ronews

Drink a ton of beer....Hey at least I am honest?

I'm with you on that idea! I do get my walk in on the promenade...from the Mast Bar to the Sunset Bar. There are some stairs so you can work up a thirst. Also Casino Bar for (Saturdays) NCAA Football Sundays NFL. Or last time was March Madness. I meet so many great people on sea days my favorite time in a cruise.

Drink a ton of beer....Hey at least I am honest?

I'm with ya! Cocktails, casino and if it's football season NCAA on Sat or NFL on Sunday in Casino Bar. I'm pretty much a degenerate. But it's my vacation.. I meet a lot of great people on sea days.

They're clearly not expecting anyone over 30 on board - not an oldie in any of those mock photos. Those seats at the side of the stage have the whiff of being "suites only"

"A whiff of suites only?" Hope your not trying to open up that 'class struggle' topic again. Anyway, the most expensive seats in every theatre are always the closest and the best situated seats. If these are for suite guests they have paid more for the ticket to watch. Don't have a problem with that.

Ok why not have a song that runs through your mind with different areas of the ship?

 

Le Petite Chef "It's a Small World After All"

Luminae "You Light Up My Life"

Retreat "Hernado's Hideaway" You have to be really old to remember that song from the '50s

 

Any other areas we can work on ? Eden?

Some more possible area songs:

THE SPA

"Beauty Is Only Skin Deep" by the Temptations

THE MAST GRILL

"Cheese Burger In Paradise" Jimmy Buffet

OR the greatest song ever by the Temptations...... "My Grill" (I know that's a bit of a stretch lol)

CASINO

"I'm A Loser" Beatles

Yes I do have too much time on my hands!

Great play list..hope the DJ will have some of these..

Ok why not have a song that runs through your mind with different areas of the ship?

Le Petite Chef "It's a Small World After All"

Luminae "You Light Up My Life"

Retreat "Hernado's Hideaway" You have to be really old to remember that song from the '50s

Any other areas we can work on ? Eden?

Hey Celebrity...are you listening...so is your song for Edge "I'm on the Edge..." by Lady GaGa going to be played onboard...just wondering...:cool:

For those old hippies at the VW Van . How about "Let Me Take you on a Magic Carpet Ride" by Stepenwolf

Was there a separate line through customs for the porters? When we were on the Eq in October, a separate line wasn’t available for the porters. I thought that was weird, how many guests could they possibly help if they had to spend 45 minutes waiting in line for each customer? I had never seen a port where the porters didn’t have a special line.

 

On the flip slide, Jole was our Michael’s Club Concierge. The morning we departed two people were escorting guests off the ship. We were escorted past everyone in line to the luggage carousels. We split from the group there because someone in our party had a difficult time finding his luggage. It appeared she escorted some of the guests (the ones who were walking off their luggage) directly to a short customs line. We hired a porter, but had to wait in the loooong line. Miami was by far the most chaotic port I have experienced.

 

 

Vickie

I think it depends on the port. We were on Reflection out of FLL in March. Went to MC and concierge opened back door and took us to the head of the line to the escalator. At the bottom of the escalator we hired a porter. He went to Suites luggage area and picked up our luggage. Then escorted us through customs (we have nexus) When we got outside there must have been 100 ppl waiting for a cab. He wheeled our luggage through the lines directly to a cab and loaded it in the trunk. From MC to the cab was less than 15 mins. Tipped the porter. Best $20 I've ever spent in my life!

Just saw on the news today a story about a young woman who was celebrating her first wedding anniversary, doing a culinary tour of Mexico City (a place she had been to, many times before). She and her DH were leaving an upscale restaurant, when she was struck and killed by a stray bullet (someone was trying to kill the bouncer, and missed). :(

 

So, yeah -- wrong place, wrong time -- STUFF happens. But, it's not going to stop me from traveling -- or cruising.

Strangest one I saw was years ago in Aruba. Were down by the high-rise hotels and noticed the pool area (Holiday Inn?) roped off in yellow tape. Aruba is very windy and the big palms are not deeply rooted. A tree fell on some sunbathers injuring a few a killing a man. This man was on a cruise ship that was there for the day and wanted to visit the hotel were they had previously stayed. Always thought of how odd that you could get killed on a cruise by a palm tree.

Guess when your number is up! I just don't want to be on a plane when the pilots number is up!

