pete_coach

Thanks everyone for all the positive comments about my review. I will give Celebrity another try in the future. I like the suggestion of trying Celebrity in the Mediterranean with later seating dining. :)

We have done 2 cruises in the Mediterranean and 32 in the Caribbean.

In our opinion, the atmosphere, the people and the food are really quite different. The ship and it's amenities of course are the same but there is just a different "feel" about a Med cruise.

I don't know what it is. Perhaps the ports, the expectations, the people, I am not sure but it is quite different on board.

The competition between financial institutions is so tight that the rates are so close it is not worth driving around to get a better deal. You will spend more on gas that you will save in exchange.

Have cash when you land for taxis, food etc and if you need more, find an ATM. Sometimes your bank ill have an affiliation with certain European banks. Check with them for every country you are going to visit. Sometimes, if you go to the bank machine or ATM affiliated with your bank, the fees will be reduced.

As for fees, each bank and credit card has it's own fee structure, best to speak with your financial institution.

Anyway, ghstudio is quite correct, have some cash from any ATM (by the way, most, if not all ATMs and bank machines in Europe will accept 4 digit PINS only).

Oh, and the ATM on the ship gives you US dollars.

A dinner at Murano, we had lobster, prepared and flambéed table side that was spectacular. I am not a big fan of lobster but must say that the preparation (the show), the presentation, the service and the taste exceeded all my expectations....regardless of any restaurant that I have been.

They are taking the cheapest way around. Not necessarily the best way. Depends on the cargo.

While fuel may have gone down, other costs have gone up. Just like at home, the groceries have skyrocketed as have labor costs, parts,maintenance.

Unfortunately, as things go down, others go up and not necessarily proportionality.

Not defending Celebrity (or other cruise lines or air lines or rail lines) but fuel is only part of the operating costs.

As an aside, Celebrity never did add a fuel surcharge like others did.

Never needed a ticket on the 4 cruises we have been on.

Hi everyone, I wanted to write a review and share my experience on the Celebrity Silhouette from February 14-21, 2016. Port calls included San Juan, St. Kitts, and St. Maarten. I'm 26 and this was my 18th cruise. I usually travel with family, and I've cruised with Cunard, Holland America, Princess, Royal Caribbean, Costa and Carnival.

 

..........

 

All in all, it was a good cruise. I enjoyed Celebrity, but I think I need to stay with Holland America and Princess for future cruises. I’ll give Celebrity a second chance someday, but this certainly wasn’t the cruise line I was expecting. I need a cruise line that puts less emphasis on specialty dining rooms and upsell techniques, and more emphasis on a solid baseline product. I suppose that Celebrity is what you make of it. If you’re looking to spend twice what you’ve paid for the cruise in extras to make it something extraordinary, you’re in the right place. On the other hand, I’m looking for a more traditional experience with a fewer “nominal fees”, more ocean views, and a more relaxed atmosphere.

We are relatively new to cruising and only have been on Celebrity. I am glad to read a very objective review from someone that has been on many cruises and on many cruise lines. Great perspective and great review. Thanks

I totally agree with your take on the specialty restaurants. $50 + is far too much for them. Having said that, we have tried them all (except this last cruise) and thoroughly enjoyed the food and service (Qisine being the exception, did not like it at all).

I also agree with the "upsell" aspect of the shops. They are trying too hard to sell, perhaps they are working on commission?

Lastly, I have been on this Celebrity forum for a few years now and wish to apologists for the Celebrity apologists. They are sometimes very mean and often condescending to people that have criticism of Celebrity. Most of us appreciate your honest review and opinion but the few constant apologists are really hard on any critics. :)

We were on the Reflection February 6-13th. I think the standard unlimited package was $140 and the high speed unlimited was $189.

I was on the same cruise and that is what I paid. I signed up before the cruise and paid only $140 for high speed. The service and speed were excellent except for one day when it was out for a few hours. They said that the satellite was malfunctioning and the entire ships internet was out too, not just the passengers connections.

I have no current bookings so I cannot get on the page for booking the internet packages but if you have a booking, you can get on and check.

Here is just one example: Click Here

 

Celebrity website issues, along with "it will be fixed soon" have been going on for at least 6 or 7 years. Seems like every major fix either forgets some areas or breaks other areas.

The link is quite humorous as the issues and questioned posed back the still exist.

Someone complained abut problems with the online checkin and the rsponse was "Thank you for sharing your frustration. Because we have received several concerns about Online CheckIn we are quickly looking into solutions for ways to assist our guests and travel partners with navigating through the process with greater ease.

Thank you,

Celebrity Cruises Web Marketing "

The question was posted on April 15, 2013 and the answer was posted on 3 May 2013

And here we are, discussing it still :)

I had very big problems with the website prior to our recent cruise. It was constantly down, I could nto get into my account, could not complete the online express check in and more.

