phoenix_dream

3 hours ago, hcat said:

sorry.  very poor grammar and misleading on my part

..

sorry if I got anyone's hopes up in AQ class  that we are getting a lunch!

 

AQ Class has  priority embark

Concierge. has .priority embark AND lunch!

No, AQ and Concierge no longer have priority embarkation. That went away after the Covid shutdown.  

7 minutes ago, DimSum said:

@bjahil47 @Jim_Iain

 

I'm traveling round trip from Fort Lauderdale, US.  Going to Cozumel, Nassau and Caymen Islands.  It is close loop, but I guess I should renew ASAP just in case.

 

Thank you!!

I wish you luck in making that happen! Not sure what current timelines are but they were running 4 months plus, even when paying more for a rushed one. Hopefully that’s improved!

1 hour ago, mrgabriel said:

We have always been told NO but we have not sailed on E-class ships. 

 

But if you want the menu in MDR, could you just eat in the MDR? Seems like a lot of work for the wait staff to have to go to another kitchen - even if it is close by. 

Your experience is very different than mine.  On non-E class ships I have never had an issue asking for a MDR item and I've sailed in AQ and eaten in Blu many, many times.  I try not to ask for extras very often because of the extra work for the waiter, but if I can't find anything on the Blu menu I like it has never been an issue. I don't want to just go to the MDR to eat.  One reason (actually the main reason) I choose Aqua Class is for the dining experience - better, more individualized service, restaurant more intimate and so on.

1 hour ago, maggie.1008 said:

Will they let a cabin go empty rather than except the minimum bid ?

Some will say no, but I will say yes, or at least maybe.  We did a Move Up bid, and didn't get it (over minimum, but under midpoint)  only to find out that there was one empty cabin of that category still available when we got the declination notice.  Were they planning to move someone else up into that category who bid more?  I guess that's possible.  But the timing seemed suspicious to me.  

7 hours ago, Guindalf said:

I've NEVER heard of any restrictions of dress in the theater. Not sure where you heard or saw that.

 

Make sure that X are aware of your C&A status to get a matched Elite level. You will start at zero for obtaining points, but you will be recognized at that level. See the link given above for more details.

Used to be, back in formal days. I distinctly remember my son being refused admission because after dinner he changed into gym shoes!  Thank goodness things have loosened up ( although too much IMHO but that’s a discussion for another thread). 

I know the pool was free last time we visited. Is the new lazy river free too? Do they provide the floats or do you need to bring your own?

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

 And that was the first thing that came to my mind when I saw this.  
 

 What irks me the most is here are some of the Retreat perks being sold further devaluing the Retreat experience.  
 

 

I feel the same. Already paying a huge surcharge in suite pricing and now they want to sell some of the perks as stand-alone after already taking away the dedicated butler I PAID for when I booked? Frustrating and seems so low class to me. I feel like I’m sailing with a Kmart blue light special. 

On 10/23/2023 at 2:23 PM, Not a username2 said:

I'm looking at booking a cruise mid-late Feb or early March (before March break) 2025 ABC islands. I've noticed that the February ones are mostly sold out and more expensive. Is there a reason why that is the case vs the first week of March? All on the Reflection. TIA.

All ABC cruises eventually book up well.  Some schools/colleges start spring break in March.  Also the prices for pre-cruise hotels can be even higher in March.  I suspect that is why the March one has yet to sell out.

On 10/23/2023 at 4:45 PM, Oceangoer2 said:

OT....How do others feel about January cruises?  Never sailed to mid-Caribbean in that month....I'm assuming the ocean will be a little cooler than prior and after months?  Lots of rain?

I've cruised in January many, many times.  The islands are always nice and warm - in fact, much more comfortable than later months but definitely warm enough for beach time.  Leaving from Florida (and in Florida) may be cool (or even cold) but once you get south January is the perfect month IMHO

2 hours ago, Hvacguy131 said:

Both ships are small and don't offer much.  Celebrity will be OOOLLDD clientele for sure.  Sleeper cruise imo.  Neither is great option for SJ.

Very much disagree with you.  Summit is a great ship - yes, smaller, but was revolutionized and looks very nice.  What some call small, others call comfortably sized.  As to age, yes, Celebrity tends to trend older than Royal,  But "OOOLLDD clientele"?  Only on the longer cruises.  These days there are a lot of younger people sailing Celebrity ships thanks to their marketing scheme.  Kind of an insulting comment at that.  Heaven forbid you have to spend time cruising with OOOLLDD people.

Interesting no one else has reported getting the survey.  Wonder if the ones who got one have sailed with kids recently?  

Anyway, my opinion is that except for cold or otherwise inclement weather when a designated family time is reasonable, the solarium should remain adults only.  And for that matter, during the family time it should be required that parents be present (I know, even harder to control).  

We sailed her for 21 days a year and a half or so ago and really enjoyed our experience.  We were in the Retreat so that could make a difference.  It was also before any MDR dining changes were made so can't speak to that.  She was overall in good shape - not revolutionized but public areas had been cleaned up quite a bit.  Our one and only complaint revolves around the television if that matters to you.  It was small, old, and did not have the usual automation features of on demand movies, online account, etc..  Our cabin had not been updated with new furniture or anything, but to us that didn't matter.

It does seem like Celebrity is trying to do some good things for their loyal customers after making so many of them (us) angry because of all the cutbacks.  This and the opening of the Retreat Lounge for Zenith are positive steps for us as well as good PR for Celebrity.  They get a lot by doing this - they make their loyal passengers a bit happier, and it costs them barely a cent.  I hope they continue looking at ways to improve things.  

