bigbenboys

We have not sailed on Royal since 2016. I'm looking at sailing with my aunt and her family. I'm thinking of booking a GS. As my assigned dining would be Coastal Kitchen. I see the 1st night of the cruise has prime rib in the MDR. Can I order off the MDR menu in coastal kitchen? Can we join our family of 7 in the MDR for the 1st night only? I looked at Chops Grille, but did not see prime rib on the menu. Or will I have to order room service to get prime rib the 1st evening?

9 minutes ago, CruisinBanka said:

Oh thanks! Wasn’t aware of that restriction in Blu, as all my sailings on E Class have been in Luminae 

On the E Class ships while dining in Luminae you cant order off the MDR menu. This is the main reason we try not to book E Class ships. 

This is the tote bag we get in an sky suite.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/166197007862?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&mkscid=101&itemid=166197007862&targetid=1531876739198&device=c&mktype=pla&googleloc=9033255&poi=&campaignid=19851828444&mkgroupid=145880009174&rlsatarget=aud-1297930287298:pla-1531876739198&abcId=9307249&merchantid=6296724&gclid=Cj0KCQjw5f2lBhCkARIsAHeTvlgxSaTePmJDZxndDRC8_A0lv_vuKpAVU92EgG4y9Worf_kQq6jRhvYaAqygEALw_wcB

We booked through Celebrity. Our tour was just the train ride. We booked tickets for Accademia Museum ourselves. 

If I remember correctly. Celebrity pulled out of the LA/Mexico market years ago. X said they were not making any money back then. X added sailings out of LA because of the cancellation of the Asia sailings last year. Times have changed. Hoping X will get back in the Pacific Mexico run. We have Eclipse booked for Sept 24 Vancouver to LA.

no

Make the reservations for the specialty restaurants all around the same time. Once onboard got to the specialty restaurants and give the maitre d everyone's cabin number. Tell the maitre d about the 80th BDAY celebrations. They might do something extra for your group. I want to say 8 years ago our TA was able to reserve a table for 10 for us 11 in the select section of the MDR.

We sailed on Revolutionized Millie last year.  Personally I like Equinox. Eastern Med is my favorite area to cruise. Plus you can do glassblowing. Silhouette is a little bigger version of Equinox. Silhouette has a specialty restaurant instead of glassblowing.

1 hour ago, cusematt4 said:

Thanks.  Is there any reason why anyone may prefer Alaska to Vancouver instead of Vancouver to Alaska?

 

We were originally leaning to start in Alaska with a pre-cruise land tour, but the one-way sailings from Vancouver and ending in Alaska seem substantially cheaper.  Is there any reason the Alaska to Vancouver sailings are more expensive?  They pretty much have the same itinerary.

Check in is so much easier in Seward. Seward only Celebrity check in at the pier. We were on the ship in about 15 mins. At the pier in Vancouver you must go through Canadian customs then US customs and then Celebrity check in.

Also Vancouver pier has easy access to the airport. Seward your flying into Anchorage. Anchorage is 120 miles from Seward. 

I think you get a better feel of Alaska by starting in Alaska.

AquaClass has Blu as their assigned dining room. Normally on Silhouette while dining in Blu you can order off the Main Dining Room menu. If you want to dine in the MDR. I tell the maitre d in Blu when I'm going to dine in the MDR or one of the specialty restaurant. You will dine in the Select section of the MDR. I believe Select dining room is on deck 4.

Most AquaClass cabins are on deck 11. Aqua Sky Suites are on the 12.

It is best to talk to the sommelier about your wine likes and what drink package you have. 

2 minutes ago, Island2Dweller said:

There are only a few hotels actually located near terminals at Heathrow.  One at T5.  One at T2 and a few at T4.  Unless your flight arrives into the same terminal, these are not going to be quick to get to.  All other "airport hotels" are outside the airport boundary. You can chew a lot of time (and some cost - there are no free hotel shuttles) simply getting to an "airport hotel".  You then face the same the next day if you want to use National Express. 

Unlikely as it sounds, I think your lower hassle option is to go direct to Southampton on arrival.

I agree, stay at one of the hotels attached to the airport.

Our next cruise in Sept has only 2 suites available. A Sunset Sky Suite and a Celebrity Suite. My MIL is not in a suite. Her Move Up email shows she can bid on all suites types even though only 2 suites available.

12 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Precisely why I asked what port they were traveling from...but no response from OP on that. If they are traveling from Busan, well, I would be a nervous wreck!

 

I do note that they can fly between those places...but I'd still be worried!

 

Wish we had more detail...

We have done a X Asia cruise that stopped in Busan and Jeju Island. Millie is doing a Japan sailings with a stop at Jeju Island. 

3 hours ago, jwlane said:

Not sure how this applies to Eden....

My thoughts were that if were concerned about noise levels and carry on a conversation in one specialty restaurant you might want to know about another specialty restaurant Fine Cuts.

I have heard here on CC that on the Edge. The noise from the Martini Bar can be heard at some of the tables at the Fine Cut Steakhouse. The Martini Bar is two decks down. Not sure if this is only on the Edge ship.

We have done many Alaska sailing. My favorite was Seward to Vancouver. My favorite glacier is Hubbard. I also like ziplining at icy strait point. 2nd would be Vancouver round trip. Cruising the inside passage between Vancouver BC and Vancouver Island. Less chance of ruff seas. Having a full day in Victoria gives you the option of seeing Butchart Gardens outside of Victoria. My least is out of Seattle. You dont go to Hubbard Glacier or Icy Strait Point or the inside passage. Your stop in Victoria is at 5:30 in the evening.

