ConnMom

I think Tito's is now on the premium package. Also, the drink packages are honored in all the restaurants and the main dining room, although many of the wines are over the classic limit.

Enjoying all the information on this thread. We just booked our first back to back, and it sounds as if the turnaround day process is pretty easy. I have one question about the embarkation day lunch in the main dining room. Can we attend that at the beginning of both cruises or is is just for turnaround day?

Until Celebrity builds ships with additional pools that can be used in inclement weather, it is unfair to limit the solarium to adults only. Adults are no more deserving of access to activities that they enjoy on a cruise ship than are children. Celebrity ships are not adult-only, and we all need to be respectful of the rights of one another as long as people, children and adults alike, behave within the norms that are established by the cruise line. I have stayed with Celebrity for 25 years because it seems to offer enough alternatives for people to enjoy their vacations as they wish, even if they sometimes must make adjustments.

The small group excursion we took last winter in Aruba seemed to be no smaller than all the other excursions that were boarding at the same time we were. We were on a full size bus, with at least 35 people in the group. It was very disappointing, and in my opinion a poor value. It confirmed my rather low opinion of ship sponsored tours. Cheryl

I appreciate all the personal experiences (and photos) people have shared; you have offered some good suggestions, which is why I have valued Cruise Critic for many years. I do hope the next year might bring some better quality food as well as more choice, but if that is not the case, I will do what I can to make the cruise as enjoyable as possible. Cheryl

Thank you all for the suggestions and for the pictures, Georgia Peaches. Short ribs seem to be the winner. I hope some more people who have been posting about how much they have enjoyed the mdr will come on and share their preferences.

We have been enthusiastic Celebrity cruisers for close to 24 years, having loved the staff and enjoyed the entertainment and our dining room meals. On our most recent cruise in April on the Summit, we experienced the decline of food quality and selection, but we still enjoyed our cruise and many of our meals. Looking at the menus and listening to people's comments since the latest round of cuts, I am very concerned about what we will find on our next trip. Among the criticisms, however, a number of people have talked about how much they enjoyed their main dining room meals. I am trying to remain positive, so I am asking those people who have been on cruises since June and who have loved the main dining room food to share what menu items they particularly enjoyed. I would love to see photos of your favorites, if available, but hearing your comments about the selections you found delicious might help me try something that doesn't sound very special as I read the menu. Thanks for any help you can give.

I would definitely choose the aft sunset balcony. . The Millenium class afts are definitely the best balcony staterooms we have ever had.

Chocolate cake and cheesecake available every evening Decent fish selections prepared with tasty sauces, not the boring salmon every night and the tilapia. Filet mignon Interesting appetizers - crab cakes, the puff pastry with seafood, the delicious goat cheese ap., Anything besides the salads and soups that comprise 90% of the choices. Beef Wellington.

Thanks so much for your responses and personal experiences. You all make me feel more comfortable about going the nonrefundable route. I know that the rules became more stringent a few months ago, but I have not been sure about how they have changed. I am hoping that if we book now, we might have time to take advantage of a better sale that includes some onboard credit. Maybe Labor Day will bring some offers. Cheryl

I am a longtime Celebrity cruiser, but am now reconsidering the place X will have in my future travel plans . We have sailed as recently as May, and have always had a good experience with Celebrity, even though sharp price increases, a tsunami of tiny cuts, and recent fairly dramatic limitations in food choice and quality have affected the wow factor for me. My latest concern is that I have always booked with a refundable deposit, but now the price is so much higher than nonrefundable that I can't justify it. I am not certain, however, how restrictive the nonrefundable option is, and I am hoping people can help me understand it better, so I can book with some confidence and knowledge. These are the questions that I have. If I book a specific stateroom under the current sale, and prior to final payment a new sale offers a lower cruise price or adds perks, will I be able to take advantage of the new sale benefits without paying a penalty or losing my deposit? Likewise, can I change my stateroom selection within the same or to a new category without paying a penalty? I understand that cancelling the cruise will forfeit my entire deposit, but am I able to change either the date or to a new ship without losing the whole deposit? We always use travel insurance that I can use for covered cancellations, so the risk is not huge, but I wonder how flexible the policy has been for people. Thanks to everyone on this forum who so generously offers their experience and knowledge every day to fellow cruisers. Cheryl

I think Royal Caribbean provides membership in the Crown and Anchor program to minors,and that they can take advantage of the age-appropriate benefits that their status confers. This is an inconsistency across the company's 2 cruise lines. If a child is Diamond on Royal Caribbean, he does not receive the reciprocal status on Celebrity that adults are given. I don't know why the policies are different, but there must be some advantage to Celebrity to exclude children.

