cruisenfromstlouie

18 minutes ago, cluso said:

What cabin were you in?  Doing Equinox Sunset Veranda in January.

8644

Oh boy! Couldn’t agree more! Whew….we got off in September from ABC islands. We had the Sunset Veranda. Didn’t mind the walk at all but the room…. Ughhh.  The view was fantastic but could only be on balcony early morning or when the sun went down. Cabin steward asked us to keep drapes closed. The AC couldn’t keep up. The balcony was just sad! Dirty, rusty and grime.  The balcony ledge was split and didn’t come together- top over bottom but it was secure. When we looked over all we saw was rust and paint missing on the back end of the ship.

Food in MDR was disappointing. Exactly as poster described. Many repeats on menu items. We ate majority in the buffet which was OUTSTANDING!! Great job there. Employees were wonderful. Very professional and helpful and always smiling. A lot of games, dancing around pool area and in the evenings. Would love to have just listened to band but that wasn’t to be or we missed it. Went to a couple shows.  Hopefully, with the refurbished next year some of these issues will be resolved. 
 

On 10/8/2023 at 12:54 PM, Cruising Princess said:

After 45 cruises on Celebrity - I have a lot of experience sailing in all cabin categories from inside to suites.  So I hope you can appreciate my level of experience sailing with Celebrity. 
 

we disembarked today after 8 night sailing.
 

Here are my initial impressions of this sailing:

 

The ship is in need for some major maintenance.  Our balcony ceiling had a lot of rust and grime.  The railing had been sanded but never revarnished.  So you couldn’t lean on it for fear of splinters.  
 

Bar area on Deck 5 - sofas and chairs lost all their support.  When you sit you sink down very far.  Impossible to stand up when wearing heels without assistance.

 

Dinner in Murano was passable but nothing like previous years.  Quality declined from the salads to grade of meats.  Service was good but at $60 plus 20% tip it’s not worth the money.
 

2 nights in Tuscan - service very slow.  Food not much better than MDR.  A lot of misses.  Avoid ordering any pasta or Italian dishes. The lasagna and chicken parm tasted like they contained Indian spices. Pastas were overcooked and came out  cold.  
 

MDR - biggest let down. Quality of ingredients and proteins have dropped significantly. Some fishes totally overcooked, salads with no taste, and their seasonal vegetables were the same every night with beans and carrots until we got to night 6 when they switched everything to peas and carrots.   And of course the lack of options on menu didn’t surprise me to see more than half the people around me ordering French onion soup or escargot.  And don’t get me started on the ice cream scoop of mashed potatoes on almost every dish.  Finally on  night 7 I ordered a baked potato. It came out undercooked and hard as a rock.  
 

Outdoor pools have a lot of chipped paint in bottom - needing a lot of maintenance.  On port days there were no bar servers roaming around asking to take drink orders.  Bartenders worked hard and most were friendly.  
 

Entertainment was forced and lacked any spark.  One evening however they had silent disco and the DJ kept people on dance floor.  I’m in my sixties and even I was bored most of the time.

 

In summary this was the first time in over 60 total cruises where I said that I couldn’t wait to go home.  The cruise left such a bad taste in our mouths that we just cancelled our next cruise. 
 

 

 

Hi! We just got back from the ABC islands and had the Sunset Veranda- #8344. Am I glad we booked it? Yes. Would I book it again- No. The view was spectacular. The sun was constant. It was shaded in early morning and obviously at dark. Our cabin was sooo hot during the day. Curtains had to be closed and were suggested to keep them  close because the  air conditioner couldn’t keep up. Smelled the soot a couple times but didn’t bother us. Heard people late at night from the bars above  but that didn’t bother us either. The walk from elevator I didn’t think was too bad if you used the elevator but we  took the steps until last day. I got 15-16,000 steps in almost everyday.  Maybe in cooler  months it would have been better but we won’t be booking it again.  

Ok, thank you.  I’ve found older threads explaining the process.  Thanks again 

I’ve been trying to book a cruise and choose a room on Princess but there are only a few choice options on different decks. Others are grayed out, others say sold. Can I guarantee a room? I’ve picked different cruises for 2019 and 2020. Same thing .. what am I missing? Thank you 

nice article for updates

http://www.cruisemapper.com/wiki/1047-royal-caribbean-drydock-refurbishments-schedule

Are there more free food options then MDR, Windjammer and Jave? We've been on RC and Carnival and it seems like there are more options on Carnival....especially all day food availability. Thanks

i read that Freedom will be refurbished 2020. In the past when ships are refurbished, do they bring them in another ship to cover the iterinary? Thank you