Ehg

Great information. As long as there is some good food and a bit of choice on board I'll be a happy sailor! [emoji4]

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We will go with an open mind. It will be a different experience for us having mostly sailed P&O with a sprinkling of Celebrity and Cunard. I think it looks very exciting!

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The balcony discount and the Diamond Lounge on RCCL are great perks. Too bad the food isn't better.

Is the food very bad?

I was hoping with the variety of dining options we would be happy even if the MDR isn't brilliant.

We do love good food, but we're not food snobs. As long as its tasty I'll be happy.

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Great information. Thank you. I'll ring our TA.

Thank you all again. I love this forum! [emoji177]

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Hello, I wonder if anyone can help me? Our next cruise in May on X will take us to Elite. We're thinking of booking a cruise on Royal Caribbean for September. If we do, will our Captain's Club points (or whatever they're called) be valid on Royal Caribbean?

I know P&O loyalty used to transfer to Princess although not in reverse but it's now been stopped, so I was just wondering......?

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Hello....

 

 

 

Curious if anyone recently used the Silhouette's spa?

 

 

 

How was the service?

 

 

 

Also, anyone do facials or massages and how was quality of that? Thanks

I haven't experienced the spa on Silhouette yet, but we are sailing on her end of May and I shall definitely be in that spa, so I'll report back if it's not too late? [emoji4]

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On Eclipse 3 years ago I had a massage and my husband was booked later in the cruise with the same therapist.

She tried to sell me various products, I bought one if I remember correctly.

When my husband had his massage she told him that I had "wanted" some shampoo and conditioner but hadn't bought it so he bought them. I had said no such thing.

I thought this was very naughty. We are both sales people (the easiest to sell to, no?) but he is more of a sucker than me. He ALWAYS comes back with stuff! [emoji23]

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Wow! Plenty of room to put cotton, a piece of cloth, whatever, around the ring to keep it clean. Use your imagination. It would be a surprise, anyway. I didn’t expect such negative comments!! I suppose other fruits would work, but, an avocado goes back together seamlessly. Funny, I am being knocked for my suggestion, and nobody thought that “ me and my girlfriend “ should be changed to...my girlfriend and I. I guess I am old, and incorrect grammar grates.

I thought your idea was great. I'm not remotely bothered about "yucky" avocado, champagne or anything else for that matter if it means getting my hands on a diamond! Lol

Incorrect grammar is my bête noire too. [emoji37]

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Hi all,

 

 

 

Me and my girlfriend are going on a Celebrity cruise on the 7th April this year starting in Singapore and ending in Dubai, I need ideas for proposing to her, she doesn't like massive displays of public affection so doing it in front of a big crowd is out of the question!

 

 

 

Any tips and hints would be great as this is my 1st cruise onboard Celebrity!

 

 

 

:D:D:D

I was going to suggest taking her to Raffles Hotel in Singapore but unfortunately it is currently closed for refurbishment. Are there any other iconic places at your other ports?

Congratulations in advance. Have a great time. [emoji4][emoji898]🥂[emoji183]

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....and we say holiday, not vacation :')

🤣

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Whatever they say or what they want, it will always be the same space where they will sleep and bathe. Enjoy your vacations. Stop slugging

If by "slugging" you mean fighting, I don't think anyone is fighting. [emoji847]

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I have noticed the 'defiantly' thing, which I had assumed was auto-correct, a device from hell which regularly catches me out :')

Like you, the 'done' instead of 'did' really grates on me. Alan Sugar is the worst for this.

The worst one for me, by far, is the trend nowadays to miss the 'g' off the end of every word (thinkin' askin' cruisin' etc). I watch Sky News a lot and find myself cringing at Beth Rigby, their Political Editor, whose assessment of situations is fantastic, but her words are lost on me as I am so distracted by her appalling annunciation. Sadik Kahn is another. :mad:

Have to say that this thread has given me a really good laugh as my wife makes me feel that I am the only person on Earth who notices these things! Clearly I am not alone :D

How about those who use pacific when they mean specific and generally when they mean genuinely......[emoji35]

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Generally speaking if booking in the US and it's not past final payment date or a repo cruise you will get the following four included perks when travelling in ANY suite :-

 

WIFI

Included gratuities

$300 OBC

Premium drinks package

 

This is why in my opinion at least the Sky Suite package is the best value for money deal X have generally as they also have access to Luminae, MC, concierge, butler and suite manager just like the other suites.

 

IMHO this needs to be factored in when comparing the X suite life versus other lines.

That's very interesting, I wonder if it's the same if booking from U.K. I'll check with our TA. You're right, that would make a Sky Suite much better value.

