Lexy08

Are we still allowed to use coupons in the Main Dining Room up until 7:00 p.m.? There is no sense in going to early dinner otherwise !

Now today we read that they have taken away our Lounge with free drinks and canapes. We have still 3 free drinks on our card to be used in any bar and dining venues .  I enjoyed my drinks and goodies in the Lounge and never used my coupons previously. I was looking forward to having my companion enjoy the Lounge with me as they used to be allowed to do . This appears to all be gone. Talk about taking away benefits!. I have for years tried to get them to include rye whisky for the Elite bar menu and have met many others who would like to see this too. If they have rum, vodka, gin and scotch, why can they not have Canadian rye?.  Hope Royal Caribbean doesn't give up their Lounge benefits!  I can get Jameson Irish Whiskey there.

Jackie

12 minutes ago, Big_G said:

 

 

We got off Equinox on the 23rd and spent only one night at the Elite party. There were probably only a half dozen to a dozen people there at any given time. I've never seen it that bare.

Going on Equinox this Mon. Used to be able to take companion to Lounge with you for unlimited free drinks  and canapes and also 3 coupons on card. I always enjoyed Lounge and never used coupons. Now it will be nice to use in the dining room, but crappy wine unfortunately. Also they don't have rye whisky available (my drink) !  It seems that companion in cabin will not get to enjoy any of my Elite Plus benefits whereas they used to. 

My wife and I were halted at the door when exiting with a glass of wine each. They took them from us. Thanksgiving week 2016 on the Equinox. Two people were at the door. I hope it has changed. We are going on a 7 day cruise on Aug 18th in two weeks.

 

 

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I think that they might have relaxed the rule since so many people have the drink package and can pick up a drink anywhere and walk to wherever with it.:)

It's not that eating at 6:45 is all that important to us. Theoretically, we could easily eat at 9pm. However, we did enjoy seeing few of the productions and we just aren't capable of staying up until 11pm every night and getting up at 7am the next morning. It's only a question of getting enough sleep. At home, I often stay up quite late, but at home I'm not out seeing exotic ports for a good part of the day with a full slate of activities every minute. We had a fabulous time. And we DO enjoy the difference we find around the world. But, point well taken. I probably should not have commented but wanted to assure some that on the Encore their desire for an earlier dinner and show could be met.

We also are poor sleepers and need to get to bed at a decent time, as we get up early and can't sleep in no matter what time we get to bed.. We can't go to bed right after eating a big meal. We really enjoy our meals. This is the problem. It's not that we will be dying of hunger (as we are never hungry on a cruise.) I really like the entertainment too and 9:45 is just too late. I would really hate to miss it each night.

We are on this cruise too. There is 1 formal night. Hardly worth packing formal wear for one night!

Jackie

As North Americans, we are also early diners. We spent four days in Rome ahead of our cruise and it was such a comedy as we tried to have dinner before seven. It just wasn't going to happen! LOL On our cruise (on the Encore), we had dinner every night at 6:45 so that we could be at the first show at 8:45. This worked for us. After a long (but very fun day) which began around 7am, we went straight to bed after the show--which ended about 9:45 pm. We are NOT that old--only 65 and 66. It was just a full day. We loved every minute!

This would work out just right for us!:)

Jackie

Agree with the OP on this. We have done two Seabourn cruises and the dining/lounge/show hours just don't work for us. Seabourn draws a big north American clientele, many of whom dine a lot closer to 6:00 than 8:00. You would think (hope) that a luxury cruise line would be more accommodating and flexible (room service doesn't count). My other pet peeve, the Club, the largest lounge on the ship, doesn't open until 6:00. If you want t drink at 5:00 and the weather is bad, you only have one option. And the 9:45 shows....I only made it to one on a 23 day cruise. For folks that rise early every day and keep certain hours (in bed by 10/10:30), Seabourn 's schedule is a big negative. There are lots of us, I wish Seabourn would recognize this.

Very well said. We were really disappointed to learn about these hours just 3 weeks before sailing but for sure we won't be sailing with Seabourn again if these hours continue over in this part of the world.:(

Jackie and Sheila

Is the evening show really at 9:00 ? We were told 9:45 which is definitely too late for us. That would be a real shame. I eat between 5:30 and 6:00 at home, but am in bed by 9:30 unless a very special occasion. Can't sleep in no matter what time I get to bed, ( up at 7:00), but need 10 hours of bed rest ( difficulty sleeping) to function. No way one can go to bed right after eating a big meal.

