Jim_Iain - Live - comparison of Oceania Regatta - Vista Suite to Celebrity Millennium Royal Suite

[Jim_Iain]

9 minutes ago, George C said:

We did penthouse on edge on one of the first cruises after covid, the only thing I disliked was no outside area balcony had no sunlight completely covered , but we were really close to outdoor retreat and a few feet from Luminae.

 

The incredible part of the Penthouse is the size of the Bathroom and Walk in Closet.   I swear you could put a bed in the closet.

[chemmo]

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

The incredible part of the Penthouse is the size of the Bathroom and Walk in Closet.   I swear you could put a bed in the closet.

I often wonder why they don’t think about how best to use space in the bigger suites…If they lack inspiration why don’t they ask guests!?!

 

There really is a limit to how much luggage you take on a cruise re the walk in closet. Also how far you want to walk from the toilet to the sink to wash your hands in the bathroom. Having space in the bathroom to tango simply means they could have fitted in something extra like a small steam room…

 

When we cruised on the Silhouette post revolution we were surprised that the refit in the bathroom had removed drawers (so not practical) and the gained space in the lounge from removing the piano had resulted in the ‘gain’ of a rather odd looking side storage unit….

[George C]

31 minutes ago, chemmo said:

I often wonder why they don’t think about how best to use space in the bigger suites…If they lack inspiration why don’t they ask guests!?!

 

There really is a limit to how much luggage you take on a cruise re the walk in closet. Also how far you want to walk from the toilet to the sink to wash your hands in the bathroom. Having space in the bathroom to tango simply means they could have fitted in something extra like a small steam room…

 

When we cruised on the Silhouette post revolution we were surprised that the refit in the bathroom had removed drawers (so not practical) and the gained space in the lounge from removing the piano had resulted in the ‘gain’ of a rather odd looking side storage unit….

I miss the piano on M class Michaels , we do music charters with big name artist from the 70’s every year like America and Michael McDonald etc and sometimes someone would just play there , our 7th is in March on Summit, suites go really quick so we always book the next year on board and get same royal suite.

[Lena11033]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Ugh... that is not nice.   I guess he has a stronger stomach than you.   Hope it doesn't put you off on curry.

 

 

 

I love curry, either spice was a little much or it was the vegetables - he put a lot in from the garden so maybe something wasn't good because he did make his own sauce which had less vegetables but he put whole habaneros which I couldn't eat and took chicken from mine

[Mike981]

10 hours ago, Lena11033 said:

 

Thanks, yeah my husband made a curry and something he put into it made me sick (he was fine). Not the route I wanted to go for weight loss 😆

 

My first encounter with food poisoning (I've had it several times) was curry chicken and it took me a couple of decades before I would eat curry again.

 

2 hours ago, canderson said:

We've seen a little bit of that, too, but hoping for a cancellation is a heck of a way to plan a vacation!  Would be possible to get shut out of alternatives by waiting that long, and with all suites being NRD, that would be annoying to leave on the table.

 

 

Same here, we have to fly in and I just can't risk having to put up with something.

[Gracie115]

Can't wait to hear your comparison of the two lines.  I am certain you'll have a wonderful time on Regatta.  Bon Voyage!!!☺️

[mac_tlc]

Will also be following both threads! We have our first O cruise on Vista next year,  I believe we get on when you get off. We wanted to try O but did not want to go down to the smaller R class ships. 
 

We must be in the minority, at least on this thread, in that we like E class. But we also have two sailings on Silhouette booked — it’s all good. 
 

Looking forward to some pictures of doors!!!!!!

 

 

mac_tlc

[Jim_Iain]

Couple more comparison's -  This time Booking Terms

 

Oceania has higher deposit rates and Final Payment is earlier than Celebrity.

 

 

 

Since April 2 Celebrity has revised final payment dates to the following

 

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

Earlier I was asked about the comparison of prices -   I did the best I can in inclusion  of everything.  In my case my Travel Agency either applies an OBC up front or as a refundable deposit.    I usually get in the range of a 9% discount from my agent.

This of course is comparison of A Vista Suite on Oceania to a Royal Suite on Celebrity. 

 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, chemmo said:

I often wonder why they don’t think about how best to use space in the bigger suites…If they lack inspiration why don’t they ask guests!?!

 

There really is a limit to how much luggage you take on a cruise re the walk in closet. Also how far you want to walk from the toilet to the sink to wash your hands in the bathroom. Having space in the bathroom to tango simply means they could have fitted in something extra like a small steam room…

 

When we cruised on the Silhouette post revolution we were surprised that the refit in the bathroom had removed drawers (so not practical) and the gained space in the lounge from removing the piano had resulted in the ‘gain’ of a rather odd looking side storage unit….

