dazey

Ship Traveler: Smoking allowed in casino on Celebrity was being allowed many months ago as a test but people complained so much they cancelled that idea. Celebrity thought if smoking was only allowed on one side of the casino that would be okay. Surprised they listened but glad they did. Since Covid there have been many casinos that continued with no smoking. Only good thing that came from Covid. Appreciate your comment.

Thanks for all the opinions. We do not purchase the drink package on Celebrity any longer as we are Elite and enjoy happy hour and events providing beverages. We do purchase a bottle of wine(with discount) and maybe a mixed drink a few times. Our cost never comes anywhere near the cost to what a purchased beverage package would be. We are not big drinkers so it works for us. And if only one of you does enjoy a beverage then for sure no beverage package should work. Celebrity is quiet and stressless and we do enjoy it. That said, if we find an interesting itinerary we might try RC just for something different. The four drinks RC program would definitely work for us.

Good info. Have to see what pricing is and decide. WE are at a point where Celebrity is perfect for us. Just thought a change might be nice but maybe not. Appreciate all the help.

Yes, it is called Captain's Club. I have found that Captain Club offers many benefits onboard but Blue Chip is how we save money for actual cruise. We have almost as many Celebrity cruises as you do. Thinking time for a change - will call directly.

Have always sailed on Celebrity for years(once on Norwegian - a mistake). Thinking we might want to try Royal Caribbean but have some questions: 1. Should I call directly for pricing and advise we are Elite on Celebrity? Not sure if it would affect pricing. 2. We get offers from Celebrity's Blue Chip Club(casino club) and wonder is RC would match an offer. Looking to try something different(cabins, restaurants, entertainment) but honestly is it is going to cost more it may not work for us. Any comments on differences will be appreciated.

We have never been denied a 20% on any bottle purchased except when we ordered sake in Sushi on Five. The manager declined and guest services checked on it and I got no response. Eventually when home I received an email confirming that we should have been given the 20% on the sake and they offered us quite a refund for our trouble. I do bring this email with me on every cruise "just in case". We last were on Edge and Raw on Five had no bottles of sake so could not see if the discount was applied. Will try on Eclipse in May.

We recently took Amtrak from Westerly RI to Newark and enjoyed the ride very much. We put our luggage at the front of the car. Try to keep an eye on it. The porter helped us on in Westerly and was so helpful. However, on the return we struggled getting our luggage off as it seemed the door kept shutting and the train seemed like it needed to leave quickly. No porter around. Westerly is a lot smaller stop for Amtrak then Philly. I definitely would take everyone's advice about contacting Amtrak about needing assistance. I hope someone would be willing to help you as a courtesy. As I said, we did enjoy the ride and maybe in May when heading to Bermuda from Cape Liberty our departure from the train will be easier(trying to bring a smaller suitcase).

I know the main hotel has been closed for years(we were there in the 60's!) but is the restaurant on the beach still open(think it was called Lido). We would just like to walk along that beautiful beach when visiting.

We have done the Resort for a Day at Elbow Beach(absolutely beautiful beach) but it is no longer offered. Coco Reef is the only one listed - has anyone done this beach and how is the resort and beach? We will be there late May.

The price you see for specialty dining at Eden will also then add a 20% gratuity when charged to your credit card or OBC. I do not recall always getting a "bill" at end of dining unless we ordered a bottle of wine or something not included in the prepaid dining experience. I do not feel that one needs to add anymore to the prepaid amount + the already paid 20% .

We always choose to have our cheese selection at the start of the meal along with our first wine selection. If we have it after the entree, we do not enjoy it as much. After many years of sailing and eating at the specialty restaurants on Celebrity it would be nice for a slight change of menu at the specialty restaurants(Murano and Tuscan). The same is true on Apex or Edge but have not been as often so still trying new items on the menu. We especially enjoy the menu at Eden(original and revised). You will enjoy Murano for sure.

That is a big perk who enjoy the casino at night. We get 3 days in Bermuda and some "fun" time later in the evening. I guess a lot of people did not like being in port for 3 days without playing so this solution worked both for cruises and also Bermuda(plenty of time to enjoy Bermuda in the late afternoon and evening and spread our money around).

