virginialucy

I'm a total newb on here. I used cruisecritic forums a lot to help plan our recent sailing aboard the Summit, and I thought I'd give back to the community.

 

I have almost all the menus we came across onboard, as well as all the daily schedules (yet to be scanned in).

 

Maybe one of the veterans could suggest what the best way to post these would be?

You should be able to copy and paste your pictures from the photo viewer on your computer into the message box. This usually turns out best because they are nice and big so people can read them. Another option would be to upload your pictures to a photo sharing site and post the link.

I love olives, so I always ate those, but my BF and I always found the chips to be not that good. I'm not quite sure if they were soggy or stale. I'm thinking maybe they sat under the cover too long before they were delivered to us.

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I noticed this issue too when I did a mock booking for the cruise I recently booked (I booked through a TA.) At first, it gave me the option of using the resident discount OR booking with the Pick Your Perk promotion, but when I got to the end, it changed the price AND indicated that I would have the promotion. I know they aren't combinable, and I wasn't planning on actually booking through Celebrity's website anyway, but I thought it was very odd that the system would allow you to book that way and figured that Celebrity would never honor it since the terms of the promotion are very clear. The resident rate was a good price so it would have been nice if it worked that way, but I used the Captain's Club upgrade and that was a pretty good deal.

Hope the OP doesn't mind me butting in here.

 

A question about the smoothies .... is it possible to get green smoothies on board? {like spinach+ fruit}.

 

I have the classic alcohol, and I'm thinking about upgrading to the premium alcohol, just to get the benefits of the premium non-alcohol.

 

I am a coffee snob. Is the coffee at Bacio better than the MDR? Could one get a coffee and take it into the MDR for breakfast?

Here's a link to the drink menu at Aqua Spa Cafe: http://www.thepreismans.com/ecarib_reflection_menus.htm#aqua

They have green juice which has spinach, but none of the smoothies have spinach or any other vegetable. Maybe they could make something off-menu for you if you asked.

As for coffee, Cafe al Bacio doesn't have regular brewed coffee, only espresso-based drinks. You can get a drink there and take it into the MDR (or anywhere else on board) but I've heard of people getting cappucinos/espresso/etc in the dining room at dinner so I don't think it would be a problem for breakfast. I'm hardly a coffee snob but I found the brewed coffee in the MDR to be very "thin"...kind of like it was either watered down or not enough coffee was used to brew it.

I discovered during my last cruise that I was much more comfortable and relaxed if I spent my days in a sundress or cover-up. I also noticed that for dinner I gravitated more toward dresses than separates because it was more convenient to throw on a dress and go. For my next cruise I'm going to be looking for dresses with pockets, since I'd like to have a place to put my Seapass card without having to take a wristlet everywhere or make my BF hold it.

Wow - so this is offered for free to teens but we adults now have to pay for a Zumba class. :mad: My children are well past the teen stage but a DJ is not someone I'd care for my children to emulate. Big sigh. Let's just hope we don't have to hear it.

I'm curious to know why you wouldn't want your children to emulate a DJ. Being a DJ is a skill like playing an instrument or knowing how to cook and some people are really successful at it. For all we know, some kid could go to this program and get really into it and become the next Skrillex (hopefully without the unfortunate hair.) Now, Skrillex may not be everyone's idea of music, but he's making money and the kids like him, so he's doing something right.

Remember it's called, "MODERN" luxury.

 

Don't think kids of today bring along their albums anymore.

I think you're the one who is behind the times. DJs don't use records anymore... they just fill up a MacBook Pro with all the music they'll ever need.

Here is a link to the Cafe al Bacio menu: http://www.thepreismans.com/ecarib_reflection_menus.htm#bacio

The espresso based drinks are $4.50. Since you said you like iced tea, they also have specialty teas available over ice for $5. They don't have regular brewed coffee at the cafe, but that is available at the buffet and through room service at no charge (I found it pretty weak though.) I haven't seen a good description of what is "premium" vs "specialty" coffee...some people say that specialty coffee is the stuff in the "Other Favorites" and "More Favorites" sections of the menu, but some people say they've been able to get those things under the Classic package.

I think soda is about $2-2.50 plus tip.

Does Celebrity have an anniversary package too?

 

Our cabin had great decorations for out 25th wedding anniversary on RCL thanks to our kids but I can't find these on Celebrity's site and I would be interested in organizing for some friends who will be celebrating their 30th in December.

 

Please provide a link if you have one.

