Winemaker_1

On 6/1/2024 at 1:59 AM, GrumpySushiBear said:

Thoughts on a phone/wallet case that you can wear around your neck or crossbody?

 

 

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07MLBF1JD?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

I bought this and like it.  Its small but good for phone cards and cash.

4 hours ago, TeeRick said:

It is on my Celebrity app.  Just checked again.  It is as @admrangerstated above.  Tap on Club Points.  Then tap Loyalty Match.  Both RC and SS come up as choices.

I don't think you'll get a VS number until after your first SS sailing.  I don't think this new program is changing that.

In addition to the VS milestone benefits below, SS designates certain cruises as VS cruises eligible for the 5% discount.  

We use Chase Reserve also for cancellation/interuption but it doesn't have much for medical.  We use GeoBlue (https://go.geobluetravelinsurance.com) for Medical.  They have a 1 year (multi-trip) Trekker policy ($1,000,000 in coverage with a $100 deductible) that was less than $400 for my wife and I.  

I have no affiliation with GeoBlue btw.

Restaurant reservations are now open on our upcoming Silver Moon cruise.  I'm hoping experienced "Silver Mooners" (does that sound obscene?) would share their opinions.  We've booked at least one night each at Silver Note, La Terrazza and La Dame so far.  We will be eating in Atlantide and will try the SALT restaurant also.  Thanks!

This is our first SS cruise.

9 hours ago, canderson said:

Funny you should use the word "legion" in this context - given when/where it was popularized!

I guess I should be embarrassed to admit that was intentional.

9 hours ago, canderson said:

No, I was thinking of a white version from the Aglianico (aka Aminea Gemina) grape as it's widely believed that they made Falernian back in Rome in the 'really old days', perhaps with some Greco thrown in.  It seems that all of the modern day Aglianico wines are reds, and I've always wondered what a full bodied white would be like from this grape.

Oh, I totally misunderstood but an interesting quest.  I can't say I've ever had a white Aglianico, but it must exist somewhere.  There are many nice Grecos and Fianos though!  (Greco being one of the more likely candidates for Aminea Gemina).  Have you tried the Falerno del Massico DOC wines?  

As you probably know already, Falernian wine may have been both red and white.  From what Patrick McGovern had found (an undergraduate teacher of mine), the Romans often harvested late then sun-dried the grapes before fermentation.  The wines were believed to often be madierized.  

On 5/14/2024 at 1:10 AM, canderson said:

.....

Some day, I'd like to sample a wine made from Aglianico grapes.

 

They are legion, but one of my favorites is Galardi Terra di Lavoro (don't know if this is available on board but still worth seeking out).

We booked a Fall 2024 cruise in July of 2023.  Now the price is 45% higher.   We booked another cruise for 2025 in November 2023.  The price for that cruise is now up 33% higher.  I don't how you can call it anything but gouging.  It seems ridiculous.  

Jason Liberty reminds me of an idiot bagel shop owner in my town.  He was actually stupid enough to write a message on a blackboard in the restaurant that said "due to demand, we are raising prices".  That bagel shop was out of business 2 years later.  

36 minutes ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Thanks for the flyer.  If I understand it correctly, the 'new' P2P is basically the old "D2D w/o flights" but it also drops the executive transfer (which you could drop for a credit) – the new name better describes this package.  The new Essential is like the old P2P, but also drops shore excursions so hopefully at an even lower price – but they do need to clarify the page 2 vs 3 issue of whether you also lose "Multiple dining options and beverages" (so you can only eat in La Terrazza and drink tap water?) and "Butler service, onboard gratuities and Wi–Fi" because that totally changes the experience and makes it NOT a luxury cruise.  I'm hoping page 2 is correct... [that's what I have attached below]

 

Current Fare Categories:

 

New Fare Categories:

Sounds like a Royal Caribbean move.  I think they are trying to attract (or retain) the legion of newly disgruntled Celebrity cruisers.  

14 hours ago, Gourmet Gal said:

We just booked 7080 on Nova.  We like that it’s between stateroom floors, is aft, not high and close to the launderette.  The only negative is that it adjoins to the suite next door.  Can anyone comment on the potential for noise in adjoining cabins vs non-adjoining?

7080 is directly below 8070, which we booked, so I assume the configuration is similar.  When we  looked at the layout of our aft cabin against that of the Master Suite next door, it looked like the adjoining door is in their long hallway - an area I suspect guests don't spend much time in other than coming and going.  The Master Suite bedroom, bathroom and closets look to be on the far side of that hallway. Their living room is at the back.   

