ghdool

In Jan. 2024, I was on my 1st CC since covid. We have travelled on CC several times since 2010. We were recently on the Equinox, destinations Aruba, Bonaire, Curacao. We were so impressed. The staff in MDR and buffet, bend over backwards for you. In the MDR we had exceptional service and food was brought out hot. If we had any issue, there were managers milling about regularly. They seem to watch over the operations very closely on the floor and get right in there, if there is a problem. The food was great and the menus provided plenty of great choices. There were many nights when I couldn't make up my mind which main course I wanted because there were several items that sounded so good, I didn't want to miss them. The staff were so accommodating and were happy to give me some of 1 item and some of the other. We would give CC 5 stars out of 5 for just about everything.

Although we are accentuating the positive here, I would say that the bottled water, called True Life,  was awful. There is a taste in it, which I did not enjoy. Also on the Classic drink package, they only provided wines from Chile, only 1 choice of red, white, sparkling- we tried them all. Not great. Decoy that others mentioned on this thread must be on the premium package, right? The other issue for me was that I remember desserts on CC cruises prior to covid that were amazing. I did not enjoy the desserts on this last voyage and they were not like I remember them on previous cruises. They used to have the best cheesecake, with mounds of berries on the top. That doesn't exist anymore the cheese cake doesn't have the same texture and no berries at all, just a sauce. I also found chocolate based desserts really lacking on our cruise .A chocolate eclair didn't even taste like a chocolate eclair. I asked about why the desserts are not at the same level as before and I was told they are dealing with budgets. The only other problem I encountered was the lack of blueberries at the buffet and in MDR for breakfast.

None of these issues would be a deal breaker for us. We already have 3 more cruises booked on CC. We were recently on Oceania and considering it was double the price of CC, we found that it really went downhill. We were on 2 OC voyages prior to covid and remembered how impressed we were with the food. I really feel that CC is surpassing OC now, in my opinion. Pricewise, we have had good deals on our upcoming cruises. As someone else posted here, we got a group booking with our TA this week, with an all included package to the Italian Riviera and even fully refundable. This was similar to prices I used to get prior to covid. So that would be a huge plus for us. BTW we will not go back on OC- the menus, service, bad attitudes, lack of managers, etc were too much to deal with. Even the specialty restaurants were not like they used to be, except maybe in Polo.

Thanks for the advice, and Joanne G for the good wishes too. It's been 4 years since we've been on a cruise, so I did not remember if they had a microwave oven or not. The oatmeal station sounds like my best bet and easy when I'll be in the buffet. I will be on an ABC cruise and glad to get away from the snow and lousy weather at home.

I'm traveling on the Equinox shortly. Is there a microwave oven in the buffet anywhere? If not, is it possible to ask the staff to heat up something in a microwave oven in their kitchen at breakfast time?  Is there somewhere on the buffet where I can get hot milk, the main thing I wanted to heat up in a microwave oven? I'll be in a Concierge cabin.  Would they bring you hot milk with the free continental breakfast if I am not going to the buffet?

We took a cruise from the same port about 2 years ago. The hotel stay was at the Doubletree.  It was clean and the staff were very nice, when we were there. there was a free shuttle service to the port and the driver was super friendly. He even brought us some cookies for the ride.  There was a restaurant in the hotel, which was handy, but I recall the service was not great and the food was just okay. 

Thank you for your feedback.

Thanks for all your feedback.

Before I book, can anyone give me some suggestions for quiet concierge cabins, mid deck on Deck 10 of Silhouette? I have checked out the deck plans and I have seen what is available online as of now on a cruise we are interested in.  I wish CC would provide info on their online deck plans as to what is on the other side of each cabin. There are so many that have a white space on the plan, opposite the cabins, but you do not know what is there until its too late and you are on the ship. I am especially trying to avoid a room, where the staff have equipment opposite the cabin. I know about cabins that are opposite a blank wall on the plan, where it contains cabins with the door facing away from your cabin and their door faces the cabins on the other side of the corridor. I would think those would be pretty quiet, but there aren't a lot of those on the plan that are available right now, mid ship on deck 10.

I can get cabin 1215 right now, which is like the one I described, opposite the blank wall on the plan, but it is the last of those cabins where their door faces the opposite corridor and I do not know what is next on that blank space on the plan. I can see from the plan that there are several cabins available further away from elevators and stairs, opposite the blank space on the plan, like cabins 1205, 1066, 1097, 1076. It would not bother me to be further from the elevator and stairs, as long as the cabin is still mid ship.

Thank you for any feedback you can give me.

