jannam

Hi Cruise a holic!

We are actually considering that 1/4/15 cruise on the Eclipse, too. It is on the short list for our big next trip. It would be fun to cruise with you guys again.

This is one thing I was thinking about, too. Since our two preferred airlines - JetBlue and Southwest don't go to Miami, we would need to think about this, too.

Good luck!

On our recent Silhouette cruise, we had a similar situation, but it was resolved quickly by guest relations. One of the nights in the dining room, I was charged for my after dinner Cappuccino. My guess is that since the Wine Steward waited until the end of dinner to run my card, that the two charges were too close to one another.

But I noticed it before we left the ship and they reversed it for me.

I found it much easier to find wrong transactions on the TV display of our charges where they don't show all the $0 charges from the drink package. The printout they give you had so many $0 charges it was hard to find the actual charges.

I disagree with the recommendation that you upgrade to the Premium package, based on your expectation that you are unlikely to drink more than an occasional glass of wine.

 

Here's how the math works out:

 

Cost to upgrade from Classic to Premium ($11.50 X 2 X 7) $161 (Please note that I am taking other's $11.50 per person/day cost for this as I could not find any documentation of it on Celebrity's website.)

 

Cost to Order Premium NonAlcoholic Package: (20 X 2 X 7) + 15% = $322

Beverages in Premium Non-Alcoholic package include: "Enjoy nearly our entire selection of sodas selections on board including all canned and fountain soft drinks from Coca-Cola, premium bottled water from Evian, Perrier and San Pellegrino, specialty coffees and teas, non-alcoholic frozen drinks and smoothies, Red Bull Energy Drink and specialty waters from Vitamin Water."

 

Cost to Order Premium Water Package: (14 x 2 x 7) + 15% = 225.40

 

Gratuities: $12 X 2 X 7 = $168 for balcony and lower category staterooms Or

 

12.50 X 2 X 7 = $175 for concierge or Aqua class staterooms

 

Or

 

$30 X 7 = $210 (Maximum cost of gratuities Celebrity will cover for suites. This leaves $.50 a day per person for you to pick up.)

 

 

Bottom Line:

 

1. Your best savings are to get Celebrity to convert the Classic package to a non-alcoholic drink package for each of you. This gives you maximum value for your perk. I do not know if they will do this. Has anyone else managed it?

 

2. Failing that, your best savings is to get the $200 OBC and purchase the premium Non-Alcoholic beverage package at a cost of $322. This is a net cost to you of $122.

 

This is better than paying $161 to upgrade to the Premium Alcohol package, assuming that you do not drink more than $39 worth of wine or other mixed drinks on your cruise.

 

Hope this helps.

This break down is awesome and I think it gives the OP a lot of the info they need to make their decision. The reason I suggested upgrading from the classic packages is the occasional glass of wine with lunch and dinner. That adds up quickly and hits that $39 faster than you might expect.

But only the OP knows how much wine and such they are likely to order.

I agree with Cruise a holic (hi Wendy!). We took the classic package and then upgraded it. We found it was great, not just for the alcohol, (we like our Martinis) but lattes and fresh squeezed OJ at breakfast. Perrier from any bar when I wanted one, big bottle of Evian when getting of the ship to go into port. The upgrade was so worth the $11.50 per day for us.

If you just want to lay out and not go in the water, then Adrenaline Beach is large and has some nice sun beds at the end. But if you want to swim, then either Nellies or Columbus Cove. Nellies is closer, but smaller and more crowded. Columbus Cove is larger, but farther away from the pier.

I was on the Silhouette last week and they did not have the Grand Buffet Brunch on the last sea day. But they did have the white and dark chocolate fountains in the regular buffet on the last sea day along with some ice carvings and a few other nice things.

Just off the Silhouette on Sunday. I am a Classic member.

Coupons are still paper. There were coupons for a small amount off laundry, internet, etc. Only ones we used was for free Gelato.

Don't wait until the last night to use your gelato coupon like we did. There was a long line and they were running out of some flavors.

I know that when I ordered our luggage tags a couple weeks ago (still haven't gotten them, yet) There was a not saying you couldn't order them if it was less than 11 days until departure.

I am hoping ours arrive in the next few day, if they don't no big deal. We will print them from our cruise docs instead.

Thanks again for all the info. If we end up using the Wine Steward as much as I hope to, we will tip appropriately.