I like to keep my options open, so I have always been willing to pay a small amount more for a refundable deposit; however, the refundable cost has become so expensive that I have little interest in booking in advance. Celebrity has been our favorite cruise line for many years, but the current deposit policy might encourage us to consider some other cruise lines or a different type of vacation.

Our first experience with Blu was on the Reflection in March. While I found both the preparation and the service excellent, menu choices were disappointing and more limited than we have enjoyed in the past with Celebrity. We will be eating in the main dining room on the Summit next week, and if the sneak peak on the app is even somewhat accurate, I think dinner will be much less special than it was on the Summit last summer.

The aluminum bottles were on Reflection this March. When we have had the premium package, I have requested Evian, which usually was available in the dining rooms and in some of the lounges.

Sorry, didn't know that.

It includes soda, cans of nonpremium water, and specialty coffees (without alcohol) and teas at Al Bacio. I was also able to order various nonalcoholic beverages, like raspberry fizz, in the bars on our March cruise on the Reflection.

We have sailed on Apex and Edge as well as Allure and Harmony, and have enjoyed all of them, although we generally are Celebrity cruisers. I agree with many of the above comments, but will add a couple differences that have not been addressed. On the Edge class ships, we love the 4 small main dining rooms, and their restaurant-specific menus, as well as the entertainment and the casual lunch offerings in Eden. On the other hand, Central Park on the Oasis ships is one of my favorite locations on any cruise line; it is quiet, atmospheric and peaceful at all times, and has musical entertainment in the evenings that we enjoy- think string trios and classical acoustic guitarists. Central Park also has a complimentary deli type restaurant for breakfast and lunch that is a great alternative to the buffet. Additionally, the Oasis ships have a broader range of entertainment offerings, and our favorite evening entertainment is Royal's popular piano bar, something I wish Celebrity would offer. They are all lovely ships. My husband and I know we will find something we look forward to on any of the Edge or Oasis class ships.

I am sorry if I misled people on my upgrade price estimates. I was including 2 people, and I never telephoned for an actual offer, since it appears online that the cost for ordering before the cruise is $18.20 pp plus tip (before loyalty discounts). That is more than I think the upgrade is worth to us. I think the upgrade cost onboard is the full $20 plus tip with no loyalty discounts allowed; I guess that would be $48 rather than the $50 for two people that I estimated. We were content with the classic package, but we did miss the upgraded waters. I also would have preferred to have premium wines included, but last summer it was difficult to get upgraded wines in the dining room, even with the premium package. For future cruises I will keep my eyes open for upgrade sales.

We had a sunset veranda on the Apex last spring, and we loved it. I think we were on the 8th deck. It was open and airy, and the wake was beautiful. There was a little soot problem, but we learned to check our seats before sitting and to use towels so it wasn't an issue. We are fine with the infinite balconies too, but the sunset verandas are a step above for us.

We just came off the Reflection with the classic package. In the past, we always upgraded to premium, but the current $38 to $50 per day upgrade charge seems excessive. We do not drink a lot, but many of our favorites are not included in the classic; however, with the exception of the $4.80 charge at the martini bar, we never paid more than $1.20 for anything we ordered, incuding my husband's Drambuie, my Aperol spritzes and raspberry mojitos. The servers always told us about the charge when we ordered, and we never asked if we could substitute classic liquors. Sometimes they didn't even bring a charge slip to sign. It was an easy process and I think we saved a lot of money without diminishing our experience. I hope it works out well for you too. Enjoy your cruise.

I am happy to read your enthusiastic review. In a few weeks my husband and I will be on Reflection in aqua - first time for both - and news lately has been disheartening. I will be following this thread with interest if you have more to add. The new balcony furniture looks great - did I see that it includes a footstool? We have been missing those on recent cruises.

SQRbeachgirl, Thank you for your ongoing reports. Celebrity has been our favorite cruise line for many years, but we will have our first cruise on Reflection in a few weeks, and recent discussions have made me a bit anxious about what we might find. Your observations are just what I have needed to hear. Looking forward to your next comments. Cheryl

We loved our aft balcony on the Summit last spring; as others have mentioned, it is huge (about 22 feet deep) and partially covered, so you can be protected from both rain and direct sun if you wish. We had 2 loungers and 2 chairs as well as a small table. The room itself also seemed a bit larger, but I may be mistaken about this. It was more expensive than other veranda staterooms, but we enjoyed it enough to book the same room for a cruise next spring. You may be having difficulty finding sunset verandas on the website because they are already sold out. The sunset veranda is listed in the veranda group, but it is separate from all the other veranda categories. If no sunset verandas are available, the entire category is missing on the website. Cheryl

I have had no difficulty getting chocolate martinis using Godiva chocolate liqueur on our spring Apex and Summit cruises. Both ships, however, had very limited offerings of upgraded wines.