newtocruiseinblue

I just checked my menus on the app for my cruise and they're great. Maybe the European cruises will be different than the Caribbean market.

I just checked my mdr menu for Greece this summer and there is crème brûlée and lamb and prime rib and all of the other food that was on our Italy and Greece cruise last summer. I've also heard people say that if there is something you really want, you can try asking and they could possibly make it for you. But yes, one can see the mdr menus on the app once they book.

I feel X puts a huge emphasis on the retreat and suites. In that respect, it is not cheapening their product. One could argue that it is creating an environment of have and have nots, but we did a veranda cruise and we never felt that we were missing out on the suite life. We were happy and satisfied. Prices are rising globally. The added recent cuts don't affect us as we only get continental breakfast in the cabin prior to an early shore excursion, don't order room service, don't really care about a second lobster tail, would prefer to eat in the mdr for dinner; etc. On our most recent Mediterranean cruise on the reflection, the ship was excellent, the service was excellent, the food was excellent, the drinks were excellent. Our waiter in the MDR was one of the best waiters we've had in our entire lives any place. These new ships aren't cheapening their product. They are elevating it.

Sailed in November on NS and the food was excellent. The only food change that we noted was that we felt that the desert selection in the desserts themselves were not as good as they were pre-pandemic. When we sailed before there was a different kind of cheesecake offered every day and this time there was not. The cheesecake however that they had was very good. We just felt that the desserts had gone down since the pandemic. But that is a very small thing to complain about. The salmon with the ginger rice in the main dining room was excellent.

So very sorry for your loss and my deepest prayers and sympathy to you and your family ❤️ I love the toast that you made and will start making it with my husband in honor of you and your husband ❤️ Cheers to your many years of happiness together 🍷

I do love HAL itineraries. They tend to have a better selection of interesting ports.

We cruised both last year and I enjoyed celebrity more. They are very close but I give Celebrity the edge over HAL as others have said, celebrity is usually a little bit more expensive. We did 10-day Reflection in the Mediterranean and 7-day Caribbean on Nieuw Statendam. Even though the Statendam was much newer than the reflection I felt that the ships were comparable. I actually liked Reflection better than the Statendam. The service was better on Celebrity. It was just a more electric vibe on Celebrity. Both cruises were great. HAL seems to have better itineraries and celebrity seems to have higher prices. Celebrity has more entertainment around the ship and Hal used to have great port lectures. I was bored with all of the up-selling in HAL that I encountered. I felt that celebrity handled the pandemic better than Holland America did as far as communicating with guests and keeping them engaged. I feel, overall, Celebrity is a stronger company than HAL and will outlive the downturn the industry is experiencing now climbing out of the losses from the pandemic. It still seems questionable to me if Carnival will keep HAL forever or maybe merge it with princess.

Absolute love booking far in advance! Do you think prices might go down in the future? Probably not and, if they do, I can rebook. Plus, I can get the best airfare prices by booking ahead. so glad that we booked our summer 2023 cruise to Greece last April when no one knew what summer 2022 was going to look like in the cruising world. We got a great price and always included. Booked airfare for at least $600-$1500 pp LESS than it is today and bought shore excursions before prices went up. We can't cancel now - we got a great deal! The staff did such an amazing job on our Mediterranean cruise last summer that little adjustments here or there are not going to bother me. I'm there for the ports and to see the world- not for a second lobster tail in the dining room. ☺️

So it's only dessert now? I could get into that. 😁

Wow this looks like something could have printed from my home computer. 😆 Guess they were in a rush to get it out. Just another shift I will make to stay within what is included in my cruise price. We typically get room service for port days that we are going on a planned excursion. I will just select items from the continental breakfast menu. Thank you for posting.

It is interesting that you bring this up. We were on Celebrity Reflection last July in the Mediterranean and, on lobster night, our waiter INSISTED on bringing both my dh and I two lobster tails. I felt a little funny getting two, but he insisted, since the size was petite, that we each receive two. He was probably one of the best waiters I have ever encountered.

Are there two paths to walk down? Could that be were the time difference that people are experiencing?

I enjoyed the webinar and the look at the new itineraries.

No but we tip the person that brings it. To note - if you like extra cream like we do (kill it with the cream) - you must request extra cream and be very specific about it. We usually leave the room service request form on our door at night to have it delivered in the morning. Coffee on the veranda is one of my favorite parts of a cruise.

Interesting to note (and someone may have done this already) the description of my Ephesus tour says that we have the option of skipping the carpet demonstration at the end and going straight back to the ship.

Let's be real - every shore excursion seems to have a bathroom stop that happens to be at an exclusive leather store in Florence, a limoncello shop in Sorrento, a gift store in Barcelona..the rosary store after the Vatican...even the wine tasting is trying to SELL you something. It is my understanding the ruins at Ephesus are 10 times better than what you will see in Greece. I had a conversation with a physician and his wife once at a party and they are very well traveled. I asked them what was the coolest places they have been and they said the African safari and Ephesus ruins. I have my Ephesus tour booked for this July. Doing Mary's house, Ephesus and lunch at a hotel. Was supposed to do this in May 2020 BC

I'm not transferring to a new TA. I just need to cut ties with my current TA. She is my ex-MIL and it is time for BOUNDARIES. 🥴 Enough said.

We personally received nothing more than what Celebrity was offering everyone else.

I would like to remove my travel agent from my HAL booking. I will no longer be doing business with her. Will this affect any of my perks for the cruise or the cruise price; ? Can I maintain my booking and switch it to directly with HAL? I'm now in the market for a new travel agent!!

I would like to remove my travel agent from my celebrity booking. I will no longer be doing business with her. Will this affect any of my perks for the cruise or the cruise price; ? Can I maintain my booking and switch it to Celebrity ? I'm now in the market for a new travel agent!!

I really love the monthly PUP activities. Maybe I'm a nerd but it keeps me engaged. I would NOT watch the celebrity destination videos and events without earning them. This is something celebrity got right and did better than other cruise lines.

And demand is definitely going to go down at some of the prices I've seen lately!

Absolutely! Glad we booked when we did!

Last April, when Celebrity was "Always Included", we started to get the sense that the pricing was going to change sooner rather than later and booked a 2023 summer med cruise. Soon after, they changed their pricing to cruise only and All included rates. We have not seen a better offer than what we have. The biggest savings for us has been booking the flights through Flights by Celebrity as we booked them almost as soon as they were released for about a savings of over $1500 pp than the current rate. We also bought two shore excursions for three people for about $625 that now would cost us over $900. Plan ahead as you can always rebook if prices drop. We would not have been able to afford to squeeze this cruise in if we had waited.

Nice review and video! Thank you!