bonsat

No parade on Feb. 3 navigator sailing.

no parade on navigator's feb. 3 sailing.

So when does Raj go on vacation? I guess my end of December calculation is wrong.

 

I have Gustavo going on vacation on 10-18-2015 so that tracks with your information.

Those missing Gustavo are so lucky. He is the nastiest concierge I have encountered in 40 cruises. He is loud, boorish and rude.

No comparison. Go on Constellation. You won't be sorry.

I was reading all the negatives regarding the Diamond Lounge experience on INDY...My question is are they no longer offering the 3 drink vouchers where one can get a drink during happy hour at most bars? Asking because we will be on Indy Oct 18th with two Newbes and was happy about the voucher system, don't plan on using the DL except maybe coffee and a Danish early mornings.

 

Thanks

yes, the three vouchers can be used in most bars between 5 and 8:30.

 

I thought the bartender at the Schooner was great! I am drawing a blank on her name but addressed me every day by name and with a smile - was very nice!

 

The Diamond Lounge is something I enjoy, not for the concierge but for the atmosphere and a nice place to chat with people on such a large ship. I was bummed that he affected that experience for me. I should have not let it get to me but it did...

 

 

 

Bummed me out too. The bad experience has put a cloud on all of the good times.

Btw, the waitress at Schooner was Dunja. What a lovely girl!

 

Gangway Style, we are sailing on Indy in just over 2 weeks. We are D+ but are in an OS as well. From your experience as well as others it sounds as though we should skip the DL and hang at the CL. It can be our drop in place. That sounds positive as we are literally steps away from it.

 

we found the 3 drinks on our sea pass were a nice alternative to looking at that huge, hideous, hateful Butcher. We played trivia with a nice drink in hand from the Schooner Bar before dinner and socialized with everyone.

Aaaaaah ,,,,,,,,,,, Senor Butcher

 

First impressions are just that.

 

Sailed with him for 3 weeks as DL concierge and my first impression was the same as the foregoing posters ............. but ............. if you actually talk to him you might have an entirely different perspective.

 

He is big and he is loud ......... and .................that alone can intimidate somewhat easily.

 

I compare Senor Butcher to a fine scotch ..................... nobody could actually like their first taste ................ however, with practice that perception changes mightily.

I did talk with him and he told me he had just wasted 15 minutes of his time.

I would describe him more like the hangover you get after imbibing really cheap scotch.

I second Quest! It was different than the ones I had seen in the past - very unique challenges!

 

Deon at the pool bar was awesome!

 

Don - I agree with you on most of your points...To the point where the Diamond Concierge was offensive to me - I feel that tainted my week a bit and that was disappointing.

 

I will still take any day at sea over a day at work but just felt like the crew was eh...[/i]

 

I too found the Diamond Concierge to be rude. I told him so and he demanded, in a threatening manner, to know my cabin number. Since he was about 6'6" and 360 lbs he gave me a good scare.

 

Other than that experience, we had a lovely cruise.

been vaping for over six years and probably 20 cruises. just don't be obvious about it and you can do it just about anywhere. congrats and enjoy.

btw, it is not smoking because nothing is burned. it just emits steam. we should not be subjected to other people's second -hand smoke in the smoking area any more than a non-smoker because we are non-smokers now. if i got sick because of the forced exposure to cigarettes, i would not hesitate to sue.

My husband visited the naughty room too. We forgot to pick up the power strip at the end of the cruise.

yes.

$499 plus tax is a great deal and something similar is often available. Got to remember the taxes can easily run to in the $200 pp range and then whatever you spend on board. That one differs greatly as some people drink nothing except the two bottles of wine they bring on board and others spend lots at the bars. It is a personal thing.

 

For example we could do cruises out of Long Beach on Carnival for as little as $49 pp. Good deal? Not for us as it would cost many times that to get there and back and I prefer to cruise with an older less boozey group.

 

I would think a great deal depends on what type of cabin you are willing to take, the cost and time to get to the departure port andif the itinerary is interesting to you. Thus different answer for most everyone.

we only have a drink or two before dinner and we are elite so those are free. we don't drink wine, so have no need to bring our allotted bottles on board with us. if and when we get a free bottle of wine, we put it in our suitcase and bring it home for our son. we use select dining and pay our tips up front. we don't use the specialty restaurants unless they are free and have found the mdr to be adequate for us. when we get obc we usually cash it in at the casino. we have no problem with an inside cabin (though we have sailed in most of the categories offered) because the entire ship is our balcony. we live near the ports and do this 3 or 4 times a year. we get high on cruising!

paid $499 + tax pp for a last minute reflection cruise this month. inside cabin without any perks.

