Pilot70D

We both have had the Premium Alcoholic Beverage Packages on our last two cruises. The most recent cruise was on the Eclipse and the one before that on the Century. We never had a problem with either of us taking both cards to any of the bars and getting two drinks as well as a bottle of water at the same time. However, we are able to cruise only once a year in December. As time has gone on drink packages have now become the norm rather than the exception. It would not surprise me at all to see Celebrity put mechanisms in place to limit consumption and thereby holding their costs somewhat in check.

I will say this, we have almost always gotten excellent service no matter in which venue we were obtaining something to drink. We have noticed that there have been cutbacks in some of the bars which at times led to slower service but that isn't the fault of the personnel working there.

So everyone enjoy that drink package on the next cruise.

:):D:)

Am i the only one excited about a pub with 40 types of beer, sports, and "tapas" (whatever they means in the case of a British style pub)?

 

We are on Equinox on one of the first sailings after drydock, can't wait to try something new

Nope, you are not alone. We too think that having a British style pub is a great idea. I also think that having the large screen TV's in the pub is a good idea.

For those that don't like pub grub or don't care for the sports atmosphere don't go to that venue. There are lots of other places on the ship. In other words to each his own. We don't particularly care for Qsine's but think that it's fine for those that do. Just because we don't like something doesn't make it a bad idea.

Just my $0.02 worth which is all that I have left after paying the imperial federal government yesterday. Everyone have a fine day out there.

:D:cool::D

We will be on the Century in May, does anyone know if it is offered on that ship??

We did the Chef's Table on the Century a year ago and it was superb, truly a pinnacle experience. At the time this was our third Chef's Table on Celebrity. The first two were on the Connie and the third one on the Century.

The dinner was actually held in the galley and was great fun. Unfortunately we did another Chef's Table on the Eclipse this past January and the Chef's Table was pretty much a turkey. In a nutshell it was a major disappointment which I have written about in some other posts that I made.

I would try the one on the Century again. I hope that the Chef's Table isn't one of the many cutbacks that =X= has done over the last year or so.

:):):)

The drink package only shows if you stagger extensively returning to your cabin.

:D;):D

Last year we had an aft C1 on the Solstice to Hawaii. No soot problems. Next week we leave for TA on the Eclipse from FLL to Southampton. We have aft S2 suite on deck 11. Hope soot is not more of a problem on TA. Any feed back ?

We were on the Eclipse in S1 cabin 8345 for the New Year's cruise. During the entire two weeks we never had ANY soot what so ever nor did we encounter any while we were in the Sunset Bar. The Sunset Bar was one of our favorite places to hang out so we were there often. Despite having the premium alcoholic beverage package I can remember the Sunset Bar clearly.

:D:D:D

What is S1?

An S1 is a corner Sky Suite on the S Class ships. They are very nice cabins but they all have one very unusual item in them. All of them have either one or two pipes running through them from floor to ceiling.

These pipes or poles are only slightly larger than the ones I hear tell may be found in certain adult establishments. I also hear tell that the pole dancing that may go on in these establishments will not be described in any Sunday School primer.

I myself being a clean living Christian young man have of course only heard about such activities. Never the less this is a family oriented board therefore I cannot go further into the details on here of the pole dancing classes.

;):D;)

Hello all!

I know they do a dance competition, but are there any dance lessons on Celebrity?

 

Nick

We conducted pole dancing in our S1!!!!

This is after all a family oriented board so I can't say much more about those classes but those poles in S1 Sky Suites ARE good for something!!!!!

:D:p:D

I sailed on reflection last September in a sky suite whilst my sister and brother in law had a celebrity suite. Their bedroom was very tight although the living area was good and the balcony more spacious. They had a walk in closet. They didn't like the lack of space in the bedroom and have booked a sky suite on this next trip. The sky suite is just like a large hotel room with a bar area and a seating area but almost feels more spacious. It is true that sky suites can be aft corners and celebrity are mid ship. Depends what is important.

We were just in an S1 Sky Suite aboard the Eclipse. We got our butler to show us the Celebrity Suite, Royal Suite and Penthouse Suite on the last morning before leaving the ship. We didn't like the bedroom arrangement in the Celebrity Suite at all. To us it was small and very closed in. Furthermore, this suite has a bathroom that is smaller than what we had in our Sky Suite.