Thanks for all the info!

Thanks for the quick replies!

We have the premium beverage package on our upcoming Silhouette cruise and plan to take advantage of this with some wine pairings at dinner. I have never really ordered wine in the MDR on a cruise before as we normally are budgeting our drinks and save our drink money for yummy frozen drinks and martinis later in the evening.

My question is, if the Sommelier assists me in selecting wine each night, should I tip them? And if so, should I tip nightly, or at the end of the cruise? Also, how much is customary?

Thanks for any guidance.

I didn't vote for any of your choices. If I had to vote it would have been: I enjoy loud music in some places, like where the party band plays dance music, but enjoy softer music or background music in the lounges, atrium and dining areas at other times.

 

You're closest selection included loud music by the martini bar and pool. I don't like loud music by the martini bar at all since it destroys any chance at good conversation. I like semi-loud music at the pool when the party band or other appropriate live entertainer is playing but wouldn't want loud DJ or loud recorded music there.

I am in agreement with this. Loud music in the disco is good. If I want to dance, I want to hear the music. But the Martini bar is not one of the places I want loud music.

We are also on this cruise. I am not surprised it is Inside rooms that were still available since the 123 Go deal didn't apply to them. I am hoping it isn't a big group of college kids. Where did you find out that info?

For those of you on this cruise, have you joined the roll call and signed up for the connections party? We have a few comedians on our roll call making it fun.

does anyone know the size of the storage area over the bed. Closetmaid first says 12by 12 but they are 10+ by 10+.

All the videos and such I have seen say the 12 x 12 closermaid cubes fit in the over bed cabinets four on each side.

We are just bringing one for each side to hold socks and underwear.

 

The pull out canvas boxes look great. What are they called on Amazon? Do they sell them on Amazon UK as I would love to buy some.

On Amazon, search for "Closet Fabric Drawer" or "Fabric Cube". ClosetMaid is the main company that makes them in the US. Not sure if they are available on Amazon UK.

Thanks everyone. Truly appreciate it. Where did you get closet maid collapsable bins?

I bought some on Amazon, but I buy a lot of things on Amazon because I have Amazon prime. I have also seen them at Target.

Awesome review so far. You have me chuckling at my desk while reading. We will be sailing the same itinerary on March 23. Can't wait!

We are on this same cruise on March 23rd. I look forward to reading your review.

We loved that Port. We went on a Royal Caribbean sponsored tour up to an organic coffee and pineapple plantation. They suppy to all the hotels, restaurants and resorts. The are a million types of pineapple and you get to taste them all. I had one I loved to death and you can't get in in US.... I miss it. Amazing, located up in the cloud rain forest, at an elevation whee they are growing Blue Mountain beans, tyou actually see the coffee plants, they make local food for lunch, see the farmers tending the fruit and the trees. Get an informational lecture for 1/2 hour. Van drove through a waterfall on the way there, get to see lots of local sites. The people in the mountains are poor, but very honest, safe and friendly. The most beautiful place I have ever seen , I did not want to leave. They have blue mountain coffee for you to drink, and ginger drink made from pineapple rinds, it is so good. On First trip to FalmouthI have also called Oh, I can' t say another name of a tour guide on here can I, Some one let me know, if it is legal?? This tour was personalized they took us into the mountains and we saw real life and real people, children going to school, and allspice trees and birds it was amazing. It is so beautiful and such amazing nice people outside the cities. Stopped for lunch at a jerk place, saw everything. They will customize for you, we were only 2 people. Please let me know if can say the name of the tour guide.

tcieyes, you don't remember the name of the excursion, do you? We will be in Falmouth on Celebrity in March and RC and Celebrity usually have the same shore excursions. But none of the ones I am looking at sound like what you describe. Thanks!

We are going out of Norfolk in June on the Carnival Victory. We found the Sleep Inn that is a few miles from the port offers a cruise and park deal. For one night plus being able to leave our car for the 6 nights it is going to be about $140. This also includes shuttle to and from the port.

I know the nice hotels right by the port ( Marriott, Sheraton) don't offer parking for the week. I have also read some less than flattering things about the Radisson on TripAdvisor.

We thought about just driving down the morning of the cruise (we live in Northern VA, just outside DC) but we decided to extend our vacation a bit since our cruise doesn't leave until Sunday.