dinosaurdem

I took a quick look at a comparison of Reflection and Royal. I may be wrong but:

1. Royal has larger interior cabins.

2. I didn't see oceanviews on Royal.

3. Reflection veranda cabins in all categories are slightly larger than Royal's deluxe balcony cabins.

4. The Reflection sky suite is larger than the equivalent Royal mini-suite.

5. The smallest Royal suite is larger than the smallest Reflection suite.

6. The largest Reflection suite is more than twice the size of Reflections and there is a wider range of suites.

This may not be 100% accurate, but it should be very close. The review was complicated by the fact that Princess includes balconies in total cabin size. In general Celebrity balconies are larger.

I noticed a couple of errors. Reflection has the larger interior cabins and her largest suite is more than twice as large as Royal's. The only category where Royal has larger cabins is the smallest suite. It does not seem appropriate to compare a verandah cabin (Aqua Class) to a mini-suite. A more appropriate comparison would be sky suite to mini-suite.

Three points that don't seem to have been factored into the comparisons:

 

• Princess cabins get bigger as you pay more, versus Celebrity's same-size cabins with added amenities. We just sailed Coral Princess in a mini-suite, and I wouldn't trade all that ROOM for a butler, Blu, or anything Celebrity offers.

 

I took a quick look at a comparison of Reflection and Royal. I may be wrong but:

1. Royal has larger interior cabins.

2. I didn't see oceanviews on Royal.

3. Reflection veranda cabins in all categories are slightly larger than Royal's deluxe balcony cabins.

4. The Reflection sky suite is larger than the equivalent Royal mini-suite.

5. The smallest Royal suite is larger than the smallest Reflection suite.

6. The largest Reflection suite is more than twice the size of Reflections and there is a wider range of suites.

 

This may not be 100% accurate, but it should be very close. The review was complicated by the fact that Princess includes balconies in total cabin size. In general Celebrity balconies are larger.

If you look carefully, Discoverer Plus has at least one fewer benefit than the Discoverer, the welcome home gift. Also, as others indicate, I have sailed Azamara, but show no points. The only advantage of Discoverer Plus over Explorer appears to be some meaningless discounts.

Thanks for the review.

Cannot disagree more simply because your impressions are your impressions.

But your "conclusion"...

"Many more options" - what options?

As per your review, you have missed too many things to make conclusions. :eek:

 

If you don't see certain things - it does not mean they don't exist.

It's not about "agree/disagree".

:)

Please allow other people to have their opinions, even when they disagree with yours.

Ah, gotcha! It does say that on our invoice from the TA. I just wasn't sure how the info got to Celebrity. I thought I saw people say when they had the package as soon as they boarded it was already activated on their card.

 

I never use a TA but these perks made me change my mind. I'm sure everything will be fine but I'm just a classic worrywort.

It's on your invoice because it is a perk from Celebrity, not your TA.

Thanks! Very helpful! Based on this, I would spend the extra for Aqua just to try Blu. I don't see us doing CC in the near future. Thanks again!

The aqua class shower is not larger.

What are the opinions of Silk Harvest Restaurant...very little is mentioned about the Asian themed cuisine? I believe they charge $35.00 per dinner.

On a recent cruise on Equinox, we had two different experiences. On the first night, we ordered favorites, like pad thai and were quite disappointed. The maitre d convinced us to try again with the suggestion that we order what the kitchen thought best, spiced up to proper standards, not the bland versions that they normally serve. Some dishes, such as pad thai, can not be made properly, because ingredients such as dried shrimp are deemed to exotic by corporate. The second night was excellent.

We experienced virtually the same thing. Before our most recent New Year's cruise on the Eclipse we were on two week long cruises aboard the Century and before that the Constellation. On each of these cruises we ate in the up scale restaurants 10 out of the fourteen nights. We ate in the equivalent of Murano's aboard each vessel. We found the food and the service was MUCH better aboard those ships. On our most recent cruise, our first aboard an 'S' class ship, we were disappointed in the food and the service in Murano's. We switched to the Tuscan Grill and found both the food and the service were top notch. Furthermore everyone associated with the Tuscan Grill took time to make us feel especially welcome. In Murano's we couldn't tell if anyone gave a damn if we were there or not. I will point out that we purchased the Ultimate Dining Package so we ate in all of the upscale venues. I don't know if having this package changed their out look in Murano's or not.

