We haven't been on X in a while...have questions

[Lois R]

Camella, not shooting the messenger;)

but I am assuming..oops you know what assuming gets you...

I am guessing if EVERYONE decided to leave whenever they

wanted to it would be total chaos.

The tags are one thing and using the honar system goes along

with that:)

[DrKoob]

Hi there,

 

We're gonig on Century in a couple of weeks and haven't been on X in a couple years. We have a few questions:

 

- we're trying late dining for the first time. Will the show be after our dining? We're hoping so, since if there's nothing to do and we're full, that wouldn't be great.

Not sure about a Caribbean Cruise but on Century in Europe last fall 90% of shows for late seating were before dinner.

 

- do they do a formal tea on a 4-day cruise? Since we've never had late dining, we never tried it so we wouldn't be full for dinner.

They have on the three and four day cruises we have been on.

 

- do they still have the martini tastings and are they offered more than once a cruise?

Yes they do. In fact you can get them every night. But don't! Don't get me wrong. I love all the X martinis and if Sudi is still on board as he was when we were on board last November you will be getting the best ever. But after long-time martini experience we NEVER get the tastings. The reason--they are not shaken at the table. They are made behind the bar in a large group and they come out at room temp or sometimes warm. Martinis should always be served VERY COLD!

 

- I know this is a more subjective question but our CC cabin isn't any bigger than a regular balcony on an RCL ship. Do folks find that CC cabins are more nicely appointed than regular balcony rooms? It wasn't a great deal more than a regular balcony so it wasn't a big investment if it doesn't end up feeling like much of an upgrade.

We love CC. I just did an X online survey about it. Best parts for us are the towels, the bathrobes, the early embarkation/debarkation, the priority tendering. There are other perks but they don't matter to us. We have done all our X cruises in CC and we won't do it any other way.

 

- do they have wine flights in any of the bars on Century?

Yes, try the Cova Cafe.

 

- expecting to thoroughly enjoy ourselves, we're wondering if X has a Next Cruise option the way RCL does? Can you book an RCL Next Cruise while on Celebrity?

Even better than booking a future cruise, you can buy a future cruise certificate. Then instead of booking a particular cruise you are not sure of, you can take a reservation for I believe a $100 per person that you can then use with X or your TA to book any future cruise and you still get the onboard credit you would if you booked the actual cruise onboard. We currently have two of these we can use whenever we see a cruise we like open up. We know we will use two in the coming month when X opens Australia/NZ 2010.

 

-are the spa prices generally the same as on RCL? Are the specials decent?

Can't compare with RCL but my bride who uses the spa says they are comparable with the spa she uses at home.

 

- We'll be the equivalent of Elite, because of our status on RCL. Does this get you much on a 4-day cruise? I'm particularly wondering about the "special invitaitons" they mention (which they also mention in our CC cabin description) and am wondering if they do those on short cruises?

Much of this will be up to the Captain's Club host/hostess. We are Elite and on our last Century cruise we ate at the Captain's table, had a tour of the bridge, the galley and two different receptions and a wine tasting. You will also get a special place to go before you disembark which is much less crowded than waiting in the theater or a large lounge. If you are interested in getting some of these perks, stop by the Captain's Club hostess desk soon after you board and introduce yourself. We have had two outstanding Captain's Club hostesses since we reached Elite.

 

- we will be in a CC category. How early would we expect to get off in Miami if the ship is scheduled to arrive at 7?

We were in CC and Elite in Barcelona in November and we could not only get off the ship by 7, they actually asked us to leave by 6:30. But every port is different.

 

That would be about as much as I can tell you. Have a great time and tell Sudi that Jim and Kathleen said hello. And if you haven't seen or heard of Sudi prior to this, check him out at http://web.mac.com/jimbellomo/Barcelona-Century_2007/Sudi.html

[Schplinky]

Just another little tidbit.. When we arrived from the Constellation we had a little bit of a delay because someone collapsed in the port I guess during early disembarkation. OK other posters...DON'T SHOOT THE MESSENGER HERE..but you can pretty much leave whenever you feel like it. They don't know what color your tags are when you are waiting because all you tagged luggage is downstairs and has been since 5am. So if you want to get off the ship earlier and have transportation (not from the cruise line) you should be able to get off whenever you want. Hope this helps! And like I said guys, don't shoot the messenger, just trying to give the guy some reality tips if he needs them!

