jan-n-john

DW and I aren't big drinkers so we'll probably skip the alcoholic drink packages, but are looking at the non-alcoholic packages. In comparing the Classic and Premium non-alcoholic drink packages from the X website, it seems the Premium package includes everything in the Classic package plus, among other things, "specialty non-alcoholic coffees" and "frozen non-alcoholic drinks" (Note that both packages offer "premium coffee and tea," but the Premium package is apparently an additional step-up for coffee).

Help me out here. What exactly is "specialty non-alcoholic coffee" anyway, and is it way better than "premium coffee"? Also, what sort of frozen non-alcoholic drinks are available, and are they served in all the bars, just some, or none? In general, is the step-up to the Premium package worthwhile or not?

Do the responses in this thread specifically relate to taxi availability upon disembarkation? We will likely stay at a hotel around the airport and use their shuttle to get to the ship. My concern is what happens on the day of return, with people exiting who knows how many ships all at the same time? Seems like there might be more people than taxi's at that time. Is it really easy to get one and get out of there? We will have about a six hour drive home and I don't really want to wait forever just to get back to our car and get on the road. Thanks in advance for all help.

I have to agree with all, but fish, fish can be kept fresh at near freezing for a long time, much of the fresh fish, especially grouper, sea bass and other expensive fish coming from foreign countries, could be over 14 days old/on ice.

We are fish eaters, having been sport fishermen/women all our lives, and had access to fresh/frozen fish/lobster as much as we wanted. Some species just do not freeze well, or for long such as snapper (not much more than a month), we learned that the hard way, on the other hand Florida lobster(spiny lobster) can keep almost indefinitely, I still have some in my freezer almost 8 years old, does it taste good, well yes to others but a little freezer burned to me, but still more than edible.

Perhaps this is why we always have relatively poor fish dishes on the ships, even in specialty restaurants, it may have been frozen too long, especially for items not ordered by cruisers in large amounts like expensive halibut or Chilean Sea bass.

What you say is probably true of home freezing, but much less so of properly-done commercial freezing. Commercial freezing is usually done IQF, meaning individually quick frozen, and then properly vacuum sealed, none of which is possible at home because it requires very expensive commercial equipment. Frozen fish and frozen everything else used on cruise ships and commercial settings on shore is normally at least as good, if not better than, never-been-frozen foods, the exception being the fairly rare case when the non-frozen food has been very carefully tended to since it was dressed, and that rarely happens in the real world.

Freezing has a bad name mostly because of folks experience with home freezing. On a commercial scale, it's a whole different world of quality.

There are a lot of popular misconceptions about frozen vs. fresh fish in general. For example, often one sees the statement that a certain sushi place uses only the finest and freshest fish and that's why it's so good. Actually, essentially ALL sushi is prepared from fish that has been frozen, by law, due to the need to eliminate parasites. That extremely expensive toro (tuna belly) arrives frozen hard as a brick to the central markets in Japan, coming off ships which caught it maybe weeks before. Did you ever see a documentary where they were pulling it off of the delivery trucks, and it bounces on the floor? Most fish, if eaten raw as in sushi, do not achieve the highest flavor profile until they have been out of the water for a time. Fresh is not always the best; that's a myth. That said, it can deteriorate quickly, and it's a fine line that needs to be walked.

Is it really true that people don't know the meaning of the word formal? There are options available for those who don't care to dress on Formal Nights. Dining in the main dining room is not one of them.

 

It's very simple. Decide what's important to you and then choose to abide by the dress code or make other arrangements for the evening.

Here's a slightly different formal clothes question.

A guayabera (shirt) is considered formal dress in many countries, particularly in the tropics. Obviously, one does not wear a jacket with one of these. If one were to choose to wear a guayabera as formal dress, particularly an elegant long sleeved french cuff one with tasteful cuff links, would that likely pass muster? Has anyone seen this on Celebrity?

If you are interested in those resturants it may be to your advantage to sign up for the Ultimate Dining package that is $29/ day pp. You will be able to have all of your dining in those restuarants with some restrictions. I think it is listed on X website.

 

I have heard you can only do it the first day on board and for the whole cruise.

 

 

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Equally important, how likely is it that one will be able to dine in various specialty restaurants at discounted prices? I have read numerous posts here that on the first night cut-rate specialty dining is common. Is that true, and what about the rest of the voyage? WE will be sailing (on Reflection) in mid-Dec. in a slow week -- does that tend to affect the likelihood of finding deals? Obviously, the subtext of my question is whether it makes sense to go for a package or just hang loose and see what happens.

I'm curious to hear actual experience/opinions about what is the bottom-line cost of a typical pay-as-you-go cruise (low starting cost but pay extra for things) vs. an all-inclusive like Regency Seven Seas, Seabourne, etc. Of course I understand it varies with the person, but just wanted to get a feel for peoples' experiences.

Full disclosure: we will be doing a week in the Carribean in Dec. on Celebrity, then a similar trip in February on Regent Seven Seas. Base fare (Aqua Class) on Celebrity is about 1400 pp; on RSS, it is about 3500 pp. (including air fare and hotel and transfers). When all is said and done, I certainly expect RSS to come in higher, but the question is, what spread would typically be experienced when all the dust has settled? Ballpark numbers.

Let's say on Celebrity we are talking about a few nice dinners other than Blu, 2-3 shore excursions, a few drinks per day, gratuities, spa day, and so on, plus air fare, hotel, etc. Typical cruise. But what other things are lurking there that will separate us from our money that we won't experience on RSS? (obviously casino, shopping, dining ashore etc don't count since they're the same for both).

What has been your typical final day total (to the cruise line) for a nice cruise on a good ship (say 4-5 stars), and how do all the extras add to the basic fare? How much do you really save by not going all-inclusive?

Obviously we'll find out for ourselves, but I thought I'd ask.