girljerk

I always make an appoint with the Kaiser travel nurse. They look at our records and order any vaccines we might need. Another good source of information is the CDC as someone else mentioned. Here’s the cdc link.https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel

AirBnb is also a great resource for different types of tours. They have everything from cooking classes to bike tours. We booked a bike riding tour of Shinjuku for an upcoming trip to Tokyo. 

Sherri

Here is one from Only in Japan. 

There are lots of great travel vlog series on YouTube. One of my favorites is Only in Japan. There are several other vloggers who do great explanations about anything from the culture to what to see and eat there. Here are a couple. 

9 hours ago, chemmo said:

Whilst we know most of the time we do not need to prebook all our dining we prefer to book in what we think we will want to do and then just modify as the cruise progresses. As ggo85 says, Murano’s in particular can be fully booked towards the end of a cruise.

 

We know after speaking to several M’Ds and butlers it makes their job easier too. We also have preferred tables, particularly in Murano’s, and by letting them know in advance when we are visiting they will arrange it for us.

 

 

 

 

Let me modify what I said earlier. I just thought about it. We typically like to eat later on cruises and don’t feel compelled to watch every show. That is probably why we have had very little problem making reservations on the day of. Typically, people like the 6 pm dining time. For us that is just to early. If you want a time period that is more coveted, you probably should book early.

sherri

16 minutes ago, George C said:

What is “ the taste of film” ?

Here is an article that explains it. https://www.forbes.com/sites/celebritycruises/2016/02/03/movie-and-a-menu-a-unique-cruise-dining-experience/#6d1554e23450

39 minutes ago, Redking said:

Hi Sherri, is the Chef's dinner and "Taste of Film" included in the unlimited speciality dining or did you have to pay an additional fee?

The Chefs dinner was not included. I think, if I remember correctly, the Taste of Film was complementary.

Sherri

The beauty of being in a RS and above is you don’t have to think that far ahead. The only food events I plan ahead are the Chefs dinner and “A Taste of film”. A Taste of film has to be booked on the ship. I have a list for my butler which includes this reservation request. Other than that, for other specialty dining, we decide each day. 

Sherri

Here is the breakdown of what benefits each suite gets from the Celebrity site. We only book RS and above because everything is included. To us, that is valuable, but, we only Cruise about once a year compared to those who cruise more often.

On 7/2/2019 at 7:34 PM, Zoey1 said:

We have been sailing on Celebrity for many years, most recently on the Equinox this past March. We are booked for two cruises in 2020 in a Royal suite but I do not see any literature that says it still includes specialty dining, does anyone know if the new revolutionized ships still include this as a perk? 

Here is the latest from the Celebrity website concerning suite amenities. 

I tend to travel in clothes that don’t have pockets. I wear a lanyard to keep track of my sea pass card. I’ve never lost one that way. Celebrity has a nice selection of lanyards. Some are even dressy and look like costume jewelry. You can also get a simple one that just says Celebrity on it. I have an assortment of them so I can accessorize.

Sherri

9 hours ago, chemmo said:

 

I do think butlers like guests providing them with something written. We always give a copy of the email we have sent to the shoreside concierge to our butler so he can check he has done what we have asked and confirm our dining reservations. We also let him know things we want on a daily basis. I think sometimes guests who complain their butler’s are useless simply haven’t communicated their needs and wants clearly...

 

Our experiences with shoreside concierges have been mixed. The last couple of times have been our best experiences with all requests having been met. Our worst was when absolutely nothing had been communicated. Fortunately our butler had everything sorted really efficiently. It amazes me that sometimes ‘bits’ of our requests have been communicated but other things haven’t, for example, correct spirits but not pillows...

Wow, that’s a great idea! I’m going to print up our list. That definitely will make it easier for our butler.

Sherri

2 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

We have warned Celebrity several times about the danger of that tub.  I'm sure we're not the only ones who have commented on it.  But Celebrity doesn't seem to do anything about it.  A nonslip tub mat would cost them a few bucks, far less than visits to the medical department and future cruise credits.

Funny you should mention that. I I looked at the upgrade pics and it’s still the same tub with no safety features. We are cruising in a couple months. I’m going over to Target and get a nonstick mat. The cruise credit was great, but, I’d rather not have to fall again. When I did fall, I was being extremely careful because I felt it was an issue. I still fell! There aren’t even any safety bars in the refurb.

Sherri

Hi,

Since we joined the Celebrity family, we have liked to travel in PH or RS. It took us a while to get used to the Butler experience and this is what we have found. First, the shore side concierge should call a couple weeks prior to the cruise. This means doing your homework. I have a list put together for this call. Things like, our liquor choices, beer for the fridge, distilled water for my husbands CPAP, an extension cord for the CPAP if necessary, sparkling and still water, a couple throw blankets for the balcony, pillow choices, etc. It helps to have an idea of what you may want to help you feel comfortable on the cruise in order to generate this list.

If you don’t get the concierge call pre-cruise, or, all of these needs have not been met when you arrive, take it up with your butler. The butler will follow through with your requests and others. Other requests you might make are things like breakfast on your balcony or in your room, a dinner party with friends, assistance with laundry, reservations, etc. Any questions or concerns you might have, you should run through your butler. On our last cruise, I fell getting into the PH tub bruising myself significantly, because of the slick surface. I told my butler, because I was concerned for other passengers. She insisted I be seen by the ship’s doctor, she told her supervisor and we met with the supervisor who apologized and gave us a future cruise credit. Butlers, thrive on giving good service. I understand this culture, because, my husband and I retired from a very service oriented culture. Don’t be afraid to utilize them and yes, tip them well. They deserve it.

