Eleris

I saw a bunch of people (couples) walking dressed all in white last night so maybe it was last night 5/31 on this trip.  They looked very nice but I have no idea if it was something they were attending or just doing it for fun. 

Sorry to hear that your experience wasn't much better.  If the virus is still on board, I am not aware of it because they are cleaning and keeping items in lockdown so that seems to be helping.

Tonight was an eye opener for us when we went to Qsine for dinner.  We have never done the new Petit Chef menu and were big fans of the old Qsine menu so we figured we would give it a try since the food in the main dining room has been less than acceptable.  The service I have already covered in my original post so I will leave that alone.

For anyone sailing to Charleston on the next trip pay attention to what I am about to say, we were charged sales tax on our dinner tab in Qsine for Charleston SC.  I had the restaurant manager explain this to me and while we are in port any items you purchase on board the ship, we were told would be billable with a sales tax for Charleston's pocket.  If you have a drink on a drink package that does not apply.  If you have a drink and pay for it that will be taxed.  Our dinner in Qsine was hit with sales tax and that is a first for me.

I think I am more annoyed that we did this as a last-minute reservation when coming back to the ship and the Qsine people were trying to convince passengers to give it a try and they did not mention this additional charge.  I am not one of those people that appreciates deception whether intended or not.  

I was informed that this is not the case in Newport are Martha's Vineyard with the restaurants or other purchases and this is just a SC thing.  If you pre-paid for dinner packages I think you will be fine, but you may want to check before you dine.  

Just finished our 2nd meal in the main dining room. The waiter opened with "thank you for coming back".  I am not sure if I should read into that because half of me thinks he is glad to see us and the other half feels as if chastising us did the trick. The service was better and there was a more pleasant tone in general which confirms the attitude from last night was deliberate.  

I am not sure what we will do about tomorrow or the rest of the trip so maybe for now we will just sleep on it.  Life is too short to be unhappy.  Sadly, the people next to us are so much fun and we end up laughing the whole time.

I agree we do not need an attitude on vacation, but it is a first for me after 24 years of cruising I just was waiting for the punchline because I assumed it was a joke at first.  Since his service/attitude had not improved and I asked my DH what he thought his response was we don't need to go again.  

Before we take it to a higher level, I think we might try again tonight to see if his attitude improves. I know you don't get a second chance to make a first impression, but I am willing to try to let this go since there is a lot of time left on the cruise.  There are many available tables in the dining room at this scheduled seating so I am sure we could get another table easily.  

I know our recent Royal cruise many dinners did not show up the first few nights and the staff was more than welcoming when they did so this really just surprised me that he would be affronted by us not attending a few nights.  

We are presently on the ship and after a slightly delayed boarding due to a major cleaning all seems to be going well.  We are still in sanitation mode and are unable to do typical dining things for ourselves but all in all this is a minor inconvenience compared to contacting noro.  I do have a question because I am a bit off balance by what happened last night.  Some background to know, friends of ours surprised us and showed up on this sailing to our delight.  We had dinner with them in Tuscan Thursday night (first night of the cruise) which was fantastic but wear your stretchy pants because it is a lot of food. Friday we were at sea, and they wanted to just head to the buffet for dinner since they are not fans of the long hour and half dining experience.  Saturday was a Bermuda day and although the weather was up and down after running all day again, we joined them at the buffet.  Sunday, we found our table in the main dining room, and we were seated.  This is the 8:30 assigned seating. We arrived at our table for two which is a row of 4 tables for a total 8 people in the row. 

The next thing that happened has shocked me because never in 24 years of cruising has anyone been so rude.  The waiter approached us and said "nice of you to finally show up".  He did not welcome us, he did not introduce himself, and he continued this cold shoulder throughout the dinner.  When dinner was served, he placed the other 6 meals on the tables in the row we are part of, and the assistant waiter brought mine and my husbands out.  He never asked if we needed anything else or how our food was. 

Before you ask, we were not late for dinner, we just had not gone to the main dining room because we had done other things which last time I checked this is still my right to do especially with the dining packages.  We are going to go back again tonight and give the waiter another chance because everyone has a bad day sometimes this was just very unexpected.  Not sure what I will do if this is a repeat performance.  The rest of the staff has been fantastic and fun to speak with.

I was told the garage is being used by Summit and Adventure and Oasis is given the out door area.  My recent trip on Summit in May we were able to park in the garage.  I am leaving this week on Adventure and will know whether or not what I was told is true.  Fingers crossed. 

