chemmo

This is the best post I have read in a long time! The earliest I will be cruising this year is September and that may need to be moved. Your enthusiasm and embracing everything for the good is wonderful, please keep posting. PS…Our toast on every cruise has been to ‘Making it count’…Looks like you are doing just that… Enjoy!

Some walking tours can be strenuous, especially if the paving stones/cobblestones are uneven or poorly maintained. People may be able to answer better if you name the ports/cities you are considering…The time of year is also a factor too. Walking through the Acropolis and down through Plaka in August is strenuous even for a really fit person! Weather is also a factor, sloping cobbled areas of Lisbon and Venice are not particularly challenging on a dry day but can be really hard work if it rains. Some excursions actually list approximately length on walk and number of steps…Worth looking. Totally agree…scary to see people walking around Ephesus in flip flops.

Totally agree. I think a lot of ‘above and beyond’ experiences happened when the ships first sailed post covid with low numbers of guests. Much easier then for butlers to offer to bring guests drinks to their rooms when bars were empty, much more time consuming with a full ship. I also think that as posters we need to make clear when giving advice what is ‘included’ with a room category and what is an extra, a bonus, a treat. For example, all guests can expect to be served dinner from the MDR menu. However, even in the higher suites, dining from an alternative menu (Luminae, speciality restaurants) is not included. The availability of this may vary from ship to ship and cruise to cruise and for the benefit of all restaurant guests they may have to say no to requests for anything other than the standard MDR. I guess the snag is the more guests that request Luminae in suite service the more likely it is that the M’D and suite manager decide that they have to say a blanket ‘no’ to everyone. Especially if some guests are requesting it frequently rather than as a one off. Equally, if only a few SS guests request the minibar to be restocked butlers are likely to be able to accommodate but if lots of SS guests board expecting this then again staff may need to enforce the rule more. We board expecting the perks we have paid for and are delighted when we are granted a special request and we ensure we don’t ask for many and always ask in advance….

You can arrange things regularly from your butler like coffee at a specific time or an afternoon snack plate. Alternatively he will give you a phone number and you can just phone when you want something. Your butler will serve you any in suite dining. If you have any problems like wet shoes after an excursion phone your butler, he will sort it. Technically in a CS you do not have the mini bar included but some guests have reported that the butler has topped them up with beers, sodas and water. If on your cruise your butler can’t do this it is easy to just bring unopened cans back to your room. The Eclipse has not yet been upgraded but you will have access to Michael’s Club and Luminae. Michael’s Club does have a ‘private club’ atmosphere and can be a nice place to enjoy pre and post dinner drinks. We have made some lasting friendships there. There are usually a few special events arranged like a ‘meet the officers’ cocktail evening and musical performances. The concierge will usually arrange a few other events like a helipad sail away or a behind the scenes tour of the galley, theatre or bridge. If you are interested in any of these things let him/her know. Also if you only have a classic drinks package there will be no charge in Michael’s for premium drinks. The concierge is also the person to go to if you have any issues like a wrong charge, no need to go to guest relations. Luminae has a nice ambiance and excellent service. However, the menu is ‘playfully’ written. It can be hard to know exactly what you are ordering. If you have time, look at some of the Luminae photo reviews to give you some ideas. Alternatively ask you waiter about the menu as you are perusing. Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise!

We were on Eclipse a few years ago the week before the CEO was boarding. Whilst we are aware that servicing on a ship is ongoing (areas cordoned off for painting) it was really noticeable on our cruise, painting everywhere! We always joke in the UK that the Queen thought the world smelled of new paint as invariably everywhere she visited it had just been ‘done up’. I wonder if Lisa thinks the same?

We love the CC breakfast on S class ships. Looking out over the wake of the ship when at sea or looking down of the hustle and bustle of a port when moored up… They do have a good range of platters ranging from fruit, to cold meats, to salmon to the ultimate platter for two which has a bit of everything (our favourite). The coffees are nice and I tend to start the day here with a Bellini, yummy! MisterMet, look out on boarding for a Captains Club letter in your cabin. It has a list of events some of which you need to register for. It can vary owing to cruise length but there is usually a wine tasting and a behind the scenes theatre tour. Sometimes you get reminders of these events but not always so keep checking the list. Also listen to messages on your phone sometimes there may be an invite to something like a helipad sail away. As the penguins said the Cocktail hour is less of an event now. However, the Sky lounge is still a lovely venue for evening pre dinner drinks. Remember the Captain Club host is part of the guest service team so he/she can be another person to offer assistance if you have any difficulties either with issues on board or perhaps with flights home. Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise!

What a pity. It is amazing the way the price of RS and PH suite can go up. Hope you have a fantastic cruise!

