chemmo

Some of the most pushy vendors we have ever encountered throughout the world. Not unpleasant or threatening but just so many shoving products in your face. If you are small, like me, you are soon surrounded and gasping for air! Cartagena is lovely, we found the best way to do it was in a horse and cart trip. You can see all the sights at leisure and you are above the level of the vendors. Usually a commentary with a stop on the way for views and at the end for shopping. You can do this independently but if you do check on the ratings for animal welfare. Some enterprises do not have good records for looking after their horses.

Now what really does annoy me is ‘bag chair hogs’. A couple have two beds then pile their wraps, bag…on a third. To a passer by it looks like the bed is reserved. Seen exactly the same at the sunset bar. If two couples do this that is a third couple that could be accommodated… On a very busy Refection we decided not to bother even trying to get sun beds in the Solarium and simply put our wraps and flip flops on a side ledge whilst we had a swim. We rarely stay long. Enjoying our swim we noted at least two couples with a bed for possessions. Not bothered enough to make a fuss, we simply drip dried on the toad stools in the sunset bar. However, since then I can’t help but notice couples on busy ships reaching out to that third bed to get sun cream etc…

I understand exactly what you mean. We did a river cruise in Egypt and were really lucky, a fantastic group! However, we did reflect how our cruise experience would have been with a different group. It wouldn’t put us off another river cruise but we would look for one that perhaps had two lounge areas. OP, thanks for your well written review. Very useful. OP I think this comment captures how many of us who cruise on Celebrity feel. We can have the more ‘club’ feel of a smaller ship in the Retreat areas but then still have a wide range of bars, restaurants and entertainment to enjoy on the bigger ships.

Drink prices as you will know on Royal are not cheap. Even if you are not a big drinker the cost of a few waters and coffees a day soon add up. Personally, if we ‘do the sums’ we probably break even with a package but we simply enjoy knowing up front what our cruise will cost. We also experiment more with a package. When paying by the glass I will choose a wine I know and trust, with a package I will try new ones knowing if I don’t like it I can just get another! Ditto for cocktails. Welcome to Celebrity cruises. We (like many) are ex RC cruisers, Celebrity is a much more relaxing cruise experience in our opinion.

If you upgraded to a sky suite you would have unlimited free drinks in the retreat lounge…

We have also cruised the Fjords in early May and had excellent weather. Lovely in the sun but very chilly in the shade. Definitely need to pack layers. The fact it doesn’t go dark until late was really nice.

I don’t know how things are in the US but this isn’t true in the UK. Many restaurants and pubs are short staffed. Many pre covid staff changed direction looking for alternative employment during lockdown. Then there are the reduced menus many restaurants have introduced in an effort to reduce waste and preparation time and up profits. Then there are the hotels and bars that are desperately in need of updating but after lockdown the money just isn’t there… This is not a total picture, many pubs and hotels who were financially secure used the lockdown time to upgrade their decor and furnishings but much of the hospitality industry is still struggling. This now will not be helped by growing financial issues. When people are finding the cost of living is rising one of the easiest ways to reduce spending is to reduce dining out and holidays. When we are next in a hotel or on a cruise we will expect that the management will be watching costs, particularly staffing and other areas to make savings….More so than pre covid. We also suspect that many will be monitoring sales and be offering some price reductions to ensure they fill as many rooms as possible. We have recently had a great deal on a weekend break. If on our next Celebrity cruise we notice a reduction in service we will try to do three things… Continue to be polite and respectful of staff accepting the problem is not of their making. Try to show a bit of patience rather than frustration if we are waiting longer than usual, We will enjoy our cruise more that way. Focus on enjoying ourselves and all the positives of the full cruise experience. Ultimately, after every vacation, I guess we all reflect on ‘was it worth the money spent?’. We will do this but, if I am honest and our next cruise has a few sub par aspects, we will probably not jump ship, we will accept that in difficult times some tolerance is needed…

