GenerationX

I am so so sorry to hear about your husband. I hope that his treatment goes as smoothly as such things can go, and that you two are back out on the seas soon.

Welcome to cruise critic and welcome back to cruising! To find the drink menus: -Download the Celebrity app and log in with your Celebrity username and password. -I assume your Apex cruise is your closest cruise coming up, so the app should automatically load that cruise and give you a home page for it that looks like the screenshot below. -Go into Dining at the bottom left and then swipe over at the top of the screen to Bars & Lounges and it will show you all the bars on the ship. If you click into each bar, it will let you view the drink menu for that bar. Drink menus for all the restaurants are also included within the posted dining menu for the restaurant. Hope this helps!

Thank you so much for the suggestion! It looks like they are pretty much booked up other than one slot at 5pm and Jeremy refuses to eat dinner that early. I will definitely put this on the to do list for my next cruise that docks in PR and make my reservations much earlier. The menu does look amazing!

I realized after booking this cruise that we would be getting home just a little over 2 weeks before Gen Z and I turn around and leave for our mother-daughter spring break cruise on Solstice. Which means I have to do some planning for BOTH cruises this week before we fly to Miami. (I know, you all have so much sympathy for my strife.) Today Gen Z had the day off school so we did a little cruise wardrobe shopping then went for lunch. With all the recent trepidation about the lobster available at sea, I decided to stop by Red Lobster and get my fix in advance for the low, low “cruise fare” of $55 including premium beverage and gratuity. Problem solved. 😂 Speaking of eating, allow me to share a little about Jeremy and I’s food and fun plans on Apex. This booking came with a generous $800 in OBC so we decided to indulge in some excursions and specialty dining. Our ports on this cruise are San Juan, St. Thomas and Tortola. Jeremy and I have done San Juan many times, so we plan to stay onboard for that port and enjoy a quieter ship. For St. Thomas, after I came home from a solo cruise excursion there with tales of swimming with a wild sea turtle, Jeremy was very confident that he wanted to snorkel. So we’ve booked the Turbo Catamaran Snorkel and Beach escape. In Tortola, since Jeremy got to pick the St. Thomas excursion, I decided we’d do a trip I wanted to do on my last port stop and booked the last two spots on an excursion to the Virgin Gorda Baths. For onboard dining, we have specialty dinner reservations at Fine Cut and Raw on 5 and will be continuing my E Class first night dinner tradition of dining at my favorite: Eden. We also plan to try and book a lunch at Le Grand Bistro and one at Rooftop Grill. I also booked us a poolside cabana for the last sea day. Beyond that, I imagine our schedule will include significant amounts of poolside reading, gambling (primarily Jeremy) and wine events (primarily me). I’ve also noticed a few cooking demos in the schedule that I’m chomping at the bit to attend and I plan to drag Jeremy to at least a couple of the production shows so that he can experience the E class theatre. We’ll be flying into Miami on a redeye the day before the cruise and will be staying at a hotel in FLL in the Las Olas neighborhood. Only 2 more days at the office left then there’s just a spa trip and packing left between us and vacation!

Thank you! I kind of took a live and let live position on his habit for a long time because he’s a grown man after all and as you said we all have our vices. It really started to worry me though when I could tell his asthma was getting worse. We both got the flu this winter and Jeremy got much sicker than me and barely got out of bed for over a week. The doctors said the smoking was probably a factor in why he got so sick. I think it was the wake up call that he needed.