8 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

Not only is it adjoining, but it is the 2nd bedroom for the Master Suite next door – so you may get bumped if Daddy Warbucks wants it.  [I think.  I have 6088 booked on Ray, which is the same situation.]

We have 8070 on Ray in the fall of 25.  Same situation.  We wanted 8091, (the other aft non-adjoining cabin) but it was already gone as of 11/23.  Seems as though they do go fast. 

Daddy Warbucks notwithstanding, how can they bump you if you've booked a specific cabin?  Has that happened before?  If they ask nicely and offered something considerable, that's another story.

On 2/22/2024 at 11:18 PM, Gourmet Gal said:

Sometimes previously included excursions will actually begin carrying a charge for new bookings.  It pays to book excursions early.

Yes.  We saw this also for our upcoming cruise.  Several excursions we booked early that were 'included' are now in the 'selected' category and carry a charge.  In our MySilversea itinerary it now shows a price with a line struck through it.   And the struck-through price is not figured into our total.

55 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

This is probably because you booked the hotel with them. Not sure if you checked the hotel prices, but when I considered booking the hotel with SS, they requested per guest the same price as the room price if booked independently (so basically double).

 

They get their money one way or another..

When we booked the pre-hotel, I found the same thing.  Fast forward 7 months and yesterday I checked what that hotel would cost for my exact night and it's the same price SS charged us.  

Mid 50s.   Had our first Celebrity cruise last month on Silhouette.  We had a great time as I reviewed in another post.  We sailed as retreat guests and thought they did a great job with food in Luminae and Murano.  Wine list was atrocious.  We concluded Celebrity would not be a line for us unless sailing in the retreat, but the value prop is not there.  Regent and Silversea are next for us.  Also looking at Oceania, Seabourn and Explora for the future.  I don't respond to surveys unless someone is paying my consulting rate.

22 minutes ago, FlyerTalker said:

 

1 hour ago, ak1004 said:

So please help me to understand: why would anyone book a hotel via SS (unless of course it's included in the price)?? 

 

 

I believe it comes down to a couple of possible reasons:

 

1) They want someone else to make all of their arrangements, so all they have to do is show up.

2) They aren't comfortable making independent travel arrangements.

3) They overvalue the transfers that get included in a hotel package.

4) They believe that the cruiseline will "protect" them if anything goes sideways.

5) They have money to burn.  Comparison shopping is SO tiring.

 

IMO, numbers 1 and 2 are valid - but folks need to recognize that there is a steep price for that service.  Number 3 is just a matter of not researching transfer options and properly pricing them out.  Number 4 is more urban legend than fact.  And number 5 is so so prevalent.

Our first SS cruise is also out of Venice this fall.  At the time of booking, we paid $450pp for a 1 night pre-hotel stay.  The Monaco & Grand Canal hotel was mentioned as the hotel that would likely be used (though I still do not see that confirmed anywhere).  It was our understanding that this includes breakfast and transportation to the pier.  @FlyerTalker points 2 and 4 were top on our minds.  We've never been to Venice and had never cruised at the time of booking (we have since taken a mini cruise in the Caribbean).  Not knowing anything about transportation in Venice (land or water) from hotel to port (or even where the SS port is) led us to book this at the time even at a price we thought was outrageous.

Now when I look at MySilversea, it shows a pre/post hotel option but it's at  Palace of Ca' Sagredo.  Does that mean they've changed hotels?

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

Curious, if you were in an upper suite,  why didn't you call you Butler and ask for what you wanted.   Even if you butler is off duty they have another covering.   

I guess I should have.  He was very nice, but very over-worked.   We were just ordering a simple cheese plate, so I didn't think it was worth bothering him for this when room service could drop it off.

Don't expect much and your expectations will be met.  On the Silhouette last month room service was worthless.  We used it once.  Called 4 different times (no one answered on the first three).  We asked for a cheese plate to be delivered later that evening.  It arrived more than an hour after the requested time with crackers so stale you could practically bend them.

FYI we were in an upper suite.

2 hours ago, taxman1 said:

The Sancerre matched well with our small plates however the sulfite head banging at 3am was rather disturbing.  I miss my filters.

