phoenix_dream

I have sailed out of FLL dozens of times on Celebrity and never saw an option to stay on the ship past the standard all disembarkation time of around 9 am.

Can't speak to all the issues but on our last trip on Apex we had quite a bit of creaking as well. It was coming from the walls. Didn't have that on our first sailing, but this time we did. It wasn't really loud necessarily but it was pretty annoying. Both times were in a Sky Suite as I must have a balcony.

We love Tuscan Grille. Eat there at least once a trip no matter what restaurant is our main. In fact, there are often days where nothing in Luminae appeals to me. Just FYI, on M class ships (and S class ships) you can also order off the main dining room menu when eating in Luminae as the restaurants are together. Sometimes what is on the MDR menu appeals to me more than the Luminae menu which often is a bit too 'fancy' for me. We think Tuscan has very good pastas, a great filet mignon, better salad and appetizer selections than Luminae and their pistachio creme Brule is great!

It is warm, has metal bench type things you can relax on in the water, and it has jets kind of like a jacuzzi only softer.

Exactly, that is the key point. I always answer that you can catch early flights in FLL if all goes well, but if you book early you definitely need a backup plan. These things can and do happen - albeit not really often. But these days flights are often booked 100% full. So if you miss an early flight your odds of getting on the next one are not necessarily all that great either, and if you are lucky enough to land a spot it's probably in the back of the plane in a middle seat. You could also end up needing to stay overnight in the port city (or longer, depending). People are saying you can't necessarily plan for such a rare occurrence. There is some truth to that. At the same time, over the years my disembarkation has been delayed several times. Not ever this late, but a couple of times disembarkation didn't start until 9:30. Try catching a 9:30 flight then! I don't take pleasure in berating people who booked early flights. Their risk; their choice. I do get aggravated, however, at those who tell people for sure they can catch that 9:00 or 9:30 flight. The truth is, not always. But that's just one of the many things I find people giving bad information about on these boards. Not intentionally I presume, but many times people report an experience they had and announce it as gospel. A number of things differ by ship, by sailing, by class of ship, etc.. I wish people would consider that when answering questions. Ok, I'm done ranting. Have a nice day all!

Your dilemma is a good lesson for others traveling together. If dining together and/or hanging out in Retreat areas is important to you, don’t bid on upgrades. There are no guarantees both will be accepted, even if equal $$. You’ve had some advice on how to manage this so I’m sure you’ll work things out. And keep checking, there may be a last minute cancel but they’d likely have to pay a higher rate than the move up one. Best of luck to you.

We will always choose a hump cabin versus any other. So what if the next balcony can see part of your balcony. It’s not like they’re going to be standing at the railing staring at you. Those cabins are ideal, and the most sought after. Consider yourself lucky to obtain one. Enjoy.

Exactly! I think it's very inconsiderate to be putting luggage out at midnight. If you can't get it out by the required time or there abouts, then do walk-off. Or keep just one suitcase inside and walk that one off - maybe even a tote bag.

It's extremely rare (albeit not impossible) that a suite passenger would be turned away in Blu, especially in higher level suites. And I've never needed to set up anything in advance. It's polite to do so, but not necessary.

As others have said, this is really not an option on Celebrity. If you are in a suite they will usually take a few extra steps for you - like hanging your shirts rather than stuffing them into a bag. The higher your suite level, the more likely they will try to accommodate you. In a high level suite maybe, just maybe, you could get a hang dry but the cold water - forget it. I've read the occasional post where people claims they write cold water on their laundry slip and that's what it's washed in, but having seen the laundry rooms onboard I think they are believing what they want to believe.

Did a recent B2B on Eclipse. We were in the Retreat. Overall, the only diminishing in service I felt was the lack of a dedicated butler. Don't want to move this thread in that direction as its been discussed ad nauseum so please don't take it there. Anyway, while service was still very good I did feel like the staff was feeling overwhelmed and overworked. Don't get me wrong - no one complained about it to me. But I am particularly good at reading body language and I always feel a strong connection to the staff, and I definitely felt they were very stressed out with the excess workload. Not sure how long they can hold out under these circumstances.

