Mark_T

If you are in a suite then something close will be served daily in the Retreat. If you are not in a suite then there is nothing close available anywhere onboard these days as the afternoon tea in the OVC has gone...

Just did a quick comparison on a cruise we recently booked on Millennium, and for 12 nights, for 2 people it was $2100 increase in total for Aqua over a Veranda, both with AI. We don't particularly like the Aqua menu and we would not use the spa, so for us it makes more sense to stay in the Veranda and spend a bit in Tuscan on the M class. Previously we would have considered The Retreat on 'M' Class, as we did last time we were on Millennium, but at more than double the price of the Veranda for Luminae + premium drinks and Wifi, the numbers just don't make sense, so a few nights in Tuscan it will be...

That isn't our experience, we booked Murano on Eclipse for the first night at 6:30pm, but that was about 7 months before the cruise. Those early slots go quickly...

That is a casino tier…

It does happen, there was one showing for about a week, just before sailing on our 2nd Jan cruise, but seeing one before final payment would be much more rare…

They are using the vast majority of them at breakfast and lunch, so not really a waste…

It isn’t just availability to worry about, prices can and do change considerably… Between booking our excursions 7 months before sailing and the last week, most of our excursions more than doubled in price, even after allowing for the ‘sales’… If a price falls, you can always cancel and rebook at the lower price.

We had Starlink on Eclipse just over a week ago, and the basic wifi was barely able to handle a very simple website, or iMessage for example. No hope of even loading this forum for example, certainly no chance of posting here. The Starlink ‘upgrade’ does not really add anything to the basic package, it is still very tightly throttled.

Thanks for this thread, it has been great to follow along with you on the cruise. I would cut them a break on the ‘spring roll’ as it was actually a summer roll as described on the menu. Clearly not what you were expecting, but accurately described. I like both, but when you are expecting something crispy a summer roll isn’t going to hit the spot…

The trick is that the app only reflects the menus for the current cruise for that ship, so if it’s on a 7 night cruise right now then you will not see menus past that… Similarly the pattern of port and sea days will reflect the current cruise, not your cruise, so it can make it a bit harder to pin down which are the chic nights etc.

It is still the easiest way to check, but you have to accept that you’ve picked a cabin that tends to sell out very quickly, and rarely returns to availability much before sailing, if at all…

No, you get the amenities that go with the cabin (spa access, yoga mat etc.) but not the perks currently on offer for booking that cabin, nor do you get the extra captains club points. You do keep the points and perks from your original booking. This can leave you paying additional gratuities even if your original booking included them due to the higher level in Aqua over say a standard veranda.

If I’d walked through I probably wouldn’t have stopped to eat there either if that was all there was on offer… If they make it bad enough, the reduced numbers will become an inevitable consequence… We are not really impacted by these changes as we never eat there in the evenings, but I do understand the impact it has on those who do prefer the casual, eclectic options that used to be available.

That’s just the usual inclusion of tips in cruises out of Australia/New Zealand/UK

To be fair, the current cruise left from New Zealand rather than Australia…

The current cruise on Eclipse still has this on the menu, I wonder just how many they still have in the freezer… 🙂

As usual, the only consistent aspect of policy changes is the inconsistency… 🙂

Lobster was served in the MDR on the 2nd chic night just over a week ago on our cruise that left Sydney 2nd Jan.

Not on Eclipse at least, nothing other than what was required for the drinks on the menu…

The Celebrity no. 10 remains a great refreshing start on a hot day, and I then shifted onto the Highlander, but as ever, tastes vary. The Double Piquant is good too, but don’t let the jalapeño steep for too long or it can get a little overpowering. My wife also enjoyed the Violet Hour, but it was a little too sweet to repeat too quickly, unlike the no. 10. In short try everything, but perhaps not all on the same night 🙂

Check the app for the current Equinox sailing, the bar menu there matched what we had on Eclipse last week…

We had ‘printed’ rather than embossed cards on Eclipse last week, but zero issues with them. No signs of peeling at all.

I don’t blame the CS staff for being cautious and vague as it really can’t be predicted. All it takes is a late arrival or a clearance delay and you can be looking at a queue stretching right around the ship. Couple that with a docking location that means there is only a single exit and you have a perfect storm that leaves the ‘2 hour’ suggestion looking pretty reasonable… Most of the time it doesn’t happen, but it can…

That is generally an accurate description for the MDR on all the ships. There are a few genuinely separate tables for two, but they are usually in poor locations such as next the waiters stations.

This really isn’t uncommon. They often do not unpack the components of the AI package until right before the cruise, but if you call, they will do it immediately and then you’ll see the change reflected in your online options. Odds are you will want to call to do the upgrade anyway, as you can’t get the Captains Club discount online…