Review 12-16-2007 Eastern Caribbean including links to Celebrity Today & Menus LONG

[larronry]

I checked again with this original URL posted and the page didn't come up.

http://s45.photobucket.com/albums/f86/sharonrj/cruise%20critic/Menus/

 

Check to see if they are still under that URL. I wonder sometimes if these sites move stuff without telling the people that post the photos to them.

I couldn't get back to the dailies either. Bummer if the site is still not working... maybe if you have time and don't mind, you could just email the menus and dailies to me??? If so, please do so at your leisure and thanks again!

tlbesser@aol.com

 

Thanks!

Tammy

I'll do my best to e-mail them to you but there are a lot of photos and they may be rejected due to size. I'm clicking on the link on the first post so I know I'm getting there the same way you are.

 

The weather was fantastic - the only rain we had was a brief downpour just after we embarked (around 12:00) in Port Everglades.

 

The wait staff in the Metropolitan was not the greatest - but we're pretty sure that Celebrity has downsized the wait staff there, meaning that each waiter and assistant waiter had more tables to serve. Our waiter was pleasant, but his personality was not exactly engaging? But, we did understand each other perfectly (no mistaken orders), and we certainly were able to enjoy our dinners there.

 

Happy cruising,

 

Sam

Sorry your respiratory issues acted up. So did my sons. :( Actually it also rained on Monday but that was also brief. If you weren't outside you missed it.

 

I am glad your waiter was pleasant. Ours was downright rude. Not just to us but to the other couple at our table. Our waiter was as bad when it came to mistakes as the one that I had on my Carnival cruise, but he (the one on Carnival) had such a nice personality and was trying so hard that it just didn't irritate you was much. This guy when my husband asked a question as to what something was he answered and then followed it up with "and chicken is chicken" My husband doesn't like cheeses and always verifies whether something is a cheese or not if he is unsure. That comment was uncalled for.

 

 

Your review seems to complain about things that are in your control.

 

You picked the itinerary so if it was boring that is your problem. You are absoulutely right. My mistake. I thought it would be nice to go to places I've never been before. I'll never trust Celebrity again without doing a lot more research.

 

Your husband and you mis communicated about debarkation. What would you like Celebrity to do about that? Actually only partially correct. We were given the incorrect tags had we been given the correct tags I would have had shorter distance to go by myself with the luggage and guest relations would have been able to direct my husband to exactly where I was waiting for him. Also, they had the ability to radio the other rooms since they refuse to page. If they had just radioed the theater to find out if anyone was missing their husband and child those in the theater would have responded back yes and they could have directed him there. So yes Celebrity staff could have been more helpful.

 

Why go to the Carribean if you have no interest in beach? I've been on cruises to Cozumel, Jamaica, Key West, Grand Cayman, Nassau, St. Thomas, St. Maartin, and now San Juan, Casa de Campo, and Tortolla (I may have left out some) and the only time we have ever gone to the beach was the private islands of Princess Cay and Labadee. We cruise the Caribbean because it takes us 20 minutes to get to the Port (Everglades which is where we usually sail out of).

 

I am confident that there were many others who enjoyed their cruise at the same time. Please keep your reviews to things that Celebrity can do. You are right many people did enjoy their cruise, but I met many on board who were one there 20+ Celebrity cruise and they were disappointed. Service was not up to the standard they were used to and food didn't meet either the variety or quality they were used to.

 

sounds like afiction novel if you ask me

 

This thread is a perfect example of the vast discrepancies between what various people look for in a vacation. I'm going to be on Millennium in a few weeks (THANK YOU for the dailies, Sharon!) and I expect to have a wonderful vacation, because virtually none of the negatives that Sharon mentioned apply to me. I absolutely despise shopping and will go out of my way to avoid it.

 

I'm also not crazy about being fussed over -- in fact, it makes me somewhat uncomfortable -- so the service would have to be extraordinarly dismal for me to be bothered by it. And if it's that bad, I'll save money by cutting back on tips! So there's a silver lining right there!

 

The two things I'm really hoping for on this vacation are things that Celebrity can't charge me for and really can't mess up -- sunshine and sleep! (Yes, I'm bringing earplugs even though I'm on a quiet part of the ship). Coming from single-digit temperatures and a snow-covered landscape, I'm not going to let much of anything bother me as long as I'm there and not here!

-Sarah

I'm actually not into shopping I just know a lot of people are. But it also points out how developed or not an area is. I've never been nervous walking around an area as I was this cruise. Someone wrote, I'm not sure if it was this thread or another, that they didn't bring their camera because of what they had heard. Turns out they went to an area that was safer then where I went.

 

I don't always like being fussed over, but that is part of what you pay for when you pay more for a Celebrity Cruise. So I do expect a little bit more service then I got on Princess and not less. As for the quiet I think you'll have it as the rooms seem to be pretty well insulated. Except for someone on our cruise wrote on this board they were in a CC cabin under the pool deck and they had a problem when the chairs were being stacked. But we heard nothing from above or to our sides.