Here's a link to the anniversary packages: http://www.celebritycruises.com/bonvoyage/cruise-special-occasions/honeyanniv

The roll call for my first cruise was great, if a bit too chatty. Several people take the same cruise every year, and they were very willing to share information about the ship and ports. Also, someone kept a Google spreadsheet with sign-ups for excursions, cabin crawl, etc so that stuff didn't clog up the roll call too much.

The one for the cruise I took earlier this year started off okay but then totally went off the rails. One port was St. Maarten and it was just after the chikungunya virus started to spread rapidly there. One member who was particularly obsessed with the disease constantly posted about his health problems that would be exacerbated by the disease, and how Celebrity should cancel the port, and how he was going to stay shut up in the ship so he didn't get the disease. The same person also posted around 4 or 5 times a day to remind people to sign up for the slot pull he was organizing...and posted the info AGAIN whenever anyone signed up along with the list of participants.

Lots of people wondered why the roll call never really grew and there was no discussion of tours :rolleyes: I think the mosquito talk scared everyone away!

The only exceptions to the beverage package in Qsine are the specialty drinks that you will see on your Ipad. They are not available with any package including the Premium Package, even with the small upcharge of anything over $13, and this included the Sangria. This was the policy as of my last visit in October, and one that I think Celebrity needs to reconsider. All other package rules apply.

This is absolutely not true. Of course those drinks are included in the premium package (except the sangria if it's served by the pitcher.) I've dined in Qsine on both my cruises and had the premium package both times, and my BF and I both ordered drinks from the menu on the iPad, and they were included. Where are these crazy imaginary policies coming from? :confused:

My husband and I celebrated my birthday at Summit's Qsine on June 2 and were very surprised (OK - shocked is more like it!) that our server told us we could only choose 4 items for dinner from the iPad menu. My husband questioned her, because someone at the pool had told him it was unlimited choices, but she reiterated that we could only choose 4 for dinner.

 

The food was good; we had a good time with only the 2 of us; and we're glad we tried it after all this time, but decided it wasn't worth $45 pp, plus tip (the Manager told us we were expected to tip as we would at any land-based restaurant), plus drinks (our Premium Beverage packages were not accepted in Qsine).

None of this is correct. You can choose as many menu items as you want, you can tip however you want (or not), and beverage packages are definitely accepted!

Oh...and what is the Xpress Pass? Sorry, I'm really new at the Celebrity thing! :o

The Xpress pass is your "ticket". That's all you really need to check in (other than appropriate identification, of course.) Don't bother printing out the e-doc booklet.

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On my last cruise on the Silhouette I was in one of the public bathrooms. I found a stall door that was unlocked and as I opened it, I saw a woman inside. I apologized and closed the door, and she apologized and said she didn't know how to lock the door. Which I would have believed if it wasn't just a knob you turn like almost every other public bathroom stall (it wasn't one of the handicap accessible stalls.) After that I was VERY careful in opening bathroom stall doors in case I ran into someone else as "confused" as she was.

Not on the cruise but shortly after, I was at a hotel relaxing on the terrace with my BF. There was a group of people on the terrace that had also just been on the Silhouette. I overheard one woman in the group say that the cruise line should have provided transportation from the port to the hotel. Um, they do...if you purchase a hotel package through the cruise line. They were pretty dismayed that they had to take a taxi and apparently thought the $20 or so they paid was highway robbery. It's not like it was far, it was only from Port Everglades to Fort Lauderdale beach!

I think on the Summit last year I saw a bowl of seasickness meds on the table in the waiting area of the medical center. You might check there too.

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Thank you for your responsiveness on this. Question: I don't see any of the frozen drinks like Pina Colada, etc. listed. Hopefully that is just an unintentional omission and all of those are still included. The list someone posted earlier had Strawberry Daiquiri's listed but not Pina Coladas, which led to much confusion. Now I don't see either.

 

 

But if they're going to post a list, it should include drinks like this to avoid confusion.

Celebrity SHOULDN'T have lists of cocktails that are or aren't included in the beverage packages because that's not how it works. The price of a cocktail is dependent on the spirit(s) that's used to make it. If you order "a pina colada" they will make it with Ron Roberto or whatever the house rum is, and that will fall under the Classic package. Just about any cocktail can be constructed with the spirits included in the Classic package. I saw the list of cocktails that was posted on another thread, and I think it was irresponsible of whoever created it because it's causing all sorts of confusion, and it only listed about 30 cocktails out of the thousands that are out there.

Yes, but the question remains: HAS CELEBRITY INCREASED THE ALLOWED LIMITS PER GLASS?