Dining, like everything is subject to trends and fashion… We first started ‘serious dining out’ in the 80’s in the UK the focus of many higher end restaurants was to provide… Ingredients seen as expensive (steak, venison, duck) , vegetables which were expensive and shipped in frequently out of season, (asparagus, baby carrots). The only fish option was usually salmon. Desserts had out of season fruit (strawberries or cherries) and a decadence of cream….Plates were large, if you didn’t leave feeling stuffed you felt cheated! Now there seems a reversal. Sweetbreads, , free range chicken, exclusive sausages and traditional dishes (shepherds pie) can appear as entrées in high end restaurants accompanied by seasonal vegetables (even better if home produced). Far more fish options. Desserts frequently now have limited cream and alternatives like yogurt. Portions are smaller, dainty and ‘pretty’. Often ‘healthy options’ are listed… I guess Celebrity is combining all of the above to try to appeal to as many as possible. Still some evidence of the decadence of the 80’s but many dishes presented with modern portion size…Yes, I think portions are definitely smaller but I think this is a sign of the times. As someone else said, you can always ask for more! Re the buffet…I think you always need to look and choose at a buffet carefully. Head for the made to order sections or dishes that do not particularly suffer by standing (Indian selection). Choose a pork chop or a chicken portion that has been sat in a silver tray for longer than half an hour and you will get leather! One thing that has improved in my opinion is the ‘themed’ lunchtimes in the buffet. Pie day or Indian or Italian day adds variety to an already fairly big selection. Made to order sandwiches very nice too. We only ever use the buffet once or twice per cruise so plenty of variety for us. The only comment I would make is in our opinion you get better steaks when cruising from the US than when cruising in Europe. The steaks served in Europe are usually as tender as those when cruising from the US but just not as tasty…This has been our observation on several ships over several years so more likely down to supply than a drop in standards.

If Celebrity are running the Soller mountain train journey from Palma I would strongly recommend. Like many of the Spanish Islands the coasts can be very commercial but the interior is much more beautiful. If you investigate and decide to do it independently then leave a good time margin as the trains do not always run to schedule.

RS and PH technically have laundry twice per cruise, in reality it is unlimited. We were told the twice per cruise phrase was introduced after a few occasions when PH guests were cruising with a large group of family members in other rooms and were abusing the privilege. Certainly we have never been charged for any dry cleaning, pressing or general laundry.

Thanks for the review, I have been following daily, you have brought me a daily dose of Mediterranean sunshine!

I bring a stash back from every cruise… Each time our son and GF stay with us I put them on their pillows…Always brings a smile and happy memories…Who cares what they taste like? They are simply a gesture of decadence on your pillow that reminds you that you are on vacation…

I do enjoy reading comparative reviews which yours is, they do offer a perspective and are useful for those trying to decide which ships have the facilities/ambiance they are looking for. If you do decide to book Celebrity again I do recommend you do read about the specific ship you are considering booking as they do have three very distinct classes of ship, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. I don’t think ‘fans’ are particularly criticising your subjective opinion but I think a few have been surprised by some of your observations…As I said in my first response, with lots of S class cruises behind us, smoking, the buffet and staff attitude have never been a problem. It is not a devaluation of your experience but contrary to ours…I would be wondering if there is a specific issue with your present cruise (lots of new staff on board, an unusual number of smokers…).

We need both the itinerary and the ship to appeal to us to book a cruise… To compare to land based holidays the itinerary is the choice of holiday resort and the cruise ship is the choice of hotel…We would only book a resort (itinerary) we wanted to visit then we would only book an hotel (ship) that had the facilities we wanted to enjoy the dining and entertainment aspects of vacation. We are willing at times to make compromises. For example, I remember in the Far East booking Star Cruises which we knew had some limitations but equally took us to ports we wanted to visit and fit in with our full itinerary. The important thing to us was we boarded knowing there were no speciality restaurants and English was not the first language…We we’re not disappointed because we had realistic expectations. Much as on our world wide cruises we have loved the places we have visited our full vacation experience has been enhanced by travelling on a ship that we enjoy. Price is important for all of us and none of us like to feel cheated…That is why when we book a cruise we want our choice of itinerary and our choice of ship to work for us before we book.

