chemmo

Just Mrs Chemmo now, sadly lost Mr Chemmo earlier this year….(we were a CC double act). Your posts are the sort we both used to love to share…I don’t know what he would have laughed at most, your post or my spilling my drink when reading it! Sometimes a subtle one liner outweighs wordy posts by miles!

I have so enjoyed your cruise! Perhaps because we have usually cruised as a family too… There is something about cruising that is multigenerational….Time to spend together and apart, activities to do together and separately… I am sure your review will have reminded many cruisers of the simple joys of being at sea and that your food pictures will have reassured many cruisers that there is good food still on Celebrity both in the MDR and in the speciality restaurants… Sincere thanks again!

There I was enjoying an adult evening beverage which is now down my front! Funniest post I have read in a long time! Thanks for the laugh!

Anything you miss from Celebrity? It certainly is the little things that staff do that make a cruise exceptional….

Having looked at documentaries on Virgin I don’t believe it is the cruise line for us although I can see it’s strengths. However, I am delighted see a rival cruise line highlighting the unpopular changes Celebrity has made over recent months… Whilst not directly affected by either the removal of room service or reduction of butler service I felt both changes, without prior warning, showed a lack of understanding of their customer base and what cruise customers value….Perhaps they need a ‘third party’ to make them wake up and see that they have upset many loyal regulars…

Just a brief message to ask how your cruise is continuing….Hope you are enjoying!

So sorry to see your cruise is at an end, I have so enjoyed your photos, ship comparisons and general commentary…Please board another ship soon!

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful birthday! Continuing to enjoy your review, re the soap…Could be a good excuse to buy a couple of new handbags to carry it in!

To my mind it is always about knowing what what you are booking and what you are comfortable with. The age of the ship and price of the cruise are factors that are important. There are places, because of the itinerary, I am comfortable to book on an older ship. There are ships I feel nostalgic about I want ‘one last trip on’. However, there are cruise ships I remember from 10/15 years ago which looked/felt dated then…How comfortable I would be with them now is questionable. Then there are the facilities on board. I am uncomfortable with only one ‘real’ speciality restaurant…I so wish Celebrity had kept the Ocean Liners (Murano equivalents). At the end of the day, your cash, your choice. We are booked on Infinity next September…There is nostalgia involved and a great itinerary…However, I am watching reviews of this ship specifically, and Celebrity generally, before final payment. Cruises on the older ships of the fleet are not cheap, especially when booking higher category cabins…As I said at the start…it is about knowing what you are booking and what you are comfortable with…

So enjoying your review! Such a lovely mix of life on board and sightseeing. Nice for you to enjoy some quality family time too. Goes to show, despite concerns recently aired, cruising is still a great holiday option!

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise. Enjoy your upgrade! I did contact Celebrity myself following comments that she was going to get a refit and they confirmed what you have been told and what edgee described….a few rooms getting upgraded to a suite but that is it. We are in a suite and torn between loving it’s traditional fittings but equally concerned we are paying a lot of money for a run down ship…

As others have said it is usually quiet. We have only ever dined there for lunch. On sea days when the buffet is busy it is a nice place to chill out and dine casually feeling you are at sea…We found it had the ambiance of a Mediterranean cafe… The menu isn’t massive and the paella really wasn’t nice so browse on line. We have enjoyed the seafood tower but that is at an extra cost. If you are looking at booking other restaurants too I would try in the ‘negotiations for a deal’ seeing if you can get a ‘free’ lunch in the Porch included…

Nice to see breakfast specials in the Oceanview….Those buns look yummy!

Thank you for a thoughtful and well balanced review.

Check what paperwork you need to provide in Ford Lauderdale….I assume you would need to fill in a declaration form and have your receipt for tax purposes. Hopefully someone who has done similar can advise…

Order your drink the minute you arrive, before you even look at the menu, as cocktail delivery to Sushi has taken forever in our experience! Remember you may be unsure after one Spicy mangotini if you like it and consequently need a second to be sure. Purely to ensure you report back appropriately to CC, of course!

As someone who thinks it is OK to drown an occasional Scotch/cognac in lemonade I don’t think the up-charges will be worth it to me! How would you say the food is in comparison to Celebrity (suite dining)? Also what is the atmosphere like in the suite lounge both during the day and in the evening. Are people chatty or do they keep themselves to themselves? Is the entertainment in the lounge good? If you want to give it a few days more before replying to get a better flavour of the ship I totally understand…

That is a sad looking fish and chips…The salmon is rather uninspiring too… Loved the Murano pictures. Made me regret that we are on M class next cruise…S class ships have so much going for them, especially Silhouette…

Yes, a really nice relaxing experience! To get a taste of more items ask for them to serve things ‘family style’ if you are dining with others. We were a family of four and ordered one a lot of things to be served central table and asked for four separate plates. Everyone had a taste of everything rather than having to commit to a couple of items. Totally agree not to go overboard on the flatbreads. We were underwhelmed by the cookie and ice cream. Far too sweet for us!

I wish someone had just brought me a drink…I am just drying off after hurriedly bringing in the washing, raining cats and dogs here!

I had a mango cocktail from Sushi on five which had a sort of foamy top, I believe it is also available from World Bar…Even if the foamy top doesn’t come up to standard it is a yummy drink!

Good luck to you! I think it is only when you are in our position that you realise that life does do on and you do need to move forwards…So much easier said than done. I wondered if you were ‘solo’. Let me know how you get on. I will be ‘semi solo’ on my Infinity cruise next year travelling with my son and fiancée. I am planning on being fairly independent once on board and as part of that I have joined the roll call for my cruise. It will be a ‘soft’ start for me…I plan on doing a few solo things in ports too. Keep up the excellent review, I am enjoying all aspects!

The taxi situation can be similar in most cities in Europe. We have found asking the hotel to get us one when going out and the restaurant when returning has had better results. In a city we don’t know in addition to looking at trip advisor we ask the staff at the hotel we are staying at for recommendations as to where to dine. We will describe what is important to us (local, fresh, view…) and go from there…Failing that we will stroll around and look where the locals are dining… Re speed of dining…We have found more of a “manana” approach in Greece and it’s islands than in Spain…I do think it is a cultural thing…you are guests in their restaurant…you are welcome to sit there for as long as you like…there is no rush to finish your food…if you are literally there tomorrow morning it doesn’t matter…After spending many happy holidays in Greece and the islands once we got our heads around the ‘No rush’ mentality we enjoyed our dining experiences…

Enjoy your day, thoroughly enjoying following along!

Rollie, it was something we would very occasionally request…maybe every other cruise and always at least 24 hours in advance… We would ‘Ask if it was possible…’, always avoid chic nights when we knew butlers would be extra busy in Michael’s/Retreat/theatre. Unfortunately, I think when many reasonable guests have reported this on CC, others have then boarded expecting in suite Speciality/Luminae dining as a ‘right’ not the ‘treat’ it always was. Demand has risen and frequently requests have been last minute. Quite simply if all RS and above start requesting this regularly, especially on the ships with more suites, then it puts pressure on the restaurants and butler service. It is not sustainable. Whilst 99% of the time I would agree with you there are occasions where your balcony has the advantage. Next year the ship doesn’t leave Santorini until 10pm…The thought of dining on the balcony (M PH) that night, watching the sun set and lights beginning to twinkle on the cliff side whilst sipping a drink or two is just too tempting. I will follow posts on CC. I am hoping that an ‘occasional special request’ may be accommodated. If not I will settle for the standard Room Service menu and that view on that night!