Was on Reflection Feb 7th. Wore dress shirt and tie with no sport coat at both formal ights with no problem. We had select dining. Agree with bonsat that we saw more tuxes on this cruise that we have seen on recent cruises.

There were a lot of canadian groups on this cruise and i believe they are more into dressing up than americans. if this keeps up, we may be taking the tux and sequins out of storage. i will let you know in six weeks after our equinox cruise 3/27.

just back from the feb. 7th reflections cruise. Saw many, many men in tuxes and women in gowns. more than i have seen in past 10 years of cruises. It took me back to the 20th century. i was pleasantly surprised. i wore a cocktail dress and my husband wore a suit and tie. people really dressed well on this cruise.

that said, they will let you in the dining room as long as you wear long pants and look presentable.

We were aboard Reflection Feb. 7-14. I thought that those contemplating a cruise aboard Reflection might like a quick report card. In short, the cruise was a resounding success. REFLECTION IS A GORGEOUS SHIP. In any event, here goes:

 

Ship--Appearance & Design: A

 

Stateroom(7342)--Appearance & Design: A

 

Stateroom Attendant: B+

 

MDR--Food: A-

 

MDR--Server & Assistant: A-

 

MDR--Wine Steward: C+

 

Lawn Club--Food: A

 

Oceanview Buffet: B

 

Embarkation: A

 

Disembarkation: A

 

Entertainment: C-

 

Guest Relations: A

 

Crew/Staff: A

 

Cruise Director: B

 

Misc. Comments: If you like lamb, go to Lawn Club and order the lamb chops. The best I have ever eaten. The food in the MDR was much better than we had expected. The new brand of coffee served throughout the ship was very good. The cheesecake served for dessert in the MDR every nite was exceptionally good. Bar service during peak times was slow and needs better staffing. The ship is beautiful. The artwork in the staircases is wonderful. Do yourself a favor and start at the top of the staircases and work your way down. I think I took over 2 hours doing that one day taking pictures along the way. Lastly, the only downer was the next to awful entertainment. In comparison, the entertainment on the Equinox last winter, and on the Constellation T/A this fall, was surprisingly good.

 

OVERALL GRADE: A-

VALUE FOR MONEY: A

 

GOOD JOB CELEBRITY! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK!

 

Hope this helps. Any questions?

i enjoyed some of the entertainment on this cruise. the party band, xtasea, was terrific. Claire Vinkesteijn was a great singer and pianist, the ventriloquist was funny. the production company was just so-so. the dancers were good but the singers were awful, especially the fat one. the Divas 3 were like watching amateur hour and the comedian the last night was a typically bad last night performance. all in all exactly what you'd expect on a cruise ship.

Big crowd of trivia players on last week's Reflection cruise. i complained to the cruise director about the lack of "games". he informed me that he used to have a staff of 6--an assistant and 5 activity staffers. now he has an assistant and one activity person. it's definitely about the bottom line--profit for the cruiseline.

just back from reflection. no problem with select dining. never waited for a table at all. had excellent service and the food was better than on most recent celebrity cruises. we wouldn't have known there was any construction going on at all. great cruise.

I know people are always complaining about cruise lines cutting back. Here's a cut I would love to see. Get rid of the loud bands around the pool and switch to soft recorded music. I think most people at the pool are interested in talking to their friends, or reading a book or taking a nap. I would venture to say that the sound level was above the OSHA limit for a workplace!

I love it when the party band plays at the pool. Grab a seat further away from the speakers and tune out if you find it too much.

gone

when we first got the free laundry perk on our elite status, we sent our shirts, nightgowns, underwear. everything came back slightly shrunken and smelled funny. we had to replace most of the shirts. i don't recommend the laundry service on celebrity.

We have one booked for 10-27-14 on the Equinox. We are considering one next fall on the Eclipse.

 

I'd like to hear from people who have tried one or more westbound TAs and do not enjoy them. Why?

 

Certainly ok to post positive remarks.:)

 

I'm really just trying to decide whether to go ahead and book the cruise next year, and cancel if we find we do not enjoy the one we age going on this year or wait to book when we return.

don't like transatlantics in any direction. too many sea days in a row. not enough to do on the ship, especially if it's not pool weather. each day is exactly like the last and the next. have you seen the movie groundhog day? worth the extra airfare not to have 6-7 consecutive sea days.

the vos is so understaffed that there can't be too many crew.

We were also on the 6/9 cruise and I have posted my review.

I have really mixed emotions on the Vision. The people we met were wonderful. We had an ocean view room and did not have a frig. This was the first cruise that did not have one in the room. Our steward was great at keeping ice in our room.

You could tell it was an older ship that had a rehab by the way the stateroom doors were not recessed.

I'm not sure if I would sail on her again; it would depend on destination and price.

i know i would not. i'm sure i can get a better cruise vacation for my money.