Denny01

And even non-suite boarding was very quick and efficient. We got a taxi and arrived close to our check in time. No Celebrity line. We walked by the RCL dock and the line for that ship was just about the length of the ship. no problems for any of us and sufficient porters who came up to our taxi and took care of our luggage. every Celebrity departure port I’ve used has had special handling for Retreat. den

WestLakeGirl is right. I went to my booking on line, and checked excursions there. Went to Plan My Cruise. then at the top right corner was my Initials which showed Order History and that showed my bookings. Den

One way around waiting on line is to use a reputable travel agent…and Im Not one. They can solve a lot of issues if you get one who isnt just a’booking agent’. Den

Mine isnt ‘junk’, its Jewels! And yes, swimsuit is the dress of the day, and a robe is fine for going around the area, and I use a towel on the warm lounges but no robe…and trunks. Den

That’s why when we sail with grandkids, we sail with their parents…..in their own SRs! we will take our teen granddaughter sooner. den

My opinion is ‘little children’ are more work for the stewards. A bit more messy; dippers in the trash and other such things. Our kids with a little granddaughter sailed with us and it was a real joy, but also more work for the staff. The waitstaff had the highchair all set up for her; had a snack ready for her to dive into and focused on her. The steward worked the room more and so on. We had joined friends who had one woman who had invited others and felt she ‘ran’ the group. She went to the desk and asked that gratuities for our and other peoples’ kids be removed since they were ‘just kids’. Did this without asking. I was extremely upset. No 1, that wasnt her place; No 2 as stated above, babies, toddlers and such make more work for the staff. I immediately added our gratuities back and told the woman to mind her own business. Enough. Den

You can also have the reservation you make on line transferred to the Agent you booked the cruise you are on, or to another. You can also do that after you get off the cruise and have to transferred. You can also add ‘open’ reservations for booking in the future, ie agree to book a cruise within a set time, usually yrs ahead, on board with the lower deposit and get the OBC. And even if you dont use them, you get reimbursed after the time runs out. Den

One poster said theyd been cruising Celebrity a long time and the TP quality has changed…..been cruising X since 1997 and onboard TP is onboard TP as it is on many other Lines Ive had the occasion to use, in both sense.. And just finished (pardon the visual there) our first Suite cruise and TP is the same. Good suggestions here: fold it a few times; Do Not bring your own (you were kidding right??); bring a portable bidet (my favorite idea); my suggestion - realize we are starting to work Very Hard to find things to complain about. I find little difference in shipboard TP than I find in many public ashore BRs. And I kind of chuckle as I see All the various TP variations in our local store….marketing. If you dont like 2 ply, make it 4 ply, or 6 or 20…..whatever. I use to list out posts I thought were very entertaining. One was how Disney ships didnt creak as much as Celebrity ships - their X cruise was in high seas!; another about Suite TP was too thin; another about some guy who complained about staff service when he was loaned a personal umbrella by a staff person because one wasnt available for him and he didnt bring his own….and he ‘forgot’ to return it, but he still complained. Wow. I guess I’ll quit listing those since two of the three have been repeated recently. No, I’ll drop all 3 because Ive read way too many threads about ‘poor service’ because the staff can’t mind-read or become a personal valet when someone cant do the basics. Den

Based on my limited experience of 3 cruises since restart, the 45 days prior has now settled out to be the Norm. As to not using the App, it makes accessing much very easy prior and on the ship, but isnt required. You can register on the X website and set up all as done prior. Once on board, you’ll get a Daily and use the phone or staff to make reservations and so on. But the App is much more handier now.And more reliable from my most recent experiences. Den

Its fun watching them drop at least one of your 8 pieces of huge steamer trunks they try to pass off the pilot boat!! den

That’s ‘cause AF guys Never follow the rules!! Fly Navy!! Den

Yes

Excuses Ive used that didnt seem to work too well: 1. The Dog ate my homework…… 2. My Uncle’s neighbor’s roomate’s cousin who I never met died and I was so depressed I couldn’t finish the project… 3. I know your pants shrank because I washed them in hot water…you shouldn’t have left the washer temp on Hot and when I used it afterwards!!! 4. And more closer to the question and Ive read in this other numerous “Can I ignore my check-in time and just show up?” Posts: My check-in time ins 1pm and my hotel checkout is 11am and I dont want to sit in the lobby so I want to cut in line ahead of those that show up on time?? And to the OP, those are just jokes above. You asked a legit question about what Celebrity is doing now. My semi-recent experience (a month ago) had a line for early show ups to stand in until the proper time people had finished. It works soooo nicely. On a July cruise out of Seattle, our Celebrity check-in had no line because all seemed to be checking in properly and next to us was a huge ship with a line longer than the ship waiting to check in. Den

