chemmo

RS had a new sofa and chair and bedding. Curtains and carpets unchanged. Uncomfortable new outside furniture and a ridiculous number of cushions inside, none of which fitted comfortably on the outside chairs which had no cushions or padding….

14 hours ago, The Fun Researcher said:

I just don't want to get to the cruise terminal and have a surprise. 

Why not email Celebrity and ask for confirmation in a return mail that you are good to go and take a copy of it with you. Much better than getting to the port and ending up with staff  discussing the situation.

Whilst we have never been in a situation like yours if ever there is anything we feel could be a reason for dispute in terms of cost or provision of service we never rely on a phone call, we always ask for an email.

15 minutes ago, dcbiker97 said:

I agree with @chemmo. We've been charged for the extras (upgraded steaks, etc) on some ships and not others. I usually have a lot of OBC to burn through so it's not a big deal, but in typical Celebrity fashion, including the upgrades is inconsistent. 

Yes, it isn’t the cost that annoys it is the knowing what you should/should not be charged for. I hate having to get into those sort of discussions with wait staff.
 

I can clearly remember some years ago getting a bill for our adult son dining with us in Sushi. The waiter was insistent that the included speciality dining was for guests one and two only in RS and that guest three had to pay…I guess staff training comes into play too.

5 hours ago, tjunmin said:

For Royal Suites, it is stated that guests receive "Unlimited lunch and dinner in all specialty restaurants".

1. My assumption is that the entire menu at Sushi-On-Five is included; if my assumption is incorrect, what is not covered?

2. At Tuscan Grille, are the surcharges for the items in "Something Special" applicable, or are they waived?

Thanks in advance for your clarification.

All Sushi on five is included. In our experience the surcharge items in Tuscan are not. Other things not included are special events like ‘dine with an officer’ and the Indian meal sometimes offered in Sushi. However we were not charged extra for the ‘sea food tower’ in the Porch…

You may get different answers from different people. For example someone on our last Silhouette cruise said they were not charged for the better steaks in Tuscan but were for the seafood tower…

My advice is to ask as you board (concierge or Luminae M’D) and go from there…Different ships seem to have different policies…

51 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

Certainly not new, I have heard people complain over the years that they cannot get Champagne on Silhouette and are served Prosecco instead.

45 minutes ago, darsura said:

“Continued outages of many of the wines on the Premium Package is apparent every evening.”

 

We had the same experience on the Edge in July.  

You can understand and forgive the odd shortage but it seems to be becoming the norm…

26 minutes ago, Norwaylady said:

Reality kicked in quickly🥶🥶🥶🥶first morning… (it’s in Celsius) 

 

Well, it’s winter ❄️ 

My parents in law had -26😝 

 

This is just to round up our adventure on Edge and som final words from me & Mr❤️🤓

 

Would we sail this itinerary again? YES

Has there been issues with immigration and customs? YES

Did it affect us? NJA… not to bad. 

 

So you see…. We can’t had the worst time onboard🤓🥰

 

Entertainment was really a huge success! Shoreside booking was really on the ball for our 26.nights. The first part from Rome to Dubai was literally a walk of power how to do it! 

Live music onboard was great and Charlie the pub/guitar consept was great. (It fitted well for the demographic onboard AND the mix of nationalities) 

 

I don’t know how aware you are when you go cruising, but the cocktail of nationalities change the vibes onboard in different ways. We as the underdog in guest counts feel this change of vibe very well. It’s nothing wrong or bad. 

But if you have a cruise full of Americans, the vibe is very American 🇺🇸 and we can definitely see and feel it. 

On this cruise it was a load of AUS & NZ and British. It’s a completely different vibe and it’s a little differently from sailing in the Caribbean. 

We like to think we are all similar… but it is a difference for some things🙃 

I must admit as the Norwegian 🇳🇴 I am, we feel very cosy and “home” when we sail on ships loaded by British and NZ/AUS🥰 it’s just something about it🇬🇧🇳🇴🇳🇿🇦🇺

 

Well, back to our cruise! 

 

The port talks/destination talks by CD Guiseppe. 

He did an excellent job and this is absolutely necessary to have during a cruise like this. 