Agree, you never know and it is obviously a risk we all are willing to take or we would not go.  My point is that having your face down on a table that was recently occupied is something to consider.  We did not attend any populated venues and stayed as far away from crowds as possible.  Since we were in a suite we spent time in the Retreat which was empty without the need to social distance.  The Luminae restaurant was never crowded and the staff skipped tables to keep guests apart as much as possible.  The cruise line is doing everything possible to clean but there are places we can avoid. 

We also had a large sum of OBC to use and would have probably given most of it to the spa... but that was no longer an option.  Can't prove this is where he caught it but the timing was too perfect.  I guess the good news is now that we have had COVID, we can go to the spa on our next cruise. 🤪

Yes that is the one we used. 

First let me say DH and I love the Spa. We are both hunched over computers all day so deep tissue massage or hot stones are heaven sent.  I am not assigning blame to anyone or anything but I just read an article confirming our suspicions over the Spa treatments and COVID 19.  On our recent trip my DH had a massage on Tuesday and was sick by Thursday.  Of course this led to me feeling out of sorts by Friday.  We stayed in and chilled because although we weren't sure if it was COVID either way we were feeling congested and tired.  Used some OTC items and got some rest seemed to help.  Confirmed COVID 19 when we were home a few days later.

The reason I am bringing this up at all is I just caught an article where a young women tested positive on Princess (we were on Summit) and detailed her experience of being quarantined to a hotel and all the chaos that went with it but the thing that caught my eye was she mentioned she had a spa treatment 2 days before presenting with symptoms.  Again this is not proof of anything but it is something to consider.  In my case the only time DH and I were not in the same place at the same time was when he had his massage and perhaps it really is not the safest place to be for any length of time.  I know the crew is doing everything they can to clean the ships and they are amazing and appreciated for all they do but this is one time I would have to say we really wish he skipped the massage. 

and we know they do, besides the comment surveys received after each cruise the feedback they receive overall will either implement these changes on a more permanent basis or they will re-evaluate and perhaps try something else. If they want to keep the bread fresh then wrap it in something transparent and don't write on it. Either way the paper is a huge non eco friendly waste and does that mean the dinner rolls are going to show up in the MDR the same way? If you want to talk about sanitary then they need to get the butter off the table with the sour cream and hummus. Although it looks lovely in the MDR but I cannot tell you how many times I have been seated at a table with double dippers. Now I save a few calories eating without butter!

We all have our opinions which is what makes life interesting but I am hoping they come up with something better going forward. :)

Filling those heavy silver pots and baskets they could just have the servers scoop the buffet food and not let anyone touch the food. I do not eat what I do not recognize and since nothing was labeled it was anyone's guess on my cruise what the food was. I do not eat breakfast sandwiches on a Modern Luxury cruise. This is not the golden arches. People are comparing the old buffet style to cafeteria but what 5 star restaurant writes on bread with a marker? (it was wrapped in paper thankfully) I saw everyone walk by the bread area and not one person picked up a single piece anytime I was getting my cup of yogurt which is next to the bread. It isn't appetizing or appealing. It is fast food at best. Fortunately the MDR is still available. My daughter has food allergies and there is no possible way I would risk her eating food that is lumped together. I like my food on a plate not a bucket or a basket. I don't care if it is made out of gold it was not appealing. They did not have trays to carry this with on 5/18 so anyone handicapped was supposed to juggle the buckets and baskets while looking for a table. With a single plate you can get a taste of food you desire and the servers can place it there with no contamination from other passengers. Simple and everyone gets exactly what they want for breakfast without waste.

Summit has made some changes with the new Hotel Director that just came on board sometime in April/May timeframe. Whether the directive has come from Miami or he has gone rogue on his own his changes are not for the better. Having said that let me give you my history this year.

Cruised Jan/Feb on Explorer of the Seas and was pleasantly surprised with how RCI has stepped up their game. Cruised Mar/April on Equinox for 11 day wonderful Celebrity Cruise and cruised on Summit May 18th not sure what cruise line they are with.

Having gotten off the Equinox which was a definite Celebrity Cruise in every aspect made me wonder where I was on the Summit weeks later. It was a cruise ship, it had the logo, yet the prices where higher on board and any thing I asked for the standard answer was NO.

I could go on with ad nauseam detail but anyone that has done a Celebrity cruise would understand these changes are creating a "me too" cruise line not Modern Luxury. This is not about the taste of food, or entertainment. The changes are cheap cut backs that if you do not book a suite or higher you will feel like you are in steerage. I believe Tuggers was seeing some of this transition on her excellent back to back Summit cruise in April and reported in her very detailed review.

