Markanddonna

You should listen to MSC's hold music. Argh!!!

Historically, M&Gs have been more common on cruises longer than 7 days. I never received anything for organizing, but was aware that some perks were previously (10 years ago+) given. 

On the last one I organized, one disorganized woman used the meeting to get things off her chest and just complained about things unrelated to the M&G.  I thought it was rude and have vowed to not organize them anymore. Once onboard, people find all sorts of reasons to not show up.

5 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

Which brings up a question.  Why do you bother to go to those events?  

 

Hank

I don't anymore after learning what is going on. Why are you asking why I bother to go to the events? To be honest, that's a pretty rude response.  You are historically a better person than that.

I personally never met a snobby person on any of my cruises, but Celebrity is about as high up as we go. What rankles me are the silly ceremonies to honor the highest-ranking loyalty members. Really? I'm clapping for a person who has so much money and free time that they have cruised for 3,000 days with that cruise line?  If it were me in their place, I'd forego the event. 

I don't consider any review or comment unless I know the type of cabin they booked. Many excellent reviews are from upper level cabins that have access to a special dining room. Their food might be excellent while the mdr is average. You set yourself up for disappointment unless you are aware of these not so subtle differences.

We were on the Apex in May on a TA. It was okay. The passengers, like on most TAs, skewed older- average maybe 75, the food was mediocre, the crew was excellent and we enjoyed our cabin. The entertainment was mediocre. We have about 30 cruises under our belts and many TAs.

Things with dining have changed recently on Celebrity. We signed up for early dining to share a table but discovered our assigned table was changed from the one we were told when checking in. Our new table was for two and NO ONE was seated next to us until 5 mins before we left. It seems that the four main dining rooms are a combination of fixed and flexible dining. 

So, we went to the concierge at the restaurant, who suggested we just show up at any of the restaurants whenever we wished and ask to share a table. That worked quite well until we discovered that we got weary of starting with a fresh group of people each night. The conversations never got beyond where are you from, are you a regular Celebrity cruiser, what are your plans for the other ports, etc. On the last two days out of 13, we chose to eat in the buffet since the experience was not great. We never made friends with anyone we met at the MDR.

We also learned to sort of scope out the people at the table we were being led to. We had endured two nights seated with a couple who didn't talk. She had severe dementia, and her husband was frazzled by her outbursts. We looked to see if the people were talking or just sitting silent looking at their silverware. 

Celebrities' efforts to expand open dining were rather a failure in our eyes.

I use both CC and FB and also appreciate that CC doesn't shut down different opinions. I've come to see that FB groups related to travel, including roll calls, are often started and then controlled by someone in the travel industry. Anything that implies a specific cruise line has an issue isn't tolerated and removed by these people. With FB's growing popularity and competition with CC, I now see the good old days of roll calls and small private excursion groups as greatly diminished. With pre-pandemic rolls calls on CC, the group was much more cohesive and stable and "bonded" on the ship. This has been falling apart for us lately, making cruising not as much fun for us.

17 minutes ago, AndyB said:

 

@Markanddonna, I am curious about the porthole veranda, as I took a chance and booked one (one deck up from you, 7114) for the October Transatlantic next year.  Is there still plenty of viewing space, not obstructed by the porthole "wall"?  Was being that far forward any problem?  I don't mind getting a little more motion.  Thanks!

You will have a slightly better situation than we had on deck 6 as our view looking down was slightly obstructed. I thought it was a wonderful room, but then we are just thrilled to have the privilege of traveling, not cooking and cleaning. You can sit out and enjoy the veranda, enjoy the fresh ocean air, see the weather outside, use your balcony to dry clothes (carefully), etc. The room was lovely and we had no problem with any movement that is sometimes described in a forward cabin. I think you will be very pleased. I would snatch one of these up in a heartbeat.

50 minutes ago, keesar said:

 

You may be assigned a time but it is Anytime Dining.  Go to any of the 4 dining venues whenever you want to eat.  Even though there may be special items in each dining room, you can order food from any of them.  We had reservations but was told it was Anytime Dining.  However, if you find a dining room and waitstaff that you like, you can ask to be seated in that area.

We had assigned dining but were placed at a two top with no one around us. After that, we chose to go to any of the four dining rooms whenever we wanted. It worked out fine but to be honest, we tired of the need to introduce ourselves every night. Much prefer dining at a 6-8 top with the same people.

It depends on where you are going. We are in our early/mid seventies, and that was probably the average age on the Apex transatlantic. Lots of canes, walkers, scooters. The one comedian referred to the passengers as "dusty," which was a pretty good description. Most just sat in the lounges at night, listening to music and staring into the air as they enjoyed their drink package.

Ephesus: Book a tour with a private company. There are several to choose from. We have been there twice, and the ship tour was fast-paced. The guide was ignorant, passing off myths and inaccurate information to those who didn't know better. (I study Biblical history and archaeology, so I was aghast.)  I assume you will go to the ancient city of Ephesus. Unless you are Roman Catholic, try to skip the House of Mary, which has little/no historical basis to it. Avoid the carpet and jewelry salesmen at the port. Just walk past and don't allow yourself to engage.

I would also use a private company in Santorini. To see how busy the port will be, check a website that tells you how many ships are in port that day.

In Naples, you can take the train to Pompeii or Herculaneum. We took the Red Sightseeing Bus Company's special bus that goes to Pompeii, and it worked out great. Plenty of time to see the site.

