chrismakris

Hello all,

We are a couple in our mid 40’s and we have been cruising together for a few years now and we are starting to find that our regular cruise line is not meeting the standards we are accustomed to from them. 
 

We are looking at switching lines and have contemplated switching to a higher end line and cruising every 18-24 months instead of once a year. 
 

Siversea has caught our eye and we have a few questions from the experienced Silversea crowd. 
 

1.  What is dress code like at dinner? We’re a little more business casual than dressed up but not a dealbreaker. 

2. Are the included shore excursions of good quality? We like a wide range of activities from beach getaways to learning about destinations we are visiting 

3. Is there entertainment on board and what can we expect?

4. Quality of food?

5. Tipping?  Is it included in the price?  I don’t see it included when doing a booking. 
 

Im sure I’ll have more questions but thank you in advance and any advice is greatly appreciated. 

Just got off the Solstice doing the itinerary. It was a great time and great itinerary. 
 

We did the Singapore to Hong Kong route and if I could go back I would do the reverse way. 
 

We found that the long day in Hanoi at the end  of the cruise was a little much even though there was a sea day after as the last day. 
 

As for excursions, you’re not in any actual cities and will have to travel to get somewhere.  
 

Also I found there’s more to do in HK and would be better for a pre cruise stay over Singapore.

Any chance there was a bartender named Andre on the sailing? When we sailed the Solstice in December He was mainly in the casino bar when we were on it. 
 

Hoping he’s on there again. 

Under the:
Intended temporary residential address in Viet Nam

we put Celebrity Cruises

the next box  asks us to input a “City/Province”

What do you put in?

Thanks in advance 

What is the best currency to bring with us for the following places:

Singapore(4 days pre cruise)

Thailand(2 ports)

Vietnam(3 Ports)

Hong Kong(2 days post cruise)

Thanks in advance

1 hour ago, talljules1 said:

All I noted was that the excursions were cheaper than the price I had originally paid. The discount is set to the price you would pay if you booked on board. Nonetheless, the prices had gone down and we saved money - enough to pay for an additional excursion.  So, for us, it was a win!  But I'll agree with you that you always should look closely at the deals on offer.

 

 

Not trying to be disrespectful. Hope it didn’t come across that way. But we’re definitely taking the savings.

Just noting that it’s a little shady to call it 35% off after you have raised the prices. 

I actually have a different take on this. 
 

We have an Asia cruise coming up in November and have not booked any excursions as of yet. My GF had jotted down ones she wanted to go on. 
 

We were happy to see that a few of the ones we wanted to go on were at the 35% off price however we noticed that Celebrity had raised the prices by about 15% on these excursions as well. (My GF had jotted down the original prices)
 

The real savings is about 20% on these  excursions. While we’re happy to save the 20%, the promotion is a little deceiving for excursions. 

On 3/27/2023 at 5:10 PM, 1JockeyGirl said:

Looking to book a deluxe veranda on decks six through eight or prime concierge balcony cabin on decks nine through twelve on Celebrity Eclipse.

 

These are mostly cabins with “slanted’ balconies such as these on starboard side of deck 10:

1044

1046

1106

1108

1120

1122

1124

1126

1194

 

Any advice as to which to pick or avoid? (Stbd or port side, decks 8-12, have similar in same locations.) Any info about size, privacy, views, etc, appreciated.

 

Big concern is if a forward face of the slant such as 1044 or 1106 or 1194 are “windy’ when underway like a forward balcony/standing at the bow???

 

Thank you in advance!

My partner and I have had room 1120 on deck 10 the last three cruises we have been on as well as our next one coming up. 
 

You can still see forward pretty well. We like it cause it’s right by the elevators and another plus is that the door is a few extra feet from the hallway so people aren’t walking right by your door. A little less noisy. 

14 hours ago, terrydtx said:

When I looked at the Duty Free liquor on the ship, it was priced at about the same prices I pay at Total Wine & More here at home and then I have to get it home when flying home.

We’re Canadian so the prices on some items are cheaper than buying at home. 
 

Our two 1 L bottles of Crown Royal were cheaper than 2 750 ml bottles

We always end up with about $800 in OBC from X.

We use it on 3 things:

1.  Upgrade drink package(you’re in a suite so it doesn’t matter)

2.  Specialty Restaurants. I can’t justify paying upwards of $60 to eat at another venue on the ship
3.  Duty Free liquor 

We normally don’t spend too much on anything else so these three things eat up all our OBC. 
 

If it’s a longer cruise then laundry is another option. 

We’ve done 2 sailings on X since Covid. One in July on the Silhouette and this past  December on the Solstice. 
 

What I have noticed is that there is a definite cutbacks on certain things, I didn’t notice any drop off in the 2 of the most important things and that was the service and food.  
 

We’ve never done room service and I don’t eat lobster because of an allergy so I can’t respond to those issues. 
 

