CaptCrunch

Just returned from the Constellation, 11/6-11/22 TA, no Pelotons to be found. 

16 minutes ago, waverunner43 said:

The new menus are a step in the right direction but putting a Diane sauce on a sirloin is just wrong.  I don't buy sirloin and I don't eat sirloin.  Putting a Diane sauce on an old boot doesn't make the boot any more appetizing.   It's like ordering Chicken Marsala and you can't taste the wine.  Did you really get a Marsala sauce?   I would still like to see spaghetti added to the classic entree menu.  Whatever happened to Lobster Bisque in the MDR?

Just off a 16-day TA on Constellation and there was no lobster bisque to be found in the MDR. Also missing were the "anytime" desserts - you used to be able to get an apple pie a la mode, chocolate cake or cheesecake instead of the desserts on the menu in the MDR and now the only one you can get every night is the apple pie.  This may change with the new menus though. 

I don't think that the menus posted by Tommy D are new.  We had those menus on our recent Constellation TA 11/6-11/22. 

Add us to the list of former suite lovers that no longer see the value in paying for a suite.  The prices for the suites have gone up and the service has gone way down.  Our last cruise was a Transatlantic on the Constellation and we went with a regular veranda room and we were just fine. We did specialty dining a few times and while we missed Luminae, the MDR was adequate.  The service levels were abysmal across the board on this cruise, but I went in with such low expectations I really wasn't surprised.  There are not enough bartenders and servers especially in areas where you expect someone to be there to take orders and serve. For instance, the lines at Al Bacio at 6:30 am were ten deep and it was actually less time to wait in line and take your coffee and croissant to go and then sit at a table.  Table service was that slow - every table was full and they had only two servers.  It was like that everywhere - bars near the MDR were packed for pre-dinner drinks and the were only two servers actually going table to table taking orders. 

Our cruise prior was in a suite on the Equinox and found the service to be hit or miss.  Michael's Bar had been refurbished, but the actual bar was tiny - only four chairs and the bartender was surly. Gone were the help-yourself refrigerators full of beer and sodas, instead you had a single, harried bartender that acted put out when you wanted a drink. Afternoon tea is now a self-service affair, just like the Oceanview.  Service at Luminae was impeccable, and we enjoyed the service on the retreat sundeck, but every where else was service cuts galore.  

For us, we're back to standard verandas and just paying for the upgrades we want - Premium drinks, Streaming wifi, specialty dining.  Doing it that way, the price is way less than paying for a Sky Suite and the service is the same.  It's a shame, but it really seems like Celebrity has lost it's way. 

My TA is an independent affiliate of a large agency and she has been great.  She has immediately responded to my emails and has requested a cash refund on our cancelled cruise.  We will definitely use her again. 

I am really enjoying this review, Maris. Thank you for taking the time to write it up and post your photos.  We were on this same itinerary in 2018. 

It's very easy to take a taxi into Old Town Cartagena from the port; in fact, our taxi driver offered to be our driver and personal tour guide for the whole day.  We only wanted to see the walled city, not the fort, but we agreed on a pick-up time and location when he dropped us off. Sure enough he was there right on time and shuttled us back to the ship.  We paid him $20 each way, for the personal service and promptness.  I loved the little bird sanctuary right at the port. When we were drinking coffee on our balcony that morning I told my husband that I could hear peacocks.  He humored me, but I'm sure he was thinking, "Cuckoo, Cuckoo", just like that man in the theatre. Guess who had the last laugh when we got off the ship only to find tons of peacocks wandering around! 

Unfortunately, our cruise for this year has been cancelled by Celebrity.  We would have been embarking next week.  I do hope your summer camping trips happen.  Lots of State and National Parks have been closing in the US. Our cruise got cancelled, our late spring/early summer camping reservations have  been cancelled; we've really been striking out with our trips lately.  C'est la vie - Gives us something to really look forward to later on in the year.  

Congratulations on your new grand daughter!  

On 3/29/2020 at 4:28 PM, Noreen411 said:

Hi.  Great to hear from you.  I remember you (hopefully I remember correctly) - you also do fashion shows before your trips and you were at the helipad sailaway with us.

You definitely remembered correctly.  Still following along and I'm glad to see you two had such great luck at the casino.  

