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Entirely up to the company that's chartering the vessel. I've done 3 or 4 charters and never remembered getting perks on any of them. I think its one of the reasons Cruise Line companies like charters, as they take a little less upfront with a discounted per passenger rate, but make it up on drinks, internet, and all the extras.

Really enjoyed every word of the review Paul. I love that you have the gift of looking at both sides of a coin instead of just one.

Many times the reviews on CC and elsewhere are too individual (and less systematic) to really be helpful to a larger group (.........they didn't offer my favorite salad dressing one night......I couldn't find a deck chair at 11AM on a sea day.... they wouldn't let me use my waffle iron in my room).

You highlights the pluses and hit the negatives when they pop up, but also try and see if their is any corporate/business reasoning behind them and ask questions before you give them a strike, and being a fellow cruiser I really appreciate that. As I know how easy it is to get caught up in our own individual voyages rather than the voyage in the bigger picture sense.

Plus I think you've done enough cruises that you know what is poor, fair, good, and excellent performance, that sometimes things happen and don't go according to plan, and interesting to watch how it plays out depending on the team onboard.

I know I'm always amazed by the strong crew members that can turn any situation, no matter how seemingly volatile at first into a positive customer experience one. Again thanks for sharing your insights and wisdom, and look forward to seeing you and Edward soon.

Friend on Eclipse was just denied using it by airline (Delta). Met all the requirements (Domestic flight, was after 5PM, MIA airport, etc). She said it was odd as people a few doors down, and many other she met also flying with Delta were able to use it, while she and her husband Delta were told no. Final say is the airline, Celebrity just submits the data to them for approval.

Thank you again everyone for the comments. We are now Judy relaxing in Michael’s Club at the moment. We can disembark now but given our late flight we might as well relax here as long as possible. Until they drag us off! Haha

 

 

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Thanks as always for such well thought out observations and insights to the Eclipse, her crew, and the ports. See you in a few months on RF. Hopefully the tea (chamomile is good) helps your throat.

The bridge crew will wave at you! Fun!

 

 

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I had that cabin one cruise, by the end of the cruise I knew all the bridge officers. Only bad size it was constant in and out, but still one of the best cabins I ever had

Sorry you had this problem with your X planner. We've used this service for many years. When our agent (Rene) was promoted he recommended another (Taylor) who has been perfect for us. ALWAYS return emails, phone calls, etc. Will make sure our questions are passed to appropriate staff if she can't answer them. Why not just phone the person who was promoted and ask for a different person to handle your travel plans? Working with one X agent instead of calling and getting whomever, will establish a connection which in the long run is beneficial to you. JMHO.

When a vacation planner was assigned to me (Taylor), I was hesitant at first as I know I'm above average to excellent in knowing what my options are, but Taylor has really been helpful. Recently some friends told me about a great voyage coming up, by the time I reserved it with a 24 hour hold (two days later), prices had gone up by $700, I called Taylor and she was able to get it at the original ($700 less) price.

A few months before she had helped arrange a deal for a specialty dining package on another cruise, with a 20% discount that I didn't know was available

6 Months before that she showed me that I was entitled to a 45% discount on unlimited internet when I thought I would get 35%

For me the idea of a Vacation Planner seemed ridiculous, until I tried one. I still do all my looking and shopping for prices, but also include consider the options she presents as well.

Yes they are prohibited from "fraternizing" with passengers, but many times you see a small group crew that has a few hours off together seeing the sights, or just hanging out at a local casino, hotel or restaurant. I know they have some rules regarding their port visits (like no more than 2 beers/drinks or .04% alcohol upon return), as even out of uniform they still are the faces of the ship.

Other times you'll see that some are chosen to help out on excursions and provide an extra set of eyes for the tour group.

Through the years we have done guarantee cabins three times, and always had the cabin assigned relatively quickly. We never had them assigned at the pier.

Agree, I think the OP might have misunderstood as Celebrity always assigns cabins beforehand for Guarantee Cabins. Sometimes only a week in advance but always in advance

PS Never had a bad deal on GTY, I think I have done 10 of them from X to XC to W and all were an excellent buy

Funny you mention it (OK maybe not funny but coincidental)

The first Celebrity cruise I ever did, I was about two months sober, so I wasn't sure whether to go or not. I spoke to my sponsor, and he thought I should go (everyone is different of course).

Literally the friends of Bill meeting every night onboard were my saviors(usually 5 or 6 pm, check the daily)

The first night onboard only two others Friends of Bill showed up, I talked to them about my newbie situation, and they were gracious enough to give me their stateroom #'s and encouraged me to call them 24/7 if I needed support.

