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From Celebrity Solstice in Alaska

Serenade of the Seas (left) in Antigua

You will enjoy it. Our first cruise longer than 7 days was a 10 day cruise. It felt wonderful on that 7th day when you "normally" would start packing and getting the "end of cruise blues", that I realized I still have 3 more days to go. To me 10 / 11 day's is the perfect balance. (Our 14 day B2B was a little long, could have been the itinerary on the 2nd week, so we will not let that stop us giving it another try.)

Not sure when your sea days are, but ours was 2 days at the front and 2 days at the back which were perfect. The front 2 sea days gave us a chance to unwind and relax to get in vacation mode and really enjoy the islands we were about to visit. The 2 sea days at the end helped us relax from all the sightseeing, start to pull things together, and generally "decompress" before returning to work.

By the way - our first 10 day was on Equinox - Eastern / Southern Caribbean. I think you will have a wonderful time. Wishing you safe and happy, relaxing, travels.

I found it interesting and a great idea to help bring the suite experience up a level. Wonder how long it will be before it is expanded across the entire fleet, which would be a good idea. (Good job Mr. Bayley.)

We are sailing Allure out of Barcelona in October (11 OCT sailing). We have booked Mama Mia already - opened for booking a week or two ago. If I remember correctly, the show runs Sun, Mon, and Tues.

Another thing I've remembered - I think the poolside experience is a little better on Celebrity. They don't ration the towels: on RCI ships I've been on, (mostly Oasis class) you get one towel, exchangeable when you like, and if you lose it they charge your card $25. On the celebrity ships I've been on (Equinox and Silhouette) the towels were freely available at a towel station. Also I found the celebrity pool stewards MUCH better at monitoring whether people are hogging sunbeds - at RCI, the notices are there but they never seem to do anything about it.

Good point. Did you happen to notice how they had the towels out on boarding day. Laying on each lounge chair around the pool. If I remember correctly the towels were folded like napkins are folded at dinner. Really special.

Just thought I would mention a couple of things:

Mistakes do happen, even at retail operations onshore. Payments can be applied to the wrong account, user pays online - yet credit card company could rejects transaction, the formatting of the amount field is different than anticipated and we actually "underpay", etc.

Also, in this day and age of "phishing", we need to be cognizant of exactly who we are dealing with whether via email, telephone, online accounts etc. This is where we as consumers need to do our investigating (confirm we actually made the payment) and then call Celebrity to discuss the matter.

When receiving emails requesting funds, e.g., "payment", our alarms should go off to make sure we are cautious how we provide credit card information, who we provide it to, etc. Even though the link in the email looks valid, it could actually redirect to a different address in an attempt to get sign-on info, credit card numbers, etc. Leveraging the telephone in this type of situation is the easiest way to resolve the matter, more safely, and help prevent fraud.

I realize the above is not the "complaint" of the OP; however, it could have easily have been an attempt to obtain personal information from the user.

Just thought I would pass along.

I think that is a matter of personal preference. In some instances, the up-charge is in-line with the cost of dining onshore vs on the ship. Especially if you consider that you have already paid a portion of food costs - of course that is primarily directed to the MDR and the buffet; however when you cost per person the up-charge it can make you take a "double take".

On a positive note, you are able to try different cuisine than you may have available at home. Plus you are able to order different items, in multiples, without incurring the cost per item charge you would experience onshore.

We do enjoy a few specialty restaurants, e.g., Tuscan Grill, Silk Harvest (where available), etc. They can be a "rescue" item when the MDR menu for the night just does not appeal to you. So, we do tend to book specialty dining a couple of times per cruise.

Have a wonderful cruise.