Can you please tell me how long Celebrity Cruises courtesy hold is for? Several years ago it was only for 24 hours and early last year I noticed it was for about 5 or 7 days. I wondered if they are still allowing the extended courtesy hold or is it only for 24 hours again? Thanks.

I put a courtesy hold on 2 cruises tonight on the CC website and then checked my CC account afterwards to make sure they were listed. Both cruises appeared on the list under the heading,  courtesy holds,  but where it says "book" it shows expires as 5/21. Could that mean anything else other than when the courtesy hold expires? In the past CC only allowed 24 hours. Has anyone else asked for a courtesy hold on CC  and been given a week to decide? Thanks in advance for helping.

No problem with dress sandals. I just returned from an Oceania Sirena cruise a few days ago. I even saw a handful of men with running shoes in MDR, so you will not have a problem with the sandals. There were also a few guys wearing dress jeans in MDR but most people were smart casual from what I could see. Most women in pants and a top (blouse or sweater) and most men also in pants and shirts or golf shirts. About 10% of passengers in main dining room go more dressy, ie women in fancy tops or party dresses, guys with jackets, but I would say the majority of people are fairly dressed down. I hope this helps.

I'm travelling on Sirena in a few weeks. We usually sleep in king beds. The separated beds is a compromise. I asked for the beds to be separated and my TA has just confirmed it for me. I doubt they will move them too far apart so it probably wont make it any more crowded than usual. Hopefully someone with some experience with this will respond.

The food is well prepared and delicious. I love grill in the Terrace especially the lobster tails and the lamb. The burgers at Waves are terrific and I also like the milkshakes. Polo serves a lobster bisque that is the best I have ever tasted. I also like the the menu very much at Jacques, I especially recommend  the dover sole. I enjoyed dining in all 4 specialty restaurants on the Riviera last year and by far the food in the dining room was also a step above Celebrity, the other cruise line I have sailed on. I also like the level of hospitality from the staff and although I like children, it is nice to have a cruise line that mostly caters to adults. 

When you bring your own wine, can anyone tell me what the corkage fee is? I think that is just for opening in the restaurants and the Terrace, right? Is there a gratuity added or simply the corkage fee? Will they recork a bottle and bring it to you in the bars? Thanks for any info

I am going to Los Angeles in a few weeks and not happy about this decision. Does anyone know if this walk is all inside the terminal or do you have to walk outside before you reach the taxis and Uber area and are there carts to wheel your luggage all the way to that area from one terminal to the other? If yes, is there a charge for the carts?

Thank you so much for posting these. We are going on Sirena for the 1st time, this Dec. We were on the Riviera last time and it was an amazing ship. I know Sirena is smaller and more intimate. Your photos gave me a pretty good idea of what to expect.

I have only been on one Oceania cruise on the Riviera. The food was amazing and we really loved the lobster tails in The Terrace. We are going on Sirena in Dec. and we had the same high expectations for this trip. I am hoping we won't be very disappointed. Does anyone know if The Terrace serves the lobster tails on the Sirena too or did they cut that out? 

We were on the Reflection for the first time in February. I was trying hard not to eat desserts on the ship and I rarely had any in the MDR and none at the Cafe. However I couldn't resist the strawberry cheesecake at the buffet. Honestly, I took 3 pieces and skipped lunch. The strawberries were huge and the cheesecake was amazing. I love Junior's cheesecake in New York, so I would say the one I had in the buffet was almost as good as that! I also had chocolate cheesecake at the buffet, which was also very good.

Thank you, I was wondering the same thing. I'd also like to ask if you get slippers in all cabins as well.

This menu is a real problem for me- 3 of my favorites, lamb, lobster, duck. How am I going to decide!

Sorry if I am not replying the way you are supposed to. I am new to CC so I'm still learning. Not sure how to communicate with members here...is there a private message? If not, I am hoping Brooker can respond to me on this thread. I am going on the Infinity for the 1st time next year and I was wondering which cabin they were in. I have 1072 and am hoping that one isnt a bad cabin. I am trying to avoid any I saw on reviews that had negative comments. I liked the itinerary on this particular cruise and we have gone on a few Celebrity cruises in the past, which were very good. I didnt know how bad the Infinity was when I booked. I am going on the Reflection in a few wks and the reviews are generally pretty positive. Is it hit or miss on Infinity? 

Thank you for all this info, very helpful. I am going on a Celebrity cruise in a few weeks.  It looks like I will need to diet even before I go- ha ha! One question, what is Lobster night? What kinds of choices are there? I wouldnt want to miss that one.