big_schots

On 6/25/2023 at 9:05 AM, Georgia_Peaches said:

We've had lackluster experiences at Tuscan in the past (across several ships) as well.  I'm glad your meal was enjoyable this time around.  Pics look amazing.  In fact, I just booked Tuscan for our upcoming cruise and I'm going to ask for Joel.  The only time slot available for the night we wanted was 9PM.  That's a little late for us so I thought we might see if we can get in a little early, like around 8:30 instead.  No biggie if they can't accommodate but I was wondering, was every table filled when you were there and what time was your reservation?

We were on this cruise and went to Tuscan Grille two nights and Murano once.  The Tuscan Grille was truly a wonderful dining experience.  We had Norest as our waiter the first night (2nd day of cruise) and he was amazing.  Nothing was ever too much, and his demeanor was extraordinary. My wife tends to want to deviate her order from the norm, and he did it all with a smile, and everything came out exactly as she asked.  We asked for him on our second visit (6th day of cruise), and it was the same as our first visit.  The truly standout dishes were the lobster rigatoni alfredo and the veal marsala. I had the ribeye both nights and it was nice little steak, cooked perfectly (medium rare) both times.

Now on to your question about reservations.  Before the cruise, I bought the 3 individual specialty restaurants separately, and not as a package.  I wanted specific times and with the package, you had to wait until on the ship before making your reservations.  I think I paid like a total of $20 more pp, to do it this way.  We usually like to eat around 6:30 P.M. and didn't want to get stuck with 8:30 P.M. or later.  Right before the cruise I checked, and Murano said it was completely booked the entire cruise, while the Tuscan Grill only had late seating (> 8:30 P.M.) available. I don't think it would have been a problem switching our times onboard, though.  Every day, right by the entrance to the Oceanview cafe, there is a person selling/pushing specialty dining.  Waiting for my wife, a few times, I heard him tell people that for all the specialty restaurants, whatever time you wanted was available.  Whether true or not, I'm not sure, since I didn't stick around for the whole sales pitch.  But, our first visit, the Tuscan Grill was pretty empty, while the second was quite a bit busier.  There were multiple parties of 10+ people.  Murano we decided to eat later (8:00 P.M.), since we were in Curacao (day 5) and didn't want to rush back to the ship. When we finished dinner (~9:45), there were only 5 other parties left in the entire restaurant.  I don't think I saw anyone come in after 8:30, even though reservations go out to 9:15 P.M.  Even at 8:00 P.M., Murano was never more the 75% full.  So, after all my meandering, I think you should be fine switching up your dining reservations on board.

On 7/1/2023 at 6:00 PM, Alabaster Cruiser said:

Question ...I've read on another site that they are allowing vaping in the casino.  Have you or did y'all experience this.  When these people that posted had asked security, they were told it started this cruise.  I sure hope that is not a new rule.

I was in the casino quite a bit, and never saw a single vaper.  Nice to have a smoke free casino.  If it is allowed, I never saw it.

We'll be on this cruise with you also.  Finally, after 3 cancellations (first was March 2020) we are making it onboard the Equinox.  Congrats on the educational achievement.  Last cruise on Celebrity was 2002 on the Mercury in Alaska. Really disappointing about all the cutbacks, but we'll just roll with the punches. Been going on RCCL and Princess recently (pre-Covid), so we'll compare.  Just looking forward to getting away from Texas and the heat (today the heat index was 117).  Hope to see you onboard, either at a trivia event, or I'll look for the "young" female wearing long sleeves on deck.  Have a great cruise, and I'll look forward to reading about the "same" cruise from a different perspective.

Eric

Thank you for taking the time to write up an informative and entertaining cruise review.  You are a true CHAMPION of the everyman, average cruiser.  I’ve enjoyed your reviews for the past 7-8 years.  Even though probably only 7% of a cruise ship is suites, Cruise Critic gets around 70% of the truly detailed reviews from people sailing in suites, and who have the highest loyalty ranking on the cruise line.  I enjoy those reviews and appreciate the amount of work that goes into them but have a hard time relating to much of their trip reports.  They don’t always represent the where/what a regular cruiser experiences.  Your reports are a wealth of knowledge/ideas for less experienced cruisers, and I have directed a few “newbie” cruise, less affluent, friends to your reviews because of that.  I, like you, place a premium on entertainment, and know that RCCL does entertainment right, especially on those Oasis class ships.  But, Princess still does have a solid product.  Keep up the great work, and I always look forward to your next installment.