It’s a great way to learn something about the process of immigration and customs. 

And to have a small teaser of what to expect. (Not everyone is up to date on ports and what to expect…I know I have a black belt in organising😅) 

And the man can talk, be serious and fun at the same time😂😜🤓 

So definitely something to KEEP for the future if they do a similar cruise! 

 

CD Guiseppe is fantastic! ❤️ nothing more or less🤩 (the activity team also needs a big applause 👏🏻 Dominique is so fun, he rules the YES/NO game🤣🤣) 

Captain Matt is a wonderful person. He is really a great leader of the vessel. 

Together he and CD Guiseppe are dynamic dynamite 🧨 

 

Food has delivered (some hit and misses on the way) But the overall quality and experience has delivered. 

OceanView has offered a great mix of dishes and the bread/bakery items has tasted great 👍🏻 Mr said it after a week… after all cruise on X this is definitely the best cruise for bakery items. The bread do taste good and have the right texture and taste as of home. Really good! (And this Mr do eat a lot of bread😜) 

 

Staterooms have been as booked….

The infinite veranda is not my cup of tea 🤭 Mr on the other side said 👍🏻 YES…

So I see a sign of conflicting interests for the future🤭

 

The balcony in the SS was definitely my cup of tea. Mr loved the tub for his 🦆🦆. 

But other than that, we are fine in a smaller room “steerage class”🤭😂😂

We can manage on smaller space. 

We are used to having limited space😝

 

The Retreat

They say, once you tried it, you want go back….

Well, I’m very sorry to say….. 

We will go back/stay in “steerage class” 

We can in some areas see the great things but on other areas we are very much underwhelmed. 

The prices they have is increasing to levels far over the el cheapo accounting paying will. So this strikes it out from start to finish🥸 

 

My expectation and our stay in a SS didn’t come to meet my expectations. It was a miss/match for us. I don’t think we are demanding? It was just so “cold” 

This was sailing number 20 on X. 

So when we walked the gangway in Dubai this was for the 20 time on X….

So you do know what to expect and kinda how things work on the ship. 

 

This was the “coldest” welcome we ever had on any cruise ship. (And I’m not speaking of the great security officer on the gangway pinging us onboard and welcoming us back again🥰) 

We didn’t see or meet anyone from housekeeping or the retreat team. We needed to hunt them down. 

Our stateroom (suite as they politely reference to) had visible signs of lack of cleaning. It was obviously a job in a hurry. 

Really underwhelming and really a bit of a turnoff to start the sailing in a suite. 

 

This impression didn’t come off, we felt it was like booking a “biz” ticket on a low cost airline and expecting SQ Singapore Airlines 5* service. (We know they can’t make SQ to the ankles😝) But SS is sold and marketed as a suite. But the service from housekeeping and the “retreat” team are not good if this is the way you greet & meet new guests onboard. It just sat the tone….

At least say hello to your guests in a decent time after they arrive on the ship and make them feel welcome❤️ Go thru basic details of services and point out how X can make them feel comfortable and welcome. 

 

Luminae has great crew. But the layout of the restaurant makes it noisy and very difficult to enjoy the meal during rush hours. 

The food was great on some days and off for our tasting other days… 

We feel the Blu menu is more to our liking. Due to more vegetables and fish/seafood options. 

Other than this issue, we overall had a great time. 

 

We loved India & Sri Lanka. 

We need to go back on a land tour. 

 

Tours via X, shore excursions worked well. 

It’s safe and works well. 

Private tours in India worked great. 

 

So a great cruise! 

Thank you for such a thoughtful and well balanced account.

A good thing you highlight is the benefit of getting a taste of a place on a cruise (India) and then deciding to return for a land tour. As you said in an earlier post, India isn’t for everybody….

I am so sorry your Retreat experience wasn’t better…We have over the years enjoyed many cruises where that extra service level was there and it has added an extra touch of luxury and magic to the cruise. Sadly a reflection of the changes that Celebrity has made.

Sad to see the food was a bit hit and miss too…Really no excuse for hit and miss quality. Whilst we all find some venues suit us better than others for style and content quality should be consistent.

