Happy Cruiser 6143

I'm just off the Reflection on one of these 3-night ones B2B with a 5-night one.  Definitely more kids on board.  Our 5-nighter was the one that went to Coco Cay.  What was interesting to me was that Coco Cay seemed to absorb the passengers well, it didn't feel at all crowded.  We were there with one of the large RCI ships.  Apparently they have two big RCI ships there sometimes.

I just got off the Reflection.  I was in an AQ1 cabin, 1554, on deck 11.  Absolutely no issues with noise.

8 hours ago, kayehall said:

I don't get them anymore either.  Strange.  And I know you are a long time Celebrity cruiser as I have been on some of your cruises!!!

Celebrity's e-mail setup is strange.  I used to get these and then they stopped.  I also used to get the PowerUp Points ones too and then one day they quit.  

I've sailed with both Captain Tasos and Alejandro but not both at the same time.  They're both funny and would be a great match at Liar's Club.

12 hours ago, mahdnc said:

Tuscan Grille is located at the space formerly occupied by the Normandie Restaurant.  All four Millennium class ships had Celebrity's first specialty restaurant--each of them with a classic cruise liner theme.  Michel Roux supervised the installation of these specialty restaurants. 

 

As I mentioned, Summit had the Normandie Restaurant and she was adorned with some of the beautiful original wood panelling that was on the iconic French oceanliner, SS Normandie.  I believe that it was in 2016 that the Normandie Restaurant was discontinued--re-decorated and given a different menu.  Here are some photos of the Normandie Restaurant when we were on Summit in Aug 2010:

 

I fondly remember those old specialty restaurants.  Was sad when they disappeared.

11 hours ago, Stockjock said:

It’s been my understanding that the pricing offered under Celebrity’s exciting deals promotion is about as good as it gets. In fact, I grabbed a discounted cruise out of Los Angeles last year, and they refused to honor my usual American Express cruise privilege benefit on that sailing because exciting deals are supposedly their rock-bottom prices, and don’t qualify for perks like that. 
 

I got their most recent exciting deals today, and they don’t seem exciting at all. They seem to be about what I would usually expect for a regular sailing that wasn’t part of a promotion. So is it just my imagination, or are the exciting deals a lot less exciting?

Dunno as they have stopped sending me the emails.

On 4/29/2024 at 12:25 AM, mahdnc said:

We had dinner once again at Le Petite Chef tonight.  Mark and Randi (@celebrity cruiser) and Addie ( @wintrystew) also happen to be at this 6 pm dinner.  I counted 28 guests including ourselves at this dinner.

 

Hi Mark and Randi and Addie!  Hope you are enjoying your Panama Canal cruise!

22 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

One thing we have noted on this cruise -- maybe just this ship.    The ice cream in Luminae is not up to it's usual standard.  I'm not talking exotics I'm talking Vanilla Ice Cream.   Our waiter said it was a different Vanilla they were using.    Iain said it has an icy texture and not creamy at all.  

 

That is really disappointing as it is our go to desert at Luminae.   I had vanilla at both the Gellato and regular Ice Cream Place and it is pretty much the same...    Come on Celebrity... what does it take to have a decent vanilla ice cream.  

 

Many have also pointed out that the new menus are Chocolate on the overload and topped of with the terrible Chef B's Chocolate Turd.    Another failure.    Maybe we should box up some and send to Kelly. 

Just off the Reflection and had the same comment about the vanilla ice cream!

40 minutes ago, George C said:

Not sure of your suite but I had a issue with no hot water in RS6140.

I've been in that suite before with no problems, but not doing suites any more.  The prices are insane!  3X what I was paying previously.  Not happening.

3 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Have a wonderful cruise !

Hope to sail with you soon. We are on the Reflection November 23.....hint hint.😉

Not doing that one, I have a holiday cruise booked.  Catch us on the November 10, 2025 Summit.

I'll be joining you tomorrow for my own B2B.  Doing that cruise and the following one.

