OuiOnboard

I actually disagree with this to an extent. When it comes to activities, décor and the typical passenger each line attracts it's probably true, but in many ways the experience is the same. The cabins, the food, the service and the entertainment are all on pretty much the same level.

 

On thing that does make a difference is the number of families on board. Celebrity ships are rarely overrun with children making for a more sedate environment.

For us, this slightly more sedate environment makes the X experience a bit more upscale relative to NCL and Carnival, in particular.

One bartender at Passport Bar on our Dec.07 Eclipse cruise was not interested in being nice, friendly, or even efficient in attending to passengers looking for drinks service. He seemed intent on conveying the impression that he wasn't happy serving customers.

Our service people in BLU were great despite the large number of diners they were trying to serve. The quiet,unhurried setting we loved when Blu was new to us back in 2009 is no more, due to staff cutbacks, unfortunately.

Here's hoping X doesn't go too far and too fast with these changes. Raise the fares even more if they must, but don't dilute the experience.

We are not fans of MDR, so we usually book Aqua for BLU or we do a 1A and get a specialty restaurant dining package depending on the fare spread for each.

thanks for the review

 

we will be on the Equinox Dec 15th 2015

 

will look forward to reading more

 

thanks carol

We embark on Dec. 11/15 and will wait for you. :)

On our Silhouette cruise early this month they tried to steer us away from the Ultimate Dining Package toward the other packages on offer on orders from the management. They said that bookings had been good enough that they didn't need to discount this deeply.

Thanks for your opinions. Continue to cruise well.

Happiness, good health and smooth sailing to Host Andy and all Cruisecritics in the New Year!!!

While checking my account on the cabin TV during our Silhouette cruise early this month, I noticed that there was a charge for ten dollars even that I didn't recognize. I asked the CSR to check the nature of the charge, to which she reported that there had been an additional tip applied to my account by The Lawn Grill restaurant where we had eaten the evening before. I advised her that I hadn't authorized nor signed a slip for this charge and she quickly removed it and apologized for the incident.

I was okay then and there, but later wondered how often these unsigned and unauthorized charges slip through and whether X has any policy to reduce the chances of this happening, if you know what I mean.

Anyone from AQ reading this? How was Blu?

Off Eclipse on Dec 21 also. Lamb, beef, scallops and shrimp dishes were very nice.

We tried to have only an appetizer or a small salad before the entree and single scoop of ice cream or sorbet for dessert,

BLU is no longer what it was when we first experienced it in 2009 on Solstice. It is now noisier, more crowded, and the service is slower due to too few waitstaff.

Our waiter (Vidot) and assistant (May) were great and provided excellent service despite the above mentioned conditions.

We still prefer to dine at BLU rather than the MDR which has only been decreasingly adequate in our experience since our first Celebrity cruise in 1998.

Previous to this cruise, we sailed 7 days on Silhouette, disembarking Dec 07. There we had the Unlimited Dining Package and enjoyed 2 fine meals at Murano, 3 great meals at Tuscan Grill with a wonderful waiter, and 2 meals at The Lawn Grill which were disappointing in presentation, taste and service.

We are doing more Celebrity cruises in the future in AQ/BLU and will punctuate with visits to Murano, Tuscan Grill, and perhaps The Lawn Grill.

All clear....I will bring a copy and hope it works!!

If you intend to take advantage of this deal through on board booking, please know that a CS at CC told me that this limited time offer only applies to "on land" bookings, as the 123GO offer on board is a different offer.

If that was not your intention, then please disregard.

I just got off the phone with a different CS at CC who told me that I can specify to the Future Cruise agent on board that I want the "all-inclusive 123GO promo" in place of the standard "on board 123GO offer''. I still get the on board booking OBC incentive.

The answers to questions vary.

Comments?

lovely! I will look at booking in board in a couple of weeks!

If you intend to take advantage of this deal through on board booking, please know that a CS at CC told me that this limited time offer only applies to "on land" bookings, as the 123GO offer on board is a different offer.

If that was not your intention, then please disregard.

I think I would stay with Aqua which provides what you want with less risk.

We haven't noticed people acting out classist behaviour on Celebrity to a greater or lesser extent than any other mass-market cruise line.

Not to be self-centered, but others can be who they are, or who they think they are, as they see fit. For us, cruising is about having fun, and that occupies most of our attention.

Comme ci comme ca.

Does anyone know if the 15% specialty dining discount at the Elite + level applies to the Ultimate Dining Package?

Sadly, no. Celeb CS says the fee for the UDP is already discounted.

We have cruised a lot on both lines. Princess has some great itineraries that will keep us returning from time to time, but for the foreseeable future we will be on X for most of our cruises. Among other things that tilted us over to X, we have preferred the option of BLU for dining, the smoking policy, the s-class ship layout, and the overall ambiance on board the X ships.

Celebrity is making some changes to improve profitability, as are the other lines. If and when they are no longer the best fit for us, we will be looking about for a new number one.

We are thankful that we have been able to enjoy cruising and appreciate the choices.

So my best advice is to book up and give X a try...you will probably like it!!

I have a question. Isn't the category upgrade a Captain's Club benefit not part of the booking on board program?

 

Thanks

Yes, the cat upgrade is a Cap's Club benefit.

We too hope this becomes the practice fleet wide. If so, thanks in advance X.

We planned to future book an additional 32+ days to 28 days already booked for total of 60+ days of snowbird cruising. We wanted to do so on board Summit later this summer, but we will need further clarification of the details of this potential new program before we solidify this plan of action.

I would have no need for such a large OBC on my Summit cruise. Maybe X doesn't want me to book many cruises on board all at once. Let's see how this pans out.

Non refundable deposits? I agree this is a bad promotion

How is the net result of a non-refundable deposit in the same amount as the OBC that must be used on the present cruise different from a refundable deposit accompanied by an OBC on a future cruise? In both cases, is not each party is made whole in the event that the option to cancel is exercised?

What am I missing?

Count me as one of the unhappy ones, because the deposit is now NON REFUNDABLE and because the OBC does not get shared if I book for someone else. Sorry, Celebrity, but in my opinion this is a bad idea and I hope it doesn't spread to other ships.

Perhaps you could cash out the OBC and compensate your friends directly for their share.

This might be a bit more work, but would it not work?

I agree!

I type so slowly that your comments got posted before mine. :)

Under this new program it could make sense to book earlier in the cruise to allow more time to make best use of the OBC. This might reduce the lineups at the FC desks toward the end of the cruise.

Thoughts?

After some time cruising around, we have come to the conclusion that often the best way to not be disappointed by some, is to not expect much of them.

In this instance, your standards and expectations are obviously somewhat higher than Celebrity's. Make choices in your own best interest, and if you are really hooked on this cruising thing as we are, then try very hard to savour the joys that come from your time spent at sea.

X has been and continues to be our favourite cruise line. There are many factors that go into the decision as to which cruiseline and ship is chosen for a particular vacation such as itinerary, accompanying guests, etc.

With regard to the dining experience, we have found the food in MDR has become mediocre at best over the past 15 years we've been Xcruising...certainly no longer exceeding expectations. We have enjoyed Murano,etc. and Tuscan Grill often, and thought Blu was the answer for a nice meal in a great setting. Recent so-so dinners in Blu have caused us to think otherwise. The prospect of spending more and more (as the fees rapidly increase) to dine well on X gives us reason to pause.

We love X and will continue to cruise X. However, we will tend to look more at cruising Azamara and Oceania as X makes changes that, from our perspective, decrease the relative affordability of X versus these other choices.

The cruise lines make decisions for their best interest and we all must do likewise.

Happy sailing!!