Jane2357

On our last cruise there was one day that due to our port schedule - the buffet was hit hard all at one time. There were NO available tables with people just wandering around carrying plates of food with no place to sit and eat. People were sharing tables with strangers and most people were trying to cooperate with others.

However - next to me, at a large table there were 4 people playing some type of card game that looked they they were using MANY decks of cards all stacked up - so it didn't appear they were leaving anytime in the next few hours. They had no food on their table - it was clear that they were not eating.

Yes - this is table hogging. Take the card game someplace else and free up the buffet tables for people that need to EAT. It is RUDE. Why not then just set your card game up on the Martini Bar - oh and make sure you aren't ordering a drink either. :cool:

We were on the May 27th northbound cruise and we too loved Millennium! We also thought it was our best cruise ever and I'm loving looking at your photos - great memories!

We had a six night cruise tour after our cruise and we too stayed at the Hilton in Anchorage, nice hotel and location. We got lucky to have a fabulous water view - I woke up confused as to why the ship wasn't moving as I could see the water and mountains but they weren't moving past - lol. :D

Looking forward to the rest of your review!!!

Thanks for the laughs - I'll be watching for part 2!

Gauche, tacky, juvenile, attention seeking .... :p What is it to you? Move on, don't look. The fact that this bothers you so much says much more about YOU than it does about door decorators.

Do I mock those who spend a good part of their cruise playing trivia for a ship on a stick - no, not my thing but whatever floats your boat. Or those that have to be front and center out ballroom dancing in the atrium - go for it or those sucking up to the officers every chance they get. It is everyone's vacation and we all have those things that make it special to us.

Live and let live!

We'll be on her in 10 days and can't wait to see all the upgrades!

 

A couple of questions; have you been up to the new Rooftop Terrace where they show moves? Have you heard of anyone complaining of the noise from the movies? Have you been to BO5 now that it is sushi?

 

Enjoy your cruise - we'll be watching for your review!

We are back and had an Aqua 1 on deck 11 aft - #1138. I wanted to come back to report about the noise from the deck 12 Rooftop area.

In our cabin we could not hear any noise from deck 12 - but on the balcony you can hear the noise. Many more people up there now and foot stomping along the back rail, way more traffic on the stairway up from the bar on deck 10 and the screen noise. Clearly heard. Of course you've always had the bar noise from below so hopefully no one thought these were quiet balconies to begin with. I personally would NOT book a deck 11, aft balcony on a warm weather cruise where you spend way more time on your balcony than we did in Alaska. Just too much noise for me.

I always door decorate, it makes me happy. A good part of the fun of planning a cruise is the anticipation leading up to it and planning the decorations are part of the fun for me.

We were on Millennium for our Alaska cruise and had a deck 11 cabin right on the aft - I had a custom poster made and it was there the entire week. A painting with a big ol moose and some mountains along with our names. The room stewards loved it.

We'll be 15 nights in a CS for Panama next year on Infinity - and you bet my cabin door will be decorated. I say do what makes you happy and if you don't like it - don't look. :p

Last cruise was our first in Blu - and I swore I wouldn't like it -- LOVED IT. Next cruise is 15 nights in Luminae - and looking at these photos - I swear I won't like it. Guess I know that I'll have Blu for a back up. ;)

I have never assumed that any casino - on land or sea- was 'fair.' Their objective is to make money by making your part with yours!

BINGO! Errr I mean ka-ching. :D

I'd also like to hear from anyone that has been on this tour. Thank you.

We chose to do the ship offered tour, GQ46 - Maya Jade, Chocolate & Colonial Antigua. It seems like a lot a the sights at this port are fairly far from ship and we were concerned about safety in this country. We generally prefer to book small group and private tours, but with the ship excursion we are more comfortable venturing to Antigua.

I realize that your cruise is a ways off but mine is even further :) would you please come back here and give a review of GQ46 when you return. It would be so helpful. Thanks.

