1st Cruise: Additional Questions

[euro_101]

Hello, I am taking my first cruise ever, on the Reflection to the Caribbean and have some additional questions I have not been able to get answered by searching the forums. Any clarification is appreciated. Thank you!

 

1. OBC: it sounds like this will appear in my account by day 2. My question is - for multiple passengers, is the OBC in one pot or can you divide among passengers? If so, where can you go to have this divided?

 

2. We have the late MDR seating. Clearly it is best to arrive on time, but if others are late to the table, does this hold up serving the whole table?

 

3. From what I gather dining in the MDR is multi course. If you do not order an appetizer, do you then have to wait until the main course is served to eat? I am thinking about this more if you are sitting with a lg party. If you opt out of dessert, can you leave whenever even if others are leaving?

 

4. For formal nights, how long do folks wear their formal outfits for? Do you change after dinner, or do you stay dressed for the post dinner show and/or drinks, perhaps pre-dinner drinks? Seems a shame to put all the work into dressing up just for dinner. [i realize this is subjective and you can probably wear your formal attire for however long you want, but trying to get a general idea]

 

5. How does disembarkation for ports work with and without an excursion. Do you queue up? Do you get a number? If port time is 8a-5p, what time can you expect to be walking on land if docked - 8a, 830a?

 

6. Do you have to be back onboard 1 hour before sail time? Or just by the end time for a 8a-5p docking? Obviously better to play it safe, but I wasn't sure what context I read the 'be back on board 1 hour before.'

[omeinv]

1) If OBC is to the stateroom, it will appear on the account of one person. If you need to split it, Guest Relations can help. It's not a big deal. Both people involved just go tot he desk, with their seapass cards.

 

2) Late arrivals can hold things up. However, before too long your waiter will begin service for those present. It adds a layer of difficulty to the waiter's already difficult job, but they accommodate with their usual aplomb.

 

3) Again, your waiter will almost always work to accommodate special requests, but his job somewhat relies on things happening on a scheduled.

 

4) They used to specifically encourage guests to adhere to the dress code for the evening, and I would say most still do. However, a sizable number of people do not.

 

5) If it's a docked port there's seldom an issue. You just walk off once they announce the ship has been cleared. If it's a tender port you can get a numbered ticket, and wait until called, or just wait until "open tendering" is announced, and just go.

 

6) They will always announce and post an "all aboard" time. It's usually either 15 or 30 minutes prior to scheduled sail away. Ignore that at your peril.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Hello, I am taking my first cruise ever, on the Reflection to the Caribbean and have some additional questions I have not been able to get answered by searching the forums. Any clarification is appreciated. Thank you!

 

1. OBC: it sounds like this will appear in my account by day 2. My question is - for multiple passengers, is the OBC in one pot or can you divide among passengers? If so, where can you go to have this divided?

 

2. We have the late MDR seating. Clearly it is best to arrive on time, but if others are late to the table, does this hold up serving the whole table?

 

3. From what I gather dining in the MDR is multi course. If you do not order an appetizer, do you then have to wait until the main course is served to eat? I am thinking about this more if you are sitting with a lg party. If you opt out of dessert, can you leave whenever even if others are leaving?

 

4. For formal nights, how long do folks wear their formal outfits for? Do you change after dinner, or do you stay dressed for the post dinner show and/or drinks, perhaps pre-dinner drinks? Seems a shame to put all the work into dressing up just for dinner. [i realize this is subjective and you can probably wear your formal attire for however long you want, but trying to get a general idea]

 

5. How does disembarkation for ports work with and without an excursion. Do you queue up? Do you get a number? If port time is 8a-5p, what time can you expect to be walking on land if docked - 8a, 830a?

 

6. Do you have to be back onboard 1 hour before sail time? Or just by the end time for a 8a-5p docking? Obviously better to play it safe, but I wasn't sure what context I read the 'be back on board 1 hour before.'

 

1) OBC if both of you are in the same cabin and using the same credit card to settle your account it will not matter since one bill will be issued. If 2 credit cards then you should go to guest relations to sort out the OBC amount per passenger.

 

2) MDR we have not done traditional dining for several years but what I remember is they will wait for your table to be seated before taking orders. The doors will close about 15 minutes after dinner time for those who have not arrived.

 

3) If you skip the appetizer and/or salad your entre will not be served until others have finished and are ready for their entre. You can excuse yourself before dessert if you do not order it.

