New to Celebrity - lots of questions

[nunuc2000]

Hi everyone,

 

Though not new to cruising, we are new to Celebrity, and I have a lot of questions that I'm really hoping all of you will be able to answer for me. :)

 

We've just booked our very first Celebrity cruise (hopefully the first of many!) on the Millennium, sailing out of Tokyo in May to Vancouver. Here are some of my questions... and by putting them in numerical order, I'm hoping that will make it easier for you to provide answers on the ones that might specifically interest you:

 

 

1. Regarding dining, we've typically been quite satisfied with the main dining room selections on other cruise lines... will the Millennium main dining room be sufficient for most of our dining wishes? Do many of you stick to the main dining room, or do most of you select specialty restaurant dining?
   
2. Also regarding dining, how does the specialty dining work on Celebrity? Must we pre-purchase a select number of "extra" meals in advance of boarding, or can we simply decide one night that we'd like to try one of the specialty restaurant, then make reservations that day?
   
3. And yet another dining question... we have chosen "celebrity select dining" for our dining time preference. When I look online, it states "Gratuities must be prepaid in order to participate in Select Dining." But when I booked this cruise earlier today, that was not made known to me... is this inaccurate information? Or will I perhaps be billed for the pre-paid gratuities at the time of final payment?
   
4. Which "specialty dining" venues are available on the Millennium:) (assuming that not all the ships have all of them?), and which ones tend to be the most popular?
   
5. Does Celebrity have "formal" nights at all?
   
6. What are the typical costs for adult beverages on board? I.e. for glasses of wine, highballs, martinis, beer, etc.
   
7. Do both of us have to purchase the beverage package, or can just one of us purchase it?
   
8. What kind of allowances are there for bringing liquids on board, specifically bottles of wine and bottled water?
   
9. Are there self-serve laundry facilities on board? If so, what is the cost?
   
10. We have booked a gty cabin, and we are just over 90 days out... any thoughts on when we might expect our cabin assignment?
    

And finally... any other tips or suggestions or advice from you seasoned Celebrity cruisers would be gratefully appreciated. :)

 

 

Thanks for your time, everyone - and now it's time to go check in on the rollcall :D

 

 

 

Celine (&John)

[r5516]

I have cruised with Celebrity at least 12 times, have always been happy with the Main Dining Room, we usually take the 8:30 pm seating. We have sampled the other dining venues, but have not found them to be such that you must have them to enjoy your cruise.

 

You are permitted to bring two bottles of wine aboard for personal use, a corkage fee applies if you choose to consume them in the dining room.

 

We usually pre-pay gratuities, that being said if you choose select dining you are covered. Please note that the show schedule is usually built around the early dining and late dining times.

 

Formal nights were eliminated last year into Chic Casual nights, almost anything goes.

 

Drink costs are like any restaurant/bar in my area. Beer in the $4 to $5 and mixed drinks $5 to $10.

 

No self service laundry facilities are available.

 

Enjoy your cruise, we stick to Celebrity because they seem to always get it right

[BananaAnna]

3. I don't have an answer for you but the same thing has happened with me. Booked, got select, read later about prepaying but they hadn't mentioned it or included it on the invoice I received. I personally will call sometime later on and specifically ask them to add it.

We're still 6 months out but I was able to go online and make dining time reservations for each night even though I'm just going to main dining room.

[CRZR58]

Dining:

 

The MDR is mostly OK. We like to do 1 specialty diner each cruise, but you certainly don't need to. You can pre-book if you like, but they often have on board specials for the specialty dining, so I'd suggest you buy that on board.

 

We always prepay our tips, usually thru a 'promo' like go better. We also go thru Celebrities terrible online system to make reservations so we can dine when we want to. This is especially useful if you want a table for two from 6:00-7:30. Failure to do this will result in a bunch of unnecessary waiting especially on the first couple of nights.

 

Chic Nights:

 

Not called formal anymore. No tux needed. Still more dressy than regular nights. Look at Celebrities website for more info. Note that 'anything' doesn't really work for Chic nights. They will turn you away for trying to get in in shorts for example.

 

Drinks:

 

Both people in the same cabin must purchase a drink package. You can't get away with just one. You can, however have one person with the Classic and one with the Premium.

