BosoxI

Our most recent experience in Blu was on the recent Eclipse TA. Briefly, the food was very average, the waiters were very good but certainly rushed, the sommeliers were available and helpful, the receptionist was most helpful, our wait for a table never exceeded 15 minutes and sometimes that was because we wanted to wait for a specific table. The venue was very nice. But again I stress the food was average at best except for the soups which were excellent. Pay extra for Aqua? Fine but don't do it only because you think the food will be better than the MDR. We'll be back in Blu in November but past that point, I will take a pass, maybe all the way back to Princess, whose food has always had more appeal than X's. One last extraneous comment: don't fault the OP for misspelling "Blu" when so many posters make a word plural by adding 's. Drives me crazy

We're booked many guarantee cabins and none has been the lowest available category. Most were mid to high choices of veranda cabins. I don't recall more than one or two that were forward. We are not picky nor are we prone to seasickness, so the savings are a very real inducement.

Lamb chops. They've been great on every ship and every cruise line we've been on.

Indian food, esp vegetable curry

Any soup in Blu

And on the other side of the coin?

A good friend of mine worked one summer as a waiter on some sort of ship. Thirty years later he was still bemoaning the fact that a family of five would tip as though they were only a couple, completing ignoring the fact that their three children were being served, too.

We've done a number of cruises on each of these lines.

 

Really, no comparison in alot of areas. We've found the food on Oceania in the MDR better than any specialty restaurant on Celebrity (except for Ocean Liners/SS United States/etc. many years ago.) Specialty restaurants on Oceania are free and exceptional (the number of dinings you can have there varies by cabin class). Service, although wonderful on Celebrity, is a notch above on Oceania. Entertainment goes to Celebrity by a large margin (remember, you are comparing ships with 650-1250 pax--O--to those with 2100-2800 pax--X). Port destinations will almost always be better on Oceania--the ships are smaller can can visit less traveled ports.

 

If all things were equal, we would always choose Oceania. Unfortunately, they are NOT equal and, to be honest, the sometimes HUGE difference in price cannot be justified for us. Guess that is why we've sailed Celebrity about 5 to 1 to Oceania. :)

You are on the money. It's hard to justify the huge price difference. The big seller for Oceana would be the itinerary. If that were markedly better, we'd pay the freight.

... doing Aqua gives you Blu which is like eating in a Specialty restaurant every night.

How I wish that were universally true. But you're right. Aqua is the way to go.

Guess it was a competing advertising website.

 

here is a pic of the now extinct "Grand Brunch":

 

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I notice the lady in the picture has her finger in her mouth as if she's tasting something. This picture just drives home the point of why many don't like or refuse to eat at buffets. :eek:

 

Thanks for pointing that out. I thought she was picking...oh, well.:eek:

On the recent Eclipse TA while waiting for an Aqua table, we could not help but notice the empty tables in the Tuscan Grill on most nights.

 

I don't doubt that X won awards years ago for its food, but I do have to wonder why. We took two cruises in the early 1990s and found the food to be lacking and the waiters to be unskilled. So we stayed with our favorites at the time-Princess and HA. Five years ago we took a short Celebrity cruise and found to our joy that the food had improved and the staff was far more professional. Though we have deviated at times, Celebrity became our "go to" cruise line. But suddenly on at least certain ships the cuisine has taken a dive. I have been served food in the MDR that would never be plated in the worst restaurants and in Aqua a lobster tail was so tough and overcooked that it was virtually inedible. My venison in Murano was terribly overdone. I know other diners had similar complaints. More and more, I think the buffet is the best bet. But the ships seem to be quite full, so I guess X figures it can get away with it. The constant influx of new passengers apparently will more than make up for the loss of more experienced(and demanding) cruisers. We've one more X cruise booked. Past that point we probably will consider finding a new favorite.

We are not really loyal to any cruise like anymore; we change it up between Celebrity, Princess and Cunard.

Amen, sister. And those are our 3 favorites.

How you'll suffer, Maggie. :) You can "force" me to cruise on Princess any day of the week. X or Princess = six of one, half dozen of the other. I'm sure you'll have a good time.

You have to visit Venice at least once in your life. It's one of the great destinations in the world. Don't miss it.

So if they cancelled the glass show would you stop cruising altogether?

 

I think he means that if there no glass shows, other cruise lines would get his business.

For me truly lousy food and unkempt staterooms and public areas would do it. So far no cruise line has come close, thank goodness, although my first cruise on a Greek line's ship came mighty close, but I was young and didn't know better.

The addition of string quartets, barbershop quartets or a harp player.

Funny. Those are three things that would keep me on board. Looks like X is going to lose a customer:D

Just wondering since the trip was paid for if I would get the points. I am serious .....but I don't imagine I will get anything back except the taxes and pre paid tips. ?

I'm really sorry that you missed the cruise. Your situation is my worst nightmare, as DW and I fly standby which relieves us of a major cost, but always leaves us open to the bane of our existence: full flights.:eek:

The cruise was fine except for Blu, which was disappointing. Funny, but I try to avoid (usually unsuccessfully) the entertainment on any ship, but I found two of the performers to be outstanding: the Chinese magician and the English singer. All in all, a good cruise and we'll be on another TA in November.

