free testing for anyone with symptoms, just as they provide free evaluation and treatment of gastrointestinal illnesses.

While on the Beyond last week, I asked the casino host about how long my current amethyst status would last and how long the next earning period would be. She said that the current period was recently extended to July 31, 2024 (also posted here: https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/casino/blue-chip-club), but that this will be the final extension. She said the Blue Chip program is changing this year, but she hadn't heard any details about the changes yet.

Free drinks are offered to all players, regardless of level in the Captain's Club or the Blue Chip Club. Although the casino bar doesn't use the menu from the Martini Bar, you can order martinis and common martini variations (for example, I usually drink cosmopolitans and lemon drop martinis; I imagine an apple martini or a chocolate martini would be no problem). I find the drink service at the casino table games to be consistently excellent. The glasses might be smaller that those at the Martini Bar (or, if you treat your servers well, they might not be so small), but I never go thirsty.