I couldn't find any diet tonic water on my last cruise. It is my drink of choice with some lime - oh and a bit of gin :o

What is my best bet to have diet tonic on my next cruise? We will drive to embarkation and I guess I can slap a luggage tag on some and have it delivered to our room correct, or is this something that I can request from the shore side concierge to be stocked Michael's Club as we will be in a Celebrity Suite?

I did search this issue and it appears to be hit and mostly miss on the ship having any.

We are sailing on the Celebrity Infinity Panama Canal cruise in October and will be visiting Puerto Querzal, Guatamala. Several of the posts on this board recommended taking an excursion offered by the cruise line at this port. Has anyone been on the Guatemala Highland, Panajachel and Lake Atitlan excursion recently? If so, would you recommend it?

I'm in the beginning stages of starting to plan excursions for our 4/2/17 Infinity cruise. I'm interested in your statement that this is a ship recommended excursion port. Can you fill me in on that? Certainly don't want to miss the ship with sea days surrounding this stop.

Also what excursion did you settle on? Thanks.

Kevin - thanks for sharing your review - even without the photos you did a great job. Our post cruise tour was different than yours but we too eventually ended up at the Denali Village and we demanded a room change - the first one was too nasty to stay in. The second room was lovely! Riverside, clean and bright. Celebrity needs to wake up to the fact that they have a big problem in Denali.

It was a pleasure to get to know you and Paula during this cruise - we might not agree on much else but we do share a love of cruising ;)

Reading through this thread it is amazing how many people there are that have hidden disabilities - something I've never thought much about. This has been eye opening for many reasons and at almost 59 - I am developing my own hidden disability.

We often times only see the canes, braces, scooters or walkers but there are many people with heart conditions - like me. While I'm still active today, I have a congenital heart defect that will gradually cause my abilities to decline - there was a noticeable change in my stamina on our recent cruise to Alaska. I'll eventually receive a aortic valve replacement but the years leading up to that point will not be easy.

Thank you to all who have shared your stories - perhaps we could all start the movement to be less judgmental of those requiring assistance wether we see a reason for it or not. :)

The way it works is this - each piece of luggage will get a tag - some will say "meet you at the ship" or something similar - that bag will travel with your tour but will not be taken to your room each night. Any bags that you want in your tour hotel room each night will have a different type of tag.

We just returned from a post cruise tour and we each had 1 carryon and 1 bag delivered each night. Also have a small backpack or similar for on the bus/train etc. This would be for hats, gloves, meds, snacks you might need during your travel day.

One thing I forgot to mention was the Chic Nights - I saw two tuxes, suits were few (my dh wearing one), blazers/sports coats were the norm. I only saw 1 long gown and it was on a teenager. The women were in cocktail (the minority) or below.

In your opinion, how many pax use the stairs? I am on the Constellation in October in 1130 from Istanbul to Rome. I do not mind some noise. Is it really that bad? And IMHO any aft cabin is still better than any other cabin.

We also LOVE aft cabins - however - if I were on a warm weather cruise and looking to relax, to have my own quiet place - these cabins would not be my choice. I'd go down some decks and get into a Concierge cabin.

The bar noise is always there but we knew that before hand and it wasn't bad. Add in to that bar noise the rooftop terrace noise when you are in port and your balcony enjoyment in MY opinion - is gone. With the ship moving the RTT noise isn't so noticeable. Stopped you can hear it clearly - ads for art auction, etc..

I'm confused about your cabin numbering. Are you saying the SIDE aft cabin #1136 is the best choice? It has the stairwell right next to it - at least on the deck plans and doesn't face aft. ??

:o Sorry for the confusion I meant to say #1138 and #1141 - I'd go for #1141 if possible - not #1136.

Time change has me rather messed up. Also I would avoid #1130, also on the aft - if possible as it is right next to the stairs.

This is the link to my review http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=536058&et_cid=2633025&et_rid=16694550&et_referrer=Contest_Costa_June2013 so please do read the review with a few photos but I'd like to add some detail below.

