rollie

Looking to book the Seashore in the Yacht Club for January or February of 2025.  Wondering when bookings will open.

Rollie

Thanks everyone, we will be taking advantage of this benefit 

Rollie

We have complementary laundry and was wondering how long it take to get laundry back.  Thanks for any responses.

Rollie

We're doing the Cities of Antiquity and the holy land in late November.  We thinking about packing and wonder about the weather that late in the season.

Rollie

Your guided tour in Athens, was it just the two of you?  What was the name of the Athens restaurant you had lunch at, how were the prices?  Thanks for your great review. 
 

Rollie

On a Reflection cruise last November my brother and sister in law won 800 dollars between them. He was the chosen one to play and she won with her card.

Rollie

Big Celebrity fan here, but that being said, taking NCL would be a no brained for me.   NCL is able to do the Islands in 7 days not leaving the Islands. Celebrity must visit a foreign port making a cruise at least 10 days. A lot of sea days, and you don’t see as much of the Islands. 
 

Rollie

13 hours ago, Oklahoma Cruiser 2012 said:

Curious as to why you'd want to buy one on a cruise ship?  

2 reasons, abundant OBC and, no tax.

Rollie

On 6/18/2022 at 6:26 AM, Redtravel said:

Key West closed to all large ships.  Likely that you won’t go there on any Celebrity ship.  

Not true, we were there this past May on Equinox. 

Thanks everyone for the replies.  We were rather late booking this cruise because we canceled a river cruise that had a future cruise credit we haver to use this year.  [pandemic related]  We wanted to book a penthouse veranda but they are all gone, so we opted for a jr suite.  We were able to book a suite without going over the cruise credit amount.

Rollie

34 minutes ago, Clay Clayton said:

Rollie

Welcome to Viking! Pay no attention to some of the folks on this board who are less than welcoming. I am sure some less sarcastic folks will be along soon who can give you real comparison from their experiences. While I can’t do that I can share that I was lucky enough to visit the Sky Suite of a fellow rollcaller on our transpacific in 2019 aboard Millennium. I don’t know if that is typical or not of all Sky Suites. I seem to recall that it was a true suite in that it had a separate bedroom which the Penthouse Junior Suites (maybe that’s why they call it a Junior?) don’t have.  So it that is a necessity, then you need to look at an Explorer’s Suite. 
 

Since we’ve never splurged to have any room on Viking higher than a Penthouse Veranda I can’t give you a good comparison other than to say that the smaller ship and lack of kids are the two big things that keep us sailing on Viking. Their V and DV staterooms are comparable to balconies on Celebrity though the bathrooms are much nicer.  I suspect the biggest difference between your Sky Suite and the Junior Penthouse will be the lack of a separate dining facility. Onboard Viking ships everyone has access to all venues. Since the number of passengers is so much less, I don’t think the lack of a Luminae will be noticed. I don’t know what other perks being in a Sky Suite had but I’m sure others will be able to address. 
 

Somewhere on this board there is a thread where someone asked for and got a discussion about differences between X and Viking. Also, if you haven’t already discovered it, you might want to take a look at this thread for Viking newbies: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2416372-tips-for-new-viking-ocean-cruisers/page/62/#comment-62141739

 

 

Have a great cruise and ask any questions. Most folks are happy to assist!

Thanks for your reply  I will check out the new be board.

Rollie

Sorry if asked before.  We are Celebrity Elite Plus cruisers and are trying out Viking for the first time.  We have booked sky suites on or last few cruises and have really enjoyed them.  We have a penthouse jr suite booked on the Venus in November.  Just wondering peoples thoughts. TIA

Rollie

13 hours ago, Debbielh1 said:

Do you have a favorite deck level for the Magic Carpet suites? We are thinking of trying one on Beyond.

We avoid deck 6 and 12.  Magic Carpet parks on deck 14 and 5 and will obstruct you view.

Rollie

We did 2 Zenith cruises, first one was in 2002, second was in 2007.

Rollie

Since Oct. we've been on Edge [infinite balcony] Reflection [concierge aft balcony]  and Apex [sky suite]  We loved the Edge and Apex for their trendy style and 4 main dining rooms. I think of the 3, the crew was the best on the Reflection.  The Reflection has not been revolutionized as of yet, so the decor is a bit dated.  I think the price may reflect this fact.

Rollie

Breakfast and lunch are free.  The Eden Cafe is a great place to enjoy a nice quite meal.

Rollie

16 hours ago, cookiersmom said:

A few questions 

1. In Luminae,  are there shared tables as in the MDR?

2. Is there fixed dining times?

3. Can you (if In a suite) switch back and forth between MDR and Luminae? 

4. Can you just opt for MDR

 

Thanks 

I can't honestly answer the first question.  Mostly 2 top tables in Luminae but there are also a lot of bigger tables for bigger parties, these can also be shared. 

No fixed dining times, but we generally dine at the same time.  It makes it easier for the staff.

You can eat at all the non charge restaurants  [including Blu] Just let your maitre d know.  Your retreat host  can make all the arrangements.

I really don't think you want to opt out of Luminae..Its one of the reasons for spending extra for a suite.  That being said, we did eat at the Cyprus restaurant one night.

Rollie

Back in October on Edge, we had an inside booked [not sure what deck]  When we got on board we went to the relations desks and asked for a possible upgrade.  We were given an Infinite balcony for 100 dollars total.  The ship was about 1/3 booked.

Rollie

They will test before both cruises.  We did the same thing going from Edge to Summit, and they tested all b2b's a couple of days before cruise ended.

Rollie

No phones.  We were on the Apex on a B2B in January.  We had a lot of on board credit to use up so my DW and I bought new I Pads.

Rollie

I'm aware that there is a suite lounge at terminal 24, but what about the other terminals that Celebrity uses?

Rollie

Was on Apex a couple of weeks ago and just walked into Luminae.  And yes, the burgers are the best.

Rollie

2 hours ago, carolyn921 said:

I understand that S3 Sky Suites are located behind where the Magic Carpet moves up and down.  Has anyone experienced an S3 Suite?  Is it very noisy when the Magic Carpet goes up or down past your cabin?  Are any S3 Suite locations better than others?  My travel agent want to put me in an S3 Suite on Deck 6, above Raw on 5.  Would that be a bad location as far as noise?  Thanks in advance for any help with these questions.

We were in a S3 on Apex earlier this month.  We were on deck 8 and loved it.  It has a bigger balcony than other sky suites.  You really don't hear the Magic Carpet go by when you balcony door is closed.  It's kinda cool to watch it go by, and it only does this about twice a day.  I don't think I would like a cabin on deck 7 or 12, as the Magic Carpet would be directly above or below your cabin.

Rollie

10 hours ago, cyncyn129 said:

I’m sailing on Apex this coming Saturday, 1/22, in a Sky Suite. Just noticed I never received my pre-cruise email from the Suite Concierge with the link. Do you happen to have the email and email address? TYIA!

We never received an email ether.  Not sure they do that for Sky Suites anymore.

Rollie

3 hours ago, wildcats40 said:

How do they handle entertainment on the ship?  Skip spaces between groups or have to have reservations for shows?  I assume everyone wears masks for the shows since they are indoors.  

Elaine

There is no spacing being done, that's all on you.  We sat in the upper deck and off to the side a bit.  We did move once when we felt that someone got too close.  Masks are required but some guest took them off when the show started.

Rollie