 

Not shooting here but in Miami, the bags are put on the conveyers according to color so I'm not sure sneaking off early is a positive plan.

[Schplinky]

That would be about as much as I can tell you. Have a great time and tell Sudi that Jim and Kathleen said hello. And if you haven't seen or heard of Sudi prior to this, check him out at http://web.mac.com/jimbellomo/Barcelona-Century_2007/Sudi.html

 

Thanks for all the advice, Dr. Koob.

 

I'll be disappointed if the shows are all before late dinner. One of the ways I convinced Mike to try it (we usually eat early) was by saying that we'd have dinner, go to the show and then hang out a bar. He was concerned we'd be too full to sleep. If there's nothing to do but hang out until we're not too full to sleep, I might be in trouble.

[hajekfam]

Camella, not shooting the messenger;)

but I am assuming..oops you know what assuming gets you...

I am guessing if EVERYONE decided to leave whenever they

wanted to it would be total chaos.

The tags are one thing and using the honar system goes along

with that:)

 

Hi Lois - I agree. I am also concerned that if more and more people do this, Celebrity will require you to show your baggage color before allowing you to disembark.

[Lois R]

Good morning.....I forgot to reply to that one.....I agree with Jim

though~but I cannot remember from December.

Usually the shows for late diners are BEFORE dinner.

Not always, 100% of the time of course but normally the

show is 7:00 for those who have late dinner.

I very rarely attend them as I am in the Martini bar pre dinner:D

[Schplinky]

Hi Lois - I agree. I am also concerned that if more and more people do this, Celebrity will require you to show your baggage color before allowing you to disembark.

 

 

HAL did that when we sailed with them. It was stunning how many people they weeded out of the line this way. I think people were just frustrated (we'd been in port over two hours before they started unloading passengers on that sailing).

[Schplinky]

Good morning.....I forgot to reply to that one.....I agree with Jim

though~but I cannot remember from December.

Usually the shows for late diners are BEFORE dinner.

Not always, 100% of the time of course but normally the

show is 7:00 for those who have late dinner.

I very rarely attend them as I am in the Martini bar pre dinner:D

 

We may have to skip a show or two, also, since we have the same interests as you! :)

[hajekfam]

- expecting to thoroughly enjoy ourselves, we're wondering if X has a Next Cruise option the way RCL does? Can you book an RCL Next Cruise while on Celebrity?

Even better than booking a future cruise, you can buy a future cruise certificate. Then instead of booking a particular cruise you are not sure of, you can take a reservation for I believe a $100 per person that you can then use with X or your TA to book any future cruise and you still get the onboard credit you would if you booked the actual cruise onboard. We currently have two of these we can use whenever we see a cruise we like open up. We know we will use two in the coming month when X opens Australia/NZ 2010.

The onboard booking credit is not based on length of cruise as Royal Caribbean. The amount of credit depends on the cruisefare of the cruise you are booking.

For Celebrity:

Onboard Credit Amt - For cruisefares from

$50 per stateroom - $1 to $2499

$100 per stateroom - $2500 to $3999

$150 per stateroom - $4000 to $5999

$200 per stateroom - $6000 to $7499

$250 per stateroom - $7500+

[Schplinky]

That's crummy (but sort of understandable) but I think we'll buy an open booking, hoping they revert to the old system before we redeem it. I've heard rumours they're gonig back to matching RCL's plan because their onboard bookings have dropped.

[Lois R]

That's crummy (but sort of understandable) but I think we'll buy an open booking, hoping they revert to the old system before we redeem it. I've heard rumours they're gonig back to matching RCL's plan because their onboard bookings have dropped.

 

I wish that were so....I did not book anything while on Galaxy

last month and forgot about the 100.00 thing too:rolleyes: and the

Future Consultant was not offering up any helpful information

either.

[hajekfam]

That's crummy (but sort of understandable) but I think we'll buy an open booking, hoping they revert to the old system before we redeem it. I've heard rumours they're gonig back to matching RCL's plan because their onboard bookings have dropped.

I think those rumors started because some booked their cruise during Celebrity's triple star (I think that was the name) promotion a couple of months back which was offering an onboard credit based on the number of nights.