I have noticed an increase in pricing that is making me wonder whether to continue cruising but since I’ve come to realize that since I will be an Elite Plus after my next cruise I can drop down a category to veranda and with my perks still be way cheaper than an all included package in concierge.

Somas long as Service and food remain the same we’ll probably stick with Celebrity. 

23 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

It's possible they haven't released rooms yet; you mention only 10 accessible rooms left, how many total do they have?

Not sure. But those are the only rooms left which seems odd for a late November 2023 cruise. 
 

That’s why I was wondering if there was a scheduled dry dock or maybe somebody is maybe planning to charter. 

16 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

I believe what you're asking is when will the refurbishment called "Revolutionized" resume?  Unfortunately they're currently on hold presumably due to missed revenue during the pandemic.  Ships can "dry dock" for maintenance and perhaps at the same time, make minor changes such as new carpeting (which can be done while sailing) in some areas or have the hull painted.

Yeah. I was concerned that it was going to be in during our cruise. 
 

I guess it’s either really popular or someone has booked up a ton of rooms. 
 

I mean, there’s not even a roll call for the cruise. 

Anybody have any idea on any upcoming dry docks for ships?

Just checking because for our Solstice cruise in late November 2023 it only has 10 accessible rooms left. 
 

Seems odd for it to be sold out so early but maybe it’s just popular. 
 

It’s the only thing I can think of.

Does anyone have information on when Celebrity is releasing their next round of new schedules?

I know it’s coming up soon. 

Leaving in 2 weeks and are just curious for those that have sailed in Europe in the last few weeks whether or not you can book 3rd party excursions. 
 

We are looking at the following countries:

Italy

Croatia

Montenegro

Greece

Phoned Celebrity and they were no help. 

Going to be sailing in 2 months and booking onboard for 2023. 
 

Just curious if we can book for other people as well who aren’t sailing with us while we’re on the ship.
 

Don’t care if they get anything extra. 

We always use it for specialty dining on sea days.
 

We don’t really shop on board and we always have the premium drink package. We usually do all our excursion through 3rd parties. 

For those currently sailing, what are Celebrities excursions protocol?
 

Going to the Mediterranean in July.
 

We have booked our Italy excursions through Celebrity for Italy(based on last year’s protocol)but we’re wondering if we would be able to explore on our own instead of being in the Celebrity bubble when done our excursions or at a non Italian country?

We know it varies from country to country but we are getting to that point where we have to start considering what we’re going to do. 
 

Thanks in advance

Depending on how you like your steak cooked I would avoid this. 
 

Because this will be a thicker cut of meat any cooked temperature above med rare risks drying out the meat.

Also, if they do not bring the steak up to temperature before placing it on the grill then you really run the risk of having a steak that is cooked on the outside but rare in the middle(unless you like your steak cooked that way)

This has happened to me a few times including at fancy steakhouses

Thanks everyone for your input. I decided to do the May 7th cruise for now. Depending on what goes on. 
 

Stay safe. 

Hello all. 
 

I feel kinda weird asking this question with everything that’s going on. 
 

With Celebrity announcing their European schedule I was browsing a couple of Norwegian fjords cruises. The ones that caught my eye were in late May and mid July. 
 

My question is what month would be better to visit. 
 

Thanks for your time and keep safe. 

I really can’t see RCL going bankrupt. I went over their limited financial data provided by financial websites and they should be okay cash wise to survive a few month disruption to their business. 
 

If this continues then I see a delay in the next wave of new ships first, followed by layoffs and if that doesn’t stop the bleeding then you might see the start of rumblings of bankruptcy. 

Right now on our December 2020 sailing for Australia by my rough count we have approximately 525 rooms available(give or take for guarantee rooms, but guarantee rooms are selling at the same price as if you were able to choose, so probably not a big discrepancy)

 I think there a few more cabins available than previously.
 

I know the longer this goes on the worse it is going to get for the industry(ships being quarantined, families not wanting to let their most vulnerable members go, the general misconception that cruises are dirty and it’s easy to get sick on them). 
 

If people don’t book and some continue to cancel which will probably be the norm, we’re probably going to be looking at sailings with barely 50% capacity. 

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

I'm also booked on 4 cruises on Eclipse starting in Late November and then re-positing to Australia.   I plan on playing it by ear.    IMHO what happens would be like any of us trying to figure out how severe the Flu Season will be next year.  

 

I have booked my Air via Flights by Celebrity and is fully refundable up to final payment then only $200 to cancel reservation. 

Hey Jim. 

Definitely playing by ear as well but for a trip that we’re going to take maybe only once in our lifetime gotta have a backup plan just in case.
 

We’re currently slated to spend 3 days in Singapore before we head to Australia for a week before the cruise.  Would Australia ban people coming from Singapore if there’s an outbreak there?  Maybe, but I’m not waiting until 2 months before the cruise to start planning that out. 

I’m sure the Australia cruise will go ahead. 
 

I’m guessing they let those Asian cruises know by mid/late July.  I’m guessing they’re going to need at least 2 months to try and sell as many cabins as possible.