Just back from a 5 night trip on the RCCL Adventure of the Seas, and I can confirm that self- service is definitely back.  The crew said our cruise was the first one to re-implement it, on this specific ship.  Our ship was at 90% capacity.  I can say that people are back to their old ways.  I watched a handful of children doing the "sometimes" nasty things kids do.  I try to avoid the Windjammer as much as possible. Due to smaller staffing necessary, it will probably only be a matter of time before Celebrity brings it back.

Just got off the Adventure of the Seas, this past Monday, and Tornado Tonya is the current cruise director on board.

Just back from a 5 night trip on the Adventure of the Seas, and I can confirm that self- service is definitely back.  The crew said our cruise was the first one to re-implement it.  I can say that people are back to their old ways.  I watched a handful of children doing the "sometimes" nasty things kids do.  I try to avoid the Windjammer as much as possible.

On another note, the cruise director says that the Love and Marriage Show has been reinstated, but no news on when Quest will come back.  Our ship was definitely full and other than the masked crew, it looked like pre-Covid times, with plenty of crowds everywhere.  On the last sea day, with sunny skys, the pool area was a mass of humanity.

I’m just looking for opinions about whether I should take a 10:35 A.M. flight out of FLL or the 12:30 P.M. flight out of MIA,

after finishing up a cruise.

credits), and not our usual

using the SW credits that

Celebrity Equinox).  From what I

Sunday.  On the other side, the Port

which is pretty much the only way

We will be using the self-disembark method to get off the ship.  I’ve never done that before, since we usually have a later

flight time and put our bags out the night before.  The next non-stop flight from FLL isn’t till 7:00 P.M., plus it is more

expensive.  We have no desire to stay later in Fort Lauderdale, since I’m the type of person who once I’m off the ship is

ready to get home ASAP. I will have to be at work at 6:30 A.M., the next morning. So, staying overnight is not an option.

I have a few questions.  Does the Port Everglades terminals (#18 or #25) have escalators ?  Most likely I will be lugging two

pieces of luggage, myself.  I can physically handle them, but does port personnel enforce the one hand free rule on escalators.

Taking the elevator can slow things up a bit.  For those who have done self-debarkation on a Celebrity ship (pre-covid), how

are the crowds ?  Big line-ups ?  Second time on Celebrity, but the line-ups have been pretty long on my past RCCL trips.  I

know the demographics are different between Celebrity and RCCL, but figure a more mature crowd may not be quite as

twitchy to get off the ship, first thing in the morning.

I know problems can occur, that can delay getting off the ship.  I once sailed out of Galveston, where fog delayed us getting

into  port till noon.  We exited the ship around 2:00 P.M., which would have been a killer if we flew, since no one anticipates

that kind of delay.  Luckily, we drove.  Also, either way, if we can’t make the flight I can cancel up to 10 minutes before it

takes off, and apply my ticket funds to another flight.  I have seen multiple people ask if they can make an early flight from

FLL after a cruise. Most don’t give another option, unlike myself, which could also be possible.  Does the extra 2 hours,

the extra drive to Miami, but more departing cruise passengers give you piece of mind ?  Would you take the small chance,

that something crappy could happen, and then we would have to pivot, if we leave out of Fort Lauderdale ?  I’m leaning

toward the 10:35 flight, but am still on

I was scheduled to go on the Silhouette 3/27/20, and received the cancellation e-mail on 3/13/20.  The next day I applied for the refund.  Mid April I called Celebrity, and the CSR told me my refund was processed by them on 3/17/20, roughly 3 days after I applied for it.  I received my deposit and purchased on-board credits back last Thursday, with the remaining amount received today.  So, it took approximately 7 weeks to make me whole.

The Carnival Jubilee was my first cruise for my honeymoon, back in June 1987.  We went to the Eastern Caribbean out of Miami.  It cost me $2K for the lowest level inside cabin, but the flight from L.A. and an overnight hotel in Miami was included.  I tell newbie cruise friends (post 2010 cruisers) that the experience was much "grander" than what you would get on a Celebrity or Princess ship of today.  The food, entertainment, and service was top notch, even being in steerage.  Plus, back then, there were virtually no children on board, and everyone followed the dress code rules.  Still cruising with the same wife.

