Super_Tuscan

18 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

If its $220 for 2 people for a 14 night TA that's not a bad price.  

That $220 was after a special Celebrity was running and our Elite Plus discount. The upgrade would have been quite a bit more. 

SDT

1 hour ago, 20165 said:

Do they give you a receipt to sign for the additional charge and if so, is there a place to write in a tip?

Yes and yes. 

On 12/5/2022 at 11:37 AM, LadyBerard said:

Hi everyone.  I'm trying to decide whether or not to upgrade our Classic beverage pkg. Does anyone know the actual cost difference from a mixed drink made with Titos or Absolute to one made with Grey Goose or Ciroc vodka?  

Typically it's an additional $1-$3 for a cocktail or wine not on the Classic menu. We upgraded to the Premium package this past October and found that even as much as we drink, it was a waste of money. I paid $220 to upgrade our package on a 14 day transatlantic. The only time we ordered a wine or drink that wasn't on the Classic menu was at the Martini Bar and wine at dinner. It takes quite a bit of $1-$3 charges to just cover the additional $220 we spent for the upgrade.

2 hours ago, Denny01 said:

We spent a good deal of time in the venues throughout the ship, El Bacio, Eden and so on, and we dined outside the Suite dining, and found the staff to be excellent. And as I stated about Suite dining, I found the MDRs and locations such as the Spa and Eden Cafe to be well staffed and didnt notice any issues with any ‘lack of experience’, and only found the Luminae to be slower. 

 

Not sure how ‘lack of experience’ showed up. I was treated by a group of professionals and didnt see any issues. 

 

Den

 

 

The waiters in Eden were making the drinks during Happy Hour. Numerous times there were no real bartenders. They brought us a 12 year old McCallum scotch with an olive and a lime slice....My wife ordered a typical margarita at the Sunset Bar and the "bartender" had to get a book out. It took our party of 6 almost 20 minutes to get drinks at Cafe al Bacio at 7pm or so on more than one occasion. EVERY time we wanted to order wine in any of the MDR's or specialty restaurants, the waiter tried to take our order. We had to request a sommelier and a wine list. 

Let me be clear, EVERY employee we came in contact with was very nice. The issue was most of them had little experience and it was easy to see. Most of the crew that I spoke to were on their first contract with Celebrity, with most leaving in the spring and not coming back.     

SDT

2 hours ago, Denny01 said:

As posted on the previous thread about our overall Edge TransAtlantic cruise, we booked a Sky Suite for the 1st time and thought we’d share comments focused on that.

 

Again, we’ve cruised 42 times and 28 with Celebrity so you know my biases. I book with Celebrity as primary and go with other Lines for itineraries or join friends. We usually go with a balcony and on Edge Class, we like the Infinite Veranda.

 

We booked a Sky Suite 2 on the Edge TransAtlantic to experience the Retreat with so many sea days. And it greatly exceeded our expectations.

 

SR:

We had SR 9178. Midship and a Sky Suite 2. Larger than a standard SR and the bed is against the BR but faces the veranda, not an opposite wall (well bulkhead on a ship!). One side of the bed has USB and plug outlet. Loved the bed setup! Lots of drawers and good closet for hanging items. Large couch and great SR to add a 3rd person. BR was large. Square tub and shower with glass enclosure. Euro shower head. Closed toilet. Large sink with 2 facets and lots of storage. Odd thing: the mirror over the sink opens to the SR area. You can see the veranda/sea when you are at the sink…..I told my wife I could watch her shower without stepping in!! She wasn’t impressed with my idea. SR is quiet and mid between the front and back elevators (a bit closer to the fwd).

 

Butler and SR Staff:

One word: Outstanding! The butler, (GeDe ‘Goodday’) was the one thing I wasn’t sure of and he really added to our experience. Saw him every day, he got us reservations at the various dining venues and when we could only get 8:30pm at Eden, he called and got us what we wanted at 6:30pm. Took care of minor issues and gave us good gouge on using the facilities. I had No Idea what I’d do with a butler and it is one of the major reasons I loved going Suite/Retreat.

 

Retreat:

Loved the lounge. Although the ship was 68% full, suites were fully booked, but there was never a crowd in the Retreat areas. They had light snacks in the morning and afternoons; excellent and quick waitstaff and I tried more than a few ‘exotic’ cocktails. Played cards. Met others and had a great time. The hosts were personable and very helpful. They had entertainers and ship staff come up and socialize a bit. The outside Retreat area is just fantastic. Lots of lounging, great bar, didnt do the pool or hot tub but it appeared to be very nice. Lots of space for all. Again, well above what I expected.

 

Dining Luminae:

Very elegant venue. Seated immediately whether 2, 4 or 6 of us. Enjoyed, but it has a more limited choice of appetizers and entrees than the MDRs. We enjoyed the MDRs more. As Suite, we could dine at the MDRs and Blu which is for Aqua Class, as available. Our butler got us set in two of the MDRs, our favorites of Normandie and Cypress and we loved them. Blu was also excellent. Enjoyed Luminae but there were issues beyond the more limited menu. For breakfast, we waited an hr to be served. And I knew the time we entered and when served…..not the classic exaggeration. Was about to leave when they brought it. Dinner was better serviced, but still longer than in the other venues. I would Not go Suite for the dining, but since you can go to other venues, it wasn’t a show-stopper, and did enjoy Luminae items we did order, just more limited choices. You can order off the menus of the MDRs but it wasn’t offered and it was a pain….for us. This was the one issue we had with Suite/Retreat.

