barneymag

We just got off Reflection a couple of weeks ago and the Retreat Lounge (still Michael's Club on Reflection) and there was fully stocked large coolers fully stocked with beers and soft drinks to help yourself to - Never saw any kids in Michael's on our sailing

10 minutes ago, calicakes said:

Hi.

 

I don't have a feeling yet.  I've seen more sneezing vs. coughing.  If I asked someone how many cases of Covid were onboard, I doubt I'll told the truth. 

You’re probably right, never once announced anything about number of COVID cases on last cruise

BTW we found Eli to be amazing once we had had a chat with her our likes etc - she got us a kettle day 1 (we’re Brits so have to have mug of tea as soon as we wake up😊) she also put fresh milk in the fridge for us. I asked if they could empty mini bar so we could fill with water, soft drinks etc …. she said no problem, but instead of emptying she filled it every day with water, sprite, coke and beers, fresh ice twice a day and she asked if we would like wine or a drink bringing when we got in after being on deck or a trip. We had breakfast on the balcony about 4 times and she sets it up on your balcony for you (although the timing could be a bit off as she had a lot of suites aft to look after) 10 out of 10 for us.

@calicakes have you a feeling for level of COVID on the ship ? We were on Reflection last week also in a corner aft sky suite (also had Eli as our butler) 

It became very noticeable after about 4 or 5 days that virtually everywhere you went you heard coughing … by the second week it was crazy how many people seemed to have the same cough. My wife started on the last day with a slight cough and the next day when we got home she took a home test and sure enough was positive. That was 4 days ago and I’m still testing negative and have no symptoms at all 🤞 pre testing seems a waste of time as I heard of several people having to isolate for most if not all of the cruise …. they never once announced any numbers on this but my guess it would be a large number that were isolating and and even larger number that were ignoring it.

virtually no one masked anywhere - I masked up every time we were on a bus/transfer/flight etc and my wife didn’t. Can’t guarantee where she caught COVID whether on the ship, on a bus transfer or offshore on an excursion but timing would suggest ship or bus transfer.

Another couple we met in Luminae said their butler was really stretched as they were having to serve  3 of their suites with constant room service due to them having to isolate - I guess the only positive was that it seemed that they were allowed to remain in their suite.

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

I've been walking steadily at home for the last 4 months and I've lost 10 pounds. I don't want to go home weighing more. I walked 8 times around the track this morning.

We were on Reflection last week and they never set the sun loungers up like this ? Last week set up as all spun round as a single row both sides of the walkway …. I can’t understand why they would do this and can imagine most people don’t want to be constantly looking at the 4 people directly opposite - never seen the beds set up like this on any previous cruises we have done 🤷‍♂️

3 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

Does concierge get any additional dinning benefits in the MDR?

Only main benefit is the boarding day lunch in MDR exclusive to Concierge Class - other than that extra Captains Club loyalty points

You also get daily Canapes and cabins can be in better location

8 minutes ago, cruisekitty22 said:

Are these still being offered for a cruise in December 2023?  Free drinks, Wi-fi and tips?  Are these three things always on any Celebrity cruises?  Newbie here.

Depends on the cabin class you choose - Suites and Aqua Class includes drinks, tips and wifi as standard. All other categories now show as “cruise only” rate so nothing extra included but you should have an option to go “all included” at a higher rate.

check out the celebrity website, choose your sailing date and ship and required category and you should get two pricing options - that’s what happens and shows on the UK website anyway, not sure if different on US website ??

55 minutes ago, El_Rolfo said:

This one's weird, looking at the greek government site there is no such requirement but still seems to be here for cruises stopping in Greece. And the test taken almost 10 days before arriving in Greece most likely is of no use anymore (as for example Apex stops at most ports before arriving in Greece).

Agree that the Greece testing makes no sense - we now have to test on a Saturday in Rome, get on ship in Italy on the Monday and we stop in Santorini, Mykonos and Athens 6,7 and 11 days respectively after the test  ??? what's the point of this as we are also stopping in Sicily 4 days after test and before our first Greece stop ?? and as you say Greece has no such restrictions for entering the country by other transport methods .... Crazy !!

3 hours ago, OysterD said:

Just saw this bit. Which is so dumb. 

 

We visit Greece on days 4, 5 and 9. There is zero point in forcing people to have a supervised covid test 2 days before boarding when we won't then be stepping foot into Greece until 6, 7 and 11 days later. It makes absolutely no sense. 

 

You dont have to test at all if you are flying into the country. I hate with a passion rules that are completely illogical, and this has to be right up there lol.

 

C'mon Greece, get your act together! 

