Banjo

On our last few cruises I always asked the cabin steward on how many items. All of them stated as much as you could fit in the bag. We been over 30 items and never charged extra.

You are correct in that as Empress is their oldest ship (only recently purchased back into service) and used for the shorter cruises they are not set up with a Diamond Lounge and therefore are not a good representative to other ships in the fleet.

 

Regarding the pin, I don't believe you will get one as although you are able to share in the reciprocal benefits with Diamond while on board an RCI ship, you have not earned that tier by sailing on them. It is reciprocal benefits only.

 

Keep in mind your actual point totals that determine earned tier remain on each line cruised. So your actual earned tier level with RCI is that based on the points you've earned by sailing on their ships. Works the same with Celebrity - reciprocal tier level benefits only.

I was only joking about the pin.

I only became Diamond Club member Spring of 2017 when I knew I was taking the Empress of the Seas cruise. I was on a trans-Atlantic Eclipse cruise and the Captains Club Hostess signed us up. She was outstanding, she was very outgoing, nice and everywhere. By about the 3rd day of that trans-Atlantic she knew everyone name. I asked if she could sign us up, she said no problem and in a day or two gave us a piece a paper with our Diamond Club membership numbers. I wished I remembered her name. Just prior to the Empress of the Seas cruise I looked over the Diamond perks on Royal website and learned about the pins.

When the Empress made a stop in Costa Maya, 2 other Royal ships were also in port. I believe they were the Independence & Freedom. Comparing the size of the Empress with those 2 ships, you could put 2 Empresses in one of those :). The town, being small, was packed with Royal cruisers. It was here where I noticed the significance of the pins. Folks would pin them on their baseball caps and other garments.

I was only only Diamond once on a RCCL ship. It was the Empress of the Seas last February. Being a small ship this maybe a aberration. It had no dedicated happy hour area, drinks were loaded on your card ( 3 drinks) and you could go to any venue were they served drinks. That I did like. We had 2 glasses of wine for dinner. Then we always made it to the 7pm show where we had our final drink.

The breakfast was in the MDR as it was noted n the letter they gave you on embarkation day. It was nice. A big buffet with both hot and cold selections but it was open to every one. No one checked your card when entering.Talked to many folks that we sat with and they openly admitted that they were not Diamond. Even with the better selection of food, this was not much different from the OV buffet area. So preferred Celebrity Elite breakfast better. More relaxing with specialty coffees & Bloody Marys.

For the internet, I had difficulty logging on. Because it was a short itinerary (just 5 days), I did not try to track down a IT staff member. No comment on laundry because again just 5 day cruise.

I did ask the room steward for a bath robe, he brought me a really nice heavy bath robe. I commented that this is really fantastic. He said, "you getting this kind of bath robe because you are Diamond level".

Both are good and you'll enjoy/take advantage of both levels. BTW, still never got my pin :)

When we went to Cuba last February on RCCL Empress of the Seas I was able to book the Ernest Hemingway Tour. Our guide Alexander was outstanding. He spoke perfect English and his knowledge of Hemingway's background was outstanding. The tour included going out to Hemingway's home-about 45 minute drive outside Havana. Visited several of Hemingway's watering holes where we sampled mojitos and daiquiris :). Then had a tour of the downtown visiting the cathedral, the Malecon, the Tropicana, etc.. Found the Cuban people to be lovely.

On my next cruise to Cuba, like to take one that circles the island & does an overnight in Havana.

Got off the ship last week and steak was on the every night end.

Thanks. Always a good option when the menu is either unappealing or nothing you like.

Strip loins are available every night in the MDR ,(unless there's been another cut back).

 

When did they cut back the steaks on the every night selection menu in the MDR? That's terrible!

Thanks everyone! Exactly the information I was looking for. We're not big drinkers, so wondering if we would be allowed to have one glass of wine each and take it to the MDR with us. If not, we'll just have it in the lounge.

I was on a trans-Atlantic last April (the Reflection), because of the large amount of Elites & Elite +s 3 drinks were loaded on the card. For this cruise you had the option of getting drinks at any bar except one bar, I think that was the World Class Bar. Included was getting wine by the glass in the MDR which we did for our last drink. We had really nice sommelier who would always top us off when going by. For first 2 drinks we always went to to Sky Lounge, it is a good relaxed area to meet folks.

After the Edge, I did not know the timeline of new ships. Thanks Cruisestitch for sharing.

