renaroo

Thank you to all who have answered my add-on question about the Epic. I'm already a Kimpton reward member and I agree-the perks are nice. [emoji3]

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We're also cruising out of Miami this summer and I booked the Kimpton Epic. I've never stayed at this particular Kimpton, but I do like their hotels. Does anyone have any experience with the Miami Epic?

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AND....

She's absolutely perfect!

Looking forward to an awesome q0 days!

[emoji229][emoji924][emoji305][emoji907][emoji41][emoji485][emoji898][emoji483][emoji484]🖒

 

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Have a great time! I'll be on board in June and look forward to ANY fun details you want to share!

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What really bugs me now days, there a % on the dinner invoice ranging from 15-20. However, it is based on the entire amount inclusive of taxes. This is wrong as the waiter has not provided any added on value for the amount of taxes. I try to explain it to my son, but he thinks I'm old fashioned rather than a seasoned accountant.

I went out to eat recently and saw 3 suggested tips on the bill: 18%, 20% or 22%. Even if I just get good and not excellent service I always tip 20%, but the suggestion of a 22% tip was quite irritating.

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Are you for real?

 

 

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I get Leery24's point. I'm currently booked on the Celebrity Equinox this summer. I looked at a few different cruises and considered trying MSC. Once I saw the all kids sail free promo on MSC, it was an easy decision. Too many kids (for me). I felt that the cruise might be overrun by kids and increase my likelihood of being next to a crying or fussy baby or child, either in my stateroom, at dinner, or at some other venue.

And I have no complaints about cruiselines that offer these promos, or reduced fare promos. I just chose what is likely to give me a more enjoyable sailing experience. I'm also not interested in finding an adults only cruise line - I don't mind kids at all, I just don't want to be surrounded by them. Now, if I happen to be next to a fussy child on Celebrity, it won't ruin my cruise. I understand that fussiness and crying and making messes is all normal baby stuff and I will be kind, patient, and pleasant to the family. I'm just hoping to reduce my odds by selecting a cruise line that charges for kids.

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It depends. Does the baby bring its parents along to watch it and change the diapers or do I have to do it?

Imagine: Your friends bring their cute 9-month old over for a visit. After about 30 minutes, you bring out a few graham crackers for the baby. The baby is delighted, squeals, grabs a fistful of cracker, and little graham cracker crumbs fly all over the table and onto the floor. Everybody stops what they're doing, someone grabs a little mini vacuum, and most of the graham crackers are vacuumed right up.

Then, the baby needs some juice. At some point, the sippy cup falls over and some grape juice drips onto the end table and onto the floor. Oops! The parents offer to clean it up, but their friends don't want to be bad hosts, so they run off for the resolve carpet cleaner, grab paper towels, spray it on the stains and get everything cleaned up.

Everybody talks and laughs, while the baby crawls around the floor, grabs on to a little piece of furniture and tries to pull herself up. Several things get knocked off the shelf, and one of you jump up and puts everything back.

The adults continue socializing, and everyone's having a great visit. Nobody minds the extra work caused by the baby, because they're all friends and it's all part of life. An hour later the baby gets crabby and starts to cry. Of course, all the adults don't continue laughing and joking and talking over the crying baby-everyone springs into action and tries to figure out what's wrong, and what they can do to make the baby feel better and stop crying.

Now who's more work? The parents or the nine-month-old baby?

My point is not that babies shouldn't go places because they're more work. As parents, friends of the parents and family members of the parents, we don't mind. I love seeing my friends' babies. (Mine is now grown, and while I remember the joys of babyhood, I certainly haven't forgotten how much work it is take care of a child.) My point is: it makes perfect sense to me that the baby would be charged a full fare.

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I would not call a 9 month old a "kid". While I do agree somewhat, I wouldn't say that a 9 month old infant would create more work for the staff.

Imagine inviting guests to your house. Is it more work to have an adult friend over or to have a baby over to visit?

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The mast grill should be open above the pool deck (burgers & hotdogs with fries) also the porch should also be open but that's a pay for place, and the gastro bar might be open, they also have a fee for menu available [emoji39][emoji106]

 

 

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I believe The Porch is available on Silhouette and Reflection, but not on Equinox.

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Why ruin a really good rum with all extra ingredients. Straight up or a little diet coke. That's the only way.

 

 

Diet Coke probably has more ingredients than the few listed in the recipe, plus it has aspartame, which tastes terrible.

 

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There are only 5-6 selections on the menu, typical bar food, in the $8-12 range. The burger is the best we have had on a cruise ship. (The Equinox does NOT have the Lawn Club Grill, which has a new burger lunch that friends have said beats the GastroBar burger!)

I love burgers, so I'm going to give it a try. C'mon June!

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Now back to the OP's ?.

 

FYI,

Not in a pkg, and not to be missed are the small plates in the GastroBar! The flat breads and burgers are out of sight with one of the craft beers.