 

The classic package is good for bar drinks(Up2 $8), 'normal' beer (Up2 $6), low quality wine (Up2 $9) (Proseco is the best white and Tempranillo the only red I liked), Italian coffee, fountain drinks and regular water. You get nothing off of any drink that's above you upper limit. In other words a $13 glass of wine cost $13 no matter if you have the package or not.

 

Premium ups your max to $13 and you only pay the difference between the drink you want and what's covered, although most drinks are under the $13 limit.

[dkjretired]

The pre pay tips for Select dining requirement was removed a couple of years ago. Would love to know where on the web site you saw that. You can prepay if you wish or do the tips with the auto pay once on board. This can be handy if you have on board credit.

 

Specialty restaurant packages are available or you can make a reservation for one night

once on board. They usually have some deals, especially the first night.

 

The two bottles of wine are per cabin not per person. Also, you can bring as much soda or water on board.

Edited February 3, 2017 by dkjretired

[nunuc2000]

The pre pay tips for Select dining requirement was removed a couple of years ago. Would love to know where on the web site you saw that. You can prepay if you wish or do the tips with the auto pay once on board. This can be handy if you have on board credit.

 

Specialty restaurant packages are available or you can make a reservation for one night

once on board. They usually have some deals, especially the first night.

 

The two bottles of wine are per cabin not per person. Also, you can bring as much soda or water on board.

 

Thanks for the info. In regards to the prepaying gratuities... it's not there now - very strange! It was on their website earlier when I checked immediately after booking with them on the phone. It was under the "already booked" section, but now it's not showing that statement. I copied and pasted directly from their website... but that was before I had to call them to straighten out my booking - I wasn't able to retrieve a "captains" number. So maybe that's it... with a booking in place, but without the captains number generated yet, could be that old information shows up until the booking is updated. very weird! LOL

 

But thanks to you all for the info... keep it coming please!

 

Couple more questions:

 

 

• will there be any kind of laundry special during the cruise, like a bagful for $20, etc.?
  
• are the hair products provided in the room any good?
  
• how well does the hair dryer work?
  

Thanks again!! :)

 

 

Celine

[mandream]

You can get your GTY assignment at any time - even months and months before the cruise. Sometimes it happens right away after booking, sometimes much closer to sail date.

 

The way you will know is by logging into your reservation and you will see a cabin assignment. Note that if you don't like the cabin you are assigned, you can change it to another in the same category that you were assigned to.

 

Mike

[Shadow9612]

[*]will there be any kind of laundry special during the cruise, like a bagful for $20, etc.?

 

Celine

 

There was such a special on the Equinox recently, a 14day cruise. I believe in the 2nd half of the cruise. I'm not sure if it's on every ship on every cruise, and if the cruise length makes a difference....

[mandream]

There was such a special on the Equinox recently, a 14day cruise. I believe in the 2nd half of the cruise. I'm not sure if it's on every ship on every cruise, and if the cruise length makes a difference....

 

Not on every ship / every cruise. Sometimes they have it, sometimes they don't.

 

Mike

[nunuc2000]

Howdy...

 

Still hoping for more info from my original post, along with these:

 

 

• are the hair products provided in the room any good?
  
• how well does the hair dryer work?
  

Thanks :)

[amcco]

Dining

 

We usually do select dining and really enjoy the flexibility. We do pre-book about 90 minutes past port departure time or at around 7 on sea days as that fits into our routine. If we have a fantastic wait staff team we will often ask the host/hostess to try to seat them in their area on subsequent nights. They will tell you they can't guarantee it but they make a note and it usually works out for us. We enjoy the MDR. Food is always well prepared and if you don't like something they are quick to accommodate. We noted on our last Caribbean cruise that the buffet will do some local dishes as a theme in the buffet at dinner. Problem was they don't post the menu until just before dinner.

 

We tend to do one specialty restaurant each cruise. They will sometimes have specials. We only book ahead of time if we need a specific restaurant on a specific night. I really enjoy Tuscan Grille. Qsine is a different concept that is also fun - just a lot of food. You can get carried away. I think they have the new Film Night restaurant/venue on the Millennium. Have never been on a ship that has that yet.

