johhnnyt

So if I read this thread correctly, LLP said there would be a new level by the end of June?

 

It is only Aug. 9; we should probably give it some more time ;)

Someone asked LLP on twitter a few months ago(June 15) if there was a plan for a new level between Elite + and Zenith, and she said it was "still under consideration, and we will make an announcement once decided"

I'm hoping they announce it while we're on the Presidents Day cruise, but that's hopeful optimism as I don't think they will create a new level

Was on Infinity in May for a 11 Night Pacific Coastal

Awesome voyage, One of the best well organized and friendly crews I've ever experienced

We had Captain Berdos, and HD Bosco Pires running the ship, and they are a flawless team

The ship might be a bit older than some, but have a crew that goes the extra mile makes up the difference. Found Luminae and Tuscan my two favorite dining venues.

Rooftop Terrace intimate great place to escape to for reading or a movie

Looking forward to joining the Infinity in February for the Antarctic/SA voyage departing from Buenos Aries

Does American Airlines participate in this service? I think we have to book our flight from Miami after 11:30 am.

 

 

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Yes American does

as does Alaska, Delta, Jet Blue, and United

Sorry to hear they didn't show more compassion to your situation, just glad health wise things are getting better. In 2016 I met a woman onboard who was going through a like situation and needed to fly home mid cruise from the Canary Islands. She was having difficulties communicating her dilemma to guest relations, and I don't think they (guest relations agent) realized the urgency of the situation involved.

I had met the GRM a day or two before and introduced the passenger to Julie. Julie mobilized the resources needed for her to get a smooth transition off the ship. As well intended as most of the guest relations team is, if it's a serious issue I would ask to speak to the GRM , Assistant Hotel Director, or Hotel Director, they're better trained to deal with these issues, and at least from what I've seen do great with followups with the off ship resources as well.

Just glad he's on the mend.

We questioned why the alcoves faced the lawn and were told that if they faced the water, there would be people walking right past you all day as there is a path between the grass and the railing. We were lucky...no one was on the grass the entire time we used the alcove so it was peaceful.

I found the same true, even on a bright beautiful sea day with a full load of passengers onboard, since the alcoves faced the center of the lawn, if you saw a 10 people a day pass by on the grass that would be a lot

 

Bottom line: don't think we'll go back to Celebrity

Well, hope you enjoy Princess

I have used them twice, and really liked it both times

On Silhouette tried it for two days, and liked the service package that came with the reservation (bottled water, fruit and cheeses, and butler only a phone call away)

On Reflection reserved one for five days, one day beautiful, second day was rainy so we cancelled it by 0930 (so no charge), next 3 days were gorgeous.

You can seat 4 comfortably but really only room for two to lounge. Gave us a good deal when we reserved, as only paid for 3/4 days we used, the other day (and the rain day) they didn't charge us for.

Best one I saw was offered onboard when we were on a TA in 2016

They offered a few perks AND OBC for booking a TA for 2018 or 2019

All you had to do is put down $100, and then you could pick the cruise in the future

So rare that you find any DEALS for TA's , so thought this was great

Anyone now what version iPads are being sold on the ship?

I bought an iPad Pro 2 10.5-Inch (Wi-Fi Only) when I was on Infinity in May. It was same price as the Apple store online, but was able to use $300 in OBC towards the purchase, so at least it gave me the illusion that I got it at a good price

We do not take alcohol out of Michael's Club because I think there is some written rule somewhere that drinks were supposed to be consumed in Michael's Club only. We witness one of the bartenders protesting softly to a guest that guests are not allowed to take the alcohol out of Michael's Club. We saw this guy a couple of times who would come in during the late afternoon and requested for 2 glasses of alcohol (sometimes wine, other times hard liquor) for his wife and himself. He said to her "Nonsense. I do this every night." She folded. I have also not seen Michael's Club Concierge say anything.

 

For us, it is worth the extra money to pay for alcohol when dining to not get into the situation like that gentleman. We saw him at Luminae a few times and he and his wife brought alcohol in each time. I personally think it looks cheap.

It doesn't just look cheap, it is.

I feel bad for the staff in those situations because if anyone gets in trouble for it they will not the guest that broke the rule, it will be the staff member that was just trying to accommodate.