The hippies from the 60-70's are the younger passengers on Celebrity!

Too funny! But close to the truth! I am 75 and on a lot of cruises they call me "The Kid"

I can see many references to slots which are 100% luck but are there video poker machines in the casinos where one is forced to think a bit instead of robotically spinning the wheels?

VP play Jack or Better. Simpler and I think more pay outs than Double Bonus etc. Hit a Royal on Reflection in March 50 cent machine. Won $2000 tax free

My husband and I usually spend a lot of time playing slots on Royal Caribbean.

 

We have an upcoming cruise on Infinity. In the past, we have not had enough wins in Celebrity casinos to justify spending a lot of time there. Has anyone won on slots in Celebrity casinos?

We always take $2000-$300 on a 10 day cruise for entertainment in the casino after dinner. If you don't go to casinos this may seem like a lot of money but it's only about $100 a night for my wife and myself ($200 total) for some entertainment. Always hoping we don't lose it all.

Machines are tight no doubt about it. In March on the Reflection I hit a Royal on 50 cents Jacks or Better for $2000 (no tax). My wife was playing a penny slot a few machines down and at the same time hit it for $600. We couldn't believe it! Yes early in the cruise. You never really win you just borrow their money for a short time. It did take any pressure off for the rest of the cruise and came home with $$. Find later at night after 10:00 p.m. is better.

ST. MAARTEN - (cont)

 

The cruise port in St. Maarten was very nice. Wide open with the requisite diamond store & t shirt shops. There was a bar in the middle of it all. Not sure I'd want to sit at that bar, surrounded by pavement in the heat of the day when you could enjoy a drink by the pool on your ship or walk to a beach.

 

All the private cruises were met by the 'sandlot' parking lot & the cruise ship ones just a little closer to port. It was all very civilized and anyone we talked to was most helpful. No harassment at all.

 

We were directed to wait in the shelter of a tent - there were two large white tents by the parking lot - for our Party Bus. Other people were waiting for their tours in the same area. A number of others just walked into town or to the beach. We also noticed that vehicles were driving on the right side of the road. We met one woman waiting who didn't look like she was anxious to party. But who am I to judge? She may have enjoyed herself. There was also an older woman with a cane. I was really wondering what she was doing doing on a Party tour. She was actually great. Cruising with her daughter and she enjoyed every minute of our tour and didn't hold anyone up.

 

The bus arrived right on time. I think it was 10?. I didn't save the literature but I remember that they were on time.

 

There were 4 employees on the bus; the driver, the bartender, the trainee and our tour guide Juicy. The trainee and the bartender are in this photo. She looked somewhat horrified much of the time or maybe just nervous. I guess the bartender also acted as the DJ.

 

There were about 15 passengers. Mostly from the Reflection, but at least 2 or maybe 4 of the people were from the Silhouette. Three couples were from Australia. Much less inhibited than us Canadians and I've always heard that Australians know how to party. There was also a young couple from California and the Silhouette. By the end of the tour, they were fast friends with the Australians and were probably wishing they could stow away on the Reflection and extend their vacation.

 

 

 

 

Juicy - Our enthusiastic tour guide on the right. Ken really wanted a t shirt but all they had available were XL.

Maris, looking at the trainee on your tour reminded me of an old line from an old movie she looks like she is sayin "Who Dat, that says Who Dat, When I say Who Dat? " Please don't come up with racist things about me ...it's just an old funny line

Bill

You will love the suite life! Last month we did first time in a Suite (Sky Suite) Will never go back to Aqua again (loved that too). Michaels Club was great! When we were in Aqua we would always go to Martini Bar before dinner. On a 10 day cruise never went there once!! MC every night! Plus you meet ppl that are dining in Luminae. And a butler too? God, I think I have become an elitist lol. Booked next cruise on board during cruise Sky Suite Edge...that is over the top for us!! When we were going to book our next cruise, that place was busy. Mentioned this in MC and they had MGR of future cruises come down to MC with a lap top to book us. Embarkation and debarkation are also smooth through MC

 

ENJOY

Just one more note about debarkation. Went to MC sat around and had a coffee. Finally went to Concierge and said we would like to get off but there was a line of at least 500 ppl outside MC. No prob she said. Opened up a back secret door of MC and with a sign in her hand escorted us to the top of the escalator. When we got down to main terminal I was told to get a porter. He went and got our luggage put all including carry ons on the cart then escorted us through customs (Nexus helped). Then once outside there must have been 200-300 people waiting for taxi. Not us!! Porter wheeled our luggage thru to a waiting taxi. Best $10 tip I have ever spent. From MC to taxi was less than 15 mins. This was so easy.

