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Absolutely delightful review Ian. You're great at painting a picture of your cruise in words & it surely wasn't too long! Make sure your Captain's Club membership has the correct points & look forward to some perks from early booking when itineraries come out!

Upbeat, informative and great fun to read. Thanks for taking the time!

Boarding Connie in 8 days and looking forward to some of my favorite breakfast indulgences - corned beef hash and Eggs Benedict. We're booked in AQ but I didn't see either on the Blu breakfast menu. Does anyone know if either or both are served regularly in the MDR or buffet? Thanks!

They have several kinds of Eggs Benedict daily in buffet. If there's something you want they don't have that day, just ask. Often I just make something different up and that usually gives them a smile (I like muffins toasted well done, so have one made fresh everytime I get them. Delish! One of my favorites on the ship, along with Cafe Al Bacio Oatmeal cookies!

Oh boy, my experience last week on a Reflection differed somewhat.

 

I found the buffet to be pretty extensive - grilling station with assorted meat offerings, Carving station with varying offerings, Indian food station with about 4 curries and traditional accompaniments, pasta bar, hot food stations with various meat fish and vegetable dishes.... Pretty wide selection of desserts, some of which were forgettable, some quite good and at least one (a South African Malva Pudding) which I'm still dreaming about.

 

On our most recent cruise in December, we found the evening menu extensive as well. There was always Ham, turkey, pork, beef specifically carved to your request, and there were chops and steaks which could be ordered. In addition, there was stir fry and pasta, baked potatoes, salads galore. Frankly it was much improved from prior years.

You can also order from the MDR menu and have it delivered in your room - no cost but small tip nice. That includes lobster on the one night they serve it and it can be combined wiht other entrees, same as in dining room. If you don't have a jacket, they will give you one at the door. Two of three men at our table left their jackets at home as the couples had travelled extensively before leaving Europe on the TA, and had no room to pack formal wear.

Enjoy!

I think it depend what class of ship you are on. The choices on the S class of ship are a lot better than on the M class. On our T/A last fall the on the Equinox they had whole rounds of beef or pork every night. One night they had a whole suckling pig. The food was very good. The M class the sushi was ok and the stir fry was good but not impressed with the rest. Food is very subjective so the best thing to do is just try it and see. If you don't like one thing try something else.

In December, the food on Equinox at night was outstanding. Always some carving station along with stir fry etc. There were several nights neither of us wanted to endure a 2.5 hour dinner and, for us, there was plenty of good food available. Then again, we aren't particularly picky eaters. There's always room service available and you can order whatever is on the dinner menu in the MDR and eat-in.

Have only been on S class ships, but will know more about M class next month.

It was my fault that the TA no longer have the 123 included :rolleyes::p

Not hardly Mark:) I think Celebrity got wise that 9 sea days of the package was a tough deal for them, rather than the few days for most cruises! Sure miss that roll call and all the Marks.............

I guess we missed out:(. We are looking at taking our 1st Transatlantic and they have been excluded from the recent 123 & Pick You Perk Promotions. How about OBC when you book on board, are they still including it with the Transatlantic? When did Celebrity start excluding the promotions from the Transatlantic? Appreciate your input, thanks.

They offered the 123 last January or February 2013 for the fall 2013 TA's or at least some of them (Many had the offer on our Equinox trip). They did not offer any for this Spring TA's or this Fall's. Appears that with so many sea days rather than port days, it likely wasn't cost effective for Celebrity.

Back at post #209 I made a suggestion about compromise which I thought was consistent with your need for loud music. Does this approach make any bridge between you and those who disagree with you?

Apparently, from the number of a couple people's posts, none whatsoever.

What do many people want on their cruise besides good food, excellent service and a clean cabin? A restful and enjoyable holiday. For many that means a well-stocked bar to sit at and enjoy a drink with with people you like and would like to talk to. If quiet corners are so rare that you have to escape to your cabin to find some rest and be understood when talking to somebody next to you without having to shout something is wrong. It doesn't matter which kind of music it is and what age you are. You pay a lot to have an enjoyable vacation - and if that is diminished because of severe cost-cutting in some areas and loud noise you can't escape you look elsewhere to give your money to.