 

IF it remains $8 for a glass of wine, none of the wines on cruise nuts lists are included. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Not actually true. I counted 6 wines (not including non-alcoholic) priced at or below $8.

You missed my pitch. If you prepay for 10 haircuts w/shampoo and blow dry for $30 each and learn after the shampoo that you are charged an extra $12 for the cut (think Zumba), or an extra $2 (think Bistro), or you learn the 10 haircuts don't include the shampoo or blowdry (think drink package), don't you think you should get those services based on what you paid rather than be billed the up charge (read as Celebrity is doing).

The problem with your argument is that Celebrity's cruise contract doesn't promise that there will be free Zumba, or that certain beverages will always be available in a particular package, or that prices of onboard restaurants won't change. Celebrity can make changes to all these things and more because their contract states that onboard amenities and services are subject to change. You've essentially only paid for a cruise of X days in at least the cabin category you paid for, and if these are not provided, then you can reasonably expect compensation. And remember, these are all optional extras, and the whole point of them is to make a profit. You don't have to go to Zumba. It's not like they suddenly started charging for the buffet. I'm not saying you shouldn't let them know that you are dissatisfied with the changes, but expecting them to cough up cash to cover the extra money you spent is a little out of bounds.

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I'd love to do breakfast in the MDR, but in two cruises so far I don't think I've even been awake when they stop serving breakfast there (I blame the drink packages. :p) I wish they'd extend the hours...the buffet is usually way too crazy.

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Here's a link to the review I read that mentioned the Red Sox cruise:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=41401762&highlight=red+sox#post41401762

And this post has the dailies from that cruise which show a handful of baseball-related activities, which were open to everyone:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974967

All the promos really do begin to make me only want to book if there is something strong like a beverage package as an incentive.

I'm feeling the same way about the promos. I'm considering my next cruise and wondering how long I'll have to wait to see if a promo comes up for the recently released cruises and if it would even be worth it to book if I have to pay full price for the beverage package (prices on the cruises I've been looking at would have to drop some, and considering that the current promo doesn't even apply to them, I'm not sure they will.) For my BF and I, beverage packages are pretty much a requirement when we cruise, and Celebrity offering them for free (among other reasons) is keeping us booking with them, but at some point you figure they have to stop.

It reminds me of Belk, a local store in the South, that constantly puts coupon flyers in the newspaper for two day specials. I find myself postponing shopping there on the other five days even when I'm in that neighborhood because I figure I'd be paying too much.

There was a Red Sox fan cruise on the Silhouette this year. I think it was the January 12 cruise. I suggest you search for reviews of that cruise or for Red Sox and see what people had to say. I think I remember someone mentioning that they were on that cruise and it wasn't that noticeable. I'm not sure if such a cruise would draw tons of Pats fans...it's not like Tom Brady is going to be there. I don't think it's going to be the tailgate atmosphere you are envisioning. It's not a direct comparison, but on my recent cruise there was a group of bikers. Not a huge group, but enough that you knew they were there (the motorcycles being loaded on/off in port were a dead giveaway.) But it wasn't as if they turned the Ensemble Lounge into a biker bar, or that they were causing mayhem or being obnoxiously drunk. They were dressed much more casually in the evenings than many passengers, but they behaved like everyone else.

I only started cruising last year, but before my first cruise I came across this essay:

http://harpers.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/HarpersMagazine-1996-01-0007859.pdf

I always think of this whenever I read posts about the good old days on Celebrity. I think some of the things are a bit over the top (was it really necessary to have TWO crew members escort people to their cabin?) but some things might be nice if they made a comeback (flambeed desserts in the MDR maybe, although I could see that being a fire hazard.)

Yes, there is pizza on the room service menu. They definitely have pepperoni and cheese. I don't think they had any other varieties. They are personal sized pizzas (about the size of a dinner plate), not full size. They're pretty good...at least I thought so after a long day of using the free beverage package!

I had a dining credit from my TA on my recent cruise. I suspect that it just goes on your account as OBC, although I can't be sure since my TA didn't actually send the credit over. In the end, Celebrity took pity on me and gave me $75 of OBC, so I assume that's how it would come over normally.

BTW, take some documentation listing all the perks you're supposed to have! It could come in handy.

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I have an actual answer!

I'm a Classic member too and was on the Silhouette about a month ago. The Classic coupons include a 10% discount on laundry. It says on the coupon that it's for a minimum of $10. I sent out $6 worth of laundry and didn't attach the coupon, but my room steward put it on there for me and they accepted it.

Overall the coupons aren't that exciting. The only other one I used was for a free scoop of gelato.

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