F5Loar

Sure seems they are wish-washy about policy on yes or no about sodas. Quote from FAQ "Security may inspect containers (water bottles, soda bottles, mouthwash, luggage etc.) and will dispose of containers holding alcohol. Guests who violate any alcohol policies,...... "

So if security sees a soda bottle and suspects it may contain alcohol they will take them, but does not say what they do if they find soda in them. If you are not suppose to any non-alcoholic containers brought on board why wouldn't they just take anything they see? And seriously, they only serve Coke products. If you are a Pepsi/Mountain Dew addict, you HAVE to bring your own on board. Otherwise you could not survive a week without it. Heaven forbid a Pepsi die-hard be forced to drink a Coke.

Our May 14th for Anthem says we have an 8:30PM dinner time.

Thanks everyone, I saw it listed in our planner for $65. Did not know it was free without instruction :eek: I can understand the cost for reserving it for an hour. We watched people getting banged up pretty well, but two guys were trying to help keep the riders centered. No one stood up.

They would have to shut the Flow riders down and remove them if they charged $65 for a 5 second ride! Yes the $65 fee is for a private lesson by reservations only. Most first timers just go for it. Warning: Bathing suits (male and female) may be removed by the Flowrider and others will be watching you.

It says there will be 30 bumper cars running on certain times. Are the times day and night? Is there a charge to ride in bumper cars? 2 per car? Long wait lines? Same for the big ball you get in and it swings over the ship. How many can ride in the ball and what does it cost? And the skydiving box tube. Is there a charge for it? and wait time? And is flow rider same as other ships. You sign waiver and get in line to wait your turn and it is free?

Are taxis regular car type up to 4 people? How much for a taxi each way to Horseshoe Beach?

For more info on this topic please see any of the 2,000,000 threads already posted.

This might be a good thing to advise if it were not for the fact that like many things in this world, cruise lines/ships do change over sometimes a short period of time therefore reading comparisons from 2 years ago won't tell you much about the one you will sail on next year. I like up to date info. on anything I do. Changes to both these lines have taken place in the past few years.

Just back from the NYE Silhouette and we had the 123 GO package which included the classic drink package. I upgraded to the Premium which by the way does not cover ALL the top end drinks. Anyway, I asked for a Fireball (the sorta new cinnamon whiskey drink) that seems to be in every bar you walk into these days and was told they had none on the ship. That was the bar/beverage girl at dinner in the MDR. Then I asked the section martir-de girl who was so kind to check by our table every night about this no Fireball and asked her to please check with the head beverage guy and see if they could find me a shot at maybe another bar on the ship. She knew what the drink was and came back with there was none on the ship and they never had any to begin with. So just wondering if anyone else has had this problem with this ship or any other X ships? Last April, we were on the Brillance of the Seas RCL ship and it was flowing with Fireballs.

Must not be a good place if no one has responded in 2 days. Looks like a good place from the photos on their website. I emailed them and they only charge $65 for the day including meals and drinks so likely not worth it for just a few hours of pool/beach time for the afternoon while in Coz. Also looks to be a bit farther out there from town then I thought too.

Are there any places for just pool/beach near the pool free or for a small fee?

Looking to spend a few hours at a beach near the port in Coz. Someone mentioned this Hotel El as having a pool and beach for snorkeling. You pay $20 at the door at hotel and stay as long as you like. How far from the port is it? Is the pool nice and clean? Drinks good? How is the snorkeling? And are the restrooms clean? Do you get a chair for the $20? Anything else you can tell me most appreciated as we leave in a few days. thanks

Can someone tell about the Hotel El near the port in Coz? Nice pool? Good drinks? Bathrooms clean? Snorkeling on their beach? thanks, leave in a few days.

Just back from the Regal NYEve cruise and got the drink package. I had previous gotten the FREE drink package on X two times and felt it was worth it even if paying for it. To break even you have to get down about 7 drinks a day. I kept up a pace of about 10 a day and never got the buzz I got on X line. I tried most anything from the bloody mary to the martini and felt they were just weak in alcohol content. I landed on their signature Silcilian Kiss which is very close to a Toasted Almond. Couldn't taste much in the Dirty Banana or Mudslide. The Blue Margarita was the best I had all week. Warning: Unless you are a heavy drinker, throwing down 10 sweet cocktails per day can pull you down by day 5. Also first cruise I've been on I did not see one drunk on board. So I think they are watering them down. Too much ice and filling the bottles back up at late night with a little guy that sits down behind the bars with a funnel. I personally will not get the Princess drink package again.

