MattnTricia

We routinely go to specialty dining 3-5 times per cruise. We typically bring $5,$10 and $20 each night and tip an additional amount based on the service. Usually we average $15 a night based on past history plus the standard gratuity already paid with the reservation. Usually the service is exceptional and we try and get the same server later in the week when we return to repeat restaurants. I understand not wanting now wanting to provide additional tips beyond the included 20%(especially if the service is not great) but for us this is part of our cruise cost and we want to reward great service and food which is why we choose the specialty restaurant route.

@bnurick Bourbon: Good selection. We cleaned out the Woodford Double Oaked last night. Hopefully, they will find another bottle. Red Wine: Although I brought a few bottles onboard and also have purchased two more onboard, we have sampled every red wine by the glass option. The Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon has been my favorite. We are going on Eclipse in a little over a week. Where were you able to find the double oaked? Any chance you had premium package and was it included? If not any idea what the cost was? I am not super picky but that would be a great find to be able to enjoy during our cruise. We also enjoy good Cabs and Decoy is solid. Did you find any other Cab's you enjoyed?

We are doing the exact same cruise. Any chance you can advise what nights the "chic" nights were and what nights the MDR had Lobster. We will be on the same itinerary Thanksgiving week and are trying to figure out what nights to use our specialty restaurant package. Thanks for sharing the food pics - Very helpful.

Thank you for your trip report - We look forward to being on this ship in just 11 days 🙂

Our move up has pending for 2 weeks with the other 3 options all expired. Our cruise is in 10 days. I am OK with this but it is odd that we are supposed to have access to modify or cancel up to 48 hours before and this has not been the case. Is there a phone number to call about this?

I have to agree on supply chain not being a valid excuse for supply or variety on cruise lines at this point. There is an abundance of California wines available and many grapes will be left unharvested this year due to low demand. This article sums this point up pretty well. https://www.meiningers-international.com/wine/insights-wine/us-demand-drops-california-worries-about-excess-grapes#:~:text=California's wine producers are sitting,Jeff Siegel reports.&text=An excess of grapes is nothing new for California producers and growers.

Signing on for your review. Tricia and I are taking our first Celebrity cruise on the Eclipse doing the Mexican Riviera itinerary as well over Thanksgiving. Like you we know the itinerary well and are most interested in tips on wine by the glass, cocktails to make the most out of our premium beverage plan, specialty dining as we signed up for the 4 night plan and just general tips to get the most out of our cruise. Have a great trip and looking forward to the rest of your trip report.

Eclipse Nov 17. Inside gty. Bid on verandah. Sunset verandah, sunset concierge , ultra deluxe And all were minimum bids bidding is locked and all but verandah are expired - verandah shows pending

I have not been charged ye but 3 of my offers went to expired - I am showing one as pending like all 4 were previously. Does this mean we are getting the one that is pending? We have not gotten an email confirmation yet

Curious if this would include those bought from AARP for use on celebrity ? This would be a nice addition for an upcoming cruise

Kind of what I am expecting although if I can find a decent cab like Decoy for most meals that will definitely work, Was hoping for a little better news on selection improvement though.

Thanks for the info - I am such a creature of habit I thought it would be good to stretch my horizons this trip as we have 5 sea day and another 9-10 coming up on a Princess cruise over the XMAS Holidays. I definitely like my Old Fashion with Bulleit, a nice orange biters and a couple of Cocktail Cherries. I have to admit Luxardo is the best cherry but my home cherry is Penninsula Premium Cocktail Cherries which are a close 2nd at half the price. Hoping Bulleit, and Woodford Reserve will be available at the specialty restaurants and bars as they are typically my go to.

Eclipse Nov 17 included in the sale 🙂

What is crazy about the world wine tour? I have seen positive reviews but nothing really that descriptive.

Any comments about the availability of wine on a per glass basis? We are sailing in November and am curious how the selection is. Last update I saw from Prof Cruise was back in spring. TIA for any feedback

I am typically a wine drinker who enjoys an occasional crown royal or Bourbon Old fashioned although I do like the occasional Bloody Mary or Vodka cocktail also. I have never really ventured in to martini's but would like to try several to see if it's something I like. I realize I have the premium package and can order different ones to try but I would feel guilty ordering one after another and potentially not drinking a few of them. I have some OBC to burn and was just considering ordering the martini flight. Any other suggestion to get smaller pours to just try different martinis with our package?

Appreciating you letting us tag along. I noticed you mentioned Champagne early in your post. If you have any other feedback on available wines by the glass, especially reds, It would be appreciated.

Recent Reviews have the Aerial Tram and the Panama train with mixed if not somewhat poor reviews. We don't really have interest in seeing Embera Village. Any other suggestions? We are on Princess last week of December but are OK with non Princess excursion. TIA Mattntricia

Totally Ok Thanks

Thank You

Is there anyway to change a username? I have been a member for close to 20 years and would like to change my username to MattnTricia instead of Mattnday instead of signing up for a new account. Thanks Matt

Thank You LACruiser88 Your review was just what my wife and I were looking for. We are sailing he Emerald for 15 days in December on a Panama Canal Full Transit and were looking for feedback on the ship and experience on a longer cruise. We had a couple of questions you might be able to help with that will help us with our planning. 1)How long were the typical MDR dinners. How likely would we be to make a 7:30 Show with a 6PM dinner? Guessing we would need 5:30? We do have premier to help with seating on the bigger shows 2)My wife and I enjoy wine with dinner and that is the one reason we did the Premier upgrade. We enjoyed our California Cabs on our last sailing despite availability being limited. I saw that you did the plus package and got a lot of your wine at Vines before dinner. Any chance you can comment on the by the glass wine selection availability? Possibly a copy of the Vines menu for Emerald? Any tips or suggestions? Thank you again for a great report that was very helpful

We are doing an upcoming 15 day Panama Canal Cruise We got assigned to my time dining when we booked. We used o get asked what seating we wanted if early or late. Did Princess do away with seating? We see how we can request the same time through my time dining for every day but we are not sure if it would assign us the same table and waiter. For this long a cruise we would really like to have a set waiter and table as we like that experience. TIA for help to understand the options.

Thank You for posting this. We were also thinking the exact same thing. We are slated for a 15 day panama Canal cruise with a few more sea days than we are used to. We were curious about dining options also as Our last princess cruise had a few more options.

I have a lot of interest in this dinner. The dilemma I have though is we have already upgraded to the premier package allowing for up to $20 wine which we will be utilizing every night at dinner. Not offering a discount to those who have already offered up significant $ for the wine upgrade would be painful. We also will pay for additional specialty restaurants beyond our 2 included on our upcoming 15 night Panama Canal Cruise.