We have sailed several classes of RCCL ships and only Celebrity - S Class Ships. We really enjoyed our cruises on both Solstice and Equinox. Everyone has pretty much summed things up, but a few additional items:

We found the décor on Solstice and Equinox more to our liking vs RCCL. (We have not sailed the newer RCCL ships yet - looking forward to Allure in October, so we will see how their designers have updated things then.) However, we were surprised that Navigator's décor still tended to have the same color scheme after dry dock vs moving things forward a bit more. The décor on Celebrity uses a lot cleaner lines and a more modern color palette, whereas RCCL tends to be more "tropical" in appearance - at least for the ships we have sailed. I think Oasis Class and Quantum Class it more in line with Celebrity - at least what I understand. Could be completely off the mark, but that's the way we see it.

We really enjoy the specialty restaurants on Celebrity, although to us Murano is "overrated". I know it receives rave reviews, but we like Tuscan Grill better. Of course, the hamburgers at the Mast Grill are wonderful (and avoid the upcharge that Johnny Rockets imposes.) Also, for Asian fusion do give Silk Harvest a try if on Equinox / Solstice. We do enjoy Chops Grille on RCCL, but that's about it for the specialty restaurants.

Not sure of your views on formal nights; however, on Celebrity if you dine in a specialty restaurant or Blu (is Aqua Class) you do not have to dress in formal attire. Unlike RCCL, where formal attire applies to the MDR and the specialty restaurants. (Based upon our experience and reviewing the RCCL and Celebrity brochures.) Just a point of reference if formal nights are something important to you.

On Solstice, we sailed in Aqua Class. The shower is great. However, balcony staterooms on the RCCL ships we have sailed appear to be larger. I believe this is driven by the fact on the S-Class Ships the staterooms are deeper, yet narrower, whereas on RCCL, the staterooms seem wider, yet not as deep. Square footage according to the brochures indicates they are similar in size, yet something felt different. On Equinox we sailed in a Sky Suite. We really liked the service - to us there is a difference in service level in particular in the suite category. Part of that is driven by the butler, but the room staff also plays a part (instead of having 1 stateroom attendant, we had a lead and a support person for a total of 2). Storage wise, we found the storage space in our Aqua Class cabin a bit better (due to the storage over the bed) than RCCL balcony rooms. Storage in a RCCL JS is much better than the storage in a Sky Suite (you can't beat the JS walk in closet).

Also, on Celebrity if sailing in a suite, you can dine in your room using selecting from the full MDR menu. Your butler will serve your meal course-by-course. We have sailed JS and Grand Suite on RCCL and never experience this level of service. Perhaps RCCL does it, but if they do, I believe the full meal is delivered at once instead of being able to dine by course.

We found service across the board a bit better on Celebrity than RCCL - from support areas (shops, etc.). Service from the wait staff in the MDR was consistent between both lines; however, the wait staff on Celebrity appeared less "rushed". I don't know if they covered fewer tables or what, but there was a difference in that on RCCL you could tell our waiter was stretched with the number of tables. (We typically dine MyTime (RCCL) / Select Dining (Celebrity). That could play a part, I just don't know.

Of course activity wise there is a larger difference. Celebrity has more enrichment type activities whereas RCCL has more "activity" based (ice skating, mini-golf, etc.) activities (sorry, couldn't think of a better way to say it this early in the morning).

We just made Diamond, so our upcoming sailing in 2016 on Equinox will be our first time experiencing Elite on Celebrity. So as far as Loyalty program comparisons, I can't really help there.

One item that I find unique or interesting is how Celebrity sets-up the pier area compared to RCCL. On Royal, the set-up is typically a set of ropes to queue us up for security. Whereas on Celebrity, there often is a sofa, chairs - sort of a living room set-up to welcome you back to the ship. Celebrity also has a "priority" boarding lane for suite guests, which is nice.

That pretty much sums it up. I will qualify this to say this is our opinion. I hope this helps.