 

4) We stay dressed in our formal wear until we retire for the evening.

 

5) If it is not a tender port you just disembark once the all clear is given.

 

6) Generally you have to be back on board 15 minutes before sail away. The time will be posted in the daily and at the gang way as you disembark.

 

Mary Lou

[2ashevillesailors]

1) If OBC is to the stateroom, it will appear on the account of one person. If you need to split it, Guest Relations can help. It's not a big deal. Both people involved just go tot he desk, with their seapass cards.

 

2) Late arrivals can hold things up. However, before too long your waiter will begin service for those present. It adds a layer of difficulty to the waiter's already difficult job, but they accommodate with their usual aplomb.

 

3) Again, your waiter will almost always work to accommodate special requests, but his job somewhat relies on things happening on a scheduled.

 

4) They used to specifically encourage guests to adhere to the dress code for the evening, and I would say most still do. However, a sizable number of people do not.

 

5) If it's a docked port there's seldom an issue. You just walk off once they announce the ship has been cleared. If it's a tender port you can get a numbered ticket, and wait until called, or just wait until "open tendering" is announced, and just go.

 

6) They will always announce and post an "all aboard" time. It's usually either 15 or 30 minutes prior to scheduled sail away. Ignore that at your peril.

 

Harris

Denver, CO

 

The time to be back on board the ship before sailing has for the majority of the time been 30 minutes. But, we have had a couple of ports that were one hour back on board before sailing. If you are tendered in port that will vary and recently they said to be at the tender 45 minutes before sailing. We never chance being back to ship late, never want to miss the ship. We have seen it happen, not very good!

[Kellie Poodle]

Hello, I am taking my first cruise ever, on the Reflection to the Caribbean and have some additional questions I have not been able to get answered by searching the forums. Any clarification is appreciated. Thank you!

 

1. OBC: it sounds like this will appear in my account by day 2. My question is - for multiple passengers, is the OBC in one pot or can you divide among passengers? If so, where can you go to have this divided?

 

Try Guest Relations. We've had OBC, but it's been for the cabin and on DH's account. If it's from a Travel Agent, the agent, should split it for each cabin.

 

2. We have the late MDR seating. Clearly it is best to arrive on time, but if others are late to the table, does this hold up serving the whole table?

 

You may have to wait. The staff won't start taking orders until the table fills.

 

3. From what I gather dining in the MDR is multi course. If you do not order an appetizer, do you then have to wait until the main course is served to eat? I am thinking about this more if you are sitting with a lg party. If you opt out of dessert, can you leave whenever even if others are leaving?

 

You can order a main and ask for it to be delivered with everyone else's starters, but the way the kitchen works might prohibit it. Each ship is different in that regard.

 

4. For formal nights, how long do folks wear their formal outfits for? Do you change after dinner, or do you stay dressed for the post dinner show and/or drinks, perhaps pre-dinner drinks? Seems a shame to put all the work into dressing up just for dinner. [i realize this is subjective and you can probably wear your formal attire for however long you want, but trying to get a general idea]

 

Most people who wear formal dress, dress before dinner and are dressed up for pre-dinner drinks. Some will change after dinner for the show and some will not. As you are late seating, the show is before dinner, so you don't have to worry about being dressed up at the show.

 

5. How does disembarkation for ports work with and without an excursion. Do you queue up? Do you get a number? If port time is 8a-5p, what time can you expect to be walking on land if docked - 8a, 830a?

 

Depends if you are tendered or not. If you are tendered, you will need a number. If you are docked you can get off when the ship is cleared.

 

6. Do you have to be back onboard 1 hour before sail time? Or just by the end time for a 8a-5p docking? Obviously better to play it safe, but I wasn't sure what context I read the 'be back on board 1 hour before.'

 

It's prudent to be back on the ship no later than 30 minutes before sailing. 1 hour is great.

[catugirl]

We've never tendered on Celebrity. You said that to get on a tender, you need a number. Where do we get that number? What is the procedure?

[Cruise Raider]

We've never tendered on Celebrity. You said that to get on a tender, you need a number. Where do we get that number? What is the procedure?

 

Usually, if you are in a tender port and do not have a ship sponsored shore excursion booked, you will be instructed to go to a location such as one of the dining rooms or lounges to pick up your tender ticket number. They ask that you and your group are ready to go at the time you pick up that number -- but it does seem everyone ignores that advice.