Well welcome home! Enjoy the cuddles of your cats in the cold weather….I sit writing this with my little doggie sat on my knee, a furry hot water bottle…

17 hours ago, zitsky said:

You may call it childish but I plan to be “that guy”.  I work in what I still consider customer service at 57.  So I really do try to be nice to people that help me.  But I don’t like how X has managed this.  So I plan to pester them when they don’t deliver what is promised.

Who do you plan to ‘pester’?  If you are suggesting asking for a meeting with the Hotel Director to explain your concerns and disappointment then I think this is a great idea. The more guests who politely but firmly express they feel ‘short changed’ to those in a position to make changes or report back to corporate the better.

However, I think the hosts/room attendants and concierge staff are having a rubbish time as it is at the moment the last thing in the world they need is a guest demanding services they have been instructed not to provide…

Silhouette received a full upgrade pre covid so is not as dated as her sisters. Equinox had a limited upgrade. Silhouette also, like Reflection, has the two additional restaurants of the Porch and Lawn Grill. If you are considering suites there is a suite deck with a jacuzzi, bar and a wide range of seating areas.

I have not cruised E class so can not compare them to Silhouette but Silhouette has a lot to offer over her sisters…

Happy Birthday!

What a mess boarding! 
 

A friend of mine with similar mobility issues to me (can walk but not too far, can stand but not for too long) said that she now is going to automatically book wheelchair boarding and disembarking because she is becoming increasingly concerned when travelling about growing queuing. She has just returned from a tour including cruises and land stays. As she stated, if you are not expecting a big queue you think you can manage, but then if you find yourself in one there seems to be no help available. 
 

Like most people with limited mobility I don’t want to take up wheelchair slots from those with conditions worse than mine but the nature of the system (or lack of it) is making travelling so much harder than it needs to be. If I had been in the scenario you have described the first few days of my cruise would have been spent trying to recover!

At least you are on board now! Enjoy!

43 minutes ago, jelayne said:

We downgraded from a SS to a SV on the Edge 4/2024 TP.  The cruise only SV fare was was 20% of the SS price adding a drink package during the sale would make the total 31% of the SS.  For us it was a no brainer to downgrade.

 

That really is a massive difference….To look at it another way it is three cruises for the price of one!

10 hours ago, zitsky said:

We have a Sky Suite booked but I’m thinking to take us down to Aqua if we can keep our deposit.  Anyone else thinking of this?  Aqua is almost 50% of the SS price.

 

(Butler changes)

I think your question is well asked and totally see your point on butler changes.

I think many higher suite guests on S and M class are doing some calculations too. Many of these ships haven’t been refreshed for years. If you book a higher suite you shouldn’t be worrying if your room will look shabby or need maintenance and I must confess I have some concerns about my Infinity cruise. 
 

Booking a suite experience on Celebrity has always offered…

A superior room experience 

More personalised service

A better dining experience 

Cutting corners on not maintaining ships diminishes the room experience, reducing/cancelling butler service for SS guests reduces significantly the personalised service which leaves Luminae…I guess it depends on what value you add to Luminae vs a speciality dining package….

14 minutes ago, Smmessineo said:

After around 90 minutes on hold, the Celebrity rep I reached was very helpful. She also didn't seem surprised at all and immediately knew that all the promo codes had dropped off the reservation. I'm guessing this is a common problem. She said sometimes the smallest change to a reservation causes this to happen.  So even me adding a special occasion note? She did not think bidding on an upgrade triggered it.

She passed the info onto someone who fixed it, while I stayed on hold. So a great experience with customer service but a panic  attack from their accounting software.

Sadly it seems to be all too frequent. We have had similar situations twice. The first time four weeks before our cruise we received quite a challenging email saying if we didn’t pay the outstanding balance of £0.12 our cruise would be cancelled and on the second occasion an email saying if our outstanding balance of $0 wasn’t paid our cruise would be cancelled…even more bizarre as we had paid in £…On both occasions the staff had no idea where the emails had come from (generated). Staff were helpful and sorted things out but, as you say, didn’t seem the least surprised…On the positive side we did receive some extra OBC for our trouble the first time!