Agree, I think they are pretty impressive! However, a big different from asking them verbally to make one or two speciality restaurant reservations vs a full dining itinerary for the cruise. We have mid cruise, before now, checked our own lists to remind ourselves where we are dining that night and at what time!

In a CS, as others have said, the perks are different than the higher suites where a full bar set up and unlimited speciality dining are included. This can involve quite a bit of information, especially if the guests are going to dine in speciality restaurants most nights. It is more in these suites that a list can help the butler. Sincere best wishes for a wonderful suite cruise. Remember if you don’t contact the butler to request anything you may see little of him. Some guests don’t use the butler and you don’t always see them as you leave/return to your room. Sadly on CC from time to time people report their butler ‘did nothing’ but it becomes clear that sometimes they simply haven’t said they would like things like coffee every morning or a snack plate in the afternoon…The butler’s don’t usually just ‘knock on’ to see if you want anything, they respect your privacy and will wait for you to phone them if you do want anything. Also remember if you have any unexpected issues, for example, a missing button or you are returning from an excursion with wet shoes butlers are great at sorting out things like this for you. Similarly the Retreat Concierge will deal with any issues like a wrong payment without needing to use guest services.

It is not rude at all, it is showing respect for the busy and difficult lives the butlers lead. You are giving them a check list they can complete in their own time. They are not having to rely on memory, no head scratching of ‘did the guests request firm or soft pillows?’. A written copy is especially useful if the shoreside information doesn’t come through. What would you rather have if you were a butler, to be given a clear list for bar set up or have to start scribbling down names of spirits, lagers, sodas etc? Would you prefer as a butler on a busy boarding day to have to write down dining and venue times for a 10 night cruise or be given a clearly printed chart to follow when you get time to do it?

I assume you have already considered and decided against your son being a third in the RS? Our adult son has joined us in the RS a few times and it has worked well. The second 1/2 bath takes pressure of the bathroom and gives total privacy at night. During the day you have great family space at night the sofa bed is large and comfortable (our son is 6’). The bonus doing this is your son automatically gets the suite perks included of WiFi, premium drinks package, unlimited speciality dining and laundry along with the access to Luminae, Retreat Deck etc. Add to that the third guest price in a RS/PH is much lower than the price for guests 1 and 2…I would think less than the cost of an inside cabin.

If you are inexperienced of cruising the Mediterranean but want to avoid ship tours I suggest you join the roll call for your cruise. You will probably find that some members are organising trips and have spaces for others to join. These trips may range from historical to wine tasting to physical activities. Usually cheaper than the cruise line, smaller numbers but often arranged by fellow cruisers with significant knowledge of the area. I don’t know your cruising history but we have cruised world wide and have rarely found value for money in waiting until you get off the ship to book an excursion unless you simply want a ‘beach resort’ and are flexible about which one you want. We always research our ports and decide the type of excursion we want (coach tour, activities, boat trip…). Both Rome and Florence are a significant distance from the port…it could cost you more to try to book something at the port and you could find the time wasted negotiating results in you cutting a day trip to a brief trip. I suggest you look seriously at your ports of call and the itineraries offered by Celebrity. This will give you a good idea of what is easily doable. After this look at the roll call for your cruise and see what things are being offered. Then search the ports of call yourself and see what you can independently book. If what you want to experience isn’t offered then ask for advice either on the roll call, the ports of call board or back on the main CC site. You will get some conflicting opinions. For example, I would not even suggest doing Florence as a cruise day trip…I would also advise you to check the T&Cs of private bookings. I remember, some years ago, finding the the ‘Rome on your own’ offered by Celebrity was actually cheaper than some private options and suited us better than the alternative guided tour. It really is important to do your homework. Quite simply decide what what you want to experience… Sincere best wishes for a fantastic Mediterranean cruise!

Glad they fixed it or it would have been a new form of air conditioning!

Unlike Jim, In recent years our requests have gone through. However, we always take a copy of the email of our requests with us to give to the butler on boarding just in case and always ask him to confirm our speciality dining requests. Re spirits, basically you can request anything on the premium package list. We invariably ask for cognac, not on the list the shoreside concierge sends you, and never had a problem. If there is a particular brand you want simply ask. If on boarding they don’t stock it ask what they can provide. Friends of ours requested some quality wines instead, it wasn’t a problem. Other items on our list… Beers, soda and water. Sliced lemon and lime. A real fruit bowl. Pillow preference Tea tray and kettle (yes, we are English) A detailed list of specialty dining bookings Date and time of any get togethers pre arranged when cruising with friends. To make the most of your butler keep talking once on board. Think of things you would like daily. We do not request coffee each morning as we don’t know what time we will be getting up but on port days we may pre arrange with the butler in suite breakfast. We do ask for a daily in suite afternoon tea selection of mini sandwiches and cakes instead of the usual daily snack delivery. This usually takes us a day or two to get right as invariably we are provided with far too much. If we do decide to dine in suite for dinner or to host a party we always give the butler 24 hours notice. We also try to avoid times when we know they have duties elsewhere (afternoon tea time in the retreat lounge, chic night theatre times…). Remember the Retreat concierge can add to the RS experience too. If you want a bridge tour, galley tour etc let them know. Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise!