I was planning on booking my DH's annual July b-day cruise but did not after seeing the changes. I will go back at some point but need to make sure that hotel director is not onboard. He put's the staff between the rock and the hard place with how he runs thing versus what is offered on the website. I was in CC and told my ice bucket was optional. I know the price of water has gone up but show me where the ice machine is and I will get it myself. This is one example of many and the rest I will take up with corporate. There is the outside chance they have no idea what this man is doing. :rolleyes:

I started sailing with mine when they were 4 and 7 years old and the loved it. My daughter (4) never wanted to leave the kids club and my son never wanted to go because he was shy. No problem for me he and I went and did line dancing classes and other activities onboard. They are both adults now 20 and 23 and both Elite members. The other thing your children will get from cruising with Celebrity is dressing for dinner and table manners in a more formal setting. During the high school years my two never had a problem wearing a suite or formal dress because it was like going to dinner on the ship. They tried different foods they would have never tried and sat through all the entertainment which opened up a wide variety of culture for them. They don't usually have opera singers anymore but back in the day the entertainment could be anywhere from a opera singer to a magician. There are many things I think your children can take away from a Celebrity cruise that go beyond the kids club. :)

Ellen

Michael's was still being used for public evening activities. Seemed empty most of the time. My only question is where will Perry Grant be if not in Michael's club?

Thanks for sharing! The blue water is so inviting I can't wait until next week now...:D

on X cruise line. My daughter loved the kids club and cried when she had to leave. My son not as much since he was older and very shy. The point you don't want to miss is since you are going in July you will be in Bermuda for most of the trip doing fun stuff there. I started cruising with them at ages 4 and 7 and single mom. We had a blast on Horizon and Zenith which were much smaller ships. We played ping pong and went line dancing. Sad when the children are more coordinated. Always found something to do and sometimes sat by the pool and chilled. The other thing my kids learned at a young age is manors and how to dress properly for dinner.

I think you will have a fabulous time on X cruises. We went to Bermuda every summer for my son's birthday in August and had the best times and the best memories. I also took them on RCI and NCL and it was a no go for all of us. Good luck with your decision but remember our children take the cues from us. :D

so many things but if I had to pick one it would be tea time little finger sandwiches! After being on land during the day and usually missing lunch because we are busy, I really enjoy coming back for the little sandwiches as a hold over before dinner that night. There are still plenty of places to get something more substantial but the little sandwiches are just enough and always interesting. :rolleyes:

we were in a Royal Suite and saw a mini bar charge for $5? So we asked our cabin attendant what it was for since we did not remove anything and we just arrived. He said it was for one Heinekin beer (sp). I don't even know how to spell it because I don't drink it and my DH is diabetic and never drinks. Spoke with guest relations and they said they would remove it but it was 3 days later and along with the fact the lunch dishes were never cleared and the afternoon tea was "oh I am sorry we don't have any sandwiches left" we realized the beer issue was a sign of a much bigger problem so we fired our butler. We asked to no longer see his face at our door. The point being that sometimes that little charge can be a symptom of a much larger problem and if we did not get rid of our butler who knows what additional charges might have been on our account after we got off the ship.

Guest relations were very helpful they just need a chance to fix things.:rolleyes:

Thank you for listening. This isn't about music taste and with my upcoming trip on 3/24 I have been very concerned. I suffer from migraines and loud music throughout the ship would keep me hiding in my cabin. I am glad X is revisiting this issue for all reasons.:)

you could enjoy a nice relaxing dinner and go directly to a photo shoot that is set with a back drop of choice and when they have you posed you could drop to one knee and capture the moment forever. The look on her face will be one you want to keep. :D Let's face it, how many people have that moment on film or digital...

on a cruise during Karaoke which a rarely go to. Two couples traveling together the guys would sing the girls would sing and then the guy does a duet with his girl and with the help of the staff cuts the song and proposes right there. Her face was enough to give every one chills because she was so surprised and said yes a thousand times over. It really went well and was so adorable. I guess it depends on the woman you want to marry, does she like surprises? Or the dinner and the suggestion of skipping desert and committing to marriage sounded very sweet. Of course once she says yes you should go see cruise sales and rebook the ship for your honeymoon. Good luck with whatever you decide. I am sure it will be a wonderful experience.:)

Is there any discount through the CC? It seems like 10-15% for a package would make sense. Did you see anything when you were purchasing the package or does anyone else know?

Thanks

Ellen

and that is good to know that there are enough people working future cruise sales since I have a feeling I might to visit them.;)

who the Captains Club hostess is on Equinox? Is there a separate person for cruise sales or are they doing both jobs now?

Thanks,

Ellen