pete_coach

From time to time the question of distribution of gratuities comes up so I did some research on previous threads and found the following:

 

Gratuity of 12.50 per day

 

Waiters : 3.65

Asst Waiters 2.10

Dining Rm Management 1.00

Stateroom 3.50 extra 50 cents for concierge and Aqua

Other service personnel 1.25

 

Total 12.50

 

We were on the Century in December 2014 and were informed by our MDR waiters that their sole income is determined by the amount of gratuities paid. The more tables they look after the more gratuities get paid. One can take that comment at face value or whatever.

 

It will be interesting now that rumours are abound that select diners don't have to prepay gratuities how many customers will remove gratuities in toto

Good information but I think you may have posted it in the wrong thread :)

Thanks so much

 

The Eclipse has that bar on the deck (same position) as the Sunset bar..and the little symbols have that crescent par shape still in palce yet not labelled on the Reflection.

 

Was wondering whether it was a labeling oversight---

Just like deck plans will have a line indicating a wall when its actually an open hall intersection....sometimes the web site plans are not accurate (even cabin door positions have been off from drawings) It happens.

 

With the Eclipse sailing--it was jammed with CCers and lots of other pax...

Hard to get a drink and the bartenders at the Sunset bar were super cranky/rude. ( :(The only rude/poor service of the entire cruise)

 

Thanks for the info

The Sunset Bar is a zoo on departure. No getting around it. Everyone want to be at the top deck watching the ship leave port.

Thanks for all the comments but still, the question is when at St Maarten, "pick up is 10 AM island time...is that 09:00 or 11:00 or actually just 10? "

We stayed at the Hotel San Giorgio and quite enjoyed it.

 

If it and Civitavecchia weren't so close to Rome I'd probably love a long weekend there but there's no way I'd stay that long when I could be in Rome instead. It's a conundrum!

I second the Hotel San Giorgio. We have stayed there several times. the restaurant is excellent, the breakfast very good and if you ask, they have a fantastic wine cellar where they will sell you some great Italian wine to take on board.

It is right across form the beach where you can take a walk and very close to the port entrance (1 block) where you can take the shuttle bus to the ship (or, the hotel can arrange a taxi to take you to the ship).

It s actually part of the Ocean View Cafe. The outdoor part.

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Celebrity-Reflection

There are little icons with photos on the web page.

The cruise is on Saturday.

So, both St Thomas and St Maarten are 1 hour ahead of Miami (and Puerto Rico?).

The clocks on the ship will be whatever time zone we are in?

We are on a cruise with stops in St Thomas and St Maarten. We booked private excursions and on St Thomas it says pick up is Ship time and while St Maarten says Island time.

Ship time is easy to figure out (:)) but Island time would be what? Pick up is 10 AM island time...is that 09:00 or 11:00 or actually just 10?

Thanks for ll the photos jenniebnyc.

We are boarding Saturday and cannot wait...there just does not seem to be a downside to anything about a cruise. :)

Glad you had a good time and forgive me for saying this but it was not as good a time as I am gong to have :)

We had 2146 S1 and it was a corner. It had window washing equipment but you did not see it form the room either out the porthole window or the balcony doors. You could see it if you walked around the side of the balcony but it was not obtrusive.

We hadn't been since Sept 2000 and posted my concerns on our roll call and was told it was no longer like this. I would be surprised if it was that cleaned up as what you describe is exactly what we experienced 15 years ago.

Since we have an overnight there, we plan on taking a tour ... not sure which one as of yet, but wouldn't be caught dead wandering around alone there if it is still like what we saw years ago and what you describe above.

We were there in 2013 and was actually taken aback at the size of the "bad" area. They kept the main roads clean, we saw cleaning crews sweeping up and leaving piles that included dead animals, for the trucks to pick up. There is no way would be walking, even in the day in that half of the town and unfortunately, there are several tourists attractions in those areas.

I have been looking at a cruise in November 2016 out of Fort Lauderdale for some time. We had not decided yet but were certain of the dates and itinerary and the ship.

Well, the promotion came out recently and the price of the cabins went up a lot...over $300.

Not much of a promotion if you jack up the price that much to compensate for your promotion.

thank you everyone! im not worried about the peddlers or scary areas. I have dealt with it all before when i lived in Manila. I just really wanted to find something my whole group could do :)

I am not sure about Manila, never having been there but I was stunned at the slums in Cartegena, especially up the hillside going to the top of the mountain to see Convento La Popa de la Galera. Even around the Fort, it is bad.

The city seems divided in half, the one half where there are big hotels and nice beaches and the other is ghetto and slums.

The "old" city is nice, and touristy but the rest is, in my opinion, not "pleasant" and I would not wander around at any time of the day.

We took a private tour with Marelvy Pena-Hall. We have been on many tours and can say that she was one of the best guides we ever had. She absolutely loves her city, warts and all and she will show them to you. She realy knows the history of the city (and it looong and interesting) but doe snot lecture you. She tells stories instead. Best is that she also knows the other tours an especially the cruise lines bus tours. She gets to the places before them and misses the crowds and noise.