 

You are 100% correct and have to say that from what I can see on the videos I've watched about Oceania they have much better utilization of space and of course didn't hire Kelly Hoppen to design rooms and furniture that is totally unusable.   That is one real major downside to Celebrity.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, George C said:

I miss the piano on M class Michaels , we do music charters with big name artist from the 70’s every year like America and Michael McDonald etc and sometimes someone would just play there , our 7th is in March on Summit, suites go really quick so we always book the next year on board and get same royal suite.

 

The good news is that the Piano is still in place on some of the ships that have not gone through Revolution. 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Lena11033 said:

 

I love curry, either spice was a little much or it was the vegetables - he put a lot in from the garden so maybe something wasn't good because he did make his own sauce which had less vegetables but he put whole habaneros which I couldn't eat and took chicken from mine

 

We are not big fans of Curry.   I eat it but would not be my first choice.   Iain's Mother use to make some really good Curry meals and I enjoyed them.   Luckily they were not on the hot side.

 

 

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Mike981 said:

 

My first encounter with food poisoning (I've had it several times) was curry chicken and it took me a couple of decades before I would eat curry again.

 

 

Same here, we have to fly in and I just can't risk having to put up with something.

 

I got food poising on Celebrity on a Pacific Coastal.   We were in Blu and I had the Sea Food Risotto.    I was sick as a dog and spent 1/2 the night laying on the floor in the bathroom - at one point I almost pulled the emergency cable (we were in an accessible suite)

 

The only other time I have been sick at sea was 20 years ago when I came down with Noro.   That is an experience I hope i never have to experience again.  

[Jim_Iain]

2 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

Can't wait to hear your comparison of the two lines.  I am certain you'll have a wonderful time on Regatta.  Bon Voyage!!!☺️

 

Thanks Gracie ---  The count down is on.      Packing is done and all i have to do is cook dinner tonight.  

 

Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach Bacon And Mushrooms

 

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

Will also be following both threads! We have our first O cruise on Vista next year,  I believe we get on when you get off. We wanted to try O but did not want to go down to the smaller R class ships. 
 

We must be in the minority, at least on this thread, in that we like E class. But we also have two sailings on Silhouette booked — it’s all good. 
 

Looking forward to some pictures of doors!!!!!!

 

 

mac_tlc

 

I think my biggest displeasure on E-Class is Luminae.   It seemed that on all 7 of our e-Class cruises in the past year had the same problems.   The food was pre-cooked and served diner style vs cook to order.   On a number of occasions the plate was too hot to touch but the protein itself was cold in the middle.  A number of dishes also arrived with missing elements etc.    I had the Carbonara one night it it was totally inedible.   It was like a big ball of starch with no sauce and the poached egg was hard boiled.   It was  only meal i've ever sent back.    The waiter was of course apologetic but by that time I totally lost my appetite and just decided to leave.

 

On Apex it may have been the poultry cook but everything came out so over cooked I couldn't get it off the bone.    Finally the MD would go back and  supervise the cooking of poultry.   I swear a road runner run over by a truck in the desert would have been better than most of the poultry.   Luckily at the end of the first cruise the chef left the ship and the new one did  a good job of cooking poultry.

[mac_tlc]

10 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I think my biggest displeasure on E-Class is Luminae.   It seemed that on all 7 of our e-Class cruises in the past year had the same problems.   The food was pre-cooked and served diner style vs cook to order.   On a number of occasions the plate was too hot to touch but the protein itself was cold in the middle.  A number of dishes also arrived with missing elements etc.    I had the Carbonara one night it it was totally inedible.   It was like a big ball of starch with no sauce and the poached egg was hard boiled.   It was  only meal i've ever sent back.    The waiter was of course apologetic but by that time I totally lost my appetite and just decided to leave.

 

On Apex it may have been the poultry cook but everything came out so over cooked I couldn't get it off the bone.    Finally the MD would go back and  supervise the cooking of poultry.   I swear a road runner run over by a truck in the desert would have been better than most of the poultry.   Luckily at the end of the first cruise the chef left the ship and the new one did  a good job of cooking poultry.

I guess we have been lucky to not encounter the issues you experienced. I do wish the menus in Luminae had more options, or changed more frequently. We have had the opportunity to sail in SS most of our E-class sailings and the menu is "predictable". It is an advantage of S and M class that you can order from the MDR menus. 

