Have a few questions for you Seasoned X cruisers!

[MMOMOM]

We've been wanting to try Celebrity for some time. I had pretty much decided we would like a Sky Suite since we always book a JR Suite, primarily for the extra room, on other cruises. We've sailed Norwegian, Holland and Carnival, but mostly do RCCI and we are Diamond level there. I've been told that means we are Elite when we sail on Celebrity. However, having just returned from 3 weeks on a land vacation to Hawaii and a previous Med Cruise out of Barcelona and partial land vacation in Europe in the Spring, we are trying to do this one as a quick get away in February ... but 'economy' style! LOL!! So, I'm looking at Balcony Cabins and am wondering what the difference is between the Sunset Verandah, Deluxe Verandahs 1A, 1B, 2B and 1C? There's not a lot of price difference and in the description, the size is about the same. There also seem to be some pretty good perks if buying now ... Beverage Pkg, OBC, etc. We're not big drinkers, but the Beverage Pkg sounds good with the water and coffees as well as the before dinner drinks, etc. Any input is very much appreciated. Thanx!

[kitty9]

The difference is location. To me, I love the Sunset Verandas because they're aft cabins and the view from the back of the ship is my favorite. Many people prefer cabins that are mid ship, so those are considered a higher category.

[helen haywood]

What ship are you considering? Regular balcony cabins on Solstice Class ships are all the same size. On M Class ships Concierge Class cabins are slightly larger. There are some balconies on the slanted part of the middle hump that are larger balconies; the cabins are the same size.

 

You will need to call the Captain's Club before you sail to get your Diamond status with Royal transferred to an Elite member number.

[MMOMOM]

The difference is location. To me, I love the Sunset Verandas because they're aft cabins and the view from the back of the ship is my favorite. Many people prefer cabins that are mid ship, so those are considered a higher category.

 

Thanx ... we've often considered an aft cabin, but haven't done it. Food for thought. :)

[MMOMOM]

What ship are you considering? Regular balcony cabins on Solstice Class ships are all the same size. On M Class ships Concierge Class cabins are slightly larger. There are some balconies on the slanted part of the middle hump that are larger balconies; the cabins are the same size.

 

You will need to call the Captain's Club before you sail to get your Diamond status with Royal transferred to an Elite member number.

 

Thanx Helen, we are looking at the Silhouette. We're pretty easily satisfied, just got spoiled with the extra room in the JS years ago so that is why I was wondering what the difference is, since they state the same size on the description .... location, I guess?

[MMOMOM]

What ship are you considering? Regular balcony cabins on Solstice Class ships are all the same size. On M Class ships Concierge Class cabins are slightly larger. There are some balconies on the slanted part of the middle hump that are larger balconies; the cabins are the same size.

 

You will need to call the Captain's Club before you sail to get your Diamond status with Royal transferred to an Elite member number.

 

Yes, quite some time ago I got the Elite number for the Captain's Club ... I'm sure I have it somewhere with my cruise info. Thanx tho.

[Celebrity Cruises]

We've been wanting to try Celebrity for some time. I had pretty much decided we would like a Sky Suite since we always book a JR Suite, primarily for the extra room, on other cruises. We've sailed Norwegian, Holland and Carnival, but mostly do RCCI and we are Diamond level there. I've been told that means we are Elite when we sail on Celebrity. However, having just returned from 3 weeks on a land vacation to Hawaii and a previous Med Cruise out of Barcelona and partial land vacation in Europe in the Spring, we are trying to do this one as a quick get away in February ... but 'economy' style! LOL!! So, I'm looking at Balcony Cabins and am wondering what the difference is between the Sunset Verandah, Deluxe Verandahs 1A, 1B, 2B and 1C? There's not a lot of price difference and in the description, the size is about the same. There also seem to be some pretty good perks if buying now ... Beverage Pkg, OBC, etc. We're not big drinkers, but the Beverage Pkg sounds good with the water and coffees as well as the before dinner drinks, etc. Any input is very much appreciated. Thanx!

 

Thank you for your interest in Celebrity Cruises. The sole difference between Sunset Verandas and Deluxe Verandas is LOCATION. Sunset Verandas are located aft of the ship.

 

As for loyalty benefits, we do offer reciprocal benefits with RCI's Diamond tier. You would receive Elite tier benefits through Captain's Club.

