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What an interesting post! Thanks gordylad… ’Sparkle’ comes from many things… Novelty of experiences (ship and itinerary) The build up and looking forward to Exceptional service The company you meet Your manner and attitude on boarding No wonder some reports are a little lacking in enthusiasm… Many are choosing an ‘easy’ cruise rather than a preferred itinerary that could have travel issues Hard to truly enjoy the planning when a simply test could stop your cruise We are aware some ships are struggling with staff There is a risk to socialising with others vs keeping to yourselves After the last few years perhaps many are boarding with rose coloured glasses… To quote Lastdance “Seize the day your own way”… Our recipe to have ‘sparkle’ every cruise is to board with enthusiasm, an attitude to ignore any minor issues and savour all those wonderful things so easily taken for granted. Like the smell of the sea Sitting down to a meal you haven’t made and don’t have to clean up. Sipping your favourite tipple and listening to that live music. Just sitting and watching the world go by or sharing a conversation with strangers We should be heading off to Southampton today. Hope whoever secured ‘our PH’ on Silhouette has a wonderful cruise! Unfortunately health issues intervened a few weeks ago. Our glasses are still half full but believe me next time we can board there will be enough sparkle in our eyes to light up a full ship! Special sparkling wishes to all boarding the Silhouette tomorrow for her Canary Island cruise!

Agree… Worth doing one night of a cruise but not for a birthday (unless travelling with children) and definitely not for an anniversary.

LPC is fun dining not fine dining…The first time we visited it was about the presentation. We had not done anything similar before and we giggled our way through it…Food was fine, no issues but MDR rather than speciality standard, totally understandable given the everyone is served together concept. Second time was less good. Like most people we arrived on time only to have the start delayed by a group of about ten arriving 10 minutes late and then wanting drinks service….by the time they were served many of us started the presentation with glasses near empty… Quite simply the novelty was not there a second time. OP, I would recommend it once. As I said we did thoroughly enjoy the first time.

My initial reference was “spaces are reserved for upper suite guests”…Second paragraph probably misleading, I should perhaps have phrased it “upper suite guests make their reservations about 2/3 weeks out”, sorry for any confusion…

Funny how so many of us like loose fitting or elastic waist dresses on cruises…

Some spaces are reserved for upper suite guests who have unlimited speciality dining and guests with dining packages. Suite guests make their reservations about 2/3 weeks out. We have always managed to get the exact times we want. Guests with dining packages will usually make their reservations on boarding. Not all withheld times will be used by the above groups so on boarding if you head for Murano the M’D will most likely be able to offer you the time or near to want, especially if you are flexible with day/date.

If you are adjusting a booking the M’Ds always try to accommodate all guests regardless of room category. Murano, in our experience, is usually the only restaurant that can be hard to get exact preferred time for if you want to change a time especially towards the end of the cruise. If you check showtimes, special events etc on boarding and adjust you will probably have no issues. If you try to adjust last minute the restaurants will try their best for you but may only be able to offer very early or very late options or an alternative day. As you say cruising not cooking is enough to make us all smile!

A program series on Virgin cruises recently aired on UK TV. It might be worth trying to search. Can’t remember it’s full name. From speaking to friends who also saw it, it was a love/hate response. For those like us who were hoping for a sophisticated adult experience there was disappointment. It seemed just to loud and had a party atmosphere focus. Lots of the activities seemed drink related and at extra cost. The butler equivalent for higher suites seemed more like the Genie on RC (focus on booking things for you not offering personal service). The suite rooms looked quite nice. For those who were looking for an adult party atmosphere it was seen as worth trying…There seemed to be more organised activities day and night (some at extra cost). Looked like quite a lot of group activities and that entertainment went later into the night… As I say this simply relates to a response to a TV program. Hopefully more people who have actually cruised on Virgin will offer ‘real’ experience. Silhouette is our favourite S class ship. Recently refurbished, extra restaurants than most of S class (other than Reflection).

We used to purchase these packages in the days before drinks packages. If I remember correctly we bought them on both RC and Celebrity. I seem to remember that the menu of wines you could choose from varied from cruise to cruise. On boarding you would look at the lists of wines (about 8/10) included in each package (red, white one sparkling). You would choose either the classic or the premium. I think the saving between buying 5 bottles independently or buying 5 on the package was about 20%. Wine you didn’t finish was kept for you until the next night. If you changed dining area they would transfer your wine. A good option for those who drink wine but would not get the benefit from the other aspects of a drinks package. We used to do this probably about 10 years ago so the system may be different now…

Sincere best wishes for a great family cruise. It is hard knowing when mobility issues are severe enough to become a disability and I guess it has to be the point when safety is an issue. I am sure your Mum will be safer and more comfortable in an accessible cabin and that you will feel more relaxed knowing she can safely move around. I agree with your suggestion to look at getting or hiring a scooter. I cruised whilst needing a wheelchair post op and regretted it. Firstly wheelchairs are hard to push on the carpeted areas of the ship and most of the inside is carpeted. Secondly, I felt a loss of independence….As a side note, last cruise we chatted with a family with a similar profile to yours. They had been trying to persuade Mum for a few years to get a scooter constantly getting a firm ‘no’. After using one on the cruise she was hooked and wanted one bought and delivered asap!