We eat at the Eden cafe for breakfast and lunch at least once a week. They have sandwiches that they make up along with salad selection, desserts, soups. Every day the multiple choices are different. A nice change. Of course, Eden Restaurant is quite good - different from when it first opened with servers acting parts which was fun "sort of". Now the menu is different and servers are "normal" and we still enjoy it.

Never heard of Blue Hole Park but looked it up and looks like we will visit there first and then to Swizzle Inn. Thanks.

Yes, that is it. Near the cave and ice cream stop where it seems lots of people get off.

We have passed the Twizzle Inn many times on the bus and have never stopped in. Should we? Cannot remember if we took the bus from Dockyard or not but looking to do something different.

We now do not get a drink package. We are Elite so work with what that offers and found that we can order a few good quality whiskies and/or bottles of wine with dinner and we save so much money. Maybe we do not drink as much these days but we drink better quality.

Thank you, Thank you. I am learning so much or learning I know not much. I am going to print your emails and we can go over all the info. At least we have an idea of what to try to find out the differences and what we like. That is the fun part. May try one of the paying events but will also search for the free tasting.

We are somewhat new to whiskey and considering going to either the Jack Daniels Tasting or Macallan Experience - $14 difference. I am hoping to gain some knowledge but not expecting a lot. We have done the different wine tastings and pairings many times and thought we would try something different. The wine classes we do not pay for mostly so would like someone's opinion whether it is worth it. Did read a topic on CC that goes back to 2021 and many seemed to know quite a bit about whiskey(did not really mention Jack Daniels tasting a lot) and it sounded like they did not get a lot out of it. Maybe these experiences haave gotten better or maybe with our limited knowledge would fulfill our novice needs. We usually drink Crown Royale and have tried several Japanese brands. So which one or none? Thanks for your opinion.

If I got those offers for concierge even if shorter cruise I would jump on it. My offers are now very limited. I did get a veranda for an upgrade fee to a 7 night to Bermuda. Not complaining.

We have used the Hop On Hop Off bus in Europe and in the United States especially when we are new to the location and want to get an overview and then we go around again and get off at places we wanted to see. We did have a bad experience of pushy ticket "guys" in Paris and had to request a refund because the bus never showed up at the designated stop. We did get the refund(thankfully as it was for 7 people) and then we booked online the next day and it was on time and we got to see a lot. It worked as we were there for a week. I would not say it is very informative like a booked tour but it certainly is a good way to get introduced to a place. I would say try it. And, yes, it would not be a good idea if you have limited hours. Would end up worrying about the clock. We also have found(Charleston and Key West) that their local service is pretty good and a lot of times offered for free.

Appreciate your suggestion about Uber. However, we are older and not great at trying new ways. The shuttle comes to under $60 for both of us total each way and when I inquired about a taxi it was possibly more. Also since we arrive a day early we have plenty of time before we can board the ship so time is not a concern. I know, we are so out of touch but it works for us.

We book the transfer from the airport day of cruise with Celebrity. I had to call Celebrity to book the shuttle to the cruise port as online would not allow me to see that; however, shuttle from ship to airport is listed under excursions. We arrive day before and stay in one of the airport hotels(one of the Marriotts) which offer shuttle to and from airport. Next morning to take hotel shuttle to airport and then we take the Celebrity shuttle from airport to ship and then ship to airport. We have always gotten to the airport well be 11 o'clock. I will check out Embassy Suites as I did not know they provided shuttle to Cape Liberty. We have done it many times and it works well for us. I do not do Uber so the other option would be a taxi but have not heard good thoughts about that choice.

We also would get free veranda offers a few years ago but now we only we inside cabins and maybe ocean view. When I call though they do offer an upgrade to veranda(at last the last time) for a very minimal amount($50 pp) which I felt was worth it. I do check bluechipcluboffers.com every so often to see what is offered and then call. Can always find something I can live with!

At any of these events we have never been asked for our room card or name. Even at the complementary wine tasting there are always many more settings at the tables than needed. Not sure how they know we are invited. Since we are, I never worried about it.