Our last cruise (TA) on Equinox sent us more often to our cabin than we would have done voluntarily: but the "music" in the atrium could be heard throughout most of the public spaces - but we hadn't booked a techno concert every afternoon and evening. We couldn't use the library or the card room, the Martini Bar or Café al Bacio or the bar ( forgot its name) on the guest relations deck.

 

It's one of the reasons that we would like the S-Class ships because they're really beautiful ships, but the noise level is so high that we tend to prefer the smaller M-Class and have started to look elsewhere to give our money to. With the inflated prices for the 2014/2015 itineraries , the hassle with the customer service and the noise level we mentioned it may be time to try Cunard or Azamara.

Our last cruise in the fall on Equinox brought a similar response from several people. I agree with you, in that the atrium music was so loud (and so horrible with the same band singing the same songs for two weeks), that we excaped anywhere we could. One solution was to find wherever Sean Golden was as his acoustic guitar music and his voice was fabulous. However, his performances were the rare music that one could actually listen to and enjoy.

On several occasions, the music was so loud, we too escaped to our room on the 7th floor. Unfortunately the volume was SO HIGH that our room actually vibrated to the beat of the music. It was horrid and yes, many people felt the same way. It is one thing to have music at a volume where most people can enjoy it and also comunicate with others; it is another when people try to find any place on a ship where the uncontrolled music can't be heard. On many occasions, we escaped to the lawn at night, but in the middle of the ocean, it can be too breezy for comfort. However, it was more enjoyable than the constant barrage and thumping music noise all over.

I enjoy all kinds of music, but several nights the music was so over the top that it was horrible.

My thought is to take some videos on the next TA and post the video on you tube, should this problem remain. Hope others do the same. Perhaps a few comments from fellow passengers on the video might also raise some kind of response.

I guess about 40% of the men on our last Celebrity cruise (Dec 2012) were wearing sports jackets. About 10% wore a tux, the remaining in suits.

 

On the second formal night, many of the men did not wear ties - including my husband. And yes, we all ate in the MDR, very happily.

Your numbers were about the same as ours in November & December. At least 40% were in sports jackets and surely were not out of place whatsoever. Most people don't concentrate on what others wear - only official fashion police are those in charge:)

LAST DAY

 

We got the 123go deal plus OBC for our next cruise by booking onboard but they told us cabin 1138 wasn't available on any of the dates surrounding the time frame we wanted. Within a week of getting home I checked the Celebrity website and found 1138 was open on the cruise we wanted next year. It's possible someone had it and cancelled in the three to four days between my time on ship and getting home but I wonder if they have all the cabins available to begin with.

 

Sent from my ME302KL using Forums mobile app

Thanks for a terrific review! Hope you were able to switch to 1138 when it became available!

Celebrity has both a casino and trivia contests.

 

Mary Lou

Lots of trivia - usually 3 or 4 a day on longer cruises

"If I conducted my business like this, I wouldn't have a business."

 

True, True, True...

 

When will you be applying for the Celebrity CEO position? (I think there will be an opening shortly).;)

If only. With the thrust of the Company in increasing $$$$ and profit at the expense of cutting staff, programs, certain available food (aqua spa) since this CEO has been in power, it appears that customers, wait times, appropriate answers, consistency just aren't high on his list of priorities. I think the buck stops with him and someone needs to pay attention to problems within Celebrity.

After waiting more than an hour twice in the last week, I have had it.

Hank, it isn't as easy as you think with TA's. The most recent time we used one, it was a nightmare. Closed during the weekend when prices dropped, gave wrong cabin information, nobody responded to e-mails when a worker was 1) on vacation and 2) out sick (total of 2 weeks) etc. Perhaps you have found an agency beyond these problems, but enough of us have had major problems that we are now gun-shy.

You can get a group together on your roll call and use someone like Tuscany by Taxi. I've used them twice and both times it was just for transportation.

 

We were picked up right at the ship, we wanted a quick stop at Pisa on the way and then dropped in Central Florence for the day and then picked back up in the same place at the end of the day. It maximized our time in Florence and since we got 8 or 10 people total by extending the offer to our roll call, I think it only ended up around 80 Euro per couple for the day.

 

We did the same thing with the same company out of Livorno to go to Cinque Terre for the day. I would use them again. Keep in mind they are not tour guides, merely drivers. But we have no complaints.

