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In a higher suite you are contacted by the shoreside concierge about two weeks before cruising and you can send in your dining reservation requests as well as details of your in suite bar set up etc. We board each cruise with all our speciality dining pre booked, exact venue and times sorted. Only on one occasion (over many cruises) have we had to change a reservation and that was because of a special event in Tuscan. Certainly on Reflection and Silhouette with their extra dining options we felt the benefit of the included speciality restaurants, even at lunchtime it was nice to go to The Porch or Sushi on Five. With the present price of speciality dining, if you plan on dining in speciality venues most nights rather than Luminae then that is a large bill in a Sky Suite. If you can pre book a dining package it should bring the cost down. In a Sky Suite if you give your butler your list of speciality restaurants requests on boarding or head to any speciality venue you should still get the exact times you want or near enough not to matter. If I was you I would price up the difference in cost between a Sky Suite plus dining package vs Signature Suite. I would then consider how much you would enjoy the extra bits of the higher suite package like the in suite bar set up, included laundry…Booking a RS/PH works for us because we do dine in the speciality restaurants, love the bigger rooms, in suite bar set up and enjoy the other perks. However, we have friends who are very happy booking balcony rooms and simply book a dining package…On boarding they usually get the exact times and venues they want too. I think it is more when you try to book a venue last minute that ‘room status’ can come into play. The ‘right’ room for anyone is the one that gives you what you want at a price you are comfortable with…Only you can decide that. Re Signature Suites, hopefully someone who has cruised in one will reply. I would be happy in one (and I am quite motion sensitive) on a cruise with expectations of fairly calm seas but wouldn’t for something like a Transatlantic… We loved Reflection, whatever option you choose, hope you have a great cruise!

Interesting if anyone else reports back….I was referring to past knowledge.

Mid cruise there is usually a fill a bag option for I think about $50, hope someone can confirm. Enough space for undies, a few T shirts, shorts etc. If you pack things well you can get more in. Things come back neatly folded but not pressed, fine for polo shirts but not for cotton shirts/blouses. In our experience the wash is fine for anything you would put in a medium mixed wash at home. There is also a dry clean service, again not cheap but a better option for smart wear.

Yes, Blu is for Aqua, the named restaurant for suite guests is Luminae. Lots of reviews and pictures of the menu, worth doing a search. You can dine there every breakfast, lunch on boarding and sea days plus every evening, no reservations required. If you wish to try Blu they will do their best to accommodate you but you need to be mindful of those whose restaurant it is. If you are willing to dine early or late they are more likely to be able to fit you in.

Firstly sincere sympathy for your serious health issues. I hope you both are receiving good care and remaining comfortable. I am unsure about your terms and conditions as it does vary between countries. Hopefully someone from Canada will reply. Certainly here in the UK we would be offered to swap to a later cruise (no use to you) or we would loose our deposit. If the terms and conditions are the same for you then then Celebrity has, as a ‘good will’ gesture, offered the fcc. Whilst it may not be of use to you they may not be obliged to return your deposit. In your shoes I would look at insurance cover. If you took out travel insurance they should pay out minus any excess. If you didn’t check the terms and conditions of your credit card. Very often they do include some travel insurance… Failing that do you have a relation you could ask Celebrity to ‘gift’ the fcc to? Perhaps a family member who also likes to cruise? Whilst I am sure Celebrity would not be obliged to do this, no harm asking and perhaps you would feel less like your money had just gone to waste… Sincere best wishes for a positive outcome!

