jcpc

41 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 On our last cruise the hours were 0630 - 0900.

 

 

Normally all the waiters and assistant waiters are not in Luminae for breakfast.  May of them have to attend training and this is normally done in the mornings.  Also one of the assistant waiters works in the Retreat Lounge during the morning hours setting up the food, as well as going around offering to get food and drinks for the people in the lounge.  Some also work in other areas of the ship, the OVC was mentioned. 

 

 

Yes, I realize the Luminae team works at OVC during lunch time on sea days.  To my knowledge none of them work there during breakfast hours - they are all assigned to Luminae during breakfast hours (with the exception of one team member who does indeed set up and break down the continental breakfast in Retreat Lounge/Michaels Club).
 

My only true experience with Luminae breakfast is on Summit.  I can assure you the couple of times we made it to breakfast (probably around 8:45 am) each and every member of the wait team was present in Luminae.  I have no direct knowledge of the “early morning hours” but am relying solely on what I’ve been told by numerous wait staff and management. 

Or if, as you say, Luminae does indeed open for breakfast at 6:30 am, perhaps they can and should tweak the hours to open at 7:00 am and close at 9:30 am.  As I said I have no direct knowledge of the early morning hours, but I cannot imagine that, especially on a sea day, the place is jam-packed with guests at 6:30 am!
 

It seems to me that a big area of contention is the fact that Luminae closes for breakfast at 9 am.  Personally, for me, 9 am close time is too early.  Many of us while on a cruise like to sleep in a bit later and enjoy a leisurely morning rather than having to set the alarm to get up and get showered and ready for breakfast for 9 am.  However, I've learned to adjust and I will usually just get a pastry and coffee at Al Bacio and that will suffice.  I flat out refuse to go to the buffet as there is nothing relaxing or luxurious about going to the breakfast buffet on Celebrity.

However, there is a very obvious solution to this problem of closing at 9 am.  How about "staggered work hours" for the wait staff in Luminae.....especially on sea days?  I believe that Luminae is open from 7 am to 9 am.  I have been told by several different maitre'd's and wait staff in Luminae that the place is "dead" from 7 am until about 8:15 am and then they are "slammed" starting at around 8:15 am.  So, let's just say that there are 8 waiters assigned to Luminae.  Rather than having all 8 work from 7 am until 9 am, why not have 4 work from 7 am to 9 am and have 4 work from 8 am until 10 am.  The way Luminae is currently run all 8 waiters appear at 7 am and basically do nothing but hang around the back room waiting for guests for about the first hour.  This is a very easy implementation and is done all the time in land-based restaurants.  Any competent restaurant manager or maitre'd can surely adjust work schedules to accommodate all guests.

On 5/22/2024 at 6:37 PM, phoenix_dream said:

Can I ask you a question about Yacht Club.  I'm considering trying it for a change after many X cruises and their website is a mess!  I thought Celebrity's was bad, but theirs is bad on a whole new level.  So my question - I go to the page that says Yacht Club, but then when I enter it brings up all levels of cabins.  Do I just pick a suite?  Meaning, I guess, are all suites in the Yacht Club?  Also, even when I pick a suite it asks me if I want to add on a liquor package and wifi.  You are stating those are included.  So do I just book a "cruise only" rate?  I guess I probably would be best off working with a TA.  I usually use a large not-to-be-named online agency but they don't seem to handle MSC bookings, at least they're not listed on their website.  thanks for any advice

@phoenix_dream I am a Celebrity Zenith frequent-Retreat cruiser who has make the switch to MSC for Yacht Club (suite) bookings.  I still sail Celebrity but NOT in Retreat class.  I will tell you that I agree 100% with what @Georgia_Peaches has posted about Yacht Club.

My reco is to work with a good travel agent as MSC is notoriously bad to deal with.  My long-time travel agent will only book MSC for 5 of her loyal, long-time clients as she finds MSC horrendous to deal with (horror stories about a cruise MSC cancelled and when she tried to re-book it MSC re-booked 2 of us on a sailing out of Geona Italy (not Brooklyn NY) and the other 3 of us on the cruise we wanted for next year.  It was a mess to sort out and it took time but she did it and I didn't have to deal with any of the mess!) 

Anyway, if you join some of the MSC Yacht Club Cruisers groups on that social medial site that shall not be named on Cruise Critic, you will find the names and contact information for several agents who deal with MSC A LOT and seem to have the ins and outs of dealing with them all worked out.  I am CONFIDENT you will enjoy your YC experience but really.......do not try to deal with them alone.  Also, MSC does a status match so be sure to do your status match online with MSC prior to booking a cruise with them.  It's easy peasy to do the status match and you will get your Voyager Club number and level within a matter of days.  