Customs in Long Beach goes super fast regardless even if you had to do it there. In normal circumstances, if you walk off you should be able to be off by 8:15. I confess I am not a fan of the walk-off situation. Too many people (IMHO) walk off because for some reason they think it's more convenient, and it blocks up all the elevators for people trying to go to breakfast, as well as makes it much harder for those who actually need it to catch early flights. When they first initiated it (years ago - I'm dating myself) you needed to prove an early flight to be allowed to do it. Now 3/4 of the ship seems to do it and disembarkation day is a madhouse. I've sailed on Celebrity 76 times, always put my luggage out the night before, and never had an issue getting it as quick as I needed it. Just venting here - not meaning to take out my frustration on you.

No, AQ and Concierge no longer have priority embarkation. That went away after the Covid shutdown.

I wish you luck in making that happen! Not sure what current timelines are but they were running 4 months plus, even when paying more for a rushed one. Hopefully that’s improved!

Your experience is very different than mine. On non-E class ships I have never had an issue asking for a MDR item and I've sailed in AQ and eaten in Blu many, many times. I try not to ask for extras very often because of the extra work for the waiter, but if I can't find anything on the Blu menu I like it has never been an issue. I don't want to just go to the MDR to eat. One reason (actually the main reason) I choose Aqua Class is for the dining experience - better, more individualized service, restaurant more intimate and so on.

Some will say no, but I will say yes, or at least maybe. We did a Move Up bid, and didn't get it (over minimum, but under midpoint) only to find out that there was one empty cabin of that category still available when we got the declination notice. Were they planning to move someone else up into that category who bid more? I guess that's possible. But the timing seemed suspicious to me.

Used to be, back in formal days. I distinctly remember my son being refused admission because after dinner he changed into gym shoes! Thank goodness things have loosened up ( although too much IMHO but that’s a discussion for another thread).

I know the pool was free last time we visited. Is the new lazy river free too? Do they provide the floats or do you need to bring your own?

I feel the same. Already paying a huge surcharge in suite pricing and now they want to sell some of the perks as stand-alone after already taking away the dedicated butler I PAID for when I booked? Frustrating and seems so low class to me. I feel like I’m sailing with a Kmart blue light special.

All ABC cruises eventually book up well. Some schools/colleges start spring break in March. Also the prices for pre-cruise hotels can be even higher in March. I suspect that is why the March one has yet to sell out.

I've cruised in January many, many times. The islands are always nice and warm - in fact, much more comfortable than later months but definitely warm enough for beach time. Leaving from Florida (and in Florida) may be cool (or even cold) but once you get south January is the perfect month IMHO

Very much disagree with you. Summit is a great ship - yes, smaller, but was revolutionized and looks very nice. What some call small, others call comfortably sized. As to age, yes, Celebrity tends to trend older than Royal, But "OOOLLDD clientele"? Only on the longer cruises. These days there are a lot of younger people sailing Celebrity ships thanks to their marketing scheme. Kind of an insulting comment at that. Heaven forbid you have to spend time cruising with OOOLLDD people.

Interesting no one else has reported getting the survey. Wonder if the ones who got one have sailed with kids recently? Anyway, my opinion is that except for cold or otherwise inclement weather when a designated family time is reasonable, the solarium should remain adults only. And for that matter, during the family time it should be required that parents be present (I know, even harder to control).

We sailed her for 21 days a year and a half or so ago and really enjoyed our experience. We were in the Retreat so that could make a difference. It was also before any MDR dining changes were made so can't speak to that. She was overall in good shape - not revolutionized but public areas had been cleaned up quite a bit. Our one and only complaint revolves around the television if that matters to you. It was small, old, and did not have the usual automation features of on demand movies, online account, etc.. Our cabin had not been updated with new furniture or anything, but to us that didn't matter.

It does seem like Celebrity is trying to do some good things for their loyal customers after making so many of them (us) angry because of all the cutbacks. This and the opening of the Retreat Lounge for Zenith are positive steps for us as well as good PR for Celebrity. They get a lot by doing this - they make their loyal passengers a bit happier, and it costs them barely a cent. I hope they continue looking at ways to improve things.