I totally understand what you are saying. The MDR menu is well written. You know when you order what to expect. One of the problems with the Luminae menu is it is ‘playfully’ written. Perhaps an attempt to be more upmarket? Sometimes it is hard to know exactly what you are ordering. Also when it arrives you can find it is different than you expected. When we first cruised Luminae I would ask the waiter to describe the dishes. Some were great and would, others would simply say “Try, if you don’t like I will bring you something else”. Also the veggie content of some dishes is a garnish rather than a portion. If you don’t know which dishes have limited veggies then you don’t know when to order extra sides… Unfortunately, I think this can make diners conservative, they decide to ‘stick to something they know’ rather than try things they are unsure of. No one wants to spoil the ‘flow’ of the meal by sending a dish back… My advice to all new Luminae cruisers is to look at some of the Jim_Iain pictorial reviews and actually note what looks nice and what wouldn’t appeal. Once on board do ask your waiter to describe dishes you are uncertain about. Also if you fancy a fish or chicken dish but are unsure about the sauce ask for it on the side. We generally got into the habit of asking for a salad between us each every with the entree so if the veggies were limited we supplemented it with the salad. If there was enough veg on the plate then a salad is still always nice! On just rereading my post it sounds negative, I don’t mean it to be. Luminae has a nice ambiance, great staff and good food. Unfortunately whoever wrote the menu didn’t realise that when ordering food most of us would like a menu that gives us more idea of what to expect!

What a pity…Wouldn’t it have been nice if they had either accepted your offer or if they had been directed not to sell for less than $xxx given it to a honeymoon couple or a fiftieth anniversary couple… Just a waste to leave it empty. I know if we had to cancel our room last minute I would be hoping that at least someone else enjoyed it…

I think you and your Mum may relax more if she had an accessible cabin. When manoeuvring space is tight there is an increased risk of falling. The lip into the bathroom and onto the balcony is significant. If someone was in the cabin with her it would be different, they could aid and monitor her when doing these more difficult manoeuvres. I assume you are paying solo rate for your Mum’s cabin. Does your Mum have a slightly more mobile friend who may enjoy going too? It may cost very little extra and may give you peace of mind as to your Mum’s safety and well-being. I totally understand your preference to book a standard cabin leaving the accessible one for someone more needy but needing a rollator all the time in the cabin and a transport wheelchair too puts her, in my mind, into needing a space designed for someone with limited mobility, especially if she is alone in the cabin.

Totally agree, OP thank you for such a well balanced review. I think all of us who holiday anywhere at the moment do so knowing that many venues (ships and hotels) have been through (and are still experiencing) difficult times. Upgrading needed, staffing issues… You can notice some issues and then choose to enjoy the positives or focus on the negatives….Glass half full, glass half empty. So pleased your MDR and drink experiences were good. When cruising as a family we find the dining is the social highlight of the cruise.

I think it is a third/fourth person in a room issue sometimes. On a couple of occasions on boarding our son has not had his premium drinks package indicated on his card and the concierge has had to put it on….

Your card indicates you are in the PH, you should automatically not be charged with anything. Occasionally, however, an error can slip through. Agree, just check every few days and definitely at the end of the cruise that no charges have appeared. If anything has (other than things you might have bought like wine by the bottle) just let the Retreat concierge know and it will be cancelled. They bring you nothing unless you wish to add a tip to your account. If you do simply request a receipt and explain why. In our experience, however, the staff prefer cash tips as they then keep the tip, if it goes on the slip it goes in the general pool.

We have been regular visitors from the UK to Florida for over thirty years. Our heart goes out to all whose homes and livelihoods have been affected… OP, sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise, so glad you and your family are safe and well…

I thought the same until we visited Egypt one August! Iced tea was the only thing that stopped us evaporating into the sand…a favourite now with lemon on every hot climate cruise but never for breakfast!

Exactly why we always request a tea tray set up in our room no matter where we cruise from. Surprisingly, although the tea tray is usually well stocked with a good range of teas, milk in the cooler, cups and saucers…but there is often no tea pot! One always brought when we ask.

OP sorry to hijack your post but Groryjm has just reminded me of my favourite cocktail, elderflower blush…As I am not cruising soon I may just treat myself to the ingredients…

Hope you have a fantastic cruise!

With such doubts about the Signature Suite suiting you why not stay put but look out for ‘move up’ opportunities? RS can be released at final payment time…If one isn’t then just spend the money saved on all the speciality restaurants you want to visit. If an ‘upgrade’ is a ‘downgrade’ in some ways then it’s value is diminished.

Yes, Cunard wouldn’t suit us either….Nice to have the option of dressing up or not…

We have never wanted to do a world cruise. However, we love cruising as part of a longer vacation experience…We did an Alaska cruise after a long tour of Washington state, Land stays in Hawaii before a TP cruise and Australia stay after. Cruise before a Hong Kong break and a Singapore break after…Best of both worlds, land holidays and cruise holidays combined. A friend of mine did a WC on Cunard with her husband…she confessed that in Sydney she contemplated jumping ship…she described it as ‘just too much of a good thing’. She found she was increasingly ordering room service and watching TV in the evening, it was ‘too much trouble’ to get ready and socialise. Whilst the more formal dress code on Cunard in the evenings may we part of their ‘cruise fatigue’ I can understand it. Perhaps you and your husband could look at an extended land tour or three destination land tour followed by a longer cruise meeting your preferences and your better half’s…

During lockdown with so much leisure and feeling the need for things to look forward to we did quite a lot of research on other lines….yes, we decided to stick with Celebrity!