F5Loar

Just off Reflection NewYears Eve cruise and paid the $11.50 per day upgrade. I think there is a difference between buying a package and then upgrading, vs. getting the Classic Package for FREE when booking and then upgrading on board or online. Both packages do have red tape with fine print I could not fine in print. Not good on BOGO at martini bar. If you ordered a drink over your limit of $8 you pay full price. Some $8 popular drinks went to $8.50 resulting from so many FREE Classic cards being given away. But with either package you can stay pretty drunk for 7 days if you can hold your liquor. And hey, if it's FREE who's counting how many you can drink?

It got a total refurb 2012. Should still be decent. I think it's still too big dock in Hamilton.

The kids on an X cruise are way better controlled than you will find on Carnival or NCL.

Let's face if you can afford this cruise, you likely could afford to have raised your children a proper way. However on every cruise you will have that one kid that will punch all the buttons on the elevator and then leave.

Wasn't the Captains family on this cruise? I would expect nothing but the best service

Yes we saw the Captain's family eating in the main DR 2nd seating and also the entire CEO of Celebrity's family too that sat right beside us. They came to enjoy a cruise in first class treatment and they got it however none of them stayed in the Penthouses. I asked why and was told the CEO would rather have a paying passenger in those suites.

Just off Reflection New Year's Eve cruise. Got the free classic package for 2 for booking early. On board I upgraded to Premium for $80.50 (11.50 per day including tips). Wife did not upgrade. Was told $12 limit and I held to that figure but really there is not many drinks over that amount. The bartender at the Molecular Bar did it for me on the first day. According to my bill I drank 50 drinks and she drank 25. I think we got a good deal on this. The first day I drank up my $80 worth so it was free drinking after that. Deal not good on specials like a BOGO. It is good on the special drink of the day.

She was part of the comedy team that came out of Vegas. Very classy looking young woman who only did a PG13 tease by today's standards. Far from the X rated you would find in Vegas. In a way it was funny to see it mixed in with the two comedians. Both guys were top notch. The said they would repeat the same show 3 more times in the week doing the same act so others could see it in the small 250 seat lounge. I went all 4 times and they did not do the exact same act each time. The girl did however do the same moves but I'm not complaining about that. I enjoy adult comedy on cruise ships. Glad X is doing this.

It was our 2nd cruise out of Wilmington, NC in 1994. Great ship. I learned a lot from senior cruisers who sat at our big table in MDR. Don't recall a Lido evening buffet but do remember tuxes were in the majority and dark suits 2nd. No suit, no service was the policy. You option was go back to room and put it on, or they had one there to fit you for the night. Very formal on formal nights.

I thought Premium was up to $12 in value, not $13. That's what I had 2 weeks ago on Reflection. Is the limit different on other ships? You can order wine by the glass up to a $12 value. I ordered the recommended red or white (usually got the more expensive one)which was different every night and they kept it full without showing your card again. There are catches to the package. You can't get the Happy Hours buy one get one deal. But you could ordered one, drink it and then order another one at the same bar to create your own BOGO. Your bill shows all drinks as 0.00 and which bar it came from. And as mentioned no mini-bar drinks included. And fresh OJ is included contrary to what I have read here elsewhere.

Hi:)....is there a way to re-post this into paragraphs? I guess my old

eyes are showing:eek:....it is too hard for me read it all:(

When I was typing I didn't think it was that long until I posted it and realized I said more than I should have. I didn't know I could go back and correct the format to make it easier to read. Thanks to the person who did that for me. I guess I look at this as more like a chat room and not my college essay paper to be turned in for a grade. I guess I got an "F" on this one. Sorry!

Thanks for your review, now I want to try 50 drinks in a week!;)

I didn't set out to drink 50 but when the bill came I added up the 0.00 drinks and felt I did get my monies worth and will get the package my next cruise. When you start the day with a Bloody Mary, have a wine or cocktail at lunch, a few fancy drinks by the pool, a wine and afterdinner drink at dinner, another fancy drink during the show and then your night cap before bed, it does add up. I never felt "drunk" on this cruise but did sleep the best I've slept on a cruise. Must have been those soft duvets and mattress.