 

Drinks

 

As mentioned - you can bring on 2 bottles of wine. I have seen others send cases of water with a luggage tag on through with the bags. Not sure how easy it would be to source that in Tokyo though.

 

We usually have the premium drinks package. Covers everything from great tea and lattes at Cafe Bacio to alcoholic drinks. Also all bottled water - still and sparkling as well as smoothies and fresh squeezed orange juice in the morning.

 

I am enclosing a link to a blog done by a couple that has the latest menus for Celebrity from their last cruise. It has bar menus as well to give you an idea about prices and selection. The food menus are fleet wide but the bars may differ slightly from solstice to millennium class ships. http://www.thepreismans.com/eclipse_so_car.htm

 

Other info

 

Chic nights - we find most folks are dressier - you will most likely see a lot of cocktail dresses and sports coats, a few tuxes and some more casual. We just wear what we feel comfortable in.

 

Hair products - I usually bring small containers (airline approved size for carry on) as I prefer them. I have used the ones on board. They are fine. Depending on your cabin category there are also upgraded ones. We had those as well. Again they do the job 😉

 

Hair dryer - is a bit awkward as you have to hold down the button to keep it running. I can't remember the policy regarding bringing on your own but someone else may.

 

Spas - I have used the spas before. They are pricey but having a pedicure and watching the ocean go by has a lot going for it!

 

Enjoy your cruise. Also Tokyo is great. Hope you have some time in Japan before the cruise.

[ORV]

There has been some incorrect information posted. Specifically concerning the drink package. I'll try to clear it up.

 

If you select the drink package as a perk then both parties in the room have to take that(unless one is a minor). If you purchase it separately then only one person has to take it, but you're not supposed to share it.

 

If you don't have a drink package each drink has an automatic 18% tip on.

 

There is some type of specialty dining package that has recently changed. I'm not sure of the details, maybe someone else can chime in on that. You can book on board as you desire. Only issue is if they are full, which in my past experience hasn't been true. Usually I've been able to get discounts on board.

 

The restaurants on Millennium should be listed on their website, good luck with that. As others have mentioned we've always found the MDR and buffet quite good. If you've been happy with other Mass Market cruise lines food then you'll probably feel Celebrity is a step up.

 

Best advice I could give is to read this forum, after a while you can determine who to listen to that gives good accurate advice(hint, DKJ would never steer you wrong).

[beltane]

• are the hair products provided in the room any good?
  
• how well does the hair dryer work?
  

Thanks :)

 

I don't care for any of the soap/shampoo/etc products. I always bring my own. As for the dryer, I have thick, long hair and their hair dryers take FOREVER to dry my hair. I can see if someone has fine to medium hair, or shorter hair, you will do just fine with their dryers. I have a powerful portable hair dryer that I bring.

[nunuc2000]

Thanks so much to all of you for the helpful answers and advice - this will definitely help in our planning and making our experience better all around. Did want to mention though that after perusing the bar menus, oh my... Celebrity's beverages are pretty pricey compared to some other lines. :eek:

 

Celine

[annbarker23]

Drinks are almost double the cost of the British cruise lines we have used and that is before the gratuity is added. Fortunately we have always managed to get a complimentary drinks package.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[nunuc2000]

Drinks are almost double the cost of the British cruise lines we have used and that is before the gratuity is added. Fortunately we have always managed to get a complimentary drinks package.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Sadly, I've just read on another post that the drinks package is not available as a complimentary perk if the cruise is booked with any other promo, including resident rate, seniors rate, etc. :(

[champagne123]

Instead of getting dozens of opinions, you may want to read all of the correct info on the Celebrity website.

[LMHSRN]

There has been some incorrect information posted. Specifically concerning the drink package. I'll try to clear it up.

 

If you select the drink package as a perk then both parties in the room have to take that(unless one is a minor). If you purchase it separately then only one person has to take it, but you're not supposed to share it.

 

 

Yep - bad information.

Both parties in the same cabin must purchase the drink package. Check the web site. That previous poster is incorrect!