 

Getting a group to join in from the roll call is how we've done many many tours to keep costs down but quality of the tour high. Good luck

To me, this sounds like a great deal. We took the ship's "Florence on your Own" last time around. I would only go to Florence again if I could go with some kind of private company, regardless of whether we had to have a van load of people or not.

The time we went on the "On your Own" tour, the bus left late as there were several people they waited for or had to assist. Then, on the way, they stopped at some obscure store so people could buy coffee and snacks. Then they had to park blocks away but passengers were not able to go to center Florence alone; we had to walk as a group. Once the group got to the square where we would meet at the end, we were all corraled into a store, with our guide stating it was the only place we could use the restrooms (and therefore they had some kind of sales pitch & once we figured that out we got the heck out of there) - I complained to Celebrity about their practice, as every thing they did cut into valuable time in Florence.

Others on our roll call took small vans, got to stop above Florence for pictures, weren't subjected to the sales pitch or herding into the square and had a terrific time and saw far more than we were able to see. Will never go to Florence again via that ship excursion route.

Try and find the tour suggested in the post above, contact them, find out prices, and if a van load is cheaper please consider booking and opening itup on your roll call. Although it might appear there aren't many active on the roll call, once excursions are posted, often people jump on joining. If reasonable, that is surely what I would do. If nobody joins, you can always cancel.

Florence is one of my favorite cities, regardless of the distance to the port. Would never take the On Your Own excursion again, nor would I ever go the route of the whole leather factory. Shameful.

Frankly I don't know what the deal is lately with Celebrity not offering quality (or any) excursions. On our upcoming TA, we waited for an On Your Own to London. Never showed up. Called, not having one this time. Meanwhile, same time for Princess, they have THREE excursions to London listed. Don't know what gives, as everyone doesn't want to go to Dover or Canterbury..............

Yes, you can book and watch for price drops up to final payment date--just call and they will adjust your price.

 

Final payment is 75 days before sailing

 

Lately there have been few, if any, price drops before final payment other than military. For our last TA in November, there were zero and same for our April TA this year, beyond those who got military discounts. We have gotten decent prices when we have booked as soon as the TA's are released in March or April. Captain's CLub often has an offer during the first few weeks.

Thanks for understanding me! Was a bit afraid of getting too many negative responses...

 

Concerning the suite upgrade: well currently the first 14nights cruise is sold quite good... the second one is in the med, i think it will sell out, too. But I will keep my eyes open.

 

I also will think about contacting Captains Club.

Algebralovr and all others: is there any source about this bonus points thing?

Don't be concerned about negative comments. Many people jsut post regarding their own status, rather than considering someone else's.

We understand. We were affected, as we left a European TA on the day the new program started. Although we had booked 1.5 years in advance and were paid in full, we got the new, rather than the old benefits. We didn't even know there was a change as we had been oout of the country for 2 weeks prior to the cruise.

WE feel your pain and you have every right to feel the way that you do.

I can't think of too many things the buffet doesn't have - luncheon selection is better than dinner, although they do have hamburgers and hot dogs at dinner time in the buffet, along with a variety of other foods.

Cookies are great inbuffet, but don't forget to stop at Cafe Al Bacio where they have outstanding oatmeal cookies and many treats throughout the day and evening. All are at no cost and they will even put a few in bags if you want to take them with you to your room.

MDR also has a children's menu and will work with you to find foods that your children will eat

Thanks for the timely comparison review. We have only gone on S class ships but will be on the Eastern Connie TA in April. Had been a bit concerned, given that we have never been on M class. Your review makes me feel better about our choice this time!

What about flights to Europe for a westbound TA? I've heard they fly you in on the day you depart, something I'd never do on my own.

Nope. You pick the date you want to fly, unless you choose a package to have land tour included. Last time we went 10 days early and stayed in Barcelona. Some friends of ours have booked a fall TA and they are visiting Bucharest and then Barcelona before their TA.

The point is, it is a pretty cheap flight and way to visit Europe before or after a TA at a reasonable cost.

Having done it both ways, we much prefer to arrive there rested and refreshed, ready to enjoy Europe right from the start instead of flying over and arriving there jet lagged, groggy and exhausted.

