chemmo

Shorter cruises can be livelier. Younger guests with limited time off work can prefer these short breaks. However, we have done a couple and found no real difference in ambiance than a longer cruise. Obviously, if they overlap Spring break or other holiday periods they can be a significantly different experience…

We are D+ and E+ so used to both lines… Whilst the focus on RC can be Activities and Entertainment on Celebrity it is more about Rest and Relaxation…Ideal on an itinerary which is port intensive. Our son in his 30’s and fiancée prefer Celebrity to Royal. Whilst overall they are younger than most guests they invariably meet up with a few other couples of similar age in one or other of the bars… Much nicer food, in our opinion, in all venues from buffet to speciality. Make sure you look at the ‘Today’ paper to see what music/entertainment is on. Whilst the big shows may not have the bells and whistles of the bigger RC ships Celebrity is very good at providing a good range of music in a variety of lounges. Particularly recommend the Ensemble Lounge. Great venue to enjoy the music and make new friends.

Agree…. A few things happened during the early post covid cruise that I think upset the previous known expectations for suites at different levels. Firstly, in those first few cruises suites were not fully booked. Meaning generally a great staff to guest ratio. We read several reports that RS/PH guests had been given unlimited access to the spa. Not normally a perk. Several guests reporting room service from Luminae as a rule rather than an organised treat. Several sky suite guests reporting free minibar and drink delivery service. In room drink service has never been standard even if in a higher suite…Again a treat rather than an expectation. Guests in multiple suite categories reporting contact by the shoreside concierge rather than ‘always’ in a higher suite, sometimes in a CS and randomly in a SS. From experience over many years there was a lot of ‘moving the bar’ on what you were ‘entitled to’ and what you received. Enabled by low numbers and a genuine desire to provide guests with exceptional service experiences….Now we are back to pre covid numbers, several staff on shore and on the ship with limited experience and the need to re-establish expectations… One of the snags now is the Retreat is constantly full, some staff are not fully trained and some guests may anticipate that the service level they received on these start up cruises is the ‘norm’.

Enjoyed the seafood tower in The Porch on Refection and Silhouette….Didn’t think they did it in Sushi?

It barely has a balcony let alone a hot tub!

Whilst generally quiet on both our Reflection and Silhouette cruises there were some fellow guests. However, we did recognise most from Michael’s/Retreat (fellow RS/PH guests dining for no additional cost?)… As the lunchtime menu is not extensive and the one quality product (seafood tower) is at additional cost I can’t understand why they don’t ‘sell’ the experience better? We did find it a nice venue and used it a lot but if we hadn’t been in a RS or PH would we have paid for the privilege? Debatable…

As others have said boarding is now easier in several ways… Luggage can be dropped off on boarding (although your room may not be fully ready). Muster, easy to complete, no waiting around for others. The cafe doesn’t stay so full…with no hand luggage guests tend to eat and head off to a bar rather than ‘hog’ an Oceanview table until the rooms open announcement. Sushi is a good option on boarding, eat as little or as much as you want and just pay for what you eat. Plenty of none sushi options. Remember if there are other things that could make your cabin easier to use to simply chat to your room attendant. They can usually round up anything from stools to additional towels… Hope you have a fantastic cruise!

Tom, I simply don’t understand the ‘missing desserts’…Hardly high cost items! Also totally understand you missing The Porch, we found it a real perk on port days. All guests board with expectations….Our expectations are usually based on past experiences and things we have read on CC or seen or read about on YouTube or other social media platforms. I do strongly suggest you ask to speak to the Retreat Manager or the Food and Beverages Manager and simply say your expectations have not been met…They really need to know that some ‘penny pinching’ initiatives are not appreciated. Not suggesting you dull your holiday by complaining, more suggesting that you simply would like to share your observations…. I do understand that Celebrity (along with the whole hospitality industry) is (quite rightly) looking at cost cutting and working more efficiently but I fail to see how a cookie and blob of ice cream hits their profits but I can clearly see how it could hit their sales…

In our experience the best place on S class ships to enjoy music pre and post dinner is the Ensemble lounge. During the evenings there is an ongoing variety of performances ranging from classical, duos, guitar…The atmosphere in the lounge is lovely. If you want to focus on the music sit near to the performers, if you want to chat and make new friends just sit a bit further away… Each evening a ‘Today’ sheet will be in your cabin with all the information for the next day. Look under ‘entertainment’ and you will see the acts moving from venue to venue. If there is an act you have seen and enjoyed or would like to try then head for the appropriate bar. The nice thing about this is that it does encourage you to try a range of venues rather than going to the same bar each night. Obviously there are the big shows too but is sounds like you prefer bar settings. We loved our cruise on Silhouette, can’t wait to be back on board. In addition to the entertainment remember Silhouette has a great range of speciality restaurants, well worth looking at a dining package. Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise!

