Silkroad

Based on his sole Mast Grill burger experiment, DH suggests that your boyfriend pre-medicate with his favorite libation and have a follow up libation handy😂

GenerationX did a great side-by-side review a few months ago... Thanks. I had seen this. We book both Verandas and Sky Suites, and I don’t have the bias against reviewers who book suites that some people have. Even when staying in a suite, we spend most of our time in the areas of the ship open to everyone. I’ve read all reviews by @GenerationX I actually met her on our last cruise and she was as lovely, witty and fun as her reviews would indicate. I have also found reviews by @Ken the cruiser and @Bimmer09 very useful in the past. Since Ken has written many Celebrity reviews, I know we share some of the same requirements or tastes. When he recently wrote a review about his NCL cruise, I paid attention because I trust him to be a reasonable reviewer. Ditto for Norris, who wrote a wonderful comparison between Celebrity & Princess in the before times. There are other great reviewers, but they’re too numerous to list. Reviews are a lot of work. I’ve written only two, neither of them live, so I have great appreciation for anyone who posts a review here.

Thanks for this, but we are already well aware of the pros and cons of land trips. We’ve taken many 3-4 week land trips in Europe and North America. I would guess that many experienced cruisers do both cruises and land trips. We ourselves like appending land segments to cruises when feasible. We like both land travel and sea travel. For those of us who love sea days, land travel can never be a replacement. What I would find most valuable is a comprehensive, well written comparison (such as your own comparison of a land trip to a cruise) of Celebrity and a cruise line that most approximates the pre-pandemic Celebrity experience. Not just food, but everything, including the things they still do very well. I have seen many protests against changes to Celebrity’s product. I have also seen many posts suggesting other lines to try. I rarely see a comprehensive comparison of Celebrity to one or more competitors that was written by someone having recent experience on all lines compared.

See post #133

@MJSailors I’m so sorry about your husband’s fall (and the subsequent failures on the part of the golf club’s staff). I’m also sorry that you have caught Covid. @Water709 I’m sorry you and your husband also caught Covid, and I’m glad you were able to begin a course of Paxlovid. I wish all four of you a swift recovery. I also hope the rest of your 40th year together will be filled with happiness.

Sounds like a good call. We haven’t booked it for our upcoming Norway/Iceland and Ireland b2b on Apex for that reason. I am considering it for our Mediterranean cruise on Beyond next May. We love Eden. We book it every time we book a cruise on an Edge class ship. I’m thinking about booking it for two nights on our cruise to Hawaii next autumn (on Edge).

I don’t order burgers when we’re out. My DH said his was “pretty good”. He’s an engineer, so translated, this means “meets requirements”😂 Having been able to secure an ice cold Leffe Blonde helped, I’m sure🙂

DH just informed me that his Mast Grill burger wasn’t appetizing before, during, or after eating it😂 He’s never ordered another one.

I’ve not yet booked dinner on the Magic Carpet (aka Dinner on the Edge) because it’s very weather dependent. On Edge in particular, it’s a challenging space for dining if there’s any wind at all (such as when she is underway instead of docked). I haven’t yet been to Alaska, but personally, I wouldn’t book the venue on an itinerary that is rainy, windy and/or cold. For me, the wind is the biggest issue, because it can blow food and drinks over or off the table entirely. BTW, on Edge, wind can be an issue at the Rooftop Garden Grill too. The MC is a fun space to have a drink, and we’ve had no problem hanging out after nursing a drink when it hasn’t been crowded. The Magic Carpet bar is also open at night (excepting nights the MC is being used for dinners). We’ve also hung out at the rail when the bar hasn’t yet opened (unless it’s roped off) for sail in or sail away.

Until recently, we’ve had to book a year or more in advance in order to try to “defend“ our scheduled holiday from constantly changing work deadlines. We also sought the lowest cost and the most appealing cabins for our budget. I booked Edge (before she was launched) the morning the schedule was released. That was a leap of faith, a new ship class and a new cabin type (Infinite Veranda) for a 15 night TA😂 We’ve booked several others more than a year in advance, and we’ve booked three within final payment. We book NRF deposits only. All but one deposit falls under the old policy, so the most we’d lose if we had to cancel would be $200. Our current bookings have us departing: July 2023 - booked on board October 2021 December 2023 - booked April 2023 April 2024 - booked on board April 2023 September 2024 - booked February 2023

Thanks for the warning, but I’ve never purchased a Future Cruise certificate or Sail Later option. I’ve never trusted it, partly because nobody has been able to explain how these options affect travel insurance. Since I live in a state that prohibits the sale of annual travel policies, I must be very aware of potential pitfalls. I book onboard for the reduced deposit along with any other benefits on offer at the time.