We have only done two shorter cruises on Celebrity (4 nights, five nights) and we did them back to back. The four night was livelier than usual but not excessively so. It was only the pool areas mid afternoon that seemed more ‘party’ than the usual laid back atmosphere. Breakfast was very quiet, later evening the bars were still busy. Didn’t spoil our pleasure. Our second cruise was full of older guests and we were not Spring chickens! However, along with a very quiet crowd there was one, very extended (20ish) multi aged ‘loud’ family who did make a negative impact…Their presence in the pool area was noticeable. Shouting from the bar across the pool to other family members, teenage boys jumping in and out of the pool unchecked by parents. We only saw them poolside once, that was enough. We had a big balcony that cruise so spent most afternoons there. According to others they were loud and oblivious to fellow cruisers in the restaurant too. Fortunately we tend to dine earlier so at least our paths didn’t cross. I mention this simply to illustrate that it isn’t always a particular age of group or length of cruise that can be an issue simply just a few selfish individuals. The only other time we have come across a group like this was on a South Pacific cruise of 16 nights. One couple of the extended family were in the PH, the rest of the family were in a range of other rooms ranging from Sky Suites to inside…The suite experience, particularly the ambiance in Luminae, was badly affected until the management team reacted (very well). Goes to show, hard to predict exactly what fellow guests on a cruise will be like…

Sue, Whilst the choice is quite limited we did enjoy. We ordered a few different things and then shared. Just make sure you sit in a sheltered spot I remember our Caesar salad flying away!

on S and M class I think the indoor pools have steps. On Eclipse, S class ship, there is a ‘ducking stool’ which enabled me to enjoy the solarium pool post surgery. Staff were fantastic, always ready to help me to access and help me get out again. I suggest you name the ship you are looking at then contributors can offer ship specific information.

Our son enjoyed Celebrity from a similar age…He had been, seen and experienced the RC activities. Like your son he was content crashing out sea days. However, we did look at providing shore excursions that we thought he would enjoy including some water sports. If you book an S class ship but not Silhouette I am fairly sure they still have a basketball court. Uncertain on M and E class. Check the deck plans…I think all ships have a jogging track…Perhaps someone can confirm…I get my exercise on board walking between bars and restaurants.

I am not suggesting you ‘push’ him to go but you could try to see exactly why he has changed his mind. I only mention this because the last holiday we booked for my Mum before she died she wanted to opt out a month before going. Her worries focused on reduced mobility, not feeling up to shopping for new clothes, using the Euro and fear of ‘being a burden’…Obviously all easy to overcome. With a bit of reassurance she came and had a wonderful time. Sometime as one gets older the focus of everything not part of the usual routine can be daunting… However things work out sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise!

When we were on board I think there were two stools facing out but that was as cruising returned so things may be different now.

Hi there! We were on Silhouette post covid for the British Isles cruise. There is a small bar and a jacuzzi. There was ample shade for our cruise but in the Caribbean you would need to choose an appropriate area. As there is lovely air flow in the area the actual sun factor is deceptive. Service was excellent and we found the lunchtime menu offered an ideal light midday snack when we didn’t particularly want to move and dress to eat. I seem to remember bar service was approximately 10am until 5pm but this could vary…As peanut head said the staff will do their best to get you any beverage you want. There was ample comfortable seating. Nice to see appropriate areas to lie, sit and dine. However, we did find much of the seating was very low…Anyone with knee or back issues may be better doubling up the cushions to enable sitting comfortably and being able to get up again. On our first visit we did this, on our second a member of staff saw us coming and arranged a two tier chair for us. We found the steps between the two levels manageable despite some mobility issues. We were quite shocked on our cruise that the covered beds were ‘hogged’ early even despite early morning drizzle in Belfast! I can imagine the same happening in the Caribbean. Also one jacuzzi for all Retreat guests is limiting. On our cruise in colder regions it wasn’t an issue but I can imagine it being busy in hotter regions. There are cabanas in the lawn area…We didn’t think they were particularly private and were at extra cost. Our general impression of Silhouette is that it is our favourite S class ship and we have sailed them all! The Retreat deck is much better than the one on Equinox and, of course, as yet the other S class ships don’t have a Retreat deck at all. The extended seating area at the side of the Sunset Bar was a good move in our experience. A nice place to hang out at any time of the day… We loved the speciality dining on Silhouette. I know you are fans of Luminae and will probably dine there most of the time but consider the Porch one or two lunchtimes as well as the Lawn Grill on an evening…we did find both venues very relaxing. Happy cruising!