We have sailed Celebrity - S Class Ships. We really enjoyed our cruises on both Solstice and Equinox. Everyone has pretty much summed things up, but a few additional items:

We found the décor on Solstice and Equinox more to our liking vs RCCL. (We have not sailed the newer RCCL ships yet - looking forward to Allure in October, so we will see how their designers have updated things then.) However, we were surprised that Navigator's décor still tended to have the same color scheme after dry dock vs moving things forward a bit more.

We really enjoy the specialty restaurants on Celebrity, although to us Murano is "overrated". I know it receives rave reviews, but we like Tuscan Grill better. Of course, the hamburgers at the Mast Grill are wonderful (and avoid the upcharge that Johnny Rockets imposes.) Also, for Asian fusion do give Silk Harvest a try if on Equinox / Solstice. We do enjoy Chops Grille on RCCL, but that's about it.

Not sure of your views on formal nights; however, on Celebrity if you dine in a specialty restaurant or Blu (is Aqua Class) you do not have to dress in formal attire. Unlike RCCL, where formal attire applies to the MDR and the specialty restaurants. (Based upon our experience and reviewing the RCCL and Celebrity brochures.) Just a point of reference if formal nights are something important to you.

On Solstice, we sailed in Aqua Class. The shower is great. However, balcony staterooms on the RCCL ships we have sailed appear to be larger. I believe this is driven by the fact on the S-Class Ships the staterooms are deeper, yet narrower, whereas on RCCL, the staterooms seem wider, yet not as deep. Square footage according to the brochures indicates they are similar in size, yet something felt different. On Equinox we sailed in a Sky Suite. We really liked the service - to us there is a difference in service level in particular in the suite category. Part of that is driven by the butler, but the room staff also plays a part (instead of having 1 stateroom attendant, we had a lead and a support person for a total of 2). Storage wise, we found the storage space in our Aqua Class cabin a bit better (due to the storage over the bed) than RCCL balcony rooms. Storage in a RCCL JS is much better than the storage in a Sky Suite (you can't beat the JS walk in closet).

Also, on Celebrity if sailing in a suite, you can dine in your room using selecting from the full MDR menu. Your butler will serve your meal course-by-course. We have sailed JS and Grand Suite on RCCL and never experience this level of service. Perhaps RCCL does it, but if they do, I believe the full meal is delivered at once instead of being able to dine by course.

We found service across the board a bit better on Celebrity than RCCL - from support areas (shops, etc.). Service from the wait staff in the MDR was consistent between both lines; however, the wait staff on Celebrity appeared less "rushed". I don't know if they covered fewer tables or what, but there was a difference in that on RCCL you could tell our waiter was stretched with the number of tables. (We typically dine MyTime (RCCL) / Select Dining (Celebrity). That could play a part, I just don't know.

Of course activity wise there is a larger difference. Celebrity has more enrichment type activities whereas RCCL has more "activity" based (ice skating, mini-golf, etc.) activities (sorry, couldn't think of a better way to say it this early in the morning).

We just made Diamond, so our upcoming sailing in 2016 on Equinox will be our first time experiencing Elite on Celebrity. So as far as Loyalty program comparisons, I can't really help there.

One item that I find unique or interesting is how Celebrity sets-up the pier area compared to RCCL. On Royal, the set-up is typically a set of ropes to queue us up for security. Whereas on Celebrity, there often is a sofa, chairs - sort of a living room set-up to welcome you back to the ship. Celebrity also has a "priority" boarding lane for suite guests, which is nice.

That pretty much sums it up. I will qualify this to say this is our opinion. I hope this helps.

I've learned to ignore those annoying CruiseCritic ads (they show up on the right side of my screen). What really is nuts is that some of them have audio, and you get bursts of loud sound from them. Ad-blocking software sounds really good, right about now.