[kathynorth]

Hi everyone,

 

Though not new to cruising, we are new to Celebrity, and I have a lot of questions that I'm really hoping all of you will be able to answer for me. :)

 

We've just booked our very first Celebrity cruise (hopefully the first of many!) on the Millennium, sailing out of Tokyo in May to Vancouver. Here are some of my questions... and by putting them in numerical order, I'm hoping that will make it easier for you to provide answers on the ones that might specifically interest you:

 

 

1. Regarding dining, we've typically been quite satisfied with the main dining room selections on other cruise lines... will the Millennium main dining room be sufficient for most of our dining wishes? Do many of you stick to the main dining room, or do most of you select specialty restaurant dining?
   
2. Also regarding dining, how does the specialty dining work on Celebrity? Must we pre-purchase a select number of "extra" meals in advance of boarding, or can we simply decide one night that we'd like to try one of the specialty restaurant, then make reservations that day?
   
3. And yet another dining question... we have chosen "celebrity select dining" for our dining time preference. When I look online, it states "Gratuities must be prepaid in order to participate in Select Dining." But when I booked this cruise earlier today, that was not made known to me... is this inaccurate information? Or will I perhaps be billed for the pre-paid gratuities at the time of final payment?
   
4. Which "specialty dining" venues are available on the Millennium:) (assuming that not all the ships have all of them?), and which ones tend to be the most popular?
   
5. Does Celebrity have "formal" nights at all?
   
6. What are the typical costs for adult beverages on board? I.e. for glasses of wine, highballs, martinis, beer, etc.
   
7. Do both of us have to purchase the beverage package, or can just one of us purchase it?
   
8. What kind of allowances are there for bringing liquids on board, specifically bottles of wine and bottled water?
   
9. Are there self-serve laundry facilities on board? If so, what is the cost?
   
10. We have booked a gty cabin, and we are just over 90 days out... any thoughts on when we might expect our cabin assignment?
    

And finally... any other tips or suggestions or advice from you seasoned Celebrity cruisers would be gratefully appreciated. :)

 

 

Thanks for your time, everyone - and now it's time to go check in on the rollcall :D

 

 

 

Celine (&John)

 

Since you chose select dining you'll be able to choose the time you wish to eat. Take a look at your itinerary and book your times for each day right after you embark. You can do this by visiting the main dining room. There will be a staff person at one of the entrances to address passenger requests. As previously mentioned, the shows are scheduled to accommodate MD early and late seating schedules.

 

Select dining does require paying gratuities up front, so either this was already figured into your final rate or will catch up with you at some point, either at final payment or when you are onboard. Celebrity is in the process of adjusting their specialty restaurant program, so it's possible they may have adjusted this requirement.

 

Although we are fine with the MD food, we enjoy eating in the specialty restaurants. You can purchase a set # of specialty restaurants prior to your cruise through your cruise planner. The more nights the lower the cost. You can also book onboard at full price, or try to snag a reduced rate special. I've almost always been able to get 20-30% discount just by asking "Do you have any special rate tonight?" at the restaurant we'd like to eat in.

 

If you don't purchase a drink package, the daily flyer with ship events lists Drink of the Day options that are at a discount. Also, consider attending low cost drink events such as Martini tasting or the World Wine events. (I'm not sure of what they are actually called.)

 

If you are considering purchasing a drink package, both in the cabin must purchase. However, you don't purchase ahead of time you can always decide to book after your cruise has started. The package rate is prorated based on the # of nights left in the cruise. Booking onboard also allows you to use any OBC you may have to help pay for the package. There are several levels of alcohol packages. If you book prior to cruising you both have to book the same package. If you book onboard one can have classic and the other premium.

 

You can bring 2 bottles of wine with you. This is intended to be for private consumption, so passengers are charged a corkage fee if they bring a bottle to a restaurant. However, you can pour yourself a glass of wine and carry this with you to your restaurant of choice. People do this all the time. You can bring water with you. We haven't done this, but some people on these boards say they have taped a room label on a case of water and sent it through for delivery with their luggage. No bottles of liquor are permitted for consumption. If you are found to bring alcohol (other than your 2 wine) at embarkation or while in a port, it's confiscated and held until the last night of the cruise.

 

No onboard laundry and IMH the cost of laundry is high. If there is a lull with laundry requests they will run a $20-25 per bag special.

 

We've booked gty cabins a couple of times. Once we received the room within 5 mins of booking. Another time 1 week before the cruise date. Tip, when your room is assigned check to see where it is located. If you don't like the location and there's another cabin available in the same assigned category you can ask to have the room changed. You can see all the available cabins on the Celebrity UK website or call Celebrity and ask what's available.