We were thinking of changing our next booking from the Sky Suite to one of the larger suites. After actually seeing the suites in person we concluded that the S1 Sky Suite was the best cabin for the money. We liked the openess that the S1 has and we liked having the huge circular window as well as a balcony from which we could look aft as well as forward.

We did like the Royal and the Penthouse Suites just fine but not enough that we were willing to pay the substantial difference in price that the two largest suites go for. Everyone is different but we are now quite happy with being in S1's.

Everyone have a great day.

:):):)

I own a small business and some customers ask me how much I earn on some things. I find that a really rude question and while tempted to ask what they earn, I try and give a vague answer.

 

If you think the service is bad, make an official complaint. If you think the service is good, give an extra tip in cash to them. What I would say is ask yourself: would you tell the bar staff what you get paid?

We agree with most of your post. I had never thought about how the 15% gratuity associated with drink packages is distributed or for that matter how tip revenue is calculated for the many no extra cost drink packages chosen with the 1-2-3 Go promo.

For our next cruise the answers are easy because the promo wasn't available when I made our reservation. We subsequently purchased a beverage package and the 15% gratuity was added. But what about all those drink packages that came with the promo? Just curious.

We completely agree about giving an extra tip when someone renders really good service. What we do is go to the bank and buy a brick of one hundreed $1 bills which we bring with us. We use the dollar bills as extra tip around the ship as appropriate. Works like a champ.

Everybody out there have a great day.

:):):)

OK, you booked a cabin at a price that you were happy with and now you're unhappy with =X= becausse they offered a different price and clearly stated that this new price was for new booking only. Doesn't sound like discrimination to me.

There is another side of the coin when to the debate about booking early or not. We are booked on the Eclipse December 21st sailing. I booked our cabin last year during the Give Thanks Special. As we speak today those cabins that are available have all increased in price by 30% to 40% over what they were selling for during that special. So people do come out ahead from time to time by booking early just as some come out ahead booking at the last minute. But either way it goes I don't see any discrimination as long the T's & C's are clearly stated.

:cool::cool:

We too are aft cabin junkies and for several good reasons.

First, it is a hike to get to the nearest bank of elevators. On the Eclipse there is one bank of forward elevators and the other bank is just aft of mid ship. This made us get more walking exercise than we might have gotten otherwise.

Second, like the OP said, there is less pedestrian traffic the further aft you go. We were in an aft S1 on the most recent New Year's cruise on the Eclipse. It doesn't get much more aft than this. We were never bothered by revelers or by any other noise for that matter.

Finally, there is something soothing and entrancing about just watching the wake as the ship sails. So for us aft is best. Hope this is helpful no matter which cabin you ultimately end up inhabiting!!!

:D:D:):D:D

How did you book it. I am hoping I could prebook it before I go. I can't seem to find an email for them. Should I just call Celebrity?

The OP is correct - like the Ultimate Dining Package, the Chef's Table Dinner cannot be prebooked before you're aboard the vessel.

Immediately after boarding they have a specialty dining sales table set up. Stop by that table and they will take your prepaid reservation for the Chef's Table. The other alternative is to speak with the Maitre D from either the Tuscan Grill or Muranos. They can also take care of your reservation.

:):)

They were probably UUFO's (Unidentified Underwater Flying Objects) which had come to the surface to replenish their oxygen supply.

:D:rolleyes::D

For $100, what kind of meal do you get? Where is the dinner held?

Thanks,

Monica

These dinners are spectacular and the executive chef gets to strut his stuff by making this extravaganza.

Both of the Chef's Table Diners we have done aboard the S Class ships were situated in the wine cellar room of Muranos. The dinner started out on all the ships in Michaels Club for champagne and a get to know you opportunity. After that there was a conducted tour of the main galley but it got different after the tour depending on the class of ship.

On the M class ship and on the Century the dinner was done in the galley where they set up a formal table in an area not heavily trafficked. It was a real experience to be able to see the working galley in action. On the S Class ships we were taken to the wine cellar room of Murano's after the galley tour. The dinner was served there in that part of Murano's.

