Silkroad

2 hours ago, hcat said:

soups on X have usually been good..hope that is still the case.

I can report that the soups were still very good to excellent on our recent b2b in Norway/Iceland & Ireland. I chose soup for lunch or dinner on most of our 21 days. On the night there wasn't a main that appealed to me, I had no issues when I ordered three starters instead (shrimp cocktail, soup and salad).

We return to lovely Silhouette in December, so I'm very much looking forward to your review. I'm so happy that your husband is well enough to travel, and I hope you have a splendid holiday.

Though I love being on the water, I too must plan for the possibility of sea sickness (which limits Move Up options for me). I pack enough chewable Bonine (meclizine, which the ships carry in non-chewable form) for five people😂 I take Bonine before leaving port the first time, and each sea day thereafter (unless the sea is calm). This has served me well on most cruises, including one from Southampton. 

Wishing you calm seas and an excellent cruise experience.

13 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

Our experience regarding the mini-bars in Sky Suites has been when a butler would tell us that we could consume the water, sodas and beer in the mini-bar the butler made it clear that it was a special favor offered to us -- and the price list in the mini-bar confirmed that it was a special favor.

Exactly. This is what several of us have posted since Mini-Fridge-gate began. Our first SS included zero mini-fridge items. It didn’t even include Luminae because that restaurant opened a few months later. We had to ask our butler to remove the mini-fridge items so we could gather our own items to store within it. No big deal. That’s what we do when we’re in Veranda/Concierge/Aqua cabins. Despite having been offered mini-fridge sodas, beers and waters of our choice (within reason/if available) beginning in our SS in December 2019, I have never seen this published in official Sky Suite amenities. IMO we’ve had an unexpected bonus, but the bonus has ended. 

13 minutes ago, kwokpot said:

On European sailings everyone wants late seating/dining, just the opposite of Caribbean sailings. 

That wasn’t true on the two European cruises I took this summer. I would say there were more people who preferred to dine late than I’ve seen on Caribbean cruises, but certainly not everyone. Regardless, the OP successfully selected late dining over a year ago. The Maître d’ should have honored that choice.

Your steaks look like the sorry specimens I was served on Apex last December. In addition to being largely fat & gristle, mine were not cooked to my specifications. I requested medium-rare. Mine were medium-well🙄 On that b2b, it was obvious they had some staffing issues in the MDRs. I eschewed steaks for the rest of our trip. Happily, our beef choices were much better on our recent b2b aboard Apex.

Your experience being summarily moved from fixed to anytime dining is unbelievable. I would think they’d be happy to have people who prefer late seating. I hope you’ve got it sorted. This reminds of a live review by @Norwaylady during which she and her DH were changed from anytime dining to fixed! I think she was also on Infinity. I do hope the rest of your cruise is issue free!

5 hours ago, cruise47 said:

Can Aqua guests  used the MDR for lunch embarkation ?

No. Sorry, I see this has already been answered. 

17 minutes ago, Torfamm said:

I absolutely understand you, it was a festive touch that  had little to do with the actual “champagne”. For me though, dropping my bags in the cabin and then enjoying a relaxing drink on deck has been a good replacement.
 

You might find that you don’t mind the changes much at all. I think it’s worth giving it a chance.

You beat me to it! Great minds😂

16 minutes ago, Clemmnj said:

I guess I will miss more of what the embarkation champagne represented. I will miss that feeling of excitement that it gave you. That feeling of luxury. You save and plan as the excitement builds and then you step on board to a glass of champagne with your whole trip ahead of you. So I will miss that special feeling I guess.

I understand what you’re saying, but as @Georgia_Peachesposted, the bubbly is available in Café al Bacio.
 

What we love much more than the bubbly upon boarding is the ability to immediately stow our carry on bags in our stateroom (an option that wasn’t available before 2019). Once we accomplish this, we check in at our muster station, secure some lunch & adult beverages, and drink to another wonderful vacation together. This last bit is what fills me with joyful anticipation.
 

As I would post almost exactly what @jelayne posted, I’ll simply say that DH and I just spent 21 nights aboard Apex, and we had a grand time. We experienced nothing that would make us cancel our future bookings. In fact, I just made final payment on another Celebrity cruise. Sure, Celebrity has changed. It’s been changing the entire time I’ve been cruising (since 2006). All the mainstream cruise lines have changed. Ditto for airlines, hotels and our local restaurants.

I hope you have a wonderful time on your cruise. Cheers!

3 hours ago, micruiser2002 said:

I'm sorry but not sure what good it is to get reviews of cruises 20 years ago.  The issue with all the negative posts recently is the fact that recently, Celebrity has been making what are seen as negative changes.  I have cruised Celebrity for many years and always loved them but I am concerned with some of the changes.  Specifically the new menus, sorry they do not look like anything close to past Celebrity standards.

