bhughey

On 11/3/2023 at 10:04 AM, morpheusofthesea said:

Interesting. Why on every cruise we have been on the pool guard would not allow any drinks in glass bottle or any thing glass near or in the pool ? Only difference in your cruise and ours is we always docked at Ocean Cay. Where your server reported  the Meraviglia was unable to stop 2-3 days ago. So why antagonize the guests further with enforcing safety rules like glass near the pool ? Would be interesting if any glass drinks are also being allowed as well at the Marina Pool? Or just the YC ?

I think this reference/observation may only be in regards to the YC pool where there are far fewer passengers. We just disembarked the Seascape this morning (sailed in YC) and were allowed to have drinks at the edge of the pool. However, when we said the Seaside in a standard balcony back in July, we were NOT allowed to bring any drinks, plastic tumbler or otherwise, anywhere near the main pools on decks 8 and 18. While we've always been able to do so on other lines, I kind of appreciate this level of enforcement- it helps prevent drunken spillage of daquaris and keeps people from camping out all day. 

54 minutes ago, mizzoufinal4 said:

The snacks tables…. This is how they have been all week. Snackgate 2023… 🤣

Rats. Next week will be our first time in YC and I'm already missing something I never knew I could have! 

Question re: the buffet, is there an afternoon snack selection or is it open for meal times only? 

Hope day one was a success 🙂

in YC, is the internet package 2 devices per person? Thanks in advance for the info!

Following! Sailing one week from today - long time Celebrity loyalists trying YC for the first time. 

Update, called MSC and they sent the cruise documents. Seems like it's an issue with their online check-in. 

Hi there! 

New to MSC and I am trying to check in online, which seems pretty straightforward. I've entered all of the information, no fields are bland and there are no errors in any of the fields, however, I keep getting the following message:

You haven’t filled all the necessary information for the passenger of the cruise, the documents will be ready as soon as you provide all the data needed.

Has anyone else had this same experience? Any tips/tricks? Many thanks in advance!

Hello all! Experience X cruiser, but first time traveling with a larger, organized group. Our group has been assigned late seating, but I'm certain a few people would prefer to dine at their leisure- is it possible to just show up at "select dining" and wait for a table to open? My coworker says yes, but I'm not convinced. Thanks in advance!

Ok, so the answer leads to another question - I usually prefer to book direct with x, but since this was done through a travel agent, will celebrity assist with the reservation or send me back to the agent fgror the drink package upgrade?

(and whoohoo for extra 15% off :))

I imagine all the eye-rolling at the subject line 🙂
A little context to my question - I am elite plus with X, so have a good bit of experience sailing Celebrity - however, my next cruise is a work trip (with a fairly large group) that was booked through an agency. We've been told we have the classic drink package and are welcome to upgrade to premium should we choose to do so. I see on the celebrity site that is says "upgrade beforehand and save 5%" - not a huge deal, but some of my coworkers would like to upgrade ahead of time. Question is - where can this be done online? Can this only be done through the travel agent because there is no info in my online booking that shows I (we) have the drink package. Thanks in avance!

3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

It's time to call and make sure the L&S didn't fall between the cracks.

Took your advice and called Celebrity - apparently they are behind in sending confirmations - it's apparently done, but processing or whatever 🙂

I called last week to L&S our Transatlantic cruise on the Apex - "shifting" from October 22, 2020 to October 21, 2021. I was told that I should receive a new booking confirmation within 72 hours. It's now been a full 8 days I still have not received any information. When I log into my X account, it's still showing the 2020 sailing under my reservations.

4 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

Thanks for relaying your experience from last month.  Maybe I'm new to the party but I'm seeing new entries like Bud Light seltzers and I suspect that might be offered at a lower price point and might have more availability.  

 

Thanks for your help

You're welcome - but my experience on Reflection was just a few days ago... not last month 🙂
 

13 minutes ago, ipeeinthepool said:

Thanks for the tip, but nothing in that thread answered my question.  Any recent experience?

I actually started the thread back in August - and agree, the answers were not very helpful. Unfortunately, the conversation turned to a debate regarding the popularity of hard seltzers vs. craft beer. None the less, I've done two cruises since the original post (just disembarked the Reflection on Friday 1/10) and neither cruise offered White Claw, Truly, etc.

Thanks for the review and the pics!

One quick tip regarding the app/express pass for boarding - you can always take a screenshot! That way you won't have to worry with connecting to wifi or a weak cell signal. 

8 hours ago, fleckle said:

 

Sadly, the trays are long gone, eliminated as part of the cutbacks.

We will still go to the buffet for snacks, but no longer find the ambience there appealing or conducive to the enjoyment of a complete meal. 

 

It is really a shame as they provide some very nice food selections there.

 

Previously it was easy to gather up your cutlery, food and beverages on a tray in one pass through,   then sit down and enjoy  your meal.