Jackie

I’m sitting on Carambola Beach, St. Kitt’s right now on Odyssey’s “Caviar in the Surf” day. I just ate a wonderful lunch (salads, grilled lobster, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, fish, desserts, ice creams, etc.) and had a fabulous Thomas Keller Grill dinner last night. I had read less than stellar reviews about the lamb and steaks so we ordered the Dover sole that came with a delicious butter, lemon, caper, parsley sauce. For our appetizers we ordered a crab cake (I didn’t see or taste any filler in it) and clam chowder. Both were excellent. We both ordered the glazed carrots in a citrus butter sauce for an entree side dish and they were also very good although several carrots were too hard to easily stab with a fork. We tried four desserts and rank them in this order: dark choc. cake (you can really taste the “bitterness” of the dark chocolate after a second or two), coconut cake and lemon sorbet (very tart, as it should be) tied for second and the lemon meringue tart was average. It was our best meal so far on the ship by far. We want to go again for the exact same items. We were told to come by at 6 PM and we could probably be seated if we were out by 7:30. That wouldn’t be a problem at all for that delicious meal!! We didn’t have any of the cocktails but they sounded interesting on the menu and the bartender was making them very meticulously.

Is Carambola Beach a beach day like Labadee is?

What time are the evening shows on Odyssey? If dinner in the main Restaurant is 7:30 - 9:30, I'm wondering when the show will be?

Jackie

I am doing the opposite cruise starting in Vancouver on July 2nd. I would like to know how cold it is in Fairbanks, Denali and Anchorage. Also do we bring our own umbrella or is one supplied on the ship? I guess on the land portion you would need your own. Right? Hopefully we don't hit any rain. Ha ha.

Did you find the meal prices on land terribly expensive? Did you mainly eat at the lodges or venture afield?

Are we still allowed 2 bottles /cabin when boarding, which can be taken to the dining room without corkage fee? (It's been a year!):confused: Thanks.

Jackie

Thanks so much Erik as I am on the next cruise on the 15th and I'm sure a lot will be the same. Good to know these things ahead of time. Did this same cruise last year on Legend and loved it so much that I booked it again, but on Serenade to make it a little different.

Jackie

I guess the amount that one buys would be non-refundable, whereas the TA's OBC is mostly refundable if not all used.

Thanks,

Jackie

We keep hoping that Celebrity will follow Royal Caribbean's lead and eliminate the corkage fee. A $25 fee is pretty steep IMO.

It's very steep now especially with our Canadian dollar value. $25 U.S. would be over $30 Cdn.

Jackie

Does Celebrity have a corkage fee for bottles of wine brought into the dining room from home? How much if so? Thanks.

Hi Barb,

Can you please tell me if there are clotheslines in the showers? I will be in E310 on Deck 8. Also what is the wine policy for boarding on Princess cruises - 2 bottles ?- is there a corkage fee? Thanks,

Jackie

Why are the perks not double those for a 5 or 7 day cruise? If one does 2 seven day cruises B2B, the perks are repeated. Maybe the perks should be based on the number of days on board as well as level achieved.

In the past, the OBC I received from my travel agent was refundable to the credit card I used if it went unused. However, on my last Reflection sailing, upon inquiring at Guest Services, I was told that the OBC from my travel agent that time was not refundable. Has to do with whatever code it was booked under.... So don't assume that all OBC from your travel agent is refundable.

Same thing happened to me in Jan. on Legend of the Seas. I was on B2B and the first OBC was non-refundable and the 2nd one (same amounts) was refundable. I was careful on the first cruise to not spend the TA's OBC and here I lost it all!!! First time this has happened to me. They told me that it depended on how it was coded. Why would they be different - maybe because the first cruise was quite a bit less than the 2nd one.

Has Celebrity removed the corkage fee when you take a bottle into the dining room like RC has, and are they giving double points for singles in a cabin?

Was just in Curacao on Explorer and there was free WiFi all over the Island. It was wonderful.

Jackie