Some bars gave fountain Coke which was full of ice and got watered down pretty quick. Some would give you a can. So goes for the water at a bar. When going of ship to excursions you can get the big bottles of water on the package.

We just got off Regal in M320 so I can say yes there is noise from the Lido deck above but usually not after 10PM. Great rooms. Love the new big screens on the wall. Much better than the 2 small ones in older ships in the mini suites. I think they only took a few inches and redesigned the layout so it's not obvious. The problem is whether you are a smoker or not. While they have a no smoking policy for the rooms and balcony they do not enforce it. I turned in 3 last week and the smoke just kept drifting into our room for the entire 7 days. We were only able to use our $2000 upgrade to a balcony mini suite (over an inside) for a hour or less before we had to go in and close the door. Being on deck 15 it drifts up from all the rooms and floors below you. Before and after dinner times seemed to be the worse as the smokers fill their lungs up before enjoying their dinner each night. You have to locate what room the smoke is coming from (not an easy thing to do) and report it to guest services who is suppose to go to that room to catch them in the act. By the time they get there, the smoker has emptied the ashes into the sink and sprayed the room with Freebze or something else. If they catch them there is written warning and the next time caught a $250 fine. Sorry to go off subject here but the 2nd hand smoke pretty much ruined our enjoying our balcony. I'll never cruise Princess again until they enforce their own polices.

It's different each ship. On the Regal I believe it was only in casino and back of the ship on lido deck. That's great if you are non-smoker but if you book a balcony on the back of the ship you're going to get tons of cig smell. However I did find that Princess does not enforce their in room/balcony smoking policy. I know this first hand as I reported it 3 times to the Guest Service desk with actual room number of where it was coming from. Of coarse when they go to the room of the smoker they have stopped and removed all traces by spray and washed the ashes out of the glass down the sink. I paid $2000 more over an inside room to find out I was not able to use my balcony but only for a few hours before the smoke drifted to my room. I'm not against smokers as I see it more as a safety issue. Their have been ships catch fire from cigs'/cigar ashes. If you are caught in your room smoking or leave evidence for the steward to find they issue a first time warning and the next time a $250 fine. I know there is an easier way to catch those sneaky balcony smokers but Princess does not seem to care to enforce their own rules.

Just back from Regal and got the package at the Lido buffet first day. I had to ask for it and never was asked again to buy one. The question should be is this a great deal. That's a personal yes and no. I had previously gotten the package as a free bonus on Celebrity for the past two cruises. It was great and I loved it, however I did not feel the same pressure as when I paid the nearly $400 in trying to break even each day. Do the math and it's about 7 drinks per day with an average cost of $8. You really got to put them down to reach that goal of it being a deal or not. I did really good with about 10 drinks per day the first few days and then I felt the desire to drink less so I was going for the fancy coffees, cokes, water bottles just to get to my daily quota on prices. Princess I think has lowered their prices and sizes. They got $5 wines and $5 Margaritas so it's tough to average that $8 per drink. Martini's only $8.95 while on other ships they are $10 to $12 and wines $8 per glass. Also if you get your special blend drink the bill only has $0 on it so you really don't know what the regular price would be. If I didn't know better Princess ordered smaller glasses say from a normal 8 oz drink to 7 oz to make up the difference for this new drink package. They also seem to pack them with ice. By day 7 I was fighting to drink 5 drinks that day. So was it worth it to me? No, so I would not pay for this package again. I'm fine with a $200 drink bill after 7 days. If it was free as I got at Celebrity, yes I'd get it for free. But if you are a real alcoholic and since they do have Bill W. and friends each day I say go for it. I'm just not a heavy drinker.

In one of the big shows with dancers/singers the girl that can bend her body every which way I can't danced to a Led Zepplin song from their "House of the Holy" LP. Speaking of CSN, still touring this year. Great concert if you can catch them and tickets usually under $100 which is way better than the Rolling Stones at $1000 a seat.

