shealea

Just now, dkjretired said:

 

No problem with the Jeans, no one has ever been able to define designer jeans. As an example in Alaska I wore my Le Kirkland Jeans by Costco.

dkjretired  -  I'm happy to hear that. Now I'm feeling good that we will fit right in with what we plan to wear to the MDR. I think we will skip the MDR on Evening Chic nights. I love the buffet anyway.

Also, what I'm excited about is that I read that you can order from the MDR menu with room service during MDR hours. It will be fun to do that and eat in our Balcony cabin. Even if it's not nice enough to eat right out on the balcony, just sitting and looking out at the ocean will be really neat!!!!!  I always love being able to order room service. 

2 minutes ago, davekathy said:

You're welcome. Enjoy your first Celebrity Cruise. Just as an FYI, here is Celebrity's suggested dress guidelines for the MDR. 

Formal Night gets a modern luxury reboot. Say goodbye to Formal Night, and hello to Evening Chic. It’s your time to shine—your way. Get glamorous. Get chic. Be sophisticated. Now, on up to two nights on every cruise, Evening Chic activities have been introduced, and Evening Chic attire has replaced Formal attire. While dressier than Smart Casual, Evening Chic is intended to be less dressy than Formal attire.

Women should feel comfortable wearing:

• A cocktail dress
• Skirt, pants or designer jeans with an elegant top

Men should feel comfortable wearing:

• Pants or designer jeans with a dress shirt, button-down shirt or sweater
• Optional sport coat or blazer

Evening Chic means that you can get glamorous and be sophisticated in your own way. If you would like to still wear a tuxedo or formal gown on Evening Chic nights, you absolutely should.

All cruises that are 7 nights or longer will feature two Evening Chic nights. Any cruise 6-nights or shorter will feature one Evening Chic night. All other nights of the cruise will feature Smart Casual attire. Celebrity Xpedition will continue to feature casual attire for the entire cruise.

Smart Casual attire can be enjoyed every other night of your cruise.

Women should feel comfortable wearing:

• Skirt, pants or jeans with a casual top

Men should feel comfortable wearing:

• Pants or jeans with a short sleeve sport shirt.

Note: T-shirts, swimsuits, robes, bare feet, tank tops, baseball caps and pool wear are not allowed in the main restaurant or specialty restaurant at any time. Shorts and flip-flops are not allowed in the evening hours. The dress code will be enforced at all restaurants. And guests are asked to follow the Smart Casual or Evening Chic dress code in the Celebrity Theater for all evening performances. The daily program, delivered to your stateroom and available at the Guest Relations Desk, will be your guide to the correct attire each evening.

davekathy, thank you for posting this information.  I think we will skip going to the MDR on the Evening Chic nights. I don't think we will be quite dressy enough.   But that is just fine. I always enjoy the buffet on cruises. I'm looking forward to the buffet. We saw it on a YouTube video, and it sure looks like it will be a good buffet.

I do think that we will fit in just fine on the Smart Casual nights in the MDR. 

7 minutes ago, davekathy said:

The Mast Grill on deck 14. Burgers, dogs and fries. 

Call Celebrity or your TA (if you used a TA) and ask if you could be changed from TD late to SD. Never hurts to ask.

Black jeans and a polo shirt will be just fine on any evening in the MDR. 

davekathy  -  Thanks for your reply! It's appreciated.

I will call our TA and ask them if they can get me changed to the anytime dining. That is our preference. Even if we can't get changed from the Late Dining, it will be ok. We just prefer dining whenever we get hungry!!!!  

My husband will be glad that he can wear his black jeans. They are a nice dark black jeans and I think they look nice. We just never dress up, so he will be most comfortable in his black jeans.

I have several nice skirts, so I will wear those.   

We haven't cruised with Celebrity so I wanted to be sure that we will be allowed in the MD with wearing what we bring along. 

1 hour ago, citronella said:

 

You are opening a very large can of worms asking that question LOL

LOL!!!!!!  I Did laugh a little when I read the description of appropriate choices for what to wear in the evening for dining. Designer Jeans can mean so many different things depending on who you are talking to!!!!!  Ha!

3 hours ago, chemmo said:

Food choices on boarding...

 

If you are concierge class there is an MDR option, suite then Luminae...Open to all is the buffet, Aqua Spa Cafe (light bites), Mast Grill (burgers) or Sushi on 5 (added cost). You could also go to Cafe el Bachio for a cake and coffee if you aren’t very hungry.

 

If it is simply the ‘busyness’ that puts you off the buffet then why not board, sit in a bar with a nice relaxing drink then head to the buffet at just after one when the rooms open up...You can quickly drop your hand luggage off and then enjoy...