The dinners are very elabarate and all wines are included. There is a different wine with each course, sometimes more than one wine per course, and they are all excellent wines. In all four of the Chef's Tables which we have attended the main course was not something found on the menu of any of the dining venues. This is the executive chef's opportunity to prepare what he considers his special entree to be and they have always been beyond excellent. No cheeseburger and a coke here.:D

Yes, as another poster mentioned, the price per person is considerably over a hundred dollars apiece and in our opinion is worth the price. At the Chef's Table dinner you will get the equivalent (or better) of dinner in any five star restaurant. This dinner also includes the various wines consequently when all of this is taken into account it's not overly expensive for what you get.

I hope this extra info is helpful and that you do choose to participate in a Chef's Table Dinner on that next cruise.

Again bon apetite.

:):):)

Does anyone know whether those are available on the Sillhouette. We have done the Chefs Table on Carnival and it is amazing. I have also heard so much about the art classes and Glass Blowing but have not seen them mentioned lately:confused:

=X= does have a Chef's Table Dinner aboard your ship. The Chef's Table is not advertised nor does it appear in any of the dailey sheets we have seen.

You either have to be invited or know about the Chef's Table dinner. The best person to make your request to attend would be the Maitre D' of either the Tuscan Grill or the Maitre D' at Muranos.

The Chef's Table Dinners are expensive at over a hundred dollars a person but the price does include an autographed copy of the Celebrity Cookbook.

We have done Chef's Tables on four Celebrity ships and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one. So check it out and Bon Apetite.

:):):):)

The passage ways are clear by and large on =X=. On HAL there is a solid row of those electric scooters recharging.

On =X= the bars are open past 9:00 P.M.

=X= has never considered naming one of their new constructions the M.S. Geritolendam.

Seriously, we enjoyed our three cruises on HAL. We still consider the Volendam to be the most beautiful ship on which we have sailed.

Give =X= a try. You'll like it. Welcome to Celebrity!!!

:D:D:D

With so few Unlimited packages available, we will book the 5 night speciality package and hope to upgrade it when we board and look to have a credit go to the unlimited if we are lucky enough to get one

Beth, let me re-iterate that there is no fixed number of Ultimate Dining Packages being offered. Each cruise is different. Let me point out that ours was a holiday cruise. Holiday cruises have a couple of things that possibly separate them from other cruises. First, because it's a holiday cruise the ship is packed and it's packed with people in a festive mood. Because of this there were an extrordinarily large number of advanced up scale dining reservations made. With this large number of advanced up scale dining reservations there is no reason, no incentive for =X= to offer a large number of Ultimate Dining Packages.

Your cruise may very well be different when it comes to the number of packages available. Unfortunately there is no absolute way of finding out ahead of sailing. There is a round about sort of way. Call the Captains Club and ask how many advanced upscale dining reservations relative to other cruises they are seeing. There's going to be an inverse relationship here. The more advanced reservations they get relative to other cruises the fewer Ultimate Dining Packages that will be available.

So live long and prosper. Now go enjoy that next cruise and the upscale dining.

:):):)

First, there is no set number of Unlimited Dining Packages available. The availability depends on the cruise, how many advanced upscale advanced reservations have been made and so forth.

We were on the most recent Eclipse New Year's cruise. We dropped our luggage off at the terminal, returned our rental car and took the shuttle back to Port Everglades. This put us back at the port around 10:30. We were in an S1 and there were no other suite passengers in line consequently the preboarding paperwork took very little time.

We actually got aboard just before 11:00. We got our welcome aboard glass of sparkling wine and proceeded directly to the upscale dining sales table to purchase the Ultimate Dining Package. It'sa good thing we did that immediately. Another CC couple, also in a suite, boarded about an hour after we did. By that time they had stopped selling the Ultimate Dining Package.

We were curious a couple of days later and asked the Maitre 'D at the Tuscan Grill how many unlimited packages had been sold for this cruise. His reply was seven.

What's interesting to note is that this package covers every dining venue aboard EXCEPT the Cafe Al Bacio Gelaterio. You still have ot pay for the gelatos there even though it is part of the Cafe Al Bacio.

We do think that the Ultimate Dining Package is a great idea and a great value. We fully intend to purchase it again on our next cruise.

Bon Apetite!!!

:):):D:):)

I thought sometimes in our little X section of the message boards that some posts could be a little mean...