 

EditorMom, I think just like you!!!! I hate shopping and would never consider that to be a vacation activity! I also don't like waiters that are constantly interrupting me at dinner. Nor do I want the same beverage delivered to me every night at dinner. Just because I'm in the mood for it the first night does not mean that I want it every night!!!

 

For me there was nothing in the review that would have a negative impact on my cruise. For others, those things might be important which is why CC is great! :D

 

What has me a tad concerned is that it sounds like housekeeping in the cabins can be hit or miss. I don't mind wear and tear....but I do expect it to be clean. I've yet to see a dirty ship.

My room was clean but I was talking to someone either at breakfast or lunch who said their room wasn't ever done before 1:30 in the afternoon. That would bother me. I've been reading about the mold in the showers on this ship on the board for a while so that didn't surprise me.

 

As for the drinks. Well the only thing my husband and I absolutely want every night is water and some nights it took an hour to get that because they were too busy. Or they would give water to some of us at the table but not all.

 

In all my experiences with cruising including some extremely rough seas and some missed ports and nearly missing the boat even though we were on a ship excursion if I have a good waiter (not necessarily perfect but at least with a good personality) and a happy room steward I will remember the cruise fondly. I absolutely hated the food on Princess but that's not stopping us from considering a future cruise on Princess. Every staff person we dealt with was pleasant and happy and that's all I ask for when I'm on vacation.

 

I will say most of the staff I interacted with in the Buffet area was great and I know a lot of them are waiters in the dining room. We just didn't luck out.

[KnoxvilleSam]

Sharon -

 

With your bad experience on the Millennium, and a bad experience (with the food you hated on Princess), I don't understand why you'd want to keep cruising. Seems to me that you might be happier with other experiences - ones where you're more in control of what happens and not dependent on the behavior of others. Maybe DisneyWorld, maybe all-inclusive resort, maybe the mountains? I don't know. But you seem to have really been unhappy with this cruise (based on your comments in various threads recently), so much so that I'd do something different.

 

In our case, we're spending 3 weeks in France this May on a land-based vacation - no cruising. As I noted, we may well cruise again [maybe on another Celebrity ship, maybe on Azamara, maybe even on Princess:)], but I find that varying our vacation experiences a bit makes all of them more enjoyable.

 

Sam

[larronry]

Sharon -

 

With your bad experience on the Millennium, and a bad experience (with the food you hated on Princess), I don't understand why you'd want to keep cruising. Seems to me that you might be happier with other experiences - ones where you're more in control of what happens and not dependent on the behavior of others. Maybe DisneyWorld, maybe all-inclusive resort, maybe the mountains? I don't know. But you seem to have really been unhappy with this cruise (based on your comments in various threads recently), so much so that I'd do something different.

 

In our case, we're spending 3 weeks in France this May on a land-based vacation - no cruising. As I noted, we may well cruise again [maybe on another Celebrity ship, maybe on Azamara, maybe even on Princess:)], but I find that varying our vacation experiences a bit makes all of them more enjoyable.

 

Sam

On the Millenium it was a bad experience across the board. It was the first time that ever happened. I'm not going to knock an industry because of one incident. Heck if that were the case I wouldn't be flying either. And as for Disney World we were there in August and are planning another trip there in August or September. All inclusive are out because well for the most part you are talking about beaches and well I can get in my car and drive 20 minutes anytime I want to go to one of those. And basically my husband and son always have to be going and doing and going and doing and going and doing. So land vacations have to be planned with constant stuff to do. Going on vacation with my husband before having a child was so exhausting. I just can't imagine doing it now. And we loved our Princess cruise I didn't like the salty food but I had a lot of fun otherwise. And since our experience with almost being left (NCL) we don't tend to do ship excursions except we did in Jamaica. I really wanted to fall in love with the Millennium like I did with the Century. After our Century cruise we said we would never cruise on any other cruise line except Celebrity until they canceled the 12/16/06 sailing. And we didn't hold that against them after maybe a week.

 

My mistake was that I set my expectations too high. We expected something close to the kind of service we got on the Century. Only I got about the equivalent of my Carnival cruise only the Asst. Maitre' D on Carnival was nicer (useless but nicer). At this point in my life I'm not willing to book an Azamara cruise because I just have to many child related expenses to look forward to so I think we'll just stick with the cheaper cruises. I'm not going to pay for service I may or may not get, if Celebrity improves in the future then great we'll try again.

 

Before this cruise there were some threads of people deciding which cruise line (I think usually Celebrity vs. Princess) and I always pushed Celebrity because it was so wonderful. Believe me I'm not a negative person.

[Coco Creek]

Good luck with your other cruise lines. Here's hoping you find what you are looking for.

 

As for me, I found it on Celebrity.

 

Happy Sailing.