keesar

Generally, the "specials" are always the same on the ship. Same as booking online with Celebrity except for getting more OBC and a reduced deposit. Your travel agent may offer you some incentives and you need to compare. If the agent is a big one who has reserved a block of rooms, you may do better there. I have found the prices are about the same with most agents.

On the Equinox and Beyond, the brand of butter being offered was Grassland. Real butter. And I love and know my butter.

By the way, when we were on Equinox, a technician came into our room (not at our request) and installer a booster for the WIFI. The service was excellent. But as mentioned, there are several factors that may affect the strength of signal.

I usually sail in Aqua and have noticed that there are more choices on the MDR dinner menus than in Blu. The quality, in my opinion, has remained consistently good in Blu. Same with the excellent service there. As for the Buffet, the meats at the carving station at lunch and dinner were tender and delicious. Same with the sides there. There was a variety of cheeses including Blue Cheese. Fresh fruit. Paella was outstanding. Pizza has been consistently bland over the years.

We were told the options were either the $60 a la carte or the Tasting Menu with wine pairings. I asked about using our drink plan on the Tasting Menu but was told 'no'. On the a la carte menu, there was no problem ordering a couple of appetizers, desserts as we did that and shared. This was on the Beyond.

You may be able to do so if you get the Premium Plan. Not with the Basic. Right now I believe you cannot purchase the Basic Plan unless you get it as part of a package with drinks and tips. We had mixed results with the Premium Plan depending on where the ship was located and the number of cruisers using the service.

On the Beyond, the wines in the pairing were not covered by the Premium Package. We were told that they are "unique" wines specifically chosen for the menu. We were surprised to hear that. At least that was the case on our cruise. You had to pay the full amount and no discounts if you had a Plan. We ordered a la carte and used our Plan and relied upon the expertise of the wine steward.

I was wondering if the burgers were already cooked and just reheated before being served. Also, the menus are tweaked throughout the year.

When we sat down, our server gave us 2 options. One was the regular a la carte menu and the other was the Tasting Menu. The Tasting Menu came with wine pairings and was a little over double the cost.

We thought the food was very good on the Beyond. No complaints on this end. I did not notice any "lower quality items" except for the burgers in Mast Grill and mediocre pizza. The buffet was the same from my perspective from past sailings.

I have been asked to be the sitter for the dogs. For our first Celebrity cruise, we did a 4 or 5 day one on the Century just to make sure we both liked it. I guess a cruise is better than dragging 2 young children through Wally World.😚 Thank you for all the tips so far.

There was a sale to upgrade from Basic to Premium prior to sailing. We also get 30% off being Elite. You cannot get both online. I called and got the sale plus the Elite discount. Great deal. Separately, you will get 90 free Premium minutes in a separate account aside from any Basic or Premium Plan. It will appear as an option when you log on.

Totally agree with you. Eden was fantastic in terms of service, food and view.It filled up months before the cruise. Many good choices there. Rooftop Grill is really good but keep an eye on the weather. I would not consider Fine Cut as an upscale steakhouse restaurant. Steaks were fatty and the sides were over-rated. I have had better meals at national family steakhouses. I would not pay the premium to dine there. Better choices on board.

Yes and yes. There were round type hooks on the inside of the door. And in one of the draws, there was a hair dryer.

Neighbors want to take their first cruise with 3 and 5 year olds next April. I have been asked for assistance. What cruise line do you recommend and how long should the first cruise be considering children that age? Two rooms or one? They looked at Disney but thought it was pricey. Thank you for your thoughts!

No, both passengers do NOT have to upgrade. FYI, I found it best by calling Celebrity prior to boarding. That way I got the sale price and then was able to apply my Elite discount on top of that.

The door was across from the bathroom as you enter the room. Not in the hallway. On one instance, we had a noisy neighbor and some muffled sound did come through. Most neighbors are considerate and there was no problem.

On our Equinox cruise, there was a DJ at the pool with very limited live music. Oceanview is open on a limited basis after 9 pm. Mainly bland pizza, pasta, salad and fruit bars, and desserts. No sandwiches. Most of the action at night takes place in the Plaza with live music and dancing. Not like my experiences at Royal Caribbean. Comedians are hit or miss. Each one will usually have an Adult performance late one evening.

It is important to know your pricing. I had booked an Aqua Class room on the Ascent. Booked at $5400 and then it moved to $6200 and then to $7400. Now it has been fluctuating from between $5600 and $5900.

A friend who gets them all the time did not get hers this time. I had to forward my link to her. Glad I follow this Board.

I hope Mom does not give out her social security number and date of birth to callers. I got a call from a person saying he was from a senior protection agency and wanted that information to make sure no one was trying to take advantage of me by opening credit cards, etc.

Arrive early or late to the buffet and try to find a place outside to have lunch. The Mast Grill is would not be my place to start a cruise.

You will get it for one device for each person. You can log on and off and then switch devices. For example, you could log on with your MacBook and then log off and then sign on to your iPhone. One device at a time...

On the Beyond, there were 2 menu options. One was a la carte. The other was a tasting menu with wine pairing. One was $60 plus an add on tip (Total=$72) and the other was about double if I recall. The people next to us did the wine pairing with food and there was alot of food. We each had one starter, one entree, and were ordered 3 desserts to share. Then there were 'surprise' items brought out by a chef. We enjoyed the view from the back of the ship.

Same menu every night in each of the 4 MDRs. And the food was great in Normandie as was the service. On the Beyond, no reservations were accepted and it was true Anytime Dining!