hampshirelad

I believe that as Luminae shares the same kitchens with the MDR ordering from that menu is not a problem. Blu does not , so I guess its down to how nicely you ask .. The menu could certainly do with a change and that also applies to the speciality restaurants. I have no idea who Daniel Boulud is , but his offering in Luminae could do with a long overdue change.. Perhaps that's the only dish he has. If you get a spot of his Tagine sauce on your shirt, even the Celebrity laundry cannot shift it.

I cannot remember the last time I took a DJ on a Celebrity Cruise and i have not seen one for several years. Just as well as I would have to bury the current one gathering dust in the cupboard. However I do wear a jacket and tie on Chic nights as I feel you should make the effort for that night. If you hanker after DJ's then go Cunard which has always been more dressy especially in the Grills

This is not the sort of info which Celebrity like you to find out. if you look at the deck plans you will see that the number of the sunset cabins decreases across the stern in steps the higher the deck but not a lot so I feel they are all very similar. The corner cabins are roughly the same . The corner cabins have a metal pole in them . Not a problem for us , but some live in dread of banging into it in the night. When you come to deck 12 you are below the cafe which can be slightly noisy at breakfast if you are travelling in hot climates. If you winge about it you will probably get a credit against the next cruise . Probably the most important fact is what I call the "wedding cake effect" When you look up from a lower deck - the decks above are looking down on your balcony. On deck 12 corner cabins you have the window washing gear by the side rail of the balcony which has never bothered us , but does not look good in the photos Hope that helps

When the exchange rates were better for sterling we booked with the company that liked to " Go for their Vacations" We found the prices very keen and the service outstanding. However we used to put together our own package and never missed a departure. Princess was one line that insisted on a US address. However the prices seems to have flattened out and because we only tip under duress the UK packages now seem to be all inclusive to get around that for the staff. I had thought that a US site would quote a lower price for a cruise with a UK departure to factor in the cost of air , but that does not seem to be the case.

Have done it once . Its a novelty. Would not do it again unless overloaded with OBC.Sort of thing the Grandchildren would like if they ever went with us

Be careful what you put in , just your robust stuff and take the delicates to wash at home. Remember to pull the sticky cabin tags off the inside collar or when they start to itch in a years time you wont remember when you last cruised in that cabin

You have to be careful with Aqua on deck 9. The Pool is on deck 10 and the Pool filtration system is housed in the middle of deck 9 directly below. We had a port side cabin opposite and it was like being trapped in a washing machine as the unit constantly cycles. Luckily we were able to get moved.. If you go for a Gtee Aqua this is were you may be allocated. Its a known issue.

Be warned they stick little plastic labels with your cabin no on it inside the collar of your shirts . You forget this and three months later and several washes they go hard and you then wonder where's that itch coming from. They are then stuck on tight and a devil to get off.!!

We live just outside Southampton and normally cruise with Celebrity. May I suggest you look at the National Express Coach Service from Victoria Coach Station to Southampton Coach Station which is just a short Taxi trip to the Hilton. . There are coaches almost every hours with journey times around 2 1/2 hours. Its all motorway so I don't think a Taxi would be much quicker. Murano is normally discounted heavily on the first night and booked up online well before sailing, to take pressure off the restaurants. Its part of your package so I guess they will slot you in , but it will be busy. The speciality restaurants tend to be more busy on sea days I have always found that all beds in cabins are in fact two singles joined together or separated as the guest wishes Luminae serves lunch on sail away day and now I believe sea days only. I would use it when you can If you embrace the Celebrity app on your phone you will find your booking and a lot of useful information about all aspects of your cruise.

Until it gets updated you do not get your own Deck and your Lounge - Michaels Club is a bit dated. However I remember the bar lady and she does a great cocktail with Lemon - chello can't be bothered to google the correct spelling. Don't overpay for a suite on that ship

Bear in mind there is no Retreat deck on Reflection and the Retreat Lounge is the old Michaels Club. Found that Cafe Al Bacio is constantly full. People are not drinking coffee, but reading books and falling asleep.

Live just outside Southampton Suggest you use national Express which has been well trawled. The reason is you can easily get you cases on the coach in the usual baggage store. On the train dealing with cases will be much more problematic. Private taxi type transport will cost you an "arm and a leg " Easy taxi from Southampton Coach station to one of the Chain Hotels near the Quay If you want to throw some money at it and or special occasion Leonardo Royal Southampton Grand Harbour 4.0 star property 4-star hotel with spa, near Southampton Cruise Terminal

Be careful that you select OBC for payment . I slipped up and it defaulted to my CC . Celebrity refunded it and rebooked with OBC. Now refund has not come through and am spending unwelcome time chasing it up

Should have added that the Reflection does not have full Retreat facilities. In July 2022 there was no Retreat Deck and the Retreat Lounge was the old Michaels Club. They hide that away in the "Retreat Hype ". There is a date for updating I believe , before that don't overpay.