Last February we did Cuba on RCCL Empress of the Seas. The ship was small in order to get into Havana Harbor but kind of nice. It was like cruising 30 yrs ago.

We were on a 15 day Panama Canal & W So America cruise last November. Ship was showing her age but is very well maintained. Maybe just used to S class ships being this was our 1st time on a M class ship. I was in Aqua and the service & food in BLU was excellent. Had a cabin near the rear which allowed me to get excellent pics of the Canal. Would definitely sail on her again.

Just get a count down clock here on Cruise Critic :). I do that and soon as I return it gets deleted.

The clock gives me reminders on:

-when final payment coming

-when to start working on air transportation/port hotels.

-calling Celebrity for luggage tags and going over our cruise

-doing express-pass

-etc...

We elect not to do the Elite breakfast. Can you get complimentary Bloody Mary's and Mimosa's with the Elite (+) breakfast?

Yes. In addition you can order specialty coffees.

We like it. Not a heavy breakfast eater. Also it is very relaxed in the very nice atmosphere of the Tuscan Restaurant.

Does the Elite breakfast include hot food and toast?

No, just fresh fruits, rolls, bagels, salmon, cream cheese & yogurt. Nothing hot.

It’s good to know the pool attendant was responsive to you, but I’m wondering why they leave the policicing of loungers to cruisers. I agree with prior posters that Celebrity should implement a routine of removing left articles when a lounger is obviously not being used within a reasonable time. They shouldn’t wait to be asked.

It was on the Reflection, the pool attendant had a plastic bag which he gathered up all the belongings.

If you bring it to the attention of the Pool Attendant, I found they have no problem removing items from a chair.

My last April trans-Atlantic we had a cool day so the Solarium area chairs were a premium. 2 chairs next to me had a bag and some other items with no occupants for over 45 minutes (maybe longer because that's when my wife & I arrived and started timing). I told one pool staff and he promptly gathered it up.

If you been on 2 or 3 cruises with any cruise line you learn what to avoid or what going to be a waste of time. ie,. art auctions, teeth whitening lectures, etc.. For me it's not a big deal.

I have to admit, if someone asked me who the BLU manager was on a previous cruise, I probably could not remember. We were on the Equinox October 2016 for a westbound trans-Atlantic and I recall her. She was outstanding. Very personable and ran the BLU Dining Room as efficiently as I ever seen.

When my job had my on the Gulf Coast we did a lot cruising out of New Orleans on NCL. Then I retired about 7 years ago, moved and we decided to try other cruise lines. Tried Celebrity & Princess and don't even think about returning to NCL.

On S Class ships stay away from the seats by the right and left pillars on the lower level closest to the stage.The width of those chairs are considerable smaller then the other chairs.

Since we never get a drink package, prefer free grats & OBC, having it loaded on the card are fine with us. On recent Reflection trans-Atlantic (which gave no perks) we ordered wine by the glass with the card in the MDR. Just had to do it between the hours 5p to 7p. At first the sommelier didn't know what to do and he had to get the supervisor, who had to check and later gave the okay. Concerning the billing, how showed up on my account, they added the charge and then deducted it.

We like it. Enjoy the specialty coffees and a Bloody Mary. It's nice and relaxing with a great view from the Tuscan Restaurant windows. Also I never found it to be crowded.

You definitely won't be tendering in Sydney on the day of embarkation. When we tendered on Solstice it was due to Voyager at the Passenger cruise terminal embarking for their cruise. I can't imagine any ship embarking from a tendering anchorage. It would be a logistics nightmare getting luggage and supplies on/off the ship.

Thanks.

Just so I understand, Solstice will only be tendering in February? Our plans are for January 31st cruise, I should be okay?

I don't mind tendering, just never experienced it on embarkation day. Also noticed, for February, the Solstice does not embark from Sidney in the month of February. It embarks from Auckland and Perth that month.

RCI is also selling off some of the Vision class fleet. From a business perspective, it has to be cheaper, on a per passenger basis, to run a larger (& newer) ship than an older, smaller ship. Yet, it's somewhat sad to see some of these ships where we've had some great times being "cast off" this way.

I see you are going on the Empress of the Seas, we did it last winter. It was a nice nostalgia feeling sailing on a smaller ship like the Empress.

Fantastic! We are booked on Australian/NZ Solstice cruise that departs from Sidney around that time. That should be an adventure.