On 10/25/2023 at 3:25 PM, mayleeman said:

 

I guess that was what I was fearing it would return to. We never had a chance to be in the Sky Lounge on the Refl in 2019 except for morning trivia contests. If it is limited to the 2 hrs in the letter, that should be okay.   Would like to enjoy it after dinner!

It was never more than a couple of hours, and never was the first night.  So there were plenty of hours you could have used the Sky Lounge.  Granted, they might not have been your preferred hours, but your post makes it seem like the lounge was blocked out all the time, from mid day on and that was never the case.

We were just in a corner aft Sky Suite, deck 9.  People on the decks above us could see us if we were by railing.

17 hours ago, jwlane said:

There's one dress code---the one YOU decide to wear.

So you feel it's completely ok to wear whatever the heck you want to, even though you booked a cruise with a line that has specific rules about what you should be wearing?  That the rules may belong to other people, but not to you, or they can just be ignored because who cares about rules?   Wow.  That's a very interesting attitude.  Do you feel that way about their other rules?  Ok to smoke if you decide to do it?  Ok to roller skate down the hallways if you decide to do it?  Ok to bring bottles of alcohol onboard if you decide to do it?  Sorry (not sorry) I just don't see the difference.  Rules are rules.  You can't just decide which to follow and which not.  That's all I can say without getting booted off of Cruise Critic.

I am sorry for the issues you faced, especially the toilet one and how it was  handled.  I appreciate the balanced review you are providing. I agree contacting the Hotel Manager is a good idea. He seemed to be a very personable guy who seems to take his job seriously.

As to sailing Eclipse in general, just got off of her Sunday after a b2b of 14 days total. We had zero issues of any consequence. We were in two separate cabins, a Sky suite on 12 and a corner Sunset Sky on 9. We had some noise issues with the first one - carts rolling from around 3 am on. Luckily not loud enough to cause us to lose sleep, but a bit annoying. Our stream Wi-Fi was not as good as we’ve experienced on some ships, but not that bad. We had a lot of fog on our 2nd cruise which might have worsened the reception.  Service and food overall were great. We ate in Luminae with an occasional stop at the buffet for lunch. We noticed some wear and tear here and there but we felt she was overall in good shape. We dined in both Tuscan and Murano and enjoyed both. 
 

I am writing this mainly to ally concerns of future passengers. Not denying at all the issues mentioned, just saying I think they were more the exception than the rule. 

I'm on Eclipse now in the California coastal area and IMHO the ship has been very cold all cruise. In the Caribbean I usually bring a light sweater as I tend to get cold easier as I get older. For comparison,  in Florida I am often in shorts while locals are wearing down jackets so keep that difference in mind. 🙂

I think we need to keep in mind that many of these bookings might be from FCC during the shutdown.  Or is that timing past? Will be interesting to see what next year's capacities look like with so much bad publicity about MDR food, taking away dedicated butlers for sky suites, and on and on. Couple that with the reinstitution of student loan payments, as well as credit card debt shock from so much overspending and we'll see what happens. I know I have fewer Celebrity cruises booked for next year than I usually would. 

As regards tipping in general,  that is how the ship’s payment/salary process works. So whether your country does or does not customarily tip should have zero impact on whether you should tip onboard.   As to extra tipping, I feel that is a personal decision.  My view is that these staff work way harder and longer than I ever did for far less money (and I worked hard, for often long hours!) So I will always tip even more for the excellent service I normally get. I don't vary extra tip amounts by size of room or amount paid, but rather by service provided. 

On 10/16/2023 at 12:19 PM, Dolebludger said:

When did you cruise? SS no longer have butlers, as I understand it. The SS have overworked “Retreat hosts” that work in rotation among the suites.

Onboard now

On Eclipse now, in two different sky suites on a b2b. On each segment the head butler arranged to have our minibar cleared out and stocked with the soft drinks and water we like. I know it's not an official perk but in sky suites we've always had butlers willing to do it. Can't say they all will, but pleasantly surprised this trip after all the cuts.

On 10/10/2023 at 3:07 PM, DaKahuna said:

@mizLORInj  You commented

 

"Celebrity app did not work on Android phone the entire cruise.  Kept getting error messages.   iPhone had no issues with the Celebrity app."

 

Just so you are aware, it is a much reported fact that the Celebrity App no longer supports Android based devices.  it's been mentioned here on CC a number of times.  There have been posted work arounds but I would not look for Celebrity to address this issue anytime soon. 

 

 

DH and I have Android and no issues with the app - onboard Eclipse this week 

6 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

 
I think your dates are ok but in recent years, there were some hurricanes that hit Eastern Canada in September (Fiona 2022 and Lee 2023).

 

We had a neighbor that just did this cruise and Lee caused one of the ports to be skipped as a result.

 

Not really something to worry about or something you can do something about but fall is hurricane season and doesn’t only affect the Caribbean 

 

We’ve not done this itinerary but would like to do it in the next few years and look forward to your review

 

 

We were on the cruise affected by Fiona. Missed 2 ports, but added overnights in Quebec City and Portland which were nice.  Seas were actually very calm. Service and food on Summit in Blu were some of our worst ever strangely enough as usually it gets good reviews.  And then we came home with Covid.....But there was a lot to love about it. Our favorite was Quebec City and sightseeing in Boston before we sailed. On Eclipse now and really enjoying the cruise. Not revolutionized but in good shape and staff is very good,  as is the food (we're in Luminae). 

On Eclipse now. Haven't noticed any changes in the Luminae menu.  Didn't do a before and after comparison but they seem to be the same as before. I can't speak to specific items but everything I was used to ordering was there. Food has been generally good to very good, and great service.