Flight was delayed ..missed cruise....no insurance..what are the chances I receive points for the cruise?

If you're serious, the loss of points would be the last thing on my mind, were I you.

Actually... the escargot was available every night on Century in April and it was very good. One of the things they have not cut backed, to their credit.

Actually, there was a rather lengthy period when escargot were not available and were substituted with stuffed mushrooms. Apparently, the supply had run out and I never blamed X for the lack of one of my favorites.

The OP's list of items does not affect DW and me at all. We've never used any of those facilities in more than 20 Celebrity cruises. Nevertheless, someday each of us might see things that are important to us suddenly removed. I wonder how those of you who are pooh-poohing the OP's concerns will react at that point. Removing an item from the menu because of shortages is one thing; making unannounced changes on short notice with no recourse is quite another.. I understand X might be in a difficult position to handle these changes fairly, but I surely do sympathize with those in the OP's position, as someday it might be me.

I have spent a lot of time in Venice and environs, as I still have family there. Love it but not so much in August when it can be beastly hot and not well air conditioned. Be prepared. Also, it I wanted to go from Venice to the south of Italy, I would be on a train, not a plane.

I empathize with the OP, as in my case I am finding it increasingly difficult to convince myself to leave home at all. I really wasn't looking forward to the recently completed Eclipse TA, but once on board, everything changed and I really enjoyed myself. Ya never know!

I think with the economy improving and the recession being over, for all intents and purposes, all the cruise lines will be making adjustments to their pricing. I recently looked at a number of lines for future cruises and didn't see that Celebrity was out of line.

 

Past cruisers may be spoiled with deals and incentives trying to keep the ships financially afloat.

Really?

Not if you want to pick your own restaurant it isn't. We had zero interest in Silk Harvest and that would have been part of any prepurchased package

And Qsine keeps us from getting the packages. As someone previously posted, a $50 meal in Murano is essentially a $75 meal. We like Murano, but $150 puts us in the very rarified air of fine restaurants in our home town, and there are some very fine restaurants here. We usually book Aqua but I'm getting less enchanted with Blu. So what's left? The buffet, which I usually enjoy very much, or MDR which is easily the equal of Blu on most ships. My idea of booking verandas and eating in a specialty restaurant some nights is rapidly becoming book a veranda and eat in the MDR and be happy I'm not cooking.

The regular coffee varies from weak to bitter to half way palatable. The specialty types are usually quite good.

I feel the same way. My experience is with the dogs trained to assist people with Epilepsy. The dog is trained to alert someone if the person has a seizure, sit by their side until help arrives, push a button on a special phone to call 911, and open a door to let rescue personnel in. Some become so in tune with their partner that they alert when a seizure is coming before it ever happens so the person can make themselves safe.

 

Like your situation there is a long waiting list and they must be matched to the right dog. There is great expense to get one and the requirements are very rigid. Far beyond getting a doctor to simply scrawl a note on a prescription blank and ordering a vest from the internet. The training time is also at least a month on site then followed up at home.

 

Please do not isolate yourself on the cruise simply because you have a service animal. Do not let the few abusers of the service animal privilege keep you from your freedom to enjoy the cruise like everyone else.

There was a man with a standard poodle on the recent Eclipse TA nd the dog, I was told, was trained to do just that. Very well mannered dog, at least when I saw him.

Yes, but they seriously don't like to do it and they generally give you somewhat of a hard time. You usually have to persist.

I do it every cruise and have never been given a hard time. They'll give a credit and it's ranged between $18 and $32.

Can someone address his experience in modifying his insurance policy after receiving a price break? That is, suppose a cruise is booked at a cost of $2000 and insurance is purchased reflecting that coverage amount. Then, the fare is reduced by, say, $300 to $1700. Aside from any possible cost saving, is it necessary to adjust the policy? Will the insurance company take advantage of the situation by charging penalties for the change? Should sleeping dogs be left to lie, or will there be a problem should a claim be made?

Looks as if bonus points from 2 of my cruises from February have been added. However, the addition of points is really a non issue since passengers seem to be boarding at the proper level reguardless of what the points listed on the Captain's Club page indicate. If you have reached the Elite level,you will board as an Elite. Just check for the proper level when you print your boarding pass.Call Celebrity if you notice a problem and they will adjust your level. As they say in Basketball: "No harm,no foul".

Exactly. We're just off the Eclipse found our 25 points added when we checked the X site for another reason. As Orator says, we had received our Elite + status even without the points. DW sure appreciated her cappucini at noon without any charge and it only cost us thousands for the privilege ;)

Totally agree. I just came off the Eclipse transatlantic on Friday and did not receive one either. I called customer relations and was told there was no way for them to send me one.

 

I had several crew members I wanted to recognize as well.

we were on the same cruise, spent time in England and still had time to fill out the emailed form. I remembered a crew member's name, fortunately, but I did comment that I preferred the paper format. Your comment is good reason why.