chemmo

Agree, this is a fabulous picture!

Thank you for your review. Promising to do something and then not delivering is definitely worse than if they had said “Sorry we don’t deliver water and soda to suites anymore but please take some now and come back for more as you need it”. I am not surprised you didn’t see anyone else from the ‘team’ if you didn’t ask for it. The new set up is definitely responsive rather than proactive…. I do understand what you mean when you say the service was “less than”…I remember having a slightly “”less than” cruise on Reflection one year. We tried to put our finger on what was wrong we came to the conclusion that it was a combination of several small things… A butler who was less visible than usual… Concierge staff in the lounge who greeted us as Mr and Mrs Ummm three days into the cruise. Longer waits for drinks in the lounge, sometimes my husband’s lager being delivered immediately but then a wait for my Cosmopolitan… A sommelier in Luminae who came over and said “Red or white” with one bottle of each in his hands. Lack of attention to detail in the lounge (even when asked cognac coming in a tumbler)… All really petty but all combined they did show a casualness which hadn’t been our usual experience. Hard to know if your experience is a consequence of change or simply a lack of attention to detail by the staff on board…

I think I could enjoy a week on the aircraft…Food and seating look fabulous!

A couple of ideas spring to mind… Totally agree with the Asia options. Singapore and Hong Kong make great starting and finishing points for a South East Asia cruise. Great places in their own right for pre and post cruise stays…Happy memories of sailing into Halong Bay….magical… Alternatively why not combine a cruise with a land stay? Look at your itineraries for Scandinavian cruise (which I think start and end in Southampton or Amsterdam) for Celebrity then add in either a UK tour or a European tour. In the UK you could enjoy a few days in London then work out a pleasant slow route to Southampton visiting Windsor Castle, Winchester, Salisbury, Stonehenge and the New Forest (just a few possible options) before boarding in Southampton. In Europe, you could fly into Paris for a few days, perhaps then move on to Brussels for a few more days then move on to Amsterdam to pick up your cruise…Both of these options could be done as fly drive or by using trains/coaches. For the UK one I would suggest fly drive for the European one I would look at trains… We have done several holidays with land stays first and it works really well. Touring is tiring so finishing an intensive tour by boarding a cruise ship is always a pleasure…

It all depends on which Retreat perks are important to you…We have cruised both RS and PH on Eclipse and loved our cruises. The RS balcony is a good size and the room really well appointed. We enjoy the in suite bar set up and the unlimited speciality dining. When we have booked a ship with a Retreat deck we have used it very little usually preferring the Solarium. Given the choice of Silhouette or Eclipse I would choose Silhouette for the extra restaurants and the Retreat deck but it wouldn’t be a deal breaker. Personally now I am more concerned about the maintenance/condition of the ships that haven’t been updated rather than the addition of new facilities. Reviews on condition of these ships are varied. We are booked on Infinity next year and hope that during its short dry dock some painting and replacement of chairs etc happens. I can live with a bit of shabby but not if it has gone to tatty…

Well said, I think the art of enjoying cruising does involve ‘making the most’ of any given situation including late arrivals and the weather…

Safe journey to you both! Make the most of every minute…Cruising lends itself to quality couple time. After saying that so looking forward to reading your posts so keep them coming!

We often have a full bottle left. If we do we usually wrap carefully and take it with us. If we have a part bottle we leave it if we are flying straight home but will take it with us if we have a land stay before flying. A few years ago we bought a plastic liquor bottle from a $ shop….just spotted it. Less bulky, heavy and less likely to leak than an opened glass bottle.

Never seen one on Celebrity but we have done one on RC. Not a very interesting itinerary but definitely a good location for some almost guaranteed winter sunshine. One interesting thing about the cruise was the diversity of guests. Some from all over Europe, a handful from the US and Canada and quite a lot of people from Dubai itself.

Often B2B cruises have alternating itineraries so although you may return to your starting point in the middle your two cruises may be different (Eastern Caribbean then Western Caribbean). In the Mediterranean quite simply there is such a variety of things to do at each port a ‘double’ cruise even with the exact same itinerary can be totally different. For example, first visit to Naples see Pompeii, second time climb Vesuvius, third time a vineyard tour and there is still the coast, Capri and Naples still not looked at… Confession time, there is something wonderful about last night of the first cruise enjoying a leisurely drink and seeing fellow cruisers needing to go back to their room to put out their luggage…. We have kept the same room when doing B2B simply because it is so easy…you leave your room as it is, complete the formalities then either do a tour/walk or return to your room. However we have friends who tend to move up when doing B2B cruises. They book an inside on the first 1/2 legs when they know they will have intensive port days but then ‘treat’ themselves to a nicer room last leg…I can see the logic in this…

No hesitation doing extended cruise holidays…always something new to do on a cruise ship… However, as Jim suggested, it can be nice to break up the full experience with a land stay. For example, in my opinion, the best bits of the UK are not visited on a cruise. If you didn’t want to drive around the UK there are coach companies that offer tours some of which offer specific areas or interests. These are not cheap but probably not as expensive as a cruise leg and would add variety to your experience. Alternatively you could simply choose just one area of the UK to focus on (London, Dublin, Edinburgh and fly there from Southampton….Just an idea…

Both bars are nice and encourage you to try some concoctions you haven’t tried before. Definitely not worth visiting either unless you are willing to give their menu items a go! WCB does get busier as the cruise progresses. It is a bit more out of the way and people can miss it. We have found that the sweet time to visit is about 8.00pm - 9pm. Earlier people are enjoying a pre dinner drink, later a post dinner drink. Most cruises we have been served easily but occasionally a group will ‘take over’ the bar area and as fast as one drink is delivered they will monopolise the staff querying another and often ordering a second before starting the first…I don’t think these people are necessarily being rude I think they are simply unused to the drinks menu but it does really slow down service!!! If I remember correctly there are a few menu items not fully covered by the premium package. The Martini bar is always busy but there are lots of seats in the area to enjoy unless you are fixed on having a seat by the ice bar. I definitely wouldn’t visit without a drinks package as for every martini I have enjoyed (lemon drop) there has been one I have hated (chocolate)…Great fun trying! Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise!