It does depend on your cruise length but usually first sea day and next to last night in our experience are ‘chic nights’ with another fitted in on longer cruises. On the Eclipse your speciality dining venues are.. Murano, Tuscan Grill, Le Petite Chef and Sushi on Five. I would describe as follows…Personal opinion, others may view differently… Murano, classic menu, excellent service with some table side preparation that adds a touch of drama to your meal. Service is designed to be relaxed so the meal takes a while. We always book on sea days or days we have had a relaxing rather than busy excursion. You want to arrive fresh and enjoy everything from the amuse bouchée to the liqueur and coffee. Definitely the place for a special occasion. Tuscan Grill, think steak and pasta venue with a nice ambiance and a great wake view. We book it on nights when we are leaving a port and can watch day turn to night…You do feel you are in a nice restaurant and service again is usually excellent. Steak quality for us has varied. Never awful and needing returning but on cruises out of the US definitely better than cruises out of Europe. Perhaps suppliers? Le Petite Chef is fun not fine dining. We giggled the first time and did enjoy the novelty but second time it wasn’t the same…we probably will not do it again. Sort of one of those experiences to try once. Sushi has a lot more than sushi, we tend to dine there more at lunch than in the evenings but pleasant in the evenings too. Once or twice I have ordered things there and received something unexpected so ask the waiter if you are unsure about the menu items. It is a la carte, you will not be charged for anything. Whilst I know it is the speciality restaurants you are asking about don’t forget the buffet and room service! If you have had a busy day, included speciality dining or not, there is nothing like a graze in the buffet…putting together a plate of bits and pieces you would never combine at home. Upper suites have decent tables inside and on the balcony. Sometimes it is nice to just order room service and enjoy your suite…

When you try to explain to those who haven’t experienced the M PH they don’t understand why you like a pantry! Once you have experienced you understand…We loved the big fridge and even being able to side dirty glasses and dishes out of the way. We have fond memories of inviting a very elderly couple…long story but we had found them being a bit harassed in Jamaica and offered to accompany them back to the ship and to our suite for a drink. As you say more ‘wowed’ by the balcony than the suite. Also wowed by our butler who saw we had guests and magically appeared to provide drinks and snacks. When the elderly lady commented on how nice the chocolate strawberries were he got a plate for her and insisted on carrying it to their room as they left. He was one of those ‘exceptional butlers’.

We started doing this back in 2014 when we boarded and found none of our requests had gone through to the ship. Our poor butler had to quickly note brands of beers, spirits, pillows….before he even got around to our dining requests. Since then we have always taken a copy for the butler as a check list. We also take our own itinerary sheet to remind us where we are dining too!

The price of ‘just drinks and a snack’ in Norway is enough to put on a card… We were there in 2017, took currency and didn’t use it, credit cards widely used, even at some of the little stores. If we return I wouldn’t take more than about equivalent to £50…

We always pre book a draft for speciality restaurants with the shoreside concierge. We are quite picky about our preferred seating and timing… We book Tuscan early on days when we can peruse our menu as the ropes are coming off, enjoy our starters as the port drifts into the distance and by the time we are on desserts and coffee day has turned to night. Quite magical! Murano we enjoy on sea days when we will have definitely had a lazy day and are fresh enough to enjoy a longer meal Other restaurants we fit in around this… Once on board we may change the odd time or venue if something else comes up but we know the restaurants appreciate pre booking as they then do not need to ‘juggle’ to fit suite guests in on a busy service. The bonus we get from pre booking is we invariably get our favourite spot and sometimes the M’D will offer to do something special for us next visit. For example, in Murano I mentioned that I loved Steak Diane and it was prepared for me next visit. In Tuscan we discussed things we missed from the ‘old’ menu and they offered to make us a mushroom ravioli starter when we returned. I seem to be saying this on a lot of posts recently but it all depends on what suits you and is important to you. Totally understand that deciding where to eat last minute is a choice some like but not us… Just as an extra point we always give our butler a copy of the email to the concierge which lists the restaurants and times and ask him to check the full list has been forwarded. On one occasion only the first booking had been made…

Fortunately we started our travels as soon as we had an income! Many years later we recently had to cancel/postpone our October cruise owing to health issues. The ‘sting’ of the cancellation was eased by knowing how much we have already seen and done! Much as we hope to be able to cruise again soon we are very aware how blessed we have been to have seen and done so much… Looking forward to enjoying the rest of your adventures!

