Paulras

3 hours ago, seasidemama said:

Personally I won’t pay for drinks in a casino out of principle. Not a big drinker, but enjoy a glass of wine or cocktail or two per night. I think minimum perk for any casino patron should be drinks. 100,000 points for drinks is a bit much... This would not be a casino I would visit.

100k points is for Sapphire which gives you a free classic beverage package to use anywhere on the ship ($59/day + 20% gratuity value). 

On Summit 2 weeks ago, they were giving free drinks in the casino for anyone playing.

9 hours ago, twodjs said:

So you can drink $15.00 martinis all night, but Heaven forbid you might actually want a healthy drink to start the day. How does one healthy drink break the premium drink bank? Come on, Celebrity, you've got to be kidding!  

Probably because the martinis really only cost them about $1 to make but the smoothies cost double and take 5 times as long to make! 

I usually try one on each cruise because it's in the premium package. Then I question why I did because it takes them about 5 minutes to make and is never satisfying. But I still like having the option on the package. 

Most hotels don't have a free shuttle to the cruise port, but will usually have one available for a fee. Ignore that and just get an Uber or Lyft (or taxi). I've seen them charge as much as $25/pp for a 10 minute shuttle ride. Plus you have to wait until everyone is on the shuttle, and then wait for them to get off. I just summon an Uber XL (more room, usually an SUV), walk right past the people gathering for the shuttle and hop in, then we're at the port before the shuttle even leaves. And usually costs about $15. 

Ok, the retorts about percentage sales growth are just ridiculous. And as usual, doesn't answer the question. Seriously, why even respond? 

All I know is that every party or BBQ that I've been to over the past year, the majority now bring spiked seltzers. So I'd be surprised if we don't see it soon. I want it on my next cruise! 

PS - my family owns an old neighborhood "shot n beer" bar. We don't even take credit cards but we've had Truly for a while now and it sells. 

It wasn't the actual Standard Package but meant drinks in the casino while playing. I've read several people say they were giving drinks to players at times. So maybe that's why they no longer list it if everyone gets it while playing.  

Email BlueChip. You'll get an answer (a few days later) 

8 minutes ago, K12Guy said:

Most port stops there will be a cooler with water on ice for passengers to take. I think they scan your card for the number of bottles you wish to take. On the way back there is often cool water on a hot day waiting before you embark again.

 

If you have access to Michael's Club (Retreat Lounge) stop there on the way to your stateroom for a beverage to take with you. No problem.

Michael's Club is great to stop at (if you have access) on the way off the ship. Grab a coffee and load up my bag with waters and sodas. Never thought about loading up beers (though I'm not much of a beer drinker) 

It's all up to the bartender. The world class bartenders usually get to know us and will wait until we're leaving to ring up our drinks on the beverage package, which is usually 2 or 3 drinks before dinner. If they can do multiple at once, there's no official time limit

Sounds like they made the decision because they sail under the british flag and many British tankers have had problems. Hopefully not an issue for our Christmas cruise on Constellation. 

2 hours ago, rachelmle1 said:

FWIW, we’ve sailed on RCCL’s Anthem of the Seas for the past 2 years during their holiday and/or NYE sailing.  For Xmas eve and NYE they had festive decorations in the main dining rooms and a special printed menu for both nights.  In the specialty dining restaurants they inflated the price greatly for those holiday dinners and had special menus.  I remember for NYE they sold tables for the countdown and midnight party anywhere from $200-$500 per table. Seemed ridiculous to us that you had to pay just to sit down.  It seemed like such a money grab to us and left us with a bad taste in our mouth.  

 

Hopefully Celebrity shows more class and doesn’t nickel and dime on our Xmas cruise this year.

Oh yeah. That's another thing. Usually the specialty restaurants are $5 or $10 extra for the WHOLE cruise. NYE is always a special reservation in the specialties for like $100 or more per person but includes things like champagne. My opinion, not worth it.

A couple years ago they offered a special beverage package that was over $100/day (maybe even $120) but you had to buy for the whole cruise and it included everything by the glass with no dollar limit. I didn't meet anyone who bought it. 

4 hours ago, The Med said:

Thank you, that’s very informative.