 

You can try phoning (or getting your TA to phone) re changing seating but you may not get a positive response. As soon as possible after boarding head to the MDR and you will see a queue of guests all trying to adjust their dining options. You may not be able to change first night but the M’Ds do try to accommodate...

 

Your husband’s clothes should be fine.

 

Hope you have a fantastic cruise....

chemo  -  Thanks for your response. I think we'll just go ahead and do the Buffet after we board. Going at 1 pm when everyone is heading off to get into their rooms is a very good idea. I had not thought of that. Thanks!

I'm really looking forward to doing the buffet. We watched a YouTube video about the Solstice, and they showed the buffet. It looked fantastic. 

We'll go to the Main Dining room when we board to see if we can get changed to Anytime Dining. We like that flexibility when we've sailed on NCL. 

6 hours ago, GastroGnome said:

I can't help on the boarding day question as I cruise in suites so we go to Luminae which is open for boarding day lunch.  I *think* you have to have a level of loyalty status to get into MDR  - but I may well be wrong.  The specialty dining options are not open for boarding day lunch.

 

From other posts I believe you can put yourself on the waiting list for anytime dining before boarding - but if you go to see the Maitre D immediately you board, explain and ask to switch that can normally be accommodated. 

 

Yes - I would expect decent black jeans and a polo would be fine.  I suspect they are trying to avoid the designer ripped variety!  My DH wears good quality coloured jeans to dinner sometimes and no-one has ever commented.  To be honest I'm not sure anyone would notice the difference between decent black jeans and a pair of black chinos.

GastroGnome - We are in a Balcony room, so we wouldn't be able to do the Luminae or the MDR. 
I think when I booked our cruise, the Waiting List for Anytime Dining wasn't open. We will see if we can change once we are onboard. The only time available was Late dining. Even if we get stuck with that we will be just fine.  I've gotten used to Anytime Dining on NCL, and we really like that. 

This is our first time cruising with Celebrity. I'm looking forward to sailing with Celebrity. I've been reading wonderful things about them. 

Hi, All! I have two questions.

We are cruising to Alaska soon on the Celebrity Solstice. We would like to know what the dining options are right 
after we board the ship. Is there any choice besides the buffet?

Also, we got assigned late dining as that was the only choice left. Is it possible to try and change to  Anytime Dining

before we board, Or is our only way to try to change by going to the maître d?

Oh, one more question:  What exactly does Designer Jeans mean as far as being allowed to be worn in the dining room?

Geez, these days, designer jeans mean ripped jeans with really cool holes in them …….   ha!  My husband would like to

wear a nice pair of black jeans with a nice polo shirt. Will that be allowed?

Thanks for any help, I appreciate it!

I bought a magnet from each port. 

We camp and travel around a lot in the summer. I've started buying a magnet 
from many of the places that we visit. Seeing the magnets on my fridge always makes
me smile!!!!!

At one of the ports in Alaska I bought a really cool wind chime type thing to hang

on my back porch. It has wooden whales on it. I love the style and I can look out to my
porch and see it hanging. 

Hi all!  I don't own a swimsuit coverup. I haven't really found one that would seem to work well I guess. I'm 60 and not quite as thin and trim as when younger. So I wear a one piece with the skirt-type thing on it.  The coverups that I always see in catalogs don't seem like they would work with a thicker bathing suit. I think maybe I should get like a loose sun dress to use as a coverup?

Anyway, a couple of years ago when on a cruise to Alaska, I went to the pool to swim. I wasn't sure how to get to the pool in my swimsuit, especially since it was really chilly in Alaska. So I put my white robe on over my suit. My husband went with me, although he wasn't going swimming. 

I've since read here on cruise critic that it really isn't acceptable to do what I did and wear a robe out to the pool. Everytime I think of me doing that, I feel really embarrassed at myself. I wonder if the people in the elevator thought I was odd???!!!!!  yikes! I kind of think that maybe they were giving me weird looks when I thought about it later. Or maybe I just think they were. who knows.

Hey, I AM a country girl and didn't know any better!  ha!  But I won't do that again. 

Eddeb, thank you so much for sharing your son with us! I can tell that he sure enjoyed his cruise! Those are some wonderful pictures and some wonderful memories!

I have never sailed on a ship as large as the Bliss. We've sailed on the smallish ship, the Pearl etc.
I can see where the Bliss would be a good fit for those sailing with kids or young adults. 

I'm 60; love to have fun. But what are your comments and ideas on the Bliss for my age group? My husband would like to try the Bliss sometime, but I think some of the rigorous activities I would not be up to doing. Knowing me, I would TRY, then suffer with pain issues afterwards. yikes!!!!!!! 

Hello, I have cruised to Alaska a few times.  All cruises were with NCL, except for one, which was with Holland America.