I can’t speak for the OP, but I didn’t think this thread was meant to be a series of reviews. I thought it was intended to give all of us an opportunity to reflect on the positive aspects of our experiences on Celebrity cruises. 

1 hour ago, kathy49 said:

Actually some of us prefer the simple entrees.  I think they attempt to cater to all tastebuds or you have the option to dine elsewhere.

Surely it’s not necessary to have two of the most simple entrees - both fowl - on the same evening. The main dining room should provide appealing choices to all palates on a given night. Why should anyone be forced to pay an extra fee to “dine elsewhere”?

Thanks for sharing information about your journey. We haven’t sailed an M class ship since 2017, so I’m looking forward to your impressions. Lovely photos! Bon voyage🥂

22 hours ago, hcat said:

yes but who will remove and fold the  bed dressings.. not to mention the Hoppen Pillows?  

 

we also like fresh towel service..where used towels are removed when the bed is made ready...

 

Why are we giving up niceties of the vacation?...not exactly a hostel yet!

I agree that evening turndown service is a lovely tradition, and it’s worth keeping, but I am capable of removing the extraneous bedding if necessary. What I would miss most is having the towels freshened. DH would miss the chocolates. 
 

There is a lot of speculation about potential cuts and changes. We both know that a lot of speculation and rumor proves unfounded. I’m trying to focus on the confirmed changes as I consider potential modifications to our current bookings.
 

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

I just find Retreat passengers bring up that you have to book YC , Heaven, Oceanic , Viking etc in just about every thread 

Really? I am sometimes a Retreat passenger, but more often not. I have not brought up the cruise lines you mentioned. 

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

Many of us go back and forth between non suite and suite accommodations and many questions and topics are pertinent to anyone cruising Celebrity, specialty dining, excursions, entertainment, flash sales, price drops, policy changes, CaptIns Club benefits etc…..

This!

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

If you opt in to Go Green the Cabin Attendant asks if you want the primary cabin service in the morning or evening.

I’ve opted for Go Green for several cruises without having had the attendant ask me when I wanted my primary cabin service. 

1 minute ago, hcat said:

so we'd be making up  our own beds??

For evening turndown service? The beds are made in the morning.

I’ll confess that I’ve wondered if turndown service will be reduced or cut altogether. It’s a pleasant tradition, but it must be quite time consuming. 
 

A little side note for those who aren’t receiving pillow chocolates. I’ve been puzzled by sporadic pillow chocolate delivery until last week. The day after DH and I returned from our Norway/Iceland b2b, this mysteriously appeared on our bar😂

22 minutes ago, basenji56 said:

Definitely worth it since you get a pool without any riff raff from steerage. 

Oh no! Three of our next four cruises will be in Aqua and Verandas. Does this mean we’re riff raff?😱😂

IDK. I’ve always met people who had diverse travel & vacation backgrounds on Celebrity cruises. Like @Jose Zalfadilla DH and I had long gaps between our early cruises. We traveled in Europe, North America and the Caribbean, took beach breaks (not AI) and mountain hiking trips. Personally, I prefer diversity to homogeneity, and I enjoy Celebrity’s evolving customer base. That said, I draw the line at cruises that seem like keg parties😜

We met a couple of new cruisers on our recent European b2b. I guess I wasn’t surprised because DH and I were first timers on our first cruise (a Mediterranean cruise on Celebrity Millennium). We also met people who were new to Celebrity, but had previously sailed Royal Caribbean, NCL, Carnival, P&O and HAL. Others had only taken river cruises before trying Celebrity.

And here I was, thinking we were paying too much for our SS on Ascent’s spring transatlantic😂 I guess we’d better enjoy it while we can, since we certainly wouldn’t pay 21k pp for a SS! DH just reminded me, “with no butler” 🤣

I wish Celebrity would send this survey to me! They send me daily marketing emails, so they certainly know my email address.

From the Captain’s Club Terms and Conditions posted on their website:

Discount on drink package upgrade

Members may purchase a drink upgrade from the Classic Package to the Premium Package with their discount pre-cruise, by calling Captain's Club at 1-800-760-0654. Discount does not apply to upgrades purchased once onboard. Discount does not apply to promotional drink packages, including promotional package upgrade. Not combinable with other offers.

When disembarking Apex last week (in Rotterdam) we were required to vacate our suite by 7:30. We were the in the last group escorted from the Retreat Lounge at about 9:15, and we were off the ship by 9:20.

On all our recent cruises, we've had to vacate our suite by either 7:30 or 8:00, and we've had to leave the ship by 9:30.

I don’t think you’ll have any problem moving from T25 to T29. The Palm Garage is the recommended garage for both T25 and T29. When Celebrity has a ship at T29, a complimentary shuttle runs continuously between the Palm Garage and T29. After disembarking Ascent, roll your bags to the Palm Garage to board the shuttle. You may have a short wait for the shuttle to return to the garage with passengers who’ve disembarked Reflection.