JerseyGirlatHeart

Hi all, 

Hoping to get some "inside" information from those of you that book specialty dining on a regular basis.  DH and I have cruised many times, but rarely have opted for specialty dining. Our upcoming cruise is a B2B (first B2B on Celebrity) and we are considering dining in a Specialty Restaurant two days of the second leg.  We tend to eat early, around 6ish and Blu is our assigned venue.  

- The first day would be the "First" night of the second leg; know that Celebrity always offers reduced prices for the "First" night; current online advertised price is $30.00 pp for the Tuscan Grille.  Is this the lowest I can expect to pay for the Tuscan Grille or, in your experience, will there be better onboard specials?  Additionally, for those that have done B2Bs on Celebrity in the past, have they offered repeat cruisers an even better price for the "First" night of the second leg?    

- The second day would be most likely be on a port day.  I know you can negotiate prices with the Maître d', but am wondering what type of prices I can expect to negotiate for?  Thinking about doing Lawn Club Grill for a sail away.

BL:  What are your personal experiences in regard to specialty dining pricing?  Apologize if this question is too personal.

Linda

In Jan, it was 30 items per elite member.  Not sure of cost.

Doing a B2B in January on Reflection.  Hope the BOGO is offered for the premium upgrade as we have Classic package for second leg and have premium for first leg (just pipe dreaming).

We had a waiter by one of those names in Blu on the Reflection, his assistant was from the Philippines.  Both were EXCELLENT.  Hope to have them again in Jan.

We found that the Gym is busiest the first sea day (maybe two if back to back sea days) and the last sea day in the morning.  We try and go around 1ish pm on those days, the rest of the time we hit the Gym at 6ish am and have had no problems getting equipment.

Just wondering … do you just pay the difference for the flight, or the full flight price?

On the Reflection in January the charge was $17.80 for each class I was interested in (spin/yoga).  Too steep for me.

We book A1s quite a lot specifically for the overhang and Blu (I too have had skin cancer removed), but unfortunately I don't remember most cabin numbers.  I can tell you that we were never bothered by noise from above.  

FYI:  first night in Blu they normally have a filet and prime rib is served at some point during the cruise.  On another note, on the last cruise we were on (Reflection in January) the couple next to us in Blu ordered from the MDR menu more then a few times.  Enjoy!

Just went, no pool, but did have a water play area for children.

Yes, you can order French Onion soup and Shrimp ... every night if you wish.  I too, love both these and always have them several times in Blu during a Cruise.

Agree

Paid for internet on our last cruise, (Reflection two weeks ago) and it was terrible.  Most mornings it was down.  Will never pay for it again.  Wasn’t worth the trouble.  

Just follow the price of excursion you would like .... if a 20% deal is advertised it is not always as it seems.   For example, I booked an excursion for $124.00 and was following one for $189.  An up to 20% off” promotion came out and the $189 excursion I was following had increased to $289 (and flagged as 20% off), of course this was no deal, but the excursion I had booked for $124 was listed as $67 (again flagged as 20% off) so I cancelled the original booking and rebooked at the lower price.  Bottom line, just check/follow pricing, there are deals to be had, and some deals are just “Smoke and Mirrors.”  I have personally found if you keep checking you can always get a better deal pre-Cruise.  

Agree with Snow Bunny and Keesar, love the heated loungers.  In addition to the Persian Gardens, you will have access to the Relaxation Room on "I believe" Deck 11, front of the ship under the Spa.  This is just a quiet room (think Solarium without pool and people).   If you have a rainy/cool day, it is a nice place to find an indoor comfortable seat to read and relax (with tea/coffee bar).

I have asked the Room Steward to replace apples with bananas and grapes (not an apple fan and love snacking on grapes in the afternoon).  This request was always honored (as recently as a few weeks ago) and we were assured that it was not a problem. 

On our last cruise, the canapes seemed to be better then on past cruises.  As noted above, there were four different canapes (two small servings each) delivered every day on one platter, which always included a sweet.  Those that I remember were deviled eggs, ceviche salad, chips, olives, assorted cheeses, sushi, cream puffs, and petite fore.  

I also mentioned to a Room Steward in the past (not a request, just in conversation) that I love shrimp, and to my surprise, a shrimp platter was delivered to the room in lieu of canapes, not everyday, by on several days during our voyage.  

Not all of the offerings were to our liking, but some were.  Enjoy!

Just a note … we do tip nicely, in addition to the prepaid, at the end of the cruise (depending on service), not at the beginning, so service/request was not because we forked over a big bill.

Was just about to say same thing ...

Thanks to all who replied, lots of interesting opinions.  Wanted to get back and let you know I decided to go with the 17-night.  After negotiating with TA, I paid a little more (a little under $1,200 in lieu of $900, but ended up with $1,000 in OBC, Premium Bev Pack, WiFi, Gratuities [the 14-night was offered Premium Bev Pack, WiFi, Gratuities, $350 OBC]) all in all, a good day.  Thanks again!

On ‎11‎/‎24‎/‎2018 at 10:58 AM, phoenix_dream said:

 

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We have never eaten in a speciality restaurant, never had a desire too.  We normally book AQ and feel that BLU or MDR is more then adequate for our palates.  Would rather use the money for something else that I really would like to do (your, wine tasting, etc).

We have a choice between two trips, both require 12 days off of work.  

For pricing comparison, Option #2 is around $900 more for same category cabin as Option #1.

Option #1:  14-day (7 ports with 1 that I have NOT visited in the past — St Croix).  Ship:  Silhouette right after Referb

Option #2:  17-day (B2B staying in same cabin # with a total of 8 ports [one repeat — St Maarten], additionally have visited all ports in the past).  Ship:  Reflection

Jersey

Sunset Bar on both M and S Class Ships, and Ensemble Bar on S Class for pre/post dinner drinks.  Not a Martini Bar fan.

FYI ... I too love to spin, but on both the Summit and Reflection the spin bikes weren’t that great ... the old crank type.  But like previous poster stated, spin is what you make it.

On 9/18/2018 at 1:27 PM, hvbaskey said:

We are doing this exact excursion in early November (via Celebrity). I can provide feedback then, if you are still interested.

Please do.  We are scheduled to take this tour in January and haven’t seen any reviews.  Thanks

1 hour ago, NAGooner said:

Luvcrusn,

 

We had the same challenge on our last cruise in August (more nonrefundable OBC than we could use).  A few days before the end of the cruse we received our remark/comments form and it had a place for additional tips. We filled in the names of the staff and the amounts we wanted to give them, took it to guest services, checked that we had filled it out properly and handed it in.

 

We told the staff members what we had done (the amounts were

added to their wages). One of them came up to us and told us that he had already been advised what we had done and the amount.

 

The amount of the daily gratuiites goes into the tip pool, additional gratuities, over and above the daily amount, go to the staff member regardless as to how you provided it. If you remove the daily gratuities than any amount given to the staff member goes inrto the tip pool.

 

NAGooner   

 

Did exactly the same thing on our last two cruises, Summit in Jun, and Reflection in Nov.  

Got a 2D notice also, so filled it out.

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