chemmo

Jim, echoing everyone else, your pictures really are stunning. You really manage to capture the essence of a place with your choice of subject and perspective… You are continuing to be my morning coffee read…still following along…

Great to see that this is in place, with everyone having drinks packages it didn’t make sense carrying water, soda etc back to rooms. Do you know if this is now ship wide or specific to Beyond or specific to your butler? It worries me about butlers offering to bring drinks to rooms…Most guests wouldn’t ask or would simply ask for a regular drink at a set time each day but there are always the odd one or two ‘demanding’ guests who can run the butler off their feet. Not only does this result in a difficult life for the butler it can mean other guests waiting for service. Even when we are in the PH we rarely request drinks being brought to the room. If we don’t have something in our bar set up we simply go to the nearest bar to get it…

After I have spent so much effort trying to refer to PRH rather than saying butler in posts! Makes sense. Hope you are enjoying a great cruise!

Agree, we have had little to complain about over the years but if we find something sub par we speak to the relevant staff member and the problem is usually resolved. For example, on one cruise in Luminae our breakfasts were warm first day rather than hot…Second day we noticed the trays coming through to the ‘prep’ area but then there was a lull before they were then served, again warm rather than hot. We raised the point with the M’D who thanked us for alerting him. Hot dishes the rest of the cruise. Hopefully not just for us too.

I am not sure what they are called but think of very small bottles of olive oil packed with different herbs in them. You then use a small amount of the infusion with your own oil to flavour salad dressings or sauces. We saw them (I think a set of four) in Naples but I am sure they will be on sale everywhere. We decided not to buy them simply because of the packing issue…I didn’t fancy trying to wash out the combined smell of four different herbs from my clothes if the bottles broke…They looked nice though…

Thank you. A few health issues at present. We have moved our cruise to a similar one next year and have a Caribbean one to look forward to in March so we hope to be back on board soon. Makes enjoying reading the live blogs of others even more pleasurable!

Laundry perks start at RS level. Technically there is no discount for SS or CS. Usually just the stuff a bag offer available to all. However, perhaps, PRH are allowed to offer laundry regularly at the ‘stuff a bag rate’ on longer cruises? Just an idea. I do know friends of ours in a CS on a TP (17 days) were given one free bag mid cruise…It would be interesting to hear the experiences of others.

Enough to make you need a drinks package….

You never know, we had fabulous weather in Alaska in September a few years ago and managed a balcony breakfast! We had purchased all the ‘layers’ of clothing and struggled with the packing only to need T shirts and light fleeces most of time. Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise and great weather!

We ask for this every cruise. We put this request on our email to the shoreside concierge. I think contact with CS can be a bit hit and miss so if you aren’t contacted ask your butler on boarding. We have had some set ups fancier than others.

Don’t do it! You will switch out of holiday relaxation mode…Go on a tour or enjoy a day on the empty ship enjoying sipping a cocktail or three. Remember, if you are both Elite that is two bags. In suites (as you know) they usually give you those big fabric bags, you can stuff loads in them! If you have a paper one just ask your butler for a fabric one.

Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise! Congratulations to Julie on her retirement! A cruise is a great way to celebrate retirement and an anniversary! Can I suggest you declare one night of your cruise your ‘anniversary night’, even though it is technically after your cruise? Murano would be my recommendation. If you are planning an anniversary gift Murano staff will deliver it under one of their big silver food domes. We have seen them do it a few times. One of my favourite items of jewellery is a ‘mini-mosaic’ necklace set in silver we bought in Rome. Making these miniature works of art is a traditional Roman craft, you will see them in lots of shops. Just an idea! Luminae, as I think you are aware, has a menu that may not appeal to Julie. However, one of the problems of the menu, in my experience, is the way it is worded. When we first cruised there we would ask the waiter to describe what certain dishes actually were…Many dishes are not as fancy as they sound. Also, remember the MDR menu is available in Luminae on S class ships. We loved the extra dining choices on Reflection. Both Lawn Grill and The Porch are great places to dine in warm climates. Also if you have had a really strenuous port day the buffet is very different in the evening than at breakfast and lunch. Much quieter, made to order meat and fish dishes and obviously pizza! Recently had to cancel our October cruise so I will be enjoying your adventures with my morning coffee daily. We have done part of your itinerary and would love to do it again! Enjoy your stay in Rome. Your accommodation sounds ideal! Looking forward to your next post… PS…Lovely dogs!

