JennAngel9

Thanks Essiesmom.  I hadn't even thought about my 4 yos sudden need for nightlights.  Not an issue when we cruised with her at 2.

Hi, we'll be travelling with 2 pre-schoolers over Christmas on board Celebrity.  This is our first Christmas at sea with kids and I'm hoping other people can chime in with ideas about anything from decor, holiday traditions (that don't require additional bulk in our luggage!), and even fun gifts that aren't too big!

I'll start a few tips I've modified from other boards:

Bring magnetic hooks (should stick to stateroom wall) and hang small stockings on the hooks.

Pack presents that are also useful for the trip (like a pair of new pajamas or pants themed like favorite disney princess).

Load favorite holiday music on iphone.

Any others?

On 11/4/2018 at 10:42 AM, bubbachief said:

Check out tourguideushuaia.net

We are booked with them as are several people on our 12/9 Celebrity Eclipse sailing

Bubbachief, their hiking tour looks pretty great (we are on the tour after you)-- do you mind letting me know how you found them? Ushuaia is one of the main reasons we booked our cruise and I want to make sure we have a good guide!

Can you tell me what you did with them in Ushuaia, Montevideo and Punta del Estes?

Does anyone know what the non-alcoholic offerings in Michael's club are? I'm particularly interested in bottled water and soda.  Thanks!

So we experienced something similar and helpful cruise critic members directed us to call Captain's Club.  Over the phone they were able to book me into a broader range of restaurants/time availability, so I recommend giving it a try.

11 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

His Elite status is a result of being married to you and will remain. Make sure you remind him of the good fortune you've brought his way.   So you'll each have the choice of the 90 free minutes or the 30% discount. 

Wow, that's awesome, thanks for letting me know. I'm going to go do a happy dance and celebrate our second free bag of laundry while contemplating if we can make it 14 days with only 180m of internet between us...

1 hour ago, Luvcrusn said:

I have also switched between devices on one account with no problem, phone, kindle, tablet, laptop. Also, if you are elite you get a choice of 90 free minutes each (be sure to log out after you're done or the minutes will continue running) or the 30% discount. You don't both have to choose the same. We use one of our 90 minutes and then after seeing how much we need we either use the second 90 minutes or buy the unlimited 1 device option on board.

Thanks everyone.  That's really smart Luvcrusn.  Still not sure if we'll have one or two perks.  I became Elite under the old system and haven't sailed Celebrity since 2013...DH has been on exactly 1 cruise with Celebrity in 2013 and appears to also have Elite status on his online account for the past 2 months (again, first time we've looked since 2013) and so I'm trying to figure out if he somehow also got grandfathered in linked to me or if his status will disappear when we board...either way, I like the idea of using the perk and deciding what we actually need (or at least saving a few days worth of per day package) before committing... if we can each keep under 10m a weekday, 90m should get us almost a week.

Thank you Dianne & Jim.

Montekat, I was curious about this exact issue-- it looks like the package is for 1 device or two devices, etc.  Does it not track individual devices, but only how many you can have connected at one time?  Both my husband and I will need to check our work emails on occasion but part of the reason we originally started cruising is because we were forced to be less connected...

Thank you Marylou!  I wish you luck with new and exciting menus on your next cruise.  Honestly, DH would probably be fine to have the same menu almost every night as long as the food was amazing. 🙂

Sometimes I feel stressed deciding between options because I know I won't have the option to pick the other alternative next time. 

On 10/18/2018 at 9:35 AM, Jim_Iain said:

Usually the price on the Internet is the normal price and the discount is applied at checkout.   Another consideration might be your CC status - You get discounts that are only obtained if you call in to Captain's Club to book in Advance  or book on board - 

Select  -  25%
Elite   -    30%
Elite Plus -  35%

 

Wow, thanks Jim. As I understand it, that's 30% Elite + 10% early booking, but I have to call Captain's Club?

