micruiser2002

I have been using Google translate at home while I am planning my trip and it seems to work very well with Japanese language.  I love the picture scanning feature.

You do not even need an adapter, they use the same plugs we do.  Except as stated above if you are bringing anything with the 3 prong.  

On 9/20/2023 at 2:44 PM, villauk said:

 

For Kyoto, do we actually dock in Osaka?

I think you need to check your specific sailing.  I believe some ships actually dock 1 day in Kobe and another in Osaka.  It all depends on the ship and sail date.  

On 9/18/2023 at 3:35 PM, villauk said:

 

Thanks, I will look into the private transfer option 👍.
 

You have been a great help with all your tour suggestions - thank you.

I booked on this website with this company.  We are actually going to have them do a 4-5 tour and then drop us at the airport since our flight is not until late afternoon.  https://gowithguide.com/supplier/33482

On 9/17/2023 at 3:18 PM, monkey@cruise said:

Ship paid shuttle drop off near the Shushi Yakukosokusenryokaku Ferry Terminal area (city center).

Where is the information for this?  

3 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Thanks for sharing.  This sentence seems incorrect:

"You currently have 114,284 points and currently Sapphire. Next year you will remain as Sapphire, but next year 2024 you will need to earn 114,284 or more points so you wont drop tier level in 2025." 

 

100K (not 114K) TC's should be enough

It sounds like the person who responded doesn't have a clue to how the tiers work.  Unless they are also changing those but I find it hard to believe it would ever be based on what each individual previously earned.

1 minute ago, ChucktownSteve said:

True. I agree with expecting Denny's quality at Denny's prices. How would you feel if Misty's Sunday Brunch quality became Denny's quality but at Misty's Sunday Brunch price?

I believe that is exactly their point.  People have booked Celebrity at prices and past experience that they expect and now are finding out that may not be the case.

2 hours ago, cruisinsusin said:

we were served the beef tournados on the Constellation in July (cooked to order and excellent)  so hoping they show up on the same B2B Solstice.

Have you looked at any upcoming sailings on Solstice to see what is on the menu?  From what I can see the new menu has eliminated all of these.  That is why so many have issues.  Most of the beef selections are lower grade and the appetizers are basically soups or salads, no real appetizers.

12 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

We cruised 2 to 10 September and menus in MDR fine and variety in OVC brilliant. First hand experience. 

Which ship?

1 hour ago, highway180 said:

It's funny how people can come up with such diverse opinions about food. We were on the Solstice on the July 28th sailing, and our entire group enjoyed the food, choices, and over the top service. We ate in the MDR, Oceanview, Tuscan, Tuscan specialty lunch, and Murano specialty lunch. No complaints: we were a party of 5, ages 5-63. Service was as good as I've ever experienced .They really went above and beyond to accommodate my granddaughter.

 

Cheers

The issue is the menu's were just updated in mid August.  What you experienced in July may not be the same now.  If you look at the current menu's they have been downgraded.

48 minutes ago, doghog said:

Exactly why we will wait to experiences the menu changes ourselves and not from what others have experienced. Zero influence.  I put very little faith in Celebrity's app but based on what we've seen for our October Eclipse cruise, nothing like @jc foster posted. We could and will build a 5 course meal each evening with very little duplication. The duplication would on some nights with appetizers, soups and salads which we have always done in the past. Nothing new there for us. 

It looks like Eclipse still has the old menu on the app.  Not sure if that will be the case on the ship, if so you are lucky.  You need to look at the new menu on another ship like Solstice or Millennium and see what you think.

44 minutes ago, LaCal said:

We were on the Solstice recently and enjoyed the food very much.,..Great thing was if one entree wasn’t the greatest you could order a diff one 

 

We also ate at Murano and Tuscan grille 

 

Murano was hands down Excellent and the service totally 5 Star……Tuscan had the best pastas and our ribeye  steak was cooked perfect…..Only thing that was bad was the calamari which was rubbery 

 

This was our very first Celebrity cruise so we’re definitely not Celebrity Cheerleaders 🤣🤣

 

Enjoyed the cruise so much we booked another two……One on the Eclipse in November and one on the Constellation in February 

When you say recently exactly when?  There have been menu change since Mid August.