I think it depends on how much free laundry you have! If you pay for item by item it is very expensive. When we cruised without free laundry we would send it out once per cruise when they had the ‘stuff the bag’ offer. Then when we became E we would usually send in a bag day 3 which would include bits from pre cruise overnight and then about day 6. When we became E+ we often sent another bag the last day possible so we were returning with less dirty laundry. Now we tend to cruise in higher suites we just send it in when we want… The laundry is great for items that you would happily put in a mixed wash at home but we never send in delicate items so no matter how much free laundry you have there is a limit to what most people send in. There is a dry cleaning service but we rarely use it..

So glad you found it useful. When we first cruised in a suite we didn’t know what to expect. We asked several questions on CC and were very grateful to find out a bit before boarding. Now it is time for us to try to ‘give a bit back’. The two main points I hope came through were that you do need to communicate your wishes to staff and that there are some differences between ships.

OP, you don’t say what ship you are sailing on and I think it matters as CS suites on the different classes of ship are very different. We disliked the one on S class, enclosed bedroom (small) and lounge (small) and bathroom (small with shower over tub) are to my mind less pleasant for a solo cruiser than a nice open lay out Sky Suite… M class, the bedroom is again enclosed but the living area is nice. The balcony is narrow but okay but the killer is the shower over tub bathroom it is really high to access. Can not comment on E class as I haven’t experienced, perhaps someone else will comment. Re suite perks…CS suite perks are the same as for Sky Suite so no gain. Points for Elite…As others have said the perks of being Elite doesn’t seem to have the same value now most guests have drinks packages. Basically a bag of laundry and Tuscan breakfast. However, if you plan on looking at cruise only rates in the near future and are not a big drinker then those points will keep your overall holiday cost down. OP, your choice, if you fancy booking a higher suite then go for it but do some research first and make sure you won’t be disappointed with the room…They are the marmite suites on Celebrity, you either love them or hate them!

I agree but equally we have found that forwarding requests early can also mean they disappear between initial contact and booking. I guess the best thing to do is request early, check they have the request shortly before you cruise and then on boarding check again! The irony is most evenings, as long as you are flexible with your dining time, Tuscan can easily accommodate a group of 8 booking on board but totally understand the OPs perspective, if you are organising a special meal you want it to go according to plan!

Strongly suggest on boarding you head to Tuscan to ensure your request has gone through.

Congratulations!

Don’t forget the Bellini, my favourite!

I guess it depends how close a family you are…We would not consider sharing the PH with anyone other than immediate family although I have known people who happily have. Having holidayed together many times in apartments, small lodges etc we understand how to happily share space… Personally we cruise as a family get together. Whilst we may not always eat together or go the same bars we have the option to do so if we want to. If our son and his GF were in a balcony cabin then they would not have access to the Retreat Lounge or Luminae nor would they get free speciality dining and they probably would only have a classic drinks package rather than a premium. They would have less storage and a smaller bathroom too. All about what fits your family best…

When our son hit 18 and started holidaying with friends we thought it would be the end of our higher suite excuses but somehow if we booked a cruise he still came although he didn’t join us for other holidays. Then came the steady GF, now our excuse is gone we thought…No, now they both come and it has to be the PH, not the RS as we need a second bathroom! I guess they may as well continue to come with us, it is their inheritance we are spending!

We generally book RS or PH…This bad habit started when our son was a teen. We wanted him to have his own space but still be part of our room…It has worked perfectly for us for years! Yes, there is a big spend for guests one and two but then guests three and four are relatively cheap and they still get all the upper suite perks including speciality dining and premium beverage package… For the party as a whole there is wonderful daytime space but two separate sleeping areas at night and an extra 1/2 bath in RS on S class and full bath in the PH on both classes. Lots of positives not even related to price. OP, can we keep this as our secret? We have two PH cruises for us and our son and GF and hope to book many more…

Izzywiz…How I wish I had kept a daily diary when we toured this part of the world, it has brought back some happy memories!

Celebrity food is, in our experience, well above RC. We generally book suites with access to the suite restaurant and the speciality restaurants but still thoroughly enjoy the general dining venues…We are D+ and E+ so are well experienced with both lines. In addition to the MDR consider the buffet. Look for speciality lunches. They often have themed days. Also the Indian selection is fantastic. In the evening the buffet area is quieter, they offer made to order steak, salmon etc…Great if you have had a busy day… We do love at least once per cruise enjoying the burger bar…reliably tasty! Dining isn’t all about the food, service comes into it too. We thoroughly enjoyed our RC years and staff were always lovely but we do find Celebrity better, often just those little attention to detail things… If you do fancy a treat book a speciality restaurant. You won’t be disappointed. Name the ship you are cruising on and you will receive lots of advice on the experience you will probably enjoy the most. Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise…

You don’t forget touches of kindness like this…