 

Here are a list of Elite benefits:

• Access to the Captain's Club Lounge for daily coffee house style breakfast

• Evening Cocktail hour (excludes embarkation and evening of Senior Officers' Party)

• Complimentary 90-minute Internet package

• 20% discount on any digital or print photo package at the Photo Gallery

• Complimentary access to Persian Garden (on one port day of your choice while ship is in port)

• Complimentary dry cleaning of one garment item

• One complimentary bag of laundry (wash, dry, fold) on every sailing***

• A private shipboard departure lounge, serving continental breakfast

• Priority Tender Service in Tender Ports of Call

• Priority wait list in Main Dining Room

• Elegant tea invitation*

• Diamond Level enrollment in Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society‡

• Earn Double Club Points if you travel solo in a stateroom (as of July 1, 2014)

• Receive Hertz Gold Plus Rewards membership (earn free rentals) with weekly rental discounts, free upgrades, and other special offers.

[emcee207]

You will love the Silhouette, she is a beautiful ship.

 

One note re: aft cabins on the "S" class ships. There are only two banks of Elevators on these ships; up front and mid ship. It is a rather long walk from Aft Cabins to the mid ship elevators. If you have mobility issues or if you forget something in the cabin it is a bit of an issue.

 

Even with the long walk we loved our Aft Cabin on the Silhouette back in 2011.

[CathyCruises]

All cabins on the S class ships from insides up to suites are identical, 194 ft.². They're not super spacious but they're certainly adequate and well laid out. All have desks and couches. The cabins alternate between having the bed closer to the bath or the bed closer to the balcony and there are advocates on both sides of that issue.

 

Categories 2-D and 2-C have partial obstructed views. The top of the lifeboats come either to the floor of the balcony or to the railing of the balcony, so that might be something to keep in mind. While I know I would enjoy an aft view, I have really found that any balcony close to the midship elevators works best for me.

 

Have a special look at category 1A. Those are standard balcony cabins but they have balconies that are two or three times larger than normal and many people prize those.

 

She's a beautiful ship and you'll be happy wherever you wind up!

[MMOMOM]

Thank you all for the input .... we are still looking, but she sure does look like a lovely ship. Appreciate your help. :)

[morbihan]

I had forgotten the long walk to our SV cabin. All good exercise in case cookies have fallen in my mouth by accident.

 

Loved the back of the ship. It goes down in tiers so there isn't that falling sensation which my husband likes.

 

Re-booked for 2016. Love Silhouette.

[Fouremco]

Unless you have serious mobility issues or are very prone to motion sickness, the aft cabins would definitely be my choice. We always book an aft cabin when available and the walk to the elevators we view as a plus! :)

[MMOMOM]

We have no mobility issues and actually enjoy the walks ... helps with the 'cookies' and 'other things' that might happen to fall into our mouths too! :) My husband seems to think there is a lot of wind, but I don't know. :rolleyes:

[Fouremco]

We have no mobility issues and actually enjoy the walks ... helps with the 'cookies' and 'other things' that might happen to fall into our mouths too! :) My husband seems to think there is a lot of wind, but I don't know. :rolleyes:

Quite the opposite, I find it quite sheltered and we've been on different decks on different ships. Not all, of course, but enough to think that it isn't an issue.

[wrk2cruise]

I'll put in another vote for the 1A, they are on the slant of the hump mid ship. The balcony is quite a bit larger.

[ORV]

There are other cabins besides the 1As that have the larger balconies. It's just that all the 1As have larger balconies. Do a search for slant or hump balconies and you'll find lots of information on them.

Edited November 3, 2015 by ORV

[wallie5446]

Thank you for your interest in Celebrity Cruises. The sole difference between Sunset Verandas and Deluxe Verandas is LOCATION. Sunset Verandas are located aft of the ship.

 

As for loyalty benefits, we do offer reciprocal benefits with RCI's Diamond tier. You would receive Elite tier benefits through Captain's Club.