:) Just curious how you knew the CEO's family was dressed in the latest styles from Italy and France?? I would never have been able to figure that out! I guess I just don't keep up enough.:rolleyes:

Well, we asked one of the sons where they got some of their clothes/shoes and he told us the brand name and we looked it up online and got a general idea of what they were wearing and the cost. The men wore $1000 shoes and the ladies wore $2000 high heels. I guess I knew this type expensive clothing was out there for the rich and famous, just not in my hometown. The CEO dressed like a CEO and was the prefect gentleman and the family conducting themselves as you would expect. On New Year's Eve when the ship passed out the free champaign , he had his private butler popping the $100 bottles for his family. They stood out from the other 3000 guest.

?????:confused:

I'm sure he meant "wear" referring to my comments about dress code enforcement. No it didn't bother me at all. I just feel I was way over dressed on Formal night because X is known to be quite a bit more formal than other cruise lines such as NCL or Carnival. It has been several years since we last cruised on an X ship and before the Tux and dark suits with ties for men was in the majority and jackets and ties making up the rest. Just shocked to see so many only wearing a dress shirt with docker style pants and no ties. I just couldn't do that when I knew it was asked nicely to do better. It's almost like they are making a statement by bucking the system in sorta of protest against the posted dress code guidelines. I would rather they stand outside the MDR with signs that say "No more enforcement of dress code". But my big beef is the extra expense all cruise lines go through to please these type folks, providing alternate casual dining elsewhere and then they don't go there to eat. It's a big waste of really good food. I say close the lido buffet, do away with the dress codes(since they can't enforce it anymore) and lower my next cruise ticket price from those savings. Change the dress code to "Come as your are" because that's what many are doing anyway. I think it is NCL that says on their formal nights "Dress up or not night". That seems to be what X is heading towards.

Okay here is a brief report from our 4th X cruise, this time on Reflection for their Dec. 28 cruise called their New Years Eve cruise. Easy getting on even with the ship coming in 2 hours late due to medical emergency requiring a stop in Nassau. In port at Noon and in our room at 1:10. We had Conciege Verandah mid ship room. Big bathrooms and plenty of storing in room. Nice balcony. TV was great. Bed slept fantastic. Where do they get those oh so soft duvet covers? Food in MDR all week and never had a bad meal. Steak perfect and high quality. Escargo every night was a surprise to me so I went for it. We had an assorted cheese platter brought before the bread each night and even that was great. Breads are quite good and fresh compared to other cruise lines. Even had different kinds each night. Loved the changing salad dressings. Wife had shrimp cocktail each night and it was great. We had the free classic drink package for booking very early and we used it. I had 50 drinks and my wife had 25 in those 7 days. Always got the recommend chef's wine by the glass every night and they kept it full. On our week was the CEO of X and his entire family of about 50 from Mexico. They said beside us in two huge tables. They were really well dressed in the finest new styles from France and Italy. Captain also had his family onboard that week. Now here is the good news. After Host Annie said she heard constant RAP music her week the previous month, we heard none. I do know what real RAP is and what we heard was up to date modern pop/rock music. The one girl even sung Katy Perry's new Lion song and did it really good. We heard some current songs by Pitbull, Black Eye Peas, and other current artist but no RAP. While I am 61 and was raised on the Byrds and the Beatles, I do keep up with what's hot and Katy Perry is pretty hot but she is far from being considered a RAP artist. We did not hear excessive loud speakers throughout the ship. Could always find plenty of quite spots. Not sure how many got this Classic/Premium drink package but never got in a line nor a wait of more than 3 minutes. Most bars (I went to all of them) were so empty I walked right up and was walking away within 3 minutes. I went to the late night comedy show every night they had it and although it was standing room on by show time, I never had a problem getting a seat. They were great and so was the nice stripper! Glad to see X do this on their ships. Other shows were as good as any other cruise line and after 40 cruises we've seen a lot of shows. I can say this was our best cruise in a long time and glad to be back on an X ship. Others complained of it being a dirty ship, we didn't see it. As clean as we've seen. Service staff was not overworked and during popular times at the bars they had extra staff onhand. But if I had to tell complaints they would be this: 1) On this ship they no longer enforce the dress code especially on Formal night. Very disappointed to men only wearing an opened collared shirt with pants and sandals on Formal nights. Casual nights had lots of T-shirts and few jeans. I was expecting more from X on enforcing their rather lax dress code. 2) Hots tubs were not very hot and I felt over chlorine. When it continues to bubble up, it's too much. May be a safety/sanitary cause for this. The adult pool seemed really cool all week so I guess it's not heated but it was fresh water so no burning eyes! 3) The fresh squeezed OJ at $3 a glass (free for us) tasted watered down. In fact my wife said the regular OJ tasted more fresh to her. I never saw them actually squeeze any as they poured from a pitcher and I could see the water separation on top. HAL does not water theirs down so felt it was in poor taste that X would do it. 4) With only 2 banks of elevators (mid and forward) they were really slow. You would see some go by without stopping. For a ship this size and a full ship they were crowded a lot. While we expected more kids than normal due to holiday week, we did not expect X to bring on board kids that got a kick out of pushing the buttons for all the floors and then getting out. We loved the CD Alexander, which he said was the youngest on in the fleet. Very upbeat attitude and loved his job. The Captain seemed to be all over the ship and we always spoke to him. I will check back here for a few more days to answer any questions. After that we book another X cruise this summer to Bermuda.