 

A few years ago we were on a P and O ship over New Year.

Although we were on flexible dining, on New Years Eve they had a gala dinner and ALL seating in the main dining room was on 2 sittings, early or late. We didn’t know this until we got on board (we were a late booking and only booked a few weeks prior to sailing).

 

The reason for my initial enquiry on here was because I was wondering if they did something similar on Celebrity either for Christmas Eve or Christmas Day but from the replies it seems not.

 

So am I correct in assuming that Christmas Eve will probably be a Chic night but other than that everything is more or less the same as other nights, people who are on Select can still eat at a time to suit themselves? 

You're correct. No special sittings for dinner. Just probably a holiday menu. I still hope every year they bring back the holiday brunch. Would be nice to have something extra special considering holiday cruises are usually much more expensive than non-holidays. But I would also feel bad for the crew to have to do alot of extra work on the holiday. 

And as I said before, it all depends on itinerary and who's in charge. Evening chic will probably be Christmas Eve but I think one year, it was on Dec 23rd so they weren't going to do it 2 days in a row. 

One last thing that I thought about is that holiday cruises tend to surprise you with an extra chic night. Not sure how many days your cruise is, but we usually have 12 to 14 days over both Christmas and NYE. Those usually have it on the 2nd night, Christmas Eve and New Years Eve. Many people wouldn't have planned for 3.

I've been on for Christmas (and many NYEs) for the past 6 years. And #7 coming up in a few months. They used to do more; like a special Christmas brunch and even a special holiday performance by 2 American Idols at night. But that ended a while ago. Now it's fairly low key.

Typically the evening chic night is Christmas eve. Midnight mass in the theater.  Santa will "land" on one of the outside decks and there will be a small parade through the ship to where he stops (one of the venues) and gives out small presents for children. They usually have little treats or cookies there too. The buffet will have a special holiday display, like a chocolate fountain. Other than that, mostly special holiday "sales" at the shops and art auction. And maybe a holiday giveaway at the casino. Might find a holiday performance in the theater but usually just a regular performance that they call special.

Besides all of the decorations everywhere which are very nice and not overly done, you will probably hear Christmas music constantly for the week pumped throughout the ship. Nice at first unless Feliz Navidad gets stuck again and plays over and over for an hour! 

But it all really depends on who's in charge on your ship and definitely the itinerary. Last 2 years, we've been in port on Christmas day, so the ship was a little empty and low key. 

Let me know if you have any other questions. 

I saw an older woman doing laps mid day in the Solarium pool. Very disruptive and it ended with her getting hurt as a younger guy (probably late teens) got in and didn't see her doing laps and ran into her. She screamed bloody murder and wanted him thrown out. She was told to not do laps. 

50 minutes ago, HardyVA said:

I'm looking for Bermuda itineraries, particularly the two that go to RI at the end.

I checked and plenty of verandas avaliable for those next summer. How are you checking and what dates? 

How are there no veranda cabins available for 2020 cruises?? They rarely sell out until a month or two before the cruise. 

Going on Celebrity in December with 3 ports in India, including an overnight in Mumbai. And ends with 2 overnights in Dubai. 

Any past cruisers to India and Dubai know if the casino on the ship opened when docked there or still in Indian waters? 

More curiosity but almost hoping it is closed to not lose money and to focus more on exploring the ports (with a full night's sleep!) 

If you have the Classic drink package, consider using the OBC to upgrade to premium. Or use it for a specialty restaurant. Shops are almost never better prices than at home. 

How soon before the cruise do you get contacted? I got an email a week or two before the last cruise asking for feedback on Shoreside Concierge but never actually got contacted. When I responded to the survey saying no one ever contacted me, I never received a response. Next cruise is in 6 weeks. Nothing yet. 

26 minutes ago, mattie123 said:

Sapphire level is 100,000 points, not 25,000

 

Yes, you're correct. I should have said 550 out of 100k, which is even smaller. 

PS - I'm Sapphire too. Think I ended with roughly 200k points after 2 long (and costly) cruises in 2017/2018. I'm at 99,700 for this period but have a 7 day and a 15 day booked for the rest of 2019. No doubt I'll hit the 300 I need in like 10 minutes! 