Then, they call groups by number -- whatever is on your ticket (several people get the same number) and then you filter down to the gangway to board the tender boat.

I think certain groups have priority boarding, suite and elite guests, which can bypass the tender ticket groups.

[alcpa1]

Please be aware of the ports with difficult traffic issues...St. Maarten and St. Thomas in particular. If you are visiting either or both of these ports you should plan accordingly. It's hard to believe traffic on such small islands can be so heavy but it certainly is in the afternoons. For these two ports please try to be near the ship or tender an hour before sail away. There are shops to wander through if you are early.

We've been visiting these ports on cruises and land trips for almost 30 years and our afternoon entertainment is watching passengers run to board. And to be honest, on our first cruise to St. Maarten I was the one running!

[euro_101]

Thank you for all the replies! I appreciate it.

 

Most people who wear formal dress, dress before dinner and are dressed up for pre-dinner drinks. Some will change after dinner for the show and some will not. As you are late seating, the show is before dinner, so you don't have to worry about being dressed up at the show.

If we wear our formal wear for the show before dinner, that is fine, right? Obviously there isn't a rule, but I assume whatever we prefer if fine...

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Thank you for all the replies! I appreciate it.

 

 

If we wear our formal wear for the show before dinner, that is fine, right? Obviously there isn't a rule, but I assume whatever we prefer if fine...

 

Yes, that's fine. In fact, if you want to stop for a pre dinner cocktail you would probably not have time to change between the show & dinner.

 

Mary Lou

[euro_101]

Yes, that's fine. In fact, if you want to stop for a pre dinner cocktail you would probably not have time to change between the show & dinner.

 

Mary Lou

 

Thank you!

[Clydesmom7865]

2. We have the late MDR seating. Clearly it is best to arrive on time, but if others are late to the table, does this hold up serving the whole table?

 

It is best to arrive right around the same time as it could hold up the table. It is considered good table etiquette to alert your tablemates or the wait staff that you will be late or not dining. When we dined at specialty restaurants we always told our server that we would not be there the following evening. The one evening I was exhausted and decided to skip dinner I called my friend and alerted her so she could tell the wait staff I would not be joining them. Of course there are always those who don't do that.

 

3. From what I gather dining in the MDR is multi course. If you do not order an appetizer, do you then have to wait until the main course is served to eat? I am thinking about this more if you are sitting with a lg party. If you opt out of dessert, can you leave whenever even if others are leaving?

 

You may leave the meal any time you wish. A few times we had other plans and simply told the staff up front so that we could politely excuse ourselves. On our first cruise we decided to have appetizers with table mates before going to specialty dining. We did and reminded the staff we would not need to order the entire meal. We enjoyed the appetizers then bid everyone a good evening and left for Tuscan Grille.

 

4. For formal nights, how long do folks wear their formal outfits for? Do you change after dinner, or do you stay dressed for the post dinner show and/or drinks, perhaps pre-dinner drinks? Seems a shame to put all the work into dressing up just for dinner. [i realize this is subjective and you can probably wear your formal attire for however long you want, but trying to get a general idea]

 

The majority stay in the one outfit.

 

5. How does disembarkation for ports work with and without an excursion. Do you queue up? Do you get a number? If port time is 8a-5p, what time can you expect to be walking on land if docked - 8a, 830a?

 

For tender ports I HIGHLY recommend being ready to GO when you line up to get the tickets for the tender. I was and found myself on the very first one off the boat with crew who were off duty for the day. Those who were not ready got tickets for a later tender. You can expect to walk off the gangway within 30 minutes or so of that posted time.

 

6. Do you have to be back onboard 1 hour before sail time? Or just by the end time for a 8a-5p docking? Obviously better to play it safe, but I wasn't sure what context I read the 'be back on board 1 hour before.'

 

Be back on board 30 minutes before that on board time. As someone who made the colossal mistake of cutting it WAY to close and watched them pull the gangway up behind us: never again. The stress almost killed me! Yes, they WILL leave without you.

Edited March 11, 2014 by Clydesmom7865

[Kellie Poodle]

We've never tendered on Celebrity. You said that to get on a tender, you need a number. Where do we get that number? What is the procedure?

 

In my experience with Celebrity one had to go to a certain place in the morning, like Michael's Club, to get a number.

