LindaAndBillTravel

We had cruised exclusively with Royal Caribbean for 15 years. This past year, we decided to try Azamara and Celebrity because they had itineraries that were of interest. We would definitely do Azamara again -- the food was very good and the service exemplary. We loved that Azamara could get into small ports and stayed later or even overnight in port. We would not be inclined to do Celebrity again though -- the food was hit or miss, the service was not good, and the maintenance of our cabin was horrid.

We got off the December 20th sailing earlier this week and can report that the problems are ongoing. We have cruised many times during cold/flu season and have never seen anything this wide-spread.

What Celebrity was trying to do right:

The staff was disinfecting surfaces everywhere, continually.

There was (supposed to be) no self-service in the Oceanview.

If you wanted to pass through the shop area on deck 5, you were funneled through a small opening in the pathway where hand sanitizer stations were set up.

Where they completely missed the mark:

Food servers in the Oceanview were observed coughing in the service areas.

Beverage service staff were frequently seen touching the rims of cups, soda cans and even wine bottles.

Hot water was not available to wash hands in the public restrooms. (Our cabin sink also didn't have hot water for the first 9 days of the cruise, despite repeated requests for repairs.)

There was no announcement of the respiratory illness. We received a letter one day 1 stating that on the previous cruise several passengers had gastrointestinal illness, but no mention of the widespread respiratory illness impacting large numbers of crew and guests.

I definitely think Celebrity could have handled this better.

I used the US website to get get luggage tags a couple of weeks ago without a problem. Maybe whatever issues they might have had have been corrected?

If you get upgraded to a suite, we'll make the sacrifice and take it off your hands for you. Then you can have our deck 7 balcony. :D

When we were there last year, there was a line of taxis waiting at the port. The pier is industrial, and we had to take a shuttle through the industrial area to the port entrance first. The taxi ride was a fixed rate (10 or 12 euros, I think) and it took no more than 10 minutes to get to the train station.

We ended up doing this last year. It was nice to not have the crowds and being out on the roof at night, but I wasn't blown away by the experience. At places during the tour the room sizes do not allow for everyone to hear the tour guide, and she wasn't very engaging.

I'm a little surprised by the number of responses on this thread calling those of refusing to use the sanitizer going into the WJ as "nasty". I always wash my hands with soap and water in the bathroom before entering the WJ, therefore, I have no need for the sanitizer. I don't appreciate other passengers looking at me NOT using the sanitizer and thinking I'm "nasty", and I certainly wouldn't appreciate being followed and harrassed about it either.

I'm in agreement with you. I can't use the ship's hand sanitizer because it causes me a horrible, painful rash. I wash my hands in the restroom before entering a dining venue and I carry my own hand sanitizer and use it right before I eat, which quite frankly is the time to use it to avoid getting sick yourself. Using the hand sanitizer as you go into the WJ and then touching all of the tongs and utensils everyone else has been touching isn't protecting you.

I've found that the key word to use to get the memory foam pillows is "Isotonic". When I've asked for memory foam, I've gotten confused looks.

For Alaska, I like to pack a couple pairs of hand warmers (like these: http://www.amazon.com/HotHands-Hand-Warmers-Pair-Value/dp/B00D7H9LIA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389545508&sr=8-1&keywords=hand+warmers). They are great for standing outside while sailing up to Hubbard Glacier.

I'm interested in this too. The only reviews I have found so far indicate that it might be worthwhile just to avoid crowds. Hopefully someone will see this and chime in.

There is definitely kiwi in one of the fruit medley appetizers one night in the MDR. It also shows up periodically on desserts in the Windjammer.

You call contact the RC's Special Needs department to inquire if there is anyway to accommodate your needs: special_needs@rccl.com