Maverine

As I understand pmcue's post, he mentioned that Michaels was empty and had three bored people working there before it was transferred to a suite lounge. I have been on two cruises with S class ships and it was empty, too. And as my DH likes beer he was a little disappointed since they did not have all the beers on the menue. Michaels was a waste of space for most pax. Without the conversion to a lounge discussed that much on CC, I probably would not even recognize it. Will see on our next cruise. I'm sure everyone can find another quiet place to chat.

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We had fun in Qsine twice, once with a large group on the Silhouette and with a group of six on the Eclipse. But on the Eclipse one of the couples didn't understand / disliked the idea of sharing food, not choosing it all by your own. They even didn't wanted to try the options we ordered. They just wanted a regular three course menu. Regardless the rest of us enjoyed it but if your friends are not open to different kind of food or the different presentation it might be not the best idea to invite them. Better go to Tuscan f.e. Even with a larger group you can not try everything, way to much food ( like in every speciality restaurant IMHO) at least for me.

By the way, Celebrity managed the disappointment of the two that didn't liked Qsine in an amazing manner. They invited the whole six of us to another speciality restaurant for free!

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We had a very questionable "service dog" on our cruise in the caribbean a last year. Maybe the same mentioned above. A little white fluffy thing. I love dogs, cats and other animals but I was really put off when I saw it peeing on the lawn. Many people like to walk barefoot on the grass or sit on it. Nether thought about that there probably had a dog peed. People also reported that this dog was in the MDR and was obviously not well trained.

Many people reported this to guest relations but nothing happened.

If somebody is blind, deaf or needs a dog that is trained to pick things for him/her I would never mind. These dogs are usually well trained and don't affect other people (except for allergies). But just labeling my untrained pet as a service dog to take it with me on a vacation is more then selfish and cruise lines should be much stricter in avoiding this!

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Just good buffalo Mozarella and tomatoes. Had one slice in Positano, delicious.

I would also go for a topping of rucola and raw ham ( added after the pizza is baked). And it has to be a thin crust.

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Any type of wine except a small amount of high quality champagne

 

Whiskey

 

Chocolate from ANY country (walking close to a Godiva or similar store makes me dizzy with nausea)

 

raspberries

 

any seafood, fish sauce or shrimp paste, caviar, seaweed, et. al

 

milk as a beverage (in cooking is fine)

 

Any organ meat

 

dark meat of turkey or chicken

 

curry dishes

 

sweet iced tea, most desserts, real whipped cream - cloyingly sweet!

 

licorice or anise

 

basil, thyme, lavender, turmeric, carroway seeds

 

vinegar

Wow, that sounds as if you are really limited to very bland food. Please get me right, I don't want to be mean, I'm really sorry for you if you can not eat all this. But skipping desserts and chocolate might help to stay slim :).

My three would be:

Organ meet (tried almost every kind, but just don't like it)

Beets (only very few preparations by a really good chef are ok)

Green peppers (eat food that has it in but try to sort it out on my plate)

And I try not to eat horse meat because I have two horses and they are something special for me. I also won't eat cats or dogs. Oh yes and no scorpions or insects for me, but nobody offered them to me so far :).

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I'm pretty good in Math, too. So I will try to explain again. The price of a cabin on a cruise ship is not necessarily reflecting what that cabin is "worth" in an objective manner. Cruise lines use cabin prices to "steer" bookings. Especially with VH on HAL ships they use this categorie to fill up the ship by offering good deals short before cruising. VH usually is always guarantee and you will seldom really end up in one of the four VH ( most likely somebody will be upgraded from an OV to VH). We did a VH guarantee once and were assigned a great hump cabin. It was a handicapped state room, obviously nobody booked it. The bathroom was different (no tub, big shower) but we really enjoyed the extra room and would have never complained. Great cabin for an amazing price.

If VC is priced high they don't want anybody to buy this categorie, nothing more nothing less.

And like others said, they don't have to give you an OBC, not after final payment and not after upgrading you to a better cabin.

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We took a Celebrity transfer in NJ once. I found the transfer pretty late, long waiting in the hotel lobby. Wished we had taken a cab, but this was NJ not Rome. I think they pick you up a

little later to avoid the lines at embarkation.