4 hours ago, cw2go said:

@WestLakeGirl and @patty1955 Not S or M class but as a heads up, I've been told by our Stateroom Attendant twice on Beyond and also on Apex, in the Caribbean and in Europe, to leave trays in the hall outside our door. They have someone come by with a cart to pick them up. Not because of covid.

 

Patty 

Room service must be lazy on E class.  Yet another reason not to sail those ships.  Trays in the hall on the floor are a hazard to those who must navigate by scooter.

5 hours ago, patty1955 said:

They ask that you leave trays in the hallway if you're in quarantine. Trays in the hall were one of my pet peeves until we got covid.

Well, when you're not in quarantine, please don't leave your room service tray in the hall.  Call room service for pickup.

I had it once.  It was a PIA.  And I don't need the points.

1 hour ago, son3cruisers said:

Same. Signed up again ( and again ) but have received nothing this year. No Power up points emails but daily marketing promotions. Thank you to the posters who post the opportunity for the points. It’s the only way I know. I’ve contacted CS and their reply was to sign up again . Umm thanks? 

I gave up a long time ago.  I used to get the PUP e-mails and then one day they mysteriously stopped.  The marketing stuff continues to flow, however.  My best advise is to follow this thread.  There is always some kind soul who announces that a new PUP opportunity has arrived.

We're there on April 22 on the Reflection.  Along with a giant RCI ship.

On 4/13/2024 at 9:29 AM, FINTPOPE said:

This was posted on the Celebrity Constellation FB group regarding the changes during dry dock:

 

My favorite part of that list is

-Not designed by Kelly Hoppen.

I have sailed on the Connie several times, including the itinerary OP is discussing.  I'm a huge fan of the M class ships, although less so of the two that Ms. Hoppen screwed up.

16 hours ago, jshli said:

Anyone use their dry cleaning service?

Yes, I use it all the time.

The problem on many cruises is limited or virtually no participation on roll calls.

5 hours ago, cruisegirlppp said:

Loved the Thursday Murder Club books. I also enjoyed the SJ Bennett books (Windsor Knot etc.)  but I'm not sure how she is regarded in your part of the world as she fictionalizes the Queen. 

Loved the SJ Bennett books.  I thought Thursday Murder Club was pretty boring.

Regardless of the dining room, the sommeliers are not part of the waitstaff tip pool.  They should be tipped separately.

3 hours ago, Mike981 said:

 

That is where I am with my iPhone 7s, I just read last week that Apple has moved iPhone 6 behind the barn to shoot it and there will be no more support.

My Pro Max 11 is still humming along.  I think my daughter has bought 2 new iPhones since I got this one.  She likes the smaller one and her batteries keep dying on her.  Mine will hold a charge for two or three days if I don't use it a lot.  The only thing I would like about the newest version is the upgraded camera, but I'll wait until this one dies because it was very expensive.

3 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Did you see this note about refit of the Connie 🤣

That's hysterical.  Perhaps they have realized the error of their ways.  Or, the new designer could be worse?  Hard to imagine, but I suppose it's possible.  What a laugh that it's a selling point that it wasn't designed by Kelly Hoppen.  I'll reserve judgment until I see the actual new designs.

4 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

We were talking about that yesterday.    The Kelly design in my opinion was a real miss and she must have laughed all the way to the bank.   I was explaining to the morning server how on the Retreat you can't even fit 2 tea cups and a tea pot on the small little tables.   She with a puzzled look said,   why didn't they just replace them with larger tables.... we all laughed as so was way too logical as oppose to Celebrity Executives.

I've decided Ms. Hoppen is the queen of uncomfortable chairs.  Her tables aren't much better.  And yes, I'll bet she laughed all the way to the bank after she sold all this junk to Celebrity.

4 hours ago, CruisersTimesThree said:

On our Silhouette sailing in Feb I asked our waiter in Luminae who our asst waiter was as several people were doing different jobs (bread, refilling water, serving) and I wasn’t sure about who to tip at the end of our cruise.
He said there really weren’t “asst” waiters anymore, everyone just pitched in. 
There was still a dedicated sommelier. 

Luminae is different.  Tips are pooled there.  Except for the sommelier, who should be tipped separately.  Sommeliers are part of the bar group, not the restaurant group.