Really enjoying reading your review. So many people are always going to visit Alaska (or Norway for that matter) when they are older not realising that often the best tours in these regions are on foot, kayak or bicycle and need a good level of stamina and mobility. You sound very much like ‘my glass is half full’ people, many would bemoan that their first choice excursions had been cancelled rather that be happy there were other options. I am sure that Shore Excursions appreciated your understanding, I feel for them when cruisers get grumpy about something they have no control over.

I can’t say it better than the Queen ”The price for love is grief…” Rest in peace Ma’am.

Calicakes, we were on a half full post covid British Isles cruise last year and I took an early morning walk around the ship. At 7am someone had saved two beds in the Solarium and the two ‘big’ loungers on the Retreat Deck had also been saved as had several beds poolside. The ship was so empty everyone could have a bed in the sun and another in the shade and there still would be plenty over. It would have been odd enough in the Mediterranean or Caribbean but we were heading to Belfast in thick cloud…. It will be interesting to see how chair hogging is managed (or not managed)…Hope you enjoy your day.

I admire you efforts to keep the weight off. On our first few cruises we did eat full breakfast, lunch and dinner and found that we did gain weight despite lots of exercise from strenuous excursions. Now our exercise is more limited but we don’t gain weight. We do follow some simple rules… Either a big breakfast and a light lunch or light breakfast and more substantial lunch. We avoid any between meal snacks (Retreat lounge, Cafe…). We feel comfortable leaving food on the plate (your idea of asking for half portions is better). We are not big dessert fans, we may just ask for vanilla ice cream or sorbet end of meal. If you love desserts then look for the salad starters. Our philosophy is we can enjoy anything we want to eat on the cruise but not all on the same day!

As others have said pre revolution the biggest difference was the extra deck and the addition of a Reflection suite and Signature Suites on Reflection.

We find the biggest problem with Luminae is that you can read the menu and not really have a clue what you are ordering. Also the veggies can be (in our opinion) a garnish rather than a portion. We tend to ask specific questions from the waiter about dishes we haven’t had before, request a side salad or extra veggies and if we are unsure about a sauce we ask for it on the side.

We miss it too. We generally have a beverage package and cruise in suites but we still would enjoy one or two evenings at the Captains Club cocktail hour…Always such a ‘social event’.

You know it is that sort of thing we enjoy too… Perhaps people are balcony people or they are not.

Yes, we would probably enjoy the extra space more too although we have used the jacuzzi occasionally! We have at least found the S RS balcony useable, it’s size wouldn’t stop us booking again. Whilst not spacious compared to the E Class RS balcony it is massive…A dining table two chairs and two lounge chairs compared to two chairs and a drinks table!?!?

This is exactly the criticism some make of the RS on S class, there isn’t space for a decent table and two comfortable lounge chairs. You chose a suite which was right for you, exactly the point I am trying to make…For some people a balcony is important for others it is not!

We like sun beds on the balcony as well as chairs. Not so much to do with the ‘sun’ part but definitely the ‘bed’. We are older now, have limited mobility and a comfortable place to sit/lie and enjoy the view day or night is an important pleasure for us. Our ability to enjoy excursions has become more restricted but we can choose a room that fits what we want. I totally understand what is important to us is not important to you…As I previously said, all about choices.

All about personal choices…highlights of our cruise include… Standing on our balcony as we enter a port. Eating breakfast on our balcony. Afternoon read or nap on the balcony. Sipping a glass of wine on my balcony as my hair dries late afternoon rather than fight a hairdryer. Watching a port slip into the distance from our balcony early evening. Taking a last drink back to our room and lying on a sun bed star gazing. Occasionally sitting out in the sun or enjoying an occasional jacuzzi. Whilst the balcony isn’t a deal breaker to you a small or overhanging balcony is to us…

Worse ways to spend an evening!!!

In our general experience all restaurants (including Blu, Luminae, MDR and speciality restaurants are easier to access/book before 6.45pm and after 8.15pm. As we have travelled world wide we have seen some variations (in the Med if more Europeans on board skewed busier slightly later). As mentioned in a previous post, if you don’t want a wait or to be sent away with a buzzer ask the M’D for his time recommendations. He will after the first night or so be able to predict the crowded times.