Considering booking... Tell me more

[Meg67]

Hi,

I'm considering booking The Scandanvia & Russia Itienary next year on the eclipse ( July 16th)

It will be my first cruise with celebrity and have a couple of questions.

Dining... Do celebrity do a "My Time" dining option? I like the idea of eating when I want and with whom I want ( as I did with NCL) I have also cruised with Royal Caribbean who offered "My Tome Dining"

Formal nights...... I love dressing up but my partner is not quite so keen.... He loved NCL and suffered Royal Caribbean, so how will he get on, on a celebrity Cruise

Lastly, a question to anyone who has done this cruise in July...... What does the weather tend to be like at this time. Of year.... Would there be much difference between the July 2nd and July 16th sailings.

Kind regards

Meg😎xxxx

[neverbeenhere]

Celebrity calls it Select Dining. Show up and eat or pre-schedule a time, our choice.

 

Celebrity is Elegantly Chic... Dress up or dress nicely and you are fine. Dress in your overalls, t-shirts, or thong --- no go.

 

I have not cruised that particular cruise.

[jelayne]

Select Dining is what you want. No formal nights, Celebrity does Evening Chic. No tux or suit/tie required. You will see some tuxes, suits, gowns but you will also see a lot of men in slacks & sport jacket, or slacks & long sleeve shirt. Ladies in dresses, skirts or pants & fancy tops.

 

No shorts/t-shirts in the MDR or speciality restaurants at night.

 

We did Russia & the Baltic in mid July- had warm-low to mid 80's temps

 

Was a great cruise.

[matondo]

I have been on two Celebrity cruises and I have a 3rd one booked.

 

We did Select Dining on both cruises. The first time we were a group of 8 and we made reservations every night. We got the time we asked for, the same waiter and table. It was nice. The second time it was a party of 2. We just showed up when we felt like eating dinner. We never had to wait more than a few minutes for a table for 2. We did not care where we sat so we were at a different table every night. The only night where there was a wait was for Chic night and because we were willing to sit at a table with other people we still did not have to wait.

 

As for Chic night, read the dress code but it is very relaxed not NCL or Carnival relaxed but dress jeans or khakis and a polo shirt work.

 

Go online and check out average weather for that part of the world. That would give you a good idea.

 

If you go with Celebrity, I would love to hear what your impressions are.

[daydreamer16]

We did this cruise on the Celebrity Constellation in August a few years ago and the weather was nice then. Sometimes, you needed a light sweater or jacket early in the morning or late at night.

My husband hates to wear a jacket and tie on vacation so he was very happy about no more formal wear, although you will see some people in tux & gowns. Select dining is great, eat when you want, at a table for two or more if you wish.

[SPacificbound]

St Petersburg weather averages in July:

 

http://www.holiday-weather.com/st_petersburg/averages/july/

[GUT2407]

Celebrity call it Select dining and Evening Chic, which seems to simply mean dress nice.

[Project_gal]

Lastly, a question to anyone who has done this cruise in July...... What does the weather tend to be like at this time. Of year.... Would there be much difference between the July 2nd and July 16th sailings.

Kind regards

Megxxxx

 

Meg

 

As a fellow Brit, let me address the weather question. You will have plenty of replies to your other questions.

 

We did this cruise ten years ago, admittedly in June rather than July but you could not get a greater range of weather in two weeks. We left the UK in a heatwave. There was a huge storm in the North Sea. By the time we reached our first port, Stockholm it was very cold and windy. We had to buy additional layers. Even with a hatchback full of luggage (we were enjoying not having to fly), we had to but warmer clothes.

 

It was still cool when we arrived in St Petersburg but, by the next day it was so hot that many people just stayed on board. It continued getting hotter until, in Rostock, the temperature was 40 degrees C and rising at 11 am. My husband and many on board came down with respiratory problems.

 

The moral of this story is, whatever anyone tells you the weather will be like in the Baltic in July, you cannot guarantee it.

[CocoCronut]

I have done this itinerary twice and would definitely say to aim for the one in the middle of July rather than the start :)

 

Also as for dressing - I don't think you will have any issue at all with a mix of smart casual for your partner and then more dressy for yourself, nobody will judge, just make sure you are both comfortable and enjoy your time :D

[leehal]

We have booked this cruise for June 17.

 

With regards clothing, I never felt under dressed last year with a pair of nice jeans and a shirt, a couple of nights I wore a sports jacket. Didn't ever feel out of place or uncomfortable as there was such a wide range of appearances.

 

Like your husband I have to wear a tie for work, I'm on holiday so prefer to dress down.

 

 

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[Meg67]

Thank you all for your replies... I'm pretty certain this is the cruise for me... I would prefer the earlier sailing as I would be on board for my 50th birthday but I think the 16th would be a safer bet for weather😎

[leehal]

Just be prepared for changeable weather. Won't hurt to add a few extra layers or a waterproof just in case.

 

Have a great trip.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[reilly1]

I am on this cruise 16th July. It will be our 4th Baltic cruise. It is one of our favourites. Two years we had lovely sunny fairly warm weather and one year we had wind and rain. Weather is unpredictable there. However it is still our favourite destination and Eclipse is our favourite ship, out of Over 30 cruises. You won't be disappointed.

Edited August 7, 2016 by reilly1

[Cakeyandbeano]

We did this cruise 3 weeks ago so exactly the same sailing as you're looking at. I'd say we were very lucky with the weather, no rain except for a sea day at the end, shorts and t-shirt every day & only 1 day where I needed a very light cardigan. Some days were low 80's but mostly mid 70's. As I said I do believe we were very lucky but it is also possible it will rain & be cool. Very unpredictable in this area