goofysmom99

On the Constellation now and so far, they've not had ANY of the wines I've tried to order. Their lists are irrelevant. The Tuscan sommelier is checking in "the basement" for me tonight.

Absolutely correct!

That close, you're fine. Enjoy (from someone who needs accessible).

Great balcony, wake view, and larger, accessible cabin. Shower will be messy (curtain) but no big deal. You may encounter noise from chairs scraping above. Never really bothered me. I'd prefer it to 9043, for sure.

Capt Vito just got on, HD Paul, CD Sue.

Why am I no longer surprised at any of the long list of tacky things that have been done to a formerly great brand? And I'm sure they aren't through either. I feel like I'm watching X being flushed (as in toilet) away.

If and when the menus change, I'll be looking for reviews. I hope people come back with specific reviews (deeper than "I didn't go hungry"). There are many lurkers here who know how it should be, vs not how it once was. I don't expect specialty quality in MDR, but I do expect moist chicken, chewable beef, and less pasta. I love that Night 1 above has Penne Primavera followed by Pasta Primavera on Night 2. How creative. Big sigh as I'm shaking my head.

Open an incognito window in chrome and google "best site for available cruise cabins," and it will be about halfway down the page. If you open three separate (ie, "new incognito page") pages, you can arrange pages side-by-side on your screen to compare open cabins on all three cruises.

Unfortunately, I disembark after 16 nights on the day before Thanksgiving. It took me a long time to reach zenith and I never thought I'd leave Celebrity. But food is one of the primary reasons I cruise. I have to cook gluten free every single day at home and look to cruising as my happy place where someone else does the cooking with all the restrictions GF entails. What X did to the MDR this past year is unforgiveable, especially with so much cheap, cheap, cheap pasta. It took playing undercover boss to discover the menus stink? Really? What insight, a true lightbulb moment. What in the world were they thinking to even try these boneheaded management moves in the first place? Celebrity has lost my trust completely and this horse has bolted (cruises booked with other lines for 2024/5). At least all my future X bookings were made while on board so will lose only $100 each. Well, I'm for sure taking two short ones on Summit but after those, at least for now, my plan is to just let the the 2024/5 bookings fade away at final payment. Certainly not giving X the courtesy of advance notice, much the same way they notified me in advance of their cuts. I sincerely hope the MDR food improves. I'll wait for reviews to come in before I pay money to find out for myself.

When cruising resumed in 2021, I was on Summit with less than 200 pax and booked 6 future cruises for the following two months. This showed up in my cabin with a thank you note. I got so much swag on that cruise (wine, ship model, raffle prizes, etc), I had to buy a duffel bag to get it home. Fortunately, I drove. Anyway, things have changed in two years.

Thank you for the picture! This version is new to me. Looking forward to using up a rather massive OBC this way on an upcoming cruise (any leftover will go to the crew fund).

I was wondering why anyone would call their TA for this in the first place. Just open website, go to Manage Booking, and DIY.

I don't think it's back-pedaling Zeniths at all and will be attending the HHs, for sure. I do hope they're held in the Sky Lounges (S-class or M-class) again. They were perfectly timed for sunsets on my annual westbound TAs (sort of Teahouse of the August Moon thing).

When the lounge was the only place for the Elite HH drinks (pre tickets), cards were checked to be sure someone was Elite or above. The only cruises I've ever traveled with someone without status were back in 2009, 2011, and 2014. My guests were allowed to accompany me to everything I was invited to = HH, Elite breakfast, ship tour, helipad, etc. Their cards were only checked the first visit to each location, too (I was impressed they remembered).

The few times I had a roommate, I was always able to have her accompany me to the happy hour. Just let the captains club concierge know (or whatever they're called) who checks everyone's card at the door. Once past the door, no one checks cards for the happy hours beverage orders, unless you order something not on the HH drink menu.

Usually 30-50 nights/yr (70 was max) and in the past, always on X. Have 40 nights booked for 2024, about half on X. For 2025, 27 nights booked so far, none with X.

Yes, you can see them, they can see you. And the lighting from the elevators was annoying at night.

Since your cabin has been assigned and there are others still vacant, go ahead and call to request a switch to another. It works best if you tell them which cabin you'd prefer and be quick because move-ups are opening soon. I won't cruise in either 8121/5 again (balcony isn't very private).