And general ship experience is very much a factor for us. In our experience, Celebrity has kept the public areas of their ships scrupulously clean. They have possibly the most restrictive smoking policy of any cruise line, in that smoking is restricted to three or four outdoor areas only. The staff & crew have been largely pleasant, helpful and professional, even during times when they were stretched quite thin. These qualities are important to us. The quality of the live music is also important to us. The production shows are fun, but they don’t make or break a cruise for us. For Broadway shows, we can drive to BWI, hop on a train and head to NYC for a few days. Food and beverage quality is also important to us, so I would say our summer b2b and December cruise should give us plenty of time to assess how Celebrity meets our requirements on an E class ship in Europe and an S class ship in the Caribbean.

I hope you’ll post a review comparing the two lines. I’ve read posts by Celebrity cruisers saying Yacht Club is fabulous, but I’d like to know if the rest of the ship is equally appealing.

I hope it’s the latter!

Uh oh. My bad. I’ve worn the same four outfits to the dining rooms too often. They’re bribing my DH (chocolate cake) to keep me in our cabin😂 Seriously now, I’m guessing they haven’t gotten around to removing them from the menu.

Well said. That is exactly how we feel. I will say that given the complaints I see about every other line we would consider, I’m not sure where we would go. Though we also enjoy land trips, we both love being on the ocean or the sea.

I agree with you, though I realize that some posts on this thread (including a couple of my own) are meant to be humorous rather than hyper critical. Information about changes is useful for us as well, as we sail in late July. Though I find a couple of the recent menu changes annoying, we wouldn’t cancel our upcoming b2b or any of our five future cruises solely because of these changes. However, depending upon our experiences (food, beverages, and everything else) during our 21 nights aboard Apex this summer, we may decide not to take advantage of booking a future cruise onboard.

Great idea. Hadn’t seen this one. Thanks! I always travel with a small bottle of concentrated all purpose liquid soap. I use Campsuds, but there are several other good brands. I’d used it on camping and backpacking trips, and later used it on our three week rucksack/train pass honeymoon in England, Scotland and France. I use it to hand wash clothes I dare not send to the ship laundry. We use magnetic hooks to hang a clothes line in the shower overnight. Our line has Velcro loops on each end that can sometimes be attached to the shower frame. Otherwise, we use the magnetic hooks.

Following 😎

Sounds great! Alan and I board Apex in a few weeks for a Norway & Iceland/Ireland b2b. Your latest review will be a very welcome resource for us. I hope you and Carol had a wonderful trip. Cheers! Michelle

I assume you are asking about Celebrity ships. There were a couple threads on this in April. Luggage Valet did restart at Port Everglades in April, for Equinox only. Not sure if it’s still offered, but I’m sure someone will confirm.

@MJSailors thanks for clearing the confusion about @Bimmer09. The Princess comment was plausible because Norris & Carol have also sailed Princess. We’re booked on a Norway/Iceland & Ireland b2b departing next month. I’ve been checking roll calls & port threads for information about the ports, which are all new to us. I noticed Norris’s posts on one of those threads. He did indicate that he would start a review on this board after he’d returned home. I wonder if he’ll be surprised to see his welcome committee on this thread😜

Have you sailed Azamara during the past two years? Do you find their food quality better than Celebrity’s? I wonder if they’re immune to the changes and cutbacks being reported on other lines. I ask because I’ve never been able to convince myself (or my husband) that Azamara is a good value for us. That could change if we learn that Azamara has a better product that isn’t constantly eroding.

Congratulations! I’m so happy you’re taking a break before immersing yourselves in your careers.

@TraderSam I hope you’re on board and having a wonderful cruise! Please let us know how things are going when you have a chance.