Carried_Away

Sounds typical of Celebrity's shoreside service: Talk to two people and get two different answers. I'm glad you found the better answer for your situation.

My January 2024 cruise has a 10-night itinerary with 5 port days in a row. I'll probably try to persuade my friend to stay on the ship one or two of those days because I prefer resting and relaxing on the ship to going out and keeping busy with activities everywhere. We will be in the Caribbean, we've visited most of the ports before, and we don't love them all, so I won't mind missing one or two. If I were sailing in another part of the world where the ports were all new and interesting to me, five days in a row would feel like a lot to me.

It may seem easy to some who know Alaska well, or have created their own land tours before, to replace the land tour with DIY plans. But the OP said she had only 40 days' notice that her land tour was canceled. I had a little more than that, but less than two months' notice. After a year of looking forward to a trip and thinking all the logistics would be taken care of, that doesn't feel like a lot of time to research and make arrangements in an unfamiliar destination. And Celebrity expected canceled guests to decide what to do about their cruises in less than a week.

I'm sorry about your experience. Celebrity also canceled the land portion of my Alaska cruise tour, with less than two months' notice. I had been looking forward to this trip for a year, and I think Celebrity has handled the issue badly --- not just in canceling the tour with little notice but in the options it has provided guests who were canceled. From the U.S. East Coast, travel to Alaska is expensive and time-consuming compared to, say, Florida and the Caribbean, so we wanted to do and see as much as we could in one trip.

Does Royal Caribbean expect you to keep refilling the same cup for the entire cruise? Are you supposed to carry it around everywhere you go and wash it in your bathroom? No souvenir cups on Celebrity. You can have a fresh glass with every beverage.

My friend and I just booked a last-minute cruise to Bermuda this summer after Celebrity canceled our Alaska cruise tour. We are trying Aqua Class for the first time. Celebrity's website says Aqua Class includes "priority spa reservations" and "exclusive spa treatment package discounts." We usually book spa treatments in advance through the Cruise Planner to take advantage of off-peak discounts and get the times we prefer. If we wait until we're onboard, are the discounts likely to be better than what we can get in advance (up to 20% off through the cruise planner, or the 15% Elite discount)? Is there likely to be wide availability of appointment times for Aqua Class? Or are we better off booking in advance as we usually do?

This seems fair to me. I tip similarly for free drinks in casinos.

Is there a plan to resume the "revolution" of Celebrity's M-class and S-class ships? If so, when?

You can carry that much on, but you don't need to. The only things you need to carry on are valuables and essentials that you'll need within your first few hours on the ship. Unless you're planning to shower and drink two bottles of wine before dinner the first night, the shampoo, toiletries, and wine can all go in checked bags. Celebrity says it could take until 7 p.m. on embarkation day to receive checked bags, but mine have always been delivered hours before that.

My friend tested positive for covid halfway through our cruise on the Reflection two weeks ago. The medical staff said covid cases have decreased significantly, but my friend said the crew member who escorted her off the ship at the end of the cruise had a list of other sick people in isolation who had to be escorted off.

We didn't eat in the MDR at all this cruise except for the concierge lunch on the first day. Service at that lunch was extremely slow. The person seated at the table next to us actually left before getting her meal because it was taking so long. We had a lot of OBC and used some of it for five nights of specialty dinners. We ate the other two dinners and all other lunches and breakfasts in Oceanview.

I just returned from the Reflection's 1/22/23 sailing and thought I'd offer some experience and observations from the ship about the dining changes that have been discussed on this forum. My friend and I were in concierge class. (Many thanks to the person who posted here a while back about Celebrity offering no single supplement on this and other sailings. We had connecting rooms instead of sharing a room, and I loved having the extra space.) When we met our stateroom attendant the first day, he told us there was a new charge of $9.95 for room service orders except for breakfast. On the Celebrity app, the MDR menu listed the charge for extra lobsters. We had dinner a couple of nights in the Oceanview Cafe. Some stations were closed, and there may have been fewer offerings than I've seen on other cruises, but I'm not sure I would have noticed if I hadn't read about reduced dinner offerings on this forum. The pizza and pasta stations were open, as were the salad bar and the stir-fry station. The grill station offered fish, chicken, and pork chops. There was also a station offering a daily special. The dessert section was smaller than it was at lunch, but it still had a variety of options, and the ice cream bar was open. I am a very picky eater, but I had no complaints about the variety of offerings for dinner in Oceanview.

