chemmo

Enjoy, all of you!

Looking forward to following your adventures…Between my favourite live travellers at the moment I may need to start my morning coffee time early… Time for you and your husband now to switch off from the ‘real world’ and enjoy some couple time… We have visited many of your ports of call either on land based holidays or on cruises….Enjoy!

Agree. The only thing I would add is if you are travelling in a suite then there is no suite deck on Reflection, a basic one on Equinox (one level no water feature) and a much nicer one on Silhouette (two levels, jacuzzi, very nice seating and bar area).

Enjoy your cruise, following along!

We have always been escorted onboard in a RS or PH although not really necessary. I always do appreciate someone carrying my hand luggage though. However, this has been on S and M class. With more higher suites on E class perhaps that makes a difference…

Like emmas gram I have some concerns about you embarking on a cruise on the other side of the world at present. Nothing to do with viruses or politics or war…more just how much anxiety/stress it may cause you. All of us as we pass through life have times of confidence and times of doubt. Times where we feel no matter what went wrong with our holiday arrangements we would cope and then times where we feel that going away could be very stressful and all those worries and doubts creep into our minds. I agree with others that Australia and New Zealand are safe destinations, I also agree with others that one thing the last few years have taught us is life is for living while we can…However, your level of concern of ‘what could go wrong’ is really high…Do you think after not travelling for some time you may feel better doing a cruise more ‘local’ this year may suit you better? You may feel less stressed doing a Caribbean cruise or an Alaskan first where your travel arrangements would be much easier and home not so far away….Just a thought…..

Exactly…We used to do two a year and always have 2/3 booked well in front. Presently one only booked for next year.

When we were first ‘Elite’ it was in the pre suite perk days and pre drinks packages. The perks at that time were well worth having! Free evening cocktail drinks in the Sky Lounge with entertainment and tasty little nibbles in the company of other regular cruisers. At breakfast Bellinis and specialty coffees and the presence of the Captain’s Club host. With no suite Concierge to help with any difficulties or arrange any treats the Captain’s Club host was the only alternative to queuing at guest services. Now the only Elite Perk we seem to use is the Elite breakfast….I am a real fan, especially on S class…I always find the Luminae breakfast takes too long and finishes too early…

My thoughts exactly…Handbags are nice but cruise memories are priceless!

I feel your pain…So frustrating when you find somewhere special. We once drove around the rural county of Cheshire, UK for hours to find a curious little castle we had once spotted and meant to revisit one day…We couldn’t initially spot it on the internet and resorted to driving around. It was quite magical when we rounded a bend and spotted it! A road trip to Italy needed perhaps?

Couldn’t be Villa Del Sol could it?

Sincere best wishes for a speedy recovery, so pleased you are at least out of hospital. Hope it isn’t too long until you can return to cruising!

Thank you for taking the time out of your holiday to do a live review. I know from experience they do take up time. Your attitude to cruising is perfect…Things aren’t always going to be perfect but if you value the good you are guaranteed a great voyage! Remember on nights you are really tired the buffet is a good option… Looking forward to following the remainder of your live post…

I can simply sit in a cafe in both of these cities and simply watch the people (and the fashion) go by!

Infinity verandas are loved by some and hated by others. There have been numerous posts listing the pros and cons. I strongly suggest you do some reading. Just use the search… Prices can be cruise only or cruise including the classic drinks package and WiFi. It does depend on how much you drink as to if you will benefit from a drinks package. Remember the cost of decent coffee and water needs to be calculated in as well as alcoholic beverages. Also if you are D or above on RC you will be Elite on Celebrity and get some free drinks (menu) from some bars for a couple of hours each evening. In my experience the ambiance on Celebrity is different than on RC. There is more of a focus on Rest and Relaxation on Celebrity compared to Action and Activity on RC. There is definitely plenty to see and do on Celebrity ships but without the constant announcements there are on RC…Unless it is vacation time usually a lot less children on Celebrity. For a group of 50th year olds I think it may suit you well.

So enjoying your adventures…So many people visit the great cities and sights of Europe and forget to leave time to ‘Stand and Stare’….They come away with a long list of ‘been, seen, done’ but totally fail to capture the feel or ambiance of the places they visit. Coming from the UK we have been blessed with being able on relatively short flights to enjoy many week/two week holidays in the Mediterranean which is definitely far more relaxing. However, I think your focus on food and wine has helped you on a short visit to Italy to really soak it up….I think many reading your review will learn from your planning which has really been excellent. Looking forward to your next instalment!

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful free cruise!

Oasis of the Seas, in an Aqua Theatre suite…We believe on the same cruise (2017ish?) others complained about the service. We didn’t as we had never had a genie and believed the popping back in the bottle was usual. It was our one and only Genie cruise. I am aware others have had a much better experience. On the same cruise as the suite lounge was full every evening with pinnacle guests we decided to try out the Diamond Lounge…I was very rudely challenged by an elderly lady who told me “This lounge is for Diamond and above, you can’t be Diamond as you are English”. I think I sort of spoilt her day when I politely said I was Diamond Plus… We haven’t cruised RC since….The suite lounge was, as said, hard to get a seat in, Diamond Lounge very cliquish….I think it was the tipping point for us, up to then we had mixed and matched Celebrity and RC. Moral of the story…Some cruises are definitely better than others!

Must confess I have just enjoyed a very nice Mediterranean AI…It is the time of the year we would usually cruise…We dithered looking at a few options but as we wanted a crash out break rather than an intensive port holiday the significantly cheaper price of AI (fraction of the cost) won the day! I can see us continuing to cruise but perhaps less frequently….

I agree that the ‘individual’ is often more important than the job description… Some room attendants/butlers/concierge/suite managers are outstanding. They are genuinely focused on making your cruise experience the best it can be. It doesn’t necessarily mean the others are bad they simply follow the script of their job description. My worry for the Sky Suite room attendants/hosts is the time it takes to ‘lift’ the experience has to come from somewhere… Worst service experience ever was on RC with a Genie who didn’t appear from his lamp until the end of day two of our cruise. He then phoned to ask if there was anything he could do. He told us to phone room service ourselves to arrange in suit snacks and said it would be easier if we phoned one of the speciality restaurants ourselves to arrange a change to a booking as they could ‘discuss all options’. He then tried hard to persuade us to book private photos bookings and an in suite demonstration of some new jewellery line…He acted as if we had let him down by giving a firm no…He then disappeared back in his lamp…

We have tried many and always seem to find the Embassy Suites is the best option for a pre cruise stay…

I have visions of ‘Reflection’ being crossed out on the hull and being replaced by ‘Enterprise’…

Just back from a sun filled holiday to a very wet and miserable England….Just what I need a vicarious cruise narrated by yourself! Looking forward to many morning coffee reads!

Nice photos, thanks for sharing!

My son had to push up the bottom a bit just to check…he got wet feet!