chemmo

Having looked at travelling solo this year and the cost I decided to invite family members to join me. It seemed a waste to me to pay to go solo. Just my personal reflection. I guess your choice will depend on what you enjoy on a cruise. Are you someone who enjoys their own company? Spends lots of time reading, doing crosswords etc? If so then you will get your value from your balcony. Or do you enjoy socialising and enjoying the ship’s facilities? Given the choice if I went solo of a balcony vs drinks package I would go for the drinks package. My reasoning is as follows: I like breakfast on the balcony and sitting out in the afternoon for a while but with six sea days in a row I would want to enjoy the ship facilities. I would want to have a swim in the Solarium regardless of the weather, attend some of the lectures, cooking demonstrations, a quiz or two…As you say, if the weather isn’t good you can’t use your balcony but you can enjoy looking out from one of the lounges etc. Whilst I am not a big drinker I do enjoy the social atmosphere of the bar areas. We have made long lasting friendships over the years in bars…During the day I often get my ‘value’ from a drinks package from coffee, non alcoholic cocktails, water and tea! In the evening I do enjoy a pre dinner drink or a drink in the theatre if watching a show and a glass or two of wine with a meal. I do like ordering what I want without considering the cost… I guess what I am saying (perhaps badly) is the balcony offers ‘my time’ and the drinks package offers ‘social settings’. I do understand your ‘sitting alone at a bar…’ but it doesn’t need to be so. On numerous cruises I have visited bars on my own whilst waiting for others to join me and invariably conversations develop. However, I have also joined the roll call for my cruise and do plan on joining in some organised social events, mixing with others… I don’t think there is any right/wrong answer, just what you will get the most pleasure from… Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise!

So pleased your journey wasn’t as disrupted as many of us feared and that you are refreshed and able to enjoy your pre cruise days… Must confess we tend to more and more look for rooms that are ‘apartment style’. Not only are they often more practical for a pre/post cruise stay they are often very competitively priced… Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise!

Soooo looking forward to vicariously enjoying a bit of Caribbean sunshine with you…

Both my feet would fit into one slipper so if you are on the petite side of life they are useless!

On our last few wonderful cruises together we splurged on RS and PH…Whilst at the time we didn’t know our time together was limited we did believe in ‘Making it count’…No regrets…

Yes, they did…Some upgrading of furnishings in bard etc. Michael’s Club to be revamped as Retreat Lounge. Ironically I think I would have preferred them to leave Michael’s alone…

We are also booked on Infinity later this year and I telephoned to ask what the update would include…Definitely no suite sun deck.

Mix ups happen. It is how they are handled that matters… Agree, if Celebrity had given the OP free speciality dining and offered a bar set up in addition to the OBC I think that could have taken the sting out of the situation. Ironically it wouldn’t really have cost Celebrity much to do this…

Annoying and disappointing….I feel for you. Having cruised Silhouettes PH it really is a wonderful experience. It would appear you have exhausted all options of complaint now, all you can do is put it behind you, get on board and enjoy your CS. As a note for the future, we find we generally get the best prices for RS and PH shortly after itineraries are released. I know for certain on our Equinox cruise we paid significantly less for our RS than two couples had paid for theirs through the move up system. Perhaps you could soften the blow of your disappointment by looking out for a good offer in the future rather than using the move up system.

We tend to book rooms that come with a bar set up and do tend to use it more than we would have expected. Nice to mix a g & t as you are getting ready to go out or to return to your balcony late at night and sit out with a cognac… However, much as we sometimes enjoy this perk it isn’t vital. Like yourself, we enjoy company at the bar and trying new drinks. Also, no cabins are that far from a bar, so you can easily bring a drink back to your room if you want one… As I said, a product probably making the most sense for guests with no drinks package.

I think it works well for those who don’t particularly drink so don’t want a package but maybe just enjoy either an afternoon drink on the balcony or a late night nightcap. I would think for a couple it would be cheaper than buying 2 x double cognacs every night to take back to the room and certainly more convenient!

We purchased one of these packages several years ago. It was a one litre bottle and it came with 6 mixers of our choice and a box of mixed nuts. If you wanted more mixers you would then have to purchase them if you didn’t have a drinks package,

I can honestly say I have never, ever, seen a dirty Celebrity ship…. This is our experience… OP my sincere condolences go to you for the unfortunate experience your husband had and now covid but I don’t understand your ‘I just found out’ sentence….

Best wishes for a speedy recovery to your husband.

Perhaps it is written for us Brits who need help to understand the accent…..