A quick caution/suggestion for anyone else who booked or made any updates to a Retreat, AQ class or Al package cruise in the last week or so: Check your guest invoice and cruise planner order history carefully and make sure that it reflects all of your included perks. Just after Valentine’s Day, I booked 2 sky suite cruises (this one and one in April) online directly through the Celebrity website. On the last screen before the final click before fully booking, for both cruises the screen showed that the cruises include the standard Retreat perks of premium wifi, premium beverage package and prepaid gratuities, plus OBC. However, for both cruises, when I received my booking confirmation guest invoice from Celebrity, the premium wifi, premium beverage package and prepaid gratuities didn’t show up on the invoice as they have in the past. Since I booked this cruise so close to sail date, I was able to immediately check Jeremy and I in on the app and view our express passes, and noticed that they also did not have the PALL on them for the premium beverage package inclusion. Doing some online searches revealed a few recent posts on other forums about Celebrity cruisers having issues with inclusions disappearing from their bookings and being told by shoreside that there was a “glitch” in the system last week. I emailed Celebrity customer service attaching my invoice and explaining my concern and asking for confirmation that all of the perks were included with my booking and, if so, requesting an updated invoice confirming it (in case I have to do battle with guest services on the ship). In less than 24 hours (yay!) I received what seems like a somewhat copy paste response (boo) from customer service stating that premium wifi, premium beverage package and prepaid gratuities are included in all Retreat bookings and that a corrected invoice was sent under separate cover. The good news is the auto-sent updated invoice for this cruise that I received shortly thereafter does reflect included wifi and beverage package. The bad news is: 1) the promo code for the wifi looks like it is the standard wifi, not premium; and 2) the prepaid gratuities are still not reflected as included. Additionally none of the perks show up in my order history in the cruise planner as they usually do, and our express passes still don’t reflect a beverage package. On my ever growing list of things to do today and tomorrow is to find time to put in a call to Celebrity and wait on hold (ugh) and see if everything can get straightened out before we sail. Worst case, I’ll be bringing a print out of the email stating that all perks should be included onboard with us and hopefully it can all be resolved with a meeting with the Retreat concierge as soon as we board (and hopefully a quick one so that we can get right to the more important and fun job of showing Jeremy around his first E class ship)!

Thank you Jim! Is the Apex cruise part of the semi-side by sides that you have coming up? If I remember correctly you have a few cruises coming up on Celebrity and I think Ponant that are not too far apart?

Looking forward to sailing with you! Hope to meet you guys onboard!

Thank you! I did look at MSC but this time Celebrity won the budget battle. We had somewhat specific departure and return dates to work with due to our work schedules and within our window, the only options on MSC were a 7 night on Seascape and a 4 night on Miraviglia. We really wanted to sail a full week, and Jeremy wasn’t crazy about sailing out of Orlando, so that dropped the 4 night out. The 7 night on Seascape only had royal suites available and those were priced at over twice the price of the SS on Apex.

Oh I’ll have to pop over and follow your Azamara live! I’ve been meaning to start reading up on the line as we start looking at trying a smaller higher end cruise line. Have a wonderful cruise!

Done! Such is the curse of chubby thumbs. Although spending over a month cruising does sound like a dream come true!

Well hello fellow cruisers! I didn’t expect to be back on a ship so soon after my Silhouette/Divina side by side last month. However, I was completely at a loss for what to give my better half for a Valentine’s Day gift this year (and to celebrate him FINALLY following doctor’s orders and doing away with his asthma-aggravating cigarette smoking 20-year habit 🙌🏾) and the pricing and work schedule stars aligned, so in 4 days the hubs and I will be flying to Florida for a last minute booking 7 night Caribbean cruise on Apex! Who’s up for another live review? A quick about us: I’m Charla and the man currently sitting on the couch going through the Celebrity app making a checklist of all the cocktails he plans to try onboard is Jeremy. We live about an hour south of St. Louis, MO on our small 12 acre hobby farm and enjoy hiking, kayaking, fishing and camping. We cruise for the warm weather, good food I don’t have to cook, and as evidenced above, drinks and fun. We’re both seasoned Celebrity cruisers and if my math is correct this cruise will bump us up into Elite Plus. I’ve lost track of how many cruises post-shutdown this will be for me, but this will only be Jeremy’s second, after our Bermuda cruise last July on Summit. This cruise will also be Jeremy’s first time sailing E-class and I’m anxious to see if he likes it as much as I do. For me, I’ve sailed on Edge and Beyond, but this will be my first time on Apex. Actually, after this cruise, I will have officially sailed on every non-Galapagos ship in the current Celebrity fleet! This cruise we’ll be sailing in a sky suite that I booked as a suite guarantee and received our cabin assignment for within 24 hours. As mentioned above, my last cruise just last month was a (fantastic) solo yacht club sailing on MSC Divina (immediately after stepping off the Silhouette), so it will be interesting coming back to Celebrity and to the Retreat experience on a newer ship. In the coming days I’ll do a a couple of posts with details on booking and our plans on shore and onboard. As always if there’s anything in particular inquiring minds would like to know about, please don’t hesitate to ask. Looking forward to taking everyone along on another cruising adventure!