As the cruise went on we had a group of about 10 people, who helped me (and as they reminded me, I helped them), they'd see me on deck and check in, and say hi. Every time I saw one it made me a little stronger than I was a moment before.

Definitely ask housekeeping to clean out the refrigerator (I always bring a carry on of Pepsi to stock my own), and they'll usually have it done by the time you return from dinner the first night.

I'd also encourage him/her to attend meetings online if he has access to his cell phone/text. Also as others have mentioned, stay busy. The gym was another place to just a great place to go whenever I thought about drinking, and also good to tire me out.

Last night our dinner was in Murano. We had this booked specifically for the steak Diane. As long as you give them a days notice it can be arranged for you and is absolutely delicious. Our waiter told us that it was on the very original menu but pulled off and is now used as a “secret” item.

 

Overall I was a little disappointed in my Murano experience last night. We’ve eaten in Murano around 25 times in our sails with Celebrity and I’ve always felt from a service aspect that Murano rivaled the best of the best restaurants. Last night it felt like I was in any half way decent restaurant. Our waiter was good (and cooked a great steak Diane) but service elsewhere seemed lacking. For example we ordered a white wine to start (Sancerre on the by the glass menu which they’re out of but had a similar substitute). At the same time told our waiter we wanted two glasses of the Freemark Abbey Cabernet with our steak. Our sommelier didn’t know about this but more importantly he didn’t seem to care. When the steak was about to arrive we were informed they were out of the freemark abbey and offered Decoy or Kendall Jackson. Neither of which are comparable substitutes. Just as a point of reference the freemark is an additional $8 per glass over premium. So clearly we didn’t care about price. When I pushed the sommelier for a better option he just kind of stood there. Edward then made a comment about a wine Victor (sommelier from Luminae) gave us and the sommeliers attitude changed. He brought out an excellent blend that had beautiful flavor. I know this may sound like a petty complaint but it was irritating that he couldn’t show some enthusiasm about his job from the start. The purpose of the sommelier is to be there to help you have a wonderful wine. If they’re not going to do that then they are just a beverage waiter. Our experience with our sommelier in Luminae and the sommelier in Tuscan has been amazing. I hope he was just having a bad night.

 

In all of my times eating in Murano the Maitri D has always gone around to the tables and checked on the guests. They have also ALWAYS opened the door for you upon exiting the restaurant and we’re very gracious when you left after dinner. None of this happened.

 

While we’ve eaten in Murano dozens of times many people do not. They go for a special evening and an incredible experience. This is the draw of Murano. This needs to be consistent across the board regardless of your cabin type or what kind of wine you order.

 

So that is the end of my rant. Thank you for letting me vent. I will mention this to our staff in Luminae just so they can hopefully improve. Again this could be a simple one off but it should be noted either way.

 

On the other end of the spectrum our food was fantastic. We started with the cheese plate and I had the salmon and crab parfait which my favorite. Edward had the lobster bisque. Then we had the steak Diane. The steak was cooked absolutely perfect, truly perfect. And the sauce was amazing. Plus it is always fun to watch them do this table side.

 

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It's one of the thing I always admire about your blog/review Paul, the honesty of them, and you stay pretty factual with your reporting and looking at the larger scope rather than just the moment.

Been fortunate enough to eat in Murano a number of times myself, and had a few that weren't over the top great, and I agree they should be great. It just sounds like a night of somewhat sloppy service. I have a tendency to give them a pass if its been a long series of sea days, but I know in your case its been a pretty textbook cruise for them with not a lot of extended sea time.

Like you mentioned, I would pass the info on to F&B manager, and HD, and your post cruise comments, and hopefully they learn from it.

Have loved following the voyage with you. Looking at booking the Edge today for the November 2019 TA, and looking forward to sailing with you both in April 2018.

I will save our dinner thoughts for later. I need to prepare them. All thoughts are amazing not to worry.

 

We ate in Sushi on 5 for lunch since it is complimentary for us. It took a while for our drinks (we ordered from the drink menu) since they still were recovering from the inspection. But the wait staff was apologetic and we had no rush to go anywhere.

 

I so enjoy reading your reviews Paul, CruisingOnCelebrity is something I think we all wish we could do more often, but your live feeds and blog are the next best thing. Thanks!

Exactly. We have been on a trip which included a cruise out of Rome with a fellow that had a real service dog. You would not have known the dog was with us. It laid quitely under the airplane seat the whole trip and was not in any way disruptive on the cruise.

These imposters make things more difficult for those who really need service animals.