On 10/17/2018 at 9:38 AM, chemmo said:

We tend to make provisional speciality bookings through the shoreside concierge when they contact us (about 10 days before you cruise). On boarding we ask for the Luminae menu order for the cruise and adjust to dine there where/when we want to. If we wish to then change our plans on a more last minute basis either the butler or the concierge will sort.

Do you know if the Luminae menu changes much from cruise to cruise?

I love your recommendation to ask for all nights upon arriving on board.  Do you have to go to the restaurant or can you request them delivered to your room?

On 10/18/2018 at 5:39 PM, Sandy1975 said:

I like Perrier and Pellegrino so upgrading is a no brainer for me. Allows me to drink top shelf plus my upgraded sparkling water. 

Sandy and other premium water drinkers-- can you let me know how it works if you have a classic package and want to buy upgraded water-- is it discounted or you just pay normal stated rates?

Just call the captain's club since you have sailed celebrity before) 1-800-760-0654

Thank you! I spoke to a lovely CC rep who got our dining sorted out... well, almost. They did book all the restaurants I requested but (we are spread across 3 cabins) for a few meals we have dining reservations at different times. :o:o:o

Guess I'll try again tomorrow!

Thanks Redtravel. Two follow up questions: (1) was it a standard size pack 'n play? Our kid is about 34" inches long so I don't think a mini-PNP would work and (2) was there any sort of mattress or just the standard P&P 1/2" thick mat? I don't want to gamble my son's willingness to sleep peacefully on a lumpy thin mat over a 14 day cruise. :p

Thanks Kenevenpar! I have "contact shoreside concierge" on my todo list but haven't found the number on Celebrity's website. Do you know if there is there a sticky or thread here where I could find it? It definitely seems like the easiest way to handle this.

Hello all. We are traveling in December on Celebrity Eclipse and trying to arrange specialty dining. When I try for literally any restaurant at any time I get the following response:

"We're sorry, this restaurant is not available during this meal time or one or more of your selected guests do not meet the minimum requirements. Please check onboard."

Has anyone else encountered (and ideally resolved!) this problem? We tried on two different stateroom bookings for different combinations of individuals (I thought perhaps having a kid was the problem). We can't even make Celebrity Select dining reservations if it matters--though we are mostly trying to reserve Murano at this time.

One cabin is booked into Blu and the other is booked into Luminae.

Thanks!

I have tried to email the special request department but no response. Anyone know how long it usually takes to get a response?

Hi Tennant-- if you are still around, can you let me know what sort of pack-n-play you ended up with?

There are different packages with 2 variables the number of bottles ( 3,5 or 7) and the wine selection - Classic package & Premium package . We booked a 7 bottle premium package on a recent cruise. We purchased it from our sommelier after looking at the wines available in both the Classic and premium package. Like the beverage package a 18% gratituty is added to the price.

 

Personally, I would wait and book this on the ship with your sommelier as they get some compensation for selling the package. A happy sommelier is a great friend

Thank you for the helpful information and awesome tip-- I completely agree... plus, then we can determine if the quality difference is worth the price difference. One more question-- if you get the package, do you have to use it only in your primarily restaurant? Because our kids may not be able to join us in Luminae, I'd like to have the flexibility to use it wherever...though I recognize that once the bottle is open it would be a hassle to take it from dining room to dining room.

My 4 and 6 year olds have been on 6 Celebrity cruises so far (7th coming up in April) and absolutely love it. They have a great time at the kids club.

 

Just as Celebrity isn't the right choice for all adults, it won't be the right choice for all kids either. But those on these boards with kids who've actually sailed Celebrity typically report that their kids love it.

 

Mike

Hi Mike... Is there any chance you've posted reviews or posts anywhere that touch on your experience with Fun Factory/VIP/Babysitting or anything else related to having 2yos and 4yos on board? We are taking our kids on a cruise with child-centers/activities for the first time ever and I'd love to know what you recommend. :)

Can someone explain what the wine package is and how it works? It looks like the pricing varies? DH and I have maybe 3 glasses of wine (so 1.5 each) a night when cruising so the beverage packages don't seem like a great value to us, but we would probably go through 6 bottles over a two week cruise and would prefer not to have to sign each time at dinner.