Noreen, 

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for posting this review.  We were on the Reflection with you and Scott in 2018 and were scheduled to be on this exact itinerary, but in April.   As you probably know, it has been cancelled and I am so sad about missing it.  I realize in the grand scheme of things missing a cruise and being fully reimbursed isn't really a big deal when so many are truly suffering with the loss of jobs, not being able to find groceries, illness and just the general uncertainty of the economy. 

Your review and accompanying photos have been the one bright spot in a really dreary and trying time.  It makes me very excited to cruise again! 

All the best to you and Scott - Stay healthy! 

Just now, SunNFunCruzer said:

 

How would such a 40 year old couple get on and off the ship?  And, what if that 40 year old couple brought the virus onboard, gave it to their cabin steward, who then spreads it to the other cabins with parents of eight month old twins?  Is that someone that would make the average person proud?  Is that a risk worth taking, when you can get a FCC from most cruiselines.  Any person can be part of the couple who brings it on, or takes it off.

 

As the US President said today at his 3PM press conference:  "anyone can be a carrier for the virus."

 

 

I only brought that up because this is part of the ongoing discussion in this household, but I'm on your side really.  I honestly don't think it's worth the risk; but my brain keeps going in circles pondering how to "make it work".  

24 minutes ago, SunNFunCruzer said:

 

 

To be clear, we are talking about other people's parents as well as our own.  Your Uber/Lyft/Cab driver can have a toddler or 10 year old at home.  According to reports from around the world, you can be a carrier and even a super-carrier and not even know you are infected.  30 and 40 year-olds can be cancer survivors or have diabetes... you have no idea looking at someone how vulnerable they are.

 

I'd rather be safe than sorry.  My vacation can wait a year so that I don't put a person or community at risk.

 

 

So what if a healthy 40 year old couple,  drive themselves to the port in their own vehicle, then self-quarantines for two weeks once they return home?  

We just received our second offer to submit a move up bid.  We are happy with our original cabin selection and price paid so we haven't bid for any upgraded rooms.

On Jan 22, I posted the following details to the Move Up Bid Tracker thread for our April 3rd Reflection Cruise.  These are still the "recommended" bids from Celebrity according to the email I just received. In other words, they haven't discounted these upgrade offers...yet. 

General Comments (offer details, etc.)

Reflection Suite: $1500 pp

Penthouse Suite: $1100 pp

Royal Suite: $700 pp

Signature Suite: $600 pp

Celebrity Suite: $500 pp 

1 hour ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

I love the story about tipping the omelette maker.  I had the same experience one time and I definitely tipped that person and mentioned him by name on the survey.

This is such a nice reminder about the survey.  I keep a running list on my phone of individuals and their specific actions that made our cruise so memorable, that way it helps me remember EVERYONE that I want to recognize either on the mid-cruise form or the end of cruise feedback form.  

I think the best feedback we can give is in the following format:

WHO it was

WHAT they did

HOW you felt by their action 

Going to jump in here because I agree that these threads are helpful to those looking for this type of information.  

On our first Celebrity cruise, (7 night in a veranda) we tipped our cabin steward $20 extra at the end of the cruise.  He was very friendly and learned our routine and came in a cleaned when we were out at breakfast.  On this cruise, we had the same wait crew in the MDR and we gave the head waiter $20 and the assistant waiter $20. They were both so pleasant, made great recommendations and learned our preferences by day two.  The sommelier was abysmal (never could be found, took too long to bring drinks, didn't offer suggestions) so we didn't tip him anything extra at all.

On our second Celebrity cruise (11 nights in a suite) we tipped our cabin steward $50 and our butler $50. Both of them were very friendly and had positive attitudes and went out of their way to assist us.  We dined in Luminae for dinner each night and had the same wait staff - we tipped them $50 each at the end of the cruise.  We also tipped $50 for the sommelier on this cruise - He went above and beyond to make recommendations and suggestions on wine pairings with our dinner.  Additionally, he let us try a few wines that were normally available "by the bottle" only; this was something he offered based on what we had liked other nights and what we ordered for dinner, not something that we requested. 

In general, will tip a few dollars ($2-$3) on each drink order no matter where we are as long as the bar staff or waiter is pleasant and prompt.  We have found that after doing this a few times, the staff gets more pleasant and more prompt once they recognize you and know that there will be a few dollars for them with each drink order.  We tend to stick to the same bar/venue routine so it doesn't take long for the staff to remember you and rush right over to get your order.  

