grimace95120

I for one don't think children spoil anyone's vacation. Every person, no matter the age, is entitled to enjoy the experience they paid for.There is a difference though when you have a particular group, (in this case as reported 600 of the 3000+ guests being under 18), experiencing  a marketed product that is not really aimed at them. That skews the demographic  for those regular cruisers who have come to expect a certain "vibe" on this cruise line. I feel, again, based on what I've read here, that Celebrity let the children down too. I would have loved to go on a cruise with my parents when I was younger, provided there was facilities to keep me entertained. I think though I would have rather been on a Disney ship or a Royal Caribbean where there would have been more stuff to do. I suspect many of these kids were thinking that there would have been more youth oriented activities, which in my very limited experience, Celebrity does not provide. It would be very interesting to hear their point of view on this. I suspect many would say they were bored. I also suspect that many of the parents were stressed when they got on board and came to realize that there weren't the facilities to entertain the kids. For every one of us on Cruise Critic who do hard research, there's another 100 who don't, and rely on the marketing information provided by a cruise line ( or a land resort for that matter )Compare a print add from Royal and Disney, then Celebrity. I suspect you won't see a lot of under 18s in the Celebrity marketing material. Underlying theme here is Celebrity marketed a product to a demographic, namely families with young children, through an irresistible price, but failed to deliver on their commits. Just my two cents here.

Been reading this topic with interest as we generally go on land vacations, where we try to choose Adults Only resorts if possible. We've only done 2 cruises in total, both on Celebrity, and have a 3rd ( 11 night Caribbean in March) coming up. We choose Celebrity as, for us, it's about as close to an Adults only All inclusive we can find ( in the price point that is). Looks like this promotion will continue through December of 2019, so this topic may be with us for a while. From a travel website ( heavily  biased advertising based on the text) , this is what I found :           "Want to get mom the ultimate gift for Mother's day? Celebrity Cruises has launched a new kids sail free promotion. If you book before April 3rd, up to 3 kids can sail absolutely free on sailings departing April through December 2019. The last time Celebrity Cruises offered this promotion was over ten years ago, a Celebrity Spokesperson reported". Makes sense that the ship was at 3500 passengers, if you could bring 3 children with you for free, that's a big savings for the family. What I really found interesting were these comments : 

Hi all, appreciate everyone's' feedback. Looks like our current cabin is where we will stay. Thanks

Thanks all for the feedback. Our first cruise ever was in an corner aft, and I have to say it kind of spoiled us. Back then there was no Luminae or Michaels club, so we have that to look forward to. I do appreciate the low and center comment though. We will have to be satisfied with one of the two

LOL, no one needs to see me sunbathing ! Thank you for the feedback, that's exactly what I was looking for. I was 99% sure I was going to stay put, but its nice to have another opinion to back me up. Appreciate you taking the time to respond 

Hello all,

Looking for some advice if I may. We currently have cabin 7358 ( Deck 7 S1 aft sky suite) booked on Reflection.

Cabin 1665 ( Deck 11 S1 aft sky suite) has just become available.

Is there any value at all in pursuing this higher deck cabin?

Does it just come down to a personal preference of being 2 decks down from the “up top entertainment”, or 2 decks above the “ down below entertainment”?

We're not  overly experienced cruisers with just 2 under our belts, both on higher decks ( 11 and 12). Does deck 7 afford more comfort if the waters were to get a bit rough or vice versa?. My wife is a bit prone to motion sickness. Nothing bothered her on our last 2 as long as she kept up with her  medications.

Any advice from the community would be really appreciated.

Thanks

Hi there, I was also curious about lunch in the specialties. I worked through the dailies presented in a post by a gentleman named Chicago Paul, who was on the same itinerary as I have coming up ( 11 nights, Reflection, Ultimate Caribbean)

Based on that I was able to see Tuscan offered twice for lunch, the 2nd sea day ( of 4) and the 4th sea day 

Murano was also offered twice, the 3rd and 4th sea day. 

Based on this itinerary, looks like you could try each one once or mix and match . 