[nunuc2000]

Since you chose select dining you'll be able to choose the time you wish to eat. Take a look at your itinerary and book your times for each day right after you embark. You can do this by visiting the main dining room. There will be a staff person at one of the entrances to address passenger requests. As previously mentioned, the shows are scheduled to accommodate MD early and late seating schedules.

 

Select dining does require paying gratuities up front, so either this was already figured into your final rate or will catch up with you at some point, either at final payment or when you are onboard. Celebrity is in the process of adjusting their specialty restaurant program, so it's possible they may have adjusted this requirement.

 

Although we are fine with the MD food, we enjoy eating in the specialty restaurants. You can purchase a set # of specialty restaurants prior to your cruise through your cruise planner. The more nights the lower the cost. You can also book onboard at full price, or try to snag a reduced rate special. I've almost always been able to get 20-30% discount just by asking "Do you have any special rate tonight?" at the restaurant we'd like to eat in.

 

If you don't purchase a drink package, the daily flyer with ship events lists Drink of the Day options that are at a discount. Also, consider attending low cost drink events such as Martini tasting or the World Wine events. (I'm not sure of what they are actually called.)

 

If you are considering purchasing a drink package, both in the cabin must purchase. However, you don't purchase ahead of time you can always decide to book after your cruise has started. The package rate is prorated based on the # of nights left in the cruise. Booking onboard also allows you to use any OBC you may have to help pay for the package. There are several levels of alcohol packages. If you book prior to cruising you both have to book the same package. If you book onboard one can have classic and the other premium.

 

You can bring 2 bottles of wine with you. This is intended to be for private consumption, so passengers are charged a corkage fee if they bring a bottle to a restaurant. However, you can pour yourself a glass of wine and carry this with you to your restaurant of choice. People do this all the time. You can bring water with you. We haven't done this, but some people on these boards say they have taped a room label on a case of water and sent it through for delivery with their luggage. No bottles of liquor are permitted for consumption. If you are found to bring alcohol (other than your 2 wine) at embarkation or while in a port, it's confiscated and held until the last night of the cruise.

 

No onboard laundry and IMH the cost of laundry is high. If there is a lull with laundry requests they will run a $20-25 per bag special.

 

We've booked gty cabins a couple of times. Once we received the room within 5 mins of booking. Another time 1 week before the cruise date. Tip, when your room is assigned check to see where it is located. If you don't like the location and there's another cabin available in the same assigned category you can ask to have the room changed. You can see all the available cabins on the Celebrity UK website or call Celebrity and ask what's available.

 

WOW! This is great info, thanks Kathy!!

[nunuc2000]

The pre pay tips for Select dining requirement was removed a couple of years ago. Would love to know where on the web site you saw that. You can prepay if you wish or do the tips with the auto pay once on board. This can be handy if you have on board credit.

 

Specialty restaurant packages are available or you can make a reservation for one night

once on board. They usually have some deals, especially the first night.

 

The two bottles of wine are per cabin not per person. Also, you can bring as much soda or water on board.

 

I found it! It's still on the website! logged into my cruise online, then clicked on the "manage reservation" that is one of the bright blue boxes:

 

• Find Flights
  
• MANAGE RESERVATION
  
• MAKE A PAYMENT
  
• EXPLORE CRUISE PLANNER
  
• RESUME CHECK-IN
  

then clicked on the "shop excursions, Beverage and Dining" button that is one of the button along the top:

 

 

 

 

• My Cruise Summary
  
• Shop Excursions, Beverage and Dining
  
• Land Packages
  
• Transportation
  

Then moused over the "dining & beverage" and it shows

 

 

 

• Home
  
• Shore Excursions
  
• Dining & Beverage
  
• Spa & Fitness
  
• Internet
  
• Calendar
  

then it shows a bunch of packages i can purchase for dining, along with Qsine, Celebrity Select Dining, and Olympic - I clicked on Celebrity Select, and it shows first an overview, then info about "main dining arrangements".

 

 

That is where it shows that gratuities must be prepaid if "Celebrity Select" is chosen.