Is there a charge for the small plates in the Gastrobar?

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We used Celebrity for our trip to Alaska in June 2015 and we did the cruise/land tour. We had a good time and we became Celebrity fans after that!

On a side note, we were very much looking forward to Denali -- turned out to be the worst part of the trip. I hated it! We did the extended tour, and the drop offs in a super crowded, very uncomfortable/cramped bus were a nightmare! We saw plenty of wildlife, about a million miles away. Just throwing that out there, because I had never heard a bad word about Denali before my cruise and thought it would be great. Since then I've wondered what other people saw in the extended trip through the Denali park.

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If the new Celebrity App is like the website, my phone will probably open my neighbor's door and control the temperature in the MDR.

This one got me! Too funny!

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Thanks for the feedback, and we are looking forward to a fun cruise, where we will know how to behave! :)

Don't behave! That'll ruin all the fun. [emoji16]

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Reflection by a mile.

I read on these threads about the couple seemingly minor differences on these two ships-I haven't been on either yet but will be on the equinox this summer. Why do you say by a mile? What is the difference between the two ships that you find so significant?

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I just looked on the Equinox schedule and there are only 3 cruises from Miami this summer- two in June and one in August. !

Equinox has cruises out of Miami every week through June and July, and at least a couple in August. Check again if you're interested in any of the summer Equinox sailings.

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Negative. O'Sheehans is a Maitre'D organized sit down table service restaurant, not like the buffet or bars. You are being rude to the staff too who are constantly using tablets to determine seating availability and wait staff service coverage. I have never seen or experienced someone doing this, and I bet dollars to donuts you haven't at your own table at a restaurant either (if you eat out much).

 

 

 

In regards to photography case law and statutes, It's not an invasion of privacy as there is no expectation of privacy in a public place and any person has a right to take a photograph of anything in plain view. As far as private property is concerned, the owner or agent of the owner can request any subject discontinue photography with penalties up to and including trespassing.

 

 

 

'sides. I only took the photograph after the fact. If that's you up there, your photo came out pretty well ma'am. Consider it a free souvenir. :rolleyes:

Yes! Excellent response. And, by the way, you were extremely polite in your (fair) criticism.

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I see the one from Facebook but no others. Is anyone else having issues? This is the only thread I've ever not seen the images.

I am also only able to see the picture from Facebook.

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I like cruises, but I would definitely get bored if that was my main way to vacation. Try some land vacations to mix things up. There are a lot of great experiences - fresh and exciting-that you can't do via a cruise.

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I read several weeks back in another post that Blu will be rolling out new or updated menus in the near future. The person who commented said they heard it from someone who works at celebrity, maybe the corporate office?

Does anyone know more about this? Not sure if it's a rumor, but I have a cruise coming up in June and I'm excited to hear any new detail!

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We also have a classic beverage package, but looks like we're going to have to pay for wine if we want it by the bottle?

That is true, but you can order as many glasses as you want. I had the classic package two summers ago and the sommelier at dinner gave us lots of choices.

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I didn't know you could get breakfast or lunch in the specialty restaurants...

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This was a great cruise for me! I feel like I got some of the enjoyment, for $0. My first cruise on Solstice class (Equinox) is June 2017. I'm even more excited about it now, if that's even possible.

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Not to diminish what you're saying but really ALL the major cruise lines do this (in my opinion, royal Caribbean takes the gold by miles on this one!!). Base your decision on the price itself, not how it's impacted by the sale.

 

 

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That's good advice. I'm not basing my decision on the sale (just commenting on the original post) but I hear that it's VERY crowded, with tons of kids because of their kids sale free promotions.

I've also heard reports of indifferent service. At the same time, I have heard reports of outstanding service… I've heard the food is poor and I've heard the food is great. It feels that I hear more negative reports on MSC than I do on the other cruise boards I visited with the exception of MSC's entertainment. Their entertainment seems to be excellent, based on reports. The MSC yacht club seems to have only glowing reports. Now that's something I would love to try!

After thinking it over, I booked a cruise with Celebrity many months ago. This will be my second cruise with them. Since I'm still able to cancel, I keep my options open and keep browsing the other cruise lines that I was considering. Honestly, the chances of me canceling my Celebrity cruise are very slim, but it never hurts to keep my eyes open. When I saw the two-for-one deal I thought it may bring the yacht club near what I paid for Celeb's aqua class, but it still almost $1000 more when you factor in all the perks that I got.

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I've been looking at MSC for several months now, considering a cruise to the Caribbean this summer.

I also signed up for and received an email from them today about their 2 for 1 fare. With their "sale," the price is exactly the same as it was and has been for several months. The cruise I was looking at DOES claim to offer this deal, so it's not a case of the sale not being eligible on one particular cruise.

I have a few hesitations about trying MSC and would love to, but for my first time it would have to be a really awesome deal. I've read a lot of the reviews and while many are very positive, many others make me reluctant to spend my vacation time and money with them.

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