What kind of filters are you referring to?   Sulfite cannot be filtered out of wine.  At wine pH, sulfite is mostly in the HSO3- form - a molecule way too small to be filtered.  Perhaps running wine over an ion exchange column could remove sulfite but that would completely ruin the wine as countless other compounds would also be removed.

It's unlikely that sulfites are the cause of your headache.  Sulfites are produced in your own body at about 1000mg/day.  Yeast also produce sulfites naturally during fermentation.  Additionally, white wine grapes, like the Sauv blanc in Sancerre, are usually harvested at lower pH than red wine grapes, meaning that less external sulfite would be needed for most white wines than for reds to achieve the same level of protection from spoilage and oxidation.  Typically, wine has 60-80mg/L of sulfite or <10mg per glass.  True sulfite intolerances are life threatening and extremely rare.  If you have ever eaten a dried apricot without a problem, you've ingested far more sulfite than you'd ever encounter in a wine.  

I don't think this was possible in our recent cabin on Silhouette.  The sliding door handle mechanism worked from both sides.  We closed it from the outside routinely to prevent the whistling sound.

37 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I think $100 pp pd is  too low

Not to worry, Celebrity has become adept at raising prices.

How long before a black market web site is set up to match Suite guests with any passengers that want Retreat access....for a fee?  Wait a minute, Celebrity will probably do that themselves, "Move Up bids and Retreat Connections"

4 minutes ago, Tudy said:

We have a friend who was able to get one for his daughter and grandson (age 13).

This makes perfect sense for grandparents wanting to eat with their families in Luminae.  I would want that.  I think it will be abused, however.  I don't believe Celebrity will keep this limited.  There is money to be made.

No surprise.  Celebrity is about selling anything and everything they can right now.  They're not concerned about offending Retreat guests or longtime loyal cruisers as long as people keep paying.   This will certainly dilute the Retreat experience yet retain the illusion of 'exclusivity' for those who don't know better.  

We are just back from the Silhouette in the Retreat and had a very nice time but we did not book a future cruise while on board.  We don't trust Celebrity.  You may buy something today but you don't know what you'll actually get by the time your cruise rolls around.

Prateek.  Super nice guy.  Customer focused, but overworked.  We had several other self-important suite guests who had him running all over the place for their petty nonsense.

We're just back from the Silhouette.  With so many recent discussions on the food and wine aboard Celebrity, I'll share our mostly positive experience.

Food:  We are food and wine people and thought the food in Luminae and Murano was excellent overall.  The one unimpressive meal we had was embarkation day lunch at Luminae - french fries were cold, entrees lukewarm.  Given all that's happening that morning, we did not let it bother us.  Otherwise, the service in both restaurants was terrific.  Our waiters knew the food and preparations very well and gently steered us in the direction of our preferences.  They were great.  Often, they brought additional apps or entrees that we were considering along with our ordered items just so we could taste them.  Our dinners at Murano and Luminae were really exceptional.  We did not eat in the Oceanview Cafe or MDR (though the MDR menu was available to us every night at Luminae) so can't comment on those.  We did walk through the Oceanview Cafe once on a sea day and it was an absolute mad house with inadequate seating for the guests.  

Wine:  Generally speaking, no two venues (Retreat Lounge, Retreat Deck, Luminae, Murano, various other bars) had the same wines.  Each had a subset of the wines on the PDP, but never the complete list.  Sometimes they would have substitutes.  For those who care, Decoy was $17/glass.  And there was no up-charge for an Aperol spritz in Retreat venues.  We don't drink spirits much, so I don't have info on those offerings.  

The white and rose wines on the PDP were fine.  We had a couple of pleasant roses including a few that weren't listed on the PDP.  The 'steel' Jadot Chard was fine, the Haslinger was fine, as was another Champagne they opened when they ran out of Haslinger one night.  They also had a couple of Charmat sparklers we didn't have a chance to try.  We could always find something decent to enjoy with meals or on the deck in the afternoon without a problem.  

The reds, however, were a travesty: Layer Cake, Souverain, J Lohr, Kendall Jackson, and Decoy.  I guess Barefoot, Cupcake, Franzia, and Gallo Hearty Burgundy weren't available?   There was a lesser Chianti (i.e., not a Classico) that was ok - the only drinkable PDP red on the list.  PDP reds were mostly a Dumpster-Diving Drink Package of mass-market garbage.  Celebrity does not have much respect for their wine-drinkers.