New to Celebrity - advice needed

[ScotchBoy]

Hi, we have previously cruised with P&O and Cunard, once with Royal Caribbean. OH has a special birthday next year and the preferred itinerary is on Celebrity Constellation (Arabian Sea and India). Please - where do I start? We always book a balcony cabin or a mini-suite; we enjoy fine dining; and we really like coffee the second we wake up :o. I need as many hints and tips as you can muster!

TIA

[benjaminhuf]

Booking a suite on the "Connie," as she is affectionately known, gives you access to the exclusive restaurant Luminae. Sounds like a good choice for you. Fascinating itinerary for that cruise!++ Have a great time.

[dkjretired]

Booking a suite on the "Connie," as she is affectionately known, gives you access to the exclusive restaurant Luminae. Sounds like a good choice for you. Fascinating itinerary for that cruise!++ Have a great time.

 

Another good option is booking an Aqua Class cabin, your assigned restaurant is Blu, like eating in a specialty restaurant every night.

[villauk]

Or you could book a C1 aft and save the money you would spend on a suite for one of the speciality restaurant packages. Compare prices and amenities for which would be the most important for you.

 

We are sailing that same itinerary over Christmas and NY on Connie in an aft cabin - can't wait :cool:.

[bigbenboys]

We did book this cruise but decided to cancel. We will do it another time. We were just on Millie we had a S1 suite it was great. Luminae and Michael's club. Our Butler was great coffee with a little food every morning with the white table cloth. Butler also got our passports for us when we needed to pick them up. If customs wanted a face to face met our butler walked us down and right to the front of the line. All these things added to our cruise being wonderful. With all the sea days go for a suite.

[ScotchBoy]

This is all very helpful. Thanks. Will consider a suite this time around. Does anyone who has already booked this itinerary (or similar) for 2017 have any information regarding the flights? Round trip from London to Abu Dhabi - which airline; which London airport; choice of travel class available? Thanks.

[lovescarborough]

This is all very helpful. Thanks. Will consider a suite this time around. Does anyone who has already booked this itinerary (or similar) for 2017 have any information regarding the flights? Round trip from London to Abu Dhabi - which airline; which London airport; choice of travel class available? Thanks.

We did the similar itinerary but not with India, in January. BA flight from Heathrow takes around 8 hours plus 5 hour time difference. We landed just before midnight local time. The return flight is not brilliant in that it departs at around 2 am but I can recommend the Premier Inn at Abu Dhabi airport to stay for the day. We arrived off the ship around 9.30am and they found us a room very quickly. You can book an overnight stay and just leave early. It's cheap and has a great rooftop pool and good restaurant. If you have the time then fly in a day early to explore the city. We booked a balcony cabin and used the speciality restaurants as we don't care for Aqua class on the Millenium class ships. The price difference more than makes up for the extra cost of the specialities. Have a great trip !

[Mynki]

Hi, we have previously cruised with P&O and Cunard, once with Royal Caribbean. OH has a special birthday next year and the preferred itinerary is on Celebrity Constellation (Arabian Sea and India). Please - where do I start? We always book a balcony cabin or a mini-suite; we enjoy fine dining; and we really like coffee the second we wake up :o. I need as many hints and tips as you can muster!

TIA

 

If you want to experience the best service Celebrity has to offer I would consider a suite. If you have been reading the recent threads on here you will have realised that Celebrity is now very much a two tier cruise line. Their suites come with a lot more 'value add' than P&O.

 

For example, as well as the additional space which will be nice on the cruise you are looking at as it has several sea days you also have access to an upscale restaurant called Luminae. You can also choose to dine in the aqua class restaurant Blu and the regular MDR for no fee.

 

You'll also have access to a suite only lounge as well as a butler and concierge. These two staff members combined can vastly enhance your cruise experience and it's here that you'll really notice an increase in service levels if you decide to take advantage of it. Your butler will happily bring you coffee as soon as you wake too. Celebrity don't ordinarily include kettles on non UK sailings, but ask him for one and he'll oblige too if this is important to you as it seems to be.

 

Book through a US travel agent and with a suite booking you will receive four perks. These include unlimited internet, $300 OBC, prepaid gratuities and a premium drinks package which includes soft drinks, specialty teas and coffees, beer, wine, spirits and cocktails. Much better than the beverage packages offered on P&O.

 

As a suite guest you ar also likely to be invited to helipad sail aways and navigational bridge tours etc. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. This is personal opinion only but I believe the sky suites offer the best value for money on the whole ship.

[d4m]

Hi, we have previously cruised with P&O and Cunard, once with Royal Caribbean. OH has a special birthday next year and the preferred itinerary is on Celebrity Constellation (Arabian Sea and India). Please - where do I start? We always book a balcony cabin or a mini-suite; we enjoy fine dining; and we really like coffee the second we wake up :o. I need as many hints and tips as you can muster!

TIA

 

I would go on your roll call ASAP and ask as many questions as you want/need. That way there is constant interaction, without having to go from thread to thread. In the beginning with Celebrity, we found we got the best help on the roll calls!

[ScotchBoy]

If you want to experience the best service Celebrity has to offer I would consider a suite. If you have been reading the recent threads on here you will have realised that Celebrity is now very much a two tier cruise line. Their suites come with a lot more 'value add' than P&O.

 

For example, as well as the additional space which will be nice on the cruise you are looking at as it has several sea days you also have access to an upscale restaurant called Luminae. You can also choose to dine in the aqua class restaurant Blu and the regular MDR for no fee.

 

You'll also have access to a suite only lounge as well as a butler and concierge. These two staff members combined can vastly enhance your cruise experience and it's here that you'll really notice an increase in service levels if you decide to take advantage of it. Your butler will happily bring you coffee as soon as you wake too. Celebrity don't ordinarily include kettles on non UK sailings, but ask him for one and he'll oblige too if this is important to you as it seems to be.

 

Book through a US travel agent and with a suite booking you will receive four perks. These include unlimited internet, $300 OBC, prepaid gratuities and a premium drinks package which includes soft drinks, specialty teas and coffees, beer, wine, spirits and cocktails. Much better than the beverage packages offered on P&O.

 

As a suite guest you ar also likely to be invited to helipad sail aways and navigational bridge tours etc. I'm sure you'll enjoy it. This is personal opinion only but I believe the sky suites offer the best value for money on the whole ship.

 

Wow, this is really helpful information! Thanks :D

[villauk]

 

Book through a US travel agent and with a suite booking you will receive four perks. These include unlimited internet, $300 OBC, prepaid gratuities and a premium drinks package which includes soft drinks, specialty teas and coffees, beer, wine, spirits and cocktails.

 

Ensure you check the price on both sides of the pond for this itinerary, including all the perks/promos etc. I'm only saying this because the difference on our particular itinerary for the cruise you are considering was huge. We usually book via our US TA, but this time the difference on our sailing date was thousands of pounds less over here ;). Your sailing date may be different, however, it's best to check.