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If you are used to the prices on Oceania and Crystal, you should book a suite on Celebrity -- then you will dine in Luminae, where the food is as good as Oceania, and have access to Michael's Club, for a quiet, classy lounge atmosphere that is also similar to those two luxury lines. Plus you would then get the better level of entertainment shows on Celebrity. A Sky Suite is slightly larger than a regular stateroom. A Celebrity Suite is a true 2-room suite. There are also larger suites above the level of those two, but all suites get full suite privileges.

Full suite privileges with regards to dining in Luminae and access to Michael's club, butler etc, but there are more perks the higher up you go. For example, in a Royal Suite you get comp wifi, laundry, unlimited speciality dining, 2 large bottles of spirits and premium drinks package included plus various other extra touches. Pretty sure Celebrity Suite has some wifi, classic drinks package at least, which I don't believe Sky Suites get. I think that's right, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong. [emoji4]

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We have booked P&O - first cruise - and now I’m worried! It wasn’t even that cheap!!

Don't worry, you'll love it. [emoji4]

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Michelin has always had a bias towards European locations and French dining standards. It has only been issuing a US guide for a little over a decade. Their resources are spread really thin, too, so, while getting a star rating is great, it's not the be-all, end-all. At the end of the day, what matters most is if you enjoy the food you ate.

Couldn't agree more. [emoji4]

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Michelin only awards one, two, and three stars. There are only thirteen in the US. Forbes does award up to five stars but there are, if I counted correctly, only 41 in the US. Unless, you leave in very large metro areas (NYC, San Francisco, etc), it is unlikely you've encountered one.

 

 

 

The only costs I could find for an 'average' three star Michelin restaurant were in Pounds, 175-250 PP. At current exchange rates, that would equate to $240 to $345 PP.

 

 

 

All in all, I doubt many posters on this website have dined at a true three star Michelin restaurant. I certainly wouldn't be there.

Not sure if I've read your post wrong, but if you're saying there are only 13 restaurants in the US with a Michelin star then this is incorrect. There are 13 3 star restaurants in the US. 143 Michelin starred restaurants in total. The UK has 163 in total, which when you compare the size of the countries is phenomenal. Well done Blighty! [emoji23]

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I have just checked out a cruise on the Aurora which is our favourite ship. I couldn't find one in July but a 2 week cruise on the 2cnd August 2019 would cost £9304 for a midship suite. Quite a difference to the Britannia and yet no more perks. From what you say it would seem we would get far more for our money on Celebrity. Unfortunately from what I can see Celebrity don't seem to do longer roundtrips from Southampton other than 2 weeks. We prefer longer cruises and don't want to fly otherwise I could be tempted to give Celebrity a try.

You could always do a back to back?!

Aurora is also our favourite ship (of those we've tried) in the P&O fleet. I don't mean to bash P&O, but if you can get a suite for a comparable price on Celebrity, or even a little more, the benefits really are worth it in my (admittedly so far limited) experience.

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The Porch is only on the Silhouette and Reflection. I could understand why the Qusine would be more fun with a group.

Oh yey! I can try Porch on Silhouette in May then. Thank you. [emoji4]

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We find the service in Luminae outstanding but the menu choice quite limited. We also really love all the speciality restaurants but in particular Murano’s. Almost as a tradition now first night is Tuscan...

 

 

 

We ask the concierge on boarding for copies of the Luminae menu for the week. We then look through for nights we like...we then book in the rest of our speciality meals. I think you will find Luminae much better than Coastal Kitchen in terms of food, service and surroundings.

 

 

 

For a special occasion we love Murano’s. Make sure you order at least one dish that has some tableside preparation.

 

 

 

Luminae has a great lunchtime menu but it can be quite filling....only open on sea days.

 

 

 

Breakfast in Luminae is wide and varied but can take a while so on port days we sometimes prefer just a quick room service.

 

 

 

We also enjoy Oceanview, we find the ‘flow’ as well as the food much better than Windjammer.

 

 

 

I would make sure you try all of the speciality restaurants at least once although many suite guests prefer to dine in Luminae...

Very interesting to know that you can ask for menus for Luminae for the whole week. Last time we were in a RS we were given the menus a day in advance, same on all ships we've been on, but to see the whole week would certainly help with booking the speciality restaurants. We loved Tuscan Grill too, and Murano - best at sea restaurant we've eaten at.

Someone said Quisine was not worth booking, but we had a really fun evening there on The Eclipse with friends and the good matched the fun theme.

We've not been on a ship with The Lawn Grill, so really looking forward to trying that. And did someone say there was a "Porch" restaurant? Again, don't remember that on Eclipse......

