Loujul

We didn't in April aboard Celebrity Summit

Just off a back to back 2 weeks ago. My magnet hooks worked fine for hats and lightweight items.  Not so much for jackets.  I think perhaps I should have brought heavy duty hooks.  

Just back from a SOLD OUT cruise on the Celebrity Summit.  Everyone was tested before embarking and it was a great success.  No masks at all once you boarded.  We did a back-to-back and we were tested onboard the day before we docked from first leg right on the ship.  They have a complimentary Covid test team.  If you're afraid, it's best not to cruise.  For the rest of us, it's great to be back on the open seas!

Of course I'm disappointed.  When you plan a vacation, you choose your ship by the ports they will visit.  Canceling Dublin on an Ireland intensive cruise is crushing.  Arriving across the pond and spending money for airfare and precruise hotels add to the cost.  The cruise line should reimburse the cruiser for the loss of the port, but they don't consider this.  

52 minutes ago, Cruising is my passion said:

I know what may be today will not necessarily be the same in October. I am just looking for insight in to what others had to do when they went on the Apex when cruising began this past summer in Europe. 

We're booked on the Apex for September leaving from Amsterdam/British Isles and back to Amsterdam.  Wondering how Amsterdam handles US/Amsterdam/UK/Amsterdam/US with Covid vaxes and testing.  So many unanswered questions.  Hoping virus is under control by then.  

Yes!  I had the flu shot this past season and still got the flu.  Why would I expose myself to a vaccine for a virus that has several strains that they haven’t identified yet.  

15 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Cruise Withdrawal ???  Really ???

Feeling " bummed "  over missing a drink ??

I'd rather think how lucky I am to have cruised , will cruise again in the future , pass some time on CC and could absolutely care less when our next cruise will be. 

How about the people that have lost their jobs, can't pay their rent , have little money for food , are taking a " beating " on the Stock Market, or are or have family or friends that are sick with this virus. 

Trust me, they are not having " Cruise Withdrawal " .

IMO--- At a time like this , to have " cruise withdrawal "  is quite selfish.

Where I am it's cold , windy, and we have been quarantined since we returned to Canada.  

Don’t judge!

Definitely feeling sad over the cancellation of our two upcoming cruises.  Closest working vessel right now would be the Staten Island Ferry. 😒😩😩

On 2/2/2020 at 10:57 AM, morfred said:

I tip the first day at the Martini Bar and am happy to report that this tip i.e. bribe gets me excellent service for the rest of the cruise when I tip again. Not to be a wise guy but I usually have my drinks while others are frustrated waiting and cannot understand why they are waiting so long.

Is it fair? -I don't know. I just know that I never have to wait for a drink.

You are the reason that all tipping should be banned.  

13 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Ok, I know this will get some people flaming me, but here goes anyway.  IMHO it is time to stop the practice of letting suite guests eat in Blu on a 'space available basis'.  I am a regular Aqua Class passenger and now retired, sail Celebrity 7-8 cruises per year (some 10+ days).  My observations here are based on many, many nights in Blu.  I will also say that occasionally I do sail in suites and I have no issue with the changes I suggest.  I am a big believer that rules should be fair to everyone, and followed by everyone.

 

Why do I have that opinion?  With the revolutionizing of the ships, more Aqua Class cabins are being added.  Logically, this increases the number of passengers eating in Blu exponentially.  There is not room in Blu to add more tables (on M class at least, and little room on S class), so the restaurant is becoming more and more crowded.  On our last cruise on Reflection, which already had more AQ cabins even before any revolutionizing, there were extra tables crammed into Blu which made it less comfortable, more noisy, and still there were lines out the door 10-12 couples deep at all times before 8:30 p.m.  And yet suite guests were allowed in (I know this for a fact). 

 

Second, it has been our experience that most Maître d's do not follow the 'space available basis' rule (not saying it never happens, but we have yet to see it).  On our most recent cruise, the Maître d' actually told us that 1/3 of the suite guests were eating in Blu on a daily basis.  This did not sit well with us, as we had to wait for a table 6 out of the 7 nights of our cruise - getting a beeper and needing to go sit in a bar as there was no seating outside the M class Blu restaurant.  The wait times ranged from 15 to 45 minutes.  So much for the 'space available basis' rule. 

 

Third, when suite guests eat in Blu it has been our experience that extra 'perks' are offered to them that are not offered to everyone actually paying for the restaurant.   Specifically, at least on our Reflection cruise, they were allowed to order off the MDR menu which caused the waiters to have to make the long trek down to the MDR kitchen, meaning they were off the floor for as much as 10-15 minutes at a time (this info came from the waiters themselves).  This obviously considerably delayed service for everyone else.  It is not really an issue on M class as they share kitchen space, but on S class this should not be allowed.

 

Fourth, when in Luminae, the guests have the option of ordering off the MDR menu if they do not like their own menu (at least I know on S class they do).  So they already have two full menus to choose from.

 

Finally, AQ guests are not allowed to eat in Luminae, so why are suite guests allowed to eat in Blu??

 

On a more subjective level, it is my opinion that this is wrong, and is just not fair to the paying Aqua Class passengers!  I understand why the process was initiated back in the days before Luminae.  Celebrity created a special, nicer (than MDR) restaurant and suites (who paid more) were not allowed to use it.  So they decided to let them enter on a space available basis.  Ok, I can understand that.  But now there IS a special restaurant that is nicer than Blu and yet the practice continues.  They've added more AQ cabins, and yet the process continues.  This is just not right and it is time to stop the practice.  Suite guests sailing with non-suite customers have the option of paying for them to eat in Luminae with them.   If they will not completely stop the practice, perhaps rather than limiting suite entry into Blu on the not-usually-followed practice of 'space available' suite guests should be required to pay to eat in Blu as they are taking up space originally planned for AQ passengers.  That would at least slow down the practice.