 

We are Elite so we get a priority tender ticket from the Loyalty Specialist the night before.

 

Be prepared for Celebrity's not so good tendering abilities.

[Kellie Poodle]

Thank you for all the replies! I appreciate it.

 

 

If we wear our formal wear for the show before dinner, that is fine, right? Obviously there isn't a rule, but I assume whatever we prefer if fine...

 

That would be fine. Many people with late seating dress before the show then go directly to dinner.

[euro_101]

I wanted to follow-up on what my actual experiences were with this.

I was on the 3/28 Celebrity Reflection Sailing out of Miami. It was my 1st cruise ever, and certainly not the last.

 

1. OBC: it sounds like this will appear in my account by day 2. My question is - for multiple passengers, is the OBC in one pot or can you divide among passengers? If so, where can you go to have this divided?'

The OBC appeared in my account. I didn't look the first day, but it was in there on day 2. I just looked via the TV in our room. My friend and I just went to guest relations and they split the OBC between the two of us. Simple.

 

2. We have the late MDR seating. Clearly it is best to arrive on time, but if others are late to the table, does this hold up serving the whole table?'

This seemed super relaxed. People would queue outside the dining room and then they would enter when they opened the doors. People would continue to arrive for the 1st 5-10 minutes. It all seemed very chill.

 

3. From what I gather dining in the MDR is multi course. If you do not order an appetizer, do you then have to wait until the main course is served to eat? I am thinking about this more if you are sitting with a lg party. If you opt out of dessert, can you leave whenever even if others are leaving?'

We never tinkered with this. We ate in the MDR every eve, except the San Juan port day. We always took every course. We very much enjoyed the multi course experience.

 

4. For formal nights, how long do folks wear their formal outfits for? Do you change after dinner, or do you stay dressed for the post dinner show and/or drinks, perhaps pre-dinner drinks? Seems a shame to put all the work into dressing up just for dinner. [i realize this is subjective and you can probably wear your formal attire for however long you want, but trying to get a general idea]'

Once we got ready for the evening (around 6p for the 830p seating) we put on our formal outfits and wore them the rest of the night. It was fun to get dressed up. We wore full length dresses and didn't feel out of place.

 

5. How does disembarkation for ports work with and without an excursion. Do you queue up? Do you get a number? If port time is 8a-5p, what time can you expect to be walking on land if docked - 8a, 830a?'

All of our ports were docked. We just walked off. No lines really. Excursion folks seemed to get directed one way and non-excursion folks the other way. Simple once we figured out where to get off of the ship from. If there was direction for where to disembark the 1st port day we missed and were confused for a few moments.

 

6. Do you have to be back onboard 1 hour before sail time? Or just by the end time for a 8a-5p docking? Obviously better to play it safe, but I wasn't sure what context I read the 'be back on board 1 hour before.'

We ended up loving the ship way more than the ports, which I never expected. Our excursions were always first thing. We were always on the ship way before the 1 hour mark. In St. Maarten there was an accident that caused a major back-up (even if you planned plenty of time to get back you would still run into problems). At sail away time we has 10 or so people missing. They actually held the boat for these people. Obviously not the norm to hold, unless you are part of an excursion (it was unclear what the exact situation was here). Didn't bother us. We just enjoyed the port view longer :)

[wallie5446]

Thank you very much for coming back and sharing your experiences. Very nicely done.

[dkjretired]

One other comment about the shows, sometimes for late seating the shows are before dinner and sometimes they are after dinner. On my last cruise the shows for both seatings were after their respective dinner seatings on the nights they had the big production shows in the theater. I have also been on cruises where the shows were after dinner for both seatings on formal nights only.

[euro_101]

Not a problem wallie5446

 

One other comment about the shows, sometimes for late seating the shows are before dinner and sometimes they are after dinner. On my last cruise the shows for both seatings were after their respective dinner seatings on the nights they had the big production shows in the theater. I have also been on cruises where the shows were after dinner for both seatings on formal nights only.

 

I agree that this was mixed - some shows after dinner, some before.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I agree--it was nice of you to come back and share your experience. Glad you had a good first cruise!

Edited May 7, 2014 by Happy Cruiser 6143

[Waihekean]

Yes, thank you for coming back and sharing.

 

Welcome to the cruise lovers club.:)

 

Tip for when you get the cruise blues, just book another one:p