We like sailing Alaska late May or June. You dont want to sail to early in the season as sometimes their might be to much ice for the ship to get close to the Glaciers. While I have not seen it. I've been told you can get more of a haze in the air later in the season. Photos from June 2022. Sunset and Hubbard Glacier. Sunsets are later in Alaska. The boat in the photo is an excursion that leaves from the cruise ship.

1 hour ago, bigbenboys said:

We were in sky suites in Asia. Our butler escorted us in small groups through custom before X started calling numbers. On tender days we would go to the Retreat and were escorted to the front of the line for tendering. Sometime X puts out the red carpet with a rope for suites guest returning to the ship. Your butler will bring appetizers to your suite if requested. Friends have had small gathering in their suite and the butler will bring in appetizers, wine, soda, water. We were invited to the PH for a party. The food served was from sushi on 5. Neither were charged a fee for their parties. See post #10 for photo of red carpet.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2903514-suite-priority-at-ports/

The info above was not just on one sailing. Customs was in Asia on 2 different sailings. The parties were on multiple sailings. Used the red carpet in the Med and the Caribbean.

12 hours ago, ashleyriley said:

Thank you to the OP for starting this thread. I had similar questions about the Celebrity perks. Our last three cruises have  been on NCL in the Haven. Obviously we like the product, but wanted to try Celebrity Retreat. We are booked in a Sky suite on the Beyond. Will our butler escort us to shows and on and off the ship when in port? I always enjoyed seeing the Haven butler waiting for us and being able to bypass the line to get back on the ship in port. Do we get daily snacks delivered? Can you make special requests in Luminae that aren't on the menu? We had a suite in the Haven proper, is it a much different experience with the majority of suites being outside of the Retreat area on Celebrity? Thanks for any insight. 

We were in sky suites in Asia. Our butler escorted us in small groups through custom before X started calling numbers. On tender days we would go to the Retreat and were escorted to the front of the line for tendering. Sometime X puts out the red carpet with a rope for suites guest returning to the ship. Your butler will bring appetizers to your suite if requested. Friends have had small gathering in their suite and the butler will bring in appetizers, wine, soda, water. We were invited to the PH for a party. The food served was from sushi on 5. Neither were charged a fee for their parties. See post #10 for photo of red carpet.

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2903514-suite-priority-at-ports/

2 hours ago, jagoffee said:

If you did not place a bid for the Sky Suite or the Sunset Sky Suite, I would think you would only be able to win an Aqua Sky Suite or above.  
 

Are you in an Aqua Class Sky Suite?  Since you are staying in a suite and there are not, you are significantly reducing  their probability of winning a bid for a suite.  Personally I would take any suite/Retreat over any non suite cabin.

 

Good luck to them.

 We are on the Eclipse in a Celebrity suite. I checked online and X only has 1 CS and 1 Sunset Sky. I'm not going to do a move up. The SS is on deck 12. Might be to much movement and scraping of chairs above from Sunset Bar.

I wish Move Up would only put bids out on categories that are available.

My MIL and her sister are joining us on our next cruise. I'm thinking about doing a move up for them as we are in suites. Here are their options for sky suites. Each has a different starting price. If I bid on a AS. I would hope I only get what I moved up for. Sky suite $700, Sunset sky suite $800 and Aqua sky suite $900.

On 5/7/2022 at 11:22 AM, wrk2cruise said:

CC status will have no impact on your bid.   It's all about the $$$.

MoveUp Priority:

Looking to take your vacation to the next level? You’re in luck. MoveUp allows you to bid on a stateroom upgrade after you’ve purchased your cruise. As a valued Captain’s Club member your bid gets a bonus boost based on your tier. So, you get more value than what you bid. Classic members get an extra 1% multiplier, Select members get a 2% multiplier, Elite members get a 3% multiplier, Elite Plus members get a 4% multiplier, and Zenith members get a 5% multiplier. 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/program-changes

Yes, I remember table cloths in the OV. Also sorbet being served by staff around the pool area while sunbathing.

I'm glad the food situation is getting closer to normal. I just dont think Celebrity has learned from their mistake. As Celebrity is now testing vaping in the casinos on 2 of their ships. Cautiously looking forward to our cruise in Sept.

You should only have to do this once. You need to call the Captains Club number 1-800-760-0654. You need to give them your Crown & Anchor number and link your new Celebrity Captains Club number. Have your Celebrity cruise reservation number.

ELITE | 300-749 CLUB POINTS MANY OF THE BENEFITS OF SELECT MEMBERSHIP PLUS: For our Elite guests, we’ve reserved some of the most sought-after benefits including complimentary laundry, internet benefits, and access to complimentary drinks from the Captain’s Club menu between 5pm-7pm. • Access to Captain’s Club Coffee Lounge for daily coffee house style breakfast • Unlimited complimentary drinks from the Captain’s Club menu at most bars and lounges throughout the ship daily, between 5pm-7pm • 30% off Wifi Packages and upgrades, plus 90 complimentary stream minutes • 40% discount on any digital or print photo package at the Photo Gallery • $200 off The Studio photo packages • Complimentary access to Persian Garden on one port day of your choice while ship is in port. (Solstice and Millennium Class Ships Only) • 10% discount at The Spa (excludes MedSpa and retail) • 15% discount on a drink package or a premium drink package upgrade • Complimentary dry cleaning for one item • One complimentary bag of laundry during each sailing (wash, dry, fold) • Access to a private lounge during departure, complete with continental breakfast • Diamond Level enrollment in Royal Caribbean’s Crown & Anchor Society

When X launched Solstice Class. The glassblowing was done by Corning of New York. At some point X change to Hollywood Hot Glass. With Corning you just watched and it was free. Now guest can make glass pieces for a fee and people can watch for free. I think it is a win win.