I've had the same experience. Service dogs are either on duty or off duty. When on duty they provide service, you hardly even notice them. They aren't held or petted, they don't drink or eat, or poop. They are highly trained to provide their designated partner with the help he/she needs while on duty. When off duty, they are released into their pet mode, where they get the love/attention/food/etc like any other pet might.

Exactly, Cruisestitch. They have to allow it. Emotional support animals do not need special training. They actually don't need to have had ANY training. There are only two questions a business can ask regarding services animals, and ONLY if it's not obvious what the animal is there for. 1. Is the animal required for a disability? 2. What has the animal been trained to do? They can't ask what the disability is... so #1 is a yes or no answer. #2 can be a simple "give comfort" answer. That's it. There are, of course, documentations necessary... a health certificate, for example, in order to fly or board a cruise ship. You can't just show up with one. But no documentation is required proving the animal is a "service" animal. It's a very large pet peeve of mine that people would bring a pet they don't want to leave at home and call it a service animal. I'm not saying THIS lady is doing this. I have no way of knowing (no one does)... but it happens and it really irritates me.

SO SAD and SO TRUE:(

There are several bills that hopefully will curtail the people taking advantage in the loopholes, claiming their pets provide some type of service, anyone whos ever owned a pet can make the same claim.

There has been 1000% increase in California alone in the number of “therapy dogs” or “emotional support animals” registered by animal control facilities in the state. All it takes is send $25 or $30 to some bogus company and they send you a vest.

In Massachusetts, a House bill seeks to apply a $500 fine to pet owners who even falsely imply that their animal may be a service dog. In California, the penalty is $1,000 and up to six months in jail. Twelve states now have laws criminalizing the misrepresentation of a pet as a service animal.

I hope more states follow suit as it gives the average person the wrong impression of the actul miraculous service, a true service animal can provide to a person with an actual disability.

I wish I could take my dogs on vacation with me too, but its a rather self serving sentiment for both the pet and the owner, unless the animal is properly trained for the task

Works like this, you ca EITHER use your elite minutes OR use the credit as follows towards a package

For Elite you get 25% off purchase of package

In addition if you purchase package in advance you get another 10% off, so a total of 35% off

For Elite+ you get 35% off purchase of package

In addition if you purchase package in advance you get another 10% off, so a total of 45% off

Hope that helps:D

Thanks so much for a great review Paul. Always a pleasure to see you and Edward.

I really enjoyed every word of your review. I love your humor, and outlook. Your reviews always seem to be quantifiably objective rather than subjective, and personally find that very very helpful in understanding the dynamics of a particular crew and its voyage.

See you on the next voyage.

Good questions. Looks the loyalists were too busy sucking up

To me it seemed fruitless to ask. Everyone including Celebrity knows the problems exist, they hear about it from passengers, loyalists, critics and their agents in Miami.

All LLP could say is that they are aware of the issues, and that Peter (The Marketing Director) and his team continue to troubleshoot it.

The Q&A like most things I felt got sidelined by soliloquy's and individual concerns rather than big picture items. Things like why can't you have ships closer to .....(fill in your home town)? , Why can't they have more free water in my AQ cabin? I loved some of the compliments and concerns that people raised, and biggest thing I took from up was sometime in mid September, we all should know a lot more than we all do now.

A few years back I was flying regularly for work with Virgin Atlantic to South Africa. On one occasion the plane was completely full I was sitting in Premium Economy and Sir Richard Branson to my surprise was also sitting in Premium Economy. A couple of trips later I found myself sitting next to a Senior Manager with Virgin. I asked him why SRB was flying in Premium Economy. He told me everyone in Virgin only flies in empty seats. If they want to guarantee a seat in a cabin they pay for it (individually or through their budget at the full rate). If there had been a Seat free in Upper Class free he would have been there. He said on some of the busy African flights you're lucky to end up in Premium Economy as the planes often run full.

Yes, I think that's pretty common the the hospitality industry. I have friends at Delta, Virgin Australia, Mandarin, Celebrity and RCCL and they all follow those same guidelines. Just last year i did a TA on Reflection and I was in a CC2. Four dours down from me in another CC2 cabin was a member of the Board of Directors of RCCL and his wife

If LLP is really interested in building the bottom line she would be in an Inside cabin so that others would pay full fare for cabins above inside.

