hurwitz5

We book an inside cabin most of the time. We find the prices much better because the so called "free perks" are not included. We don't want to pay for the drink package; we get enough free drinks between 5:00 and 7:00 pm because we are elite. We recently booked the 14 night Caribvean cruise for January 2017 because I found a price dip one day. The next day the price moved back up to the price a few days before. I keep notes on a pad and watch the prices move all over the place. We book through a cruise website, not through Celebrity.

I assume the blue martini referred to above is the blue CURAÇAO martini. I like that one very much, as well as a Cosmo and appletini. I have had French martinis on land and they are very good. Does anyone know if they make it on the ship? Just booked our winter 2017 cruise on the Eclipse.

We have been cruising for 25+ years and have mostly enjoyed the production shows, and look forward to them. However, last January we were on the Eclipse and we were very disappointed in the 3 new production shows. Celebrity spent a lot of money on these new shows - new costumes, sets, etc. it was money poorly spent. I noted our negative feelings about the shows in the questionnaire emailed to us after the cruise. I hope that Celebrity management reads this thread on CC and does something about these shows. Celebrity: are you listening?

We have sailed on 5 different cruise lines - our favorite is Celebrity. In addition to the positive comments above about Celebrity (food, relaxation, etc.), we really enjoy the S class ships because of the amount of shade. There is plenty of shade by the outdoor pool and on the aft deck outside the cafe. The sun is not your friend. We also avoid the sun by spending a lot of time by the indoor pool. It is a quiet area that has a spa vibe - cool temperature and relaxing music and the Aqua Spa Cafe that serves healthy food. Whether you sit by the indoor or outdoor pool, you can help yourself to as many towels as you want - no signing out of towels. The shade and the towels create a nice experience for us.

If you have a foot problem, I can somewhat understand wearing flip flops. I have foot problems too and I have found that Clark's has a good selection of pretty sandals and shoes for problem feet. Aerosoles are also comfortable. I would also suggest wearing a shrug (short sweater) or pashmina with your strapless dresses as it is cool inside the ship (good air conditioning). I always have a light weight coverup with me in the dining room and in the show lounges.

I have similar flip flops to the ones worn by the OP. I wear them to the pool or beach and wouldn't consider wearing them to the MDR. IMHO strappy sandals would look nicer with the cute dresses the OP is wearing in the photos. That being said, a young woman (in her 30's) on our recent Celebrity cruise was allowed into the MDR for dinner with cut off shorts (cut short). No one told her to leave, so you will probably have no problem being admitted to the MDR with your flip flops.

Sailed on January 10 - 24. I knew about Evening Chic because I read about it on the Cruise Critic Boards. We dressed according to the new dress code and my DH did not bring a suit or sports jacket. Some of our table mates had not been on CC and did not receive notice of the dress code change and they brought dressier clothes. Saw some tuxedos and fancy long gowns being worn on Chic nights. Don't know if those people didn't know about the new dress code or if they just wanted to dress up. On 2 nights I saw a young woman (early 30's) who sat near us wear cut off jean shorts (cut short) into the dining room. She was NOT asked to leave - surprised at this lack of judgment on the woman's part and the lack of enforcement

on the cruise line's part.

We had a wonderful time on this ship, but we enjoyed the cruise in a very different way. We are not at all adventurous like the OP - kudos to her and her husband. I enjoyed reading about the zip lining, hiking, snorkeling, etc. We cruise to escape the cold weather in the Northeast, relax, see shows, receive great service, meet interesting people, attend lectures, eat good food, take walks in each port, read, and play Mah Jong (my DH enjoys the casino). The Eclipse did not disappoint, except for one area. We look forward to the shows in the Eclipse Theater every evening - especially the production shows. We have taken many Celebrity cruises and were excited to hear that there were 3 new production shows. Celebrity spent a lot of money on Topper, Chandelier, and Rock On. The performers were very talented and executed the numbers beautifully in amazing costumes. What made the shows unappealing to us was the lack of Broadway tunes and pop music - in other words, most of the songs we had never heard before. Celebrity created original shows, but they didn't resonate with us. It sounds like the OP didn't particularly like these shows either - a shame since these shows are expensive and will probably be on the ship for 3 - 5 years. Are these shows on the other S class ships?

Post 29 above shows the over the bed storage spaces. Regarding my post above about the poorly designed storage, there are some positives: there is a desk type unit that has 4 or 5 drawers and there is a closet, and the bathroom has plenty of space for toiletries and medicine. Overall, the S class ships are nicer than the M class - that is why we continue to sail on them. However, wouldn't it be nice if Celebrity management, who read these boards, would build future ships that have well designed cabins as well as a beautiful ships - great concept, don't you think?

We sail on Celebrity once or twice a year - next cruise on Sunday, January 10, 2016. I order the luggage tags 45 days before the sailing by calling Celebrity. We received the tags within 10 days of making the call.

We love the S class ships, except for the cabin storage

(excluding the bathroom). The M class ships have much better convenient storage. When the S class ships first sailed. I went to a lecture about the features of these new ships. When I questioned the lecturer about the lack of adequate storage, I was told that a woman designed the S class cabins. I said that whoever the woman was, she was impractical or worse. Women like night stands, not a few small shelves that hold almost nothing. Women, who are generally shorter than men, do not like to have to stand on the bed to reach overhead units. Women like drawers and closets they can easily get into. If Celebrity had designed the S class cabins properly, this thread would be unnecessary. Having to bring hooks, magnets and cubes to solve storage problems on a luxury cruise line would also be unnecessary IMHO.

