Summerlin

Hi, we are on the 12/21 Infinity, arriving back in Miami on 12/26.  

Can anyone who has been on the Infinity lately let me know if disembarkation is beginning at or close to 7am?

We are trying to get to a 10 am flight out of FLL airport, and hoping to do self disembark as soon as they announce.  Then, lyft it over to FLL.  (Disney world awaits!)

Any help is appreciated.

We have been loyal to Celebrity, but recently came off a 7 day Star Wars at Sea cruise on the Disney Fantasy.

Disney prices are always higher than Celebrity, but the people onboard their Caribbean cruises are very similar to a Celebrity mix of people.

With Celebrity looking to bring in the higher end suite market, and making their ships at least "look" like a fancy hotel, I would hope that Celebrity would consider trying to improve their entertainment somewhere close to what Disney offers.

Of course, no one else is Disney. But, they have top run movies around the clock in their theater. Celebrity does not do this. I found the movie watching on DCL to be some of my favorite use of time on the ship.

They have movies playing (family friendly, of course) at their pool, day and night. This would be a big plus for Celebrity, where everything is pretty "dead" at the pool, especially at night.

The Disney production shows are typical Disney shows, and they also stretch the abilities of their singers, and the shows do get repetitive if you go on the same ship more than once. But, the quality is leaps and bounds ahead of Celebrity.

So, in conclusion, I think Celebrity needs to look at what other brands offer when people are willing to spend more money on a cruise. I think that playing top quality movies is a relatively inexpensive way for a cruise to keep many people entertained.

Does the Fantasy do anything special for DVC members? We just joined, we aren't using our points on our 3/17 SWDAS cruise, but it would be nice to see if they reward the "loyalty" of joining DVC. Thanks in advance.

We just returned from a Caribbean cruise in CS 1615 on Equinox located in the portside hump, right adjacent to the very large Penthouse Suite 1611 . Our first suite on Celebrity. Luminae alone is worth it. We were on Millennium last summer in Alaska and ate mainly in the MDR and specialty restaurants. As many have posted on CC, the quality of food in the MDR has declined, and the specialty restaurants lose their luster the more you cruise with Celebrity (M class has TG where the old SS Olympic was, Q-sine, and Son5.)

Having the bedroom separate from the living room (where the pullout couch was) also was very nice, along with the two big screen TVs (one in living room, one in bedroom).

Priority tender service (if applicable) was nice for us when we were in Grand Cayman. Plus, they just treat you "suitely" if you are in a suite (there are only so many on the ship).

But, of course, price has to come into play. We compared the CS to the RS (which includes free specialty dining and some bottles of liquor) but the price jump didn't make sense to us. And the one person hot tub on the balcony didn't make much sense to us either.

I had to skip to the last page...not enough time to read 28 pages (and counting)

We were onboard in a suite for the July 16 sailing. As stated, there was an insert in the Celebrity today mentioning the debut of TDBB the 2nd day of the cruise.

I was jogging on the jogging track that morning, watching as they set the TDBB up. The staff looked clueless, to be honest. So, if you know the S class ships, picture this...the Mast Grill is in the corner right near the curve of the jogging track. There are a handful of round tables with red tablecloths in front of the line for the TDBB.

When you order, they give you the option of adding a bunch of toppings. They then give you a buzzer to hold onto for when the order is ready. I ran to the Pool Bar to get drinks and the food was ready by the time I returned.

We were in a suite and were having lunch in Luminae on the sea day we tried TDBB. So, our party of 5 ordered one, cough, "Kobe" burger and split it 5 ways.

The meat was undercooked, but definitely "better" than the hockey pucks in the OVC. We only went to the OVC once, and I checked out the burgers. They were black, hard, and looked inedible.

At TDBB, they give you the option of fries, which were just okay, and standard roller-rink onion rings. Nothing fancy at all.

I would not pay for this burger again. Of course, we had the option of the Luminae signature burger at lunch on sea days, which is pretty good with its bacon jam.

So, I asked Sam, the Maitre'D in Luminae about this ridiculous claim that the burger was Kobe beef at TDBB, having already read the thread on TDBB from the Constellation. He told me that there were Three types of Kobe beef, Class, A, B and C. He said that Celebrity was using Class B.

Now, I've never heard of this class system, and based on the extensive posting on this thread, I believe we all know this is just patently false. But, that's the spin that the Maitre'D of the suite class restaurant told us. He's a great guy. I'm sure they told him to say this.

I am in the process of filling out my post-cruise on line survey, and I have commented that they should keep the free burger option at the Mast Grill and include the surcharge hamburgers as an option. The hot dogs for $10 seem outrageous. I didn't see anyone ordering them.

