blindrid

I'm convincing my siblings we really need to give my mom a break next Christmas and do a family cruise. We are looking at the 12/20 7 day out of FLL on Silhouette (parents live in West Palm).

 

Without having been on Celebrity, I am assuring my siblings that it's a higher end experience compared to other lines. Am I off base? They are not that picky but like things to be nice. Food, accommodations, etc.

 

We will have a group of 11 that includes a very well behaved 15 year old. But we are not sure where he will stay. The parents need a break and would like him to stay with the grand parents. Does three to a cabin work out ok?

 

Any advice and words of encouragement is appreciated.

 

 

 

 

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Higher end, not really. Nice ships. Pretty geriatric. Food good. Accommodations, no different. 3 in cabin can work, not ideal but should work. Entertainment just OK. At least you'll have family to enjoy with you.

We enjoyed X this month - no better than the others though.

Just booked cruise through TA and as part of booking got the Classic Beverage Package promo from the 123Go

Where on the Celebrity my reservation would I find this on Celebrity website

 

Once aboard, do they put a sticker on your cruise card to designate this package and if so, where do you get this sticker?

 

thanks in advance for your replies

No sticker. Our room card had "call" on it referring to classic. We did not feel the need to upgrade as it worked well for us.

Can you make reverse charge phone call from the ship?

If I get injured or sick, I want to contact travel insurance company using reverse charge.

I suppose, technically, the cost would be reimbursed by insurance. I think the call from land is minimal in the big picture. Onboard treatment is added to the room - claim to be submitted later. Relax.

My wife and I were on this cruise as well. Our first on Celebrity. She is 36 and I am 42. We felt almost too young for this ship. However, we are not big partiers so no problem. We loved the service, second to none! We loved the layout of the ship and the ships beauty. You are correct about how calm the waters were, i actually like being rocked to sleep at night, it was actually too calm, LOL. To us the food in the MDR was way below expectations accept for maybe 2 nights. We did love the Tuscan Grille, fantastic. We were horrified one day when we were at the pool and a gentleman was bleeding in the pool and not too much was done about it. Kind of turned us off a bit. We also spoke to the guest relations desk about some concerns we had and were promised a call back by the food and beverage manager, we are still waiting for that call. The Captain of the vessel seemed very nice and approachable. The last few days of the crews restored a chance to give Celebrity another go, but honestly folks, we thought the food was way better on Holland, Princess and yes.....Carnival. They also need more fun music in the pool areas. Not loud head banging music, but good sing along, feel good music. The cruise was fun but really didnt live up to our expectations...Any questions for us...fire away.

Don't hold your breath regarding the Bev manager and the asst Bev manager, Andre, is pretty worthless. This was the cruise before yours in early December. I'm not a young guy (late 50's) and our cruise was totally geriatric. I felt sorry for the few younger couples. I may rethink before booking another X cruise.

Celebrity in general is a different experience from your other cruises --- more sedate, elegant, dignified. The dress code is followed pretty closely, with 2 formal nights and 5 smart casual on a 7 day cruise (although some people do avoid formal wear by dining in the buffet or specialty restaurants.) This is a big change especially from NCL, where anything goes most of the time. Entertainment is good but not as extensive or risqué as you'll find on some of the other lines. No Quest or Howl at the Moon, no belly flop contests or other lively pool games during the day. Where Celebrity shines is their food and service, both are top notch. But I do think you should prepare yourselves for a more low key ambiance than you have found on Carnival, NCL and Royal. We love Celebrity but do wish they would kick the entertainment up a notch.

Disagree. X is not more elegant or dignified. Just came back on Equinox. Entertainment is lame, demographics is older and dress code isn't followed that closely. I have never seen such rude treatment of staff before. In my experience, NCL is far from anything goes but do allow shorts which is a plus, in my opinion, in the caribbean.

Anyway to each their own.

Do people actually wear the robes?

 

People flying fromall over the country on planes already rampant with flu. Celebrity really needs to post honestly the conditions before we board. Some of us have heart and other conditions and the flue or virus really would be bad for us. Please Celebrity post something about Infinity January sailings...dont wait for a major outbreak.

 

Impossible to do. Don't expect lines to estimate. If exposure is a concern, you shouldn't travel.

We are a group of four off the Infinity on Dec 20 after a 16 day cruise. More later (and mostly it was a good cruise), but be aware that a large number of passengers and staff suffered from an upper respiratory infection. The coughing, sneezing, sniffling started 3 days into the cruise. The ship store sold out of Dayquil ($17.99 for a small bottle!!!!!!) and every other cold treatment within days. Never restocked.

 

By the end of the cruise, the hacking was an obvious problem throughout the ship.

 

In the last days of the cruise, reports surfaced of an outbreak of intestinal problems. Again, ship store sold out of meds. Last two days of the cruise, self service was mostly stopped in the buffet (but not universally), additiinal Purell machines were added, and some bathrooms had attendants to hand out towels and open doors.