I just got off the Reflection. There was no shuttle from the gangway at Crown Bay. The walk was not long compared with other ports I've visited, but I appreciate that even a relatively short walk could be very difficult for someone with mobility issues. I would suggest contacting Celebrity's special needs department in advance to advise them of your wife's needs. Then I would recommend talking with the ship crew when you board. I would ask if it's possible for the ship to provide transportation from the gangway to the taxi area. They may be able to arrange a golf cart or something else to accommodate a guest with a disability. (Contacting the special needs department in advance is what Celebrity recommends for anyone with disability needs. But in my experience --- the friend I travel with has food allergies and needs a refrigerator and sharps container for medication --- the info doesn't always reach the appropriate people on the ship or result in anything helpful. Talking to the crew on the ship is what is actually helpful.)

Update for anyone interested: We ended up going to Emerald Beach and enjoyed it. We took a taxi from Crown Bay and back. The beach was very close to the port, so the ride was short. There were plenty of taxis waiting when we wanted to return to the ship. The beach and the water were lovely. There were plenty of people there, but it didn't feel too crowded. It was easy to find and loungers with a palapa. We settled on an open pair with a palapa, and then a staff member from the resort came around to collect the fee --- $10 per chair, no extra charge for the palapa. The water was calm and great for swimming. We spent a few hours enjoying the water and reading/napping on the beach. The only downside was, as was advised here, that there is a steep entry into the water, but we survived our stumbles and the resulting embarrassment. It looked like the entry might be less steep farther down the beach. Thanks again to everyone here who provided info and recommendations.

I don't know about a refund (my guess on that is no), but I think you have good chance of getting an earlier time, especially if you're willing to do 6 p.m. I just got off the Reflection yesterday. Before the cruise, I made a reservation for the Lawn Club Grill on the first night. The only time available through the Cruise Planner was 9:30. After I booked that, I kept checking to see if more times became available, and the Cruise Planner kept showing no availability. Once I got on the ship, I was able to change the time to 8 p.m. with no problem --- and the restaurant wasn't full when I had my dinner. I changed another specialty dining reservation on this cruise, and I've made and changed a lot of reservations on other ships. In my experience, with a little flexibility, you should be able to get something that works for you, outside of 7 or 7:30.

I don't think "priority" boarding means much anymore. With the system of check-in times implemented since covid and other changes in the check-in process in the last few years (getting Seapasses onboard instead of in the terminal, answering health questions on the app in advance), it seems most everyone is able to breeze right through check-in and boarding. But if I remember correctly, the last time that I completed check-in before the ship was ready for boarding, concierge class did have priority (along with suites and probably other groups) once the ship opened for boarding.

I used to roll my eyes and shake my head that Celebrity charged for gelato while offering ice cream for no extra charge in the buffet. But on my last cruise, my friend and I met and chatted with the executive pastry chef on the Summit, and one of the things we learned from him was that gelato is much more expensive to make than the other desserts.

We will be there on a Wednesday. Thanks for the tip!

Yes, we're in port until 8, but I'm not sure what, if anything, we can do after the beach. Thank you both for your responses. Now I'm leaning toward either Lindbergh on our own or maybe an excursion through the cruise line to Smith Bay. Usually I think it's easier and cheaper to go to a beach on our own rather than on an excursion, but this one might be worth it to us to go to a nice beach and have the tour set up chairs for us.

Thank you!