I don't think paying the $10 for an undercooked, overpriced, and definitely not Kobe beef, burger, in a pool area/jogging track nearby setting is worth it. I never saw a line of people, or many people at all, at TDBB.

You couldn't order fries without ordering the burger. So, no free fries.

We were told that the July 23 cruise would NOT have the TDBB, so It looks like they were trying it out for our week. Lucky me, I guess.

I never saw a single person eating food in the gastrobar either, by the way. So, I have no idea what those $12 burgers are like.

S on 5 was almost always empty too. I sure hope Celebrity gets rid of that venue and moves something from the Edge ships there (after Edge is debuted)...Call it the

Edge-icizing of the ships.

Still had a great cruise. Wouldn't make a choice based on this. But, as Harry Styles says, "Just stop your crying, it's a sign of the times...."

We loved our experience in Luminae. We mainly ate in the back room, we are a family of 5. There was one night early in the cruise where the service was extremely slow. We spoke to Sam, the wonderful Maitre'D from Portsmouth, England, and he took care of things straight away. Service was great. Soner was our main waiter and we thought he was efficient, friendly in a very quiet way, and very much looking forward to his vacation back home in Turkey in about 3 cruises from now. Vishal was our assistant waiter and he was great with bread service and the drinks for our kids (they ordered a lot of iced coffee drinks from cafe al bacio). Red was a great sommelier. He gave suggestions and filled our glasses very quickly. I can't say enough about Sam, he was very professional, was chatty with all the tables around us.

We did the Chef's Table dinner on the Cozumel night, and it was amazing. When we told Sam that they didn't give us a tour of the wine tower in the MDR (which he had told us was part of the dinner), he took us and some of the other couples from our dinner into the wine tower for a personal tour.

We didn't utilize MC very often, only a couple of times for drinks, and to get priority tender service in Grand Cayman. Jole was very nice and professional...just not much going on in MC for a family with kids.

Thanks for taking some of your precious Equinox time, during the summer solstice no less, to share with us! We will be onboard July 16 with the same itinerary. We live in Vegas, where there is record heat (dry heat, though) with highs around 117F.

So, I'm curious how humid it is in Mexico and beyond. Is the heat bearable right now?

My daughter, who has lived in Texas this last year, surprised our family by letting us know she is moving home this week. So, we ended up calling our TA and added a second suite for our cruise so our party of 5 could all eat together in Luminae. Not a cheap endeavor, but will be well worth it for the time together.

Sounds like you are having a great time, stormy weather and all. Cheers.

Looking forward to hearing more about The Whisky House at the Lawn Club. This may be a game changer for me when I'm aboard on July 16. Hoping most of the options will be included in the Premium package. But, also might be cool to try some really high end Whisky and pay the $ difference.

Thanks for the very detailed review so far. My question for you is about Luminae. We will be in a Celebrity Suite on Equinox next month, and one of the reasons we picked a suite this time was for access to Luminae--on our previous cruises we typically ate dinner in specialty restaurants 5 or more nights of the cruise, rather than the MDR.

But, we figured that the Suite only restaurant would "save us" from spending on the specialty restaurants (of course, that wasn't the only reason why we chose a suite). With your Royal Suite and the all-inclusive specialty package, what is your opinion regarding the dinner meals at Luminae? If you didn't have the all-inclusive specialty restaurant deal, would you have chosen to eat at Luminae most nights, or would you still have spent the extra $$ for the specialty restaurants? We have been on many X cruises, so Tuscan Grille, Silk Harvest, and Murano are not new for us. But Luminae will be new.

My wife and I have been sailing with X for a while now, with our kids growing up on X ships along side of us. We have tried Azamara without kids, and then did some DCL and RCL a few years back.

I agree with many on this thread that X is not the same (I remember Century during a Scandinavian cruise--the cruise director played a mean piano in Michael's Club on most nights--we had a blast!), and the old specialty restaurants were our favorite restaurants on the seven seas.

I appreciate the comments regarding Oceania and MSC cruises.

I haven't seen any advice regarding "moving up" to better cruise lines when traveling with kids. Can anyone comment on taking kids on premium or even luxury ships? Our kids are 12 and 13 years old. We will be on equinox in a suite in July, and we were all on Millennium in Alaska last summer.

DCL was great for the experience, but the prices are just ridiculous on the "front end" when you travel during the summer or any school vacations, and there is nothing included except the free soda and soft serve ice cream. The drink packages have made the X cruises affordable "up front." And if you think the X Specialty restaurant prices are high, just check out Remi on the Dream or Fantasy!!

