Alushar

58 minutes ago, J80crew said:

Does the Rendevous Lounge still have its dance floor?  I’ve seen reports that the dance floor is gone, but the photo looks as though it still exists. Would hate to see it go, since we love dancing there every evening. 

Still there and people dancing regularly 

We haven’t had any a/c problems or heard anyone moan about a/c lots of other mains but not a/c lol 

Day 7 Ha Long Bay

We fortunately woke early so got to watch the sail in down a narrow channel into Ha Long Bay. At times we were quite close to the rocks and it was a misty morning so quite atmospheric. 

We had breakfast in the MDR and then a bit of a wait in the Theatre for the tour. Apparently over 1200 were taking Celebrity Tours and it looked that the majority were taking the tour by boat. The boats were docking directly at the ship and took about 30 at a time so there was a constant stream from the 2 boarding points Foward and Midships.

We eventually boarded and our guide was Loc who was very proud of the area and liked to sing. He covered everything from ancient history, economics to why Vietnamese men like Western Women!

we sailed around many islands before stopping in a cove to go up to a cave I think they called in something like Cave of Celestial something or other something to do with one of the formations looking like Bhudda. 

There were about 130 steps up to the cave and a narrow entrance. So many tours were there the progress was very slow. Once inside the caves it is well lit and the paths are well marked. They wander around a bit and Loc tried to point out various features such as dragons etc which sometimes weren’t quite so obvious 😂 Funnily he was very excited about a shadow that showed a man that no one could see but I took a picture and we could then see it. 

There were quite a lot of steps inside the cave and the exit got quite narrow and claustrophobic which worried some people. Quite a long walk down then onto the boat and a further sail around before heading back directly to the ship. 

We chilled through the afternoon and had a quite early dinner. The usual French Onion soup for Sharon and a nice beef consommé for me followed by New York strip and a Boufe Bourguignon both very nice. 

Then off to Cellar Masters for a quiet drink and to listen to Ethan who played one of my favourite songs. 

A good tour and a good day. 

There’s a clothesline in the bathroom in our Balcony room 

Had a great tour by junk boat of Halong Bay, more on that later but I did manage to get some pics of the Millie! 

Day 6 A sea day!

It’s warm and there is sun did I say it’s warm and there’s sun!

Clocks went back an hour so it was an easy get up for breakfast in the MDR which was highly enjoyable. 

Then it was up to deck 10 and a sunbed, outside 😱 The front rows had already been taken but I needed some shade anyway so we were able to get some quite near the bar. Most of the beds seemed occupied which hadn’t been the case in the Solarium where people seemed to reserve and not return. 

We has lunch at the Mast Grill, cheeseburgers by which time the Ents team had arrived to start a game of Scategories. 

The previous night I’d backed myself into signing up for wine tasting. It appeared I wasn’t the only one probably a combination of cold wet sea days meant that the event was over subscribed with probably 60 people attending they initially run out of glasses and notes. 

This was a around round the world event so 6 stations were set out with a red and a white representing Argentina, USA, Italy, France, Australia and South Africa. Each station manned by a Sommelier who explained the wines. They provided a decent quality cheese board to each person. 

I managed to sample 9 of the wines not finding one to beat my favourite Malbec and they weren’t giving small portions so a strategic retreat was needed or I’d have been no good for the rest of the day. The Italian Pinot Gregorio was the best white for me. 

An afternoon nap was needed after!

Dinner that evening was in the Tuscan Grill (not Qsine as I’d thought) so we grabbed a quick drink in Cellar Masters first. This bar hasn’t been refurbed and is quite dark with a gentleman’s club look. It’s probably the quietest bar and the bar staff are very pleasant. 

Dinner was lovely the food great and the seevice superb. Tuscan was not very full when we arrived but filled nicely through the meal. I had the meatballs to start followed by the Burretta and a ribeye Sharon the calamari, Burretta and ribeye. With my new found wine expertise I ordered ...... my usual malbec lol. 