1 hour ago, Stick93 said:

 

 

Celebrity has just redone the summit and it’s sisters which is sailing in NY/NJ with a total retro fit job - wonder how that compares to the Sunrise. 

 

 

I'll know in about 6 weeks when I'm on Summit (yes, 2 very different Bermuda cruises in the same summer). And I believe both Summit and Sunrise are about the same age and had major overhauls only months ago. So should be an interesting comparison. 

55 minutes ago, RRLLAL said:

 

Upset? Who’s upset? I’d say it’s this people falsely downplaying what changes were made. Pretty much everything was changed inside that ship and some can’t admit it. The changes are no big deal supposedly. Anyone that sailed the triumph and now the sunshine can see the total makeover. W en all the color schemes were changed and it is a beautiful ship. If you don’t like steakhouse fine. If you don’t like Italian food fine. If you don’t like bbq fine. If you aren’t interested in the largest red frog pub at sea oh well. Of you don’t enjoy a huge water park ok. If you don’t like rope courses fine. If you have no interest in suites at the very forward of the ship that’s fine. If total makeovers of all cabins in decor, colors, USB ports and bathrooms oh well. If a reconfiguration of one of the dining rooms to add more seating is a bad idea then hmmm. Do you like having a real coffee shop with huge doughnuts and muffins? Mmmm. Better than a counter in a hallway. A full bonsai sushi restaurant? Yes. A serenity area that triumph didn’t have. Adding ADA elevators to the upper decks is great for those handicapped. Do you like shopping? More stores were added. How about using the spa? It was expanded and modified. Relaxing. Do you like Asian food? Try the lucky bowl. Like many food options, it’s Free. 

 

Thats many of the changes, but not all. So anyone saying the changes were blah or no big deal can keep saying that. If you can get past the crowding on the lido deck buffet and figure out when to go or by using other free food options, you’d have a great time on a beautiful new ship. 

 

Try it, you just might like it. 

Hate to jump in since you seem like a huge cheerleader.... almost press agent. But having just gotten off the ship last week, a few comments. The color schemes are better but still a bit of a rusty ship if you look at it closely, cabin decor was decent but balcony door was still old, balcony dividers were old and clanky waking me up, bathroom could not have been updated, it's hideous and cheap. I tried to get coffee and donuts 3 times at the new coffee shop but gave up when I realized the one barista working wasn't going to get to me within 30 minutes.  Serenity was decent (especially the bar) except for the fact that the kids club and water slides are right next to it making it not very serene. I'm not sure how many shops there were before but i don't recall seeing more than 3 or 4. Massages I had were great in the spa but I was annoyed that I paid extra for a Cloud 9 Spa Balcony to get access to the Thermal Suite but they didn't add a thalassotherapy pool like they did on Sunshine so it was useless to me. Lucky Bowl was good but they only had 3 dishes each day and it was pre-made bowls of noodles and veggies that they would top with meat and a laddle of broth. Not sure why but there was always a wait even though it should be very quick. But I'd take a 5 minute wait over the 30 minute wait at the buffet. Italian restaurant was bad for both lunch and dinner. Steakhouse was very good. 

I don't have an idea of how big the other Red Frogs are but when there was an event like trivia, you could barely find a place to stand much less sit. And I'm not sure what you mean by "huge water park", it was 2 slides. 

I think the changes made the ship more up to date and bearable but it's still old and adding extra cabins made it way too overcrowded. They're trying to squeeze in as much as possible but it creates a sub-par product... In my opinion. At least it wasn't as tacky as past Carnival ships I've been on. 

PS - I didn't appreciate the power going out 2 seconds after I finally hit a bonus on a slot machine. Came back on after 5 or 10 minutes, and after waiting for the machine to reboot, the bonus popped up where it left off. But still never heard of why the ship went dark. 

Just my 2 cents on Sunrise having gotten off of her last week. Very crowded feeling. I wanted to stop at the buffet for a quick breakfast. After waiting in line 15 minutes, I gave up and got an omelet from the sandwich window which was still another 10 minute wait but when I walked past the buffet line with my food, the woman who was in front of me was still a few people away from getting a plate. That's crowded! Was the same every morning and lunch. Pizza line was usually 10-20 minute wait too.

