sunshine nana

For a few hundred dollars, we can get a Royal suite instead of a Celebrity suite on the Constellation for a 5 night cruise next year. I have never cruised in anything higher than an S1 which we liked, but we wanted to have a separate bedroom. We like the fact that the Celebrity suite seems to jut out giving a view forward and aft from the balcony and we like being on the 8th deck. The Royal would have more room and a hot tub on the balcony, but it is on deck 6 and does not seem to have a forward and aft view.

Can anyone give advice? Thanks.

I have to say I feel for the OP. Celebrity is making a big deal about the "free" beverage package. Their phone service is so slow, most people resort to a TA. And then to find out they weren't going to get the beverage package because of a screw up at a "closed on Sunday" major customer service corporation is unacceptable.

My first post on CC inquiring which Celebrity cabin was most like a Princess mini-suite was also met by snotty posters. I almost gave up on booking Celebrity because I thought the passengers were rude. I tried again in a few months and we are booked on our 3rd Celebrity cruise.

Thanks for the quick reply on the T pool. I really enjoyed the Sanctuary pool on Equinox on our first Celebrity cruise, so I'm looking forward to seeing what Constellation has.

We are booked on the Constellation for next year and I'm wondering which pool is the T pool. I don't see it on the deck plans. Thanks

Before our first trip to Venice, there were quite a few warnings on CC to be on the lookout for added fees for service, music or sitting in a certain area and also for bread.That was in 2010 and our neighbors had been caught in it. Everyone said to ask specific questions before ordering to determine extra charges. Is that still the case? We are going again to Venice in a few months.

We did see a shuttle bus from P.Roma to the ship, but it did not say NCL or any line. It turned out, anyone could use it. Another time, we walked all the way pulling our luggage. It wasn't too bad, we are early 60's, no mobility problems and we each had only one carryon. There were also taxis. If you can travel light, it is much easier. We have done 2 seven night cruises with one night pre or post with just a carryon. We do dress up for formal nights too. The main thing is to limit the shoes!

It's on page 132 of the 2014-15" The Americas" brochure. The page is titled "Celebrity Millennium Class Suites". Under dining:" One complimentary dinner for two (cruise of 7 nights or less) and two complimentary dinners for two (cruise of 8 nights or more) in a specialty restaurant." This is very straight forward and it is in the brochure I was given at a travel agency last week.

Thanks for the support from most. I will see what happens and report back, but it will be April of 2015! I won't let it spoil the cruise, but DH does enjoy a good steak specialty!

The perk is printed in the brand new brochure for 2014-2015. This is not an old copy that was changed. Many people book cruises through a TA that has given them the newest brochure. Those people never even look at the website that most of the time does not work. Many times, I get an error message of "sorry..." on the website. We are paying a lot of money to be in an expensive suite booked a year ahead, not getting a last minute deal. I expect to receive all the perks listed in the brochure from the travel agent.

I was asked what we liked and didn't like about the aft penthouse suite. Our first was 2008 on the Jade and second was 2010 on the Gem. What we liked: large cabin with tub, dining table and huge balcony overlooking wake. We liked the curtain around the bed so one person could be sleeping. We liked the special parties for suite guests, separate embarkation waiting area, priority tendering.

What we didn't like: Small love seat instead of couch.

Thanks for the replies. I am planning to ask for the perk and see what happens. I don't see how they can say no when it is printed in the newest literature they have at the travel agencies.

I'm wondering how Celebrity can deny the perk when it is listed in their newest booklets. Has anyone on a 5 night cruise been denied? I would like to hear from someone who has taken a 5 night in a suite. Thanks

The 2014-2015 The Americas booklet says on page 132 "One complimentary dinner for two (cruise if 7 nights or less). "We booked a suite for 2015 of 5 nights. The website says the cruise has to be 6 nights or more. I expect they will honor the printed booklet since it is dated 2014-2015. Has anyone been denied the dinner? Thanks

We have been in an aft penthouse suite twice and there was a big difference in how we were treated compared to those in the Haven area. The concierge escorted the higher suite people first onto the ship and we ended up the first time with an employee who did not know where our suite was. We had to show him. We found our own way to Cagneys. The second time, we were left to embark by ourselves along with those not in suites. Neither time did the butler show us how to use the coffee maker etc. The concierge the first time did not even recognize us as suite dwellers, but she fell all over our friends who were upgraded from a balcony to Haven at the dock (this was Nov. of 2008 right after the stock market crash when many canceled). Our second concierge Ruth was very rude to us and did not attempt to do anything. The hostess in Cagneys never remembered us and made us show our cards every day! We were never informed of the chocolate buffet or escorted off the ship. We loved the extra space and the aft balcony and eating at Cagneys. That made the extra cost worth it to us, and we would book an aft suite again, but would not have expectations of special treatment by the butler or concierge .As you can imagine, we did not tip either concierge anything and the butlers got only a tip for bringing us breakfast a few days. We have been generous in tipping all stewards extra and the butlers on Celebrity have been tipped extra even though their tip is included in the daily charge.