Don't feel like you are a cruising newbie who must take ship tours. While cruising is somewhat different in Europe, I think your experience will be superb, and you will be hooked. 

12 hours ago, clo said:

We had never bought it before even though we're in our 70s. I did this time and darn good. I have a medical issue that won't allow me to go. It wasn't cheap but compared to the cost of the cruise it was.

We always get it. A cruise that ended with COVID and two trips to an ER in Europe resulted in a premature trip back home. Our travel insurance paid for everything, including the $2,000 flight adjustment for the rebooked flight.

1 hour ago, K32682 said:

 

A table without conversation is preferable to one where an overbearing matron discusses her medical conditions and past surgeries, a devout Christian asks diners to join hands before they talk to their sky pilot or being named the "Mystery Man" because you won't tell people what you do for a living. 

I'd say some folks are perfect candidates for a two-top. 
We're all different, and your preferences should be respected.

We were in 6114 on the 2024 TA. We were in a veranda but it was the "port hole view" which was very nice. Your location is a good one- mid ship and close to a lot of venues. 

19 minutes ago, K32682 said:

The MDR is vastly improved from the days when you were expected to eat with an assortment of random strangers one of whom was often an overbearing busybody who believed her life's mission was to generate dinner conversation instead of just letting you quietly eat your dinner. 

 

The loss of pretentious dress codes and formal nights are a definite improvement. Less luggage to carry and no more sharing the dinning room with men crammed into the tux they wore to their high school prom or zaftig ladies spilling out of sparkly dresses that perhaps fit them decades ago.

Whew, pretty negative, but I agree with the more relaxed dress codes. To us, it is more of a luggage issue. I don't recall seeing men or women stuffed into their tuxes or dresses.

How awkward is no conversation at a table. It is only problematic when one or two people monopolize the conversation. 

Generally, the people we ate with for 7-23 days have met have positively added to our lives. You don't get the same vibe on the cruises for less than seven days. We have only once asked to be moved from our assigned table: one couple was a no-show, two French Canadians who said they spoke no English, and an elderly couple where the woman was angry/crabby and her husband was silent. I wasn't going to tolerate that for 23 days on a TP.

2 minutes ago, Markanddonna said:

Yes, you can still share but with different people every night. We became weary of giving our summaries each night. With a fixed group, you can talk about your day, tomorrow's port, family, other things.

This was on a Celebrity TA.

21 minutes ago, ldubs said:

 

Back in the good old days, there were a limited number of two tops.  Now they seem to have sprouted everywhere.  But still, is it a problem now days to get a shared table?  At least now you can be relatively sure those you join are also inclined to socialize.  

Yes, you can still share but with different people every night. We became weary of giving our summaries each night. With a fixed group, you can talk about your day, tomorrow's port, family, other things.

I think you will discover these things:

- passengers have isolated themselves more and are often on their electronic devices. The cruise lines apps are partly to blame. 

- rules and guidelines are now made to be broken. You have a hard time keeping up with them because they are always in the state of flux. The old rules may now be just suggestions.

The MDR experience is often disappointing, not just with the food but also with the idea of socializing. Many passengers want to avoid interacting with other passengers, so you will likely see lots of two-tops.

- the dress code is just a suggestion. We have seen some pretty outrageous things in the past year. One cruise had a single male furry (had no companions) who walked around the entire Caribbean cruise in his hot skunk furry costume. The staff made him take off his mask as it was scaring people. People increasingly wear their bathrobes to breakfast (Celebrity...) and swimwear with no cover-up to lunch in the buffet. No one says anything.

The positive: more choices

Most info here is credible and rebuked by others if in error. The most difficult issues seem to resolve around dining arrangements since cruise lines are offering so many options and things are fluid 

If you want to book on an expensive cruise line or book a suite or above, consider an agent. They may have more to offer because of the profit they are making. Otherwise, book direct and be diligent to check frequently. Don't expect much or anything after the final payment is due. I have benefitted numerous times by calling when I notice the price decrease.

10 hours ago, bobby3334 said:

 I asked a staff member and they said the interdenominational service led I think by the entertainment director/cruise director and announced in the ship’s bulletin at least one Sunday got about 50-75 people.  Generally Catholics regard these as Protestant services requiring no special ordained leader.  

I have never seen a service led by the cruise director. I doubt I would attend that unless I knew his/her background. Protestant services don't require anything from the cruise line. One ship required that the Protestant leader be ordained clergy which only the mainline denominations consider as important.

I rapidly clicked through it. As an author, I have played with AI, and most new articles seem to be generated by AI. As an experienced cruiser, I find them not at all helpful. It is interesting that anyone can generate a pretty good article that is mostly true by just putting a well-thought-out prompt into an AI generator. I fear that is our future.

Fiction, on the other hand, is pretty horrible. They use five swarmy, sloppy sentences where just one would suffice.

Just now, Mum2Mercury said:

Yes.  

People have no right to be angry when they're asked to follow well-established, well-published rules.  

Totally agree.  I thought it was a valiant effort to tackle an irritating problem. This was the nastiest group I have ever traveled with. I'm just saying that the guard was the tipping point to this group of entitled bullies.

On one of my cruises, there was a pool chair policeman in the adult area. I saw a very heated discussion with a man who wanted to claim multiple chairs at 6:30 AM. The crew member was large, and I doubt many wanted to mess with him. He won that round. The end result was a hostile group of passengers, and for a few days, it was like a mutiny on the bounty. People were angry.