BosoxI

In December we had 1571 on the Christmas cruise, an A1. Then for New Year's we moved to 1624, an A2. We think 1624 was the better cabin, right next to a suite, nearer the elevators, and the sun actually hits the balcony. I like the forward hump cabins but don't expect to sunbathe on them

Please don't be offended but with that remark, it's probably a good job you aren't :D

As I said in my original post, terrorism is global issue and if some people had their way, cruise ships wouldn't stop anywhere, people wouldn't travel, airlines would stop flying whilst people in the US just keep guns and shoot each other

.....................just saying ;)

How clever you are

does the Eclipse have the new internet?

Not as of January 10. Quite slow

I just looked up the difference in prices for various category cabins for our upcoming 14 day SA cruise around the Horn that we have a Veranda cabin booked for. Right now, our 2A Veranda is pricing at 2199 and an Aqua Guarantee is pricing at 2399. The lowest price suite available is the S1 Sky Suite at 4399! Are you telling me that the $2000 per person upgrade is worth dining in Luminae? Not for me. Not even the extra room would convince me that $4000 is going to enhance my experience that much.

Of course, you're right. And it can be much worse than your example. On this year's Eclipse cruise over Christmas an S1 is now $6299, compared with "only" $3099 for a 2A.

I'll say it one more time. There are no kiosks in Port Everglades, so take your GE card with you to prove your membership and to allow you access to the GE line. The card doesn't weigh a lot and takes up little space, so do yourself a favor and carry it with you.

As far as TSA Pre-check goes, it is not guaranteed that it will show on your ticket every time. If it doesn't, you'll have to go in the regular line. I found this out the hard way in Peoria, Illinois of all places. DW waltzed through but I had to go to the regular line.

People shouldn't count on cabins opening up on all cruises. If it's something you really, really want to do, better to book early and pay the price.

If I recall from my interview, we don't need to fill out the customs form when returning through airports. Would the same be true for the cruise port?

If there were kiosks, no, you wouldn't have to, but we cleared the GE in the port in early December and actually spoke to a real live customs agent, as there were no kiosks. I'm sure I had the filled out form and quite sure he took it. It was exactly like clearing the regular customs like except the GE line had two people ahead of us instead of seventy five or more. The GE line was not well marked and it was only by chance that I glanced up and saw it. I'm usually in a daze, so I was quite lucky. Even my DW who never misses a trick had walked past it

Yes, Fort Lauderdale has it.

Hoping Miami gets it VERY soon! :)

I noticed the sign in FL after we had entered the regular line. I approached the agent and said we had Global Entry. She asked for our cards, which we didn't have with us. I told her we never needed them at JFK or ATL and she took pity, I guess, and let us through the GE line. Aren't the cards used for Canada and Mexico? We always had used the kiosks and never needed the cards. I don't believe my passport shows any evidence of membership.

Incidentally, it's become so popular that the lines are almost as long as the regular lines at certain times. Of course, there are other benefits.

I am a light sleeper, too, so I can empathize with you, but you're more likely to be bothered by neighbors slamming their cabin doors at odd hours or loudspeaker announcements at 10AM every day than you are be the shuddering of the ship on occasion. And, yes, it's also possible that unmanaged kids will be tearing up and down the passageway, but that is a rare occurrence in my experience. They all go with the territory.

Why?

 

If you go to the Martini Bar, you cannot use your classic package for a Martini. If you like wine, you are very limited by the classic package. You can get some top shelf drinks and wine at Michael's, but are limited at other venues.

 

It really depends on your preferences.

 

Ken

Don't tell that to the bartenders on our last cruise. We used our classic package there with no problem

I go to the Customer Relations counter and cash out my OBCR, except on this last cruise when my DW insisted I apply our considerable unused credit towards a very unecessary ring for me. I would have preferred the cash. :(

Just be aware that "wash and fold" means just that. Most of your clothes will not be in a wearable condition, so pressing will be necessary. I know people worry about shrinkage, but that never been a problem for us. Wrinkles are a different story. We use the Elite+ coupons judiciously and have had good luck. The dry cleaning is fine. Princess has it all over X on this one.