As many of you know this was our first time in Aqua (#1138 Aft cabin) and I wasn't sure Blu would be for me. Well I was WRONG! While I am not a big meat eater I always found things that I liked/loved. The fish was amazing! Service was wonderful - we had Armondo and Mae for servers and the sommelier Fernando was always excited to hook us up with the correct wines.

The two downsides side to Blu is the lack of any place to have a dinner for two. While we met some wonderful table mates as they are right next to you, one night would have been nice for some privacy - there is none. Breakfast times on sea days in Alaska - Blu opens too late - and then they just are full up making the quality of the food suffer. We only ate in Blu for breakfast twice due to the issue.

Our next cruise is 15 nights in a CS so I am excited to try Luminae and compare to Blu. While we would cruise in Aqua for Blu again it would depend on price, we would pay more than concierge but not a ton more as none of the other perks of Aqua were anything that we feel is worth extra cost. This A1 cabin on the aft was cheaper than an C1 on the aft.

Cabin #1138 - Amazing aft views on an oversized angled balcony - words cannot describe how great the views from this cabin were. While #1140 is larger - they do not have the angle and they do have the flag pole smack in the middle of their view. In my humble opinion #1138 or #1136 is the way to go. Pick #1136 if you can as #1138 has less privacy due to the stairway now that they have added the roof top terrace on deck 12. Also we saw zero smoking at the outdoor bar - the Oceanview on deck 10 - so going to the port side should not be a problem.

We all are aware that on the balcony of the deck 11 aft cabins - you do get bar noise from below - but I would not be booking these cabins for a warm weather cruise due to the roof top terrace - just me but I enjoy some quiet and you can hear the screen from your balcony - although not in your cabin. Also the stairs that were rarely used before are now on the main drag so traffic is heavy.

The 6 night post cruise tour was amazing with the only fault the accommodations at the Denali Park Village. The oldest buildings 100, 200, 300 should NOT be used for Celebrity guests. We had the manager (grudgingly) move us to building 600 and the difference was night and day.

Any questions please let ask and I'll do my best to help.

Just off Millie - Alaskan cruise and we did have lip balm (not my fav) in our Aqua cabin.

More review!

 

Later that day we spent a bit of time with Jane & Bob on their aft balcony. I am still trying to figure out how Jane fit all 10 pieces of luggage in her cabin, but she did it!! :p

 

I'm coining a new phrase - "luggage shaming" - :o. As a proud member of OPA (over packers anonymous) - I resemble that statement. In fact we each had 1 carry on and 2 checked bags.

Once we hit the 6 night post cruise tour we each had our carry on bags and 1 checked bags each delivered to our rooms. :p

We just got home and the worst part of this trip is the laundry afterwards.

If you want something made in Alaska, look for the "Made in Alaska" logo. If you want something made by an Alaska Native, look for the "Silver Hand" logo. A Google image search will show you what they look like.

But expect to pay more for something authentic.

The above advice is THE WAY to shop in Alaska. If you don't have the made in Alaska logo - you are probably buying something made in Colorado or China. Buyer beware.

Hi Kevin! We just arrived back from our Post Cruise Tour and was so happy to get to meet you and your lovely Paula.

I'll be writing a review of my own (minus photos) but can't wait to read along to hear all about how you felt things went.

Jane2357, I really want to do the dogsledding tour on the glacier! Do you mind sharing who you booked with? I have seen a TEMSCO and Gold Rush Dog Tours offerings (who use TEMSCO for their helicopter transportation). I am trying to see what my options are, especially for the transpo. Thank you!

We booked the heli/glacier/dog sled tour through the cruise line - Celebrity but it is TEMSCO. I think you can save a little money if you book direct but for this - I just felt more comfortable doing it through the ship. :D

Do you think this would make a good place for Sail Away? Our roll call group is meeting there for our Sail Away this Friday - weather permitting.