10 minutes ago, doodlefan said:

2 rooms for March 27th Silhouette.  Asked for full refund on March 15th (2 days after they cancelled it), Nothing yet for either room, no taxes, port fees, nothing.

We were also supposed to be on your sailing.  I asked for a refund 1 day (March 14th) after receiving the cancellation e-mail.  I received a mystery amount ($120) refund on my credit card about 2 weeks ago, but nothing since.  I can't figure out how that amount was gotten to.  The fees/taxes for the trip was $111 a person. 

27 minutes ago, Roger88 said:

I said it earlier in the previous threads. The demand will be sky high as soon as situation comes to normal. All the cruisers that are empty now doing refunds will flourish the first day the quarantine will be over. If the demand is high, the prices are high. Simple economy. Thats why I suggest to not book anything and just save money now to spend it later

How will demand be sky high ?  Also, what is normal ?  We will likely have double digit unemployment, like the Great Recession. Always easy to layoff people, but much slower to rehire.  The stock market has a good chance (or not) of tanking. Until there is a vaccine (12+ months from now), or a very effective medical solution to the respiratory issues, there will be plenty of active cases throughout the world.  Ports from 3rd world countries, where lots of cruise ships stop at, will still be leery of accepting cruise ships.  Plus, a huge concern for cruise companies, is that new cruisers (their money makers) will be turned off from trying a cruise after seeing those cruise ships (Diamond Princess, Grand Princess, etc) become floating death traps.  I've had multiple people who have been vacillating about cruising tell me that NOW they will never go on one.  People will forget, like they always do, but times will probably be tough for cruise lines initially.  The people of this web site are mostly die hard cruisers, so they will have no problem coming back.  Others, not so much, so pricing/demand may be greatly affected.

I got the MoveUp invite bid a full 75 days before my March 27th cruise on the Silhouette.  The ship is wide open, with a huge unsold inventory.  We love our mid-ship location, so will not take a chance on winning the bid and being placed at a full forward/aft location on the ship. 

We used Bonaire Vista Tours a few years back and were quite ambivalent about the tour you mentioned.  There is a lot of driving, through a very arid (desert-like) area, with only a handful of stops.  It was one of the hottest days of the year, and we were packed into a mini-bus filled to the brim, with an inadequate A/C system.  Also, the 3.5 hour tour ended up being close to 4.5 hours which seemed way too long.   They made sure we made the ship's departure time, but there was a little anxiety, since we ended up cutting it close.  The few places we stopped at were O.K., but not worth all the driving we did.   Others seemed to enjoy the tour, but how many cactus can you look at ?  I'm not saying not to take them, but if you are claustrophobic or get car sick, you may want to avoid the tour.  We're going back to Bonaire in April, and will just take a taxi to a beach resort and enjoy the beautiful ocean scenario.

19 minutes ago, tanzania2015 said:

We normally buy dinner packages of 5 to 9 night which gives the greatest discount. You can purchase it now and if a sale comes along, just cancel and rebook. I did the cancel and rebook on our cruise from Australia to Hawaii last April. You can only make reservations for the first night. I will head to one of the specialty restaurants as soon as I get aboard to make the additional reservations. I also have changed the first night reservation to a later date. 

So, it looks like there is a possibility that a sale may come along.  Other than that, it doesn't seem like there is any advantage reservation-wise, since I don't want to book a specialty restaurant the first night.   Also, the 3 night package gives only a slight discount of $11, if you choose the main three (Murano, Tuscan Grill, Lawn Club).  The 4 night seems like a better deal being only $20 more than the 3 night package.  I may just end up booking 1-2 individual restaurants ahead of time, and pay full price so I can get the day/time I want.  Saving $4 a restaurant meal doesn't seem like such a great incentive, if I am not guaranteed anything.

Hello all.  We are currently booked on the Silhouette sailing March 2020. This will be our second Celebrity cruise, but it has been 17 years since our last on the Celebrity Mercury to Alaska.  We are primarily Princess and RCCL cruisers, but I have wanted to try Celebrity for the last few years.  I'm looking forward to trying the various specialty restaurants that is on the Silhouette. I do have a few questions regarding purchasing the multi-day specialty dining package, for those who are familiar with them.  One, is there any reason to hold off purchasing it now ?  Does Celebrity, like RCCL occasionally does, offer % off discounts, when purchased online before the cruise, on the dining packages ?   I know about the first night deals, but am not interested.  I'm looking at the 3-5 night packages.  If I do purchase the package, is there a way to reserve times at specific restaurants on specific nights, before boarding ?  Or, must I wait until I'm onboard to make the reservations ?  I see, on the website, that if I want to purchase a single night / single restaurant it will allow me to reserve the day/time for that restaurant, paying full price.  I also know that if the restaurant is slow, that onboard they do offer negotiable discounts.  I'm a planner, and if I can set "stuff" up ahead of time, it makes for more of a stress free trip for me.  Thanks to all who can reply.