[quote name=az_tchr;

A travel agent cannot legally give a "rebate" on a booking. They can' date=' however, legally and ethically offer any discount they wish seperately from anything booked thru the cruise line. This in effect is giving back part of their comission in the form of OBC. The allowance is determined by the TA (many do and most do not) both as to the offer and amount. The biggest TAs generally get the largest revenues and are most willing to reward loyal or potentially loyal customers.[/quote]

There must be a pretty standard rule of thumb TAs use. I checked with two of my favorites regarding the transfer of a recently booked cruise, and both of them came up with exactly the same amount which was 9.16% of the fare. That's an odd figure for it to be mere chance, not that I care. It is a handsome bonus on top of X's OBC. As others have noted, this was irrespective of the Go Best promotion we also received.

Apology accepted.:) I know all about auto correct.

You mean you were serious?

We have our first cruise on Celebrity Solstice coming up in July, 2016. Are life jackets/vests stored in the statehood, and do we have to take them to the Muster Drill? We have on my cruised on Royal before, and it is no longer necessary to carry life jackets to Muster Drill.

Yes, they are in the stateroom and no, you won't take them to the muster. Fact is, the drills have really been diminished on Celebrity. We attended three of them on the Eclips in the past month and none of them was as detailed as they used to be.

Bad service, miscommunications, seems like a series of mistakes were made by both parties.

The only mistake the OP made was not complaining or walking out sooner. Sometimes both parties are not at fault; sometimes only one party is responsible and this applies to all things in life, not just restaurants.

There are certainly no absolute answers, as tastes and pocketbooks vary widely. Here's my take on dining on Celebrity.

We usually book Aqua because we liked the Blu venue, smaller, better service, less noisy than the MDR. We never thought the food in Blu was that wonderful. Our recent experience on Eclipse has given us pause. The service could be non existent depending on the waiter and the place was noisier than we ever experienced on previous cruises. Also, the food was no better than the MDR. Honest. To spend the extra money solely to eat in Blu would be a waste IMHO. Better to get a good balcony and eat regularly in a specialty restaurant.

The upgrade to a suite, even a Sky suite, is a good sized jump. To do it solely for Luminae would not be worth it, although some S1 cabins on the Solstice class are really nice and might be worth the extra cost.

It is a hike from them all the way aft to the elevators and even worse to the theater.

Luminae is a very nice place. Tables are well separated, unlike Blu where neighbors' rear ends frequently attack my food as they exit or enter their seats. The service is wonderful. but not every meal is. My one so-so dinner in Luminae was the simplest on the menu. But overall it is an excellent experience. Still, it's an awful lot of money for a suite and I always wonder whether it's worth the cost.

As I said, for me the balcony/specialty combo is the best values, but DW has a say in this, too, so we'll be in a suite next trip. Hope she gets it out of her system soon, :)

I wouldn't loose any sleep over it :)

To be honest for the extra benefits you'll get for Elite Plus over Elite it would have to be a really cheap cruise to be worthwhile. Two bags of laundry (washed, dry and folded, no pressing), 200 free internet minutes compared to 90, free cappuccinos, 10% discount on a beverage package and 15% discount on specialties. Yes, it would have to be a very cheap cruise!

 

Phil

Yup. Elite was the important goal; Elite + much less so. In my view it's certainly not worth the expense. After our last cruises we are only 1900 points away from Zenith. I can't wait !!!;)

Did you have 3 'chic' nights then?

 

We used to have 3 'formal nights' for a 14nt sailing, but the explanation of 'chic' says only 2....

 

Thanks

No, there were two on each of the nine day cruises and one on the five day. We only saw our British friend on three of them in a tux; twice he wore a sports jacket as did most men, I think

Thanks for responding.

Any chance you had Vinod as a waiter in Blu?

 

Also, just how out of place would my husband look in his tux? Should we just stick to a dark suit for this trip?

Thanks again.