Hi all,

 

Very excited to be sailing on the Equinox in June. This will be my first cruise in the suite class (at the time of booking, the perks that came with the cabin made a better value than booking my usual aquaclass) and I have a question. I know that the sky suite does come with access to Luminea, but I was just looking over the Equinox deck plans and the description of Micheal's Club said it was for guests in all suite categories except the sky suite... So, will we have access to the club?

 

Any advice appreciated!

 

Thanks!!

You will love the suite life! Last month we did first time in a Suite (Sky Suite) Will never go back to Aqua again (loved that too). Michaels Club was great! When we were in Aqua we would always go to Martini Bar before dinner. On a 10 day cruise never went there once!! MC every night! Plus you meet ppl that are dining in Luminae. And a butler too? God, I think I have become an elitist lol. Booked next cruise on board during cruise Sky Suite Edge...that is over the top for us!! When we were going to book our next cruise, that place was busy. Mentioned this in MC and they had MGR of future cruises come down to MC with a lap top to book us. Embarkation and debarkation are also smooth through MC

ENJOY

We were just there last month. We are not big beach people so generally just walk around town. Very disappointed - it is not at all the enjoyable experience it used to be. We expected some damage and there was - I would say maybe 70% back to 'normal'. That we expected so that did not bother us at all other than to feel bad for the people. But the shopping experience itself was very unpleasant. Barraged constantly by people hassling you as you walked past their shops. More than once was followed down the street by hagglers who do not want to take no for an answer, almost to the point of an altercation to get them to leave me alone. Of the shops back, the great majority are jewelry shops of which I have little interest. There are some others, but a much higher predominance of jewelry shops by comparison than before the hurricane. Not looking forward to going back there anytime soon, and this used to be one of my favorite ports.

Agree about people badgering you. Many unemployed have migrated to the Dutch side. They have no social welfare so are aggressive. Having been there many times I found it sad. Just not the same and think it will take them AT LEAST another year or so to get back. The one thing that bothered me was that we were there for 2 nights (Reflection) the second day was "Good Friday" I understand that this a religious holiday but everything was closed on that day! We wanted to spend more $$ to help them out but....just a few bars open. Not all water taxis operating. Think when you have ships in port (only opened the month before) and you have a short tourist season and need $$ you should open up all stores bars casinos etc. Not a good move by St Maarten and not a good move by Celebrity to have us there for 2 days when one of them was a holiday. Made the best of it and had great time. Wish we were back there instead of being in all this freezing rain and snow!

It was the Hilton Beach Resort - 505 N Fort Lauderdale Beach Blvd. The only complaint I had about our room was that it was on the north side of the building so we didn’t get sun on our balcony which wouldn’t have been an issue if it was warm.

Hi Maris! Enjoyed waving to you guys on the plane from TO lol. Sorry we didn't connect on the cruise. Hilton Beach looks very nice and will check it out next time. You said it was reasonable. We stayed at the Court Yard Marriot . Nothing special but great location. Just got Visa bill $900 CDN for 2 nights!! Yikes! Spring break rates. Thanks for the review. It was a great cruise!

Bill and Chris

I guess what I am asking do they carry the various networks (Tbs, TruTv, TNT, CBS). ESPN is not airing some of the earlier games maybe later.

NCAA really messing things up this year with all the different networks. Couldn't even get Selection Sunday show. Will be on Reflection next week end and not sure what we will get. Any games on CBS may be ok but Final 4 is not on CBS! If the ship has Direct TV we should be ok (don't know this). Otherwise I think we are SOL!

Great Tourney so far. Condolences to UVA and Arizona.

GO BEARCATS!!

They don't allow flip-flops but full sandals should be fine. Please get a pedicure if you're not going to wear socks.

LOL Leaving next week and got a pedi today. All my buddies raz me about this. A friend just texted me and asked what color polish I got put on. I don't care!! They don't know what they are missing.

