hurwitz5

Thinking of sailing on the Royal Princess, but have some questions. (1) Does the Royal Princess have an indoor pool? (2) Is there a lot of shade by the outdoor pools?

We have most recently sailed in Celebrity's Solstice class ships and there are many lounge chairs in the shade by the outdoor pool and there is a beautiful indoor pool. However, we like some of the Caribbean itineraries offered by Princess.

We are going in our first river cruise on Viking in July. We have a veranda, category A cabin. My husband and I have sailed on 30+ cruises (Cunard, Celebrity, Princess, Royal Caribbean, NCL). Our favorite cruiseline is Celebrity. On a 14 night Celebrity Caribbean sailing, we had booked an inside cabin. We have booked many inside cabins and they were fine (all on high floors - not below the water line, as on river cruises). On this particular cruise, the location of the inside cabin wasn't great. It was near a service area, which was somewhat noisy. I spoke with the manager at the front desk about our problem with the cabin. We were moved (with no additional charge) to a balcony cabin, midship. The manager told us that the cabin was available because the original occupants of the cabin had to cancel at the last minute. We felt that Celebrity handled our problem, which was not major, in a great way. The cabin we were moved to probably cost twice what we had paid. This is what a cruise line should do - have happy passengers.

Thanks for your prompt reply. We sleep with the TV on wherever we are - home, cruise ship or hotel. Are there TV's in the cabin that will play music, TV shows, etc.? As long as there is a playing TV, that is the white noise that my husband and I need for sleep.

We are considering a standard cabin on a Viking longboat. I noticed in the brochure

that these cabins have a small window and

appear to be partially under the water line

of the ship. Is there an issue with dampness

or claustrophobia? Is the ceiling on these cabins

a similar height to veranda cabins which are on upper decks? What are

the drawbacks to the standard cabin? We have

sailed on over 30 cruises on "regular" cruise

lines (Celebrity, Princess, etc.) and are not bothered

by inside cabins.

Thanks.

I enjoy reading the daily schedule and carry it around with me. We also enjoy reading the paper copy of USA News. I throw the rest of the continuous junk mail in the garbage. However, what I consider junk mail could be of interest to others. If the advertisements didn't generate business, then Celebrity would discontinue them.

I would be in favor of opting out of advertisements.

We recently sailed on the Equinox and Silhouette (in January). On the Equinox we spent a lot of time sitting by the indoor pool, where there was relaxing piped in spa-type music. We would have sat by the indoor pool on the Silhouette, but it was freezing in there. We therefore sat by the outside pool, where the party band blasted music for 45 minutes

to an hour. Other than that period of time, the music wasn't a factor. My only request would be to have some island - Caribbean type music for a period of time. I understand that Celebrity tries to accommodate various musical taste.

Has anyone left the cruise terminal without their luggage, because it was lost (not in the designated area)? If the bag is finally found in the terminal, what did Celebrity do with the bag? The cruise passengers we know almost left the terminal without their bag because they had a flight to catch.

There was a supposedly special brunch in the Oceanview Cafe (the buffet area). It was held on the last day of the cruise, which was a sea day. The only "special" things that I noticed were 2 ice sculptures carved into the Celebrity X logo, and a cotton candy machine. The rest of the food offerings were the same as other days. I didn't see cold shrimp or chocolate fountains, like in the former special brunches held in the dining room. If other passengers noticed special items, please let me know.

We just got off the Silhouette on February 1. Our friends requested early disembarkation

because they had an 11:00 am flight from Fort Lauderdale Airport. They arrived at the luggage area, section #4, at 8:30 am and found only 1 if their 2 large pieces of luggage. They panicked because they needed to get to the airport, yet they didn't want to leave the terminal without their piece of luggage.

The missing piece was eventually found 1/2 hour later (at 9:00 am) and our friends luckily made their flight. The missing bag was in another area of the baggage area because their Celebrity baggage tag was missing. This is a good reason to put 2 Celebrity tags on each piece of luggage - just in case one tag falls off or is ripped off.

What would Celebrity have done with the missing piece of luggage if it wasn't found in time for passengers to leave the terminal in order to make their flight? Would Celebrity pay to ship a 40 - 50 lb. bag to its owners or would the passengers pay for shipping the bag? Has anyone had this experience?

Lovena Fox and Delisco. We saw Lovena on the Equinox on the January 2 - 12 cruise. We saw Delisco on the January 25 sailing on the Silhouette. We were fortunate to cruise twice in January 2015. Lovena Fox and Delisco were outstanding solo performers who received standing ovations from the audience.

There are round soaps - individually wrapped for the shower and for the

sink. I don't know the brand. There are also plastic tubes of shampoo, conditioner and moisturizer - all decent quality. I am particular about shampoo and conditioner (use Aveda and Goldwell), but used Celebrity's products while onboard.

We have sailed on two S class ships this month - Equinox (January 2 - 12) and Silhouette (January 25 - February 1). We noticed cuts on both ships, but we still

found both cruises to be a good value.