Sherri

DEPLOYMENT INFORMATION:

 

Hey, Gang...Look What I Found:

 

 

 

Week Of March 9:

Summer/Fall Caribbean

Northeast and Canada

 

Week Of March 16:

Europe

Alaska

 

Week Of March 30:

Winter Caribbean and Northeast

 

Week Of April 13:

Exotics and Australia

 

Future Deployment:

China

 

This Was From An Official Royal Website

 

-Michael

Thanks for the information! I have been waiting for this. I just put it in my calendar.

- Sherri

We travel frequently in suites. I always have the concierge credit the internet coupons to whatever package we choose. It is not a worthless reward, it gives a little discount. The purser's office can also credit you the value of the minutes.

Ma Bell,

I totally agree with you. How much a person packs is definitely up to them. My DH and I, tend to have two checked bags, a carryon and a personal item. I can also handle all my own luggage. I really don't care what people think about my clothes, I dress for me. I have a different dress for each evening. My job requires me to where steel toed boots and tennis shoes. I don't often get to dress up so when I do, I take full advantage of it. Being able to dress up is one of my favorite parts of the trip. My husband also likes that part of the trip (me dressing up for him)!:D

I also carry a first aid kit along with my other packed items, which, my DH used to scoff at until he had need of it. There is a really awesome free customizable travelers check list at www dot travelschecklist dot com, If anyone is interested. It is printable and I customize it for each trip.

I KNOW!!! I started out wanting a Sky 1 for my first celeb cruise. I have the money, but man can't seem to justify in my head nearly paying twice the amount of the next category down, just to have someone "do stuff for me"

 

These comments are making me want to do it, but twice as much is too much.

I understand how you feel. I had to work my husband up the ship, through Royal. We started out in what I lovingly refer to as the bowels of the ship. I was happy just to be on the ship then. Next came a porthole. In 1999, we took my daughter on her graduation trip, that meant a balcony for a family of 4. Yea!

I remember those days ," ...for just a couple hundred dollars more we can have an X room...". That was my common sense approach to justifying the move up to my DH. Once we got to concierge level and learned how to use the added perks, there was no going back.

I have seen lots of negative comments on other threads concerning butler service and concierge service. I have done both and I would never go back to doing with out. I work in a profession where I maintain a high public profile and customer service is paramount. It is my job to serve my customer and keep them happy. I take great pride in that. I care about the people I serve and want them to have a good experience. The people in my district know me by name and that says a lot.

Having said that, when I go on vacation, I feel the need to relax and feel special. I need good customer service to rejuvenate me. I deserve it! Do you? LOL. That's another one of my arguments to justify the move up. Guess what, I don't have to do that anymore. Clearly my logic worked. Have a wonderful marriage!

Really love the list idea from Bellybutton530! I would like to make an addition, on your list you might signify the things that are urgent requests. For instance, my husband uses a CPAP machine. On Royal we usually need an extension cord and some distilled water, which the ship provides. We need that request filled on the first day (or the DH might end up on the balcony, LOL).

We routinely sail in the OS on Royal and the concierge sends out an e-mail a week before we are scheduled on the ship. I usually send him my list of requests then. This list includes the before mentioned items and any excursions that I have not booked yet.

This is our first time sailing on Celebrity, so I will include those items in my list for the butler on our Celebrity sailing and a thank you tip.

We did the champagne card on the Adventure, that is the only ship I have seen it offerd of the RCI ships we have sailed.

Thanks, I think that I remember Adventure as being the ship we got the Champagne card on. We are sailing on that ship again in November. Yea!!!

Sherri

I'm sorry, I forgot to go back to this thread and just thought about it today.

 

You can go to the champagne bar4, and ask to purchase a champagne cocktail package. It was around $40.00- $45.00. You get 10 champagne cocktails. ON the back is a list of 10 different ones to choose from. You are able to chose as you wish - not just one of each. There is the classic mimosa, bellina (with peach liquor and creme de cassis) ST. Mortiz (apricot brandy, gin and orange juice), Kir Royale (creme de cassis(, London special (augusura bitters and sugar), etc. All of these are mixed with champagne. There is 5 more chamagne drinks as well.

 

I found it a wonderful way to try something different, and we were able to get to know the bar tender as well. The night we went to Portofino's, he noticed how nicely were dressed so we told him where we were heading. He gave us some chocolate covered strawberries to go with our cocktails. :-)

We bought the champagne card on one sailing and loved it! We went on another ship, and it was not offered. How long ago did you sail and on what ship? I so hope it is still available, we will be asking from now on!

Sherri

Thanks so much for all the tips. I down loaded the Ship Mate app from the Market on my 'Droid. It was free and works well in airplane mode. Also, I did not know you could get a release for the photo's! I book marked the page for future reference. Here are a couple of tips from me;

1. We get on the ship as early as we can. We find a bar for our welcome aboard drink and make friends with the bar tender. We tip him/her well and get generous drinks from him/her for the rest of the cruise.

2. If you have a CPAP machine you can request distilled water for your unit and an extension cord if necessary.

3. I have gotten on the ship as early as 11:30 am. If you have not purchased your soda or wine packages, this is a good time to do it before the crowds start forming.

4. And one last thing, if you purchase an item in the ship store and there is a sale later, you can take them the receipt and they will refund the difference to your sea pass account.

Sherri

i think the poster was talking about his hometown or somewhere else. there is no costo in san juan.

FYI, According to the Costco website, there are 4 Costco's in Puerto Rico. The closest is 5.6 miles away from the center of San Juan.