ALL cruises to Alaska on NCL were great. Great entertainment. Holland America was ok. Just not up to what we like and are used to on NCL.

I would suggest NOT going with Holland America, especially with 20 year old age group. Not enough to do with that age group. I think they may be a bit bored. Holland America's main showroom entertainment was no way as good as NCL. (MY opinion). Holland America was big with computer classes, which were popular with the older crowd. 20 year olds would not find them helpful. Holland America is really big into their Cooking and Cuisine Chef classes. Probably not the thing for Most 20 year olds.

I talked to a young man, pry in his early 20's. We were in the hot tub. He was on a family cruise. He was a bit bored. He said that they should have researched better, and he now realized that Holland America was not a good fit for the younger folks on the cruise.

Don't get me wrong, though. For many folks, Holland America is the Perfect fit. I just do not recommend it for the younger crowd. I know my teenagers that we brought to Alaska on NCL would have been bored on Holland America.  I would give NCL another try. We really like that cruise line.

And have a WONDERFUL Alaska cruise. Talk about Beauty!!!!!  ENJOY!!!

My husband and I have been on a few cruises, all with NCL, except one with Holland America.

We always give our cabin steward $20 on the first day. Not as a bribe, not expecting anything. In fact, we don't really require or ask for much. We tell the steward that we don't need towel animals. I know lots of folks love them. We used to really get a kick out of them, but now I would rather just save them the time it takes to make ours. We tell them they don't need to make our bed up or down. In the morning, I just flip the covers up: presto, bed is made.

I tell them when I need towels, I will let them know. When I need the trash emptied, I will let them know. If I want ice, I will let them know.

Works well for us that way!

I always have taped ours, loop them through the handle, then staple them.

This time around on our recent Alaska cruise I ordered luggage tag holders. A link was on my Facebook page, so I ordered. Now ..... how did Facebook know I had booked a cruise and may want to order them?????? ha!!!

Anyway, they were a good price for four of them. If you are interested, I can go to my Facebook and see if I can find the link. I think they were only $6.99 maybe??!!

I have sailed several cruises on NCL's Pearl and Jewel ships. I have sailed one time on Holland America. I can tell you what we have experienced. They are not huge mega-ships, but smaller, or I guess probably considered mid-sized.

Our cabins on NCL were a bit smaller than our Ocean view on Holland America. But we had no problem with the cabins. Enough room for two of us just fine. Lots of storage.

We liked NCL over Holland America in many areas. The entertainment we experienced on NCL was far better than Holland America. On Holland America, the main shows were not anywhere near as good as NCL. NCL had pretty lively karaoke going on. So much fun!!

On Holland America, later night entertainment was just not there like on NCL. NCL has fun, active dancing and music. Lots of folks boogie-ing late into the night. We dance or just sit and enjoy watching the fun! NCL has the white hot party! They have some kind of wilder, zany later night entertainers and audience participant activities. So, so much fun!!

I liked the buffet better on NCL. To me, the main dining room food was about the same on both. I enjoy most any food though.

NCL is really relaxed with their dress code. Dining is Anytime Dining; no specific seating time. We never once had to wait to be seated.

I felt we had excellent service on both cruise lines. Our room stewards were very good on both.

Holland America has many computer classes offered. I went to a couple to learn the new operating system and what it has to offer. I went to one class on using the new Pictures program and all it does.

Holland America had many cooking demos offered. They had cooking classes for a fee.

I felt Holland America was good, but we prefer NCL. I would cruise Holland America again if the price was right, but I will try to stick with NCL. It fits our style.

On our recent Alaska cruise on the Pearl, there were late-night snacks served at the small buffet area at the Great Outdoors. But as others have said, you can't go wrong with O'Sheehans. Love that place! During the day, it's fun to get a seat near the railing overlooking the Atrium. Sometimes there's neat things on the huge screen, music groups playing, fun people watching. Or you can try to get a window seat to see out to the ocean or scenery.

When booking a Guarantee Oceanview Room, you can do worse than a Porthole view. You can get an Obstructed Oceanview, where you are facing directly into a lifeboat, with no view at all. You would get some natural light in your cabin, however.

So I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but just wanted you to be aware. Keep a close eye out for the prices on Balcony cabins. If you are lucky, you could see a price drop if those are not selling. We went from Obstructed Oceanview to a hull balcony for an outstanding price back in mid May.

Hi! I'm enjoying your review. I've read some of the others you have written!!! We're leaving on a cruise to Alaska this Sunday. Very excited!

A couple of questions ..... Do you ever do any shore excursions besides Beach excursions???? As Sakari gets older, do you think she'll be interested in learning some of the history of the places you visit or interact with the people??? Or other outings that she can see animals besides on the beach???