I feel like this thread is basically turning into a roll call! So…see everyone for a meet up drink in the retreat lounge after embarkation lunch…around 2pm? 🤣

Oh this is so exciting! I look forward to meeting you too! Fair warning, I may get excessively excited at the sight of another map dress on embarkation day. I’ve been waiting for that moment for a while. 😂

We are in the same boat! I saw this thread just hours after surprising Jeremy with a Valentine’s Day gift of a last minute booking for a sailing on Apex at the end of next week. Between that, my long ago planned sailing next month with my daughter on Solstice, and now this cruise. I will be cruising 3 months in a row! It’s so extra, but hey, Celebrity made us an offer we can’t refuse. I hope you enjoy Seascape next month! I’d love to hear your thoughts on that one (during or afterwards) as I’m sailing on that ship in July…wow, this cruising addiction is something 🤦🏾‍♀️ I’ve gotten into a habit now of not booking anything in Celebrity retreat without price comparing MSC and this cruise was over $1500 cheaper than a yacht club suite on Seaside the same week, even paying solo supplement. This one and our Apex next week are the first time in months that I’ve seen Celebrity Retreat pricing beat out MSC yacht club pricing for my potential sail dates. Looking forward to meeting you in person!

And just like that, my “fun money” funds from my annual bonus and the number of 2023 paid vacation days I have at work have just dropped significantly. Thanks so much for the heads up!

I think this wins the best CC update ever award. I’m so very glad that all went smoothly and that you’re feeling better! A 12 night cruise with your favorite people sounds like a perfect celebration. Hopefully our cruising paths cross soon! Bon Voyage!

Thank you! Yes, we are also on the March 18 Solstice sailing! You’ve just reminded me that I should probably get on finding and joining the roll call. Please come say hi if you see Gen Z and I around the ship. If you’re still located in STL, perhaps we’ll even see each other at Lambert flying out. 😁

I apologize, I should have been more clear. The reviews I read were from people who found errors on their bill while still onboard, then onboard guest services told them that the charges had been corrected but that it would “take a few days” for the hold or charge for the erroneous amount that has already gone through to drop off their account statement but it never did. So for example, let’s say last night of cruise the onboard account showed a total due and charged to the credit card of $300. Customer goes to GS and says $100 of that was an error. GS agrees it was an error and corrects the account balance and claims they have “reversed” the $300 charge and are now running the card for the correct amount of $200 (and assures the passenger the $300 charge/hold will go away in a few days). The reviews I saw claimed that after days or weeks back at home, the $300 charge/hold was still on the credit card (so passenger has a total of $500 in MSC charges on their credit card statement). Some even reported that when they checked their credit card statements, a SECOND charge for the incorrect amount showed up a day or 2 later, rather than the first one being removed (so that’s $800 in MSC charges when only $200 is legit). Then they were stuck in limbo with MSC trying to get someone in customer service on the phone trying to get it all fixed. The cash account allowed me to avoid this particular issue, because in this scenario if I had $300 cash on my account to cover $200 in charges, identified an erroneous charge for $100 while still on the ship, and the ship removed the error, then they would just hand me my $100 back in cash right then and there. No credit card authorizations to be reversed that I’d have to leave the ship and just trust would actually fall off. You’re correct that ultimately the charge issues above could also be dealt with by filing a dispute with the credit card company. Personally my life is so busy right after I get back from a cruise, I wanted avoid having that extra item on my to do list if possible. I’ve also read horror stories of cruise lines and resorts banning people from future cruises/stays for filing credit card chargebacks (even when legitimate). Granted that was a few years ago that I saw them and I have to assume it’s a rare occurrence, but again, didn’t want to take that risk either if I didn’t have to. If I’d been on a longer cruise where I intended to make a decent amount of onboard purchases (spa, wine bottles, etc) I may have risked it and done a credit card account. However for 4 nights when all I planned to buy was a few souvenirs, plus had a beverage package and $100 in OBC, it just seemed easier to just put $100 of my extra tip money on my account in case I needed a little more “credit” and then get it back at the end.