I can see major confusion at Civitaveccia on 5th Sep !! If people just look at the headline for boarding in Italy they will turn up with a self test or photo of it .... our cruise visits Santorini, Mykonos and Athens and therefore when you scroll to the bottom of the page they state for visiting Greece we still need a supervised/observed test - I wonder how many won't realise this and just seen the headline for Italy stating no longer need supervised tests ??

1 hour ago, GreenFamily said:

I’m looking at Western/Eastern Mediterranean cruises in May 2024 and Celebrity seems like the best personality fit and has 5-star reviews.  I found one cruise, using 2023 search, that includes Villefranche and Malta, two places I really want to experience from a cruise. However, I just can’t get excited about Marseilles or La Spezia because those ports are too inconvenient from quintessential Provence and Florence. Cinque Terre with 3000-4000 people sounds awful. What am I missing? Is this a fabulous cruise? Should I book with Norwegian (Epic) which has great itineraries and suffer on the boat (drunken crowds, noise, uncomfortable beds, few public viewing areas)? 

I wouldn't get hung up about La Spezia being a bad option, I agree Florence is not convenient from this port (about 2 hours by car) but the Cinque Terre is beautiful and well worth the visit. Last time were there we took a 20min drive to Porto Venere (lovely village in its own right) and spent 1 1/2 to 2 hours there, then got on a boat that visits all of the villages (we stayed on but you get the great views approaching each one) and it ends at Monterosso al Mare where we wandered around, had lunch and then took a train journey back from Monterosso to La Spezia (20 mins)

One of our best trips that day !!

19 minutes ago, AbbyCruiser45 said:

Something seems to be amiss. People are reporting on FB that after the last app update, there is no longer a place to upload and verify the vaccine record during checkin. I don’t have any sailings coming up, so I cannot verify myself. 

This has definitely just changed - we are on Sept 5th Reflection cruise and had only added our vaccination records a few days ago, mine was verified and my wife's was pending awaiting verification ..... now they have both completely disappeared from the APP.

So possibly the big announcement might be no proof of vaccination needed going forward ? Whether this means they will drop pre cruise testing who knows ??

TBH would prefer they drop pre cruise testing and still maintain vaccinated guests only as this takes away the hassle of finding an observed test 2 days before (we arrive 3 days early into Rome)

However they may choose to go the other way and allow anyone on ship vaccinated or not as long as they provide a negative test 😕

1 minute ago, samplecd02 said:

Last cruise I did was in the US and was in 2009. I usually give a few dollars to the porters for each bag. Since I am going to be in Amsterdam, I am not sure I will have been able to get any Euros before I get to the port (will try at the airport, but everyone has heard how busy Schiphol is). If I cant get Euros by the time I get to the ship, would it be better to give them USD or not at all? 

Its been about 4 years since we last sailed out of Amsterdam, but from memory we just walked into he terminal and checked our bags inside. Can't even remember if there were any porters at this terminal.

1 hour ago, GCS15/15 said:

Hi all.

I’m  asking as we’ve only cruised once before (with Royal Carribean) and got a bit mixed up with the dress code then, being more formal than the FAQs seemed to imply.  
We are looking at a late deal in around a week’s time on Silhouette and noted the ‘evening chic’ dress code.  Does this apply as it is written on Med cruises?  I have a feeling the way it’s written is really for the US / Caribbean market, but do we take it at face value for a European cruise as well?

I’ll take my black tie,  but do I go and get my teen sons (15 and 18) suits (or at very least, jackets)?

TIA

Hi

TBH I love Celebrity's "Evening Chic" dress code vs other cruise lines. You will see some in full Black Tie and long evening dresses for the ladies, however I would normally dress how I would go to a nice restaurant. Last few cruises i would wear either trousers or smart dark jeans, smart shoes, a nice collared shirt and possibly a jacket ...... most of the time I wouldn't even see the need for a tie. Its fairly relaxed and you will see a multitude of outfits and I've never felt out of place or uncomfortable. Its a holiday, dress how you like (within reason) and Celebrity is our main choice for cruising these days due to the more relaxed (yet still smart enough) dress codes. The vast majority of the ship will probably be in shirt and trousers or smart jeans (no shorts in MDR) and perhaps 10% in formal attire.

38 minutes ago, toddmanka said:

We were on equinox in June and the premiium Champagne was Chandon Brut  The days of Moutadon are gone

Chandon Brut isn’t a champagne though …… it’s a sparking wine and definitely doesn’t taste like a true champagne 

it has to come from the champagne region of France to be called champagne 

16 minutes ago, LPCKG said:

We downloaded all covid passes into the Wallet app on our iPhone, took a picture/screen shot and uploaded it without issue. 

We don't sail until September, but this was my plan as well when we do the online check-in

Out of interest did you upload all vaccinations ? I have had 2 original vaccinations plus 2 boosters ? wasn't sure if I will need an image of all 4 or just the last booster ?

