CruisinShips

For example if a preferred suite is sold out on an upcoming desired cruise, is there an app that can track that for you? Thanks in advance.

No charge for the bottles of sparkling water. Luminae did not have the list of "everyday items". It had the daily menu, and then they would give you the MDR menu if you requested it. You could always get the old staples like shrimp cocktail, Caesar salad, French onion soup, salmon or chicken. Filets weren't offered every day as I recall.

I'll try...but my answers may not be of much help... 1. We did not order any premium selections from MDR as it was my understanding you couldn't because they aren't set up for anything that required a bill. I am not 100% sure though. 2. Yes, bottled water every day, plus Evian and also Vitamin Water per request. 3. I didn't look at bottle selections, sorry, because my wife isn't a wine drinker and I was fine with what they had by the glass. And after a couple of pre-dinner martinis at the Martini Bar, I didn't need a bottle! 4. Did not try Murano, but I have heard great things.

Our next two booked cruises are on the Apex and the Beyond.

for lowering our expectations to the point where they were GREATLY exceeded! Let me start by saying we have cruised plenty. We are Diamond on Royal, and I have cruised on Carnival, NCL, Holland America, and most recently Virgin. That said, it's only our second cruise since the pandemic. We are fortunate enough to be able to cruise in suites, in this case we had a CS, so these comments are based much on that aspect of the experience. I'm not going to get into the minutia because, frankly, I am tired after a long travel day back to Florida from LA with delayed flights. The Eclipse is a beautiful ship with a classic cruise ship feel. Yes, I agree with those who said it's feeling a little tired in areas, but we expected that and all in all it was immaculate. It was an older crowd (we are in our early 60s, and a big percentage of travelers were older than us). I don't mind that at all. Very few kids on our Pacific Coastal itinerary. Our butler was Ronald, nice man, very good at his job. We aren't demanding...basically he brought us coffee in the morning at the same time as we requested. Our essentials were replenished daily (water, sparkling water) and maybe an occasional other request. Luminae was a high point for us. Breakfast every morning, dinner 4 nights. Dinner menus were a bit limited, but quality was good, and we could order off the MDR menu, which was good for my wife. We had the same server, Vennis, and he was the highlight of the staff for us. The entire Luminae team was outstanding. We ate at Tuscan Grill 2 nights, and it was pretty good cruise ship Italian food. No complaints at all. The buffet was not good IMO. Not much in the way of healthy options beside the salad bar. I am not a fan of cruise buffets, and this one did nothing to change that. We spent our pre-dinner cocktail time mainly at the Martini Bar...the bartenders are a riot and there was always a great vibe there. We don't do much as far as after dinner shows...we did see a comedian/magician who was excellent. The vocalists that were aboard were very good. Now as for the Retreat amenities, this is where we can knock some points off. I will preface it by saying some of this was to be expected given that the ship hasn't yet been revolutionized. Michael's Club was a huge disappointment...dark, boring, lacking in any basic little snacks that, IMO should always be there (other than peanuts). The lack of a Retreat sundeck was a big negative as well. Again, I know it's not typical of the newer ships. The elevator situation wasn't good, but again, not enough to alter our overall enjoyment. Itinerary was fun and different for us. We had great weather and enjoyed LA, Santa Barbara, Catalina Island, San Diego, and Ensenada. San Fran is a place we have been to many times and only got off the ship to meet friends for dinner. But it was a fun and novel itinerary for people who have done mainly Caribbean cruises. I'm sure I will think of more, and I can answer questions if anyone has any. All in all it was a really great week (plus a couple of extra days prior in LA). Our expectations were lowered, but the reality for us is we had a wonderful time. Yes there were some little things that felt chintzy, and I can understand how some people who cruise very often would notice and care more than we did. But for people like us who only cruise a couple of times a year, it was just a great week and we didn't feel the need to nitpick. I'm reminded of a line from the old TV show King of Queens where Kevin James told Leah Remini...if you can lower your expectations of me, I will disappoint you less often. We have two X cruises booked, and we look forward to both!

On her now. Pics from this morning.

Thanks. Strange it’s not on both of our cards.

My wife and I are on the Eclipse right now. Review to come when I’m home. We just noticed her Seapass card has a star with a circle around it, and my card doesn’t have one. She’s gloating because she says it makes her special. In spite of the fact she is, we are curious what it means. It’s our first time on X, we are Diamond on Royal, so Elite here, and we are in a CS, so it has nothing to do with a drink package. I googled it and it seems no one has a solid answer. Is anyone here smarter than Google?

