Anniversaries and other special occasions

[LouisV]

Do wedding anniversaries or other special occasions get any special recognition on board? My mother's 60th wedding anniversary comes up during an upcoming cruise. Dad doesn't travel anymore so I'm taking her as sort of a celebration.

 

Mo

[agargoyle]

Hi,

 

When you book the cruise you can mention it, when you check in on line they often ask if any special occasions are happening, or you just wait until you get on board and either speak to your room steward or the maitre'd of the dining room to have a cake brought on a certain night. Book a specialty restaurant and tell them, also most cruise lines have room decorations that can be purchased online and the room done up.

[Onelung]

The only thing you get "free" is a cake at dinner. I had my 50th on board a few years ago and the waiters all sang Happy Birthday and brought out a cake. There are lots of options for you to purchase though!

[cruisnuts]

Do wedding anniversaries or other special occasions get any special recognition on board? My mother's 60th wedding anniversary comes up during an upcoming cruise. Dad doesn't travel anymore so I'm taking her as sort of a celebration.

 

Mo

 

under dining in the online check-in you can add special occasions. They will provide a cake on that date in the main dining room(delicious chocolate cake :p). We celebrated our 35th 5 years ago and it was a nice touch. We will be celebrating our 40th this year on Silhouette.

[CathyCruises]

I put down that it was our anniversary while we were onboard. Other than receiving a note good for $100 discount on purchases from the art gallery, absolutely nothing was done. They obviously knew about it since the mentioned it in the note, but nada.

[PartyAllDaTyme]

Just to mention my experience, don't count on mentioning the special occasions under online check-in as a guarantee they'll automatically take care of it. I retell it more for the fun of it.

 

Last Celebrity cruise, we were celebrating both my birthday and our 30th anniversary the following day. (And no, we didn't get married the day after my birthday just I would have no excuse to forget it!:D) We even renewed our vows on board, which of course you pay extra for. I went to Guest Services the first night to confirm with them that they knew about the special occasions.

 

The night before my birthday, as we're entering the MDR for Select dining, the maître d' said, "I see you are celebrating a birthday tonight!" "No," I said, "that's tomorrow night, but I'm glad to see it was noted." "Indeed, tomorrow night, they will provide you with a celebratory cake."

 

The next night, dinner came and went, and the waiter presented the regular dessert menu. I said nothing-- cake wasn't really that important to me, but my daughter took the bull by the horns and said, "So, if someone is celebrating a birthday, does Celebrity do anything special?" "Yes, madame, we will generally have a cake, but you must provide us with advance notice." After mentioning the conversation from the night before, they said unfortunately there was nothing that could be done. But after we ordered regular desserts and had almost finished them, here comes the complement of waiters with a cake, singing "Hep-py birs-day too juuuu..."

 

The following night, our anniversary, we dined in the Normandie. At the renewal of vows ceremony, we mentioned to the Celebrity hospitality person assigned to us about the cake snafu, and asked what we should do since we would not be in the MDR for the anniversary cake. We were assured that it would be available at the conclusion of our dinner. Once again, we received the regular dessert offerings. My daughter asked, "So, if someone is celebrating an anniversary, does Celebrity do anything special?" The waiter looked uncomfortable and suggested he could maybe do a little dance on our table for us, but that such things must be arranged in advance. We again explained we did note the anniversary in the online booking and again mentioned it at the ceremony. Sorry, but they knew nothing about it. After a very wonderful and filling meal and dessert, here comes the cake. "Hep-py annivers-ry too juuuu..." We had no room left to even try it. We were told it would be kept for us, and if we but mentioned it to our waiter in the MDR, it would be brought out in lieu of the regular dessert.

 

The next night, we wanted to finish dinner and get to the show at 7pm, so we were seated early. After finishing the meal and prior to the dessert menu being presented, I mentioned to our waiter that we had an anniversary cake on hold, and could they please bring it out ASAP so we would have plenty of time to get good seats for the show? Thirty minutes later, and after the others at our table had their dessert, the cake shows up (minus any song). We had enough time to each wolf down a slice, leaving half the cake, and just made it in time for the show.

