goofysmom99

Fantastic itinerary and amazing cabin - you'll LOVE it! There's one chair in the living room that's weird, looks like an egg and it spins all the time, but otherwise, it's awesome.

I think upcharges for room service and for decent food in MDR are out and out tacky. When looking at things through rose-colored glasses, red flags appear to be just flags so I took off my X-colored glasses and by gosh, the flags are red. The entrees on the Eclipse menu I just perused are sad. I'll check with a zenith concierge tomorrow to see if I can get the correct address for the new CEO (chief product-slasher). I would truly like to maintain some semblance of loyalty to X but significantly higher prices for significantly diminished product = need to rethink currently booked 2024 X cruises.

This is really depressing news. If I didn't need to use up my last (largest) FCC, I'd cancel my 16-night, Constellation TA in November. With celiac, MDR is already a minefield; these reductions will make it a no-man's-land. And unfortunately, M-class only has one specialty that works for me (last two of three Tuscan meals on Connie were comped because they were so bad). Yup, I'm depressed.

Hyperbole.

Using up a large, final FCC for the first M-class cruise and the other two are with very, very dear friends who will be cruising for the last time (health). I can't afford as many premium cruises as I can take on Celebrity. Since X provides me with bev, laundry, wifi, etc, I expect that a simple balcony cabin on S-class with specialty restaurants most nights will make for enjoyable cruises (I had to lower my expectations that the MDR would be enjoyable). I don't really dislike anything except the MDR food. I'll swallow the pill paying double for my cabin but won't put up with the MDR food anymore. Since X doesn't offer a solo supplement, I certainly wouldn't pay double for unnecessary aqua/suite cabin perks. Basic balcony and specialties are a reasonable and acceptable compromise.

I'm branching out next year to try two premium lines. Solo, they're actually cheaper than aqua or suite (I don't need cabin-based perks). I've been following Norwaylady's "live" Infinity thread and I thought the MDR menus last week were a wasteland, especially for gluten free; Blu, previous week, not so bad. Sadly, my next three M-class cruises will probably be my last on that class (favorite size, not enough restaurants). Rather than leave X altogether, I'm lowering my expectations = future X cruises will be/are now booked on S-class (preferably Silhouette/Reflection), basic balcony, with specialty dinners most nights (E-class is out because of the balcony thing). I'll adjust. 😉

The emails have become a nuisance and this thread has prompted me to unsubscribe just now. Thanks for the nudge. I know with absolute certainty that if ever there is something worthy in one of their emails, it'll be posted here on the Celebrity boards within moments. 😉

It was sale priced for just a few hours again last night. You had to be quick. Irksome.

A little shipboard trivia - room service has a separate kitchen. Never knew that until my first cruise after cruising resumed.

Cellar Masters is responsible for the Veuve Clicquot dinner. Location will vary but will be one of the specialty restaurants, if they have it. Any sommelier should be able to let you know if there is going to be one on your cruise. It's not advertised or available to book precruise.

Jim, my short-term fix (will be trying other lines next year) is to book a regular cabin on an S-class ship, preferably Silhouette or Reflection, and dine in specialty restaurants. The all-inclusive upcharges for Aqua and Sky Suites are especially annoying if you're solo.

You need to ask for it for both the cruises. Not automatic.

Yes, non alcohol coffees/teas are free when you're E+. Cafe al Bacio is open from 6:00 am - midnight, or thereabouts.

It makes great sense if you're zenith. With aqua, I'd be paying a lot for two unneeded classic drink packages and two pitiful (useless) wifis, although you do receive two gratuities. A basic veranda, gratuities, and dining in specialty every night, for me, comes out ahead. If you're Elite Plus, it would depend out how much you drink. I make good use of Cafe al Bacio in the daytime and only drink wine with dinner. When I was E+, I found that collecting a daily supply of canned sodas/seltzer during happy hour and then buying wine by the bottle with the E+ discount was a better use of my money than a drink package that I essentially didn't need/use. Right now the sale prices on dining packages are way better than even the zenith discount so I pounced on several yesterday.

I book a veranda and add specialty restaurants every night (Blu is good but not that good). Saves quite a bit. And the specialty chefs will frequently make off-menu surprises after a few visits.

Ditto, plus they had a solo fare for me, too. Sweet deal that equated to many, many thousands less than X; their deposit was $1K but it's refundable to my credit card (not X's current direction), less $100 admin fee, until final payment. My plan B is the Nov 2024 Silhouette TA with specialty dining every night (I do love Lawn Club and Murano). This year's Connie TA will be my last long cruise on an M-class (using up final FCC). Although I prefer M-class ships, their limited specialties are the deal-killer. Don't care for Le Petit Chef (I'm gluten free) and Tuscan has been a pretty sorry affair on my last six visits. In fact, the last two Tuscan dinners were refunded by F&B Mgr/Hotel Dir. If they ever discontinue LPC and reinstate something like a Murano, I'll reconsider. Meanwhile, I'm also zeroing-in on an Oceania booking for next spring. It took a long time to reach Zenith but now, after following lots of "live" threads/reviews written by people I know and whose opinions I respect, I too am getting out of my former comfort zone (AKA rut) and trying new things.

They should be the same. Without a drink package, having Elite Plus showing on my seapass card was most useful in Cafe al Bacio so servers knew not to charge for my many cappuccinos. 😉

My TA emailed me today about some good solo deals on Oceania. That puts it almost on a par with Celebrity's x2 pricing for me. Oceania just might be in the cards this year.

OP, I could be forgetful but I thought you mentioned on our roll call that you'd booked our Nov TA with a group rate. ??

Just curious, do you turn on your phone when you're on land? Or does your phone plan limit data?

OP, since you're going to be in Luminae on Millennium (no Murano or Lawn Club), I definitely recommend the Daniel Boulud raspberry pistachio vacherin. You'll see it at the bottom of the Luminae main menu, not the dessert menu. It's definitely one of my favorites (right up there with Grand Marnier souffle in Murano).

As a non vegan with celiac, I think the buffet will be your best bet. Almost all the MDR vegan dishes have wheat or barley somewhere in them. I paid attention because I always hoped something might be an option for me. Nope. Most soups are beef or chicken broth based. Rarely vegetable broth. Your food choices will be limited.

It's still $30 but now gratuity is added. Don't remember if it was 18% ($35.40) or 20% ($36.00). Actually, pretty sure it was 18%.

And it's terrific! And the Grand Marnier souffle is gluten free.

I'd always thought I needed to go up to OVC to get it, but with a day's notice, Luminae will even make the kids menu spaghetti bolognese with gluten-free pasta. 👍