Our kids and grandkids are all grown. We used to stick with the beaches and that sort of thing or the kids would have been bored. When we went to museums or learning center type things, they always wanted to zip on through. Now we can do some of that at our leisure. But I DO still love, love beach outings!!!

Second question ...... You take a TON of pictures. Very good ones, YES!!!! You have mentioned at times that you save this or that for your scrapbook. Do you actually do 'scrapbooking' with your pictures and things you save from your trips???

I do as much scrapbooking as I can. It does take time. I do quite a bit of writing along with it as well, so the kids will hopefully enjoy reading about and remembering our fun family times.

Do you save your reviews here to disc (or however you save this sort of thing)??? What wonderful pictures and narrations for your kids and grandkids to have.

And you really do need to cruise to Alaska. There are some super sales going on when it gets close to sailing. We don't have to get airfare since we live near Seattle, so we can watch for big price drops. We just got a balcony for 7 night cruise for $649, That is a very, very good price for Alaska cruise. It's on the NCL Pearl. Insides are $399.

Shores excursions in Alaska are really very pricey. But I'll bet Sakari would love getting out to see Bear or whale watching. And they do have scuba diving and snorkeling.

On with reading more of your review while I enjoy our lunch!!!!!

Hi! I'm sorry things aren't working as you had hoped for the girls Clubs on the cruise.

But, I really think things will work out really well anyway and that they will have the greatest time ever.

We brought our grandkids on an Alaskan cruise with us. My grandson was 16 and he hung out with kids outside of the Club activities.

My granddaughter was about 10 or so. She went to the Club many times. But how she really met her closest friends was at the pool. Lots of kids there during the day. It's surprising how easily most kids make friends while having a good time in the pool.

The girls also set up meeting times for breakfast dates. They met in the buffet for breakfast. I went along and sat at a different table. They had fancy dress up times and met to eat together, again with parents close by in the buffet.

They met at the arcade at pre-set times, too.

I really think it will all work out just fine. There are so many opportunities that you could work out for the girls outside of their Kids Clubs.

I also think that NCL has the White Hot Party (different name now, I think). I think I've read that they have a time for families earlier. The girls would love that and probably see lots of their friends there.

There are a lot of family type activities that you can all do together.

mama - You are in for a treat with your Alaska cruise. When is your cruise date? Maybe you said above, but I don't remember now.

I'm not going to be able to get around as well on this cruise. I'm used to being able to run here and there, back and forth, all over the ship. I will be slow this time, for sure!!! For once, I guess I will be forced to slow down and stay in one place for awhile and relax!!!! I think my dearest husband will love it!!!!! he, he!!!

You enjoy your cruise!!!!!

I promise I won't beak the ship! ha!

Yes, I mean Hull Balcony.

The Ranger's commentary over the tv won't bother husband. He'll probably be awake and listening, but I doubt he'll want to get up and get dressed and get out on deck as early as I do.

We've been to Glacier Bay twice before but have always been out on the upper decks. I had a hip replacement not too terribly long ago, so I don't want to be getting crammed in with the crowds. That's all I need is to fall over! yikes!

I don't know if you have been to Alaska before. If not, you are sure in for a treat!!! We've always cruised there in July & August, so May will be different. I've heard it's so very beautiful with more snow showing in the mountains!!!!

I have a hull cabin on my upcoming cruise to Alaska -- 5/14/17.

I booked Guarantee Balcony and was assigned my hull cabin right away.

If you have stayed in a hull cabin, how did you like it?

I'm thinking that it will work well for us on an Alaska cruise. It looks like there will be more protection from the wind and rain?????

It looks like the view from inside our cabin won't be as large a sweeping view, though. But the hull cabin looks comfy and private.

We are doing Glacier Bay, and they start heading in the Bay at 6 am. I doubt I can get hubby up that early to go out on deck with me. I think this will be perfect, as I can view from our balcony while he's still in bed.

I know the Ranger will be providing a commentary. Will I be able to hear him as I watch from my balcony?????

Thank you for your replies. I will check out your suggestions!

We are anxious to know what entertainment is performing for the Nightly Shows on the Pearl.

We are going on a May 14, cruise to Alaska. We always look forward to going to the show each night!

Thanks!

The Jewel and also the Pearl are our favorite ships we have ever been on. Love the size. Love the set-up.

But, we have only been to Alaska on these ships. So, there could be a difference in passengers on board. But, I love meeting all sorts of people, so I think I would be comfortable and have fun on any ship and any cruise line. That is one of most enjoyable part of cruising ...... meeting people from all over, from all walks of life!!! I love that!!!!

I stop to visit with folks, with dear husband not realizing I've stopped, until he turns around and finds me WAY back! he, he!!!

But then again, I'm approaching 60, with tattoos and ear piercings! And grey hair!!!! Wild Animal!!!!! ha!