Christine Frances

Just like you can't compare the price of a Hyundai heads up with a BMW or Mercedes you can't compare the cost of Celebrity vs Oceania heads up. You have to decide what the intrinsic value of things like the included specialty restaurants are worth, what the smaller ship experience is worth, what available lobster everyday is worth, what truly exceptionally comfortable beds are worth, no photographers bugging you at dinner and every time you get off the ship, and on & on.

 

I cruise both, but you have to put a value on the differences when comparing. We really like both products.

 

Oh, and while I like the food on both it is truly superior on Oceania.

I guess we are not candidates for O LOL We never go to specialty restaurants (the MDR on the Millie for our Japan/China cruise in Oct/Nov was truly excellent), M Class are just the right size for us (but do also love the S class), lobster is meh but would love some of our Dungeness or King crab served, love the X beds and we walk past the photographers without thinking. We have sailed Azamara 3 times with fabulous experiences, fun ship and extraordinary crew, almost all inclusive but too small except for the benefit of getting into Bangkok & Saigon of course without the drive. If we wanted to "upgrade" it would be to Az as our Captain's Club benefits transfer over and better entertainment than O.

We were a group of 8 onboard the Millie for the Japan/China cruise Oct/Nov and found the MDR (early seating) excellent. Best Prime Rib ever:D Ate there every night, no specialties or buffet for dinner plus the service was perfect.

For those on Facebook!

I've been looking at booking an Alcove, but the website is confusing. It says 9 am to 9 pm in one place but duration 2 hours in another. And when I choose a date it comes up as 3 am.

 

$149 is fine for the whole day but not for two hours...

Phone the Specialty Dining # to book your Alcove. They are very helpful:)

Thanks for the review, we are back on Millie in Asia in 2017, can't wait!

 

Singapore is one of my favourite cities, so clean, welcoming and we loved the food in China town.

 

Any hotel recommendations for Singapore? Last time we visited it was part of a package and we were in the Orchard Road area, this time we would like to be more central, have been looking at the Swisshotel....You views would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

We stayed at the Swisshotel and loved it. Last year we stayed at the Novotel on the other side of the river. We used the bum boats to get around in = sorta like a HOHO boat. From the hotel location you can walk anywhere, the Flyer, Raffles, Marina Bay Sands etc. Love, love Singapore.

From Celebrity's website

http://www.celebritycruises.com/frequently-asked-questions#faq5325

Guests should not bring life jackets to the muster drill. In the unlikely event of an emergency, our procedures direct guests to precede directly to their muster stations upon hearing the emergency signal. This reduces the chance for cross-traffic and improves response time at muster stations, as guests do not need to return to their staterooms to retrieve their lifejackets if they are in another part of the ship at the time. Once a guest arrives at their muster station, a crew member will provide them with a life jacket. In the unlikely event of an emergency, one of the most important aspects is to account for all persons onboard, and this process facilitates that accountability. We also store additional life jackets at each muster station.

It's my understanding that neither Oasis nor Quantum Class ships have life jackets in the staterooms. When we used to cruise RC (we cruised every class up through Freedom) they always had them in the cabins, as well as in storage areas throughout the ship -- like X does. I do find myself wondering whether they will be included in the cabins, in the design of the new Edge-Class ships?

If they don't have life jackets in the cabins you would think that policy would be Coast Guard approved.

Every Celebrity ship I have been on has had life jackets in the stateroom as well as in cabinets on the deck by the

lifeboats. On Celebrity the muster stations are inside the ship and in case of an emergency the crew will take you to your lifeboat. It's good to have life jackets in both locations because it is sometimes too dangerous to go back to your cabin to get them.

HMMMMM

Nope--You might re-read it yourself. It sounds as if you are chastising him for not having Ins--

OP did NOTHING wrong--paid his $$$$--This all falls on AZ for not taking care of him.

OP isn't on the ship!!! How do you know how AZ will take care of him!!

This is a very interesting post. I wonder have you tried Azamara and if so how did that comparison come out. I am wondering now that Azamara has refurbished its ships where the comparison particularly at suite level will shape out

Plus the Captain's Club benefits transfer over.

Darcie. For benefit of other disabled cruisers you should also post the portion of your review that you put on the O board about how they lacked the ability to let you get off in ports. As the ramps were steep or had steps. Other people in motorized scooters or power wheelchairs would appreciate that info. Very glad you enjoyed the food and the ship:)

Thank you Celebrity

That is what X explained to us as well (if the ship was in port no longer than 24 hrs you could stay on the ship). We got the Visa as it is now for 10 yrs and we want to go back for a second land tour. Our Aussie friends did not get one though and when the passports were checked upon boarding they queried why no visa and as soon as they said they were not getting off the ship there was no problem.

They do not appear to be reuced too much, or maybe I should say they aren't

good enough deals to get me excited.