We were recently sailing on Silhouette with friends (all in suites) while their young adult children were not in suites. Over 14 days we all dined in Luminae every night except two. We also never saw any waits. The charges ($30pp) were spread over three different shipboard accounts. There was never a wait. More recently on Reflection (where there are more suites) we saw waits for tables so bringing guest into Luminae on this ship could present more of a problem.

 

For what it's worth, while on the Silhouette my husband and I dined one evening in Murano. The service was not nearly as good as Luminae. This was early evening when they were not busy so I don't know what the issue was. The food was good but no better than Luminae in our opinion. On our Reflection cruise two months later we didn't bother with any Specialty restaurants other than lunch in Sushi on 5 which was fabulous!

Thanks NCHPCruiser; that’s encouraging. We are in a similar situation except our kids are younger and we can’t eat without them...or more accurately they can’t eat without us, except on nights we pawn them on grandma and grandpa or the au pair. I’m hoping to come up with some arrangement where we can bring them a few days, eat in MDR a few days, and ditch them with grandma a few days.

We are hoping that being in a cabin more than 2x the cost of a sky suite will also get us a little extra flexibility.

In a Suite we have been denied access to Blu as they were full with AQ guests waiting. We have also been in Luminae when they were full and had Suite guests waiting so no guests allowed. IMHO it can depend on when you want to eat. On South America cruises dining room is empty early but about 9 Katie bar the doors things are jammed,

I guess that's good news for us as we will be cruising South America and like to eat early. It sounds like it is up to the discretion of the Maitre d'. I guess worst case we spend more time in the specialty dining rooms.

Gonzo70 is correct, these were the fees I experienced on Silhouette in January. I had a quiet conversation with the maître d' at embarkation lunch that I would be covering the charges for my guests for the week and it was no big deal. Have a great cruise!

I'm so relieved to hear this! We ended up with 3 cabins and 3 assigned dining rooms, (a Celebrity Suite, Aqua Class and Concierge Class) and I would love to be able to have the whole group assigned to Luminae many nights, even if it means we end up paying for a few more adults!

Does anyone know if there is a reason we can't "trade" with our parents who are in Aqua a night or two so that they can have our table in Luminae and we can have their table at Blu?

If you are staying only one night, then the QM might be okay.

 

Marina del rey if you have a car other wise the hotel would be your destination. Walking to Venice Beach is possible but only a daytime activity. It's can be dicey there although I do like to walk the boardwalk sometimes to people watch.

 

If you are staying more than one night and want to be entertained within walking distance, then the Sheraton Miramar or the JW Marriott, or Casa del Mar in Santa Monica are all great. Of course there is also Beverly Hills which has the Hilton and the Montage are good choices.

I lived in a luxury high rise a few blocks from the Ritz in the Marina until a couple years ago and while I wouldn't advise walking to the beach at night (mostly because it's dark and there's not much to see), it's as safe as anywhere in a nice part of a major city and there are cute restaurants around the marina waterfront within an easy walk of the hotel. A little closer to the airport/pier is the Portofino Hotel in Redondo Beach, which isn't quite 5* but is adorable and has bike rentals and rooms that overlook a different marina that is often populated by friendly seals.

In Beverly Hills, the Montage is lovely and the Peninsula is delightful. The Four Seasons Beverly Wilshire (NOT Four Seasons Los Angeles, which is also lovely) is right in the middle of the shopping tourist district.

One place I haven't seen anybody mention on this thread is Terranea (http://www.terranea.com/), which we absolutely adore. It's between LAX and the port and about 10x nicer than the Ritz or the Miramar (which is a Fairmont, for the record). However, there really isn't much nearby (there are a few restaurants, pools, hiking trails and an amazing spa on property) aside from a lovely but Trump branded golf course.

Happy to answer additional questions about LA, though I'm only on CC periodically these days. You can reach me faster via twitter, my handle is JEandJL.