highway180

On 10/12/2023 at 3:56 PM, fstuff1 said:

Good bid prices.

But Can't bid on upgrades on free casino cruises

Yes you can!

18 hours ago, markeb said:

 

That's the thing, isn't it? I just thumbed through the wine lists in the app (not thorough; I'm not that into this question) and finally found Decoy (presumably the Cab) by the bottle. It's showing $19/glass on the current Equinox sailing. It's a $19/bottle retail wine. IF they're offering it by the glass, it should be $85/bottle ($19 * 5), which would be truly outrageous. Even crazier, it's actually $70 a bottle (again, the app only says Decoy, so I'm making the assumption that's the Cab) which makes no sense whatsoever! It's not that good of a wine to begin with, and that's a crazy stupid markup. The packages really skew the wine prices! There's no way I'd spend $70 for a bottle of Decoy when Freemark Abbey is $110, or even better, Penner-Ash Pinot Noir is $100. But if you have the premium package, Decoy is "free" and the much better Pinot Noir is $100, less 20% discount for the premium package plus 20% gratuity, so really $96 that you're actually paying. There is a level of insanity here!

 

Just returned from an amazing week in Napa visiting wineries and tasting real wine. Need to breathe deep, calm down, and avoid wine threads on Cruise Critic...

Agreed

i always get the premium pkg, but if I opt for a bottle purchase, i almost always opt for Freemark Abbey.

The so called cheaper wines are not to my liking, plus always bring a couple of decent wines from home.

Cheers

52 minutes ago, chemmo said:

I would at times say the outdoor pool is not friendly to families…There is always the ‘serious swimmer’ who feel it is appropriate to do full lengths in a pool regardless of swiping out of the way two six year olds and a grey haired elderly lady (me). To say nothing for the clique of elderly ladies (not me) standing in one area unwilling to move even when they are blocking access to the steps…
 

Also there is that temperature issue…There are many cruises where the outdoor pools are only for the hardy! The Mediterranean end of season, The Far East isn’t consistently hot and both TA and TP cruises can have many inclement days…

 

All I am trying to say is that I cannot see the hardship for most adults to have the Solarium open to families for just a couple of hours a day…

I couldn't agree with you more!!

6 minutes ago, kayehall said:

I am excited to have my first SV on Solstice for Alaska!!!!  I was on Deck 8 but started looking at some pictures and changed to Deck 7.  7364 looked like it had a wider balcony than the others.  Since it's Alaska, I will welcome any sunshine and wear a hat.  I already had 1 bout with melanoma, don't need another!!!!

Excellent choice, we had a SV on the Solstice in Alaska earlier this year.You won't be disappointed

We always print our tags.There is always the risk of porters not labeling them correctly. We sailed out of Seattle recently, with  drop off for 2 ships in the same location: 1 Royal, 1 Celebrity. It was chaos to say the least. I ended up meeting 2 families ( with young children) who never received their luggage, both had porters write them up. their luggage ended up on the wrong ship. It was no fun having to replace items during the cruise (Alaska)

cheers

12 hours ago, LaCal said:

How was the Murano specialty lunch? 

 

We bought the Trio pkg which includes that lunch 

The Specialty lunch was very good, a bit over the top for my granddaughter(who requested a hot dog and pasta...with lots of extra cheese), which they were happy to accommodate. We all enjoyed.

Cheers

7 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

This is an example of what us non-cheerleaders have had to listen to..."cut in food quality doesn't affect us, don't be so negative!", "glad they got rid of the pillow chocolates, too many calories, great move celebrity!", "happy for the additional lobster tail fee, once saw someone order 7 tails", etc

Honestly, I don't know why you Non cheerleaders still post on this board?????

you don't like the product....move on to another line, and you can annoy those on that lines board.

Over 7,000 posts, and most are either BS, or whining.

there are many here who enjoy X,and enjoy letting people about sales, great excursions and the like.