We were on one cruise and the cc hostess allowed a couple to bring in two of their friends one night to a cc event that had some free drinks. He said he was elite + and in a Royal Suite. Next night guy came back with four friends, and after the cc hostess said she allowed the night before as a simple one time courtesy, and couldn't allow it again, the man raised his voice and threatened her with some type of retaliation.

Luckily the GRM was nearby and took the passenger aside, and escorted him and his party out. They fumed the rest of the trip. I found the guy totally tasteless as he had no regard for the simple rules, other passengers, or the team onboard.

I booked for 5 days (all sea) on a Reflection TA last year, when I saw the bill, they only charged me for three days, so I was happy

Quick review of our 7/23-30th Caribbean Cruise on the Equinox. This was our 2nd run on this ship as we did a Mediterranean Cruise in August 2014.

 

Deserving to be singled out is the Silhouette Restaurant where we ate every dinner. While we booked 'Anytime' dining, after 2 days we had it moved to a 6pm seating with our waitstaff, headlined by Carlton and assisted by Vira. They were spectacular. Carlton is excellent at his job. Communicates beautifully, a wonderful sense of humor and having worked for Celebrity for 10 years, he knows what he's doing and how it's all supposed to be done. And they work so well, without being overbearing. Sit back, relax and enjoy a fine meal. To David, our bar runner, I hope he's yours as well. Great young man, who genuinely seemed excited to see us, whether it was in the restaurant, theater or Cafe Al Bacio. And he WILL remember what your beverage(s) of choice.

 

Overall....2 trips with Celebrity after 2 with Princess and 1 Carnival....my opinion? We booked and Alaskan Cruise for June on the Solstice. The exact same trip we did years ago on the Golden Princess. The staff is BY FAR the best staff I have the pleasure to encounter on a cruise. Loved them!!! We felt like we were treated like Kings and Queens, from our room stewards, to the restaurant, the casino, even the onboard shops. Kudos to Celebrity....

 

The ugly......I found, at times, the way people talked to the staff reprehensible and disgusting. I cannot fathom what makes some people feel they can talk down, or attempt to belittle other people. This is 2017, and some still haven't learned to treat others with respect and appreciation. I hope that we went out of our way to make our team feel like we felt they were doing an incredible job. Besides being old school and handing out gratuity envelopes to them the last night, I also took the time to fill out 4 comment cards. Yeah....that probably took me a whole 10 minutes of my time to do. After all they did for us in 7 days.....you get it.

 

Treat everyone well, and you can make a difference or be that difference!!!

Happy sails,

 

Andy

Great review Andy,

I appreciate .....that you appreciate how much hard work is involved by the crew. I know what you mean about the comment cards,and tips I do the same thing, and it means so much to all involved. Good Job!

Done. See the starter post for this thread.

 

Walt

Arno will be returning to keep this thread up-to-date following his Summit cruise. Thanks for everyone's patience while this got sorted out.

 

We moderate the boards according to our community guidelines. To review Cruise Critic's Guidelines that all members agree to when they join the community, click here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/faq.php?faq=guidelines.

Thanks Walt and Anne, I figured you guys would get it done.

Hello fellow cruisers:

 

I searched the forums and didn't find anything recent on this topic. My fiance and I (soon to be husband) will be sailing on the Equinox in late August for our honeymoon. Since it's a celebration I was thinking about noting in our reservation that it is our honeymoon. Does noting it actually do anything?

 

We are both shy people and so we don't necessarily want it made a big public deal (i.e., a group singing "happy birthday" in the MDR if it was a birthday) but if noting it would get us something special like a card in our room or a special dessert or something than I will do so.

 

Anyone have any experience about what they do (or don't do) if you note it's a honeymoon?

 

Thank you in advance for an insight.

One suggestion I would make is to ask for your request once you are onboard with either the the Event Coordinator, GRM, or Maitre'd . If you want a special desert on day X of a cruise to celebrate an event, ask for one.

I'm always surprised when I see people disappointed or annoyed that a certain event was not celebrated the way they had hoped. I think with 2800+ passengers onboard, you have to make clear what you would like to happen and when to a person that can make that wish come true.

It seems like Royal Suite is a good idea if you're the couple getting the bedroom and not the fold out couch, otherwise 2 sky suites is the hands down winner

We are now closer to departure. Anyone have any information?