I wouldn't mind waiting for good food but it was barely edible and in some cases disgusting. Cheeses looked warm and oily, bacon was usually just bits they'd shovel onto your plate. Tongs and utensils at the buffet were dirty and cross-contaminated which is beyond anniying. And they had someone unwrapping frozen waffles to put into a toaster instead of just making fresh waffles. Pizza was good, especially after waiting so long for it. Steakhouse and Chef's Table were very good. Italian for dinner was just really bad. Pasta there and dining room had a texture like it was old. Main Dining Room was awful except the last night which was decent. One waiter at lunch stood there staring at us as we're trying to have a conversation and started to complain that he hasn't had a day off in 13 days. He looked like he was ready to pass out or stab me if I ordered anything else. 

For an 8 day cruise I'd normalize gain 8 pounds. I only gained 3 because I usually skipped meals instead of waiting and didn't eat everything on my plate because it was so bad. The 3 pounds was probably from drinks. The Alchemy Bar and its bartenders were great. 

Had 2 massages and they were awesome! 

2 minutes ago, zitsky said:

 

You can say LGBT are welcome or not welcome.  What else to discuss?  I don't mean to be offensive but I was raised in a conservative church.  I no longer feel the need to apologize for my presence. 

Did you ever feel the need to apologize? What's changed? 

35 minutes ago, mdpa said:

I guess the title should say, "completely unfriendly". I didn't ask anyone to agree with my opinion or perspective but I was hoping to see a higher level of tolerance.

 

I am not jewish or Muslim but I wouldn't choose to post large pictures of bacon just to try and denigrate someone else's views. In the same way I try to avoid making fun of vegetarians even though their justifications are usually random and without providing a reasonable basis for their avoidance of certain foods.

 

I would be happy to eat breakfast with anyone and most likely have a great conversation.

You literally said gays are sinners, have non-ideal behaviors to be discouraged as talking about them creates new gays, are into beastiality and pedophilia (even though that's more straight men) and their flag is an insult to God. And that should be tolerated?? At least Archie Bunker was endearing when spouting bigotry and misinformation. This is just disgusting and pathetic. 

2 minutes ago, DYKWIA said:

 

Presumably not against help when it helps you to the possible exclusion of others though?

 

What the heck is the last statement about? 

Only the last statement?? 

9 minutes ago, mdpa said:

I think the replies in this thread have been very effective of making my point. Being gay or lesbian is legal, and no issues with engaging others who are LGBT. I am more tolerant of someone who is gay or lesbian than most of you are with me. Even though I may have religious or political reasons for not supporting their lifestyle.

 

That said, other people's lifestyle shouldn't be a reason to be intolerant of others who don't share their views. There are very real religious and political reasons for being sensitive to these issues. Personally, I think the overall conversation is off topic but I saw too many people bashing others to sit back and watch (intolerance). What other political concerns you ask?

 

- Continuing down this path of gender fluidity will effectively eliminate women's sports. No real differentiation will be made. I believe Nike featured a transgender person runner in an Olympics ad (I have a daughter, so legitimate concern)

- I've personally been discriminated for not being LGBT on bids and employment opportunities (ex. Fannie Mae gives a 5% advantage, many companies now ask for employment). I guess I could lie and say that I am transgender....but I shouldn't be required to...and I don't think there is a standardized method to substantiate claims. It's hard enough with Race, since I don't think DNA tests are required (Elizabeth Warren used this loophole to her advantage)

- Chipotle offered me a 5% coupon if I proved that I contributed to a local LGBT cause (again, I should be able to personally decide what is acceptable to me, not bullied)

- Men/Boys can technically walk into many women bathrooms without regard to privacy

- From a religious perspective, I think it is insulting to use a rainbow (a promise from God) to encourage a behavior that is not ideal. Schools push the Pride issue so much that more people are becoming LGBT (the only way it can really happen since it is not hereditary)

 

For the record, I am not a fan of people having sex with animals or children. Some people don't draw these distinctions either.

 

OMG, I don't have the strength, just don't