Thanks

5 hours ago, Klagenicht said:

I booked the West Mediterranean embarking Ravenna July 21, 2022 and disembarking Barcelona July 30, 2022.  I called Celebrity for a transfer from Venice airport  to Ravenna and was refused a transfer because our Air France flight arrives  July 21, 2022 at 2:15, and their last pickup is 1pm.  I explained to them that before I paid my Air France trip I tried calling them twice to see is this arrival was OK for a pickup, but the hold was so long that I gave up.   I know, I know should have arrived earlier but our schedule did not allow it. Bologna would not have worked for us flying back to Los Angeles.  

I am just wondering what others have done.  A private transfer is about 340 Euros.

There’s a reason why Celebrity’s latest airport transfer is 1pm ! If there is any way you can reschedule your flight I would do so. Ravenna is around 230km from Venice Marco Polo, you are looking at 2 1/2 hours door to door by car assuming no traffic hold ups. Flights and airports in Europe are chaotic at best and hundreds of flights across Europe are being cancelled every day. If your connecting flight is delayed or cancelled it will be impossible to get to Ravenna on the same day for embarkation 

Even if your flight lands on time at 2.15pm you could have an hour + to get your luggage as airports are struggling with lower staff numbers and you still have to get to a private transfer …… at best you could get to Ravenna between 5.30 to 6.00pm if there are no delays or flight cancellations.

If you can’t change your flights I would suggest you look at plan B if your flights are delayed or cancelled on how you get from Venice to Split (or Ravenna to Split if you get to port but too late to board) 

That is an even longer and more expensive to get to compared to Ravenna - you are putting a huge amount of pressure on yourself and you have zero wiggle room if any delays to your same day arrival.

if you can change your flights to an earlier flight into Venice or arrive the day before you give yourself a much better chance of actually getting your cruise.

3 hours ago, Jay Bee said:

I don't mind cancelling and rebooking, but the excursion we reserved is sold out. I'm concerned that if I cancel, I won't be able to rebook. (I know that once when I cancelled a specialty dining reservation, the time slot I had was no longer listed.) Has anyone had any experience with this?

We just had this same situation, we have 4 reservations for Murano in September all at 8pm …. then the pre-cruise sale goes on and will save us approx $60 but only 6pm or 9pm now available for the nights we booked a few months ago with $OBC 

So I take a punt and cancelled one of the nights, got the refund on our OBC account within seconds but still showing only 6pm and 9pm available …… refreshed the page a couple of times (guess the X site had to have time for the cancellation to feed through ) and 8pm reappeared …… rebooked this one and the other nights and our pre-booked excursions and saved around $150 in total and took me 5 mins max to cancel an£ rebook all online 😊

HI

We have pre-booked reservations (already paid for with OBC) for Murano on 4 nights on our 11 night cruise on Reflection. First night was already full for a September cruise so wanted options of dining there a few nights booked in rather than risking them being fully booked once we board - we have over $1000 of OBC so nice treat to dine there a few times as not tried all items on the menu on previous cruises. Don't enjoy Tuscan or Le Petit chef but love Murano.

I know I can cancel the reservations pre-cruise (up to 3 nights before ???) and get a refund if we change our minds about some of the nights, but if we want to cancel once onboard can you cancel and get refund ? and how much notice do you need to give  to cancel a particular night ? We have booked nights 2, 4, 8 and 11

Thanks

1 hour ago, The Traveling Man said:

Last month the taxi from the port to FCO was 200 Euros.  We didn't have that much cash, so the driver was willing to accept 150 Euros plus $60 US.  Last October the same trip for two persons plus luggage was just 150 Euros.

pre-book with Romecabs (or dozens of others offering private transfer) online and it works out approx 130 Euros from port to FCO

5 hours ago, chemmo said:

I think what is confusing is the difference between standard service and those butlers who add a bit more. Added confusion comes from upper suites who have more perks to start with…

 

I will try to list what I think is standard sky suite service and hopefully others will add or correct me as necessary.

 

In a Sky Suite your butler will bring you speciality coffee any time of day.

He will bring and serve you breakfast from the suite menu.

He will serve any room service order any time of day and set it up on the balcony or in suite.

He will serve you dinner from the MDR menu.

He will fill up your ice twice daily on request.

If you request he will deliver you an afternoon snack daily.

If you want to book a restaurant or another service or change a booking he will do it.

If you have any laundry he will take and return (not free).

If you have any issues (wet shoes after excursions) he will sort it.

If you are arranging a sail away with friends he will arrange cold snacks.

In addition to the above some guests have report additional services. Note, the addition of these services could be directed by the suite manager and the butler may not be at liberty to do them.

 

He will if you have a drinks package stock your fridge with soda and water.

He will on a special occasion arrange room service from Luminae (pre arranged).

Decorate your room for a special occasion.