Not sure what a shorter itinerary might be, suspect maybe 1 day each ?

From my limited reading/research I believe :

Dinner : every night

Lunch: Embarkation day + all sea days

Breakfast : every day except embarkation, but includes debarkation

That's what I believe it to be anyway

Thanks Texed ! I agree this is probably just a " named program" from something that's been there all along. For me, out of site can be out of mind unfortunately . Having this listed in one place will definitely help me focus and spend some on board credit ! 

The Giara Amarone is a nice pick. Its not worth $23 a glass in my opinion, but for  the $8 plus grat upside with the premium package its a good deal

Thank you vtcruising, it was indeed your post I was referencing. I thought this was particularly helpful, especially the by the glass x 5 part. I was going to buy bottles of champagne with the 20% package discount, but $5 per glass upcharge x 5 * 20%  grat is way cheaper than the bottle . Hoping this program is on Reflection 

Elevated Wines by the Glass Program

This program is a good way to try a nicer glass of wine using your beverage package. They have several nice wines that you can pay the difference between the price limit on your beverage package and the price of the wine by the glass. For example, the Caymus is $25/glass - we paid $10/glass with our Premium Beverage Package. A bottle ended up costing $50, instead of $120 (5 glasses/bottle). This seems to be available in several venues.

Hello all, just read a post re the Elevated wines program on the Edge. Was wondering if this is fleet wide, or specific to the Edge? We have an upcoming cruise on Reflection, and this is something that we would definitely enjoy 

If anyone has any info it would be appreciated.

Thanks

I really liked the "tapas style" bowls and small sandwiches on our 9/15 Equinox cruise. We don't cruise enough to miss what was there before, so for us it was nice, but i can see how this would be disappointing, especially when you look forward to something like fish or chicken prepared fresh for you. This style of service though certainly expedited the time for the 3 or 4 people who actually used the venue :) As for the question re the son who is 12, I don't know for sure but since its located in the solarium that's adults only, I would think it wouldn't be possible for him to be there. Again I could be wrong, just my thoughts

We were also on Equinox 9/15, but sad to say we goofed up when we were offered the " manager authorized $35 flat fee" at lunch mid way through the cruise.

My son jumped at it, then we looked at all four of us and said how are we going to eat $140 worth of Sushi?. Thankfully we had OBC that we wern't burning through so it wasn't too bad a hit.

So they do certainly offer "sales" during the week, and as you can see above everything is negotiable. For $20 per head I see it as a value, for $35, not so much. And for sure, the $20 wouldn't be a cover charge to gain entrance, it has to be food included. No one is going to pay just to walk into this "diner" type atmosphere. Its an ok room, but not stunning, more a nice casual spot.

I would do al a carte given the choice. Rolls were about $10 and the apps were roughly $8. So if each person had an app and a roll you are in the $20 ballpark. Anything consumed above that puts the "all inclusive" option in a value play

Food was OK, nothing amazing. I did like the gyozas and the a couple of the rolls. The lobster "potstickers" were a bit over seasoned and a tad sloppy in my opinion. They do have sashimi ( no rice) and nigiri ( rice) available as well, priced by the each so if you were a heavy hitter on the fish you could get your moneys worth that way ( all inclusive)

Another vote for Kindle. I read voraciously on vacation ( seems the only time I get to pleasure read anymore), and I couldn't be without the Kindle. I was the guy that lugged books for years but no more. I do make sure I download what I want, anything new for example, at home prior to boarding. No fussing with on board internet.

I was on Eclipse last week, ans there was a decent amount of books to be had in the library. Trouble is will these books be to your taste? The E reader, in my humble opinion is the way to go

we embarked equinox 15 September and had a great cruise [especially the weather]... however...

 

- we have cruised with Celebrity around seven times so far and we are fed up with the same menus

- the staff on the cruise were not over friendly not unfriendly kind of just neutral whereby we got better vibes from our reflection cruises

- 4 production shows on a 10 night cruise is over the top - some people like "topper" we just did not like it at all

- the house bands were ok but sorry...... for us the solo guitarist and then the solo piano guy in the ensemble just weren't good enough, their voices lacked strength

- casino...what can I say 2 roulette tables one is a $10 minimum bet stake the other a $5 stake but this one's display machine showing you normally what numbers/colours had previously come up was not at the table as it wasn't working.