 

Welcome back...

Perhaps CC borrowed a few of those erstwhile folks at Celebrity that design and maintain the Celebrity website!!!!!!!!

:mad::p:mad:

Before the advent of the 1-2-3 Go promos and the the 'free' standard drink package =X= used to put the drink packages on sale around twice a year and at a fairly substantial discount. However, since the 1-2-3 Go promo I have not seen the drink packages on sale.

I put the single quote mark around free above because =X= raised the pricing for most cruises by more than the cost of the drink package would have been if you had purchased it.

One thing to consider is that the 1-2-3 Go promo is supposedly not combinable with other discounts. I made the reservation for our next cruise during the Give Thanks sale last year. At that time no 1-2-3 Go was available however the discount we got during this sale was much greater than the cost of two premium alcoholic beverage packages. I have checked with =X= twice this year now that 1-2-3 Go is available and got the same answer both times. To get the 1-2-3 Go I would have to rebook and that would cost about $600 more than our current price. So the moral of the story is "There aint no lunch in this man's world".

So enjoy that next cruise to the fullest and may all of your bahama mommas be viewed from the Sunset Bar on the aft part of the ship.

:):):)

We were just on the Eclipse and in a Sky Suite. Our butler did a fantastic job.

Our CC group did a cabin crawl and our cabin was the last stop on the tour. The day before I asked our butler to have a couple of plates of cheese and crackers for this event. WOW, did he ever do a great job. We had plates of cheese and crackers. We had bowls of fruit. We had plates of cocktail shrimp. We had plates of cookies. The charge for all this largesse - nothing.

We asked him of there was going to be a behind the scene engine room tour. Lo and behold the following day we had an invitation in the holder on our door.

Our butler found out that I really like oatmeal raisin cookies. If we weren't in the room when he made the afternoon rounds then there would be a BIG plate of said cookies. Now this was both good news and bad news. I never met an oatmeal raisin cookie I didn't like plus I was brought up that it was a sin to waste food. You know how hard it is to eat 8-10 fresh oatmeal raisin cookies?????

The jacket for my tux got a little creased during travel. No problem, he took it and probably pressed it himself. No bill showed up for that service.

On debarkation day we asked our butler if he could show us a Celebrity Suite, A royal Suite and a Penthouse Suite. This was our first cruise on an S class and we were curious. He cheerfully conducted a tour of these now unoccupied suites. He pointed out what he thought were the good points of each suite.

Like I wrote earlier, our butler did a fantastic job. We tipped him accordingly and put a nice write up on our comment card.

Being in a suite is addictive and it sort of spoils you forever after. I do hope my write up is helpful. Now go enjoy that next cruise.

:):):):)

Was wondering if anyone has had any problems/delays with disembarkment out of FLL after their Constellation Cruise. We are flying on Southwest on a Thursday with 10:45am flights to Buffalo.

There was a very similar thread a couple of days ago but in that thread the person who started everything asked about the Eclipse.

We were on the Eclipse and disembarked January 11th. On that Saturday there were several cruise ships in port all of which had to get the passengers ashore at roughly the same time. We left the ship around 10:00 or so. The disembarkation was well organized and it it didn't take a terribly long time to get through customs. There was a VERY long line to get cabs, really long. It was close to a thirty minute wait to get a cab.

Still, no problem for us because we had a mid afternoon flight. We went to Ernie's for lunch and then to the airport. Now for the really bad news. The line to go through security at FLL was so long that it took us 55 minutes. We had no problem because of this lengthy delay but many were not so fortunate. How long will the line be to get through security when you leave Ft. Lauderdale? I don't know but it will depend directly on how many ships are in port that day.

Hope this info is helpful.

;):);)

It's pronounced TUSCAN GRILL - the food there is much better!!!!!!!

:D:D:D:D

No, we would not and have not tipped the CC Hostess.

If this person did something extra special on our behalf then maybe but under this circumstance no.

:cool::cool:

HMMMMMMMMM, we have been cruising the Caribbean for years. However I cannot remember the last time I saw a glacier or even an iceberg down in the Caribbean.

Perhaps someone should send a World Atlas to the erstwhile folks at Celebrity's headquarters??????

:D:D:D