It's the same tired group constantly complaining, on every thread,

Constructive criticism ok, but honestly it's getting tiresome.

I actually give X a lot of credit, giving the constant supply chain issues, supplying ships worldwide, with a consistent level of merchandise. the problem is real, and people just don't care or understand. There is a ton of competition for goods worldwide, especially food.

Not a cheerleader, but like the product

20 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

We will be on Solstice in Dec/Jan and am disappointed to read your post.  Fortunately it is a very Asia port intensive cruise so we at least have that.  Did you try Murano?

It's funny how people can come up with such diverse opinions about food. We were on the Solstice on the July 28th sailing, and our entire group enjoyed the food, choices, and over the top service. We ate in the MDR, Oceanview, Tuscan, Tuscan specialty lunch, and Murano specialty lunch. No complaints: we were a party of 5, ages 5-63. Service was as good as I've ever experienced .They really went above and beyond to accommodate my granddaughter.

Cheers

Nice Snag. I’ve had very mixed offers as of late. Blue chips has gone from you don’t qualify to comped concierge veranda. We ended up on the January 28th sailing 

cheers

On 8/31/2023 at 12:48 AM, tigervixxxen said:

Hello, I am on this sailing too! Stop by the roll call if you haven’t already.

 

If you had to pick one I’d take Tuscan Grill but they each have their perks. We are doing Tuscan and Murano. I’m saving Sushi on 5 for emergency purposes, the fact you can get in at lunch as well means not really a must to plan that one ahead. There also is apparently a Murano lunch on our sailing which could be another option. Eating in the MDR 15+ times I definitely hear you on fear of burnout. 

yes

they do an awesome job with the lunch specials, we ate at both lunch specials offered on our Alaska cruise (Tuscan & Murano). Two totally different , but each very good in their respective ways.

On 8/30/2023 at 11:03 AM, KellyCz said:

We ate at Tuscan Grille this July (Alaska) and were underwhelmed. Other than the wake view (table for two right at the window), it was no better than the MDR in terms of food or service. Disappointing for the price.

Wow

What sailing were you on? We were onboard for July 28th, and it was exceptional, all the way around. We ate there  2 dinners and the lunch special. Everyone in our party of 5 enjoyed it thoroughly.

I will admit the lunch special was pricey.

Cheers

Yes I believe they now serve warm water lobster. I expect better on my Alaska cruise but it was definitely not what I expected. I do understand the logistics of supplying all their ships worldwide with whatever they need. ( I am in the logistics business) and given the current state of things, I tend to cut them some slack.  I did not eat the famous table side lobster at Murano. We had to cancel our dinner doing the last days specialty lunch.  One course was pouched lobster and it was surprisingly very good. As were the other courses in the pre fox menu.  
 

just my experience which means nothing here, or so I’ve been told. 
 

cheers

Honestly on my recent cruise the gelato station was non existent for gelato. Al bacio was so busy they set up the gelato station for coffee drinks.  There were no cookies there.  
 

The cookies I did see at Al bacio were not as good as usual. 
 

but then again, I’m not a cookie expert 

cheers

1 minute ago, bigbenboys said:

Murano has only one main dish that I will eat. That is the Chateaubriand. I booked Murano for next month. I see some menus that dont offer Chateaubriand they have Les Petits Filets. I did check Eclipse current sailing and they list Chateaubriand. In the past I really did not want to eat in any specialty restaurant as I felt Luminae was very good. Last Sept the best main dish I had in Luminae was from the MDR. It was Prime Rib. 

We actually did the specialty lunch on Murano, the last day of the cruise. It was a seafood heavy menu, but was very good. My granddaughter loved the hot dog and pasta they made up especially for her....she is 5.

Cheers

2 hours ago, hcat said:

Cracks me up when newbies tell others to move on.. Cruise Critic neg comments from those with Experience have improved things for everyone more than once!

i may be considered a newbie to cruise critic, but not to cruising., and certainly not new to Celebrity.

cheers!