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If you don't want to take the train there is a shared shuttle transport, I think RomeLimo. It's about 75€ pp. might be an option if you don't want to carry your luggage around.

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Did Zumba for the first time on the Silhouette in 2012 (inside in the atrium) and got addicted to it. Last year on the Eclipse they did the outside classes at the pool, it was fun but sometimes pretty hot in the afternoon and you had a lot of spectators. Both times the instructors were part of their entertainment team and both were pretty good. Hope to have Zumba in May on the Reflection but I definitely won't pay $ 11 per lesson. We have a lot of ports where we will do a lot of walking and I can go back to my gym at home after 11days. I love Zumba and I would like to do it on the ship but it won't ruin my cruise experience if I skip it for a few days. Just my opinion.

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Did a cooking class with a special chef (he had a Michelin star restaurant in the Netherlands) on Rotterdam two years ago. Very interesting, he even brought some special herbs etc. it was a very special menue with oysters, lobster and so on. Nothing you would find on the regular menue. Everyone got something to prepare and we all tried the results during the class and afterward in the restaurant. We got an apron and the recipes to take it home. Was well worth the money. They had also classes held by regular chefs of the ship preparing food from the dining room menue but we didn't attend those.

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Here's how the lines compare, in my opinion:

 

 

 

1) Much better food, especially in buffet area. Don't miss the omelet station in the morning.

 

 

 

2) Excellent service. (Yup, even more excellent than Royal.)

 

 

 

3) Clean, modern ships with extra special touches, like champagne upon boarding.

 

 

 

4) A courtesy tent on the dock on port days...drinks and and cold towels as you reboard the ship.

 

 

 

5) A refined passenger base that actually follows the dress code. Formal means formal, and smart casual means long pants, collared shirts, nice dresses, and no fudging. You will not see tshirts or shorts in the dining areas.

 

 

 

6) Nonsmoking ships! Yes, even in the casino. You can breathe! It's great.

 

 

 

7) No self serve ice cream machines on the pool deck. Instead, 7 flavors of homemade ice cream daily. It's fantastic!

 

 

 

8) Delicious pizza! (New Yorker here) We found Royal's pizza inedible.

 

 

 

9) No promenade, but many lovely, cozy lounges and bars.

 

 

 

10) Awesome specialty restaurants...don't miss Qsine! Royal has nothing like it. (Although Quantum will try.)

 

 

 

11) Celebrity's Select dining is a hot mess...not nearly as organized and efficient as Royal's My Time Dining does it. Book either early or late and request a large table...you'll get a more traditional experience without the long waits!

 

 

 

12) Both lines will upcharge. We spent $1,000 extra on our last 7 day cruise...yikes! But it was worth it!

Nr 7 is wrong. On S class there is at least a soft ice machine at the mast grill and another one at the Aqua Spa cafe.

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No problem with flip-flops, a lot of people wear them at the pool and in the Oceanview. You don't need formal wear in Blue, but a lot of people dress up anyway, especial when you go to a show on formal night. On smart casual nights a polo with collar and chinos are appropriate in Blue. Haven't seen a lot of jeans at dinner and never seen anybody in shorts in the evening ( but we have never had dinner at the buffet).

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Take AQ or a suite and go to Blu. You can get a decent steak there every day if that is what you are looking for. Like a lot of people we like the food in Blu very much. Don't care about escargot every day or white gloves. Food is so much to the specific liking of a single person. What's great for somebody might be gross for somebody else ( f.e. Escargot ). So for me leave the price where it is and if you want something "more" you can either go to a special restaurant or choose a "luxurious" line.

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Haven't been on the Reflection but on Silhouette and Eclipse and they are pretty much the same. There are yoga, Pilates and Spinning classes and maybe more but other than Zumba with a fee. If I remember properly 12$ per lesson. The gym on the other hand is nice, good equipment, well used especially on sea days.

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Yes, but priority boarding only means a separate line, sometimes the regular lines are shorter.

We were on board in almost no time, the regular lines were huge!

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Hopefully someone can answer this question, do you get priority boarding if you are booked in an Aqua class cabin on the Silhouette? I know it is available for Concierge Class but does not say if this is also for Aqua Class.

 

 

 

Thanks, Karen

We also got priority boarding. AQ has the perks CC has plus the special AQ perks.

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