 

As we were leaving, asked if it would be possible to just have the remainder of the cake sent to our cabin. It appeared the next day. I have to say it was very good cake!

 

The morals of the story: Confirm special occasions with guest services, and that they have the correct date(s). Mention to the maître d' upon entering the dining venue that you have a special occasion to celebrate. Don't count on things going right, even then. Finally, don't sweat the small stuff and enjoy the cruise!

[CruisersTimesThree]

We had a very nice experience when we sailed the Summit for our 30th anniversary 4 yrs ago, but I will say that some of what we were given was probably because we were booked in a RS.

The night of our actual anniversary we were given a cake in select dining for dessert and that evening when we returned to our suite, there was a small floral arrangement, a bottle of champagne, and a small cake with a note of congratulations from the hotel manager (his name was Darren something)

It was all very lovely and unexpected and a really nice touch to a memorable cruise.

[LouisV]

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences, especially your's Steve!!!! I'm not expecting great fan fare but just curious as to what people have had. Mom is excited enough to just be going on a cruise. Only her second time!

 

Mo

[nursedibdob]

I wrote to customer services in advance of our first cruise to see if there was anything that Celebrity could do to mark the occasion for my mum. We were seated at the captains table for the last formal night & my 85 yr old mum had a ball flirting with handsome officers! So I'd say it's worth a polite email in advance. Nothing to lose [emoji846]

[Dick in Falls Church]

With some 2000 (more or less) folks on board, there will possibly be more than one birthday/anniversary per day!

We were on Baltic cruise many years back, and everyone around us was having a birthday. We looked around the table, and there was on young man probably in his mid-30s. Decided he was the only one of us who could afford another birthday--so we told our waiter. He was very embarrassed the next night when the cake and singing waiters arrived.

[milesfromu]

We traditionally sail in the Spring to celebrate our anniversary, and the Fall to celebrate the Mrs. B-day. Our TA always identifies the occasion and it is reflected in the reservation. Only once was an event recognized onboard, that was in Blu the one time we booked Aqua Class.

 

Our recommendation is as listed above. Book a specialty restaurant through the M.D., and ensure he/she is aware of the special occasion. If he/she is as good as most of them are, you will be asked when and how you want it handled. The specialty restaurants are usually a ghost town and they bend over backwards to ensure you are treated special.

[pk&Di]

Hi All,

 

For us, celebrity has done really well with our special occasions. We have them noted, and I usually confirm the details at the beginning of the trip, and then again not he day(s) of those events.

 

They have provided chocolate covered strawberries compliments of guest services, as well as other specials touches (cakes, small floral arrangements, on one occasion champaign)

 

I would suggest connecting with the guest services team.

 

PK

[LouisV]

Hi All,

 

For us, celebrity has done really well with our special occasions. We have them noted, and I usually confirm the details at the beginning of the trip, and then again not he day(s) of those events.

 

They have provided chocolate covered strawberries compliments of guest services, as well as other specials touches (cakes, small floral arrangements, on one occasion champaign)

 

I would suggest connecting with the guest services team.

 

PK

 

Thanks PK! I just might do that! Even if nothing comes of it, hey we're on a cruise after all. That is a celebration in itself!!!

[psufanatic]

Celebrating our 32nd anniversary on the Summit on June....we'll make sure to stop at guest services to confirm...:-)

[roxievegas]

It was our 38th anniversary We had given notice before the cruise and it was noted on our reservation. before our entree was served they brought over a cake (?) - 4" x 6" x 1" - enough for two people to have dessert.

[sound_guy0918]

In 2013 we embarked on my wife's actual birthday. Nearly every staff member that swiped her cruise card wished her a happy birthday, from the agent who checked us in at the pier (who admittedly saw her birthdate on her passport) to the busy theater barmaid at the show that night. We assumed they had a flag when it was swiped for purchases.

[sunpsyche]

In 2013 we embarked on my wife's actual birthday. Nearly every staff member that swiped her cruise card wished her a happy birthday, from the agent who checked us in at the pier (who admittedly saw her birthdate on her passport) to the busy theater barmaid at the show that night. We assumed they had a flag when it was swiped for purchases.

 

Wow! That's my kind of birthday! I think it's a nice touch.