There’s a whole world for you to explore and in my opinion, there is no Best. If you are thinking of Italy and Greece, Id suggest you look at the Eastern Med cruises out of Rome. You can go early and see Tuscany. Then to Rome, down to Citiveceechia (Rome’s port) to take a cruise to the Greek Islands and back. You’ll want to never quit. There are so many European ports to explore. My favorite (if thats possible) in the Med is Barcelona. Then there is Southampton in the south of UK and you can explore. Then there is Amsterdam. We are going back to cruise to Iceland this year. Amsterdam is probably the friendliest city weve cruised from. And so much to see and do, it’s almost The Reason to cruise. A great port for river cruises also. Den

Yes, the Sunset Bar on the stern has a smoking area the OP can enjoy a cigar and bourbon at. den

Boy, not only does Celebrity Not use 13 for a deck number, they don’t use 17 either!….well, maybe that’s because no Celebrity ship has that many decks, oh well. den

The problem with CruiseCritic isn’t negative critiques, it is, In My Opinion, comments such as E-Class is terrible/not as good as S- or M-Class, all made without the obvious ‘In My Opinion’ added. its all based on personal tastes. Ive seen critics complaining about something I think was the best part of a ship experience. Ive done 4 E-Class cruises and enjoyed them a good deal. I Like the IV SRs and the various venues, especially Eden. I dont spend a good deal of time missing something another ship has that this one doesnt. E-Class is, In My Opinion, the best of the Celebrity Classes. But I enjoy all 3 for different reasons. Another very positive on E-Class, In My Opinion, is the 4 MDRs.Instead of the one big one on the other Classes, and many other Lines, E-Class has the 4 with different decor and added special selections. And of course, the opinions on food is beyond personal, it’s the most biased. Den

Their website is where Celebrity attempts to keep the most up to date info especially for All the ports and itineraries. An email only captures the specific timeframe, and countries/ports of call change their requirements which wouldn’t be reflected in an email. That’s why the emails are usually pretty general. Den

Kind of the same as a drivers license and passport and so on. And the other posts are right, may need it for ports. I always put mine inside my passport. The Celebrity website has very straightforward info on what is required and right now, for Most itineraries, no proof of vaccination and no testing for anyone. Some exceptions I’m familiar with are NZ and Australia. And just completed a TA that required proof of vaccination and monitored test. Right now, The island Turks requires proof of vaccination to enter. Take a look at the Celebrity section: https://www.celebritycruises.com/health-and-safety den

Not our recent exerience. We just finished a TA this Nov on the Edge and our room steward cleaned the SR in the morning, and then stepped in early eve and did a clean up check. Done this every day. Same on our July Alaska cruise on Solstice, and Nov ‘21 on the Apex. Den

I don’t think Ive seen this mentioned, but if you are making reservations that include others, especially a very large group, you’ll need the SR#’s for everyone. It’s not the same as a restaurant and you call and tell them the time and number, you’ll need their SR#. Den

We’ve done cruises with largish groups, and we set up dining for 4 and rotated who sat with whom each night so all dined together, but not all together. It’s just impossible to ‘enjoy’ a large group even of 7 or 8, at one table and it becomes just talking to the person sitting next or across from you anyway. So we set u 4-person dining. That worked for us much better and it’s hard to get a large group to meet up at the same time, and get served decently. Just an idea. Good input by other poster to set up one of the MDRs and at a set time. You can order the special dishes from the other MDRs in any of the restaurants. Good luck planning it all for that large of a group! Den

Look, there are no stairs for Normal Daily use aft, but there are emergency exits that are used by crew for their work and would be used by passengers during an emergency. The stairs are behind the ‘Crew Only’ doors which have ‘Emergency Only’ markings. crew will be stationed there to guide us and assist as needed including special chairs to transport those with issues. the aft is just as safe as any other section. den

There are emergency stairs forward, mid and aft throughout the ships for evacuations as needed. there are fire doors that isolate various sections and stairs within each section. During many emergencies, the elevators wouldn’t be operable. There is No section of the ship that is particularly ‘safer’. Yes someone who cant get from one deck to another via stairs will need assistance, which they have in each stairwell, but it might be easier for them being in a lower deck. But not necessarily fwd, mid or aft. And being on a lower deck isn’t necessarily the best spot because it depends on the type of emergency issue. Yes, need to be aware of what to do if there are ‘issues’, but I don’t think planning on what is ‘handier’ to get to a lifeboat is something I’d put as a calculation of where my SR is. Den

I’ll disagree with the comment that Eden isnt ‘conductive to views and sociability’. There were many locations in the lounge area, and certainly along the walkway with nice places to sit, watch the sea out of a ‘window’ that pretty much is the size of the ship stern. We play cards and meet friends to socialize and so on. Yes, there are a few plastic seats along the side, but there are a number of alcove type places with nice seating. All very personal opinion on what is a sociable and comfortable place. Den