 

IMHO, when serious issues such as mental and spousal abuse are brought into dress code discussions ............frankly while you may well be entitled to your opinion, if you don't know what you are talking about your opinion really does not matter.

After going through several long court battling divorce proceedings, believe me she will bring it up that you embarssed her in public while not dressing formally on a formal night on a cruise and she was in formal attire and as a result(according to her lawyer and her on stand tearful testimony) suffered severe emotional and mental abuse resulting from embarrassing stares from her fellow passengers. So yea, it's my honest opinion that it can happen. With my 3rd wife I never fail without hesitation to go full tux on formal nights. I can't afford to loose another 1/2 of a house and still maintain my cruising lifestyle that I have become accustomed too. Mental abuse of a spouse is a silent killer.

On the Reflection they had a "Black Forest Martini" at $11 and was pretty chocolate tasting. I had several of them after upgrading to the premium package. Also noted the package deals are not good for the happy hour 2 for 1 but I guess you could sit there and just drink one right after another and get the same thing as a 2 for 1 since you price is $0.

Just off Reflection and got the Classic package free for booking very early for my wife and me. I upgraded to premium for $80.50 more including tips the shortly after boarding. My wife did not. I ended the week up with drinking 50 premium drinks (those above $8) and wife was able to knock back 25 of the $8 and under. That's an ave. of $600 liquor bill.

Yes fresh squeezed OJ is included in the classic since it's under $8 but we both felt it was watered down a bit and she felt the regular machine OJ tasted more fresh. I always got the recommend wine by the glass each night and always got the $9 to $12 per glass wine and wife got the $6 to $8 wine. They kept it full through the whole dinner and even asked if we needed a refill to go after the meal. I also had the after dinner drinks which ran from $6 to $12. Frist day I had 5 of the $11 fancy Martini drinks so felt I really got my money's worth on the upgrade. I was doing my own "sailaway party" laying down in my room.

Might be just a bit too far out for that info. For sure summer of 2014.

Whether someone does not like to dress up or not, the cruise line puts formal night in place to keep a certain atmosphere. Everyone who books a cruise knows there will be a formal night, they are given notice, its on the websites. There should be no surprise about this. I am just saying that if you choose not to participate in it find an alternative dining venue on that night and let the people who enjoy that formal atmosphere enjoy it.

 

This is the way I feel. The Captain and his staff have asked nicely to come to a formal evening dinner. Out of respect for them, you should at least put on a jacket with a tie or else follow their guidelines to dine elsewhere on the ship. Those other venues cost all of us in higher ticket prices. There was a day when there was no Lido evening dinner to go to. You had to go to the main dining room or else it was room service. I went up on the Lido on Reflection and it seemed to never be crowded yet there was tons of food up there while the dining room was full of men in open shirts with pants. I get it, just don't understand why others refuse to get it. And for you married/engaged guys, if you don't dress up for the Captain and his staff, the least you can do is dress up for your lady. She really likes it when you do that for her. To me, when a married man does not dress for formal night and his lady does, this is a form of mental spousal abuse.