We get a daily room service order for what we call "first breakfast" which is a pot of coffee and pastries delivered early in the morning and we tip $5 for that order.  It was the same person who delivered it each day and by day two, it came on time and with everything we needed. One night we forgot to put our order on the door, and they brought the tray at our usual time with our usual order anyway.  We received the phone call a few minutes before to make sure we wanted it and just forgot to put our slip out.  When we stayed in a suite, the butler actually delivered this tray in the morning, so we didn't tip him any extra for this - just the $50 tip at the end of the cruise.  

For "second breakfast" we go to Oceanview and eat at the buffet. My husband hits the omelette station everyday and orders the same omelette.  On our second cruise, the man that was pulling the order slips recognizes my husband and realizes that he gets the same order every day so they start making it when he walks up to the omelette station - no need to stand in line and no need to fill out the order slip. The man who manages the order slips actually says to him on day three "Good Morning Mr. Crunch, we will prepare your omelette same as yesterday, no need to fill out a slip".  That guy got a $20 tip at the end of the cruise. On the first cruise my husband got an omelette everyday, but stood in line and filled out the slip (which was no problem, just nothing "special") so no extra tip was given. 

For the most part, we have always had really great service from friendly staff on Celebrity from just about every one on the ship. We will tip extra for staff that really go above and beyond the exceptional Celebrity service we've come to know. 

While I’m excited to see your jaunty frocks, I’m upset about your cat running away.  

I agree with the above poster who said that food is so subjective.  What one person likes and thinks is good will be a total "miss" for someone else.  Our last cruise was in a Suite on the Reflection and I ordered off the MDR menu a few times at dinner.  Personally, I prefer simple food to fussy foods and the grilled salmon and steamed broccoli is more appealing to me, than some of the Luminae choices.  I'm really glad to have the option of ordering off the MDR menu in Luminae. 

As far as the desserts go, I wholeheartedly agree that the cake selections in Ocean View Cafe leave a lot to be desired - they look pretty, but that's about all.  The ONLY exception I have found is on the last sea day lunch when they have the "fancy buffet" (I'm not sure what this day is actually called, but it's when they have a REALLY NICE buffet lunch in OVC).  I had a slice of Battenberg Cake (this cake is recognizable by it's pink and yellow checkerboard pattern when it's sliced) and it was outstanding.  The pastry chef was standing near the desserts and I made sure to let him know how delicious it was.   I also really like the coconut macaroons in Cafe Al Bacio.  They are in a glass jar above the pastry case and are fantastic.  Not too sweet and very coconutty. 

• Ship:  Reflection
• Length of Cruise: 10 night
• Cruise Sail Date: April 3, 2020
• Date email offer received: Jan19, 2020 - 69 days out
• Captain’s Club Tier: CLASSIC - We will hit SELECT mid-way through this cruise 
• Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA:  TA
• Current Cabin: Sky Suite guarantee
• Bid?  Yes/No: NO - We are happy with our current cabin and don't see any need to pay more and move up. 

If YES -  Bidding Details:

• Cabin Category: place winning category, if accepted (all category offers, can be mentioned in comments)
• Bid Offer:
• Notification Date:
• Accepted / Rejected

General Comments (offer details, etc.)

Reflection Suite: $1500 pp

Penthouse Suite: $1100 pp

Royal Suite: $700 pp

Signature Suite: $600 pp

Celebrity Suite: $500 pp 

Are you eligible to participate in Move Up bidding if you booked with a TA, or is it only available to Celebrity direct bookings?

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

If it is after final payment & the price of your cabin has dropped below what you paid and pif there is a higher category cabin available for at least $1 more than you paid you can pay the difference & move to the higher category.

 

We did that in Jan & paid $ 62 to move from a SS to a CS.  Also have moved from a concierge to SS for $.118- both were on 14 day cruises.

Can you clarify just a bit Jelayne?  Did you pay $62 total to move from a SS to a CS or $62 per day (62x14 = $868 total)?

I would also add to bring one of those insulated cups or mugs with a straw for everyone in your group. Lots of people bring those and fill them up with ice and soda/lemonade at the drink machines then have it with them all over the ship. We bring stainless steel water bottles to refill with ice cold water from the drink machines to have in our cabin. I prefer a refillable water bottle to eliminate plastic bottle waste and to not have to lug a huge package of bottled water on the ship.