 

 

I will try to add a pic of the page if I can figure out how to do that lol

But the actual text is:

 

 

Main Dining Arrangements

 

 

• Traditional Dining
  Prefer to dine at the same time every night? Then Traditional Dining is for you. Simply choose the nightly seating time you wish before you set sail, then enjoy your days aboard Celebrity as you desire.
  
• Celebrity Select Dining
  If you choose Celebrity Select Dining, you will still be seated in the ship's main restaurant, order from the same dinner menu, and enjoy the same exemplary service, but with more flexibility of timing. Choose this option when booking your cruise and you can make reservations day by day pre-cruise, reserve once onboard, or simply come to the dining room whenever you'd like to have dinner. Celebrity Select Main Dining reservations can be made online up to four days prior to sailing, or once onboard with the Maitre d'. Subject to availability. Gratuities must be prepaid in order to participate in Select Dining. Only groups of 20 or less can be seated at one time.
  
• Special Needs
  Celebrity Cruises is happy to accommodate many different kinds of dietary needs including vegetarian, kosher, no-sugar-added desserts, food allergies and other dietary needs.
  

 

 

It was driving me nuts that I had previously seen it.. and it would seem that Celebrity is still not enforcing the prepayment of the gratuities as final payment is today for this cruise.

 

 

On a positive note, I did receive my cabin assignment, and I'm quite happy with the location :)

 

 

 

 

Celine

[mandream]

It was driving me nuts that I had previously seen it.. and it would seem that Celebrity is still not enforcing the prepayment of the gratuities as final payment is today for this cruise.

 

 

On a positive note, I did receive my cabin assignment, and I'm quite happy with the location :)

 

 

 

 

Celine

 

They are not enforcing the prepayment because it is no longer required. ;) As with so many things, they simply haven't updated the text on the website in that spot you found.

 

Glad to hear you are happy with your cabin assignment.

 

Mike

[BananaAnna]

I found it! It's still on the website! logged into my cruise online, then clicked on the "manage reservation" that is one of the bright blue boxes:

 

• Find Flights
  
• MANAGE RESERVATION
  
• MAKE A PAYMENT
  
• EXPLORE CRUISE PLANNER
  
• RESUME CHECK-IN
  

then clicked on the "shop excursions, Beverage and Dining" button that is one of the button along the top:

 

 

 

 

• My Cruise Summary
  
• Shop Excursions, Beverage and Dining
  
• Land Packages
  
• Transportation
  

Then moused over the "dining & beverage" and it shows

 

 

 

• Home
  
• Shore Excursions
  
• Dining & Beverage
  
• Spa & Fitness
  
• Internet
  
• Calendar
  

then it shows a bunch of packages i can purchase for dining, along with Qsine, Celebrity Select Dining, and Olympic - I clicked on Celebrity Select, and it shows first an overview, then info about "main dining arrangements".

 

 

That is where it shows that gratuities must be prepaid if "Celebrity Select" is chosen.

 

~ ~ additional text removed for brevity ~ ~

Celine

 

Thank you for this. I thought that was where I'd seen it but have already made reservations for each nights dining and didn't want to risk screwing up by clicking there.

[lovetocruisee]

There has been some incorrect information posted. Specifically concerning the drink package. I'll try to clear it up.

 

If you select the drink package as a perk then both parties in the room have to take that(unless one is a minor). If you purchase it separately then only one person has to take it, but you're not supposed to share it.

 

 

Yep - bad information.

Both parties in the same cabin must purchase the drink package. Check the web site. That previous poster is incorrect!

 

This is the 3rd time I've seen this posted in this thread. I don't know who started this rumor, but UNLESS you are getting the drink package as a perk... both people in the cabin DO NOT have to BOTH buy the package!! I get it for my wife.. and I don't drink at all. I sell MANY MANY of these cruises everyday.. and have never seen this.. Poss you are thinking of Carnival Cruise Line??

[Host Jazzbeau]

Follow-up on the mention of the World Wine Tasting events. We had two on a 14-day Eclipse cruise, one for European wines and one for California. Both were worthwhile for the experience, but in addition they had a silent auction of some very nice bottles at each event. The starting bids were a good discount off the regular price, and if no one else is bidding you can snag a bottle at that price. [Just don't spread this news on my next Celebrity cruise, as I don't need the competition :D]