 

And, although I haven't seen the one referenced by the OP, there are some very strange ads that show up here. They are driving my McAfee software nuts. Sometimes, I get a green light for CC and sometimes it tries to block me from coming here. I get the "we tested this page and it contains malicious content warning", sometimes on CC. :eek:

 

I do appreciate this forum, and I'm happy that I don't have to pay for it. I know the admins have to advertise, in order to keep the site going. But, I REALLY wish they would do something about these problems with their ads! :(

I know what you are referring to. My Mcafee gives me a "malicious warning" for Cruise Critic forums at least once per week.

Looking forward to seeing them.

I am working on my cruise review from May 28th and am hoping to start posting it in the next week or so. I do have Compasses that I was going to scan at the end of the review.

Thank you very much. Looking forward to reading your review and seeing the Compass. Any advice / suggestions you can share is also appreciated. Completely new cruising experience for us - so we are happy to hear any info we can.

We have our first sailing on Allure and Mediterranean this October. Trying to get a feel for the "flow" of the cruise and looking for the Cruise Compass for the 7-Day Sailing.

I found the thread that has a link to the 5-day sailing (19 May), but would appreciate seeing the Compass for the 7-day sailing.

Now that there have been several 7-day sailings, perhaps there are more options available. If anyone could post their Compass from the 7-Day sailing, I would greatly appreciate it. (Either Barcelona or Rome Departure Port (we sail from Barcelona))

Also, can anyone advise when booking for the "Broadway" Show opened? I understand our show will be Mama Mia, but I can't seem to figure out how to make our reservation. I have our reservation for the "Headline Show" - is this the same as the "Broadway Show"? Any information greatly appreciated.

Thanks...

So now I am confused.

We wondered the same thing and assumed if we purchased online prior to boarding, we would avoid the VAT since it is a "US" purchase. (I imagine same applies for specialty restaurant booking charge, etc.) We have been researching to see what other items we should 'pre-purchase'.

At first this thread seemed to support that, but the post by SAVVO indicates the VAT was not applied to their onboard package purchase. As always, could be an accounting error by RCCL (which is possible) and I am sure by the time we sail in October they will have it all sorted out. But will be interesting to see what others report.

The Broadway Show is no longer Chicago. For your sailing it will be Mamma Mia. I'm afraid I can't answer your other questions yet as we will be on Allure in 2 weeks time. Hope you have a wonderful cruise!

Thanks for the info. I hope you have a wonderful cruise.

Still on the hunt for the 7 day Compass, so if you wouldn't mind sharing yours I would greatly appreciate it. Just trying to get an idea of how the cruise will flow. We are so excited - Mediterranean plus Allure. Yippee.

Still have 3 2013 RCCL and 2 Celebrity 2012 certificates.

You made my day by creating this thread. We will be sailing our first Mediterranean cruise and our first cruise on Allure of the Seas. So excited for October to get here. I did have a couple of questions that I hoped you could answer / help with.

We will be boarding in Barcelona. How do they handle the muster drill for those passengers boarding in Rome? Do we all have to participate in the drill or just the new passengers. Common sense tells me just the new passengers, but thought I would ask.

I think the "Broadway Show" is Chicago. Is that correct? How does that differ from the "Headliner Show".

When were you able to make reservations for the "Broadway Show"? I have reservations for the Ice Show, Ocean Aria, Comedy Show, and Blue Planet, but do not see the ability to reserve the "Broadway Show". Since I already have dinner reservations for every night, prefer to not have to rebook everything around the show if I can avoid it.

Any feedback (positive or negative) you would share regarding the "Broadway Show" and the "Blue Planet" show? (As I mentioned, this is our first time sailing Allure, so we are like a sponge for any information we can get to make the most and best use of our time during this experience.)

Lastly, I'm looking for the "Dailies" / "Compass" for the sailing so I can get a sense for events and how the cruise flows. Could you share those if you still have them.

Thank you very much for your help and assistance. It is greatly appreciated.

Glad the person is safe.

We have been on two cruises that stopped in Jamaica, both on RCCL which docked at their unique harbor. While I would have preferred to have avoided the island due to its position, the other ports on the itinerary were wonderful and a great experience. Unfortunately, for a Western Caribbean cruise, in order to hit certain islands Jamaica might be a stop one can't avoid.