 

Here are a list of Elite benefits:

• Access to the Captain's Club Lounge for daily coffee house style breakfast

• Evening Cocktail hour (excludes embarkation and evening of Senior Officers' Party)

• Complimentary 90-minute Internet package

• 20% discount on any digital or print photo package at the Photo Gallery

• Complimentary access to Persian Garden (on one port day of your choice while ship is in port)

• Complimentary dry cleaning of one garment item

• One complimentary bag of laundry (wash, dry, fold) on every sailing***

• A private shipboard departure lounge, serving continental breakfast

• Priority Tender Service in Tender Ports of Call

• Priority wait list in Main Dining Room

• Elegant tea invitation*

• Diamond Level enrollment in Royal Caribbean's Crown & Anchor Society‡

• Earn Double Club Points if you travel solo in a stateroom (as of July 1, 2014)

• Receive Hertz Gold Plus Rewards membership (earn free rentals) with weekly rental discounts, free upgrades, and other special offers.

 

The biggest benefit was not mentioned:

 

One-Category Upgrade

 

 

One-category upgrade requests must be made at the time of booking and apply only for upgrades within the supercategory, depending on availability. Example of a supercategory upgrade in AquaClass: A2 to A1. Captain's Club one category upgrade excludes category 12, FV, SV, C1 and guarantee categories, Z, Y, X, XC, XA, W. This offer cannot be used with certain restricted fares including but not limited to travel agent and employee rates. Upgrades apply for one stateroom per cruise. Stateroom assignments only. Not valid on holiday sailings. Upgrades available from categories 11- A1 on all Celebrity ships except Celebrity Xpedition®. Offer valid for members who are Classic Level or higher at the time of booking.

 

Just like on RCCL, we like the cabins on the angle of the hump.

Edited November 3, 2015 by wallie5446

[MMOMOM]

Thanx all ... great info. Still looking. I'm afraid we're spoiled with doing the JS all this time tho ... I'm still thinking maybe we should just say what the heck and pay the extra for the Sky Suite! We'll see what we decide, but definitely leaning to the Aft or the 1A. That category upgrade wouldn't apply in this instance I don't think, would it?

[cybx]

I feel the cabin sizes on Solstice Class ships are pretty functional without the need to get a Jr Suite. If you want most of the perks of a suite (minus the Butler and Luminae) you could get a Concierge Class room. They have those on humps and in the aft as well. My wife and I got a aft Concierge cabin on our transatlantic cruise and loved it.

Edited November 4, 2015 by cybx

[MMOMOM]

I feel the cabin sizes on Solstice Class ships are pretty functional without the need to get a Jr Suite. If you want most of the perks of a suite (minus the Butler and Luminae) you could get a Concierge Class room. They have those on humps and in the aft as well. My wife and I got a aft Concierge cabin on our transatlantic cruise and loved it.

 

Thanx, I'll check it out. I'm truly not as interested in 'suite perks' as some don't even consider a JS a real suite ... we just really like the extra room. We got what was listed as a Jr. or mini suite on NCL once an it was SO cramped, we laughed most of the time bumping into one another! The lay out on the Epic we thought reminded us more of 'camping' than anything else ... but we still had fun!

[ORV]

Thanx all ... great info. Still looking. I'm afraid we're spoiled with doing the JS all this time tho ... I'm still thinking maybe we should just say what the heck and pay the extra for the Sky Suite! We'll see what we decide, but definitely leaning to the Aft or the 1A. That category upgrade wouldn't apply in this instance I don't think, would it?

 

Actually the 1A does work with the upgrade, it's the C1 that doesn't . You can pay for the next category down and get the 1A.

 

I don't really agree that the upgrade is the best Elite perk, most of the time you're talking a $10 to $30 difference between categories. The internet or laundry both have a much better monetary value. I guess it all depends on if you use them.

[ShakeDaddy]

Passive Aggressive comes to mind. What the heck. :eek:

Edited November 4, 2015 by ShakeDaddy

[sollan]

Passive Aggressive comes to mind. What the heck. :eek:

Wonder what are you referring to?

[MMOMOM]

Wonder what are you referring to?

 

I'm wondering too! Unless someone thought something I said was 'passive aggressive'? Certainly didn't mean anything like that in any of what I posted ... and definitely didn't think anything anyone else said was out of line. In any event .... think we are booking tomorrow and really looking forward to experiencing Celebrity and the Silhouette! Appreciate all the great info, thanx! :)

[pmattor200]

be careful with cabins that have a door to join with a neighboring cabin we had one and the other cabin left their balcony door open at night the wind would whistle through the door and kept us awake.