Regarding the free shuttle from the airport car rental building to the ship: I would not do it again for a weekend sailing when there are 9 - 10 ships in port. Instead of a short taxi ride (approximately 15 minutes - $15.00), we spent over an hour on the shuttle bus standing, while stopping at 6 other piers before arriving at the Silhouette.

Regarding the food: the food is not as good as last January (2014). On the Equinox, a few weeks ago, we didn't have the usual lobster tails with drawn butter. Instead we were served

a seafood melange, which consisted of a small lobster tail, a scallop and a few shrimp in an unappealing brown sauce. However, on the Silhouette, we were served 2 nice sized lobster tails with drawn butter. The beef Wellington and lamb chops were also very good on the Silhouette. The prime rib on the Equinox was tough and inedible while the prime rib on the Silhouette was very tasty. The Top Chef food selections on both ships weren't good.

Both ships no longer give chocolate on your pillow, except for the 1st formal night. Regarding the orange juice, we are Elite and had breakfast in the Elite Lounge (Tuscan Grill) on most days. The orange juice was very good and tasted fresh squeezed. My DH and I had lunch at the Aqua Spa cafe whenever we could. There are some special items added to the menu daily. My husband loved the grilled tuna and the freshly prepared deviled eggs were yummy.

Regarding drink service, on the Silhouette we were approached frequently

by drink waiters at the pool and in the theater. On the Equinox, we rarely saw drink waiters at the pool or in the theater.

The entertainment was very good on both ships. We especially loved two guest performers: Lovena Fox on the Equinox and Delisco on the Silhouette. The cruise director on the Silhouette was terrific. His name is Richard Spacey. He was funny and charming and made each show more special (don t miss the Marriage Game). His videos and socks were an interesting addition to every show.

We enjoyed both cruises despite the decline in the MDR food, and would sail on Celebrity again. The total cruise experience has a lot more positives than negatives. Cruising is still our favorite vacation. Both ships are beautiful and well maintained.

On January 2 we sailed 10 nights on the Equinox and had 2 formal nights. Tomorrow we sail on a 7 night cruise on the Silhouette. How many formal nights will there be on a 7 night cruise?

On which deck is The Porch? Also, what is the charge

for lunch and for dinner? What's on the menu?

We will sail on the Silhouette this Sunday, January 25. We are Elite and as I understand it, we will have priority tender tickets. We have friends traveling with us who are NOT Elite. Will they be able to get priority tender tickets

since they are with us?

We were on the same sailing and had a very good time. We enjoyed most of the shows, including the first and second production shows. However, unlike the OP, we like Broadway music, but would like less Cirque de Soleil (20 - 30 minutes of it is enough for the entire cruise). Lovena Fox was an extraordinary talent - don't miss her. The two comedians and the juggler were fun to watch. We also enjoyed the Beatles tribute band.

The food in the MDR was not as good as last January. The prime rib was tough and flavorless. We looked forward to lobster night and were disappointed when we were offered lobster and shrimp in a brown sauce, instead of lobster tails with drawn butter. The lamb chops and beef Wellington were very good.

Regarding the ports, we had nice beach days in St. Thomas, St. Kitts, and Barbados.

Despite some negatives, overall we had a good time. The ship is beautiful and clean. We met some nice people and were well taken care of by the crew. Our cabin attendant, Kadek, was very pleasant and efficient.

What dates will the Silhouette be in drydock? How do you find out when the ship will be in drydock?

We will be sailing on the Silhouette on January 25. I have been reading reviews on CC about this ship. Various cruisers have reported a propulsion problem on this ship - something to do with a malfunctioning azipod. This problem causes the ship to not reach full speed. Has anyone heard when this problem will be fixed?

How did the OP get there - taxi, Van, shore excursion?

I don't think the buffet is open past 1:00 a.m. There is a limited selection - pizza, salad, desserts and coffee and tea.

However, there is 24 room service - with a nice menu on the cabin TV. Perhaps someone has a copy of the menu.

We are Elite, but we are sailing with another couple who is not Elite. Will they be able to get priority tendering if they are with us?

Thanks for such a quick response. Are

you on the chartered cruise? The

amount of information on these boards

is amazing.

We will be sailing on the Silhouette from January 25 - February 1. I noticed that the ship isn't sailing from February 1 - 8. Does anyone know if it's going into drydock, and if so, what's being done to the ship?

I have been on many of the Solstice class ships, but not on the Reflection.

(1) if you are flying in a night (or two) before sailing, the hotels in Fort Lauderdale near the port are less expensive than those in Miami. Many hotels in Fort Lauderdale also offer free shuttles to the pier.

(2) We would rather dock in Labadee than tender into Coco Cay.

We have 2 Caribbean cruises booked in January 2015, one on the Equinox and one on the Silhouette. We chose both of these cruises for the reasons stated above.

We haven't been on RCCL in a while, but we do love the amount of shade on the Solstice class ships. Both and indoor and outdoor pools have a lot of lounge chairs in the shade. This is very important to us. We also like the towel policy on Celebrity. You can take as many towels as you want when sitting by the pools. I have heard that RCCL has the passengers sign out the towels. The Celebrity cruises are more relaxing. We have friends who have more recently sailed on both lines, and they feel the food on Celebrity is better.