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When the suite life was first introduced it was stated to have ‘unlimited’ laundry then the wording changed to ‘twice per cruise’. We asked our butler about it and he said there had been one or two RS/PH with extended families in non suite rooms who had been sending in literally the full family wash! The ‘twice per cruise’ was introduced to allow the butlers a polite way of saying ‘no more free’.....We don’t send in lots of stuff but certainly we do send in a bit of pressing first day and a couple of bags during the cruise. We have never been charged.

 

 

 

Bridge tours (and other tours) are free for suite guests. They are usually fairly small groups too. They usually run on a couple on sea days...Sometimes we have simply received an invite, on another occasion we were personally invited by the Captain. If you let the concierge know you are interested she will make sure you have an invite (unless for any particular reason) they were not running.

 

 

 

Prior to your cruise it is no longer the Michael’s Club Concierge who contacts you it is the ‘Shoreside’ Concierge. We tend to have a draft ready to read out and forward with bar set up details etc...It can be a bit hit and miss what information makes it to the ship but the butler soon sorts it all out.

 

 

 

Hope you have a great cruise, less than four weeks to go for us now!

Thank you so much. Very helpful.

Only 4 weeks for you? Lucky thing. I'm sure May will be here before we know it. It's certainly jolly freezing here at the moment! ❄️[emoji944]❄️

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You can specify 2 x 1l bottles of spirit, beer types, sodas etc for the bar set up.

 

 

 

We usually let the the shoreside concierge know pre cruise our requests for first and second night dining reservations. Once on board we will ask the concierge for the menus for Luminae for the rest of the cruise. We will then look at the menus then provisionally get our butler to book the rest of our dining bookings. Murano’s can be busy (as I believe can Lawn Grill) so we pre book on boarding and then ask the butler to adjust our bookings if necessary as the cruise progresses.

 

 

 

Re laundry, we usually on boarding will send a few items for pressing then during the cruise a few bags of general washing. If you want items dry cleaning or washing and pressing just write it on the laundry slip. If you are unsure just talk to your butler and he will sort it for you.

 

 

 

Think pre cruise if there are any extra experiences you may enjoy (bridge tour, Kitchen tour, behind the scenes tour...) let the concierge know early in the cruise and he/she will usually sort.

 

 

 

Whilst you will have a premium drinks package I am sure you will enjoy Michael’s Club pre and post dinner for drinks...they also provide a very nice afternoon tea!

 

 

 

Sincere best wishes for a great birthday cruise!

Hi Chemmo, excuse me butting in please?

We are In a Royal Suite on Silhouette in May, it's our second X cruise the last was also in a RS, but the MC concierge was new on our cruise so we didn't have any correspondence prior to our cruise. I hope this will not be the case this time (although she did a fabulous job).

You mention having clothing pressed. Was this at an extra charge? Also, you advised letting them know if we'd be interested in bridge tours etc, I would love to do that - again, do they charge for these tours?

Thank you for your help in advance. [emoji41]

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Well, I've not stayed in a sky suite so I'll have to list the obvious but there may be more I'm not aware of. The extras that I know sky suites get is a dedicated restaurant for breakfast, lunch (on sea days) and dinner plus a dedicated lounge which serves free drinks and snacks all day.

Higher suites get laundry, wifi, unlimited speciality dining, complementary premium drinks package (classic for Celebrity Suite), 2 bottles of spirits - refilled if required, exclusive sail-aways, reserved theatre seats on evening chic nights, exclusive Michael's Club concierge, and lots of other little touches. Embarkation was amazing.

You are right though, it's a lot more expensive, but they do treat you phenomenally well from my experience and I can't wait to sail with them again.

Having said that, I also love sailing with P&O and we will continue to do so, not least because we choose to sail from the UK and P&O are one of only a few who sail out of the UK all year.

We have also done a cruise on the Queen Victoria by the way, and although she is a lovely ship, and Cunard treat you very well, the food in Grills was great, and the service was fantastic, we prefer P&O's less ostentatious atmosphere. I'm not even referring to The Grills when I say that either. Hard to put my finger on it.

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Well it should outline P&O when the difference on a 14 night Cruise is over £1500 per person for a suite with the same amenities. Prices I used were for a two week cruise in July this year Celebrity £4600 for a sky suite P&O £3000 for a mid range suite on Britannia.

 

 

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Just wonder what you mean by "the same amenities" though? You don't get the same amenities on Celebrity, you get way, way more..... [emoji848]

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Well it should outline P&O when the difference on a 14 night Cruise is over £1500 per person for a suite with the same amenities. Prices I used were for a two week cruise in July this year Celebrity £4600 for a sky suite P&O £3000 for a mid range suite on Britannia.

 

 

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100% correct, DaiB. You certainly do pay for those perks! Eye-wateringly expensive....[emoji31]

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