It required many calls to Celebrity and they were able to "unlock" my account but it was for a one time use only. It always returned to the "account being altered, comeback in 20 minutes" tune.

The Celebrity agent told me at one pointy that they were in the process of out sourcing the entire website and it will be better. He did not provide a definitive time frame but, that changes are in the works.

To be fair, once they have chosen a webpage service provider, I would think it will take a while to fix all the problems and errors and database issues that now exist.

There is hope for the future but for the time being, we continue to suffer :)

We flew from Quebec City last year and again this year with Canadian North and had excellent service both times and I don't understand what this Government thing is doing here ???

I am not sure if you are asking a question or making a statement? Mine was a question, I do not live in Quebec.

Just got off the Reflection and we had 4 cabins on the hump and had the partitions open for the entire cruise.

I am quite sure if it was not allowed, the room stewards would not jeopardize their jobs by opening them and leaving them open.

We flew with Nolinor - what a disaster - started charging people for drinks. When brought to their attention that drinks were included, gave everyone one complimentary drink. On the way home, one gentleman complained he couldn't sit with his wife, so they announced "open seating". Terrible service.

Were you on the Celebrity "Its All Included" package through Celebrity or did you buy from a travel agent?

Perhaps if flying out of Quebec you have to fly a Quebec based airline? (to appease the Government there?)

Anyway, we got free drinks and a pretty good meal but your seats were assigned at the airport. Was quite impressed with Canadian North aircraft and their service.

Seriously????!!! The wives can do the pool and spa thing???? I know you've got to be tongue-in-cheek. Some wives (*ahem*) are as football crazy as the men. As a matter of fact, of my football crazy friends, more are women.

 

Sorry, just looking on an old thread that popped up and I just couldn't let that one pass! <--- pun intended.

 

I'm glad you had a great trip and that it all worked out. We're very independent travelers and I hate waiting on buses of people to load and unload for anything so not sure if it was even offered that we'd do a charter. But I know it has its fans. So...the entire plane is just people going on your cruise? Kind of like when we used to take charter flights out to Colorado to snow ski. Fun atmosphere on the plane if that's the case, I remember that!

Not seriously, our Wives re big football fans too so they were with us the entire game. We had a great time :)

The flight is all Celebrity cruisers. There are Canadian North charter aircraft arriving from the different cities on the same day and they arrange it so the buses do nothing but shuttle folks form the airport to the post all day long. We left at 09:30 and were the last flight to arrive at 1PM. We were delayed at Miami airport by some ladies that imbibed a wee bit too much on the flight and had trouble finding the carousel and the bus so we actually got to the ship too late to attend Muster Drill.

I agree, buses are a toil but, it is part of the package. The ride from the airport to the port is only 15 minutes so it is not too bad.

As I started this thread, I guess I should add my final comments. I posted this on another thread but here is our experience with the package.

From http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=49169199#post49169199 Post #22;

"We (3 couples) were just on the Feb 6 Superbowl cruise. We did the all inclusive from Ottawa.

The experience was great. Arrival at the airport and on to the Canadian North counter to get our seats and check in ur bags. The flight was very good,leg room was more than on other charters I have been on. Free booze if you want and they even serve a meal. In Ottawa we go through US customs in Ottawa so we avoided customs in Mami.

We left on time and got to Miami on time. Thee were Celebrity folks there to guide us to the carousel to pick up our luggage and to show us to the buses.The shuttle bus service takes you right to the port. Once at the port, you just go through the check in process. I am surprised how many people did not do the online check in. It really slows down the line and people start to get testy. Please check in online.

The cruise was great and you can read reviews elsewhere.

On the way back, we got special luggage tags delivered to our cabin. We waited for our embarkation times and went to get our bags and flew through US customs and on to the bus for the ride to the airport. Again, lined up to check in our luggage and get our seats assigned.

One thing, if you want duty free stuff, or some last minute shopping, you need to get it before you go through security. The Canadian North flight gate is in the oldest part of the airport and there are very limited shops and eateries (only 2 places to get food).

We departed on time and arrived home on time.

All in all, it was a very good way to go.

I disagree that we could have gotten an better deal a la carte, the air, cruise, drink package, OBC and gratuities and taxes and fees and transport worked out to quite a bit cheaper than if I made all the arrangements separately. I priced them and it would have cost more (from Ottawa, I cannot say form other localities).

The only downsides were that we had to go down when the flight left and had to come back on the designated flight, if we wanted to stay in Miami any longer (which really crossed our mind as it was minus 25 in Ottawa when we arrived LOL), there is no opportunity to make those changes. That and there is no opportunity to pre-select seats, first come first served so, if you are last in line, you get whatever seats re left (middle seats for sure LOL).

It was a good deal and we will do it again. "

Solstice was launched in 2008 and when it was introduced there was smoking allowed in the casino but not for a long period of time. The casino was the only indoor space with smoking allowed but that did not last long.