 

Boarding/Departing:

Wow. At Civitavecchia, they had a separate boarding area with seating, a bar and light food. Didn’t use it since you could step on immediately. Not that different from the standard boarding, all very quick. By the way, we board as standard guests at the FLL terminal on an Apex cruise last Nov and it was Very Quick also.

Departure was the real difference. We had boarding tags that allowed us to depart very early, right after they announce those that were departing with all the luggage, or we could stay until 9:30ish at the end. Went to the Retreat lounge and relaxed there. They had light breakfast and service, and the hosts let us know when our luggage was available which was at 8. Then escorted us to the elevator and the other hosts were at the elevator landing to escort us to departure. Out we went, got our luggage and passed quickly through security. We used a local taxi and they were available immediately. I Do Not recommend using the ship shuttle buses; the taxi was $25 for the two of us and was quick and right to our terminal. Buses wait to be filled and the one time we did it in FLL, they dropped us off at one spot and had to walk a goodly distance. Not handy and more expensive. No reason to do that.

 

Finally:

Are we now Suite/Retreaters? If I can get one at a reasonable cost (that is always subjective isn’t it) and If one is available! We are booked for 4 Celebrity cruises and none….again None….have Suites available. The plus beyond standard SRs is the SR its self, larger, nice veranda and bed facing it; and yes, the butler; and the Retreat lounge and staff. All well worth it. Dining, which is So subjective, wasn’t a hallmark. But so many other options area available, and Luminae was good enough for us to use a number of times, just not a major draw….again for us. I hate telling people to use or not use some dining venue since dining opinions are so biased.

 

Enough. We love standard SRs, and yes, love the Edge Class Infinite Veranda, but if one is available, we will go with a Sky Suite!

 

Den

Denny, my wife and I were also on this sailing in an Aqua Class cabin. I would love to here your views on the lack of crew and their lack of experience above and beyond your suite perks and experience. 

Shaun

On 6/4/2022 at 9:11 PM, Wineaux007 said:

Anyone concerned just should not cruise.  There's a certain amount of risk involved in life.  If you can't take it, just stay home.  

Exactly. I agree 100%. 

On 4/5/2022 at 9:45 PM, GottaKnowWhen said:

Masks help prevent viral spread. Fact. Are they perfect? No, but they do help. So yes I will continue to wear a mask when in a crowded setting with many others for more than a few minutes. It is a nuisance, but as an adult person I am able to tolerate the occasional nuisance.

Stan

Stan, do you remember when this virus first started? Doctors and nurses were wearing fully body Hazmat suits and respirators. If a virus is that small and dangerous, why are we being told to only wear a paper mask? What about our eyes? The particles can easily enter our bodies through our eyes. I'm an adult as well, but at some point science and good old common sense has to take precedence. 

On 12/20/2019 at 9:17 AM, cruiservirginia said:

I suggest contacting Spanish Trails to ask if they can arrange the tour.  We were very pleased with the wine tasting they planned for us from Barcelona to Penedes.  We they met our specific tasting requirements and included a wonderful lunch at a local restaurant.  The guide was excellent.  We wanted a customized itinerary with specific tastings and Spain Day Tours wasn't able to offer it.

Thank you!

On 12/22/2019 at 2:39 AM, samavarcruiser said:

I have used Malaga trips couple of times in the past and couldn't be more happy

https://www.malagatrips.com

Thank you!

Does anyone have a suggestion for a private tour company that can provide us with reliable transportation to a couple wineries in the Ronda area? 

SDT

I have to agree with Mr. Wine-O. This issue is a purely political. I read an article a few weeks ago that stated the United States is responsible for .02% of all the pollution in the worlds oceans. I grew up fishing offshore in South Florida and still fish the Bahamas occasionally. Very seldom do I see trash of any kind floating in the ocean. And if I do, it's usually something pretty big that has fallen off a cargo ship, like a 55 gallon drum or wooden pallets.

IMHO, banning straws is nothing more than left wing feel good legislation.

Campolady,

 

First and foremost, bravo for this thread. It is a wealth of information about Malaga. This is one of the absolute best and helpful threads on Cruise Critic.

 

We visit Malaga in October 2018 (Symphony of the Seas Transatlantic). My wife and I plan on enjoying the old town after going to the Castle. From your previous advice we’ll likely take a cab to the Castle and then go down to the Parador Hotel for the views and a few adult beverages before going down the hill to the old town for Tapas and Cervezas.

 

Question, is it possible to walk down from the Hotel rather than take a cab to the old town. We’d rather walk and see more views if it is possible.

 

Thank you again for this wonderful thread

 

Cheers

 

Tom

Tom, tell Heather I said hi and I'm not with "her"! LOL!

S

Sorry - don't know of any wine tasting tours in the Ronda area.

Do you know of a tour company that will take us to Ronda from the port of Malaga? There are many wineries around Ronda and I'm sure they will make a stop for us at one on the way to Ronda.

I'm not looking for a wine tasting in Malaga. We would like a private company to take us to Ronda and a wine tasting up in that area. I understand that's an hour or so from the port. Do you know a tour company?

Sent from my SCH-I545 using Forums mobile app

We live mid-way between Malaga and Granada and know the city of Malaga well.

 

If anyone visiting Malaga on a cruise has any questions I will be happy to do my best to help - the city is not great at promoting itself which is such a shame as it has so much to offer.

We will be stopping in Malaga and I want to book a private tour for 8 to the wine region. Can you recommend a tour company? I'm not interested in Spain Day Tours.

Thanks!

Shaun