Alaska

Baltics

around UK

E.Med in that order. Others were good (Hawaii, W. Med. Panama Canal and N.Eng., but the first 4 were incredible.

We are booked at the Marriott near the airport. The hotel will pick you up free at the airport. You can check in and then take the bus into Plaza Roma from in front of the hotel that runs every half hour or so. Then you can do what you want in Venice and return to sleep. It is also convenient if you are flying out from Venice. It is not as convenient as staying at Plaza Roma and there are not good restaurants nearby, but it is much less expensive. We did this a few years ago after a cruise and saw as much as we wanted to see in Venice before returning to the hotel to sleep and then fly out the next day. We are staying at the Marriott this fall the day before we board for extra time in Venice. We are then staying one night on our ship in Venice before sailing, so we should have plenty of time to see a lot.

Hi to Cynbar. We went back to Athens on our 1st Celebrity cruise last May and this time we went to Corinth. It was a great tour and we really enjoyed it. Since then, we took a Princess partial in the Panama Canal which we really enjoyed. We are on a Silhouette cruise next Sept. starting in Venice. We had planned NCL, but it was only 7 nights, so we switched to Celebrity. We hope to do an NCL suite cruise again next year. We have never been bothered by the smoking, but do plan to eat dinner in specialties. Have fun.

The butler's tip is included in the automatic tips unlike NCL where the butler is not included. We tipped beyond that for special service.

Cynbar hit it exactly right. We were on one cruise together on the Jade and being in suites made it great! Celebrity suites are great as is the food and service in all dining areas, but the price is much higher. If you can get in an NCL suite and eat in specialties most nights for less total than Celebrity, do it! We found the entertainment much less exciting on Celebrity, but we were on a port-intensive trip and didn't care. I would avoid NCL during spring break as I think the atmosphere might be too "fun" for us.

The best perk of the Sky Suites, I think are the larger spaces in the cabin and bathroom over a balcony or AQ or Concierge cabin. There is more space for storage, a coffee table that can be raised to eating height, a sofa and tub. Also foot stools on the balcony which some lower cabins have, but some do not. We really enjoyed having the butler bring iced tea and snacks, the free specialties and Blu which we never had any problem getting into. I think it is the way to get the extra space on Celebrity. We book mini-suites on Princess, but Celebrity does have that category.

The Delta shuttle is very hard to find. Many of the people in uniform are not able to help. If you have a Delta card, go to one of the Delta desks and make them help you. We have never been able to go from one terminal to another is less than 3 hours! Also, if the weather is bad, you may have to go outside in the snow or rain and carry your bags up and down stairs. The best thing is if you can find the Delta shuttle. It is hidden behind a post.

Silhouette is Celebrity.

If you do this on the ship, be sure the bar code is fully printed. We paid over $20 for computer time on a Princess cruise to do this and when we got to the airport, one of the boarding passes did not have a fully printed boarding pass and was useless. Too late to do anything but do it over at the airport after we had gone all the way through the check-points. We had to go back and start over.

We have had penthouse suites on NCL and never felt different from anyone else just because we had a separate dining room for breakfast and lunch.After teaching for many years, I do not like buffets. They remind me of the school cafeteria. It is no different from some people eating at the buffet, some in the MDR and some in specialties. This is not different from some taking ship's excursions and some taking smaller private excursions. Some people pay more on Princess to be in the sanctuary and some are happy with the main pool area. If this change makes more money for Celebrity, it will be better for all who sail Celebrity.

I'm happy this worked out for you. I thank you for starting this thread. We also have a nice OBC coming and before we took the 15% discount a few months ago, we also had free gratuities and OBC of $300 from Celebrity. I had considered booking excursions now and then canceling and rebooking on board. Thanks to you, I won't do that. We have made arrangements for private excursions with our roll call and since we do not have the 123 anymore, I'm sure we will use our OBC for gratuities (we have traditional dining) and wine.