41 minutes ago, mayleeman said:

 

You obviously don't have the feature turned on that might show you how wrong you are about cruises taken and planned by @mahasamatman. He knows whereof he speaks.

this was in reference to his comment on Specialty restaurants being a step down from the MDR, I beg to disagree. Our last sailing it was difficult to get a reservation, Even for the specialty lunch in Tuscan @ $75/person, which our group thoroughly enjoyed.

I should've been more specific. My appologies.

And many more are tired of the complaining 

concentrate on the positive, this board has turned so negative that I rarely post. 
it used to be a great place for newbies to learn the ins and outs, answers to their questions and alerts on new deals or online sales. Unfortunately it has turned into a bastion of negativity.  
 

enjoy your dismay with Celebrity 

I will focus on the positive and comment no longer on this thread. 
 

I will take your advise and skip 99% of the threads here. 
 

cheers

2 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

I've eaten at both Murano and Tuscan many, many times over the past years, pre and post Covid.  I can remember only one less than stellar experience in Tuscan, and when we discussed it with the maître d they comped us another dinner which great.  My most recent sailings were earlier this year, in the winter and my experiences were very good.  I'm hoping that has not changed in recent months like other food quality.  You have a right of course to your own opinions of your own experiences.  Just wanted to share mine.

I’ve heard others say the same. We dine there every cruise and I guess we are lucky. 
never been disappointed.  Of course there may be one or two items that weren’t stellar but enjoyable non the less. 
 

To add clarity, we never sail E class and have no intention to. We love the S class ships

Cheers

I have no experience with so called up charges in the MDR. We are the 3 nights and honestly I can’t remember any up charges at all.  They went above and beyond., earning the extra tip we gave them. 
 

sorry I didn’t have better information 

July 28th 2023

is that recent enough?

My point is if you don’t like the product,

move on, quit complaining 

there is an extremely high demand currently  many of the so called deals are gone.  
I was actually called by Celebrity and asked if I would take a complimentary downgrade in my cabin?????

crazy

i almost cancelled this cruise due to the negative reviews and I am so glad I did not pay attention to them. 
 

just my opinion 

which means nothing here

cheers 

1 hour ago, mahasamatman said:

With the possible exception of Eden, I view Celebrity's specialty restaurants as a step down from the MDR. In general, they would have to pay me to eat in one.

You obviously don’t cruise celebrity that often.  

I gladly paid the up charge for Murano

Murano speciality lunch, Tuscan, Tuscan speciality lunch all on a recent Trip on the Solstice in Alaska.  Have to say ALL venues were over the top in service, food quality, and quantity.  I include the MDR as well in that statement. We were a family of 5.  We usually only sail Aq. We had sunset veranda’s.  Awesome trip all around.  

Quit whining 

life is short 

enjoy or don’t sail Celebrity

ships are sailing full for a reason 

cheers

. 

46 minutes ago, Fly and Sail said:

 

That's my experience and MO as well.

Just got off the Solstice last week, had an email offer on my phone for a comped veranda cabin, they also hand delivered to my stateroom during the cruise...the same offer, and when i went to book a cruise, magically i didn't qualify. And yes i spent quite a bit in the casino that trip. Only offered me a 20% discount. I chose not to bother at that point. As soon as i got home....another email offer????

I have no words

Cheers 

1 hour ago, hcat said:

We find that at the outset of a cruise.there is a big push to sell alc 

packages and uogrades.. very annoying but then it tapers off!

Just got off the Solstice last week,and was NEVER approached by anyone to buy a drink package, or upgrade. Same for dining packages. No annoying photographers....nothing. just my recent experience

cheers

Thank you OP!

was able to save some money on my 10/24 sailing on the Eclipse

just got off the Solstice: all aluminum cans, and Aqua Panna glass for premium

They are still putting the large Evian bottled water in the room hoping you drink it!