 

As other posters have written we too noticed that several things had been eliminated form the menu at Murano's. We originally started out with reservations every evening in Murano's except one but soon changed that to the Tuscan grill.

 

 

 

We too were very disappointed when after dining in Murano's twice we inquired about something off the menu. They politely declined to make anything other than those things on the menu. The only exception was that we could have a lobster tail added to anything on the menu. On both the Connie and the Century they offered to make anything for which they had the ingredients regardless of whether it was on the menu or not. Three or four nights we simply said surprise us and they did with really great meals. They got to strut their stuff so to speak making their favorite specialty things all of which were prepared tableside. Now in Murano's very little is prepared tableside. Fortunately I have a lot of pictures we took in Ocean Liners. I can look back at them and remember how it used to be.

 

The bottom line was that we felt that the food while still good had slipped in Murano's. We felt that the Tuscan Grill on the Eclipse at least was better than it was on the Constellation. We ended up dining in the Tuscan Grill either nine or ten nights. Unlike Murano's the staff in the Tuscan Grill offered to make us virtually anything we wanted. They seemed to be delighted that we were there which was a stark contrast to Murano's.

 

We tried Quisine and found the food was OK, not great but not bad either. We were disappointed in Blue when we ate there. The Bistro On Five was a real gem from both a service and a food point of view. We divided our lunches between there and the buffet. Incidentally we found the food at lunchtime in the buffet to be very good. We also had a cheeseburger or two from the Lawn Grill. Those were as good as they have always been. Unfortunately they have eliminated the onion rings that used to be available there.

 

I hope this information is somehow helpful. Please bear in mind that this is my opinion of the food in the upscale restaurants as they exist today. Fortunately or unfortunately I do have an extensive basis for comparison going back for two years now.

 

Everyone have a great week out there and go enjoy that next cruise. We surely intend to do just that!!!

:)

A few months ago, on Equinox in Murano, we requested and received a magnificent "agneau en croute" and a conversation with the delightful sous chef responsible for the restaurant. On another night when the duck breast was unacceptably tough we were given a complimentary dinner for two.

We did the three specialty dining package on the Eclipse. IOHO, in which experience is limited, mainly to RC. Morano, we did the Chateaubriand and found it good but not as good as other, we have enjoyed. Service was lacking and eventually had to flag the sommelier down to pay for wine, after approximately 2.5 hours I was tired of setting. Tuscan, service was not special, good at first then fell apart we actually skipped desert flagged some one down to pay for wine. This was after sitting 15 minutes without water, wine or coffee.with menus in hand. My wife's fish was waaaaaayyyyyy over cooked no one came back to check until too late to wait for another preparation. My lobster, fettuccine, I expected chunks of lobster, after several people raved about it,NOT, just tiny pieces.

As mentioned above, the staff looked over taxed with work.

Now Qzine, was spectacular in food and especially service. However one must be careful not to eat/order too much they were helpful with this. We really enjoyed the variety of cultural dining samples( for lack of a better word) of course we love exotic dining experiences.

To pay the up charge, foe specially dining,

one thing X should at least include a complimentary non alcoholic coffee with the dinner. I guess that might be a pet peeve of mine, but to charge 2-3 for a espresso is tacky, but I guess all cruise lines do this.

It really is a matter of taste. Of all the specialty restaurants, including Bistro, we were least impressed with Qsine. We found it to be ordinary restaurant food served in extraordinary ways. As an entertainment we recommend doing it, once.

Cruisetrail, please lighten up.