So sorry for your disappointment with Santosa…It is really gutting when you look forward to revisiting a place you have loved and find it spoiled. In the last few years we have revisited a few place we first saw forty years ago and have been upset by changes that have taken place…

Much as we know not everywhere can be turned into world heritage sites and protected I think some thought needs to be taken in some areas. Particularly important to my mind are the ‘back street’ areas of many towns…the little shops, bars, restaurants that suddenly go and are replaced by an anonymous glass tower block. I think many cities are in danger of becoming historical facades but loosing their soul in the process.

Thoroughly enjoying your adventures!

My morning coffee will not taste the same without being treated to your daily instalments!

Sincere thanks for sharing your adventures with us. Safe journey home to you both!

12 hours ago, 59impala said:

Thanks to everyone for their recommendations. We have bit the bullet and have just booked Best of Japan for July this year on the Millennium. We hope we love it as much as Miaminice seems to! We loved their recent review.

 

We have not long returned home from a back to back on the Apex - Mediterranean and Israel / Egypt (and just got out before the region became a war zone 😢.

We were not keen on undertaking those long flights again anytime soon. We tend to make trips to Europe worthwhile by incorporating a land tour and staying away for 5 - 6 weeks. We are not ready to do this at the moment. 
We will look at Scandinavia and or Alaska in the future, all going well. 

The cruise and flights are now booked for Japan. Next is sorting out a hotel near the cruise port and figuring out how to get from Narita Airport to the chosen hotel. It looks a rather daunting place on Google Earth! 
 

 

So pleased you are sorted! Enjoy!

17 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I just boarded the Silhouette yesterday.  Can't say I've experienced any of these issues.  Service has been very attentive and all I've encountered have addressed me by name.  I do stock up on water in the Retreat Lounge as I don't have a butler.  We had the filet in Luminae last night and it was excellent.  I have a lovely cabin attendant who has been very responsive to my few requests.  So I'm a happy camper.  I was a bit worried because of all the negative reviews lately.  

I think the difference between CC readers like ourselves and those that rarely or never read CC  is that there are likely to be issues about expectations…If they last cruised Celebrity before the changes and did have the minibar filled, snacks provided and a butler available they may be shocked on boarding now. I think this could be especially true if they last cruised when the ships were sailing at low capacity and butlers did have time to do little extra things like bringing drinks. Like you, I would board expecting changes and adjust accordingly!

So pleased you are enjoying your cruise so far…We loved Silhouette and are sad she is no longer cruising from the UK during the Summer season…

6 minutes ago, hcat said:

looks like a lovely party..not over crowded..thanks for the update..

 

this is a great photo.. hope you make a print to keep!

Agree, this is a fabulous picture!

Thank you for your review.

Promising to do something and then not delivering is definitely worse than if they had said “Sorry we don’t deliver water and soda to suites anymore but please take some now and come back for more as you need it”. I am not surprised you didn’t see anyone else from the ‘team’ if you didn’t ask for it. The new set up is definitely responsive rather than proactive….

I do understand what you mean when you say the service was “less than”…I remember having a slightly “”less than” cruise on Reflection one year. We tried to put our finger on what was wrong we came to the conclusion that it was a combination of several small things…

A butler who was less visible than usual…

Concierge staff in the lounge who greeted us as Mr and Mrs Ummm three days into the cruise.

Longer waits for drinks in the lounge, sometimes my husband’s lager being delivered immediately but then a wait for my Cosmopolitan…

A sommelier in Luminae who came over and said “Red or white” with one bottle of each in his hands.

Lack of attention to detail in the lounge (even when asked cognac coming in a tumbler)…

All really petty but all combined they did show a casualness which hadn’t been our usual experience. Hard to know if your experience is a consequence of change or simply a lack of attention to detail by the staff on board…
 

6 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Good night. 

 

really unusual seats.  The back of the seat folds down and already made with egg crate mattress, sheets, 2 full size pillows and a duvet 

 

also bulkhead have a huge foot area instead of just an angled hole. 
 

 

I think I could enjoy a week on the aircraft…Food and seating look fabulous!

11 hours ago, 59impala said:

Hello.