Afterwasrfs back to Cellar Masters we only intended a quick stop but Ethan turned up to play and was great so we stopped for his session. Down in the Martini Bar the DJ had whipped up a good dance session. 

A quick stop at cafe Bacio and Bed 

Day 5 A Sea day 

Come to Asia it’ll be warm and sunny they said. We woke up to fog, zero visibility and it was cold so it was a stay in and do little day. We could have been in the English Channel, ok it was a little warmer!

After breakfast we wandered into a lecture about the Life of Bhudda which was very well presented. A lot of these lectures are worthwhile if you have time. 

We had lunch in the MDR which became fairly full but it was good to see it in daylight. A limited menu we both had the skewers to start then spag Bol and a hamburger nicely done. Followed by an afternoon of reading etc. 

A $10 Sale was going on and it was like a plague of locusts descended to us it was interesting to see the same items on sale that we bought 3 cruises ago lol. 

Late afternoon a pleasant coffee coffee in Cafe Bacio listening  to the string duo Sea Breeze. Very nice way to spend time. 

After we decided to have something stronger and wandered into Cellar Masters which is quite a nice area if a bit dark. Shortly after arriving Sea Breeze arrived for a session and I was accused by Sharon of stalking lol! Again an enjoyable hour. 

Dinner was nice with Beef carpacio (actually nicer than the one I had in Tuscan) and Cajun drum fish for me and Crab Cake and Short Ribs for Sharon. The Maitre ds and Chefs were doing the rounds tonight. When it was our turn we gave glowing praise but I did mention the Sommelier hadn’t been prevalent often. Big mistake. Few minutes later appears Jelena who was constantly at my side and talked me into a Wine Tasting tomorrow lol!

  On leaving the MDR we went to Rendevous Bar and caught the only act we hadn’t seen an argentinian quartet. Again they were very good the around ship musicians this trip have been fab. 

After this it was up to the Cosmos for the Wedding Game Show. Packed house and lots of appilciants so names drawn out of a hat. I’m glad to say the English couple who were stage acting managed to fluff their lines and the couple married 50 years and together 59 rightly won. 

Nightcap at Cafe Bacio and to bed. 

1 minute ago, printingchick said:

Adding my thanks and also asking about Qsine. Any idea whether it will remain the old style menu, convert to Le Petit Chef, or some combination of the two? 

Going to Qsine tomorrow night will check then 

On 2/18/2019 at 7:44 PM, vickykay said:

Has the main atrium and staircase changed at all?  Would enjoy a photo if you have the time. Thanks 

Hi hope these show what you want 

11 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Thanks for all your hard work and wonderful pictures.    One quick question.    Do they still have a small table in the Retreat adjacent to the bard next to the rounded windows.   It is our favorite place to hang out in MC.

Jim the round windows have gone I’m afraid and the table also. The who area has been redone. I’m sure you’ll find a new favourite spot!

Day 4 Taiwan

Early start as we had a trip booked so we had breakfast in the MDR. Very civilised and good food I had French omelette and Sharon eggs Benedict. 

Then off to the theatre to wait fir the bus bus and then off to Taipei. Our guide was Monica who was very enthusiastic, very disorganised, quite informative on current socio economic trends but a bit of a restricted view of Taiwan’s history. 

First stop wAs Taipei 101 a tower once tallest in the world, used to have the fastest elevator. There was a lot of standing around before we got to the viewing level floor89 which provided views of the urban sprawl. I wouldn’t want to land on a couple of the helipads though!

After a long unexplained wait we were late off to the next stop Lungshan Temple which was packed as it was the last day of the Chinese New Year. 

The usual stop for a shopping experience then half hen half an hour late back to the ship. We take ship tours when we don’t know the area as we have some mobility issues. This tour wasn’t great really and we may have to have a rethink in our strategy. 

Back to the ship for a couple of hours before heading out for the Pingxi Lantern Festival. We knew what we were getting into here a long drive, a walk, a massive crowd and a lot of standing however in the end it was all worth it. The sight of hundreds probably thousands of lanterns in the night sky was one of those moments that makes travelling worth while. 