Thank you for your review. I am glad you are seeing some positives about Celebrity. When we cruise on different lines or even different ship classes within the same line we do always do our ‘homework’ so we board with appropriate expectations. We will have followed reviews and know both the strengths and weaknesses of the ship we are about to board. Obviously, much of this ‘homework’ will be done before we book and if there is something that is a ‘dealbreaker’ about a ship then we will consider other choices. If newness is important to you perhaps you should look at the newer E class Celebrity ships or ships that have been refurbished. Solstice is not new and she is overdue a refit. However, she has a lovely ‘flow’, a great variety of bars and speciality restaurants. We cruised on her twice both pre covid. Both wonderful cruises. The three negatives you quoted that really surprised me were… Smoking…We have never found it an issue on any Celebrity cruise. Food in the buffet. We have always found the selection very good and usually hot. Staff. We have always found Celebrity staff to be a real strength, hard working, polite and friendly. I sincerely hope your cruise experience improves. Perhaps you could try some aspects of the ship you haven’t tried so far. For example, if you find the buffet disappointing why not try a MDR breakfast or lunch on sea days? Ultimately, it could simply be that Celebrity is not the cruise line for you…All of us have different expectations and priorities.

Looking forward to following along!

No we did Solstice in 2014 as I retired after 34+ years in education. First time we could take a cruise outside school holidays! I am sure the itinerary was probably much the same. For us, from the UK, Hawaii alone was a ‘holiday of a lifetime’. Add on visits to Bora Bora, Tahiti and New Zealand to say nothing of Sydney which we fell in love with. We have enjoyed many fantastic cruises over the years but that one remains the ‘exceptional’.

I love all cruises… Cruises with different start and end ports so you can easily add two city breaks or a land tour. Cruises that day after day stun you with natural and/or man made wonders. Cruises with lots of sea days to relax and unwind in. Cruises that combine all elements of the above. Best cruise ever was Transpacific from Hawaii to Sydney….Land based holidays at both ends, enough sights to leave you thinking ‘I can’t believe I am here…’. Loads of sea days enabling you to relax and unwind and make friendships to last a lifetime… mfs2k, thanks for an interesting post!

In a higher suite you are contacted by the shoreside concierge about two weeks before cruising and you can send in your dining reservation requests as well as details of your in suite bar set up etc. We board each cruise with all our speciality dining pre booked, exact venue and times sorted. Only on one occasion (over many cruises) have we had to change a reservation and that was because of a special event in Tuscan. Certainly on Reflection and Silhouette with their extra dining options we felt the benefit of the included speciality restaurants, even at lunchtime it was nice to go to The Porch or Sushi on Five. With the present price of speciality dining, if you plan on dining in speciality venues most nights rather than Luminae then that is a large bill in a Sky Suite. If you can pre book a dining package it should bring the cost down. In a Sky Suite if you give your butler your list of speciality restaurants requests on boarding or head to any speciality venue you should still get the exact times you want or near enough not to matter. If I was you I would price up the difference in cost between a Sky Suite plus dining package vs Signature Suite. I would then consider how much you would enjoy the extra bits of the higher suite package like the in suite bar set up, included laundry…Booking a RS/PH works for us because we do dine in the speciality restaurants, love the bigger rooms, in suite bar set up and enjoy the other perks. However, we have friends who are very happy booking balcony rooms and simply book a dining package…On boarding they usually get the exact times and venues they want too. I think it is more when you try to book a venue last minute that ‘room status’ can come into play. The ‘right’ room for anyone is the one that gives you what you want at a price you are comfortable with…Only you can decide that. Re Signature Suites, hopefully someone who has cruised in one will reply. I would be happy in one (and I am quite motion sensitive) on a cruise with expectations of fairly calm seas but wouldn’t for something like a Transatlantic… We loved Reflection, whatever option you choose, hope you have a great cruise!

Interesting if anyone else reports back….I was referring to past knowledge.

