elena7seas

Arno, I am so happy to see you posting again. You were missed!

Hi Everyone:

Back at my desk here after being down for about a week with this year's version of Influenza A. It had been through everyone in our circle and I thought I'd avoided it, but it zapped me last Tuesday. I got out of the house for the first time yesterday and went to the pub for a few drinks with Gerry and some friends. Still couldn't taste any thing but enjoyed the Spanish coffees. :)

Lois, I'm sorry that I missed your birthday on the 18th...hope that this is a wonderful year for you, and starting off with a River Cruise is a good way to go!

Anne, thinking of you and hoping that Lou is doing better and feeling stronger.

Suzanne, our next trip is the 25-night transpacific on October 8th, but I am thinking of doing a four-night trip on the Explorer of the Seas on May 16th, Seattle-Victoria-Nanaimo-Seattle, just to check the ship out before we spend 25 nights on her. Actually, I'm just using that as an excuse to get on a cruise, because October is too long to wait!! The fares start at $250 but I think they are going to go lower because there is a lot of inventory available, so I'm still waiting a bit to pull the trigger. I might take Katie with me as there's lots of fun stuff on the ship for a 9-year old, but there won't be many kids on at that time, so still not sure if I'll do it or not. There is a great interactive museum in Victoria that she would enjoy and Katie just loves being on a ship. We'll see how it goes.

Trying again...

I'm going to try to post Arno's updated "Who's on Board" chart here.

I don't know enough about Facebook to know if the direct link will work:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=592223807592742&set=gm.1077731125601405&type=3&theater

The link is working for me, but I can't seem to add the photo directly. I'll try again later.

Hi Suzanne...

I remember that now... there was some discussion and no one seemed to know for sure if it was formal night or not! I was sorry I didn't get to see more of you on that cruise. I only made it to the Elite lounge twice because Katie's other grandparents were with us.

Because we are supposed to be docked at Poland Avenue first and then down to Julia St. Pier, it makes sense to me that we would dock with the starboard side facing the city. I'm crossing my fingers.

Suzanne....yes, it's a great starboard cabin! From most of the photos I have seen, I think we have a better than average chance of facing the city in NOLA, which might be interesting. :)

Kathy, I did do well, and I am really grateful. Now I can do some serious planning. :)

Mary (Beba-beba) was great, as was the Travel Agent, who has been terrific. Weird for me not to be in charge of my own booking, though. :)

I met Cruise Raider at the Infinity Pacific Coastal sail-away party as well, but that was before I saw her very positive review of the cruise, so I didn't know her, or speak to her. I was on my own at the sail away, and hardly anyone spoke to me, and I wasn't feeling particularly chatty myself.

Kathy, Gerry and I were on the Equinox on December 11, 2015 for a 11-night Caribbean. The ship was great, with an excellent staff. I would say it was a happy ship. Captain Leo was terrific, and I really like the CD, Alejandro Tortorelli. Not everyone likes his style, but we have sailed with him before, and he is very genuine. I enjoy his sense of humour, which I admit is a bit over the top, but he is kind, and quite clever at times.. At other times he is a complete goof. :) He always seems happy to be doing his job, and will take the time to talk to the guests. He is always around, all of the time.

The staff in Café al Bacio were particularly great, especially Stan and Violet.

We were in AquaClass and the food and service was some of the best we have ever had. The filet mignon on the first night was truly excellent, and they even managed to produce a true medium-rare ribeye steak other nights (remember the "rib-eye" steaks on Century? Those were the true definition of shoe leather and could only be done one way, well-done, because they were only 1/4" thick). The Maitre d' in Blu was a lovely, highly competent young women, and the restaurant was well run. Our assistant waiter, Ana, was charming and very funny. Certainly not a shrinking violet. I think she was from Macedonia.

We only had one glitch, and that was a very pushy sommelier. He constantly tried to upsell us on everything, and I thought we were doing quite well as it was. We didn't have a beverage package because we had booked an Exciting Deal, but we did purchase a 7-bottle wine package, in addition to much bubbly and other beverages. (The cruise was in celebration of a milestone birthday for Gerry). The sommelier's name was Milan, and he really was a very nice person, but I could just hear Michael Bayley and LLP whispering in his ear "...upsell...upsell". He was so earnest, even desperate, about it, that it made me feel as if he was in danger of losing his job if he couldn't complete the deal. There was something of "eau de car salesman" about his approach.