My friends are in AQ on the Mar 4th Equinox which they booked a year ago and the "deals" are $300 more expensive!!. They also have the 123 promo. I book really early and all my cruises are much higher now.

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With the Zika virus scare for pregnant women, I'm sure there have been cancellations for the affected areas. I'd be afraid too if I were pregnant or could get pregnant. I feel for those women.

It is not just for young women, as a virus it can make you sick, fever, aching, pink eye, etc. I would think twice before booking and if I did book I would load up on Deet repellant:eek:

I've book our first Celebrity cruise to Alaska and starting to wonder if we picked the right Cruise line. It has been one problem after another at the corporate site. Our latest is they didn't give us the correct two bonuses for the trip. They got it correct (we hope) two days ago, but when I ask why I can't see the corrections on my reservations all they can tell me is how busy they are and that it can take another department up to 7 days to correct our records. I've even talk to a supervisor and they really don't seem to care. Any one else have issues like this with Celebrity? :mad:

I have had the BBB and the 123 promo and the only perks I ever see on my online reservation is the drink pkg.. But all the perks are shown on your "Guest Copy" invoice. Call and ask them to send you an updated one.

We (group of 8) were on the same cruise as 4774Papa and totally agree it was an excellent cruise. Ship was spotless but then again I wasn't trying to search out rust or anything. The ones in our group that went to the evening shows were newby cruisers and were very happy with the entertainment but we don't go anymore. I'm trying to remember what we did during the day lol We didn't have many sea days on that itinerary so probably just read by the Tpool. We had excellent smooth service and great food in early traditional.

It can be frustrating when the meals don't go as planned. I have never had Select Dining so I have no idea what the issues could have been to make the service so slow. Sorry that happened.

I was looking at that cruise for next year:) Was it the Vietnam & Philippine cruise? Fabulous itinerary:D

Well I never found it on Eclipse and we have sailed on her x3.

All the M Class ships have clothes lines but they are impossible to install in the showers on S Class because of the curved glass walls/doors.

We used "Dora the Explorer" and she was faboulus with our group of 8 on our tour. Google Dora the Explorer Cartagena on Trip Advisor as she gets great reviews as well http://www.cartagenatour.com/

I chatted with her about 6 months ago and she was working on night tours to accommodate people with X who had overnight port stops.

Have you ever been in the MDR on Celebrity or any other cruise? Completely different from Blu, and the biggest difference between the 2 classes. If you "fell in love with Blu", the MDR will be a completely different experience.

We always dine in the MDR (early seating) and over the last 3 cruises we have been very impressed with the presentation, food quality and service - especially on our Japan/China cruise on the Millie. We normally book reg balcony's but will grab Concierge if the price is right. We might do a Specialty for an occasion once every two or three cruises. We have no desire or need to pay more for Blu.

Do all these itineraries with price drops call into Turkish ports?

I never pick the right cruises. Mine are all still going up:(

Hank,

 

Makes me wonder if I have been on a different planet. We have 9 X cruises since December 2011. We have seen little change in service, food quality or the overall cruise experience to date.

 

 

 

One of our best cruises was on Millennium last October/Nov, Japan and China.

 

Before that, Century, Singapore to Dubai. Of course, we have only had a suite once, on an upgrade. Thought it was great, but we wouldn't pay for a suite on booking.

 

 

 

Not sure why you formed this opinion, but perhaps it is what type of cabin?

Totally agree! Fabulous cruise!

While your deposit is not refundable it is way less than the usual $900 deposit we have (and higher for suites I think)

Yeah, wait until they see the number of folks with Select Dining going to guest relations and removing their tips from the automatic daily deduction, thus stiffing the stateroom and waitstaff. Trust me, it will happen more if the Select Dining tips are not prepaid.

Plus it will stop lots of people booking Traditional to avoid paying grats up front and were planning on switching to Select once onboard. Will make it much easier to book early or late seating without these people clogging up the system.

Now don't jump all over me for this thought, but I personally believe this is wrong! Sorry wonders10, but I have 5 grandchildren and there is no way that an eight month old is not going to be disturbing at any dinning time. Celebrity is at fault for allowing this as it states that Aqua cabins are for an occupancy of TWO not three, and if you are in a suite there is a separate dinning room for you also.

We are doing the Eclipse in Aqua next month and if I had to be subjected to a crying infant in Blu I would not let it go - right to the hotel manager to complain and then back to this board!

 

Hal

I think it was confirmed a year or so ago, that an infant could be in an AQ cabin with 2 adults in a "Pack n play" crib which Celebrity will provide. I am not absolutely positive, but the "2 per cabin" rule, may be because the sofa does not convert to a single bed in AQ cabins. Maybe someone currently onboard in AQ can confirm if their sofa converts to a bed. AQ cabins have never been "Adult Only"