We were on Solstice in Sept 2009 and there was no smoking in the Casino. We spent "some" time in there.....not big winners but not loser either, fortunately :)

We had an aft corner suite on a previous cruise and had no issues with soot, even in port. It may have been due to it being a corner suite as there is always a breeze down the side of the ship. The middle cabins may have had soot due to the airflow.

We did feel a bit more movement on bad weather days and propeller vibrations on those days too. We did not find it a problem but some others mentioned to as an issue.

I forgot to check the box on my online forms and Celebrity did the exchange. My friends on the same cruise did check the box and their visa card was charged the American prices and did the exchange.

When we got our visa bills we checked, the rates were both the same.

Oh, we were on a 6 to 13 Feb cruise on the Reflection

I don't remember smoking being allowed in the Casino since we stared cruising Celebrity back in 2009.

Even the allowable smoking areas have been getting smaller and smaller. I am a former smoker so I am not quite as evangelistic about smoking as others but I do understand .

I would say that the itinerary would be the most important to me.

We just did the Reflection Super Bowl cruise and had a great time. Watching the game in the theater was great and having a tailgate party in the Casino and on the back of the theater was fun.

The ports were Puerto Rico, St Thomas and St Maarten. All very nice ports.

If you like football it is a great cruise. If you are not a football fan, it is still a very nice cruise.

No, the balcony is not larger -- it's a standard balcony. You must be thinking of balconies on the angle. All the cabins are the same size, though.

I had the balcony with the angle but I could swear that the hump balconies were larger than the one another couple had that was not on the hump. Mind you, we opened the partitions between the 4 balconies so it all seemed very big :)

The cabin is exactly the same size as all the others, just the balcony is larger.

The location is good. We were on the opposite side a week or so ago (4 cabins). It is quiet and close to the elevators and the Hideaway has a coffee machine for regular and de-caff that is operating at 7AM.

It is an easy walk down to the MDR and deck 5 but the wait for elevators to go up can be long.

No tax on board or for purchases for things on board. To be certain you can wait till you are on board to make those purchases. It is sometimes often actually) better to wait as they have specials and go on sale on the ship. Discounts for restaurants spa, and internet are offered daily and so will the excursions, especially if they are not sold out.

PST/HST is only in Canada You pay taxes and fees for the purchase of the cruise but any products you buy on board are tax free.

They are broadcast emails...sometimes called Spam, sent out to all folks on their mailing list. It is a form of advertising. Somewhere along the line you probably checked off the box that indicated you want to receive emails from Celebrity.

If you don't want them any longer, log on to the site and uncheck that box on your preferences.

It is email, I am certain that it is not the first time (or last) that you have received unsolicited emails :)

We are on the Eclipse in a balcony on deck 7 on the hump bit and have 4 cabins in a row, will we be able to open all the connecting doors?

Thanks

We were just on Reflection with 4 cabins on the deck 7 hump. We got the partitions removed and had a great long balcony. Breakfast on the balconies and pre-happy hours (before the official reflection happy hour) were a great deal of fun :)

We (3 couples) were just on the Feb 6 Superbowl cruise. We did the all inclusive from Ottawa.

The experience was great. Arrival at the airport and on to the Canadian North counter to get our seats and check in ur bags. The flight was very good,leg room was more than on other charters I have been on. Free booze if you want and they even serve a meal. In Ottawa we go through US customs in Ottawa so we avoided customs in Mami.

We left on time and got to Miami on time. Thee were Celebrity folks there to guide us to the carousel to pick up our luggage and to show us to the buses.The shuttle bus service takes you right to the port. Once at the port, you just go through the check in process. I am surprised how many people did not do the online check in. It really slows down the line and people start to get testy. Please check in online.

The cruise was great and you can read reviews elsewhere.

On the way back, we got special luggage tags delivered to our cabin. We waited for our embarkation times and went to get our bags and flew through US customs and on to the bus for the ride to the airport. Again, lined up to check in our luggage and get our seats assigned. One thing, if you want duty free stuff, or some last minute shopping, you need to get it before you go through security. The Canadian North flight gate is in the oldest part of the airport and there are very limited shops and eateries (only 2 places to get food).

We departed on time and arrived home on time.

All in all, it was a very good way to go.

I disagree that we could have gotten an better deal a la carte, the air, cruise, drink package, OBC and gratuities and taxes and fees and transport worked out to quite a bit cheaper than if I made all the arrangements separately. I priced them and it would have cost more (from Ottawa, I cannot say form other localities).

The only downsides were that we had to go down when the flight left and had to come back on the designated flight, if we wanted to stay in Miami any longer (which really crossed our mind as it was minus 25 in Ottawa when we arrived LOL), there is no opportunity to make those changes. That and there is no opportunity to pre-select seats, first come first served so, if you are last in line, you get whatever seats re left (middle seats for sure LOL).

It was a good deal and we will do it again.