We are considering the smaller ships such as Windstar or some of the smaller ships in Alaska, where you can do activities right off the stern of the ship.

The MSC Yacht club certainly sounds interesting. When I think of Europe based cruise lines, all I can picture is people smoking everywhere. Is this the case? Or is this just my vivid imagination.

By the way, anyone actually try a Top Deck burger yet on the Constellation?

What an awesome tour you are providing for us. When in the synagogue during the Torah reading, was there a minyan? (ten people are supposed to be present when the Torah is being read officially).

We were on the June 10 Millennium northbound to Alaska and had the classic package. The price of all four of the Alaska Brewing Company beers was $7, and the classic package only covered beers $6 or less. The only decent beer that was in the classic package was the Leffe Belgian beer, and Heineken/Heineken Light. I too was under the impression that Alaska Brewing co. beers would be included in the classic package, but they certainly were NOT on my cruise.

Hi, can someone help me with understanding what "premium coffees" are included in the classic and premium drink packages? Some in this thread have mentioned using their package at Caffe al bacio, but the celebrity website isn't clear as to what is actually included in their plans regarding espresso/coffee drinks at al bacio? Any insight is appreciated!

Thanks!

I completely understand the idea of meeting fellow Elite passengers in the lounge during breakfast and cocktail hour. However, the cocktail hours are limited. Also, on Royal Caribbean, they continue to have the Diamond Lounge available for guests to mingle, in addition to having the three drinks per member added directly onto the SeaPass card.

My point was that Celebrity should consider adding the drinks to the card in addition to keeping the lounge open. If it works for Royal, it should be considered for Celebrity as well. Keep the option open and allow for more flexibility.

Thanks for the specialty breakfast answers regarding the coffee. I'll be sure to check it out on Millennium in a few weeks.

Disney cruise line also runs their Disney movies outside near the pool, mostly at night. It's great. I certainly hope that Celebrity's awnings will help with wind, given the location on the "roof." Also, outdoor heaters would certainly make sense for the Alaska itineraries. Knowing these heaters cost money, I can't imagine Celebrity actually buying these and using them.

We used our Elite Celebrity benefits on the Allure of the Seas, and I can't emphasize enough how much we enjoyed having the three drinks placed on our sea card rather than having to go to the Diamond lounge. It is fun to check out the bars on board, and while the free drink menu was limited, it definitely got the job done.

So, if anyone from Celebrity is reading this, maybe you can consider putting the free drink benefit on our cards rather than having to go to the Elite lounge during very limited hours.

Does anyone remember if the cappuccino in the elite "coffee style" breakfast is actually a barista-made cappuccino? Or is it coming out of a machine? Those are a waste, in my opinion.

I cannot imagine paying these prices for sushi on a cruise ship. Not sure what Celebrity is thinking. I know Bo5 was not very crowded on our previous cruises, but I think this will be a turn for the worse. They would have been better off making this a higher price single charge restaurant....that would at least sit better with me on a cruise. I could be wrong...maybe people will want to pay these prices. But, most people who are on a Celebrity cruise will likely have access to quality sushi restaurants where they live...I rather spend the money there. Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for the reassurance. Looking forward to your review and, if possible, pics? :-) We will be northbound on Millennium on 6/10. Did Tuscan Grille have any menu items that are throwbacks to the old specialty restaurants?

Thanks for the pics. Very nice to see. Hope the regular balcony rooms have been touched up a little bit. We are on the June 10th northbound cruise. Very excited.

We are taking our 9 and 10 yo to Central Park 150 on night one, and then Giovanni's and Samba grill on other nights. My wife and I's "alone" dinners will be the Chef's Table and Chop's Grille. We have taken our kids into the specialty restaurants on Celebrity's ships and never had a problem. This is a family oriented cruise line. You should be able to take your kids wherever you please, unless the venue is exclusively Adults only. Of course, use your judgment based on the temperament of your offspring ;-)

Wow, just got up to speed reading this whole thread while at work.

We are on Allure Aug 10 and have booked 5 specialty restaurants already, some just my wife and I , some with my kids.

I just got off phone with C&A about getting the $8 children feel credited to our account on the ship, and she said it wouldn't be a problem, "except for Central Park 150, where the full $40 applies."

After the call, I reread the RCCL email, and it has no mention of the $8 child fee being only for certain specialty reservations.

So, I'll deal with that one on board.

But I am glad to hear that I should be receiving the OBC as it was intended (according to the two posters that have returned from the ships.)

Having already paid $620 in reservations, this should be $186 if I'm doing my math correctly.