Why wouldn't one go to the Dr. And get real meds? Or, a lot of stops have liberal drug policies - go to a pharmacy. I wouldn't bother with OTC meds.

That, and don't touch anything. Even yourself :)

I love those that can't buy into sarcasm......

We just booked it tonight. The 3 days in New Orleans were the big draw. Have never been there and my husband loves jazz.

Jazz is one thing, NOLA is another. I'm interested in Mardi Gras as I'm not sure jazz is the topic at hand but a big drunken, good time. I may be too old to handle but I'll give it a try :)

I thought they were already all-inclusive. You bring the money - You get anything you want.

Agree. If they want all inclusive pricing, they will price themselves out of the mainstream market. Their product isn't good enough for anything else.

Moral of story, their website sucks. Patience is a virtue.

We made a TA cruise reservation back last Spring. At that time I opted to not take the insurance since our agent said to wait til final payment. I'm wondering, if that is correct?? And will it effect any pre-existing, etc. And could I cancel still for "any" reason"?

Here's what I do. I go to Tripinsurancestore.com and use their comparison tool. Select what I prefer and when in doubt, call the owner, Steve. I want the entire trip insured not just the cruise.

I really wish I had booked something in Cartagena. Might have changed my mind about that place. but on well. While I'm not fighting to go back there, I would like to visit other places in So. America sometime in the future. Peru, Brazil, Chile? :)

To me, Cartegena is a one hit wonder. Just returned from my 2nd time, probably won't get off boat if there is 3rd time.

YES

 

The Buffet areas have a Bar, one inside, and one outside on the back

 

Cheers!

The one outside (Oceanside bar) opens a bit later. Buffet bar is a go.

Just back. We found no reason to upgrade.

I have always seen the oasis mix at the coffee bar as well, on both classes.

Does anyone know if things like mudslides, daiquiris , frozen margaritas, piña coladas are included in the classic package?

 

 

Cruising Celebrity since 1993, with some other lines in the mix like NCL and Princess.

Just got back yesterday. Yes.

Thank you for the detailed info about wines etc, good to see I can find one or two that come in around the 9$ mark so I can drink something with my package! I will take the good advice of seeing how it goes for couple of days, then upgrading if I feel I need to.

We just got back and the wines offered in the Classic were acceptable to us.

Don't mean to hijack this thread, but we will also be on this cruise. Does anyone know if they have a sushi buffet in late afternoon like they do on the M class ships? Will make a difference when booking specialty restaurants. Thanks for any info. Kathryn

Just got back - sushi was in the buffet every night.

Not sure it's costing them much money. Stock prices reaching all time highs on a weekly basis these days. It's gone over $70 per share this week, up from $44 1 year ago, $34 2 years ago. Website's been an issue during that entire time. Frankly, seems the website issues are helping the bottom line ;-)

 

Shore excursions fill up when people board.

 

Perhaps the cost to fix and maintain the website isn't worth the projected gains in profits that may come from it, and is therefore actually a good business decision.

 

There's nothing you should be able to do on the website that can't be done with a phone call or once you board the ship.

As you we'll know stocks prices are a figment of ours (the market) imagination as to true value. A website is imperative in today's world, regardless of stock price.

The days of grandma on hold, on the phone have went away. My immediate gratification is today's mode. Look it up, buy it, done. It's not that hard.

Depends on the cruise. Go on a short cruise at Christmas and there could be 500 children on board

Conversely, go on any cruise longer the geriatric crowd goes up in multiples. I'm not young but there should be lively regardless.

Good one. He is one of the reasons I question whether x is a Cruiselines of choice. Too geriatric for us.

Our cruise critic slot pull put in $465 in the Wheel of Fortune machine and got back $161. We had one spin. After we quit one of the ladies did hit the same machine for $500. My experience is that the machines are a lot tighter than those in Vegas.

And why would one consider them otherwise. Not a lot of competition. Of course they'll be tight.

i just learned about a drastic price drop on my cruise. Will Celebrity adjust my cabin price?

More info? What promos did you get?

I'd do it but I'm leaving Saturday.

Certainly there is an honest soul out there.

I know I recently read this on here but I literally just received a phone call from Celebrity and a Text message detailing the boarding times for my Reflection cruise this Saturday 11/29. Depending on you deck the times run from 12:00-12:30 to 2:30 to 3:00. I wonder how this is working, you know how we all can't wait to hit the buffet the minute we board!! I'm lucky I'm on an upper deck scheduled for 12-12:30. My flight gets in at 8:15AM and would hate to wait until 2:30! Will they really turn people away? Suites and Zenith guests can board anytime. Suppose someone is an Elite or even Elite Plus, since it goes by decks they get no preference. If strictly enforced Celebrity is going to anger a number of people. I wouldn't really care but there isn't even a place to sit at the Miami terminal. I guess I would just go for breakfast and drag my luggage if I had to.

I board on my schedule not theirs. Everyone's schedule is different. Whether it's a hotel checkout, or like you with an early flight.