Thank you for the info on Explora! I did a little digging on their website and it looks like the ship will be beautiful and they’ve hired some pretty impressive chefs to head the culinary program. The pricing doesn’t look a lot more expensive than some of what I’ve seen for E-class Retreat either. I think I’m too nervous about being one of the first to try a brand new cruise line, especially at that price point, to book for this year (I’m sure there’ll be kinks still being worked out in fall), but I’ll definitely keep an eye on the reports and reviews coming back and look closely at it for 2024.

Will do! Making myself a note on my calendar now.

Hi guys! I’m back for my better late than never wrap up post! I’m actually glad I waited a bit to write this one because it gave me a bit more time to think about my final comparison thoughts on Celebrity vs. MSC. Before I give the run down, it wouldn’t be a lawyer’s review without a few disclaimers, so here we go with the caveats: -First, a reminder that these were two 4-night cruises on each line’s older ships. Fellow cruise enthusiasts know just how much passenger demographic, atmosphere, etc. can vary for longer sailings vs shorter ones. Same variance when sailing on the “latest and greatest” ships vs. the “well-seasoned ladies of the seas” if you will. I’d imagine sailings in other parts of the world may be very different as well. -As mentioned previously, I heard repeatedly that Divina is the top of the fleet when it comes to MSC’s yacht club service experience and I was on a sailing where yacht club was at about 70% of capacity (apparently unlike Celebrity, MSC does not automatically sell out the yacht club with move up bids as sail date approaches). The experience on newer/bigger ships and fuller sailings may vary. -I think it’s worth flagging that the crew experience level may also have an effect. On Silhouette, I got the impression that many crew members, while all friendly and hard working as I’ve come to expect from Celebrity, were on their first contract. Whereas, much of the crew at least in yacht club on Divina seemed to be at least a couple of contracts in and many (including Captain Pugh and the yacht club concierge and yacht club manager) were soon going to be wrapping up contracts that had been extended multiple times and heading home for time off before reassignment for Med season. -As I thought back on the difference between my 2 afternoons in the $500 cabanas at Ocean Cay, it reminded me of how much the quality of the butler also has to do with the quality of the premium experience. The cabana butler we had on day 1 certainly did his job and wasn’t rude or anything, but didn’t leave me thinking I’d be willing to invest $500 for a cabana experience. Our above and beyond butler experience on day 2 has me already booked for a cabana for my next MSC cruise (future cruise plans report at the end of this post, stay tuned). My stateroom butler on Silhouette was good and probably one of the better ones I’ve had since restart. However my butler on Divina was one of the best I’ve ever had on any cruise and it took me back to the treatment we had on Jeremy and I’s first time in a suite on Silhouette 5 years ago where our butler Glenn (see? I even still remember his name) got us hooked on the Retreat experience. Ok, with those disclaimers, here’s where the Celebrity vs. MSC battle shakes out for me as of now… CELEBRITY FOR THE WIN: -I’ve always found Celebrity’s non-suite experience to be excellent and I would never hesitate to sail a Celebrity ship in a lower stateroom class if Retreat wasn’t in my budget. On the other hand, I don’t know that I would sail MSC outside of the yacht club (though right now yacht club prices are around Celebrity’s AQ class prices for comparable ships and itineraries, so maybe less of an issue). -Celebrity seems to offer a better number and variety of shore excursions and better pricing, especially when you catch an excursion sale. -I never thought I’d be praising Celebrity for its technology and accounting systems, but here I am. The MSC website, cruise planner, online check in systems, etc. are just down right confusing till you learn the ropes. And even then, they experience glitches even more frequently than Celebrity. For example, I received emails with my cruise documents (boarding pass, luggage tags, etc.) at least 7 times and each time it had a different assigned boarding time. 🤦🏾‍♀️ -The MSC onboard billing/charge system is also somewhat frustrating. ALLEGEDLY, just like Celebrity you can link a credit card to your onboard account during online check in pre-cruise, but I never got this to work and based on the MSC boards that’s a common occurrence. When it doesn’t work, you have to wait till you’re onboard and go to a kiosk to link a card to your account or add cash to it. I ended up doing a cash account due to the number of reviews I saw while researching my online check in issue about erroneous credit card charges and multiple charges/holds that stayed on cards for months on end. (PRO TIP: If you plan to do a cash account, get cash BEFORE you get onboard because apparently there are NO ATM’s on MSC ships.) Relatedly, on the older ships there is no way to check the balance and charges on your account unless you go to the yacht club concierge (or guest services when not in yacht club) and get a print out. The MSC app doesn’t work on the older ships and there is no account info on the stateroom TV like Celebrity. -While MSC’s casino was bigger and had many more table and slot options, it was far busier and louder when open than I’ve ever seen a