If you decide to try to book yourself DO NOT pick the Category that says Suites......pick the Category that says Yacht Club (all suites are not in Yacht Club and not all ships have Yacht Club!).

Well in my opinion the suite “enhancements” would need to be pretty substantial to justify the price Celebrity is charging for Retreat.  I don’t feel these enhancements are substantial at all.  

I sailed Eclipse last week.  Concierges were John and Chris.  Retreat Manager was Georgios.  Michael's Club does have a "bar" but no seating at the bar.  All in all it was a very comfortable venue.  It did not have the "updated" furniture as the Edge class and the refurbished M and S class has.  No Retreat Sundeck.

I've had dinner in Butcher's Cut on Meraviglia on two separate sailings.  While the restaurant and food was good, I definitely would not call it an "upscale" specialty restaurant.  When we were there (both times) fellow diners were in shorts and t-shirts.......nothing "upscale" about that at all.  I do, however, notice that your wife is properly dressed for an "upscale" restaurant (and she looks great - I tend to "dress" for dinner every night while on a cruise).  But I don't think that Butcher's Cut is at all upscale.  As you point out --- Murano on Celebrity and Butcher's Cut are like comparing apples to oranges.  However, bear in mind that not all "specialty" dining on Celebrity is upscale (but Murano definitely is, in my opinion). 

How do I feel about a marching band coming through the dining room during dinner?  I'm not a fan.  I think it's probably not any different than having a great meal in Fine Cut Steakhouse on any of the Celebrity Edge class ships while listening to the very, very loud "Martini Bar Show" taking place below (Fine Cut overlooks and is open to the Grand Plaza, where the Martini Bar is located). 

My only experience with MSC Yacht Club is on Meravilgia.  And I will unequivocally say that it surpasses any Retreat experience I've had in the past 4 years.  Years ago.....Retreat was #1 -- not the case anymore.  I've sailed exclusively with Celebrity since the cruise line inception - most years sailing 3 or 4 times a year.  But in September 2023 I tried MSC YC.   I've got 2 future Celebrity cruises booked in Concierge Class and Aqua but I've got 4 more MSC bookings in YC on Meraviglia.  In my opinion (and the opinion of my 4 sailing companions who are all either Zenith or Elita Plus on Celebrity) MSC is the way to go now.

18 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

Mine already met that but I had to change it anyway. 

How strange.  A friend of mine had a password that met the requirements and she didn’t have to change it.  Typical Celebrity….LOL

I was told that in order to access both your account on the website and the app, you must change your password.  Password must consist of 8 characters including letters, 1 number and 1 special character.  If your password already met these requirements there is no need to change it.  I changed my password (keeping it the same password but just adding 1 special character) and can access both now.  It would have been nice if Celebrity sent out an email letting us all know this!

I have a question.  A friend of mine has booked in Aqua and has Classic Beverage Package and wifi as 2 perks.  She is interested in knowing the price of the upgrade to Premium Beverage Package -- but the "upgrade to Premium Package" is not showing anywhere on her Cruise Planner.  I logged in as her and verified that she is correct -- it's not showing up.  So, do you have to call Celebrity to ask about this upgrade or is their Cruise Planner "glitchy" for her booking?  Thanks so much.

Most times in Luminae (well it used to be this way......not sure it still is) you can, with 24 hours notice, order a special meal to be prepared.  I have, in the past, requested chicken parm and pasta.  Did it come from Tuscan?  No.  Was it tasty and well prepared?  Sometimes yes and sometimes no!  Of course, this is all "maitre'd and chef" dependent.  Some are more accommodating than others.

@RichYak You've pretty much summed up my thoughts on Retreat vs Yacht Club.  I'm sold on MSC Yacht Club.  Now......will I sail Celebrity again?  Yes, and as a matter of fact I've got two Celebrity cruises booked this year - but not in Retreat.  I refuse to pay those Retreat prices for the quality of service I've received lately in Retreat.  I've also got 4 MSC Yacht Club cruises booked between now and February 2025.  So....for my money.....it's Yacht Club all the way!  Thanks for posting your final thoughts.

@RichYakSo happy to hear that you are "sold" on MSC YC.  I am too.  I also sailed Meraviglia (twice) so I have no experience with YC on other ships.  And Arthur was the Maitre'd on my last sailing. I have to say he is excellent at his job.  After sailing Celebrity Retreat for many, many cruises I am now continuing my MSC YC sailings.  MSC YC simply blows away Celebrity Retreat, in my opinion.

19 hours ago, Pat said:

If you book onboard and get the additional on board credit and immediately have your booking transferred to your usual travel agency,  would you expect to get the OBC that your travel agency offers also?