Provide a bottle of wine.

 

Finally I will list some of the things a few guests have reported getting which we we don’t  request when we are in a top suite. Quite simply, if all guests requested these additions the service would be overwhelmed.

 

Bring alcoholic drinks to your room.

Bring Luminae food to your room on demand.

Provide in suite additional champagne or wine.

 

Higher suites have the following extra amenities in suite.

 

A bar set up including soda, water, 2 x 2 litre spirits.

Free laundry.

Free access to speciality restaurants.

 

Hope I have not confused you more! I think the key message from most of this post has been to talk to your butler…Expect that if you have requested ice and a snack daily to query if it doesn’t come, communication breakdowns can occur, remember English is most probably your butler’s second language.
 

Ask if your butler can provide water and soda in suite and if he says no simply ask him to empty it then stock it yourself by simply bringing a few unopened cans back as you return to your room the first few days.

 

If you were planning a special occasion in suite meal chat to your butler at least 24 hours before. Ask if it is possible to order from Luminae but be prepared that (by directive) he may say no. If, for example, lots of guests are requesting this the M’D of Luminae may feel it could interfere with standard restaurant service and issue a standard firm ‘no’ to this request for all guests.

 

Remember, you have been given the phone number so you can call anytime with a query or concern. If your butler is off duty your call will be directed to another who can follow exactly the same requests.

 

 

 

 

Thank you Chemmo

Really useful info and helps us anticipate what may be provided with discussion with our Butler/PRH

...... and if they can't provide a particular request then we'll just work around that.

Cheers !!

I’m really confused 🤔

We’re booked into a corner aft sky suite on Reflection on the Greek islands, Turkey cruise. First time treat for us, this is our 8th cruise on Celebrity we have always been in Concierge or Veranda on the previous 7 cruises.

I’ve now read so many different things that you can or can’t expect I’m not 100% if this is for any suite or just the higher end suites ??
 

foe example I’ve read ….

Butler fills our mini bar with water/soft drinks (normally charged for in Veranda) …. True or False ?
Butler will bring us a drink pre dinner ……. True or False ?
Butler will set us up dinner on balcony ….. True or False ?

Don’t get me wrong I don’t expect the above, but read on multiple threads what some people have experienced on service levels from a butler.

it would be lovely to get a G&T or Vodka and Soda delivered while we get ready for dinner ….. I would normally just pop to one of the bars while my wife is showering and we chill for 30 mins on balcony 

it would be really convenient to have fresh bottled water put in the mini bar each day …… normally I would just carry an unopened bottle of Evian back to cabin after being around pool or when leaving a bar to go back to our cabin

it would be fantastic to have a dinner one evening (with a nice sunset) just the two of us on our balcony (Luminae menu ?? or is it just the standard room service options ?)

So as I’ve already stated I don’t expect any of the above, nor have we ever received any of the three examples above on previous cruises but as I said this is our first time in a Sky Suite so if any of these are generally ok to ask butler if possible then great.

Thanks

11 minutes ago, Purplsmurf said:

We sailed last month at the latest was 9:00 am, although they tried getting everyone off even earlier 

Thanks for the quick reply

if we manage to stay on until 9am how long was it taking from leaving the ship to be outside the terminal ? We will be arranging a private transfer to the airport so trying to gauge what time to book transfer for.

We might drop bags at airport and jump in a taxi to Fiumicino City and have a look around the town for a few hours and grab lunch

Anyone visited the town of Fiumicino and an6 recommendations ??

Hi, what is the latest time we can expect to disembark Reflection at Civitavecchia in September ? 9.00am/10.00am ?? We have an late afternoon flight out of Rome Fiumicino and trying to avoid kicking our heels for 6 or 7 hours in the airport 

no point going back into Rome as we are spending 3 nights pre-cruise

anything to do around the airport ??
 

Thanks

On 6/13/2022 at 1:47 PM, B x said:

On board 11am, quick and efficient and lunch in Luminea which was well staffed.

 

No ideas on capacity yet but seems busy. Docked across from Beyond and Queen Victoria which looks deserted apart from a handful of crew. 

 

 

Hi B x,

Looking at this photo it looks like you may in a corner aft sky suite ? We’re in 9301 on the identical itinerary in September - how are you finding the position if it is a corner aft ss and how are you finding the retreat experience on Reflection ?

3 minutes ago, lola2013 said:

What began as a review of Bx's Reflection cruise has morphed into a discussion of school holidays dates!

More review please.......

Totally agree ! Too often these threads get taken off topic. This is a review of the current Reflection cruise. If someone wants feedback or input regarding a late August cruise and if it will be affected by school holidays they should ask the question in a new thread.

sgmm, when and where are you planning to test ? we’re possibly going to do video supervised test if still required in September as seems easier than having to find a pharmacy to test in Rome