Back to the boat we grabbed a late drink in Cellar Masters where a strong duo was playing. Wow just wow. These two girls, Sea Breeze were talented and beautiful and the violinist has the voice of an angel. I only hope they can’t cook lol

I'll finish on one of those moments. Sitting in the bus coming back from Taipei we had just discussed our fur baby back home as our sitter had sent a pick. I glanced over and there at the lights was a Bichon Frise on a scooter , in goggles, with an elderly Taiwanese couple. Day made! 

Sea day tomorrow 

Managed to have a look at the Retreat Lounge very nice furnishings and nicely done but it does feel like a bit of a goldfish bowl! 

3 hours ago, Toronto Guy said:

Thank you so much again for taking the time to share the pics.  So what is your verdict on the refresh?  Thumbs up or down? 

Thumbs up without hesitation. It all feels fresh. The Ocean View, MDR and Rendevous are great. The room feels lighter and fresher and has much more storage it feels. 

As always there are a few things I’d have done different and a couple that are downright stupid but they are fairly minor 

Day 3 A Sea Day!

Firstly reviewing the day I have to say it never felt crowded and that there were seats in all areas whenever we tried. It wasn’t a very warm day so most people were inside. 

After breakfast in the Ocean View it was off to the CC Connections Meeting. I got the timing a bit wrong so we turned up late so didn’t stay to long. There was a really good turn out but the only officer I saw when we were there was the CD who was doing a good job getting around people. 

Our Roll Call had been very active with one kind soul arsangong trips at all ports. He said he ended up dealing with 60 people and it was a lot more work than he anticipated but that he was happy. A lot of arrangements were taking place. 

After the meeting we wandered into a into a meditation session in the Rendevous Bar luckily this was just ending or I’d have been out for the day!

This was followed by trivia which we missed out on the leader tie break by one answer. You know when you know the answer and you persuade yourself otherwise and then you go back and then you again persuade yourself. Yes one of those. I’d have got the tie break wrong anyway! What is the largest ship in the Celebrity fleet? 

A day spent reading and talking before dinner which was an evening chic night. I always approach evening chic with trepidation. I like wearing a tux but increasingly few do and I know I should go with what I’m happy with. Baggage limits meant I left tux behind and I immediately regretted this but went with shirt, tie and sports coat. 

There were a smattering of tuxes, a smattering of suits, a good proportion in shirts and ties with or without jackets but also a good proportion in open collar and polo shirts. I’ll still be taking my tux next time! 

We got dinner timing wrong so we turned up at 7:50 and were given a buzzer. We only waited under 5 minutes though. 

Dinner was nice I had a lovely wild mushroom volvent and Sharon couldn’t resist the French Onion soup! We both had beef Tournade for mains which was delicious. After we’re chess and biscuits and apple crumble. Not together!

We finished dinner to late for Theatre so headed to The Cosmos Bar were there was a bandeoke session, karaoke with the live band. So you know how karaoke goes the good, the ok, the bad and the ugly. Well we a coupe okes, a few bad and some downright uglies which were so bad they were good. Fair play to them they had more guts than me to get up and everyone was singing and dancing and it was a great night. 

A midnight stop at Cafe Bacio for a night cap and time for bed. 

Comfortable 

Haven’t assembled but it would definitely need a mattress 

On 2/16/2019 at 11:36 PM, tomservo said:

Does the couch pull out? Also could you try to find out what the plan is for Qsine? Will they eventually switch over to LPC, or will they offer both menus? Thanks in advance!

The large seat, it can’t be called a couch does pull out. 

5 hours ago, txflood33 said:

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this. I am very much enjoying the pics. Following this thread.

 

Just out of curiosity, I am assuming you are posting this using the ship's wifi, how is it? We will have it on our next trip and haven't had it before. We opted for it in Asia as some sites are blocked such as Google and social media sites and we wanted to be able to upload pics. I have heard mixed reviews.

Yes to ships WiFi and I’m not having any real problems. When I post pics they take a minute each to load and maybe one in five fails and has to be reloaded. 