Yes, my travel agent still gave me her onboard credit.  And I didn't have to "transfer" the booking to my agent.  When I booked onboard, the booking system had the information about my travel agent already loaded and the booking automatically went to her (unless, of course, I told the Future Cruise Rep that I did not want to use that particular travel agent again......which I did not!)

@JamieLogical I'm very sorry to hear of the loss of your friend, Ted.  I got the sense from your posts that your group of solo cruising friends really liked him a lot.  I remember you posting about his health problems on one of your cruises.  Take comfort in knowing that he enjoyed being with you guys just as much as you all enjoyed being with him.  May he rest in peace (or cruise in peace as the case may be).

Jamie mentioned a lower deposit.  I believe the non-refundable YC deposit is not lower - it's $199 per person.  I've attached the Future Cruise Booking Terms and Conditions that I received in February (which addresses the price guarantee).

FCC BTC.pdf

When I booked onboard Meraviglia I received extra OBC.  Also, onboard bookings were awarded double Voyager Club points.

On Meraviglia in YC we had shampoo, conditioner, body wash and body lotion........but I still bring all my own!  I found their body lotion was okay but did not like their shampoo or conditioner.  Just easier for me to bring my products from home.

I priced out a few sailings. An example of what I'm seeing is:  Royal Suite on June 2025 sailing on Silhouette - a reduction of $600 using the Zenith rate (priced reduced from $16.1K to $15.5K.)  A savings of $600 on a $16000 booking is not going to make me jump back to booking suites on Celebrity.

21 hours ago, DisneyJen said:

Thanks so much for your review @HappyInVan👍

 

We board Meraviglia in YC in 54 days🛳️

 

We are driving to the port. What time do you think would be a good time to arrive with the traffic?

@DisneyJen I've sailed Meraviglia departing from Brooklyn twice.   Both times, we took private car service from our home to the port.  The driver had no problem driving into the port and dropping us off directly at the YC Tent to deposit our luggage.  Was their a line of cars getting into the port?  Yes, but it moved and did not take an inordinate amount of time to reach the YC luggage tent.  Both times, we arrived at the port around 9:45 am.  Enjoy your cruise.  I'm guessing you will like YC very much (I know you're a Celebrity cruiser.....and I remember you posting on the Celebrity boards about a favorite Luminae Maitre'd of mine....Yuksel!)  Please be sure to come back and post your thoughts on YC after the cruise.

@RichYak Thank you so much for posting your thoughts on your YC experience.  I enjoyed reading your posts and agree with just about everything you posted.

Re the 2 chairs on Summit facing the wall -- I was a frequent SM cruiser and, yes, they've been there in that position on every one of my sailings.  Plus, the chairs in the Retreat Lounge on SM are, as a rule, very uncomfortable in general!

I usually sailed in a Royal Suite on Summit (but have been in all suite categories from Sky Suite to Penthouse on various Celebrity ships) but I believe the attention to detail that was shown on my two Meraviglia sailings in YC far surpassed anything I've experienced recently on Celebrity.  I will, however, say that once outside the YC the MSC experience is not really for me.  Going to the shows in the Broadway Theater and Carousel Lounge was just the perfect amount of "exposure" to MSC cruising for me.  Other than YC, I much prefer the overall "ambience" of Celebrity ships vs MSC ships.

Again, thanks for your comments and I hope you're looking forward to your next cruise.

1 hour ago, RichYak said:

I’ve been escorted on board when in upper suites. Even in Sky Suites, the concierges will escort you off the ship at ports. This is particularly useful at tender port stops. 

On Celebrity, when in an upper suite, I've only been escorted on embarkation day.  I've never had any escorts on any port days - either disembarking the ship or re-boarding the ship in a port.  However, at tender port stops, we have met in Retreat Lounge and were escorted to the tender area where we joined the already created line to board the tender -- we never "bumped" anyone in the tender line (which was fine with me!).  Escorts to disembark or re-board a ship in a port is not a big deal to me as I'm usually in no hurry at all to get off the ship in most ports....especially in the Caribbean.

Mine is showing a "Zenith Loyalty Savings" of 20% on premium beverage package.  However, as a Zenith I get a complimentary premium beverage package!  So, the Cruise Planner is very deceptive and inaccurate, in my case.

18 hours ago, RichYak said:

My wife just rated MSC YC an A+. My opinion officially no longer matters. 

I totally agree with your wife.  My two experiences with MSC YC on Meraviglia totally blows away any of my recent Retreat experiences.  And my 4 "loyal Celebrity Retreat" sailing companions totally agree.  Enjoy what's left of your cruise.

in my opinion, comparing Regent (a luxury line) to Celebrity (a mass market line) is like comparing apples to oranges.