CruisinShips

At the risk of sounding like I am defending the contents of the OP, which I absolutely am not, the umbrellas are gigantic and have good size hand cranks that I am pretty sure are supposed to be opened by someone on staff.

Interesting. I've only seen pending right up until I received the rejection email two days before the sailing.

My point really wasn't about the Uber part...it was more about you are being "penalized" for the airfare, which seems unfair and irrelevant since some of us don't even need to book airfare to the cruise port.

True, but MY opinion is the one that matters. To me. 😄

It's amazing to see the differences in experiences and perceptions. We were in a CS on the Apex earlier this month, and it was just wonderful. Service throughout all of the Retreat areas was fantastic, the staff was delightful. Luminae food was just fine for a cruise ship...I don't expect to have the best meals every night on ship with 2500-3000 passengers, regardless of the cost of the cruise. Yes the prices have gotten high, but for the two times a year we cruise, it's worth the splurge to us. It's odd to me that the OP is under the impression the pool staff knows or cares what level suite you're in...it never occurred to me that they would. Maybe they do...but I'd personally be surprised if that's the case. Lastly, I do agree with those who say the Retreat isn't really worth the cost on non-Edge class ships. I am pretty sure we will stick to E-class going forward. We booked another on the Apex when we were on board, and we will be on the Beyond later this year.

It makes little sense to me that the cruise portion should be nullified based on the airfare...what if you live 35 minutes from the Port (like we do in South Florida) and take an uber to the port? I assume that "loophole" wouldn't apply to us?

Say what? Are you saying my AmEx Platinum card automatically provides me with the same type of insurance I purchase via Tripmate? Or am I missing something? Thanks

There will always be a sound transference issue with adjoining suites (either on a ship or in a hotel).

Just a friendly tip for posting here....since you're posting in a forum exclusively dedicated to Celebrity cruises, you might get a better response if you provide more detail in your post title (as opposed to "Celebrity Cruise" and in the post itself. You also may want to look in the Roll Call section for posts by others who will be on your exact sailing.

You and your wife will have no problem checking in at the earlier time.

Fortunately, knickers aren't allow, so no worries about anyone getting them in a twist.

Nice review. We were on the Apex the week before and it was also one of our favorite cruises ever. Not for the ports, but just because of the ship itself and the amazing staff. Is it me, or are we starting to see many more positive posts/reviews than we were seeing for a while?

First of all, Go Gators! Second of all, you're exactly right. I was having this discussion with a young lawyer I work with who has two kids in their early teens. They cruise often and his kids love the waterslides and the flow rider, etc. He said his kids would laugh at him if he wanted to take them on a cruise without those things. My guess is they will outgrow those things eventually, but it's kind of the reason I asked the initial question in this thread. My wife and I are in our early/mid 60s and we used to cruise Royal but fell in love with Celebrity and won't go back.

Interesting responses to this topic. I see many people said they have taken kids on Celebrity and they love it. Of course, how could anyone not love a cruise! I guess the follow-up question would be How many of those kids who love cruising on Celebrity had previously been on more kids-oriented cruises?

Thanks for that most illuminating insight!

My recent experience at Rooftop on the Apex was good, but....1) I personally wouldn't go there for steaks (didn't have one, I should add). but we went there for the BBQ/comfort food that isn't available in other restaurants (except maybe OVC). Brisket, ribs, corn on the cob, cornbread, etc. That was all very good and fun to eat on a cruise. 2) That was the only restaurant in which the servers seemed harried and stressed. 3) it's definitely weather dependent...we caught it on a nice, breezy night and it was just fine.

Not sure if a kid has to be those things to enjoy waterslides and other kids' activities. Seeing what comes across as almost defensiveness from some people responding in this thread (not directing this at you), it makes me wonder if I had posted this same discussion topic in the RCL forum, the responses would have been completely different.

Very interesting and informative replies. I learned some perspectives I hadn't considered (as my kids, for the most part enjoyed the social aspects of RCL cruises). And that's exactly why I asked the question as I now know I need not feel sorry for the limited kids I see on future Celebrity cruises! Thanks all.

I am pretty sure I didn't say 'all kids".

Interesting and nice to hear. As a Diamond on Royal who used to sail with my kids until they became adults and then we discovered Celebrity, I am glad to hear that. On our recent Apex cruise, I felt bad for the few kids we saw....glad to hear that isn't the case!

I can picture kids, when on a Celebrity ship, docked beside other ships and looking longingly across the pier at the massive waterslides, rock climbing walls, flow riders, etc. and having the beginning seeds of a lifetime of parental resentment!

I'm not asking this because we dislike kids...but to the contrary. Our recent Apex cruise we saw maybe 15 kids the whole time, and each time I couldn't help but think "those poor kids must be so bored". So why do parents with kids choose Celebrity?

We did a 7 day Pacific Coast itinerary on the Eclipse in October that started and ended in LA, and stopped in Catalina Island, San Fran, Santa Barbara, San Diego and Ensenada. Really fun itinerary for us.