6 hours ago, Toronto Guy said:

Thank you SO MUCH for posting pics of the new sauna.  Very glad they didn't take that away from M-class ships and looks like they did a great job.  I'm kind of curious about what they did with carpeting in the stairwells and common areas to match up with the decor of the atrium area (since decor remains unchanged in the martini bar and cafe al bacio etc).  The last time we were on Summit (a year and a half ago), the soft furnishings and upholstery in both of those areas was filthy and ridiculously worn.  Even the drapes were a mess.  Hopefully they will re-upholster all the chairs etc. in these areas even if the decor remains the same - does the upholstery look new on the Millie in these areas??

 

It looks like all the flooring and carpeting is new and much of the furnishings. For the Martini Bar and Cafe Bacio the furniture seems new whilst the same so they may well have been upholstered. On the S Class ships the white chairs in the Martini the sides are smooth but her they are furry. It’s impossible to sit in them without stroking them 😂

The stairwells are all new. 

Ive been thinking of the flow and it’s almost like there isn’t one each area has separate colours and Chair types even the 2 halves of the Oceanview 

Day 3 cont HK imigation dlne and then Muster in the Rendevous Bar. I did sacrifice my seat! Though I don’t understand how people with lots of. Those experience turn up to muster one minute before expecting a seat! ( that’s ignoring the lady who pronounced that she was in a suite so why hadn’t they kept her a seat).

We went to Sunset Bar for sailaway where a decent group from the CC Roll Call gathered. 

Have to say that the singer guitarist who played in Cafe Bacio, and was just right for that environment and the guitarist singer who played in the Sunset Bar were good. 

We decided to eat earlyish to catch the late show. The MDR was fab looked really good I thought we were going to be given a dalek seat but we stopped one row before. The food was great We both, as is a tradition for us, had French onion soup, I then had trout, Sharon the Mediterranean Seafood orzo, followed by ice cream and creme brûlée. We sat next to a lovely Aussie couple, Terry and June if you can believe it, so stayed chatting longer than intended with a couple of glasses of Malbec not intended. 

The show was Sons of Mowtown which is what it says on the tin we had seen them before and they were good. I liked the trays in the theatre. 

During the show it came out that the ships dymamics were  600 US, 400 Canadian and 400 UK. That left about 600 from 45 over countries.  

We left the show just before last song to try to get a seat in Cosmos Lounge. It was empty! However 15 mins later they announced a Beatles quiz and 5 mins later it was full. The Quiz was fun and was followed by the House Band Bristol Fashion who got the crowd dancing. It was good to see I’m not the only exponent of Daddy Dancing on the ship infarction there were some experts. 

Midnight and time to crash 

It’s ok The Beatles to the rescue a trivia Quiz has raised the dead. Empty to full in 5 mins 😂😂

I really think I’ve enetered the Twilight Zone we had dinner at 7:30ish seated in a 2 straight away finished at about 9:10 walked through Martini Bar, empty, and Rendevous Lounge, empty to go the theatre. Left theatre 10:15 went to Cosmos. Empty. Where is everyone! Is this a dream! 

2 hours ago, vickykay said:

Enjoying your review and pictures.  Quick question- can you ask if ALL the cabins are being refurbished?  We’re on the Connie Sept 2020 in an OV opposite the conference center and I know these cabins were added later.  

 

Looking forward to following along on your trip as this is one we want to do in the future.  Enjoy and have a wonderful cruise!

 

 

Before this cruise there was a rumour that not all rooms had been refurbed. I was talking to Celeb about something else and asked and they emailed the hotel director who replied and confirmed all rooms had been refurbed. Haven’t heard otherwise onboard 

17 hours ago, StuLaurie said:

Would love to see some drink menus with prices. Thanks and have a great trip!

Menu from the very nice Rendevous Lounge one of the pages the print was off edge but you can propably work it out lol 

Quiet day after 3 manic days running around HK.and avoiding the HK marathon! Solarium is quiet and pool is closed whilst we are in port. A lot of the equipment looks new with work going on to finish bits.