The food in Blu was very good to excellent and there was enough variety for us. We didn't have too many of the new items on this cruise, but I hear that there have been some changes to the menu. Everything except one of Gerry's lamb entrees came out at the correct temperature, which is something that matters to me particularly.

Elite breakfast had the pre-prepared platters. I am not a fan. Service was very good though. Lots of seating in the Tuscan Grill for breakfast...I don't think there were a ton of Elites on that cruise.

Cellar Masters has been replaced by Gastrobar on the Equinox. The hours seemed very limited. On embarkation day Gastrobar wasn't open until 5:00 pm, and I had been looking forward to going there when we boarded, as someone on our Roll Call said it would be open then. Not. The seating was very comfortable for me, which is not always the case on Celebrity; I often find the chairs are too deep for me. I only went to Gastrobar once, but really enjoyed the liver pâté and truffled fries that I ordered. I felt that the upcharges were fair, given the quality of the ingredients. I think it was around $10 for what I ordered, and the portions were generous, more than I could finish. Gerry and I could easily have shared what I ordered. I did try one of their specialty drinks that sounded good, but wasn't to my taste. It was $10 for a fair-sized drink. Gastrobar has its own galley three decks below, so I was warned that it would take 15 minutes to get my order, which ended up being accurate. I liked it very much and would be happy to go back. It was a dark and cosy space. The music was a good level when I arrived, but about 10 minutes later my waiter came over and turned it up. As there were speakers right over my head, I wasn't thrilled, and asked if the music could be turned down to its previous level. My waiter was apologetic, but said that he had been "called" and told to turn it up. He walked away, but came back 30 seconds later and turned it back down. He winked at me and walked away. The staff was like that all over the ship. You just felt like you were their first priority, which is what Celebrity always meant to me.

Bistro on Five had an older menu, although not the original one, as it did not have the Buffalo Chicken crepes. It was not the newer menu with the extra daily entrees that we had on Infinity in September. Everything was very good, and the pace was what you could expect from something that is prepared à la minute. There were a reasonable number of people there on embarkation day, but it wasn't crowded.

World Bar had replaced the Molecular Bar. The new menu didn't entice me at all. I used to love the Molecular Bar. It was reason enough for me to upgrade to the Premium AL beverage package

Well, I did go on more than I had intended. ;) We liked the Equinox very much and I wish we were going on her again soon!

Hi everyone...I was able to get the 1A cabin on the Mardi Gras cruise, and also to switch into a starboard hump 1A (first off the hump, with the largest balcony, at approximately half of what my current booking costs, with the beverage package. Yeayyy! I have made the full deposit and have received the booking confirmation.

I have booked lots of groups, but I didn't know you could swap out both names and keep the terms of the original booking. I have to admit, I was highly sceptical and was surprised that everything went through as promised. Live and learn. The T/A involved was excellent, so I am very grateful to Mary (Beba-Beba) for putting me in contact with this opportunity.

As far as Jordan Peterson is concerned, I called in to Celebrity Captain's Club and a very kind CC agent took my request to the department in charge of entertainment. There is no phone number as it is an internal group that handles this, but the CC agent took all the details and put me on hold for about 15 minutes while she explained my request to the powers that be. She promised they would do what ever they could, and would get back to me. I explained that there is a group of us that had sailed together on the Century with Jordan, and really would love to have him entertain on our Mardi Gras cruise. I also explained that there are 450 people on our Roll Call, and that many would be thrilled to have Jordan on our cruise.

So it would probably be helpful to post on the Roll Call how much we would love to have Jordan on the cruise, and get as many people as possible to support the request.

In a couple of days, if I don't hear anything back from Celebrity, I don't think it could hurt to call Captain's Club and make the same request, (unless we get the feeling that they are doing whatever can be done for us, and that we are starting to annoy them :):):).

According to Toshia at Captain's Club, it is not unusual for people to call in and request specific entertainers.

Hi Lois:

Yes, I saw the updates to that thread about Jordan. I think I'm going to give Celebrity a call and see if I can lobby to have Jordan play on our Mardi Gras cruise. Sorry you can't make a cruise that late in the month. :(

Anne, still thinking of you and hoping that Lou is feeling stronger day by day.

Hi Lois...it's not that it's like a soap, it's just that the roll call is WORK, not fun. :)

Suzanne, you are totally right...there is no joy on that roll call at the moment. Maybe when all the excursions are booked.

