Silkroad

I’m late to the party, but I’m caught up😊 Thanks so much for sharing your voyage with us! You’re giving me a restorative break from our owners’ bath renovation, which has been plagued with many issues and delays😬 How I wish we could meet you in the WCB for a cocktail or two😋 Cheers! 

I’m enjoying your live review very much indeed. Your reviews always provide the perfect blend of information and photos, and this is one of my dream itineraries. Thank you for sharing your journey with us.

9 hours ago, mac_tlc said:

I did hold a SS for 1/4/26. Total with prepaid grats is $5,475.

 

Come on @GenerationX, @KKB, @Silkroad, @Mrs_Tiki, @Irishredhead21.

 

 

mac_tlc

Just saw your post and checked prices. Now $8,376 without gratuities, which is more than I’m willing to pay for a 7-night cruise in the Caribbean. I’m glad you got a great price!

25 minutes ago, serene56 said:

Is this only for elite and suite passengers? 

No. When available, it is available to all passengers.

@Irish clare Thank you! I am in the US, and I was able to cancel my previous upgrades and take advantage of this sale for three of my upcoming cruises. This is significantly better than the 15% Captain's Club discount I had gotten on my original upgrades.

16 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

12 and 10 nights.

Based on my experience, you should have received $200 ($100 for each leg).

11 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Great information. Thank you!  So, you go to the b2b meeting and recheck in.. do you actually got off the ship or is this all done in the meeting?

We didn’t go through the initial boarding process again. Instead, we met at a designated area to be officially checked out (not sure of their term for this) for the first cruise and checked in for the second cruise. During this process, our sea-pass cards for the first cruise were collected by security and we were given new sea-pass cards for the second cruise.

To answer another question, we were required to disembark the ship (into the terminal) and re-board a short time later when we had a b2b turnaround in Fort Lauderdale. We were not required to leave the ship when we had a b2b turnaround in Amsterdam. Each country has their own security requirements, but these are the only two processes I have personally experienced.

36 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

We got the $100 discount for our B2B Edge cruise for Aus/NZ in January when we booked in February 2022 and the same SS cabin for both.

How long were your cruises? We received two $50 discounts for a b2b consisting of two 7-night cruises. On our last b2b, we received a $100 discount for our 12-night cruise and a $50 discount for our 9-night cruise.

7 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Yikes!  Is there anything stopping me from taking my luggage to the next room myself or do I have to let the room attendant do it?

I agree that it’s best to let the cabin attendants manage the switch. They know who is moving, and they coordinate with one another. We had to change cabins for the first time on our recent b2b. It went very smoothly. As directed, we left clothing on hangers, and packed everything else in our luggage. We kept valuables and items we thought we might need before having access to our new cabin with us. We used our cross body travel bags for this purpose. We left our packed & locked luggage in the middle of the room and exited our cabin for the last time before breakfast. After breakfast we reported to the b2b meeting location. Once we had obtained our new Sea Passes, we enjoyed roaming the nearly empty ship before enjoying celebratory cocktails🍹🥃 When we entered our new cabin, we found our clothes neatly hung in the closet, and our luggage lined up near the veranda. 

Safe travels! May your flight experiences be so smooth that you find yourself at your destination with cocktails in hand before you know it😊 

7 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Good to know on both counts. Thank you. We are on a b2b and got no discounts 😞. 

That’s a shame! I wonder if your TA can get them applied now. 

There’s a $100 b2b discount for cruises 10 nights or longer, and a $50 discount for cruises less than 10 nights. TAs and CVPs should know to get the discounts applied, but not all reservation reps seem to know about the discounts. Note: I’m not sure if there’s a minimum cruise length for the discount because my shortest cruise was 7 nights.

On 10/14/2023 at 6:10 PM, DingoMom said:

On Oct 4, I had a nasty fall and broke my leg in three places. The surgeon fixed me up 9 days ago, but no amount of sniffling, bargaining, or promises persuaded him that I could go on the cruise. I have spent this week canceling all of our trip plans - not a fun task.

I’m so sorry to see this! I was extremely disappointed when I had to cancel a cruise in a corner aft Sky Suite on Reflection two years ago. Mine was a much less serious fracture (metatarsal fracture which required a boot) but I was advised not to fly so soon after the injury. I hope you have a swift recovery🌸 I agree that having one of Charla’s live reviews helps one’s outlook during recovery. Ditto for the coffee and the wine (and lots of cheese lol). 

Wishing you and Jeremy a splendid cruise! 

1 hour ago, tigervixxxen said:

One other thing I’ve noticed is that the date on our sea pass cards is for the day we debark the cruise. Is this an error or something they’ve changed recently? The cards work fine but don’t want it to be an issue getting back in port. 

Our sea passes displayed only the embarkation date through early 2022. From December 2022 through August 2023, our sea passes have displayed both the embarkation and debarkation dates. If yours displays only the debarkation date, that is a very recent change.

BTW I’m very much enjoying your live review. We dream of sailing this itinerary. I hope you have a wonderful voyage!