I couldn't disagree with this more. The suite experience on pretty much every cruise line is potentially a VERY different experience IMO. I used to love cruising in regular balcony cabins, but once we had a taste of the suite experience...originally on Royal's Oasis class ships....we could never go back. I am very very thankful we can afford it at this stage in our lives and I do not begrudge anyone who chooses not to. But having a specialty breakfast spot, having a nice place where they often remember your name to go and chill when you get back from a port day, having a spot where you don't have to fight the chair hogs, not having to go to the MDR, and having someone to help you book reservations when you're told they are full, etc....is NOT the exact same "ship experience as everyone who paid half" of what you did.

"Too something" is an astute way to put it. We saw a couple of shows that we enjoyed, and they have "pop-up" musicians that play at different times in different locales around the ship throughout the days. They have activities like drink making classes that were fun. As for the food choices, they have NO MDR, all "specialty" restaurants are included and my wife is a pretty basic eater and they accommodated her nicely. We are older than you...young early 60s...the ship is fine for doing what you described, but there absolutely is vibe that makes it feel like it's geared towards those who party more. No one is forcing you to do anything, so that was just about the vibe and nothing else. I'd say if the dates, itinerary and pricing meet your needs better than other choices...you'll have a good time.

My VV cruise (reviewed above) was on the Scarlet Lady.

It's funny, we took a cruise on Virgin this March, and our experience was unlike what I read here in the latter part of this thread. I thought the food was very good for the most part...that said we travel in suites usually on most lines and have stopped going to the MDR almost altogether. So the variety of included restaurants on Virgin was solid. The galley was good for us for breakfast...only one time did we have a wait that was too long, but typically it was pretty good. The staff was amongst the happiest and friendliest group of people we have ever encountered on a cruise ship...they were allowed the freedom of individuality and that seemed to really positively impact their overall demeanors. I can understand how some who may be uncomfortable around, or less accepting of, people who didn't hide or contain their own orientations would have an issue, but for us, we saw happy young people who were comfortable in their own skin. The other passengers aspect was a mixed bag...but frankly I don't think I have been on many cruises where that wasn't the case. While the ship's theme seems to suggest it's geared towards 20-30 year olds, and while there were plenty in that range, the average age was certainly older. The no kids was great for us lol. That being said, the day at their private club in the Bahamas was a different story...it was a pool party that felt more like a day at the pool on a Carnival weekend cruise. We did the Mega Rockstar suite thing, and that was fantastic...our butler/Rockstar Agent was everpresent, the bar in our suite was always restocked and we had all of our reservations handled for us (which I understand made our overall experience much less stressful than having to make our own reservations on the app, which we know was difficult for some). Overall, we thought the ship was very good, the food was very good, the service and staff was good, and the fellow passengers were not our cup of tea for the most part. Would we cruise VV again? Living in South Florida it's possible if we want a shorter cruise that's more upscale than Carnival or RC. But I am not rushing back mainly because of the younger vibe.

Thanks. I actually did post my question in that thread this morning and didn’t get a response, so I posted it here as well. Thanks for your response.

Thank you.

Thanks, but that wasn't my question. I was wondering if anyone has gotten their upgrade at the port, or a day or two before...I am aware of how many have found out through the credit card charge.

that anyone's MoveUp bid has been accepted? Is it safe to assume if you haven't heard either way (Pending) by a couple of days before you depart, it's not happening?

Question...what is the latest/closest to embarkation anyone has had their bid accepted?

Fair enough. I live in South Florida where most of the exposure we have is to Caribbean cruises, so that's the basis of most of the info I get on Carnival. Longer and more expensive itineraries may very well appeal to a different crowd, so I will defer to you and others on that.

Trying to scare the OP off?

When I think of Carnival, I think of rowdy partiers and lots of kid activities. That's not how I think of Celebrity at all. To me, that's a more significant difference than debatable comparisons to food quality.

I assume you don't think the CEO really wrote that letter, though, do you? I agree, it's a nice touch, but in reality it's just a systematic gesture that was automatically sent to everyone who booked a cruise...

We carry with us everywhere we go a small device that, with the tap of a few buttons, can provide us with access to more information than was ever imaginable in the lifetimes of prior generations. And we use it to discuss whether we can substitute mashed potatoes on an upcoming cruise. That being said, can anyone share any good cat videos? 😉😜

I apologize in advance if this sounds harsh, but I can't imagine caring about anything less than that. I do get the point the OP was trying to make, but really, it's a change someone along the chain decided to make, probably with very little thought, and while it may seem like yet another departure from what one expects, it's really really meaningless relative to the cruise experience IMO. Sorry.

I wonder what would happen if you moveup from a sky suite to a Celebrity suite....I assume you'd then get a dedicated butler (instead of the SS "team" thing)?

Why not just show up when you're ready to show up...worst case you wait for a little while. Better than sitting in a hotel room twiddling your thumbs and wishing you could get there already! Chances are they will let you check in early anyway!