Celebrity casino and smoking is allowed in some sections. I didn’t think the smoke was bad in nonsmoking areas. But my favorite Marilyn Monroe slot machine was right next to a gentleman immersed in a chain smoking cloud so I didn’t get to partake. -The sommelier and wine activities program on Celebrity (when wine supply chain cooperates) is far better. I had some good wines brought by my servers, but I don’t think I ever even met a sommelier on Divina. The only wine tasting “event” on Divina was simply a special in the pizza and wine bar one afternoon where you could buy a flight of wines for a set price. Not a full formal tasting event. -I think my feelings on the ship design style and decor are well documented, so I won’t dwell again here. But let’s just say when I got to the admirals club at MIA after getting off Divina I had never been so happy to see white and beige before. Glorious, beautiful, boring, unassuming white and beige! MSC FOR THE WIN: -The poolside breakfast and lunch in yacht club and yacht club lunch restaurant options being open on port days was so nice. So is the option for formal high tea. I’m told on longer sailings there’s even a seafood extravaganza party poolside in yacht club one day of the cruise. -The yacht club lounge and yacht club pool areas are much bigger and less crowded than the Retreat, even compared to E class ships (NOTE: I haven’t been in retreat on Beyond yet where I understand these spaces are bigger than other E class ships). I also liked the nightly live music schedule in yacht club, which seems to only happen sporadically in the retreat lounge. -Two words: Private Island. It was so nice to be able to lie on a beach and not have to worry about taking a bus anywhere or beach vendors constantly interrupting my reading. Not to mention having my beach drinks covered by the beverage package and the delicious yacht club lunch restaurant. -As noted throughout my review, the yacht club just seems to include a few more amenities than the retreat, and you don’t have as much of the “caste within a caste” 😂 of having to purchase a higher level suite to get them. For example, the personal butler escorts onboard, included mini bar, butler assistance in the terminal at disembarkation, butler escorts to meals/shows…I could go on. -I will also say it seemed like the butlers on MSC were almost like the genies on RC. Kevin seemed to pop up wherever I was to randomly do stuff for me. I was beginning to wonder if he put an AirTag and mic in my Below Deck tote bag. The second day at Ocean Cay, as I was about to board a golf cart back to the ship, who should appear to offer me a hand into the cart and ask if I’d like a water or cold towel for the (2 minute) ride back to the ship? Kevin (who I barely recognized in his much more casual beach khaki uniform). One evening, as I was sipping champagne and watching sunset before dinner in a hot tub on the deserted yacht club pool deck, who comes walking up in tux with a tray with a fresh cocktail for me in hand (and a gentle reminder about approaching dinner time and offer to escort me there once dressed and ready)? Kevin. -The yacht club concierges also seem to have some capabilities that the Retreat concierges don’t. For example, on Celebrity my experience had been that the Retreat hosts can’t help with anything involving cash transactions. On the (rare) occasions when I’ve been lucky in the casino, I prefer to put my cash winnings on my onboard account for the rest of the cruise rather than increasing the balance in my safe or risking forgetting to cash in a slip later. I’ve always had to go to guest services and stand in the line to put the cash on my account and get the refund of any negative balance at the end of the cruise. On MSC, this can all be done by the concierge in the lounge. One day when I was reading in a lounge area by the desk, I overheard the concierge assisting some passengers who’d had their flight home cancelled and rebooked to the next day after the cruise with making a hotel reservation in Miami. I don’t think I’ve seen retreat concierges get involved beyond the end of the cruise. So, where does all this leave me? Am I prepared to jump ship (see what I did there?) and give up Celebrity for MSC? For this lady, I think the answer is no for now and the jury is still out. As my mom oh so wisely told me when I started dating: “just remember, anyone can manage to charm you for a dinner or two, give it time and pay close attention.” I did find enough that I like, that I definitely want to try out a newer MSC ship on a longer sailing and see how the pros and cons shake out. Which brings me to future cruise plans! As of now, my next cruise will be in mid-March when Gen Z and I will spend her spring break week on Solstice sailing the Mexican Riviera out of LA. Then, because I of course need the most important opinion in the family on the subject, Gen Z will get HER first taste of MSC in early July when we’ll take a summer, mommy-daughter, 7-night Caribbean cruise on MSC’s Seascape (one of the aforementioned bigger, new ships)! The live review for that one will of course be on the MSC board, so if any of my Celebrity friends are interested, please save the date and head over and check it out probably starting around 7/6 or 7/7. Still TBD is what we’ll be booking for the Fall to celebrate Jeremy’s big 40th birthday at sea. Thank you so much again to everyone who came along on these cruises and shared their comments and info. Feel free to still jump in with any other questions or comments folks may have! I’ll talk to you all next month. Countdown to Solstice is on!