We were in suite restaurant last week 2 people had baseball caps every night, when on of them removed his shoes we then requested another table far from the hillbillies

Talking about shoes (for men) do the shoes have to be closed toed. I always dress up. But would like to wear nice dress pants and shirt and nice (expensive) sandals. Do they look at your feet when going dining? we are in Luminae

I don't know if it's done on all cruises, but the last few I've been on, including Millennium last week, the casino would give you $575 in slot play for $500 paid upfront. This offer was only available during the first two days of the cruise.

Thank you Mad Man Will certainly look into this early on

Will be on Reflection in March and a lot of our night time entertainment will be in the casino (also daytime for March Madness). Read varying information on Celebrity still being connected with MLife (some say yes ...new contract, others say no). We are MLife members from going to Vegas (mostly Aria) and would like to get points if we could. Also varying info on how best to get comps on board. Heard at one time if you put up certain amount $$ they would give you a premium on top of that. Can my wife and I play on same card to maximize our points? Know this are many questions and only casino people would know

Bill ~ as part of our first night's package, we were assigned to Murano. The staff member who waited on us told us about the Chef's Table and asked us if we'd be interested (we didn't know Celebrity did them). I'd suggest stopping by Murano when you board and talk to the Maitre 'D. It was a special evening!

Thanks for the info, Anne. Our first time in a suite so maybe I will also check with the concierge in Michael's Club

Bill

DAY 4 - ST. THOMAS/ST. JOHN

Since Royal Caribbean/Celebrity began docking at Crown Bay(west of Charlotte Amalie), we’ve struggled to make the 9:00 AM ferry to St.John when we dock in St. Thomas. St.John is an annual land vacation destination for our family so we jump at any chance to visit the island and our friends there. Because of the devastation from hurricanes Irma and Maria, we were anxious to get back. Therefore, I arranged for the private taxi driver that normally picks us up at the airport to take us to the Red Hook ferry. I felt pretty confident if we were docked by 8:00 AM, we’d make it.

 

Well, I brought along a 24 x 36 (nicely boxed) canvas sunrise that I took on St. John a few years ago to give to our friends who lost their home, car, and everything else to Irma. We even brought along an extra roll of tape in case security needed to open the box. Boarding with it back in Ft. Lauderdale was no problem. However,when we went to get off the ship at 7:58 on Wednesday morning, we were stopped by security and asked what was in the box. I explained it was a canvas photo I had taken and was bringing for friends. “But we never left the USA,” I say. We were told to just wait. She said she’d have to call an officer who dealt with customs and boarder patrol. After about 10 minutes, another crew member arrives (no idea what she really did) and was told if we wanted to bring anything off the ship, she’d have to call Celebrity’s port agent who would have to escort us to the Customs office on St.Thomas to be cleared. As you can imagine, by now, I’m not a happy camper. We never left the USA; I wasn’t taking anything off the ship that I personally didn’t own so there would be no customs duty to pay; and now we probably were going to miss the 9:00 AM ferry. I looked at my husband and told him to just take the box back to the room. I’ll have to ship the photo to them, I suppose. And write my congressman about this totally insane customs rule (had it been smaller and fit it in a beach bag, no one would have said a word. Just plain insane.

 

About 8:20, we were finally off the ship and headed to the parking lot where our driver was waiting for us. There’s no going fast on the islands and I just resigned myself that we’d be catching the 10:00 AM ferry. However, as we got to the ferry dock at 9:02,the ferry was still there, and they hadn’t pulled the gangway. We ran in and the ticket seller had gone to the restroom. Really?!? I looked at the gentleman taking the tickets and he said “we’ll wait for you!” Definitely a new St. John. In the past, they didn’t wait for anyone.

 

Once on St. John, we met with our friend for breakfast at High Tide (so good to be back) and then walked to Mongoose Junction where my favorite shop on the island is located. Mongoose is a stone shopping fortress that didn’t sustain too much damage because it is so well built. We went into my favorite shop (Caravan Gallery www.caravangallery.com)because I always find wonderful things here for gifts. Since the hurricane, I had been communicated with the owner to keep on top of how the island was doing. Today, she showed me her beautiful garden (it was in great shape consider the hurricane damage) and then took us on a ride along the North Shore (where all the wonderful beaches are located).