1 hour ago, ladylemondrop said:

If any of you are UK based and enjoy the smaller ships, please take a look at Fred Olsen, they have two new ships, Bolette & Borealis (formerly Holland America) and the food is fantastic!  Having cruised with both Celebrity and Fred Olsen many times, I can honestly say that service, food standard and prices of drinks etc is better on Freds.  Some photos from our last cruise on Borealis - menus for reference, no upcharging!

Though I’m not UK based, this line sounds intriguing. Thank you for bringing it to our attention!

Since not all ships have the WCB, I’ve been thinking about what I like at the other lounges. At the Eden Bar, I like the Piña (Del Maguey mezcal, pineapple/fennel shrub, simple soda). At both the Passport Bar and the Rendezvous Lounge, I like the Loss of Words (Don Julio Blanco, Amontillado sherry, Cocchi Americano, simple and lemon).

• While I have a Premium Package on our next cruise, I intend to try a couple of gin based cocktails. One is Celebrity No. Ten at the World Class Bar (Tanquerey Gin, fresh raspberries, lemon juice, crème de Violette, ginger ale). It’s a gorgeous cocktail, but I was already sipping my second Azteca when the woman on a nearby barstool ordered one😂 The Last Voyage at the Ensemble Lounge sounds interesting too.

DH likes bourbon and scotch whisky based cocktails. He casts another vote for the Zacapa (Celebrity now stocks Brugal instead) Old Fashioned at the World Class Bar. He also likes their Highlander (Highland Park, French herbal liqueur, Cognac, fortified wine).

5 minutes ago, Cruisegoer said:

So you think Emiril Lagasse is going to put his name on a poorly tasting dish? Who's to blame then, Emiril or Carnival? How many Carnival cruises (and how many nights cruise) have you taken to believe their food is so terrible?

Oh please. No chef is a god. Do you think all the chefs who lend their  names to cruise line food vet every dish on every ship? I haven’t ever sailed Carnival, nor did I say I had. I didn’t say their food was terrible. I said I’d wait to hear how the food on the new menu tastes. 

1 hour ago, Pinboy said:

I can't remember reading one post saying " I cancelled our upcoming cruise(s)" !

Lot's of " threats " , but not one actual cancellation.

We actually did cancel one cruise, but not because we wanted to do so. We had a wonderful b2b (TA and Greece/Turkey) booked on Beyond for 2024. We were amongst those affected by “Beyond-gate”. We were able to move one booking to Ascent, but we didn’t want the subsequent Ascent cruise. We haven’t cancelled the remaining cruises, but I won’t consider booking more until I think the new management is done moving ships to different regions. 

1 hour ago, Pinboy said:

I could care less what Carnival offers in the dining " experience ". 

LOL---- Maybe if Celebrity " introduced " the bellyflop contest, the drink 14 beers through a funnel contest, the Congo line around the pool, the dancing Waiters with baked Alaska on their heads ,and the finale-- the singing of " We Are Zeee Worl " ( We are the world ) there wouldn't be such negativity ?

Ok. You almost made me snort my coffee because I was laughing so hard🤣 Thanks. I needed that laugh😎

4 hours ago, Cruisegoer said:

I just can't believe what I'm reading!

https://profcruise.com/carnivals-new-dinner-menus/

Nice looking menus, even without the uncharge items. I’ll wait for reports about how the food tastes. 

Azteca at World Class Bar

1 hour ago, sanger727 said:

 

Refilling one fridge is still less labor hours than all the sky suite fridges being refilled. Especially now that it's just one team handling all of them. 

Stocking the Sky Suite fridges with our individual beverage choices (without charge) was never an official policy. Celebrity is now cracking down on this unofficial practice. Why should Celebrity allocate more labor hours to make up for discontinuing an unofficial practice? 

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

And where less costs you more!!

All kidding aside, I haven't seen many recent Celebrity cruisers post their own recent experiences on lines that are comparable or superior to Celebrity (at the same cost or slightly more). I have seen many people post that they've booked future cruises on other lines, but that tells me nothing valuable when it comes to committing my own - finite - supply of holiday funds to another cruise line.

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I wonder how long before Celebrity bans taking unopened bottles of water, beer and soda out of the Retreat Lounge? Then also locking the self-serve coolers when the lounge is unattended. I can see this happening after they notice a huge drain on the lounge's inventory. Celebrity seems to be hell bent on squeezing out every cent they can for more profit, why else would they crack down on "rogue" butlers who in the past provided their suites with free water, soda and beer?

If people start emptying the contents of the Retreat fridges into their tote bags, I would bet it won't be long. Consider that there are usually two servers in the Retreat Lounge. On port days, they can barely keep the fridges stocked with waters. While having a cappuccino one morning before heading out to the port, I saw one woman clear out the last cans - estimate 10 or 12 cans - from the fridge. This was in August, on the last cruise before the changes. The servers, who were already running around filling peoples' coffee and morning cocktail requests, then had to take time to refill the fridge. It's not just about inventory. It's also about allocated labor hours.