 

We much prefer East bound TA's because the weather is more often warmer (in Mediterranean) and it is lighter so many more hours a day. I hate it getting dark at 4:30 and sometimes that shortens the amount of time you have on excursions. Even if a ship doesn't sail until 9 p.m., there's little you can see from 4:30 or 5 on.

The extra hour on our most recent TA was more bothersome than anything. My internal clock still told me what time to awake, so instead of 6 a.m. it would be 5 a.m. Very little going on that time of day on a ship. Next one will be another Eastbound because of the light and usually warmer weather.

They also have it at Cafe Al Bacio sometimes, free as are all desserts there

they did say they think we did it ourselves online when we printed out our e-docs so it might be our fault. I just checked our e-docs and they have our old room number (the one we wanted) so now I'm really confused and not happy.

Poppycock! Don't let Celebrity imply that YOU changed anything since it is listed in your edocs. Sounds to me like someone else was waiting int he wings for this cabin and Celebrity complied. I would holler long and loud about this problem - should never happen. If they don't call in an hour, call back. I can't imagine there isn't a supervisor someplace.

You might also want to e-mail the CEO's office over this procedure......

This will be our first time cruising on Celebrity and our first European (Italy and Adriatic) cruise! We are very excited to try a new line (we typically sail Princess or NCL) and will be sailing on the Celebrity Silhouette.

 

4. Are there Kids Menus in the MDR? Is there ice cream available all the time at the buffet area then?

 

Thanks!

Yes, there are children's menus in MDR, but they can also pick and choose what foods they want from both menus.

Also, on our last cruise, ice cream in the buffet was available from noon until 10 pm (most of the good stuff was gone before then!) The ice cream area also offers different kinds of candies for topping if one wants. We also saw a man getting ice cream in his soda & he said he had a float each day:)

If you have not found your roll call yet, it would be good to go on that forum, as those posting are on your direct sailing. Many have researched ports etc and are usually very helpful

Have a great time!

A booked a cruise online on the Reflection two days ago for a March sailing. I received a resident rate. I paid in full since we are within final payment time frame. The deal I got was good and included either the prepaid gratuities or the beverage package. I chose the beverage package and called to upgrade to a premium package. The agent took my credit card information. I was sent an invoice that had all of this written on it. A day later a TA with the company calls me and says I'm not entitled to the perks because I got a resident rate.

 

It was clearly on the website and the invoice that I was getting all of these things.

 

This amounts to several hundred dollars being pulled from me. I would not have booked this cruise if this hadn't been offered. I said I would like to cancel the cruise without penalty or I would like to receive my perk. The travel agency's telling me too bad. I've written to the agent and to customer service.

 

Does anyone know if there is anything I can do? Thanks for any help.

Unfortunately these things are sometimes quite the problem using a TA. We had one such experience and have shied away from using them again. Best of luck & I would speak to a supervisor as it was obviously the TA fault. Unfortunately, they'll likely do nothing.

Was the bad weather hitting Monday and Tuesday also? It has been very difficult to get through lately. It seems they have cut back their staffing too far. I have had to wait over 20 minutes to get through to talk to someone, and also had to hang up on two occasions because I couldnt wait any longer.

They got the storm yesterday (Tuesday). They were open briefly but closed when there was a state of emergency. I called this morning and only waited two minutes, although the recording said that it might be a longer than normal wait.

As a person who has been in suites on Princess, Celebrity, and Holland America ships, I am unsettled by this idea. In fact, I am hesitating about going on a Cunard cruise because they have such a blatant class system with separate dining rooms for Queen and Princess suites. I understand that even being in a suite is elitist to some extent, as is travelling first class or business. I am not against hierarchies and I am not against people getting what they pay for; but I am against pretention. I actually felt a tad uncomfortable using the Concierge Lounge on Holland America ships. Please, Celebrity do not emulate Cunard that, to me, has a very outdated British class system. I can understand giving suite guests the option of eating in the specialty restaurants, but I am uncomfortable with what amounts to a caste system. Just my opinion.

Perfect post IMHO

The risks of ginger are minimal. I give it to patients all the time.

- Joel

 

Ann Pharmacother. 2000 Dec;34(12):1478-82.

Interactions of warfarin with garlic, ginger, ginkgo, or ginseng: nature of the evidence.

Vaes LP, Chyka PA.

 

 

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

Good to know - thanks!