 

We are a married couple (64 & 71) from New Zealand and are looking to choose a new destination for our next adventure. We have exclusively sailed the Mediterranean for all of our six previous cruises and feel we have probably seen it all! We love the Mediterranean and we always find it hard to go past for a cruise holiday. In saying that, we think we really should look at other itineraries which we are doing, but we are having a hard time deciding where to go.

Can any of you people let us know if there is somewhere that you really feel is a must see or was a destination that has been a total surprise to you? We have been toying with the idea of a Scandinavian cruise or the Caribbean, or Japan.....We have to choose carefully as we live such a long way down under and the flight times is very long to most places.

Thanks in anticipation. 

 

A couple of ideas spring to mind…

Totally agree with the Asia options. Singapore and Hong Kong make great starting and finishing points for a South East Asia cruise. Great places in their own right for pre and post cruise stays…Happy memories of sailing into Halong Bay….magical…

Alternatively why not combine a cruise with a land stay? Look at your itineraries for Scandinavian cruise (which I think start and end in Southampton or Amsterdam) for Celebrity then add in either a UK tour or a European tour.
 

In the UK you could enjoy a few days in London then work out a pleasant slow route to Southampton visiting Windsor Castle, Winchester, Salisbury, Stonehenge and the New Forest (just a few possible options) before boarding in Southampton. In Europe, you could fly into Paris for a few days, perhaps then move on to Brussels for a few more days then move on to Amsterdam to pick up your cruise…Both of these options could be done as fly drive or by using trains/coaches. For the UK one I would suggest fly drive for the European one I would look at trains…

We have done several holidays with land stays first and it works really well. Touring is tiring so finishing an intensive tour by boarding a cruise ship is always a pleasure…

17 hours ago, chill6x6 said:

Hi,

 

So I haven't been on a Celebrity ship in a while. The last time I was on one was in a CS on Silhouette before Revolution even began I think(2018). I have since been on several cruises on Royal(Star and Sky class) and in the NCL Haven.

 

I'm looking at 9-day ABC cruise on Eclipse, probably again in a CS or maybe a RS. I really like this itinerary.  My only real concern is it is my understanding there is no Retreat sundeck on Eclipse? We enjoy the Royal suite sundeck and Haven sundeck. I'm kinda concerned

 

What do you think of cruising in a suite on non-Retreat ships?

 

 

It all depends on which Retreat perks are important to you…We have cruised both RS and PH on Eclipse and loved our cruises. The RS balcony is a good size and the room really well appointed. We enjoy the in suite bar set up and the unlimited speciality dining.

When we have booked a ship with a Retreat deck we have used it very little usually preferring the Solarium. Given the choice of Silhouette or Eclipse I would choose Silhouette for the extra restaurants and the Retreat deck but it wouldn’t be a deal breaker.

Personally now I am more concerned about the maintenance/condition of the ships that haven’t been updated rather than the addition of new facilities. Reviews on condition of these ships are varied. We are booked on Infinity next year and hope that during its short dry dock some painting and replacement of chairs etc happens. I can live with a bit of shabby but not if it has gone to tatty…

2 hours ago, mchell810 said:

It's a shame you were delayed into Sri Lanka.  I love how you are able to go with the flow; recognizing that life happens and nothing is perfect.  You still managed lovely photos; thanks for sharing 😀

Well said, I think the art of enjoying cruising does involve ‘making the most’ of any given situation including late arrivals and the weather…

Safe journey to you both!
 

Make the most of every minute…Cruising lends itself to quality couple time.

After saying that so looking forward to reading your posts so keep them coming!

We often have a full bottle left. If we do we usually wrap carefully and take it with us. If we have a part bottle we leave it if we are flying straight home but will take it with us if we have a land stay before flying. A few years ago we bought a plastic liquor bottle from a  $ shop….just spotted it. Less bulky, heavy and less likely to leak than an opened glass bottle.

Never seen one on Celebrity but we have done one on RC. Not a very interesting itinerary but definitely a good location for some almost guaranteed winter sunshine.

One interesting thing about the cruise was the diversity of guests. Some from all over Europe, a handful from the US and Canada and quite a lot of people from Dubai itself.