Oceangoer2

My O long time cruising friends have told me the 'older' ships are iffy and to try the Regatta/Marina/Vista for a 'first experience'. Some of the older X ships also have these same concerns when you read reviews.

We're thinking of booking A1 or PH. Was there a reason you moved to a B3 from A1 concierge? Reading pros and cons on this forum compared with Celebrity. Seems the same critiques on both. We aren't lounge people so bars etc wouldn't influence our booking. We live a quiet life year round (except for our golf club activities in the summer months) so we look forward to 'people', excursions, and entertainment. Our cabin and balcony is also quite important. After viewing many videos, it seems the O balconies accommodate 2 chairs and small table and the PH doesn't seem much larger (maybe on Vista?). Celebrity has medium size balconies but Suite class has room enough for an additional lounger. No doubt the O upper suites have larger balconies. We have friends who are long time O sailors who book the longer cruises/suites and prefer the Terrace cafe on most evenings to specialty or main dining. They've cautioned us to temper (not lower or raise) our expectations as compared with Celebrity as we're long time (30+ cruises ) with Celebrity and more on most other lines. Each embodies a different experience for different tastes I suppose.

I compared Celebrity with hotel online pricing for this hotel. I booked with the hotel...it was a better price but may be due to the stay date. If you book with Celebrity do you have the same refundable/cancellation options? Is it payable at the time of the cruise final payment?

Thank you for your kindness. Hope your search is successful.

What an awful judgemental comment to make. Sometimes an oldie is a goodie! Also, there seemed to be cards in the slot which wouldn't be good 'floating' around.

Thank you for your objective and informative 'review' of your experience. We're considering a change from X to O (😉) and this tips the scale a little. Cruising is subjective however, so won't dissuade us from trying the product with eyes wide open. We're Elite + on X but changes from past experience, while minor, has lowered the expectation. The Vista seems to be a beautiful ship...we were docked beside her in Nov...and noted the outside decks, pool area, and aft. Your pics of the interior PH are quite nice, but I agree, the E ships bed facing ocean are lovely. Balcony seemed larger on E than O as well, which is important to us as we do spend some time out in the ocean air. Dining is always important to cruisers and most say the advantage of O is the menu etc offerings. Perhaps it was a timing issue for you which spoils the experience. Loved the wine pairings with the Cellar Masters Lunch..happy you were happy and had a positive dining experience to take home.

OMG ....how could you possibly sail more without actually moving from ship to ship to ship almost all year....😉. I enjoy following you on the X board and terribly jealous of your frequent sailings. Considering an O cruise in the near future so I check in with this board for others' experiences. So far, so good, and then I see the same complaints or variations of that I read on X. Marina and Vista would be my choice but the itineraries/schedules aren't working for 2024.

If you have a particular time or restaurant preference, I'd book it now. No harm done. If you change your mind onboard, then move to your booked time or open seating.

May I ask which cabin category/deck you were in. I'm 🤞for our Eclipse sailing. Definitely do not want a dilapidated cabin or dining room experience such as you describe.

I rec'd one about a month ago re our Nov. 23 cruise. Not phishy. I replied to it. Seemed they wanted my honest opinion. What they do with it is something else. But I didn't mind them asking.

How could it morph? Service charge and tax and grats? Will have to reconsider not buying a classic pkg...we were going to 'pay as we go' as you did. We're not heavy drinkers but include lunch/dinner wine/beer and juice/water throughout the day, the pkg. purchase might be a better option.

Am I wrong, but wasn't there an age requirement (12 yrs?) in Specialty dining at one time? Probably several years ago I think.

More choice would be good. On our next cruise we've decided to go back to paying for each beverage and then compare cost difference from our last cruise. I calculated the Classic pkg is approx $600 more than if we paid independently for our usual number of drinks per day.

My thoughts as well....don't really think it's possible to leave your cabin and not touch anything (holding the stair rail is probably a big virus conveyor). DH and I were talking about this yesterday and realized we're not as careful as we should be, but walking around the ship with our own hand sanitizers and rubber gloves for OV utensils seems to be a step too far for us. Would really appreciate self serving not being an option. However, pulling back chairs or other necessities to enjoy a meal can't be avoided. Wish all diners would just WASH THEIR HANDS often and use the offered HAND SANITIZER. And keeping our hands away from our face would also help.

Good morning Jim...by comparison, how was the dining and wine quality/offerings on the small ship (not Celebrity) you recently sailed through Canadian waters?

Lucky you....your planners name or starting initial? We have a planner (5 years) who is very happy she wasn't let go ; but she says there are only 10-13 CVP's now and she is handling all the clients of other 'retired' planners as well as her own. A few days or more for email and phone inquiries. We've had 3 planners in 15 years and it seems every 5 they're promoted/changed. All have been excellent until recently. She was always 'fine' until the last half of 2023. Thankfully I don't have reason to call very often unless changes to cabin or price reduction...which isn't happening anymore it seems...😕.

If you mean 'pool bar' as in the restaurant....no...it was 'removed' a few years ago. If you mean the 'umbrella cart'....it was there last November. Really miss the restaurant by the pool and waterway.

No....not eliminated but greatly reduced in number.

If you booked online the personal planning dept wouldn't know you want one. Phone the customer service number on their website directly 1-888-307-8413 and request. It will be interesting to know if they assign one to you. The staff has dramatically been reduced. They may direct you to general service which will address your concerns/bookings/etc but it will not be 'personal'....a different contact each time you call, but a human contact ☺️. I've had a planner for years but service has changed; takes quite a while for an email or phone reply as she's very busy with increased clientele and reduced number of planners.

Do you know the charge for wine by the bottle, eg Decoy ?

And .... would you be a contributor? 😉

Pick your poison...😉 Never tried Oakville but...there's this cheap stuff at $299 per bottle: PNV Robert Mondavi Winery Cabernet Monastery Block ToKalon Vineyard, 2016 750ml : and then there is this at $6.99 a box:

Napa and which is the low end stuff...LOL?

Do you have any idea what the charge would be for Mondavi Cab by the bottle? Can't find bottle prices on any X listing.