I'm sure if she did then the cries would be "I can't believe she took an inside cabin, which will force other people to buy a more expensive cabin"

No matter what you do, you can't win when your the boss

If she's got a college degree, and since she's the President, I guessing she has an advanced degree, such as a Masters. You don't start a person like this at the bottom rung on a ship. I'd be surprised if she worked on a ship in any capacity. I worked for several company's, all much smaller than Celebrity, and not one of the top management team ever worked in the trenches. In fact, the last two were hired as president right off the street. This is one of the most successful company's in their industry.

Read her biography sometime on the RCCL website, she started as a sales manager for the Northeast US about 31 years ago

The biggest advantages of Blu are the service and the atmosphere. The food is an upgrade from MDR, but not as good as a specialty restaurant. When you break down the price difference, you are paying for a specialty restaurant. I'd do it again. We were on the Constellation this summer and never had to wait. We always went between 7:15 and 8:00 pm.

I agree, Food is might be a little bit better than MDR, but the service and atmosphere is the advantage. Specialty dining venues have a much higher quality of food. One thing you can do is ask the maitre'd at Blu or MDR to make reservation for you at specialty dining, they can usually get you a 20-30% discount if you just ask them.

Saw some photos of LLP enjoying her work funded holiday in Iceland. Dining in Luminae and no doubt getting the best crew on board following her around ensuring she gets the sort of service that a zenith cruiser in the Reflection suite could only dream of.

 

She should do a week on board as a boss undercover :-)

She is probably the only one in the industry that doesn't need the Undercover Boss experience, since she started at the company right out of college, and I think has worked in every conceivable role in the company ladder

LOL jt - I can imagine that line of questioning too... yet, alas, to be expected to some degree, I guess.

 

Enjoy your sailing and let us know how it was upon your return.

 

bon voyage

 

 

p.s. - I will be disappointed in you if you do not ask at least three (3) of the above questions, especially the internet related ones!

Do my best to give you a good feel on the good/bad of the Presidents cruise. I'm a firm believer that you can't criticize or praise something you never experienced, so figured I would experience one.

I'll make sure I ask the question about the complimentary upgrade to the Royal Suite (I heard it has a great shower LOL :D).

I'll find out in a week if it's fun. Sail on the 27th

I think it will be interesting to watch . I'm sure by day two of the cruise, any of the execs onboard will be tired of hearing

"What can you do about deck chair hogs?"

"The internet is slow when the ship was near{fill in geographical location}, do I get a refund?"

"Why don't they give me all 4 perks on my inside cabin during a TA?"

"The website has issues, can you get it fixed this week?"

"Why can't they have lobster as a fixed item on the menu instead of Spaghetti Carbonara?"

"I was delayed getting into my cabin because of lines in the cruise terminal, can I get compensation?"

"I've done 4 cruises and never been given a complimentary upgrade to a Royal Suite, why not?"

"Why wouldn't they allow me to bring my crock pot onboard?"

One great memory I'll always hold close to me in regard to Captain Bouzakis

One voyage on the Equinox (-2010), Captain Bouzakis was kind enough to see me on board, and invited me to dine with him at the Captains table, and I received the invitation the next day from Jonette the CC hostess.

The day earlier I had met a newlywed couple onboard, and asked Jonette if it was possible to get this young couple invited instead of myself, since I had experienced the Captains Table before. She called back and said the Captain Bouzakis had said NO. He insisted all of us attend, and he would find the extra seats.

We had a glorious meal (thanks to Zafer and hist staff) and the Captain was at his best with giving hilarious commentary and advice to the newlyweds, followed by an Ouzo toast. It was the best night ever.

Over the years I would see him several times, and he always would find me in a crowd and go out of his way to say hello. Last time I saw him was October 2016, and remember stumping him on a maritime question, he placed his hand on my shoulder looked me square in the eye and said 'John, that I do not know, but before you leave the bridge, I will have your answer", and he did, always a man of his word, a sailors sailor.

He was one of the finest Captains in Celebrity's history. Captain Bouzakis was a smart, articulate man, and a true Master of his craft. I'll miss his humor, his wisdom, and the sparkle in his eyes when he talked about his work or his family. My deepest condolences go out to his wife and family. Fair winds and following seas my friend, I raise the last glass of Ouzo to you, and thank you for your friendship and kindness.

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I don't think it's that bad. Some issues? Certainly. The biggest gripe is probably the unfamiliarity versus the old site.

 

It's not likely they fix isolated issues here and there. You have to build a list of known issues, prioritize fixes and release updates in chunks. It will definitely take some time before it's perfected.

Yes, I would agree. They have a social media team that watches this site as well as others, but I think most of the issues identified are ones that they are already aware of. Sadly it's a slow process and will take some time for Peter and his team to iron out all the bugs in a totally new rebuild