bama4cruisin

Constant door slammers are bad; anyone can have a doe get away once in a while, but every time?! our worst experience was not door slamming and was not on Celebrity. It was our one and only and LAST Carnival cruise. We booked this only because we wanted to take daughters and families on a family cruise. All of them (daughter, SIL’s and 3 grandchildren all live in Texas. We had to take into consideration various summer school schedules (1 granddaughter was determined to take a math course that summer), return to school, etc. for 3 different systems. The practical option was to cruise from Galveston since they all lived within a couple of hours of Galveston. Unfortunately, only Carnival was sailing from there late summer. It was the last week before every public school in Texas returned for the fall😳. Almost 2,000 passéngers under 18. The fun 5he got to do all night . . . Run through the halls knocking on doors. At 2:00 a.m.😳😳😳. Even our then 15-yo granddaughter said “thank you, Grandpa. I want to take another cruise one day. Are there ships without so many kids.”😂

Always outside, usually an upper deck. THE BEST ever embarkation sail away was on Constellation leaving Venice . . . A.M.A.Z.I.N.G. Second best embarkation sail away will be repeated a month from today. Upper deck as we sail under the bridge leaving Bayonne and The New York Harbor area😊

This is only a curiosity question . . . Which ship we you on?

Jim, we you and Iain are in for a treat! We enjoyed Eden on Apex so much it was the first reservation I made for our upcoming sailing on Beyond.

Yet again the inconsistency. . . We were told to get our sea passes and go to the muster station. We checked in during the 11:00-11:30 window, but boarded after testing and waiting for results (on a TA leaving Barcelona last October so testing done at the port) so that may have been a factor.

Correct! They will scan your sea pass at the Muster Station. Plus, it is so wonderful to drop carry-ones in the stateroom, lock valuables in the safe and then wander unencumbered!

I look forward to “traveling along”. We’ll board Beyond a month from tomorrow for the repositioning cruise. Enjoy your b2b!

We managed fine in an IV on the 14-night TA on Apex, plus having 4 nights in Barcelona pre-cruise. Drawer space was more than adequate; used the corner cabinets for small miscellaneous items; bathroom storage was excellent. I had not taken any dresses, only dressy slacks and sparkly tops for chic nights and the remainder smart casual. The 3 drawers to the left of the fridge are actually quite large I moved the hair dryer to a drawer in the stateroom as I dried my hair there to give DH quicker access to the bathroom. That drawer then held a lot!

Yes, they have a White Chocolate Mocha on the Cafe al Bacio menu.

Yes

I must disagree. When I checked in for our upcoming Beyond cruise, there were the 3 sections to be completed: Travel Info, Check-In, Health Status. I was able to select Check-In for myself and select the time, save it and change to DH’s Check-In and do the same. I then went back to complete the remainder of the entire process for both. Entire process for both (except photos) took less than 15 minutes. Added photos later, and that is not even required.

On the app if you find a similar itinerary to yours the menus should be much the same, although the order could vary a little,

I take mine every cruise

At embarkation, yes

Re: International Cafe. Unfortunately, Celebrity ships do not have a venue that compares with this. To be honest, that is the one venue I miss on Celebrity. We’ve only sailed once on Princess in the past decade after several cruises in the previous decade. Cafe al Bacio is one of my favorite spots on all Celebrity ships; however, there are no savory items served, only delicious sweet treats which are basically aligned with the time of day. Cafe al Bacio is a much, much more comfortable venue than the International Cafe. The Spa Cafe does offer light, healthy fixed plates, but the hours are breakfast and lunch only. All menus for the entire cruise will be on the app, even before you board. In fact,you can select your ship on the app and see typical menus for the MDR, some of the other complimentary venues and the specialty restaurants now. The order may be slightly different, but they will become much more accurate as your sail date approaches.

Yes, it is one of the 3 main dishes on the “exclusives” section, but as @jelaynesaid, you can order an exclusive item from one dining room in any of them.

We were on the 14 night TA last fall, so even with a couple of nights in Specialty Restaurants we had multiple nights in each. Since the menus are the same except for the “exclusives”, when I reference menu preferences it will be related to the “exclusive” section. For menu, my favorites were Cyprus and Normandie. The Grilled Sea Bass in Cyprus was one of the best fish dishes I have ever been served, land or sea, and I love seafood! Ordered it twice it was so good! The Baked Brie starter, the Beef Tenderloin en Croute and the Opera Cake in Normandie were excellent. Decor - my favorite was Tuscan with Normandie a close second. Service was good in all four, but exceptional in Normandie and very, very good in Tuscan. In Tuscan and Normandie, the hostess seated us with the same service team every night (either 3 or 4) we ate there, without our asking. The second night we dined there, she said “Good evening, Mr. & Mrs. _______, Bobby is looking forward to to serving you again”. In Normandie, where we dined 3 nights it was a similar experience. The Maitre d’ even called me by name when he saw me in Oceanview Cafe. The hostess in Cyprus, again 3 or 4 nights, didn’t remember names and we were never seated with the same team twice. Service was fine, but not the familiarity that is so nice.

There is not a balcony as you would have on other ships. It is a rather small extension of the cabin, which can be closed off from the cabin with bifold doors. That said, we truly enjoyed the IV on the Apex TA last year, enough that we booked the same on Beyond next month. As for your question, no there are no footstools, and I don’t believe there would be room for them. Below is a photo from ours. We never closed the doors nor did we lower the shade over the window as we enjoy seeing the night sky when we wake during the night.

Unfortunately, it was not available in Eden on the Apex TA last fall. I so wanted to try it!

They are on the app. If your cruise is still fairly far out you may need to look at the same ship, same or similar itinerary. All the specialty restaurants should remain stable, but until close to your sail date there could be some slight variation for the MDR.

Ours was resolved after our TA called Celebrity. Sent me the new Order History as an email attachment. We were able to check in on Sunday and when we pulled up the Express Passes they show PALL, so we should be good!

Since this is related to a medical condition, I wonder if you requested a fan through the Special Needs form if there would be one waiting in the room for you? I have no experience, but just a thought.

Ours for October 26 opened just after midnight this morning, exactly 45 days. You should be good in a couple of days.

Unfortunately, no. Each cruise is considered an individual entity. If you have non-refundable OBC at the end of any of the segments, it will be lost. If it is refundable, it will be credited to the card on record.

I must come up with a new way to start my day . . . .will truly miss your wonderful posts and amazing pics!! At least I only have 6 weeks til we head to NYC for a few days before boarding the Beyond for the repositioning cruise. Safe and uneventful travels home. And the best of luck with your eye surgery. Thank you for taking us along.