On the same cruise but only our second cruise ever ( we are land vacation people generally), so I can only relate to a couple of topics.

I ate in BLU, so I only have the MDR experience of 2012 to compare to.

BLU dining made the trip for us, as did the staff there.We really felt that they cared about us, and made us feel special.

As far as staff overall, again without multiple cruises to compare to, I did have a vibe that many were "mailing it in". We met a number of staff who were above and beyond, but for everyone of them, there seemed to be 2 or 3 on the opposite end of the spectrum. Maybe it was due to the number of contracts coming to an end, or just a general sense of being overworked. It seemed to me that there were more tasks than staff to carry out. Especially in the bars. In 2012, there didn't seem to be as many drink packages in use. In 2017 it seemed everyone has a package of some sort, driving the demand up. It also seemed to me that people were really pushing the staff hard. I recognize we all have needs, but there are ways to voice those needs. I witnessed a lot of butting in lines, pushing ahead of people for drinks etc. I was raised to wait my turn, but on this trip I felt I had to get a bit more assertive if I wanted to get served.

The WCB, which has some complicated recipes, would get slammed and there was generally only 1, maybe 2 hard working staff there. Really felt bad for them.

Cant comment on the entertainment, only on Sean Roach ( the solo guitarist). I really liked his repertoire. True he didn't have the strongest voice , but he had some eclectic song choices that i really liked. I would search him out. He really was best suited though for a sunset bar type of performance. That ensemble lounge setting was too closed in and a bit dreary for my liking .

Anyway, for us more positives than negatives, but i can relate to how, for repeat customers, things could be viewed differently

Thanks for all the replies. I definitely wasn't rejected ( or at least notified of rejection). I'm starting to think now that maybe there wasn't enough demand for the Logistics company to make it worth their while for international luggage.

Anyway moot point now, over and done with. Hopefully next time we will get in early ( Thanks Irma ... grrr) and enjoy South Beach as previously planned.

My experience was the sommelier took the order. He seemed really cool with the orders and began offering us a cocktail upon arrival. It didn't seem to distract in any way. 4-5 mins for a drink to arrive seemed to be the norm

As for as the bar that made them, that's a good question. I did not see where they came from. I didn't realize that for example the cocktails at Sushi on 5, were crafted at the World Class bar. When I ordered one, he would go get the lovely lady from WCB ( who was working at Bachio in the early afternoon), and have her run over and make it. That seemed to be a bit of a pain, and it did put a strain on the night time WCB, as there were conflicting drink requirements ( WCB customers and Sushi on 5)

So maybe they were made at the ensemble lounge bar, i don't know for sure but that's the closest I think. I do not believe you can procure them anywhere else but BLU though.

Sorry forgot to add that they were fully covered with the PALL package.

Garden Breezes – Don Julio Reposado, Fresh Pineapple, Lime, Coriander, Green Chartreuse, Soda

This was my pre dinner cocktail(s) every night last week on the Equinox. Or was it my post World Class bar cocktail(s)?, too hard to keep straight :)

Great cocktail, but as you all say no mention of price.I tried a couple of the others,spice market and picking season i believe, but Garden breezes came out as the winner for me. I'm going to hand my wife my expired sea pass card tonight and see what cocktail she will create for me... !!!

It amazes me how these folks remember passenger names, let alone drink preferences. Just off the Equinox Sunday. I’m not exactly a “ cruise regular”but after two days it felt like everyone new my name and what I liked. Totally impressed, and great customer service.

I was reading all the commentary and had to laugh when I think about this experience.

Sitting at the Martini Bar last week, I was asked “ what are you drinking?”, by a somewhat intoxicated ( even more than I) patron.

A Martini says I. “What kind of Martini”, says my new friend?.Well I explain, a Martini is 5 parts gin ( never Vodka), one part vermouth ,always stirred, never shaken, and finally garnished with a lemon twist or cocktail olives. Et Voila ! A Martini.