You might get lucky and have Niina as your HD while onboard. My opinion is she the best Hotel Director in the fleet. I know she's been onboard Millenium for a while, but if you are lucky enough to sail with her you'll be in for a excellent voyage

Just shows you how nutty a person can be even on a glorious holiday like a cruise. So sorry for the family.

As I've said previously: Celebrity decides what promotions and perks they will offer in an attempt to generate business from a target group. Some people just will not accept any program that will challenge their perceived status. You've seen some of that reflected in this thread. Just take advantage of anything you receive and enjoy your cruise.

Couldn't agree more. As a guest of Celebrity, and it's club, they can make changes at any time. It's their club subject to their day to day policies.

Some want to do for others. Some want to keep for themselves. I hope I'm in the first group.

I'm guessing you are

If you look at post #51 of this thread

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2254019&page=3

You can see the details from the Celebrity Luggage Valet forms of airlines, times, etc

JetBlue, American, Delta, Alaskan and United are the participating airlines, and as mentioned looks like only available for MIA, FLL , and SEA airports

Flights have to depart after 1130 AM for FLL

Flights have to depart after 200 PM for MIA

I'm looking forward to using it in September for our Equinox sailing since my flight isn't till about 330pm

Does make sense to have someone below the HD and GRM to deal with problems/issues with suite guests. It does appear that on Edge class they won't have a Michael's club but instead have the Retreat Lounge for suite guests, the Suite Manager position will already exist when the Edge class comes to life.

Last week on the Infinity, a crew member came outside and we asked him to take a picture of us in front of the Hubbard Glacier. We noticed On his name tag that he was the hotel director, Bosco. We chatted with him for a while and mentioned that we would be celebrating our anniversary that night. When we got back to the room that night there were rose petals on the bed with towels made into swans forming a heart. There was also a bottle of champagne, a beautiful flower arrangement, and some delicious chocolates. We will never never forget that anniversary and how special Bosco and our cabin attendant made it for us.

Bosco really is a one in a million person, I think of my top two HD onboard Celebrity

I usually budget ~$100/day for gambling, and mark it off as an expense as it usually is, but do enjoy it just like some enjoy the shows or the spa.

Luckily I think I'm about 40% / 60%. I think about 40% of the time I come home with more than I started with at the casino, 60% of the time less. It helps that I haven't drank in 20 years, as I still remember the days of using Vegas drinking logic of "well I lost $500, problem is I've been betting too little" .

One of my favorite voyages though I was playing roulette on the last night of a cruise. I think I was down about $500-600 for the cruise. A guy stood next to me curious about the game, so I explained the nuances of betting to him since he never bet before.

He bought $50 worth of chips and it was soon about $400. It was getting late and the casino was to close in an hour or two, so he suggested we both bet the number 36, which we did. I had bet $5, he bet $10, it wins, so I received $175 and he received $350. Well wouldn't you know it 36 came in 4 more times, and we both bet it in increasing amounts. I walked away with about $2500, he ended up with about $8000.

The Australian lady that was running table told me "See Mr Tolliver, it doesn't matter what happens all the other days, all that matters is what you leave the ship with, and you both can walk away right now with your bounty"

AND WE DID

The best bargains for Choice Air are one way international flights.

Agree just booked a JFK--->FCO (Rome) for $1100, Delta wanted $4K

They are good too with Refundable International Round Trip First /Business

We have one for February 2018 JFK--->EZE (Buenes Aires) in First for $3200 and it was refundable, American wanted $7200 for same flights

So many acts of kindness directed to us while on the ships, but this happened off the ship:

We were at Miami Airport waiting for a flight to Rome when we spotted some crew who were joining the ship. Alberto had been our Assistant Cabin Attendant on a previous cruise. Alberto and his wife are an absolutely wonderful couple. They ran over when they spotted us and greeted us warmly. Alberto insisted that he be allowed to carry our carry on bags to the plane and place them in the overhead bins. I tried to resist telling him that he was "off the clock", but to no avail. We've been cruising Celebrity for many years and many amazing members of the crew have become family.

What a truly beautiful gesture. It does seem like an almost familial environment sometimes. It's the little personal gestures like you mention is one of the biggest reasons I keep coming back.