I smiled when I saw your posting because we are in the middle of packing for the January 10th cruise on the Eclipse; perhaps we'll meet at the connections party. We are flying to Fort Lauderdale on Tuesday so we are making final packing decisions this afternoon. Our clothes and toiletries are on the big bed in the guest bedroom. We pack the stuff into the suitcases the night before we fly. If we were driving to the port, I wouldn't worry much about overpacking because you don't have to deal with the 50 lb. weight limit. I don't love packing, but I do love cruising.

Princess ships, food, service, etc. are not an upgrade over Celebrity. We think Celebrity is better in those areas. However, Princess does offer some interesting cruise tours versus Celebrity in Alaska, so if Alaska is your destination you may wish to consider them. The cruise lines that have better food, service, etc. are Oceania, Azamara, Crystal, and Seabourne. Those lines cost considerably more than Celebrity and have smaller ships and a more intimate feel. As I haven't sailed on those lines, I don't know if the variety of entertainment compares favorably with Celebrity. You would have to check the boards for those lines to see the pluses and minuses.

Last summer we took a 14 night Viking River cruise from Budapest to Amsterdam. We have also taken 4 other European cruises on traditional cruise lines (Celebrity and Princess). Since there is a travel alert, we will not be booking any cruises in Europe at this time. I have discussed this with friends and neighbors and most of them feel the same way. Wonder how this will affect European cruises on the major cruise lines and River cruises in 2016.

We have sailed on 35 - 40 cruises (lost count), most of them in inside cabins. On Celebrity the inside cabins have the same interior space as balcony cabins. Our cabin is usually on the 8th or 9th deck. Last summer we took a Viking River Cruise and paid for a balcony. It was worth it because (1) the inside cabins on river cruises are 75% under water (didn't feel comfortable with that), and (2) the scenery along the rivers in Europe is beautiful (the Danube, Rhine and the Main).

Have registered all our information on the Celebrity website. I've tried

to view the shore excursions on the website for our January 10 Caribbean cruise on the Eclipse. I have been going round and round on the website, and it's been a frustrating experience. Any shortcuts or directions to be able to view the shore excursions?

The buffet has a very nice selection of teas, including camomile. This was the case when we cruised on Celebrity in January 2015 - 2 cruises on 2 different ships. I hope the variety of teas are available when we take a 14 night cruise on the Eclipse in January.

We will be sailing on the Eclipse in January - 14 nights. We look forward to the shows every night. We cruise in the Caribbean every January to get a break from the miserable weather in the northeast. I know that the production shows are very expensive and can play for years. The production shows we dislike the most are the cirque de soleil shows. Does anyone know if there are any new production shows beginning in 2016?

How much is it per day on Celebrity? We are

Elite and get 1 -2 martinis every night in the Elite Lounge. We have cappuccinos

every morning at the Elite Breakfast. We do like bottled water and smoothies, which I think are included in the non-alcoholic package. I would

also like a non-alcoholic drink at the pool (such as a virgin piña colada).

We did the Pacific Coastal cruise on Celebrity about 4 or 5 years ago - think it was the Galaxy or Century shortly before it was sold. It started in Vancouver and ended in San Diego, with an overnight in San Francisco. It was a wonderful sightseeing cruise and we would do it again.

I'm not surprised about the robbery. Perhaps visiting St. Lucia is OK if you stay in a hotel with high fences, and don't go off the property. We walked into town and it was unappealing. Think we will stay on board next cruise.

I saw that there is an extra $5.00 pp charge for the seafood tower at the Porch. If you want a second seafood tower, do they charge an additional $5.00. Usually you can order seconds (and thirds) of any dish in the MDR. My husband loves seafood towers. Also, does Celebrity offer discounts of the stated prices in their specialty restaurants? I thought I had heard of people getting reduced prices for Tuscan Grill, Murano, etc.

Our next Celebrity cruise is in January 2016. We did not see people wearing shorts during dinner in the MDR during our last Celebrity cruise in February 2015. I think people should use common sense when dressing for dinner in a nice restaurant, e.g., the Main Dining Room. Shorts and T shirts are inappropriate dress. It takes away from the ambience of the dining experience. If someone finds it too bothersome to put on a clean pair of pants, then they should dine in the buffet.

By the way, we took a 14 night river cruise on Viking this past summer (at a cost of $5,000 per person) and some of the men wore shorts at dinner in the dining room, despite the cruise "rules" which called for pants at dinner time. Some people are just lazy or don't want to follow rules. They are inconsiderate to their fellow cruisers by disregarding what is expected behavior.

We booked a balcony cabin on the Viking Lofn, which is a new longboat. We have taken 30+ cruises on "regular" cruiselines, and almost always book an inside cabin. The inside cabins are on high decks, across from balcony cabins. However, when looking at the aquarium cabins on our upcoming river cruise, I felt uneasy about having a cabin that is 75% underwater. We decided to pay the extra charge for the balcony - on the top floor of the Lofn. When we are on the Lofn this month, I'll check out the aquarium cabins to see if it is a viable, cheaper alternative for our next river cruise.

Will be flying out of US on July 12 - boarding the Lofn on July 13: Budapest to

Amsterdam. It's our first river cruise. We have taken 30+ cruises on regular cruise lines. Hope the weather isn't too hot. Our 4 previous European cruises on Celebrity were in September and October.