For both cruises, we did not get off the ship - we used the day as our day to relax, enjoy the quiet of the ship (so we thought). We were surprised at the number of people that remained onboard. The second cruise there were more passengers onboard than the previous cruise.

I wonder when the cruise line will get the message to start offering more Western itineraries that skip Jamaica?

We have a Western Mediterranean cruise this Fall on Allure of the Seas which will be our first sailing on Oasis Class. We are so excited to finally sail on an Oasis Class ship. I have tried to do as much research as possible to make sure I experience all she has to offer, but have a question that I can't seem to locate the answer to.

I understand you are able to pre-book your entertainment tickets for the shows. I was wondering, when does this typically open for booking. We are currently ~185 days from sailing - I realize we are probably too far out, but wanted to see when I should start checking to see if we can book the item.

If anyone has suggestions / must-sees so we don't miss anything as well, I would be appreciative for the advice.

Thanks in advance for the feedback and assistance.

You can also complete a Guest Special Needs Form (Click Me) from the RCCL website (it automatically transmits once complete). Below is the link in case you need it.

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/allaboutcruising/guestSpecialNeeds.do

If you select "Bringing CPAP Machine", distilled water and an extension cord will be provided.

Hope this helps...

I don't know if we are the exception, but even with Select, we get the same waiter each night - even if we vary the time. Often we get the same table. Like I mention, we are probably the exception - happens on RCCL with MyTime as well.

And we usually have the same people sitting around us if they are dining around the same times. By mid-way thru the week, it's as if we are sitting at the same table - we are chatting about what we did for the day, etc. Normally, we have gotten to know those on each side of our 2 top table.

Again, we are probably the exception as it does not sound like others have the same experience, but that's been our experience for several years. Just thought I would pass along.

We enjoyed Select dining on Equinox back in April. We flex our dining time depending upon departure time from port and other happenings in the evening. Select gives us the flexibility we need.

We found the waiters great - very attentive, quick, and good recommendations (and cautions as warranted - you know, every so often something sounds better ON the menu than ON the plate - LOL). I have noticed, we tend to be seated in the same general area of the dining room (especially if repeating dining times) which often results in the same people being seated at adjoining tables. When this happens you get the opportunity of meeting new people just as if you were dining at an early / late seating. The advantage is you can progress the meal at your pace instead of having to wait for everyone before moving to another course when dining in Select.

Have a wonderful cruise.

We hosted a Sail-Away in an Sky Suite (S2) from our first port on Equinox for about 10 people. Asked our butler and he said he would take care of it (which he did - wonderfully). He chilled the champagne we carried on board while we were out during the day, provided a nice shrimp platter, cheese tray, and other savory's. Wonderful event.

Just discuss with your butler on Day 1 when he or she is providing introductions / guidance of services.

Have a wonderful cruise.

We dined in Silk Harvest during our April 2014 cruise and loved it (just as we did on Solstice). However, I have to admit the service was a bit better on Solstice though.

The food was good - the menu had a good offering of available entree's to chose from (be sure to look over the menu on the Celebrity site). For appetizers, the Pork and shrimp pot stickers, Cream cheese wontons, and Spring rolls are good. Entree's, the Pepper steak and Orange chicken are good. We do not eat sushi, so can't help on that front.

Be sure to give Tuscan Grille a try. From the appetizer menu, don't forget to try the Ravioli di carne di Manzo Brasata (homemade braised beef ravioli with wild forest mushroom truffle sauce) - absolutely wonderful. The chef will make the dish as an entrée if you prefer.

Have a wonderful cruise.

We have just stopped and are docking somewhere near the Pauline street wharf.:(

Yep, Marine Traffic shows her stopping. I'm so sorry. Guess they had to move for the Carnival and NCL ships coming in.