 

Now the buffet area is totally chaotic and congested at meal times as people constantly need  to keep jumping up and down, making multiple passes  back and forth just to complete one meal.

 

But think about how much money they are saving by not needing to buy, wash and maintain all those trays.

                           

Hmmm... interesting that you see the removal of trays as a result of cost cutting measures... I see it more from an efficiency standpoint. 1) trays require both hands, therefore, one would need a place to set down the tray in order to place more food items on their plate. 2) If a place is needed to set down the tray, the stations would require those tray rails. 3) if tray rails are present, fewer people can access the various food options. Additionally, the size of the plates are quite large... plenty big for one to fill up!

I don't visit buffets in the "real world" often... but when I have, I can't recall in recent time that there have actually been trays. Especially at more "upscale" buffets.  In my personal and very humble opinion - I find the removal of the trays a plus... they are tacky and unnecessary. Again, just my .02.

5 minutes ago, drakes2 said:

Not sure if this is fact but I was recently told that they set aside a specific amount of cabins for the bidding process. 

Hmm... I can't imagine why they would do that... seems to make more financial sense to keep all available cabins in the booking pool and aim for full price vs. holding them back to be sold at a highly discounted rate.

I've booked guarantee cabins that were assigned almost immediately. You get what you get with a guarantee category. If you are actually willing to pay more - simply pay the difference to move up from a 2D to a 2C. I understand that you are disappointed with this guarantee assignment - but even you said you've rolled the dice and gotten better rooms in the past. It's a gamble! You can't be mad at Celebrity.

Such a loss for the Celebrity Cruise Critic community. Though we never met, I followed every post of her "Living on the Edge" live report, parts I & II. Her comments were always laced with cheerful overtones... you could truly sense her happiness, joy, and genuine zest for life and love of cruising. My sincerest condolences for your family.

1 hour ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Yes!  Breakfast in Blu is wonderful, and in some ways better than Luminae.  It was better, though, when they had the muesli cart.

No more muesli cart???!!!

Wholeheartedly agree with you re: Aqua being "worth it". We've sailed AQ a number of times, but only if the price was within say, $100 of a standard balcony. Usually, upon upgrading after final payment due to a price drop. I've been consistantly pleased with the food & service in the main dining room and find the only real benefit of Blu is the more intimate atmosphere and the breakfast. I love breakfast in Blu, even more so than the breakfast in Luminae. 

Thanks again for the review!

I've never seen the option to upgrade via the cruise planner. But yes, you can easily upgrade on board. When we sailed the summit Oct. 20, they were offering two bottles of wine per person to upgrade from classic to premium. 

23 minutes ago, Steelers0854 said:

 

Maybe it’s because we have had all port days but we haven’t seen much what You described. Haven’t seen any Mexican food, no cooked to order seafood, and the salad bar is always there but has never had any different offerings. Yes, they have a pasta station, sandwich station, and that variety is nice. 
 

I guess I should have clarified my earlier post. The hot dishes along the buffet almost never change. The carved meat option does. But I’ve seen the same hot dishes just about every day. Would be nice to have some rotation. On Princess they will have theme days, Mexican, Chinese, German, etc. that brings some variety into the meal. 

If you are hitting the buffet later in the day... after the posted "lunch" hours - the options are more limited. The cooked to order fish station - or "grill" station I think it is called - is all the way in the back as you head out to the sunset bar. That's where we found the mussels, clams, shrimp & lobster rolls. There is a stir fry station on the aft starboard side and some additional salad offerings on the port aft side. The taco station is almost as you come into the buffet - one of the first stations on the port side. Not that it is there everyday, but I definitely saw it more than once.

Enjoying the report! We were on the Summit for the Oct. 20 repositioning and I thought the oveanview offerings were some of the best we're experienced out of the 6 times we've sailed the Summit! There was always a rotating seafood feature, mussels, clams, lobster rolls, shrimp - various types of seafood cooked to order, Indian offerings, Mexican options, "meat & three", sandwich stations, cheeses, stir fry bar, the salad bar toppings change almost daily, pastas cooked to order, fruit galore! Buuut... I guess if none of those items appeal... then one may find it limited. Not sure what else could be added? Oh... almost forgot - an entire vegan station!

7 minutes ago, Texed said:

 

We are on the Apex TA on Oct. 22, 2020 also.  Come join us on the roll call.  😊

Heading over there now 🙂

Looking forward to taking Apex across the Atlantic for her first time :)!

I find it interesting that I can get more accurate pricing for cruises on celebrity through EVERY big box travel agent website that I research, but can't get accurate pricing from the X website or even Celebrity agents on the phone. In fact, the cruise in question that we booked - STILL does not show the 4-perk option online. Just the 2 perks plus an additional fee for the classic beverage package.