No, we didn't have Vinod

I love my tux, but I confess I was glad I didn't take it this time. Nor will I any other time on Celebrity. A dark suit would not be commonplace. I took two sports coats and a blue blazer and never wore the one tie I had. Our British friend did bring his tux and wore it only three times, once with a bowtie, twice with an open collar. Few men had tuxes or dark suits. In fact the baggy jean crowd might have outnumbered them. Fortunately, the majority of passengers dressed neatly. We were an older crowd. A tux would be less out of place in a Pizza Hut

 

Can I ask you honestly about the length of time on your cruise?....The longest we have ever cruised for is 18 nights....did you hit the point of being ready to get off?.

Maybe for a fleeting minute or two at the end of the second leg, but it quickly passed. DW and I enjoy our own company and don't have to depend on X or anyone else to entertain us. On the third leg I realizwed I really didn't care to end the trip, though I knew duty called at home.

Can I ask who the dining room manager or Maitre D' was for Blu on your cruises?

We had a similar experience two years ago and I decided to hope it was a one off with a bad manager. (One night my main course NEVER arrived - we gave up

As noted, he was Fernando and he did his best to ensure we were well cared for the rest of the way. We've walked out of Blu without having eaten anything but that was only once. There are excellent waiters in Blu on the Eclipse. We got stuck twice this trip but it never happened again.

Incidentally, we ate twice in Murano. The first time all was well, but the second time things were slower than usual which was really no problem. Unfortunately, that same night my venison turned out a bit tough, though it was perfectly cooked. Again, it wasn't terrible and I said nothing. These things happen.

Finally, I failed to mention Elegant Chic. It was a pleasant surprise to see most people nicely dressed. Of course, there were bound to be flannel shirts and Costco jeans on a few of the fashion plates. The grown men wearing hats in a dining room should be keel hauled for their lack of good manners, but that's the way things are in 2016

Having requested luggage tags and never received them, I decided to go into My Celebrity and print them myself. I logged on to My Celebrity. Every time I try to get into my reservation, I get the wait 20 minutes message. I cannot access my reservation and cannot print luggage tags. Frustration???? Celebrity's web site is terrible. This is the first time that this has happened to me. Anyone else have similar experiences?

No, the rest of us love the site and never have a bit of trouble with it. It must be you:p:D;)

We have just returned home after three back to backs on the Eclipse, two in Aqua and one in a corner Sky suite. We had a very nice time and in general have only nice things to say about our voyages. I'm not going to write a review, but I would like to make a few comments.

Aqua class is quickly becoming very pedestrian in that Blu's food could easily pass for that found in the MDR. Also, the restaurant was pretty noisy most nights which surprised us, and the service could be lacking, which disappointed us. We waited an hour and twenty five minutes one night to be served our main courses. A couple at a nearby table had the same experience. To his credit, Fernando, the maître d' hotel, did his best to make amends. We've cruised quite frequently in Aqua but it's losing it's appeal for me, though DW might disagree

The room stewards for all three of our cabins were excellent.

Luminae was very good, and the service was outstanding.

Many have voiced concerns that Michael's club would be crowded with the addition of Sky suite guests. Not so on the Eclipse, as it was virtually empty almost all the time.

I had previously written that on the Connie in November some menu items in Blu differed from what was actually presented. For those waiting to hear about osso buco, sorry, but if it was offered, we missed it.

The production shows were, for me at least, terrible. One was called Topper and involved people living in a giant top hat, The other was called Chandelier and had to do with guests in a hotel, I think. I confess, I tried to sleep through them, as my wife blocked my escape ;) The individual performers were better; they had to be.

But I stress, overall, they were three enjoyable cruises.

We just got off the Eclipse after a five day cruise in an S1 suite. We had access to Luminae, Michael's Club and received one complimentary meal in a specialty restaurant. We got water every day, flowers and sparkling Celebrity wine upon boarding, and slippers. We did not receive premium branded toiletries, only what seemed to be larger versions of what we received the previous two weeks in Aqua class. At four each day the butler arrived with tea, open faced sandwiches, cookies, and a selection of those tasteless buffet desserts.

We were offered an escort to the theater and priority tender boarding, neither of which was used.