 

The Trunk Bay overlook is still beautiful and the beach looked lovely. When we got to Cinnamon(the next bay after Trunk), the devastation hits you like a lead balloon. We parked and walked to the beach. The renovations that had been completed here in the last two years were no in shambles. The campsites were destroyed and trees were uprooted and on top of buildings. The building on the beach that had housed the Cinnamon Bay Museum was gone with the exception of one wall and three windows with wooden shutters. It’s difficult not to get emotional when you see this type of destruction. The beach looked pretty good and as long as you looked north, the devastation wasn’t as visible.

 

This was as far as we journeyed on our drive. After seeing Cinnamon, I knew I didn’t want to go further to my favorite beach in the world, Maho. I’ve seen photos and it’s heartbreaking. Wasn’t ready to see it destroyed.

 

Back at Mongoose Junction, we enjoyed a quick lunch at North Shore Deli (www.northshoredelistjohn.com). The sandwiches here are delicious, making it a great, quick stop to pick up a lunch to take to the beach. From there we hopped on the 2:00 PM ferry (we could have probably taken the 3:00 PM ferry but we didn’t want to miss the ship). We grabbed a regular taxi back to Crown Bay and were on board just after 3:00 PM. I was saddened to learn (but happy for those on the island) that Kenny Chesney showed up that evening for an Open Mic concert (these happy frequently on the island) and sang with our favorite island singer, Lauren Jones Magnie! They sang together in the exact same area at Mongoose Junction where we were a few hours earlier. It’s great that someone like Kenny Chesney cares enough about our Virgin Islands to truly make a difference in their recovery! Here's their performance outside Sun Dog Cafe

 

CHEF’S TABLE

Back on board the ship, we did something very special for dinner. We decided to try the Chef’s Table. Because we chose to go with Celebrity’s GO BEST promotion, we weren’t incurring any on board charges so this special treat seemed like a good idea. No question– it’s expensive at $279 per couple! But it was one of those evenings that we’ll remember for a very long time.

 

Limited to ten guests (there were only five with our group),we started in Cellar Masters where we were joined by the Maître ‘d from Murano along with the ship’s pastry chef (everyone loves the pastry chef!). After enjoying a glass of champagne while getting an overview of the evening, we were escorted through the main dining room and into the kitchen for the main dining room. Sure, we’ve been in the galley before, but this was different. It was the middle of first seating so we actually watched as chef’s prepared the evening meals and wait staff came and went with trays filled with food. It’s a totally different perspective to witness the galley in full operation. As we walked through, the pastry chef explained what was being prepared at each station. I was impressed to see that there was a completely separate prep area where they prepared special meals for people with food allergies (our daughter and son-in-law both battle them).

 

I was intrigued watching the chefs make the croissants from scratch and roll each of them by hand. We saw breads and desserts come out of ovens. Everything here is made from scratch (no wonder the break on Celebrity has always been great!).

 

From here we went up to the galley for Murano where our evening dinner would be prepared. A much smaller galley, of course, we saw the beautiful plates for our appetizers being created. We were then escorted into the wine room inside Murano where we were joined by two officers – the environmental officer for the ship and the health & safety officer. They made for interesting and delightful conversation throughout the evening, while Murano’s chef prepared masterful dishes (works of art, actually) for us, describing each course. A selection of fine wines was matched with each course and our sommelier, Zoran, did an outstanding job describing each wine. The meal consisted of a bacon wrapped scallop appetizer; a quail and goat cheese salad; a venison filet and lobster duo and a jalapeno chocolate mousse with a candied strawberry. I will post a link to photos once I have a chance to review and post them.

 

Needless to say, we were stuffed by the time we left. But what a lovely experience! Next up, St. Maarten!

Anne how and when did you book Chefs Table. We do not plan to do a lot off the ship this time so this sounds like an incredible experience at a reasonable price. Sounds so good.

Bill

We will be on our first celebrity cruise in May 18. This will be our fourth cruise and we've another booked for October this year.

Is it just me or is anyone else unsettled by cruisings archaic class system?

It sort of makes you feel unwelcome if you've not reached a certain station in cruising life:(.

Again , stop this crap. Same theme on other threads. SJW!!

Happy that celebrity has some dress standards unlike rccl, looking forward to Luminae this Saturday on summit.

What about men's shoes? Nice pants and shirt but what about expensive sandals with that? Or do your toes have do be covered?