RS had new bedding, sofa and chair and new uncomfortable outside reclining chairs and table and chairs. Inside millions of cushions (OK I exaggerate a little…) but we ended up storing loads in the walk in wardrobe. Outside, neither the recliner chairs or the dining chairs had cushions….Our butler did round up a few outdoor cushions from the retreat deck for us but not ideal…

We still haven’t tried E class…. Next cruise a return to M class.

You know, it is funny but we struggled after our first few days on Reflection to comprehend why we felt Michael’s Club just wasn’t as nice as on our previous S class experiences…Odd as the lounge lay out was better….I guess it came down to service just being that bit less personal owing to the number of suites being served. Certainly not a big deal. Generally no complaints at all around the ship re service, it wouldn’t stop us cruising her again but there was a difference.

Cruised both. Whilst generally we didn’t find Reflection that much busier than Eclipse we did poolside and in the buffet on sea days. However, we did enjoy having the two extra speciality restaurants on Reflection (Lawn Grill and Porch). If you are cruising in a suite then you may also find Luminae and the suite lounge busier on Reflection than Eclipse as there are more suites on Reflection. Personally I would cruise either again happily. The only other think I would suggest you investigate is if either ship is due a refit before cruising as neither have had an upgrade in some time…

Perhaps you could charge the squirrels with negligence! I’ll bet you got some funny looks saying you had done all that damage on Acorns! My worse injury was the time I took a group of teenagers to the Lake District when I was teaching. We abseiled cliffs, rock climbed, caved and did water sports then I shattered my shoulder (which needed replacing) by slipping on grass walking to my tent! This was three weeks before we had a three week family holiday booked to Florida followed by a Caribbean cruise…We were insured and claimed back. It was quite a job for my husband as we had booked flights, hotels, car hire independently. However, about six weeks later we did get our money. I can remember feeling upset about missing the holiday but it was never the end of the world! My injury left me with ongoing limited arm movement but I was grateful to have received the best treatment available…I can’t remember ever worrying or caring about cruise points!

We chose an S class PH for two cooler/possibly more wave movement cruises (Norway and British Isles). It was an ideal choice. Whilst it lacks the massive deck of the M class which we love it does have two advantages over M class. Firstly it’s central position means it copes well with rougher seas and secondly those window give amazing views! The fact the balcony is relatively narrow means that you can on long wet/windy/miserable sea days rearrange the furniture and look out at an ever changing Turner masterpiece. The area just outside the bedroom is covered and even on wet days (as long as the wind is in the right direction) you can sit out with blankets and enjoy. I have not personally cruised on E class so will not comment on the RS, hopefully people with personal experience can describe its strengths as I have for the S class PH.

Fingers crossed for you!

We are HO HO fans! Often as we get to a city we will do the full circuit on the first day when we have frequently been jet lagged and too tired to enjoy ‘real’ sightseeing but not wanting to waste a day resting. Often when using HO HO as a first day activity we will have researched the route and found a stop about half way round to get off for a leisurely lunch. As some others have said some cities have linked transport offers with underground and ferry transport options. Always worth doing your research before you go. The main problem we have found with HO HO in some cities is often you go part way around a city, get off for a bit then struggle to get back on mid to late afternoon as buses are going past full. Definitely something to consider when you are cruising and there is a deadline time to return to port. This scenario happened to friends of ours in Athens…Quite simply, after two buses went past full they (and several other cruise folk) headed for the taxi rank opposite…. Our favourite ever HO HO was on our first visit to New York “Just like a scene from all those movies…”. Quite magical!

Sincere best wishes for a speedy recovery. Having had to in recent years cancel two cruises for health issues I understand your disappointment. Also having spent 14 weeks in an orthopaedic boot I understand your mobility frustration. So pleased that you have got insurance. It is always so upsetting on these boards to read of someone who didn’t have adequate cover…You comments on insurance also highlight to readers the need to check exactly what ‘annual cover’ does cover… Re the points…Simply not important. You obviously need to check your calendar and book the next cruise you can as you are mobile again and then get your points! From the cruise company’s view points the couple who cruise in your room will get points…If they gave them to you they would be handing them out twice. Again, so sorry for your situation, really such a disappointment but focus on your next cruise now…start browsing and get it booked!

3 x travelling via Schiphol, each time security was mega busy, even when in business. I honestly think that if you book this flight you will worry about it even if on the day the stars are aligned and it works. Nor would I go for an overnight layover… If I was you I would book an overnight hotel and then fly as early as you like the next day.