The downside to Reflection is that they have not modernised the Retreat facilities, so do not expect full Suite benefits if that is what you are looking for.

We were in Suite 2217 on a 10 Day Adriatic trip in July 2022 We have had these corner suites before and as with everything there is a plus and a minus. We liked private wrap around balcony and extra space in the Suite. Great for breakfast on the balacony We did not find the vertical metal support pole in the cabin a problem. We did not bump into it in the night. We did not find the window washing equipment a distraction or obstruction . Never actually saw it in action. The entrance to the suite is tucked away behind a small passage accessed by another door. Makes it feel very private. In July we did not like the noise from the deck above from the sunset bar . This was caused by chairs being moved around at by guests and Staff at breakfast. Having said that this was very hot weather - mid summer so more dining out. On investigation you could see that the tables had been placed in such away that the chairs had to be moved constantly with the coming and going. A bit of creativity could have rearranged the Tables & Chairs and sorted this out . On other occasions we did not get this problem The solution is to look for the next deck down. However if you drop down to far you get what I call the "wedding cake effect" On your balcony you then look up on people looking down on you. At one time these were priced as standard suites, but they now add a surcharge , so we shall be taking a standard S1 this year. We prioritise the Retreat facilities and pick the best value suite available. We do not spend huge amounts of time in a cabin. Hope that helps

On Deck 7 Sunset Suites you will get what I call the "wedding cake effect " As you look up all the other suites are looking down on you and your balcony deck

Keep away from Cabins below the Pool area. The Pool filtration system is opposite in the middle of that deck. It sounds like a washing machine doing a continual cycle and can be heard in the cabins

Have taken this from the current Murano web page Offers are non-transferable and not combinable with Captain Club discounts or any other offer or promotion. We are Elite plus and were going to book Murano for a July cruise. The bookings have a small discount of 8% at the moment. Does this mean that they will no longer apply Captains Club discount in these situations Any thoughts gratefully appreciated Why make something simple when you can make it complicated

Thankyou Mike Mary this is precisely what happened for only two of the 3 excursions booked. For some reason Celebrity had retained my card details from a previous Cruise which I have never seen happen before and we are 6 months from Check in for a summer cruise. As you say the process is tricky and this is not a trap I shall fall into again. Anyway Celebrity rebooked them from my OBC giving the Discount at the time of booking. Once again Many thanks

I have had problems with the 15% Elite plus discount, but this is when we have booked onboard. For a couple or more to get the discount on each meal you must handover both (all) your cabin cards otherwise you will get effectively 7.5% discount (or proportion)on the total. Thanks for the info on a work around with online bookings. Looks like you need to be patient and persistent.

Booked some excursions recently using OBC using the 35% cyber discount. I can get an order history by clicking on my initials (top right)on the shore excursion page so I know they are booked , but the current balance of my OBC looks as if they have not all been charged as the same remaining OBC amount appears on each of the excursion booked from the order history. Any thoughts would be gratefully received - Many thanks

We have been twice in June out of Southampton. The weather is mixed and i don't think there is a perfect time. Stops can be fairly limiting as the Norwegians have never wished to expand their tourist industry. However the fjords are head and shoulders above the Rockies and Milford Sound Don't visit the Briksdal Glacier. After a long and exhausting walk we saw it across the valley and there was hardly anything to see.

Over the years we have been to all these destinations. I am not sure from your picture if you travel as a family . I would see these as trips for when the kids have left home. The overriding issue is that the main line cruise company's have slowly been cutting back on the length of their cruises and what was the standard 14 day trip has now been cut back to 9 and 10 days. This limits the distance of travel . Iceland is all about the geology and is a bit barren. If you are into bubbling mud and hot springs and Tectonic plates then this is for you. The weather can change in a flash. The sea journey can be rough and many don't turn up for breakfast. The scenery of Norway is far superior to the Rockies and dare I say it Milford Sound. The Fjords are head and shoulders above any similar destination. An ideal trip would be from say Stavanger up to the North Cape. Stops do not always have a great choice of activities as Norway has never sought to capitalise on Tourism. As has been said don't spend time looking for Glaciers. Look at a company Hurtigruten https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/ It maybe what you are looking for. They are completely different destinations and each has its own charms and which or whatever you choose will provide memories for years to come.

I would advise some research if you are going for Aqua on Deck 9. Reason is that the Pool filtration system is in the middle of Deck 9 below the Pool. . We experienced this and it was like being trapped in a washing machine. Luckily we could got moved . Suggest the cabins aft of the lifts to be safe