kwokpot

Neither, it's an incomplete statement. I was comparing the prices for two from Civitavecchia to FCO on a private transfer (Romecabs charges 160 Euros or $173) or the ship's transfer which is about $144/2 for a price differential of $30 or $15/pp, which TO ME is worth taking a private transfer.

Cafe Al Bacio coffes and teas are included in the Classic Beverage package.

In the past I used to only stay in Miami Beach/South Beach but recently been staying in the Brickell area. Before the Brickell mall was built there wasn't much reason to stay there but now there's so many restaurants,shops,supermarkets and new hotels are opening up on every block!

If you buy a whole cruise thermal pass you have unlimited visits for the whole time the thermal suite is open. No appointments are needed.

Exactly. I don't understand why people ask for advice without giving specifics. Price range? How many nights? Do want beachfront? How many people? Any kids? Do you need breakfast included?

I would just call the casino department ask. 866-299-5859

What are you implying? There's NO complimentary coffee or tea at Cafe Al Bacio in any of the three Celebrity ship classes. That's not how Al Bacio is setup. If you didn't pay for a beverage then you HAD TO HAVE a Beverage Package, OR you are Elite+ or above, since that's a benefit for Elite+ and above members.

Tea selection aboard the Beyond at the buffet (Therefore complementary) this past October:

I'm following closely and have asked questions about your restaurant choices since my brother and sister in laws are doing a somewhat similar land tour next month so I'm passing on all your great information!

I can't remember if you've ever done a Virgin Cruise. Their baked goods and sweets bests anything Celebrity,Royal, NCL,Carnival,MSC,Princess puts out. They are specialty bakery quality and are included in the base fare, no desserts are extra. Here are some photos. And yes, they all TASTE as good as they look.

Wasn't that just an additional premium burger selection in addition to the complementary offerings?

I'm curious to where you're seeing the confusion? I went on to Celebrity's website and for the Beyond The Mast Grill is listed under complimentary Dining on their website. Where are you seeing otherwise?

First of all thank you for your concise but informative review. With regards to Port to airport transfers I just want to mention that there lower cost options than what you paid. There are private transfer companies that offer shared transfers for less than what the ship charges, and even a private transfer for two is only about $172 so less than $30 for two. If your traveling group is more than two persons than a private shuttle would actually be CHEAPER than taking the ship's transfer service (Ex. for 4 people private transfer is $194 vs $288 for ship's shared service). I'm just trying to further your take on a frugal cruise experience for other readers of your thread.

Somewhat off topic but Celebrity has been downgrading the food quality even before the pandemic. For me the overhaul of the food offerings at the Spa Cafe is the most tragic and we eat there much less than say ten years ago. We used to LOVE to have lunch there when they offered the simply grilled-to-order salmon or chicken. Even when they added the pork lettuce wraps they were hot,flavorful and tasty. Now there's nothing there that's hot to eat for lunch. Very sad.

Here is a photo of how the Brownies and cookies USED TO BE in the Eden Cafe. There was this crisp upper layer and the consistency was part cake-like. When we were on the Beyond in October the recipe had indeed been changed. Whatsmore for the first time they had brownies at Cafe Al Bacio and they were the same ones as in the Eden Cafe. They never used to serve brownies at Al Bacio, it was exclusive to Eden Cafe.

Our July port stop in Cobh is a short 11-5, so all aboard 4:30. Would you recommend we just stay in Cobh and see Spike Island and the town? Or venture into Cork? For reference we do enjoy just walking around City Centers looking and browsing, and normally we'll leave the ship around 10-10:30 and come back around 3:30-4, but our port stop is so short here!

Strange that you would put many food choices as a con. So if there were only the MDR, buffet and steakhouse then that's a pro?

YouTube is a great resource. Just go to youtube and type in THE SHIPS NAME, and Concierge Class Cabin Review

I've sailed the sister ship Pride in Europe last year and have also sailed Epic in Europe albeit awhile ago. I think it all boils down to how much is the savings and how much the ship experience is important to you. The Epic is hands down better than the Carnivals Spirit Class in every which way. The Epic cabins are nicer DESPITE the funky bathroom. Food is better on NCL and the Epic has so much more specialty restaurants. IF you were to do the Spirit you would signup for yourtime dining. You use the Carnival phone app to make nightly reservations. People seem to hate the Epic but I've been on her at least three times and although she's an awkward looking ship from the outside I love the decor of the ship inside. The only major issue with the Epic is there's not many spacious public walkways so at night the ship can feel crowded since you kinda walk through each venue to get to someplace else. You said the cost is much lower, so that definitely makes it a harder decision. One thing about Carnival in Europe is unless you take one of the ship's tours they don't provide the proper Port stop facilities. In other words they cheap out on having enough shuttle buses to get people to and from the ship to the port entrance. Sometimes they don't provide any kinda shuttle. I was on the Carnival Pride last May/June for 3 cruises B2B, a total of 31 days, and it was a disappointing shipp experience. Having said that if the cost differential is large you'll have to look at the ship as a floating hotel and disregard the lesser onboard experience. But food, nightlife, bars, SPA (The Thermal suite on the Epic is great!) is FAR SUPERIOR on the Epic to the Legend.

In the future it would help if you put the ship's name first, It's actually more important than the room number.

How was this dinner compared to the previous night's restaurant?

TBH both Virgin cruises we took were casino comped. Just be aware their casinos are a quarter to half the size of a standard Carnival cruiseship casino but still a fun time. I'll leave you with some photos of their wonderful pastries and sweets that bests even Celebrity and are speciality bakery quality, all included in your cruisefare!

Agreed. VIRGIN is the one to watch. I've done two Virgin cruises and for me, Virgin is an upscale fancy version of Carnival. It's a FUN cruiseline with vastly better food and more upscale ship environment and NO KIDS! If you thought Carnival deck parties were fun & crowded well, Virgin upped that game 1000%! Here's a video from the Scarlet Night Pool Party on the Valiant Lady this past January. PXL_20230120_040423544.TS (2).mp4

My post wasn't an argument with you, I'm sorry if it came across that way. I was just posting about two recent Celebrity experiences and how different they were even on the same cruiseline. I don't disagree with your overall sentiments about both cruiselines.For the record, I'm Diamond on Carnival with 26 cruises and Elite+ on Celebrity with 24.

I was on the Celebrity Flagship Beyond in October and an older ship the Solstice in February. It was very,very obvious that Celebrity is targeting the younger demographic with their new Edge Class ships and the more traditional cruise experience with their other ships. Everything from music, shows, and activities were different on Celebrity's newer ships than the older ones.