SingingMom1

Hi All,

We just made it into the top ten most-viewed threads of all time!

Am I proud, happy and excited?

Yep.

Is there plenty of sea glass left to discover?

Yep.

 

Thanks to all for reading and contributing, and...

Have Fun!

That's all "thank's" to YOU, for posting this info in the first place! I am very excited about searching for some sea glass, but would not have had a clue without seeing this thread.:)

Exactly what Shay204 said - That's thanks to YOU!! I can't wait to get back to Bermuda now and get some sea glass. (....and rum swizzles... LOL):rolleyes:

I agree. Where children are brought up doesn't matter nearly as much as how they are brought up and by whom. I say this with 30 years of experience as a teacher.:rolleyes:

Absolutely. A major problem we encounter on trips is the parent that checks their responsibilities at the airport. :rolleyes: The mindset of "I'm on vacation" trumps everything else in their heads, and they forget they brought their children along for the trip!

I love children, I have one, (I WAS one once!) and I have worked with them. It can be hard work, but parents need to teach children how to behave and then LEAD BY EXAMPLE! ;)

--- our butler was Elvis and our steward was Clarence, both were fantastic. In the MDR, we had the Select Dining option. We ran into some issues on our first night there (the 2nd night because we were in Normandie the first night, a very nice suite perk)..

We were in a Royal Suite June 12 and had Clarence as our room steward. I absolutely ADORED him!!! He was an angel!! :)

Thanks...with my mom (71) me and a few of the kids, I think the taxi would be our best bet. I guess we would have to walk back though...or do you think the taxi would pick us up in say like an hour or so???

Can't hurt to ask! They are very courteous and would probably do that for you!

I remember on my first trip with a friend and not with my family, I insisted we go to Saturday evening mass in Freeport, Bahamas. Once we picked up the cab in front of the resort and told him where we were headed, he merrily drove and drove and drove! I was getting really panicked when we arrived to this precious little church in the MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. :eek:

I said, "Um... how are we supposed to get back???" He said - "I'll be here"

Sure enough - after mass (at which I prayed the entire time - God, I came to church for You, PLEASE get me back to the resort! :p lol) we stepped out of church, and there was our taxi driver, reading the newspaper! :D

I made a list - and it was for me. lol I wanted to make sure I asked all the questions I had so as not to go looking for him! I wanted to make certain I knew how the outside hot tub and the inside jacuzzi tub worked, how to adjust the air, turn on the tv, dvd, and computer, and if I could have cushions for the lounges. I asked if that bar set up was indeed "included" or if I opened that very generous-sized bottle of Absolute and Dewars, would I be charged $100 each. lol (I was clueless that the bar set up came with the Royal Suite!)

I left him a note one afternoon to thank him, that my daughter enjoyed the special cookies he left, and after that, each day there was a selection of cookies along with the tea sandwiches.

I think lists are good for both sides. :p

Me too......and I thought only woman gave directions using this type of reference or landmark.:D

Hi Singing & IHeart,

Normally I give directions using bars and pubs as landmarks, but there aren't any, otherwise I would. So "trees with big roots" it is!

Have Fun!

It slays me! :D I just love it! And, by the way, it is EXACTLY how I give directions...:rolleyes:

"Trees with big roots" ... I love it! :D

OMG! If they can't find it now, the must be visually impaired. Great work!!!

 

(Could you possibly go there and collect some and leave a little pile so they won't have to bend over to find it???)

:D Good one, Catl331!!!

Thanks SO much for these directions, 32n64w! Now we MUST MUST MUST get back to Bermuda SOON SOON SOON!! :p

Another poster asked twice regarding: does the Butler keep the food 'hot' when serving it in courses OR does he - is the food just served 'lukewarm' instead?

I wld also really like to know this please.

 

Really hope someone knows the answer.

 

Thanks in advance..:)

Last week we had dinner in our Royal Suite - food was lukewarm and served all at one time. However, we DID order later in the evening, so that might have been why it was delivered soup to nuts at the same time.

Just there on Wednesday - ran out of lounge chairs, had to rent low beach chairs. Even ran out of the colorful bigger umbrellas - gave us a smaller Heinken umbrella. lol Had to keep it closed most of the time, as it was getting windy.