Equinox November, December 2013, food was great but the music was absolutely horrible (except Sean Golden.) Also noticed that the wait staff were stretched to the max, especially in Select Dining. We still had chocolates on pillows, ice bucket etc. Also noticed that things have gone downhill in Aqua Spa & after the first day didn't bother again.

Sean is absolutely first class.

We have sailed Celebrity 15 times over about the same number of years, we have noticed two primary changes. Wait staff have more tables and the quality of the music has declined, but that is a matter of taste. Since we rely on neither crew nor other passengers to entertain us, I have no idea what other people do to avoid being bored.

Thanks for all your opinions we're 90% there on the drinks package.. I've seen some very poor maintenance on x and Disney cruise line ships are very well maintained so I wait to see. Only 80 odd days to go !

I'm curious. You said earlier that you have never cruised on X, but, in spite of that, you have seen some very poor maintenance on X. An out of body experience?

The best and freshest and most individualized eggs benedict I have had on any Celebrity ship have been at the egg station in the buffet. Otherwise, they have been quite variable.

To be clearer, I wasn't asking about changing my Blu assignment to MDR. If I was going to do that, I would certainly speak the maitre d. Just want to know if I have the option to eat in the MDR a couple nights if I wanted to by simply showing up at Select dining and asking for a table. Someone in AQ on the last cruise said that you could but they ate at Blu every night so they never tried.

 

Please let me know if you've done this without a problem in the past.

It is no problem and requires making no arrangements with anyone. We eat in the MDR more often than Blu and simply turn up at select and are seated in either select or assigned.

Sean, the guitarist, was outstanding. The party band singer was always flat (off key).

Just sailed in an S1 on Equinox. It was a very pleasant experience. The decision boils down to whether you can afford it. The best things about it were the balcony, the butler breakfast, breakfast in Blu, ending up getting comped for four meals in the specialty restaurants. and the space.

Unfortunately I can't remember their names, but they are really nice people. He is Hindu and, though he lives in Indonesia, is from Eastern Europe.

Our suite includes two dinners at the specialty restaurants on the Equinox. Anyone with recent experience have a favorites of the three (Murano, Tuscan Grille or Silk Harvest). We are a couple who likes most every food. Any input or comments would be appreciated.

All were very good, but you have to be more judicious in your selections in Silk Harvest. Some are quite mediocre. The chef responsible for the specialty restaurants has left Celebrity and I am not sure what impact that will have. I was quite impressed with her.

Hey folks, we've never sailed in AQ; some of the posts above seem to treat it as a given that people in AQ who decide not to have dinner in Blu can readily eat in the MDR. Is this true, or do you need permission each time (if so, from whom), and might that be denied (e.g., for space issues)? I'm just trying to get a sense of how easy it is or isn't for AQ pax to eat in the MDR.

 

Thanks!

We eat in the MDR more frequently than Blu and have had to neither report to nor request from anyone.

I miss the classical music. One of the few areas where Princess excels.

I never eat shipboard baked Alaska (hate it), but the parade has occurred on every one of the 20 Celebrity and Princess cruises I've been on. My wife whoops and waves a napkin while I sit quietly and think nice thoughts about the staff of the restaurants.

Hi Dinosaurdem,

 

It's interesting to note how some words mean different things in other countries. I hope that folks won't get in an argument over it. It's the Holidays, and bickering is not permitted :)

 

What matters, is the sentiment of sharing best wishes & a joyous Holiday Season to our wonderful community.

And I agree.

Just a thought, do you send Christmas cards or Holiday cards???

 

Wishing everyone a very HAPPY CHRISTMAS.

Does it matter what Andy sends? What is important is that he and you are free to wish others the best of the season in your own way. A Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday Season to all.

We have sailed in AquaClass several times. We eat most breakfasts in Blu. For dinner we have eaten in the specialty restaurants 10 to 20% of the time, in the MDR 40 to 50%, and Blu about 30 % depending on each night's menu. We have never asked anyone's permission to eat in the MDR and in fact the assistant maître ds' (punctuation?) have joked with us about what it would take for us to always choose their venue.