A miserable morning in the UK has just been brightened by reading your post! I think some of the new staff on board must be in administration…What chaos!

If you need a topper for a medical condition (arthritis etc) rather than just for a bit of extra comfort I suggest you contact additional needs then hopefully your request will be prioritised.

I think a lot depends on how easy it is for the crew to do. Several of us have suggested they request the food ‘family style’…No individual ordering just a mixed starter and mixed mains selection. Quite simply the MDR could possibly have this brought up directly from the buffet involving little effort. There would then be one large table not needing orders taken individually or serving individually… I totally understand your viewpoint, I do think it does come down to the logistics of providing…

Totally understand. As a family group of three adults our favourite room on S class is the RS. Much better than two rooms and paying a single supplement for me! On E class you seem to be paying a lot more for less space…Don’t even get me started on the veranda size! When I was younger missing ‘lots of innovations’ and experiencing new ships would have mattered…now my room is more important, especially the veranda!

Thank you for your review…Thoughtful and informative. I am sure at some stage I will try E class but I don’t feel drawn to it…

If you want a quiet Solarium pool it usually is empty between 5pm and about 7pm unless on a cold port cruise when it then may be family time. There are often several older guests in the Solarium pool either swimming slowly or gently exercising or enjoying the soak and it isn’t very big so swimming laps would not be easy…Most guests who are trying to swim for exercise tend to meander up and down rather than do serious laps…

I think the ‘scheduled’ tour we were on was about 10/12 people.

Sometimes I read posts about the buffet and don’t recognise the description at all… In our experience since you can now leave hand luggage in your room Oceanview is busy yes but overcrowded not usually. People no longer hog tables with their luggage and are unwilling to move until the rooms open announcement. They either drop off their hand luggage, get a quick bite to eat and then head off to explore, find a bar and complete muster or do the wondering and ‘jobs’ first then head for the buffet a bit later…Also as others have said you can easily grab some buffet food and head somewhere else with it. Also most guests in the buffet adhere well to hygiene standards using appropriate utensils and if they are with children supervise and monitor appropriately. Yes, over the years we will have all seen a ‘pick and put back’ guests or ‘nibble on route’ guests but they are an exception not the rule. OP I do suggest you either visit the buffet earlier or later to avoid the peak time but it is a nice venue with a good choice of food. We usually have access to Luminae for lunch and some cruises we will have lunch there but on other occasions we don’t particularly want a full sit down meal (especially if we have had breakfast at our hotel). On these occasions we will head to the buffet for a light snack. We always can see somewhere to sit but if the weather is nice we may simply take our plates outside. Despite having drinks packages we also find the free lemonade in the buffet is a really refreshing rehydrating drink to enjoy with our food…Plenty of time for cocktails later!

Last time we were there we saw a monkey fleeing surprisingly fast with a camera and large lens being pursued by a man with the physical attributes of John Cleese…The speed of both meant we never found out if he got his camera back…

So pleased you enjoyed your day in Muscat. We did a similar walk to you when there. As you say 4+ hours in a coach doesn’t appeal. On our visit there were several ‘adventure’ tours in off road vehicles needing you to declare no bad back, hips, shoulders, knees etc. At our age we knew the tours were not for us! Continuing to enjoy your daily missives!

I admire your sentiments…and your wish to keep a family tradition going. On Christmas Day with a specific focus on traditional I could understand the M’D being reluctant to offer any group ‘specials’. However, if you discuss this a few days before and if you were to say you are happy with a set Chinese menu served ‘family style’ at a set time then it actually could save the wait staff some time. All they would then need to do is serve up mixed starters and mixed mains with individual plates… If the M’D of MDR says he is unable to accommodate try having a word with the M’D/manager of the buffet. You may need to ask to meet with him/her. See if they can sort something special for you. With advanced warning and a set time I can see no reason why they can’t organise a family style meal for you. Much better than you all queuing to order stir fry individually. You could take your own paper table cloths and table decorations if you wanted to make it a bit more ‘Chinese festive’. Sushi is definitely another possibility although the speciality restaurants are often more expensive on holiday cruises so check. They often also have a reduced menu. Failing that just enjoy what is on offer and pack some fortune cookies! Whatever you manage to sort the important thing is you will all be together…

As cruisestitch says there is a full tour which your husband may like. We have done this and enjoyed. We have visited just the engine room but that was when we were in a higher suite and invited by the Captain after dining with him. I don’t think it is generally in the places sometimes offered to suite guests or higher CC members (galley tour, theatre tour, bridge tour) . As I side note I was unimpressed…The ‘engine room’ is a control room full of dials and readouts not the actual engines I had imagined. I am not sure exactly what I expected. Certainly not men shovelling coal but I had expected some machinery!!! Nothing to loose by approaching the Captains Club host on boarding, you never know… Sincere best wishes to your husband for a fantastic 70th birthday!

I was thinking exactly the same…