Oh thank you so much for your kind words! I’m so glad I was able to bring some entertainment while you haven’t been able to cruise. I also get so much out of the reviews others post when I’m stuck home planning and saving for my next trip. Confession: I actually start to get a bit antsy when Celebrity live reviews are wrapping up and no one has started new ones for cruises coming up! A few of my friends who follow my reviews and social media posts have actually suggested that I start writing a true blog or book. I’ve always pushed back because honestly don’t think my life is really enough to be a very exciting read, beyond maybe those who share my very niche intense interest in cruising, cooking, designer accessories and small farm life. Which also seems like a super eclectic plot line. I feel like “The Girl in the Map Dress: A Woman of Color’s True Tales from the Sample Sales, Open Seas, America’s Boardrooms and the Missouri Countryside” might be tough book to segment and market for even the best publisher. 😂

@jerseygirl3 first and foremost, just checking on you! I hope all went well with your surgery and that you are recovering well. I’m sure you’re focused on much more important things than CC right now, but please do drop a note whenever you do have time to let us know how you are doing. I’ve been praying very hard for a quick recovery for you and for the 4 of us to be laughing and sipping wine at the sunset bar soon without a care in the world beyond what to order for the next bottle!

So sorry I just caught your question! Yes, I used the ship wifi for all posting while I was onboard. I used the wifi package that comes free with yacht club. I wonder if it’s an issue that got fixed between cruises? Or I wonder if my thread being on the Celebrity board (since I started on that ship) rather than the MSC board had anything to do with it? If I recall correctly though, I could still view and post on the MSC boards while I was onboard.