Kathy, thank you so much for letting me know about the 1A cabin that is coming up. The first person who showed interest passed on the offer, so I was the next in line. thanks to you. I spoke with the travel agent today and she will try to complete our taking over of the booking tomorrow. As we thought, it is part of a group booking, but this is the first time I have ever heard that all the names on a booking could be changed, and that the original price and amenities would remain as it was originally booked. Totally news to me, so I am keeping my fingers crossed. The cabin is a 1A aft-facing cabin, third off the hump with the large balcony, at almost half the fare of my current 2C booking. I'll let you know tomorrow how it goes.

Kathy, it is one of my long-held dreams to do a fall foliage tour in New England. I have been in Quebec City and the Gatineau hills for the fall foliage and it is SPECTACULAR. I look forward to seeing Katie's recommendations as well.

Suzanne...do you do Facebook at all? There is certainly a lot of information -- posts, photos and links -- on the Equinox Mardi Gras FB page (thanks again Katie) that is not available on our Roll Call. Not really enjoying the "dissing" of CruiseCritic though. There is just a tiny bit of edginess to some of the posts on both websites. Kind of odd.

I looked up some of the information about parade tickets. The two parades that we would be able to see, Proteus and Orpheus, are really interesting, and would be fun to see. The Orpheus Krewe was started by Harry Connick Jr., whom I LOVE, and this year the grand Monarch of that parade was Nathan Fillion, another BIG favourite of mine. But I still have my doubts about the organization that runs 709.

As far as I can see, the owners and operators of 709 Events appear to be the same people that ran Cibugnu, who are the same people (according to posts on Tripadvisor) who owned Leonardo Trattoria, a former incarnation at that address.

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowUserReviews-g60864-d1102444-r124970013-Leonardo_Trattoria-New_Orleans_Louisiana.html

I wonder what happens to your deposits if the owners can't make a go of 709 before next February. I would still like to see if I can find grandstand tickets at a location with more reassuring reviews. There are two websites that seem leaders in selling tickets for grandstands, but they are not selling tickets for 2017 yet, so I will continue to research and let you all know if I find something interesting and a little more solid.

Katie, thanks so much for adding me to the Facebook group. Lots of interesting things posted there.

One of the things that I looked up was the link to the article about where Equinox will be docked in NOLA for our Mardi Gras cruise. I looked up the Port of New Orleans website, and on their Cruise Vessel Schedule, the Equinox is listed as docking at the Poland pier.

But several articles that I read, including the one you posted, said that the new Poland Avenue cruise terminal would not be finished until late (October) 2017, and that is if it is fast-tracked. However, it appears that they have been docking cruise ships at the existing pier at Poland Avenue wharf, so I guess anything is possible.

There are three other ships in port on the day we arrive at 6:30 PM, so there may be some truth to the suggestion that we have to dock and wait at the Poland Avenue wharf, until we can move down to the Julia Street cruise terminal. I don't think we will plan to get off the ship at all that night. :)

http://corelserver1.portno.com:8082/cruisemain.htm

I had a REALLY unpleasant encounter with a rep at Captain's Club this week, and that has never, ever happened to me in twelve years of sailing with Celebrity. I have always found the Captain's Club reps to be just awesome-- totally knowledgeable and so helpful.

This one, though, was really rude and dismissive. She insisted that something that I was asking to be done could NOT be done and had NEVER been done. I knew it HAD been done for others, and had ALWAYS been done for me personally. I was aware that all I had to do was call in again and speak to another rep, which I did, and had the issue resolved in minutes. What shocked me was the direct rudeness, and as you said, the condescending attitude of the first agent.

Anne, my heart goes out to you, and we will keep Lou and yourself in our thoughts and prayers. I hope the ultrasound gives you the best possible news tomorrow.

Hi Suzanne:

We're still booked on the Mardi Gras cruise, and like you, I'm really looking forward to seeing so many cruise friends. That was a super great group on the Century B2B, and I'd love to see all of them again. It would be great if they could find a talented piano player for us!!

I should probably sign on to the Roll Call and at least get our names on the list!

The down under trip won't be too exhausting. The first cruise on the EotS has 11 sea days, and our second cruise on the Solstice is around New Zealand. We're just going to chill on that one and enjoy the scenery for the most part. There's lots of history and architecture to enjoy, but I won't feel as driven to see everything, as on a European trip.

We almost always do transatlantic's which are long, and it always says not valid the last three days

Hi Cathy...hope you and E are both well. :)

On all of our cruises, the Elite or Elite+ coupons have said the same thing...not valid the last three days.