1 hour ago, Guera53 said:

I believe the scoop of mashed potatoes is mainstream for MDR dishes from what I read. This is reinforced when I look at the menu on the app. Silhouette centric maybe..maybe..I hope I am misperceiving. Imagine most dishes nightly come with mashed potatoes….come on Silhouette…we can do better!

It is not just Silhouette.  Celebrity updated their menus in mid August and most options seem to be downgrades.  I am on Millie next month and the menu shows mashed potatoes every night with at least half of the entrees.  Not sure if the app menu used to show other side options but I see nothing as far as individual sides.

On 9/8/2023 at 2:15 PM, Janthere said:

I didn’t even know that was a thing!! 

Sorry I should have also updated this.  I was called back by BCC and found out they will still offer the friends and family on a 2nd cabin but the discount will be based on prior play.  I  had them reprice 2 bookings I just recently made and both would have been more expensive.

1 hour ago, doghog said:

Have you asked for something different as a side. No biggie. 

I sail next month and will see.  Have you sailed since the menu changes?

The problem is with the new menu almost every entree has mashed potatoes as the side.  There does not seem to be many options anymore.

BCC is a mess again.  They just recently as of last Monday made other changes.  I was told we will no longer get Net20 off a 2nd cabin.  They will give a discount to the 2nd cabin somehow based on last play.  So I had the person reprice 2 cruises I just booked a few weeks ago and the first one was only slightly more but then the 2nd he said would be over $1000 more.  Neither cabins base price has changed since I booked.  The first person I talked to said no 2nd cabin discounts at all.  

Also on Celebrity website link below for Sky Suite benefits it specifically says 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/staterooms/suite-class/sky-suite?icid=xplrsh_wrnssn_sky_hm_other_173

On the APP under dining and Loyalty & Suites it shows the Room Service menu for suites and no where does it say there is a charge.  It shows it on the Regular room service menu not the Retreat Room Service menu. The retreat room service breakfast menu also has more options. 

26 minutes ago, zitsky said:

$208 plus tax and gratuity through the website planner.

 

$130 plus tax though the gifts program and you can buy for yourself 

What are you pricing for $130?  Isn't that just a bottle without the setup?

I just called BCC to ask a question about the Friends and Family discounts which I just recently booked on 2 separate cruises for next year without an issue, and I was told they discontinued this as of the beginning of the week.  Has anyone else heard about this?  Just another lack of communication on their part.

39 minutes ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Not likely as there seem to be limited spots pre cruise and usually get booked up to 1 year in advance.  We have had similar situations.  Any and all efforts to try to get this resolved before boarding have been futile

 

What we did was to head to one of the dining areas immediately upon boarding and they usually have a decent time we can book.

Also we’ve never done this but have heard you can also show up at one of the dining rooms and simply wait for an available table (not sure on wait time)

I was on Beyond this past February and we always just went and checked in and waited.  Usually it was not a long wait and if I remember they gave a buzzer so you could wander off a bit.

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

I talked to my husband.  He doesn’t care about the butler.  He wants the other perks.  So we won’t go to Aqua and lose our deposit.

 

Do you think I can get the Retreat “team” to all wear tuxedos?  😂

Why do you think you will lose your deposit if you just change cabin category?  Even if it is a downgrade you should not lose your deposit as long as you are staying on the same sailing.

9 minutes ago, IDL said:

 

Booked on the Beyond for this coming January.  I thought the 4 main dining rooms are just open seating and you just show up whenever you like. I understand specific reservations are required for the specialty restaurants.  

From what I can see when you are booked they can specify early, late or select dining.  Even though the restaurants on the E class do not have early or late times.  But if you are booked as select the app and online allows you to make reservations for specific times.  I have no clue if they honor them when we board but I was able to do this for my sailing next year on Ascent.

10 minutes ago, JanNSteH said:

Hi, am quite confused.  From what I've been reading a few have said that there is no assigned dining times and that we need to online and select our dining times within the 4 MDR venues.  When I look at my app, under Dining it says: "Celebrity Select Dining Early 6:00 pm.  Please refer to the dining reservation card found in your stateroom for location and time."  So does this mean that Celebrity has chosen a time, etc for us already and I don't need to do anything further.  If this is the case, that'll be great since we are a group of 12.  If not, I need to fix this now so that when we board, I don't run into any complicated issues as I'm sure it will not be easy getting all of us situated then.  Would rather fix it now than deal with it onboard.  Thanks.

Also maybe you can try emailing this department?  celebritydining@celebrity.com