On our last Disney Cruise (2015) they did a package option on the Bingo cards - you get so many cards that you mark off with a marker, and an electronic Bingo machine that automatically marks your squares on the pre-loaded cards. I can't remember exactly how many cards you receive, and I don't believe you can buy individual cards without buying the package deal first then adding on additional cards...so there's no way you can just buy a card for $10.

I do know that the prices go up as the Cruise progresses....The least expensive Bingo option on the first day they offered Bingo was $60 per pack (though a family can share the package - just split the cards and machine between all players). For the final day (Jackpot Bingo) the least expensive package was $80 per pack but they do actually give away a large cash prize on the final game - Blackout Bingo. The first one that covers their entire card wins the pot. On our cruise it was $2850....and it's really cash, not an OBC and not cash towards a future cruise.

Get there early - On our cruise, the venue did completely fill for each Bingo game and they turned away many that wanted to play. Definitely budget for this as it's a lot of fun.....more so if you win!

@Maven3 - Thank you for answering and sharing your thoughts. Not to pile on with what others are saying, but those who book in advance and ultimately pay more are the ones who get to select their cabin location and guarantee the dates for their cruise so they can plan their schedule months (sometimes years) in advance. I guess to summarize, you are paying for a guaranteed room at a guaranteed time...and that comes at a cost.

I am able to be more flexible in order to pay a lower price. I have the ability to shop around for the lowest fare based on the room category I want.

The only time I book way in advance and pay “full fare” is when we are traveling with others who are not as flexible.

Recently I was a little disappointed with a similar situation. We booked a Celebrity Suite on the Equinox. It comes with all four perks. Two days after final payment was made, the cost of the room went down $250pp/$500 total - still with all 4 perks. I called my TA, she told me Celebrity won’t give any credits or additional OBC once final payment is made. It really bothers me that people who are booking later get a better deal than the ones who let Celebrity hold their deposits for months.

 

I’m interested to know why late bookers getting a better fare “really bothers you”. Have you considered waiting until after final payment to book a cruise, thus taking advantage of the lower fare?

 

I’m promise I’m not trying to be argumentative, I’m genuinely curious.

I saw the Freewinds in Curaçao the same day the Reflection was docked there. They were in a smaller port on the other side of the floating pontoon bridge - very close to the downtown area. I had no idea of the connection with the Scientologists. Thanks for the fun fact, Noreen!

Yikes!! Thanks for the warning. Will definitely dry inside from now on.

I'm new to this forum and noticed your excellent review of your adventures and the Eclipse. I'm going to be on the Eclipse with my wife and daughter on July 1 travelling the Baltics for 12 days. My last cruise was 7 days in the Caribbean...we used Zero and hung up our swim wear in the cabin washroom and we draped our swimwear on the deck chairs....it was windy and luckily, we didn't lose our suits. I noticed the laundry challenge in one of your pics....$49.95 for a bag. I 'm wondering how you/others deal with laundry?

I don’t mean to hijack Dana’s review but I wanted to answer this question because I have a laundry solution that I love!!

I purchased a Scrubba Wash Bag from Amazon and I did laundry twice on my last 11 night cruise. I brought the Scrubba Bag, about 15 clothespins, a length of thin nylon cord, and a small bottle of laundry detergent.

The Scrubba bag is similar to a “Dry” bag (if you are familiar with camping gear) except it has a built in scubbing area with plastic nibs inside the bag and a valve to remove the air. It works exceptionally well and has directions printed right on the bag. After washing, rinsing and wringing, we used a pool towel to roll the wet clothes and then we walked on the towels to remove as much water as possible from our clothes. Even after wringing them multiple times, the towel walking method removed quite a bit more water.

We strung up the clothesline between the two deck chairs at night and the clothes were dry in the morning.

Keep in mind we were washing quick dry gym clothes, undergarments and swim suits in the Caribbean. You could always wash with the Scrubba bag and hang your clothes up inside the closet on hangers but it will take longer than overnight to dry inside; I’m not sure how well things will dry overnight on the balcony on the Baltic Cruise.

I bought the Scrubba specifically for this trip and it worked out really well. I highly recommend it.