 

mac_tlc

[bjahil47]

17 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

I think my biggest displeasure on E-Class is Luminae.   It seemed that on all 7 of our e-Class cruises in the past year had the same problems.   The food was pre-cooked and served diner style vs cook to order.   On a number of occasions the plate was too hot to touch but the protein itself was cold in the middle.  A number of dishes also arrived with missing elements etc.    I had the Carbonara one night it it was totally inedible.   It was like a big ball of starch with no sauce and the poached egg was hard boiled.   It was  only meal i've ever sent back.    The waiter was of course apologetic but by that time I totally lost my appetite and just decided to leave.

 

On Apex it may have been the poultry cook but everything came out so over cooked I couldn't get it off the bone.    Finally the MD would go back and  supervise the cooking of poultry.   I swear a road runner run over by a truck in the desert would have been better than most of the poultry.   Luckily at the end of the first cruise the chef left the ship and the new one did  a good job of cooking poultry.

I have to agree with you.  We were on Beyond in March and Luminae was very disappointing.  We have never had that mediocre food in there before.  We even ate in buffet a few times as it was excellent.  

[shirazcruiser]

26 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

On Apex it may have been the poultry cook but everything came out so over cooked I couldn't get it off the bone.    Finally the MD would go back and  supervise the cooking of poultry.   I swear a road runner run over by a truck in the desert would have been better than most of the poultry.   Luckily at the end of the first cruise the chef left the ship and the new one did  a good job of cooking poultry.

Well that's disappointing as we'll be sailing on Apex in a few weeks and dining in Luminae. Our last Celebrity cruises were B2B in Oct 2024 on Reflection and the meals in Luminae were almost inedible. We've had better luck with Princess, but we are now looking at Oceania. 

Edited Friday at 11:30 PM by shirazcruiser

[abbydancer2003]

1 hour ago, shirazcruiser said:

Well that's disappointing as we'll be sailing on Apex in a few weeks and dining in Luminae. Our last Celebrity cruises were B2B in Oct 2024 on Reflection and the meals in Luminae were almost inedible. We've had better luck with Princess, but we are now looking at Oceania. 

We just got off of Apex, and most of the Luminae food was fine.  Boring, but fine.  We've been on Celebrity in mostly sky suites about 70 days prior to the last cruise, and we're very tired of the menus.  (We got a move up to an upper suite and ate in specialty a lot).  I don't eat chocolate, so desserts have been a problem now that my go to vacherin has been replaced with the chocolate disaster.  Good thing I like creme brulee.

 

[shirazcruiser]

10 minutes ago, abbydancer2003 said:

We just got off of Apex, and most of the Luminae food was fine.  Boring, but fine.  We've been on Celebrity in mostly sky suites about 70 days prior to the last cruise, and we're very tired of the menus.  (We got a move up to an upper suite and ate in specialty a lot).  I don't eat chocolate, so desserts have been a problem now that my go to vacherin has been replaced with the chocolate disaster.  Good thing I like creme brulee.

 

We’ve sailed on Celebrity annually since 2015 in between other lines only in SS and we too are tired of the Luminae menu. If we didn’t have a compensation credit to use up …we wouldn’t have booked next month’s cruise which will be our 48th sailing. DH  prefers Princess now and their Penthouse is nicer than the SS. 

[realnice46]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks Gracie ---  The count down is on.      Packing is done and all i have to do is cook dinner tonight.  

 

Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach Bacon And Mushrooms

 

That looks really good.

[abbydancer2003]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks Gracie ---  The count down is on.      Packing is done and all i have to do is cook dinner tonight.  

 

Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach Bacon And Mushrooms

 

What time should I come over?  It looks great.

[canderson]

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Since April 2 Celebrity has revised final payment dates to the following

 

 

 

?  First I've heard of that.  The cruises we've currently got booked, all done after April 2, show the 'normal' 90 days on the invoices, with the same cancellation schedule, too:

 

[abbydancer2003]

8 minutes ago, canderson said:

?  First I've heard of that.  The cruises we've currently got booked, all done after April 2, show the 'normal' 90 days on the invoices, with the same cancellation schedule, too:

 

We have Galapogos, and when I booked it, it was a 120 day final.  (Booked in 2021).  When I got an email about final in July for December, I was surprised.  They told  me about the new terms, and said that I booked under the old.  Apparently, I added air after the change, so that triggered the new terms.

 

[Gracie115]

11 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Thanks Gracie ---  The count down is on.      Packing is done and all i have to do is cook dinner tonight.  

 

Smothered Chicken with Creamed Spinach Bacon And Mushrooms

 

 

THAT looks wonderful!!!!