Rather than jumping from one cruise line to another we are thinking more of villa breaks to European islands with a private pool and enough space to take family with us for a month for the cost of just over a week on Apex in a RS (flights and small car hire included for family with the villa option)…. The irony is the E class RS is not as nice as the S class one ( in our opinion). Much as we love cruising our cruises have always been about quality family time…Just over a week vs up to a month enjoying family time, especially when some family members can work from home… I can’t see our cruising coming to an end but I can see us cruising less often and being more selective…

Totally understand your disappointment, we also enjoyed The Porch on port days when we cruised both the Reflection and Silhouette. I can understand the closure, however, as on both cruises the venue was almost empty. Suggest you have a word with the concierge or your butler expressing your disappointment. Perhaps suggesting the food items you would have enjoyed…They may be able to ‘enhance’ your room service offerings….

We generally ask for Courvoisier, never a problem. Generally if it is within the premium package or near to there is not a problem.

You will enjoy Celebrity…. The focus on RC tends to be activities and entertainment whereas on Celebrity it is more on rest and relaxation… We find the food generally on Celebrity better than on RC in all venue types from the buffet to the speciality restaurants. Strongly recommend looking at a dining package. Sincere best wishes for a great cruise.

Yes, used several times now. No issues at all.

It depends on how much you enjoy a drink in your room…Personally we tend to enjoy a long drink late afternoon/early evening in our room before getting ready for dinner and then a late night cognac on the balcony. It is nice late afternoon not to leave the room to get drinks to carry back, especially if you have just woken up from a siesta. Also nice late evening not to have to carry a glass back… I guess it comes down to two things…Do you regularly enjoy the same tipple daily in your room and is it worth the price for convenience? If you like variety in your drinks (late night sometimes a Bailey’s sometimes a cognac, sometimes a….) then not worth it but if you both, for example, enjoy a G+T every afternoon then worth it. £90 is a small % of your cruise cost. Two bottles of spirits come with our usual rooms. If it didn’t we would probably get just the late afternoon tipple and tote back our evening one as we are invariably coming from a bar anyway! If it adds an extra bit of magic go for it! Sometimes it is the little extras you add on to a cruise that make it special! Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise!

How we loved that fridge! We at least left some space for food too! We always ask the butler to ‘leave a bit of something’ to enjoy on the balcony late at night…Lots of space in the M PH fridge for plenty of options and it stays much colder than in S class. Hope you have a fantastic cruise, our M PH cruises remain among our most memorable!

Thank you for such a clear pictorial review… I assume from your name you are a regular Cunard traveler? So how would you rate/compare the following on both lines? Luminae vs Queen’s Grill Suite rooms Butler service overall cruise experience price As someone who has been looking at Cunard for the first time, very interested…

You will have no issues choosing from the MDR menu in Luminae on Eclipse. Blu is less easy. Simple geography of where the restaurants are on the ship. However, if you let the M’D in Luminae know you have food allergies they will accommodate you. Each evening they will look at the next day’s menu with you. They will point out meals that are all ready suitable for you, meals they can modify for you and if that doesn’t work they will discuss with you what may enjoy and provide off menu items. If you plan on visiting one of the speciality restaurants if you pop by the day before they will also modify the menu to meet your needs. Hope you have a fantastic cruise!

A pity….we enjoy an occasional cruise from Southampton and as we have got older the appeal of not flying has become more tempting. We are highly unlikely to be booking… Agree…just cannot justify this sort of pricing. Too rich for us…

We are from the UK and would say the Baltic simply because the British Isles itinerary is quite limited, you could see a lot more by land and probably at a cheaper price…

Thank you for a well written and balanced review.

This really can be cruise dependent. We have been on S class cruises where from mid cruise they really were struggling to get upper suite guests into Murano. Equally we have been on cruises where all restaurants were easily available. Personally we had no issues as we had pre booked but we were aware there were problems. So much depends on the number of pax with dining packages, the number of upper suite guests who prefer speciality dining to Luminae, the success of on board marketing…. Safest option is to try to anticipate what your speciality dining options are likely to be…pre booking and then modifying if necessary once on board.

On S class it is a sofa bed, cannot confirm re E class. All four guests in a RS receive the internet, included speciality dining, drinks package and laundry. Still only 2 x bottles of spirits but your butler will provide as many beers and sodas as you request.

Hope you are thoroughly enjoying your cruise! We loved Silhouette. We particularly enjoyed the food and service in Murano, great wine recommendations in there within the premium package.

Totally understand your perspective…you have chosen a room that will suit you. For many higher suite guests, however, the butler service is important. We are older now, less mobile and enjoy having a butler to look after us… In our ‘real life’ we are independent but enjoy on our cruises having a rest from making beds, cooking, cleaning…Having breakfast served in our room is a treat as is the occasional lunch or dinner if we are tired… All of us who book suits may not do so for the same reason….The important thing is that all aspects of the suite experience should be met.