wineoclock, you express well what the difference is and the ‘value’ side…For many people the PH additional cost is not worth it. Paying $$$$ for the ‘top suite’ experience is only worth it if you are going to use/enjoy the ‘exceptional’ perks that come with a top suite. Both those advertised and those little extra touches. To get the value of a PH/RS you need to significantly benefit from some of the following… You will spend significant amounts of time in suite and enjoy the space and facilities. You will enjoy an in suite bar set up. You will enjoy some in suite dining, perhaps something not on any menu. You will ask your butler for a few things daily and perhaps to set up a party. You will use the laundry service. Your preferred seating in all dining venues will be noted. Speciality restaurants will frequently offer to make ‘something special’ for you. You will benefit from being privately escorted on/off the ship. You will enjoy a behind the scenes tour of an area not generally seen. You will enjoy being invited to dine sometimes with the Captain. Any issues you have will be taken very seriously. I am sure others could add to the list….On our last few cruises my late husband had significant health issues and it was worth every penny to enjoy the PH and RS we booked. Each of the things listed made our cruises very special. However, going back to when we first cruised none of the above mattered! Our cruises were about itineraries, our room was a place to sleep. We were poolside on sea days and happy with the MDR for food and our drinks were enjoyed in the bars. We could happily queue in hot weather and patiently stand in line at the buffet… I am not in any way suggesting that only the old and infirm can benefit from a PH. But I am suggesting to really get value from a PH/RS then you need to want to use what comes with it. For example, if you are cruising after a hard spell in work and simply want a relaxing pampering experience then you will enjoy all the things listed or if you are planning a romantic getaway then the same applies….

Whilst hotels are expensive in Hawaii we spend 8 nights in Waikiki beach before a TP cruise and loved every minute! Just so much to do and so easy to do it. We stayed at the Park Shore Hotel. It is very much at the end of the resort offering fantastic sea views with real balconies, overlooking Diamond Head to the side too. We were woken every morning to the tooting of the elephants and chattering of the monkeys from the zoo next door. So many hotels offer balconies that are simply opening doors with a rail, our balcony had proper tables and chairs you could enjoy. Bus stops outside…Much lower in price than many hotels as it doesn’t have lots of facilities but its rooms have coffee makers, fridges…which can help with the $$$ savings. We ate breakfast on our balcony most days watching the early surfers enjoying the waves. Different rooms offer different things so if you do consider this property look at the details. We didn’t get to see the other islands other than a day stop in Maui at the start of our cruise, perhaps some day, but we wouldn’t have missed our island visit. I would suggest, as others have, to consider the itineraries of other lines too but I definitely would not miss out on adding on an island stay.

I suggest you name the country as that will have a significant implication. What is acceptable to the ship and the country will vary depending where you are. For example, in India Celebrity has a history of organising overnights to Agra and catching up at a later port. There have been posts on CC where people have been allowed to do this independently. In Bangkok, people overnighting in the city is common…Other countries may have more strict ‘rules’ as well as the ship. It is also important to consider method of travel and the country’s stability. For example, Athens used to be really easy to visit until there was a spate of lightening strikes…So if you do manage to set up what you plan make sure you keep up with local issues and have a draft back up plan. Sincere best wishes that you do manage to arrange what you want! It would help others if following your research you feed back your findings.

We unhappily landed in Fort Lauderdale a few years ago now with 1/3 of our luggage after flight cancellations and last minute changes owing to weather conditions. The positives were we had…… Flown in two days prior to our cruise… We had split the luggage as we always do for the three of us into the three suitcases so each of us had our travel outfits plus one swimwear plus 2 x undies plus a couple of T shirt/shorts outfits plus a few more bits…Sadly no cosmetics or chic night wear although our travel outfits would class as smart casual. Had travel insurance so we could buy additional clothing without worrying about cost for our cruise day 2 (at no real cost to us) so if our luggage didn’t appear on the last morning before our cruise we would still board with enough clothes, cosmetics etc to be comfortable. As it worked out our luggage did arrive, literally at the last minute…My posh frock is evidence that arriving to the port minus luggage doesn’t mean you need to board without having what you need… For those who don’t understand the ‘posh frock’ reference you haven’t been following CC long enough…. Quite simply, luggage loss is unfortunately a hazard one needs to plan for….For us the split of clothing between the three cases was the biggest gain and cost nothing…Much as it may be easier to pack his and hers cases if only one case arrives???