Thanks to all who post on this forum and provide great info on St. Thomas. I've read a number of threads about beaches and am still torn over which would be the best choice for my friend and me. Our ship will call on St. Thomas in January on day when five ships are scheduled to be in port. Ours will be the last ship to arrive, docking at Crown Bay around 12 or 12:30. We'd like to spend the afternoon at a beach. We were in St. Thomas once before and visited Magens Bay then, and we'd like to try a different beach this time. From my reading on this forum and elsewhere, I'm considering Sapphire Beach, Secret Harbor, or Lindbergh Bay --- but I'm also open to other suggestions. We are just two low-key adults, and we're looking for relaxation. We read and nap on the beach, and we like to swim and float in the water. We want a beach where we can rent lounge chairs, and ideally, I would like to be able to rent an umbrella or sit in natural shade. The nicer the chairs, the better, and we prefer a vendor that will set up the chairs and umbrella for us and take them down at the end of the day. We would like restroom facilities and at least an outdoor shower to rinse off when we leave --- again, the nicer the facilities, the better. Beverage and food service is a plus, but not essential to us. Reliable taxi service to take us back to the ship is essential. Which beach would you recommend for us?

I also don't like to spend a lot of money on dining, largely because I'm a picky eater and the food I like happens to be simple and inexpensive. So I was also very reluctant to do specialty dining at Celebrity's prices. But I used OBC to try Tuscan Grille on my first cruise, and I've looked forward to specialty dining on every cruise since. I find the food in the specialty restaurants to be noticeably better than the food in the MDR and the buffet. The bigger difference for me, though, is the dining experience. I find it so much nicer to be in a small, fairly quiet specialty restaurant than in the huge, loud, bustling MDR. I would encourage you to keep an open mind and try a specialty restaurant. Go when you can get a discount and/or when you have OBC to burn. Food is such a personal taste, and I think you should choose the restaurant that appeals most to you and your companion in menu and style. But since you asked, these are my thoughts on the restaurants you mentioned: Tuscan Grille: This is my favorite Celebrity specialty restaurant because I like the menu. I think the food is good, and better than the MDR, but not extraordinary. The friend I cruise with, who enjoys food and dining more than I do, doesn't love Tuscan, but she also doesn't object when I want to go twice per cruise or even three times on a long cruise. Lawn Club Grill: My friend and I really enjoyed this restaurant on the Silhouette, and I'm looking forward to a couple of dinners there when we're on the Reflection in a few weeks. I like the menu, and the food was good. I didn't think there was anything special about eating outside on the lawn, especially because there were heavy plastic curtains around the seating area to protect it from the wind. Murano: The consensus on this forum seems to be that Murano is outstanding, even among the other specialty restaurants. I've gone to Murano on the Silhouette and the Equinox because my friend really wanted to eat there, and I don't see why people rave about it so much. I know it's just a matter of personal taste that there is nothing on the menu I am willing to eat, but I haven't had anything close to the great service posters rave about here. On my first visit (on the Silhouette before the pandemic), the restaurant was busy and we had long waits for our inattentive server. The second time (on the Equinox in late 2021), the server was better but still quite busy. On both visits, no one seemed to care that I paid $50 to eat nothing but bread and gelato. I chose to do that so my friend could enjoy a menu that appeals to her, but after reading so much about how excellent the Murano servers are, I was disappointed that they did nothing for me.

I like to book a 75-minute massage on a cruise. The extra time is a treat compared with a 50-minute massage, and relatively speaking, the price for 75 minutes is often a better value than the price for 50 minutes. (Emphasis on relatively speaking. Spa prices are high on the ship, just as they are in resort spas on land --- but unlike resort spas on land, Celebrity's spas don't include use of the thermal suite with a service.) I agree with others that a 50-minute Swedish massage would be a great choice for someone who's new to massage. If you want to splurge a little more, 75 minutes is even better. Longer than that is likely more massage than you need and more money than you need to spend.

Thanks, everyone. I will tip the same as I do in land casinos.

Gamblers, what is the etiquette for tipping beverage servers in the casino? I always get a premium drink package and don't worry about tipping elsewhere on the ship (unless service is exceptional) because the gratuity is added to the package price. But I'm not sure what to do in the casino. Sometimes the servers take my card or ask for my room number as if they are charging my drinks to my beverage package, just like every other bar does. But sometimes they don't ask for my card or room number, and I guess that the drinks are comped by the casino. In that case, should I tip the servers as I would in a land casino that serves comped drinks? What do others do? To be clear, I am not trying to start a debate about tipping. I want to tip somewhere in the range of appropriately to generously, and I'm asking what is appropriate or expected in this situation.