I'll just do this with some bullet points. EMBARKATION DAY: Easy peasy. First of all, we live about 38 minutes from Port Everglade, so that part is a pleasure and part of why cruising is such a stress free escape for us. Terminal 25 is beautiful...we arrived at about 11 and as Retreat guests, we were guided to some elevators where we were checked on an ipad and walking up the gangway within minutes. We walked to our room and entered with the seapass cards. Our room wasn't quite ready (which was fine) and our butler Ari appeared before we left the room and introduced himself. We dropped our stuff off and commenced our initial exploration. Lunch in Luminae...more about Luminae shortly. OUR CELEBRITY SUITE: Beautiful, clean, spacious. Very blessed to be able to cruise that way. It was our second CS (first was on the Eclipse last October) and the luxury of having two rooms when you are a couple with different sleeping patterns was nice. I am a very early riser and it's nice to be able to slip out of bed and close the door and put on the TV in the other area. Bathroom was nice...could use a little bit of counter space, but no complaint really. Our TV in the living area started pixellating badly at one point, and one phone call and apparently they were able to reboot it remotely and it was fine after that. Location with 11th deck forward of the aft elevators...we liked it so much we booked the exact same suite on the same ship for the same time next year. BUTLER/STATEROOM ATTENDANT: Both were ever-present, amiable as can be, always smiling, always anxious to help. Butler (Ari) brought us coffee at the same time every morning (as requested) and helped us to juggle around a couple of specialty restaurant reservations we decided to cancel and/or change. I don't think we are overly demanding at all, but he never failed to take care of what we asked. LUMINAE: We had breakfast pretty much every morning, and dinner 5 of 7 nights. The food was always good...not 5 star restaurant good, but very good for a cruise ship and better than any MDR fare I've had in years of cruising. Selection was fairly limited, but I was always able to find choices I ended up enjoying. Portion sizes were definitely on the small side, but I assume that's in part because they expect people to order more than one dish. My wife, who is a more basic eater was happy with the classics options. It's great to have the same server at every meal...that's what cruising should be IMO...and we never had to wait long for bread, coffee refills, wine refills, etc. The entire staff was great...great personalities, working hard with smiles on their faces. SPECIALTY RESTAURANTS: This cruise we ended up only dining in Eden and Rooftop Garden. After hearing so many wonderful things about Eden, I was frankly a little disappointed. Not that it was bad...it just didn't blow my socks off. My food was a little under-seasoned and portions were small. Nothing worth complaining about, and I will likely try it again in the future. Service was very good. Rooftop was a nice surprise. While the vibe was a little strange...and all the servers seemed to be overworked a little stressed, the comfort food was really enjoyable. We probably pigged out more there than at any other time on the cruise. Ribs, brisket, cornbread, corn on the cob, chicken. Yum. RETREAT LOUNGE: We loved hanging out there before dinner with our pre-dinner cocktails. Staff is absolutely delightful (perhaps you're seeing a pattern here). By day 2 they knew us and our drinks and we began to get to know them as well. Somehow Celebrity manages to find the best humans to work on their ships lol. My one little complaint about the Lounge was there was absolutely no variety in the food/snack choices from evening to evening. Same cheeses, same crackers, same olives and roasted red peppers, same potato chips, same peanuts. I wish they would have changed it up a little from night to night...but somehow we seemed to keep coming back lol. RETREAT SUNDECK: Again, great staff with great attitudes. More shade would have been nice, but we spent a lot of time up there and loved the hanging chairs over the pool in particular. There are three of them and everyone who wanted to spend time in one seemed to be able to. I will mention one time some guy actually placed his shoes on the chair to hold it when he walked away...that was a little off-putting for sure. The area got pretty crowded on sea days...you could almost always find a lounger, and a couple of times I did see staff remove towels when a chair was empty for a while. Note to fellow cruisers: it's a nice thing to do to at least crumple up your towels when you are done with your chair so others know you're not coming back! ENTERTAINMENT: Good for the most part. I won't get too specific because I assume it changes, but the comedian was very funny, the acrobatic shows amazing. We did slip out during a strange Tina Turner revue that was just a little odd. But the theater is beautiful. OVERALL: Gorgeous ship, wonderful suite, very good food, unbelievable staff. Very few complaints, and nothing that would keep us away from Celebrity in the future (we have two more Edge class cruises booked). Prices are definitely getting out of hand, so that may be an issue. But I work hard all year long and we take two cruise vacations a year. It's just worth it to us to splurge for them and I we are blessed to be able to do it. Thanks for reading if you did!

I wish I knew why I get Captains Club emails that are personalized to my wife's first name to my email address. I got the survey in her name and completed it, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to change this. It's the same email address I log into my account with, and she has her own login with her own email address. It's no big deal because we always travel together, but it's just strange and I can't figure it out (and it's not worth calling about).