A few weeks ago on Reflection we saw 100's of men with only a collar shirt and nice pants eating just fine in the MDR on formal. So what is all the fuss about dressing up? X does not enforce their dress code on formal nights(or any other night for that matter). Just don't wear shorts as no one want to look at your hairy legs. The buffet also has Susi every night. Not much variety, but still made fresh. I think the only thing missing on the buffet is the lobster tails. For those you got to dine in the MDR and for me it's worth putting a shirt and a pair of pants on.

Now we must ponder on what the major change next year is going to be. Hummmm...... no more formal nights so the "don't like to dress up" crowd can feel comfortable in the mainDR without stares from the "suit" people. This will result in the closing of the Lido buffet so that everyone will eat dinner in the mainDR(or other alternate dining) thereby reducing overall food cost resulting in lower ticket prices for us. I say go for it X. I'm getting tried of getting stares for wearing a full formal tux and being in the extreme minority.

That link as well as dozens of others seem to be out of service and have been for months now. Rumor has it the ex-Obamacare website employees are now working for Celebrity website. Still can't print out luggage tags. Did you not get the Classic package for free when you booked? Sounds like you can get by fine with classic package. What I found odd is nowhere is there a list of prices of all the drinks. Some bars have prices for their specialty drinks but finding an actual drink price list I did not. So I did hear on other threads that due to the popularity of the 123Go deal that so many were getting the Classic package for free and taking advantage of it that they raised the price on several of the more popular drinks by 50 cents so they don't qualify for the Classic(Up to $8 limit). You won't find a martini for that price and many of the fancier cocktails are over $8. And if you don't know the price and order one over $8 you pay the entire bill plus tip as it is not included. On the premium if you order over your $13 limit you are only charged the difference plus tip. I upgraded to premium on the ship first day for $80 and felt I got my $80 worth easily since the Classic package was free for booking early when I got it. First day I drink 5 Martinis at $11 each. Also package deals are not good for any bar BOGOs.

Sounds like you wrote a review for our cruise on Reflection on their NYE cruise a few weeks ago. Same young crowd at Martini bar every night and when that closed they moved up to Sky disco lounge. Great ship and a great cruise is what we had too. I heard no RAP music the week we were on. Current pop I guess is what they call it. Katy Perry, Pitbull, etc music is what we heard. But you real disco lovers, the BeeGees are not all dead yet. Barry Gibb is embarking on a USA tour soon and will do all those 70's tunes we loved so much to dance to John Travolta style.

Just of Reflection a few weeks ago on a jam packed full ship and no problems with package. Some bars are just more busy than others and certain times others are busy. Find one that's not busy and no problem.

Me, my wife and our 4 teenage sons have cruised on.... Carnival, NCL, RCCL, HAL and Princess. Majority on Carnival. We are all platinum on Carnival. All together over 35 cruises.

 

Like I stated originally.... I try to to obey the rules. If I cruise on Celebrity I will adhere to the dress code in the MDR. But it will be at the very minimal of the dress code. Sorry if it ruins your time. My experience with people that dress up for dinner and expect others to do the same is that they are trying to be something they are not. I don't need to dress up to impress anyone or be something I am not. I sold my factory and retired 10 years ago at the age of 30. Been enjoying life ever since. No need to impress anyone.

Out of respect for your wife you should at least still try to impress her. Forget dressing up for the ship's rules or the other passengers. Isn't it really all about you and your spouse that matters the most. If you feel comfortable with her when those formal photos are taken and she looks like a million dollars dressed to the nines and beside her in the photo is you that looks like you just left the Daytona 500 race, then so be it. She may not say it but deep down she's pretty steamed about it and I'd bet she will not buy the photo, which is not good for her self respect but good for you because you were able to save another $29.95 on a cruise. Even those Duck Dynasty guys know when to put on a tie and when not to.

No one denied entry except the shorts they catch. You wear a sport coat with tie you are in. Much less and you will feel out of place. Tux is pretty much a thing of the past even on Celebrity so you won't feel in the minority with just a sport coat and tie. You will see lots of dark suits and ties but few full tilt tux outfits.

If you do a sport jacket and tie you will be in the majority on formal nights. If you wear a Tux you will stares. I found that out a few weeks ago on Reflection. Celebrity has gone the way of other cruise lines. Formal night, just ain't formal anymore. No enforcement.

And any BOGO specials are not included. But you could create your own BOGO by getting one, drink it and then order another one while at the same seat at the bar. But that's not really a BOGO since you got both of them FREE in the package.