We frequently use the coupons on the first day for either laundry or dry-cleaning or both. We usually have a land trip pre-cruise, and I bring my husband's suite or tux from home and have it dry-cleaned or pressed on board, as required. It costs almost the same to dry-clean a suit on board as at our local dry-cleaner (except if you have to factor in a killer exchange rate, which, in the spirit of enjoying my trip, I just ignore).

Just looking at my post below...small correction....I did get a degree, just not in Interior Design. I left Interior Design to Gerry and moved on to Applied Research a few years later.

Hi Lois:

So excited for you to be doing the document dance!!! It's just not the same doing the e-doc dance. :(

I know you don't usually do reviews, but I'm hoping you'll keep some notes for your friends back here who want to know EVERYTHING!!!! :) Your cruise is sure coming up fast now.

Katie, so happy to hear continuing good news on Jeff's recovery. Gerry and I both send good wishes and keep you both in our thoughts and prayers.

Let us know how your bowl painting class goes. A photo would be fun! I fully believe there is an artist inside everyone. I draw and paint (more or less) and do some architectural renderings (a hangover from my days in Interior Design...where I got a husband, not a degree...how cliché is that!!).

My plan was always to do more once I retired, but I can't even keep up with the housework and Katie and the cruise thing, so am certainly not too productive in the art department these days, although I do love it. Hey...I can teach you all to do a perspective drawing of a New Orleans street scene when we are on a sea day. It's super easy :) I'll bring the art supplies. :):):)

Hi Everyone!

Gerry and I are still booked on the Mardi Gras cruise and I monitor the Roll Call, but to tell you the truth, it just exhausts me over there! :):):). I don't think we will be signing up for anything. We still fully intend on going on the cruise, but I need to keep my options open. Our Down Under trip itinerary is two months and two days long, starting on October 7th and returning on December 9th, 2016. As I get up to final payment for the Mardi Gras cruise, I might just change my mind.

The venue at 709 EVENTS hasn't been through a Mardi Gras yet, and doesn't have a track record, so I don't quite have the confidence to sign up for it. Too many people, too much alcohol and a potentially underbuilt grandstand and anything could happen. (They are advertising their balcony as a parade viewing space and I'm looking at the front of their property and am not convinced.)

http://709event.com/mardi-gras/

http://www.neworleansparties.com/709.html

Bonjour...

Je suis d'accord aussi que SPB-Tours est excellent, et je les contacter pour voir s'il y a quelque chose qu'ils pourraient organiser pour vous en français. Notre groupe de 17 avait des visites privées avec eux pendant trois jours à Saint-Pétersbourg Juin dernier, et aussi dans 5 autres ports dans le Baltic. Vika et ses guides sont étonnants et très flexible. Les guides parlent de nombreuses langues différentes.

Si vous vous connectez à votre Roll Call (lien affiché ci-dessus), vous trouverez peut-être d'autres qui seraient intéressés à visiter avec vous.

Hi Linda:

I am another who will be following your blog closely. I have two dear friends who are sailing with you, so I am excited to think that I can follow along on their trip!!

Thanks you so much for taking the time to share your thoughts and observations, and for posting your wonderful photos. Thanks also to everyone else who is posting tips and suggestions. We are taking a trip to Australia and New Zealand ourselves in the fall, so are also very interested in any information that anyone is willing to share.

Have a spectacular journey!!

Fair winds, and following seas!

You are from New Jersey where food choices are probably as diverse as the food choices in New York. My question is what do you order on Celebrity that you can't get at home? What am I missing? The quality of the international cuisine on celebrity is chain restaurant quality. They can't even make a good pizza. The crepes were not true crepes but more like Aunt Jemima pancakes that were rolled and stuffed.

Do I understand correctly from your signature that you have been on one Celebrity cruise (the Summit) in 2013?

We were on the Equinox in December and the pizza has improved greatly in the last couple of years, at least on Solstice class ships. I don't think I had any pizza on the Infinity in September, so don't know about the M-class ships.

We were in the Bistro twice on the Equinox, and the crepes weren't anything like Aunt Jemima pancakes, and were freshly made to order.

There have never been any teacher discounts.

Yes there have been, but they are much rarer than Resident, Senior or Military discounts.

My daughter and son-in-law are teachers, so I am always on the watch for the Teacher discount.

Hi Katie:

SO, SO, SO happy to hear such good news about Jeff. :):):)

I haven't been posting on any roll calls lately. Just can't seem to get my CC mojo back, but hope to soon :). I'll see if I can find the FB thread about the MG cruise.

Hope all the fans have a great Super Bowl weekend!