OP, thank you for your very detailed review, especially the food pix! Viking isn't on my current radar but Oceania is, having recently booked Vista for next year. I'm definitely looking forward to better food than on Celebrity these days. And bookmarking your review for future reference. Thanks again.

Not a shoe repair, but I ripped out a hem while getting ready for dinner. My butler had it repaired and back to me within the hour.

I've been following the daily MDR menu's on current Connie cruises for several weeks. Wow, they certainly haven't gotten to the part about better menus yet. Tonight's (Thursday) entree offerings are: Sauteed Tilapia Filet; Oven-Roasted Turkey; Butternut Farrotto (farrotto is a type of wheat); Gnocchi; Pasta Pomodoro; Grilled Chicken Breast; and Grilled NY Sirloin. Other than the regular chicken and sirloin (no salmon tonight), the only actual gluten-free menu option is tilapia?? Boy, do I ever hope the Connie gets all their swell tilapia, wheat, and pasta, pasta, pasta (thinking hamburger, hamburger, hamburger) reserves used up by November. Mmmm.... Earlier, someone suggested that perhaps X is trying to drive people to OVC for dinner. Significantly lower prep and staffing expense = another hidden service cut. I think there is probably some truth to that.

I vividly remember being served this same meat chunk in Luminae on Summit. My waiter immediately noticed I didn't like it, removed it, and brought something else, although have no recollection of what that was.

I'm hopeful for dining improvements and soon but don't have much trust left in X. The cynic in me suspects future bookings targets could be off and/or cancelations are up from the "old guard" of regulars. Management obviously recognizes they've gone a step too far and is acknowledging the negative feedback both to them (surveys) and about them (social media). As in, "Uh oh, we need to back up and return a few things (but as few as possible) that our pax have taken for granted for years; that should make them feel good about us again." Sending the A-Team to the Equinox is good PR, right up there with tossing a bone (Retreat access) to Zeniths, but is still just PR, costing X nothing. I personally couldn't care less about Retreat access but do care about food quality and selection for ALL venues. If you haven't seen the painfully anemic regular room service menu, take a look. No more concierge class breakfast options; no egg choices, just scrambled from that awful frozen liquid egg stuff. The rest of the regular RS menu has been gutted, too. However, since RS costs $12 now, its decline has largely gone unnoticed. We'll see how things go on my upcoming 16-night cruise. At best, I'm cautiously hopeful for MDR but not so gullible I don't already have a Plan B = 8 specialty dinners. Also bringing along a pen to write-in RS requests (remember when there were pens in a regular cabin?) as well as notes to F&B Mgr or HD if/when necessary. X's slash and burn management this year has caused me to seriously doubt their sincerity. Reminds me of the old military adage about the chain of command, "they only time they're not lying is when they're lips aren't moving." I'll believe it when dinner is served.

I do hope X is listening and backpedalling. I still have one cruise on X remaining this year and four in 2024. Two are set in stone (Feb/Mar, Luminae), one is a distinct maybe (Spring TA, specialties & OVC), and one is now officially a no-go (Fall TA). The last one has a sizeable deposit that I'm reluctant to lose but equally reluctant to move to something in 2025. To move it to 2025, things need to radically improve with the MDR food quality/choices. I've already booked a Fall 2024 TA on Oceania Vista (new in 2023) to try new and different (to me) dining options. BTW, a PH w/butler on the Vista is ~$1K cheaper and three nights longer than a SS on Apex TA. The best suite upgrades over SS on X for me are the true dining table and chairs in the suite and also on the balcony, plus the large bathroom, great shower, and NO bathtub! I've also booked Regent for Fall 2025; pretty good earlybird discount. If I really love next year's Vista experience, I can cancel Regent. Both Regent & Oceania have refundable deposits (less $100/$150 admin fee). X's deposit penalty really irks me; I don't want a FCC. If I had one wish for X, other than improving their food, it would be to design sky suites on future builds 50-50 showers/bathtubs so I'd have no need for an accessible cabin and could choose a location. As it stands now, I don't care for the locations of X's accessible sky suites on any class ship.

I'm also following the current daily MDR menu on Constellation and so far, no changes. I am encouraged by the positive reports about OVC offerings so even if the changes don't arrive by my sailing in three weeks, I'll survive splitting my evening meals between Tuscan and OVC.