What a wonderful trip review.  You really captured the essence of cruising with Princess.  The "food" photos are spectacular, along with the ship.  I'm sending a link to a few of my friends who have always wondered what traveling on Princess is like.  They have only been a few short Carnival cruises, and were not impressed.  I think this review may change their mind.

As an aside to the fresh baked goods question. On an All Access Tour, they said that they have a dedicated team, working around the clock, to make all the breads and pasties. With the small caveat, that they purchase from an outside source all their hamburger and hot dog buns, since they can had very cheaply. They use quite a large amount of them up, and it was not cost effective to make them on the ship.

It might be different with Princess, but on Carnival it specifically needs to be coded as a Reservation which is different than Cruise Cash (which is the only way you can “buy OBC” so to speak). Cruise Cash shows as Fun Shops which does not qualify. It is also not refundable if you don’t use it all onboard.

I apologize, I stand corrected. I went back and looked at my AMEX statement, and all it had was Princess Cruise Lines for my $500 purchase. The same exact description as when I paid for my cruise fare. Carnival is very much more discriminating. It shows how their payment systems are different, even though they both belong to the same parent corporation.

I basically did the same thing on our HAL cruise this summer, except I did it by calling our TA instead of directly through the cruise line. We got the credit (and earlier the credit twice when i booked the cruise). Our TA said any of the OBC not used would be refunded, but I wondered (and still do) whether AMEX would take back the $100 credit if it was not used fully. Does anyone know if this would happen?

They would have had a hard time with me, since I used a different credit card tied to my account when I boarded. I spent well over the $500 while on board, so nothing was left to be refunded. I would imagine that AMEX could take back the $100, if the refunded amount put the prior purchase total under the $500 threshold. They probably have a sophisticated enough system to catch these type of things. FYI. I was able to "very easily" do the very same thing when Royal Caribbean had a similar AMEX promotion.

I was able to use one of the past deals to even get on board credit. I had already paid off a cruise (on Princess), and called into Princess' phone line. I purchased $500 of on board credit tied to my paid off reservation, and used my AMEX card to pay for it. I was credited the $100 off by AMEX, for this purchase. AMEX has no way of knowing of what type of transaction is being processed. All they know is that you used their card and made a "qualifying" $500 purchase from a cruise line tied into the promotion. Easy to spend, but if not, the unused funds are 100% refundable.

Thanks all for your helpful replies. The 6 people is one cabin sounds great, but only one bathroom is a huge deal breaker. The poor males would get stuck using the public bathroom the whole trip. The kids are old enough where constant supervision is not necessary. 10 years ago, that would have made better sense, when the kids were elementary age and below. I am going to do some homework, now that my brother has now made a request that he and his wife have a balcony cabin, while the 4 kids are across the hall in 2 (hopefully connecting) inside cabins. We'll see if that works. When he heard that it would be about the same price as 3 ocean view cabins, he said that all would be able to partake in the balcony. Thus, he justified the arrangement that way. I'll figure out the arrangements (cabin wise) then he will contact a local travel agent to finalize the reservations. The travel agent says she will give him a few perks, since he is booking 3 rooms, with a total cost over $7K.

Royal will let minors in their own stateroom as long as that stateroom is next to or across the hall from the responsible adult. This cannot be done online, it must be called in.

Host Clarea,

Thanks for such a quick response. When you say it has to be called in, must it be done directly with Royal Caribbean ? At this point, I would be more than happy to pass them off to a TA and be done with it. I would assume a travel agent has the ability to set it all up. My brother wanted me to do it, since I told them about getting a few OBC dollars in the process. Now that I have done all the legwork, I'm hoping that a TA can finish it off. And, if the do or don't get anything extra from the TA, then that is the way it goes.

Thanks,

All,

My brother, a cruise newbie, has tasked me with helping him book a cruise for the summer of 2019.

He wants to take his family (at my suggestion) on the RCCL Liberty of the Seas, out of Galveston.

