chemmo

Sometimes there is a point when travelling you are better just gritting your teeth and getting it all done in one go…Totally agree with TeaBag. You will get to Southampton, have a good sleep and be a short taxi ride from your ship the next day, you probably won’t need to set an alarm…you can sleep in…

All relative…Following your journey, enjoy!

Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise, following from over the pond where seeing the Statue of Liberty was a big wow for us!

Yes they do. I believe in some ports they initially book, for example, two coaches then if there is more interest they can simply add more so there is a good chance your wait list will result in a booking. The trips that are harder to expand often involve boat trips, sea planes, helicopters…where the port has limited availability. On these occasions you literally are waiting for someone else to cancel. We were told when we booked in a suite and were wait listed we would be prioritised if any availability came up. We did get the trip we wanted. Hopefully, someone else can respond if this is actually a suite perk or just something we were told…I simply mentioned this as if it is true then if you are in a suite you have more chance of a cancellation, however, if you are not suite guests may have priority over you… Anyone with factual information if this really is a suite perk?

We are E+ so have done numerous cruises in all areas of the world and children in the Solarium has not been an issue. Most parents encourage their children to follow the rules and the fact there is family time later in the day accept the rules. Most staff are alert to children entering and will remind them of the rules also informing them when they can come in. If you are on a cruise with children/families who do not follow the rules then a quiet word with a member of staff will make a difference. If you choose a cruise outside school holiday times the number of children on board drops further and it really becomes a none issue. Enjoy your fortress of solitude! On our last cruise the only interruption to our peace was by a man you took a lengthy (and what sounded like a business) phone call. He was politely challenged by staff who encouraged him over to the side of the area…

Personally, although I no longer travel with children, I think the Solarium family time is a great idea and at a time most adults will not be using the space anyway… Most adults by 4pm are finishing a siesta, returning from an excursion or beginning to shower and dress if they dine early and want to enjoy a cocktail first. For families (especially on sea days) they can follow the ‘adults only’ rule for the Solarium but know they can take their kids for a swim later. So necessary for children to get some exercise on wet sea days! When you cruise on Celebrity you need to take on board it is not an adults only line. You need to expect there to be children on board and that sometimes there will be decisions made to promote their cruise enjoyment too. In no way am I condoning children being unsupervised and entering the Solarium at none family time or staff turning a blind eye to it but most of the time on most cruises it simply isn’t an issue…Quite simply Celebrity is making a facility useful for some of its customers (children) at a time when it is less used by others (adults).

Totally agree! Our favourite time to visit the Mediterranean too. As you say the long evenings lend themselves to outside dining. Also agree the water will be cool. The summer season is in swing but not at its maximum so whilst busy most tourist sights are not heaving… Definitely take a cardigan for evenings…

Totally agree. There are journeys that are easy to do independently and others that simply are best done through the ship.

Thanks Norris, very reasonable! I don’t mind paying for a coffee with a view, I do mind if I feel I should be walking away with the chair and table! Hope your health continues to improve, don’t overdo it!

Amsterdam has never been on my bucket list of European cities to visit, I am beginning to think it should be…I guess being so relatively easy to get to for us it has always been somewhere on the back burner… re the cost of coffee, snacks etc overlooking the canals, expensive or reasonable?

They are doing a private tour not a Celebrity private journey… You are correct, if you book a through Celebrity it will indicate if food is included. It will also indicate where there are restaurants and you will have time to purchase a snack if you choose to do so.

Thanks for that!

You know we barely noticed it….Too busy watching that wake view…mesmerising…

Perhaps we should start a club for the unsophisticated wine drinkers! A good excuse for drinking more, we are trying to educate our palates!

That sounds like a great idea. I am cruising next year with my son and his fiancée. Both far more active than me…It would be great to personally design a trip so we can share perhaps a morning’s sight seeing but perhaps me then being left in a nice town square by lunchtime to enjoy a drink, shop and view whilst they do something more energetic and return to collect me later. Is it priced per guest or per vehicle?

Yes, this is always a concern. We do tend to lean more towards X tours if the time back to the ship is tight. Also more risks in ports the ship visits less frequently as the tour guides are more likely to be less experienced.

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise…As a none gambler I can’t see me ever getting a free cruise!

Ask your tour guide to arrange packed lunches for you. They should be able to contact a local bakery/restaurant and put together a something…One of the reasons for booking a private tour is that things like this are the responsibility of the tour guide to ‘make happen’. I’ll bet she thought you bringing your own packed lunch was a good idea, less for her to organise. Obviously this will be at an additional cost. Just as a second note, I do understand the desire to squash as much as possible into a day trip but a full day with no lunch stop is a long day…We have organised a couple of private tours. We have been very specific about a lunch stop. We have requested a lunch lasting no more than 30 minutes offering a simple taste of the country we are visiting with a view if possible and decent rest rooms…We usually stipulate a restaurant not attached to a shop…The reason for this is often the shops will offer incentives for guides to stop. Not conducive to the guide choosing the best food or location…

Speaking as someone who buys most of their wine from the UK equivalent of Walmart I obviously wouldn’t be buying the bottle on board… I do remember some years ago going to a business meal where the host had provided 2 bottles from his vintage selection to be served with the entree. We heard all about the price, the laying down, the bouquet, the vanilla background…I could hear the drums rolling as the first bottle was opened…What a disappointment…It was nice but in my (very limited) experience was no better than a £10 - £20 bottle I could have bought from the supermarket…Obviously we all politely enthused but in private conversations after couldn’t help but feel it was ‘much ado about nothing’…

Be aware that there are ongoing rail strikes in the UK at the moment. Also traffic can make a big difference to road travel time. We live in the UK (about a four hour drive from Southampton) but would never drive up on the day. Just so much more relaxing to be in the port the day before your cruise. Enjoy a nice meal, get up at leisure….

The focus on RC is action and adventure whereas on Celebrity it is more on rest and relaxation. If you don’t like the smaller RC ships which have less entertainment venues you may also find the Celebrity M class limited. In our opinion all Celebrity ships ‘win’ on food, relaxing bars, a quieter atmosphere and excellent service. Also generally less children on board and those that are on board are well supervised and well behaved. Also in our opinion RC ‘win’ on entertainment and activities. With a free cruise up for grabs why not just give Celebrity a go? If you board expecting a new experience you may find you really enjoy the differences. if you board and compare negatively with the RC big ships then you will be disappointed.

Welcome to cruise critic! Not only do we always spend a night pre cruise in the port we are sailing from we pick a room with a port view whenever possible. For Southampton, the Holiday Inn. If we are awake early (4am ish), which we usually are as we are excited, we will use ship tracker to see our ship approach the port…Lovely to open your curtains and see your ship arriving! Even when we have a free breakfast we keep it light so we can enjoy a lunch on board. Our once on board routine is similar to many others. A mix of getting organised for the cruise and beginning to unwind. We invariably on S class ships dine in Tuscan first night. It really is magical to watch the ship slowly move out of the port and see day turn to night through those amazing aft windows with the wonderful wake views…

Sincere thanks for such a lovely review! I must confess that I preferred some of the lunch menus to the evening ones…We have never bothered with the MDR lunch menu…perhaps we should…

We have tried a few times re suites. As sailing date has got near the odd suite has come up as available, invariably more than the price we have paid…

Agree.. the decks are wonderful.