So happy for your post.  We sailed the Infinity in January and every night there was a minimum of 30 minute wait for Blu.  We were furious!  I made sure that I told Celebrity on my exit survey.   I will never book Aqua Class again.

On 1/29/2020 at 2:32 PM, ROYALBOY said:

I am asking for opinions. We have never been cheap, we have already prepaid our February cruise gratuities, and we always give extra to our room steward, and restaurant staff. However, it seems like Celebrity is beginning to use these as salary for their staff, instead of what I believe gratuities should be for. I understand that you can avoid the daily debit to your onboard account by speaking with guest services. Do people do that and just pay those who you want to personally? Please don’t beat me up but $400 for a 10 day cruise seems like a lot, since I do not know where most of it is going. Thanks

You are absolutely right. I’m sure Celebrity stockholders are loving the fact that we’re now supplementing salaries, which in turn means greater dividends. On a ship with 3,500 passengers at $15.50 per day for gratuities, you do the math.  Then add in the 20% gratuity for drinks.  On the last cruise we never saw our steward.  There used to be a steward and an assistant.  They cut that and the cleanliness of the room has suffered. Take a look under your bed. 

I’m only old on the outside. On the inside, I’m 17  and still loving the Woodstock vibes. 

I was on the same cruise and wasn’t able to get a decent time to eat at Blu. We were told that there would be a 20 to 30 minute wait on any night we went there, between 6:30 and 7:30.  I guess there were a lot of people not rushing.   Totally frustrating!!!  We ate in the main dining room every night.   Would never recommend booking this class.  The noise from the upper deck was annoying as well as the wind creaking through the veranda doors.   We never saw our room steward during the entire cruise and the dog food they placed in our room impersonating an afternoon snack was insulting.  Don’t get me wrong, we are die hard Celebrity cruisers, but if this was my first Celebrity cruise, I would consider a different one in the future.

I am you.  It’s not the benefits, it’s the title!  Haha. We’re 25 points away from Elite so I booked a quick 5 day Caribbean out of Miami in Aqua Class so we’d be Elite before our Dublin cruise next spring.  Husbands just don’t get it.  😂

Yes, Cafe Baccio. My fav iced caramel macchiato.

2 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

 

hm.. why wouldnt you sail in one if celebrity named and promoted it as an oceanview with windows that open?

(and priced between a regular ov and a regular veranda)

 

 

That’s a perfect way to describe these cabins.  

I agree.  It is so difficult to navigate this new format. I get so frustrated. 

23 hours ago, hcat said:

Loujul,,,,did you post this on the Cabin spreadsheet as well?...see link above,.

Yes, I did.

On 12/11/2018 at 8:53 AM, TeeRick said:

 

That seems unusual compared to other ships.  Luminae usually is very accommodating and will retrieve whatever wine or drink that you desire.  In this case they had the wine in Normandie so it was stocked on the ship.  It sounds like growing pains with the service.  Again something that could be easily corrected hopefully.  Did you relate this story back to the Luminae Maitre' D once you found the wine in Normandie?

After this incidence, we chosen not to return to Luminae.  We thought the staff was very pretentious and the food unappealing.  Not a good first impression at all. We did tell the sommelier in Normandie and also the Bar Manager.  

Date of Cruise: 12/6/18

Ship: Edge

Cabin #:9205

Deck #:9

Cabin Category:Suite

Cabin Location:Midship

Bed Position:Faces the Veranda

Balcony Type: 

Balcony/Window Size:

Balcony/Window View/Obstruction:None

Balcony Overhang?:

Magic Carpet Issues?: All glass, very, very hot

Noise Issues?: No

Wind Issues?: No

Connecting Cabin? Where Does it Connect?:

Suite Details:. Nice size. Balcony chairs extremely uncomfortable.   Didn't like the cabin photo of a swimmer.

Advantages/Problems/Comments: shower leaks along tub rim flooding the bathroom floor

Would You Book It Again?: NO

Photo Links: 

Sailed on 12/6.  Suite Cabin 9205. Shower is in the tub.  When you shower the water runs along the top edge of the tub and then onto the floor.  They sent maintenance to fix it and they put some kind of caulking tape under the glass.  So after that, it leaked out a different place.  So annoying. My DH thinks the tub is not level.  

On 12/7/2018 at 1:31 AM, kkmiausa said:

Are you saying that suite guests cannot eat in the main dining rooms? Is this only on Edge or all Celebrity ships?

We were in Suite 9205.  We only ate in Luminae the first night. Very limited menu and we were told they did not have my husband's choice of wine.  For the remaining two nights we ate in Normandie and lo and behold, they carried my husband's wine.  Suite guests can eat anywhere. 

No plastic, but the downside is that these metal bottles of water contain other ingredients. Check out the can before you drink. 

You won’t miss much. We were there two weeks ago on our transatlantic on Serenade of the Seas. We were disappointed. There’s really nothing there of interest and the worst experience is that the shop we stopped at refused to take any currency other than British pounds. No credit cards accepted either. They wouldn’t take our British pounds because they said they were too old, not the new colorful ones. Got the impression that we weren’t welcome. Be happy that Celebrity was smart enough to reroute to somewhere where they welcome cruisers.

7 days Seranade.

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