Mid cruise there is usually a fill a bag option for I think about $50, hope someone can confirm. Enough space for undies, a few T shirts, shorts etc. If you pack things well you can get more in. Things come back neatly folded but not pressed, fine for polo shirts but not for cotton shirts/blouses. In our experience the wash is fine for anything you would put in a medium mixed wash at home. There is also a dry clean service, again not cheap but a better option for smart wear.

Yes, Blu is for Aqua, the named restaurant for suite guests is Luminae. Lots of reviews and pictures of the menu, worth doing a search. You can dine there every breakfast, lunch on boarding and sea days plus every evening, no reservations required. If you wish to try Blu they will do their best to accommodate you but you need to be mindful of those whose restaurant it is. If you are willing to dine early or late they are more likely to be able to fit you in.

Firstly sincere sympathy for your serious health issues. I hope you both are receiving good care and remaining comfortable. I am unsure about your terms and conditions as it does vary between countries. Hopefully someone from Canada will reply. Certainly here in the UK we would be offered to swap to a later cruise (no use to you) or we would loose our deposit. If the terms and conditions are the same for you then then Celebrity has, as a ‘good will’ gesture, offered the fcc. Whilst it may not be of use to you they may not be obliged to return your deposit. In your shoes I would look at insurance cover. If you took out travel insurance they should pay out minus any excess. If you didn’t check the terms and conditions of your credit card. Very often they do include some travel insurance… Failing that do you have a relation you could ask Celebrity to ‘gift’ the fcc to? Perhaps a family member who also likes to cruise? Whilst I am sure Celebrity would not be obliged to do this, no harm asking and perhaps you would feel less like your money had just gone to waste… Sincere best wishes for a positive outcome!

It does depend on your cruise length but usually first sea day and next to last night in our experience are ‘chic nights’ with another fitted in on longer cruises. On the Eclipse your speciality dining venues are.. Murano, Tuscan Grill, Le Petite Chef and Sushi on Five. I would describe as follows…Personal opinion, others may view differently… Murano, classic menu, excellent service with some table side preparation that adds a touch of drama to your meal. Service is designed to be relaxed so the meal takes a while. We always book on sea days or days we have had a relaxing rather than busy excursion. You want to arrive fresh and enjoy everything from the amuse bouchée to the liqueur and coffee. Definitely the place for a special occasion. Tuscan Grill, think steak and pasta venue with a nice ambiance and a great wake view. We book it on nights when we are leaving a port and can watch day turn to night…You do feel you are in a nice restaurant and service again is usually excellent. Steak quality for us has varied. Never awful and needing returning but on cruises out of the US definitely better than cruises out of Europe. Perhaps suppliers? Le Petite Chef is fun not fine dining. We giggled the first time and did enjoy the novelty but second time it wasn’t the same…we probably will not do it again. Sort of one of those experiences to try once. Sushi has a lot more than sushi, we tend to dine there more at lunch than in the evenings but pleasant in the evenings too. Once or twice I have ordered things there and received something unexpected so ask the waiter if you are unsure about the menu items. It is a la carte, you will not be charged for anything. Whilst I know it is the speciality restaurants you are asking about don’t forget the buffet and room service! If you have had a busy day, included speciality dining or not, there is nothing like a graze in the buffet…putting together a plate of bits and pieces you would never combine at home. Upper suites have decent tables inside and on the balcony. Sometimes it is nice to just order room service and enjoy your suite…

When you try to explain to those who haven’t experienced the M PH they don’t understand why you like a pantry! Once you have experienced you understand…We loved the big fridge and even being able to side dirty glasses and dishes out of the way. We have fond memories of inviting a very elderly couple…long story but we had found them being a bit harassed in Jamaica and offered to accompany them back to the ship and to our suite for a drink. As you say more ‘wowed’ by the balcony than the suite. Also wowed by our butler who saw we had guests and magically appeared to provide drinks and snacks. When the elderly lady commented on how nice the chocolate strawberries were he got a plate for her and insisted on carrying it to their room as they left. He was one of those ‘exceptional butlers’.