Found the changing rooms and rest rooms rather dirty, but the beach is GORGEOUS. The ocean bottom was like walking on silk. :)

Just returned yesterday.... have tons of laundry and errands to tackle, but will be back in a few days with a review and some butler service reflections... If you have any specific questions in the meantime, I will try to answer if I can. I know I appreciated any help or suggestions I received prior to our cruise in a Royal Suite...

I hope to get to the review within the week... :)

That's why we don't sail Celebrity anymore. They use to always provide a Catholic Priest, but changed their policy about two years ago.

 

We sail HAL exclusively because they always have a Catholic Priest on board.

 

Catalina56

That's good to know and something to consider in the future....

It's a shame that they discontinued the practice, except for holiday times. Luckily we are on a Sunday-Sunday cruise, so are heading out now for our local Saturday evening mass... :)

I booked Disney 11 years ago Saturday-Saturday cruise, not realizing there was no priest aboard. I spoke to our parish priest, who gave us "dispensation" as we weren't purposely "missing mass", but that it was logistically not possible. We decided to go to Friday morning mass the day before, just to start off vacation on a good note.

If we were in a port on Saturday/Sunday, we would have looked for a Catholic church. One of the things we enjoy as a family on vacation is to attend mass in different locations. We've met such lovely local people and viewed some beautiful churches while doing this. :)

Ok....you had me at mimosa.......food is really secondary.....:)

We leave on Sunday!!! Looking forward to my morning mimosas!!! ;) Hope we have a friendly butler. lol

Thanks for the e-mail bb530. You are a great source of information and a very enjoyable read!

 

I am hoping that in the Bose system that they may allow for auxillary inputs so that we may bring our ipod (with all of our music) and plug in.

 

Thank you diligaf51n for the tip on croissants......certainly a strong coffee, some berries and some fresh croissants will be enjoyed at our dining table on the verandah in the AM. :)

...and I'm thinking cappachino (or mimosa!) smoked salmon on a toasted bagel, and waffles with fresh berries on our verandah.... :D

(DD is still holding out hope that she'll be able to have some crepes... lol)

I don't mind sharing, just not on a big old thread. Send me an email, and I'll send you a copy to have a laugh at.... I get really specific.

Will be sending you an email requesting this info, as well! ;)

The butler service on Celebrity is truly makes our cruise. Just back from a btb on the Century and were fortunate to have "Dan the Man" as our butler. He was great never intrusive but always available.

 

He introduced himself and gave us his cell phone number within minutes of our arriving in our suite. He explained what kinds of things he could do for us and invited us to call him for anything else we could think of. He immediately took care of switching out the champagne for wine when I mentioned I didn't really care for champagne. On turn around day he automatically took care of it while we met with the other btb guests to be escorted through customs.

 

We also enjoyed appetizers and drinks many evenings since our dinner wasn't until 8:30. We took advantage of insuite dining a couple of nights and it was fantastic. He set it up on our balcony with tablecloth and flowers. The first evening we had dinner on our balcony, I had gone up to the aft bar for a glass of wine (beverage package can't be used with room service) when he delivered the first course. With the second course, he brought me a bottle of wine! He just winked and said no need to interrupt your dinner to go get wine.

 

We loved talking with him and found out that he had retired to his homeland to become a chef. When economic problems caused his employer to cut his salary 40% he came back to Celebrity. With his experience as a chef, we found his menu reccomendations valuable. Often, he brought a second entree that he thought was especially good and he was right!

 

There were lot's of little things that he did that made our trip special. He brought wonderful padded cushions and extra beach towels for our loungers, took clothing for pressing, delivered dinner by course and many wonderful breakfasts. He was always pleasant, seemed to be nearby to open the door to our cabin and just a great guy to talk to. He and Helen and her assistant Mario, our room stewards were by far the best team we have ever had the pleasure of sailing with.

This will be our second time cruising - our first time with Celebrity and our first in a Royal Suite. Your "butler" description sounds fabulolus!! Now I REALLY can't wait!!!

With all that outstanding service, what type of gratituties did you leave? We have ours "prepaid", but I can't help but feel we need to give a butler more.... Thanks for your help!