She is considered the best tour guide in Cartegena by TripAdvisor

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/Attraction_Review-g297476-d2153998-Reviews-Tour_in_Cartagena_with_Marelvy_Pena_Hall-Cartagena_Cartagena_District_Bolivar_Dep.html

I do not take recommending tour guides lightly because they can be different day to day but Marelvy tour is just plain outstanding.

http://tourincartagena.com/#_=_

Risotto is best when making it with a glass of wine in hand! The constant stirring and careful attention, means you need to keep the other hand busy with great wine! I will only make risotto on a friday or saturday night - usually takes two glasses of wine kind of attention!

100% correct.... and after the wine while making the risotto, some more while enjoying the perfectly prepared risotto :)

The thing is that in a restaurant, they make it in the morning if you are lucky or once a week in some places and keep it in the fridge for re-heating when they get an order..

We are on Celebrity thread -- I just got off a sailing and mentioned it as being worse this time.

 

No need for you to tell me how to express myself. I got along fine so far without your help.

I got lots of good suggestions for remedies.

Whew, did you ever take it the wrong way, sorry :(

Seriously?

I guess you missed the other posts with passengers describing their own experiences with this hair issue.

I asked for help and suggestions which I got in the thread.

Yes, seriously. I do think your initial post was funny.

I understand that you had problems with your hair and I saw the suggestions of others for conditioner et all.

Your post though stated "I've been on a bunch of cruises on Celebrity and other lines and never had to fight my hair so much." You could have just said you had been on a number of cruises period, but instead, you identified Celebrity specifically and therefore I could construe it as a complaint against Celebrity. Mellow out :)

You don't expect people to actually ask the question they want answered do you.

 

Let alone put a title on the thread that lets you actually know what it's about:mad:

Sorry, didn't mean to be rude or too obvious. ;)

What we are asking is your experiences of whether any of the cruise lines are offering written warnings & precautions ,either on their web sites or via written notice ,to those booked on cruises to impacted global areas ?

Ummm, you asked "What has been your experience with Celebrity & other cruise lines about pre warning & what to do for both the Zika & Chikungunya virus ?"

Nothing about, pre-warnings from the lines, precautions, what to do or written notices.

I find this thread funny and a bit interesting.

Are you insinuating that somehow Celebrity ships caused this issue with your hair? Considering you have been on many cruises and never had this problem before on other ships and cruise lines?

Celebrity has been blamed for many things but I am quite sure this is a new one :)

sanitize those hands more often then less you come out healthy, not wealthy, but maybe wiser

Clean hands do not prevent mosquitoes from biting you and transmitting the virus :)

I also agree with djkretired, how many threads about this virus are needed. They should all be merged.

I know it may seem an odd method with the poached eggs but it appears that many restaurants prepare their poached eggs in this manner. I have a book by a Michelin starred chef, Marcus Wareing, and in it he teaches this method of pre cooking and then reheating as something he was taught at the Savoy hotel.:)

Very standard process, especially in busy restaurants. Brunches would be at a standstill if they didn't have dozens of pre-poached eggs on hand. Often they poach them and keep them in a warmer for when they need it.

I am surprised people are so surprised when they find out that many of the menus items are pre-prepared. A classic example is risotto....rs rely is risotto prepared to order as it takes so long to make it. Pre-prepared and finished as it is ordered. That is the way restaurants work.

Pros are a great captain and crew. Everyone on board works as a team to resolve any issues that might arise. The M class ships are a bit older but cabins have been redone and are quite nice. Buffet is wonderful - love the sushi. Like the slightly smaller size.

 

Cons - The website is awful. Veranda cabins are smaller than the higher Concierge and AQ cabins. Does not have lots of whistles and bells. No climbing wall or zip line on board. Luminae and Select dining have made the MDR a bit tight feeling.

 

We have made some 10 cruises on M class ships and the same on others. M class is a great basic cruise ship. Not flashy, but provides a very very good experience for the money.

Don't know about the M class ships but we have been Concierge, Aqua and regular cabins on the S Class ships and they are all the same size. The cabins are the same but if you are on the "hump" the balconies are larger.

We are cruising on the Reflection during the Super Bowl. Will we be able to view it somewhere on the ship?

Go to the Reflections Roll Call and there is a lot of information about the Game and the set up in the theater.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2065815

Go to the last 3 pages for the Super Bowl discussions

See you on board. It will be a great cruise :)

Seems to me that on the way up you see one side from your balcony and on the way down you see the other side?

Unfortunately, the Celebrity website is a disaster. Regardless of how many times they say they are updating, it still is unstable and freezes.

I realize it is no help in your situation and as someone already posted, give them a call.

A little hint, if you are not a Captains Club member, sign up then use the Captains Club number to get issues resolved. They seem to be able to do things the regular help line cannot....and the wait times are much shorter. :)