He can drive down to Galveston the day of, since he lives around 250 miles away from the port. A

local cruise will save him a boatload (pun intended) on travel costs. He has a large family, with 4 children (ages 19, 17, 15, and 12). Well, when I went to price out cruises, I initially had them in 2 rooms of 3 per room. The numbers that came back were staggering. When I priced out 3 rooms (same category), at 2 per room, the final cost was over $1K less than purchasing the 2 (3 person) rooms. The power of supply and demand, I suppose. But, I'm not sure if they will let me have 3 rooms with only 2 adults for those 3 rooms. Can it be done ? I would hope all 3 rooms can be in the same general area, with 2 having a connecting door. The older 2 children, both girls, are very responsible and would be fine sharing a non-connected room. The 2 younger children , both boys, would be better off having their parents within hailing distance. I think having 3 rooms, and giving everyone more space is a great idea. Usually I book online, to collect a little extra OBC, but I don't know if it is possible due to these circumstances. First off, will RCCL allow this arrangement ? If so, do I need to book through the cruise line directly, use a local TA, or is there a special way online ? Any one with prior experience or other suggestions would be greatly appreciated

Thanks,

Eric

This is our 7th Princess cruise in the past six years, and this one was the worst experience of the seven. It wasn't horrible, but it had no WOW factor. Every aspect of the trip was the same or slightly degraded from past Princess cruises. Some people may like the same "nothing ever changes" part of Princess cruising, but I am not one of them. From the dining room menus to the shows, it felt like the movie Ground Hog Day, with Bill Murray.

Embarkation was a breeze, with the port having a very good flow. Debarkation was very slow, and it took close to an hour to go from leaving the lounge to finally clearing customs. Taxi's were waiting and it cost $65 to get from the port to LAX. A better and easier deal than the $34 per head for the ship's transportation from the port to the airport.

The ship is in good working condition, so no complaints there. Loved the cabin. Had a mid-ship obstructed view ocean view cabin with no obstruction. Also next to the elevators. We loved the new beds. Very comfortable. Room steward was excellent, but never really have ever had a bad one.

The dining was a bit of a letdown. The buffet, which was always excellent, is now very mediocre. A lot of high quality items, we used to enjoy, are no longer there. Lots of low quality items repeated on a daily basis. Would have been a huge bust, except the last sea day lunch was excellent. They had shrimp, mussels, ribs, and other very tasty stuff. We wondered why the other days weren't like this. Main dining room menus don't seem to have ever changed. Could be good or bad depending how you look at it. Food was competently done but nothing was that memorable. For the most part the dining room staff did a solid job, with a few glitches. Crown Grill kind of a disappointment. For $58 plus a tip, it doesn't now seem to be worth it. International Café, pizza, and grill were to be as expected. They are good places for a snack.

We realized that 2 of the 3 production shows haven't changed in the close to 6 years that we were last on the Ruby Princess. The fly-in entertainers saved the day. Whitney Houston tribute singer Cheaza and comedian Carlos Oscar were well worth the time to attend, and put on very enjoyable shows. We enjoyed the Mariachi's. They seemed to work those 3 guys 24/7. Pianist Colin Salter did a great tribute to Billy Joel in the Explorer's Lounge one evening. The party band "Hot Funk" were not out cup of tea. Trivia was a plenty.

It was our first time to the Mexican Riviera, and probably the last. We greatly prefer the Caribbean. We went to the Marriot in Puerto Vallarta on a day pass. Good deal ($30 with $24 returned as a food/drink credit), with a very nice pool area. Service was also excellent. Couldn't go into the water due to rip tides. In Mazatlán, we took a last second tour, booked in the port area. Saw the little they had to see, in 2 hours, and had lunch at Pancho's. Wanted another beach day, but it was very overcast and gloomy, so we made the best of it. In Cabo San Lucas, it rained in the morning, and with tendering and the short day we decided to stay on the ship.

Wife had a horrible experience in the hair salon. Hair dresser botched her hairdo, and had to have another stylist come in and try to fix it. 2 hours of aggravation, with a rude and aggressive salon manager to boot. But, they ended up comping the service, which still didn't make up for what had happened.

Service was solid around the ship, but it feels like areas are a little thin on staff, and the employees are overworked.

In conclusion we enjoyed the getaway, but hope to get that WOW factor back into our next cruising vacation. We loved the Royal Princess, and would do that ship again in a heat beat. Or, we may give Celebrity a try.