Just off NYE cruise on Reflection and can say without a doubt the formal nights are no more. I felt so out of place in my tux it was uncomfortable for me. I even wore it on the optional formal for NYE. My guess is only 10% of the men wore them and they were my age(61) or older. Lots, and I mean lots of men just wore nice shirts and long pants on formal nights. No ties, no jackets. Forget that handing out of the jackets. Not enough to go around. After seeing the failure of dress code endorsement on Carnival, NCL, Princess and HA in the past 10 years I was hoping for at least an attempt to be formal on X but it was not. Not complaining, it is what it is and for me at least I won't be lugging the full tux outfit on my next X cruise either. Even the CD was less than full formal on formal nights.

They do have several package upgrade deals if you are in a suite but when I saw the $$$ they wanted I declined pretty fast. But for you 25th it would be worth looking into.

I found the suite packages on the website but maybe it showed up because I am booked in a suite.

So you are saying because I am booked in a Deluxe Suite I have no access to the lower packages that includes the free bathrobes. That's not right. I've got a suite and if I want a monogramed bathrobe I have to pay an extra $55 because they are not included in the Suites category or at least you can't take them home.

I can't seem to find what it is you people are talking about. A suite ammenties package is not what I found. I found Suite Ellite package for $779 for 2 and there is no mention of a free bathrobe included. That is a long way from the $379 others mentioned here for a 7 day cruise. Is there another package with all these things you say here?

By the way I thought unlimited laundry is included with a suite booking. Here is what it said for my upcoming NA booking:

"With the Suite Elite Package you'll receive in-suite beverage setup with your choice of two bottles of wine and two bottles of your favorite liquor, a pass to access the Hydro Pool & Thermal Suite located in the Greenhouse Spa, a $50 beverage card, dinner for two at the Pinnacle Grill, a Culinary Arts Center Class, one Premium Wine Tasting led by the Cellar Master, an internet time package of 100 minutes, and evening truffles in your suite. A 15% service charge is included in the price of the item. You must be 21 years of age or older to order and receive alcoholic beverages. The price of the package applies to double occupancy on sailings up to 10 days on the following ships: Zuiderdam, Oosterdam, Westerdam, Noordam, Eurodam and Nieuw Amsterdam. "

"To HAL's credit, I did see them turn away a gentleman who dared show up to the MDR on formal night wearing a short sleeve shirt and NO tie."

So happy to see someone post this besides me. It seems there are several "newbies" that pride themselves in telling others it's okay to just show up in a polo shirt and slacks with no tie. They chime in on every dress code question saying don't pay attention to those recommendations.

Being turned away at the door is almost as embarrsing as being alowed into a formal occasion in which you are the one not so formal. The cruise lines have bent over backwards to please everyone they can. They have lowered the traditional tux and dark suit rule to a jacket and tie will do and they go out of their way to offer alternate dining elsewhere at a great expense so those that don't want to get dressed up on formal nights can go elsewhere. Yet you see a few that sneak in without that jacket and tie and someone sees it and reports back here that it's okay to do so and then next cruise you get turned down for no jacket and tie. This is great news that HAL is at least making attempts at keeping their formal nights more formal than other ship lines.

Most buffet areas have the flavored water which we thought was really good. There are 3 or 4 flavors. One is lemon lime which is like lemondade. One is strawberry/kiwi.

You can order various types of milk for free most anywhere too.

Water is filtered and quite good so we so no need to waste money on the bottled water offered for sale most everywhere including your stateroom.

Any bar will give you a glass of ice water for the asking for free.

You got hot teas for free too.

At breakfast you do have the standard stuff like orange juice, tomato juice, etc.

I can't figure out how to add it on but add:

F5Loar and wife and daughter all Plat.

"Everything really was great. Of course I didn't wear half of what I packed! When will I learn?"

Here is how I do it: Pack everything you need for clothes and then the day before you leave take half of them back out.

Makes for an easy self-assist and look at how much room you made for those "Been there done that" T Shirts!