Sounds like crap he says and wanders off, chocolatey something firmly entrenched in his hand !

I bet the Martini bar would be a really lonely place if they only made the one drink that is actually a Martini !

Exists a form posted in other threads,

International and domestic offered, Delta is domestic only.

Hours Mia from 11:30 AM to 11:59 PM, FLL 2 PM to 11:59PM

Thanks, some validation that I'm not crazy ! :)

Wonder what happened then that we were not granted ?. Even more so, why Celebrity couldn't get information out of what I assume is a subcontracted Logistics company.... ?

Think I might drop them a line to let them know. Don't want to have this seem like sour grapes, but think they should know about issues like this.

Thanks everyone

I was wondering out loud when I filled it out if a cross border flight would apply. Believe me I studied the form carefully, and there was no indication that it wouldn't apply. It was a registered carrier ( American), a participating airport ( MIA) a direct flight, and after the 12pm departure time ( 2pm)

I was just ticked that I spent a bunch of time back and forth, pestering the GS folks. Would have been so much easier, and less of a headache, for someone just to say, sorry you cant use it.

As an aside, when we checked in with AA, my wife, a Canadian citizen was granted TSA pre check. I said to the agent, are you sure? We don't have standing with AA ( we do with British Airways, A One World partner), and we don't have NEXUS which as a Canadian is a prereqisite for TSA Pre). Anyway, off she went to a remarkably short line, while i had a lovely wait in the regular queue...

Just returned from the Equinox sailing September 15 through 25th. Overall I will say we had an excellent time, and will add a review shortly.

One aspect though left a sour taste in my mouth, that being the Luggage Valet service.

Mid cruise a flier showed up in the cabin extolling the virtues of using the service. After I read it, I though hey this is cool. We can pay $25 each and send our luggage ahead. You also are supposed to get boarding passes etc.,but the value for us was the luggage xfer. Our flight to Canada wasn’t until 2 pm, so our thought was to get off early and go to the beach. We’d actually lost out on that at the start due to flight cancellations etc.

Long story short, we got the form in prior to the 5 pm Friday cutoff. Then radio silence. No charge on the account Friday or Saturday. I went down to GS Saturday and they said, “in process don’t worry all good.”

Sunday rolls around, and same story. No info. Without trying to be a pest, I went down and inquired. “Not to worry, in process all good.Check back this afternoon”. Ok, sounds like a plan. Checked back after 3 pm (flight was at 2 so the online check-in was now open). Met with a worried look from the rep. “Hang on, let me check. Hmmm, were not sure what’s happening, but it’s in process so check back after 5. American Airlines takes a bit longer”. Ok,will do

Back again after 5, still the same story. At this point I asked what the backup was. She asked what I meant by a backup plan.

I said I wasn’t assigned a group or given luggage tags, as you’ve got me down as luggage valet.

“Oh, good point, you can go with group 50” ( 9:40am debark).Hoping it won’t come to that, but my hope is diminishing as we speak

Off to dinner. Back in the cabin at 9:30. No updates, so a call is placed. “It’s still in process, don’t worry”. Ok I says, what should I do with the luggage?. “You need to put it out by 10” she says. Ok, so basically you are telling me that the valet is out of the question now, place the tags we gave you on the luggage. "No, we are still working on it, hold tight."

End of the day, we got off with group 50, found our heavy bags on the carousel, took a cab with our luggage to the airport, and hung out there for a few hours waiting for our flight.

I don’t blame Celebrity in any way for the inability to activate the valet with us. It may have been that we were flying international ( Canada) I don’t know. The issue was in their lack of follow up, and direction. I basically tried to buy a service from them, and it became up to me to continually press for them to sell me that service. No once did we receive a message or call saying the valet won’t work.I guess I could have been a jerk and held my luggage waiting for the valet tags,but I’m sure that would have been a royal pain.

If they are going to offer a service like that, that’s important logistically, it seems to me that the onus is on Celebrity to provide information, and that was where they fell down