J18ktleo

Sounds like this would be fun with a group! :D

Join us...we're doing second nite, Dec 7, at 6.

Back in the day ;) they would only allow so many reservations to be made online reserving about 1/3 for those who board and don't use the internet. The last time we were on, as soon as we boarded, I went to dining to request times, as usual. The Maitre D' said they were all booked up except for 6 and 8 or later...for every single nite!

That was a challenge so this time I made sure to book everything for every single nite...and with 24 in my group that was quite the challenge! ( at least for the Select dining...)

That being said...for a couple...there might be changes once we're onboard to 'slip' into a slot somewhere.

I remember when Qsine was first introduced it was really tough to get a reservation, but our last sailing they were begging people to come to the restaurant!!!

Hi, J...

 

I've otherwise reported here on Cruise Critic that Le Petit Chef fully replaced Qsine on Infinity as of 17 May [the day I boarded in San Diego for my 17 night back-to-back]…

 

I didn't do it--you know how I am about avoiding all finfish and most seafood including lobster [instead went to Tuscan Grille four times!]--but I will say that it quickly became wildly popular with very high marks for both the food and the entertainment/animation [which, for now--I understand it might eventually become customizable to the guest's menu preferences--is geared to the standard menu]…

 

I'll be eager to get your personal assessment! Have fun!

 

BH...

--M

Hey, you're back? You'll have mail momentarily!!!

Thanks for the info

bh

j

That's great that you were able to get your group booked in all of the MDRs. If you want to sneak away from your group on the 21st at 8:00, you can join us at Le Petit Chef. :D

oh my goodness, that would be so wonderful but since there's 9 of us who are on our 4th 'annual girls cruise' I 'don't think 'sneaking' is an option!!!

My notes say there's already 16 who want to do this on the Edge...trying to figure out how to make it work. But if you can get it on the 12/6 sailing the four of us are booked into Le Grand Bistro on the 7th so let's do it!!!

I didn't see it on either preview cruise, but it is now on my 7 day cruises. Maybe they will offer it onboard the preview cruises. I'll keep watching to see if they add it our 12/6 cruise.

Thank you. I'm really hoping we can do this on the 12/6 cruise, have Le Grand Bistro booked for one nite. Can't do it on our 1/20 cruise because I have a group of 24 and even though many want to do it, there's no nite where the restaurant can accommodate that many of us so I can't even book the restaurant! Been working with my rep but I'm lucky I even go our dining booked for the whole group for all 7 nites in all 4 restaurants!!!! :o

unfortunately, they won't allow it to be booked on the Preview cruises for 3 nites…:')

I don remember seeing Qsine on the Edge...guess I missed it? ;)

vt cruising, thanks for the info...we are booked into Le Grand Bistro on Dec 7 so hopefully we can experience it then.

When I checked for my group in Jan, they said they only had one night with availability for 8 people (my group is 20) at Le Grand Bistro, might have to wait til we board to try to do that one! ;p

I will be doing both! Actually, I will probably be partying more than shopping for Edge trinkets. I will keep an eye out for your group - shouldn't be hard to miss. ;) What fun you will have!

We'll have to meet on the Preview cruise...yes, our groups have been known to attract some attention! ;p

vtcruising,

I just noticed you're on our Jan 20 sailing too!

I'm so excited, although don't think I'll be doing the shopping you have in mind!!!

Have a group of 24 ladies on this cruise so we'll be the partiers!!!!! :cool:

VT cruising....

Thanks for the update.

Now you'll be on my sailing!

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Glad you are having a wonderful cruise! We love the Reflection and have enjoyed amazing cruises in Celebrity and Sky suites on that ship. Thanks for taking the time to write a live review!

 

We are on the 1st two Edge preview cruises and are hoping to do Le Petit Chef at Le Grand Bistro restaurant, if they have it on one of those cruises. Could you please give me an idea of the menu that you experienced?

 

Thanks!

I will be doing a preview cruise as well and then have 24 going on Edge in January, 16 have already said they want to try this so trying to collect as much detail/info as I can! ;)

vtcruising,

Thank you so much!

I watched the 'lobster' video and realized everyone was eating the same meal...so now the question is:

1) is it only on specific nights and 2) how do we find out what's on the menu?

Interesting that they would do it in Qsine, with such a varied menu there it seems like it would restrict the choices, so you'd need to go again!!! I organized a large cc group on Eclipse in June at Qsine, I was the only one who had

done it before (on 5 different ships) and it was such a disappointment! Service was terrible! From start to finish...which I had never experienced before. And when I left a review, there was no response (on Equinox, when we made any type of comment it was addressed immediately!).

Anxious to get info of any kind on how this works and how to go about planning for it! ;)

so, does that mean that they only offer it once and everyone gets the same meal?

I've written Ivana and she was very limited on info...I have 16 that want to do this, was thinking of booking

2 tables of 8...but now looking at the video of the lobster it looks like a cute aspect to the meal but not sure it's

worth $30 plus if everyone has to get the same dish?

Challenge is that we all jump on this stuff right away and they're still figuring it out???:confused:

Sounds like a lot of fun! I hope your dining issues are easily sorted. They will definitely owe you a few frosty drinks lol:D

Haha, and since everyone booked with the drink package that'll be a 'For Sure'!:')

Cruise Arizona, fingers crossed!

Silkroad, this has been an interesting progression. It's actually an annual girls cruise that started out 3 years ago. The last 2 years there was 12 to 14 of us on Windstar and it was incredible! This year, because it's the Edge and everybody that has never cruised before is intrested because of the size of the ship, it just kept growing.

This planning is a challenge and I think that from here on I will restrict it to 12 which is an easier number to manage😎

Wow, that's a big group! Did you see the previous discussion about Ivana at Celebrity? Apparently she deals with Edge dining, so maybe she could help with your large group? It wouldn't hurt to ask her how to best organize your group's dining. Here email is: Ivrhovec@rccl.com

 

No, they won't sell all of the reservations online pre-cruise, if they continue their present practice. It seems like they have a certain percentage of reservations on sale online of each time slot in each restaurant because we have gotten the time we wanted after boarding (and they were sold out for that time online).

 

Good luck!

Thank you for all the information!

I will be doing the Preview cruise on Dec 6th so hopefully will have a little better idea...you're doing Nov 21 so we'll be looking for your update!

Actually, I DID email Ivana last nite and she replied this morning although all she said was I could pre-book the specialty...wasn't what I had actually asked so I wrote her back...she did not offer to assist with my group as I'm trying to figure out how to book 12-14 for specialty with everyone having to pay in advance! ;)

I am thinking, like you, that dining will loosen up on the longer cruises as they did on Quantum. I do like them having all the choices, one nice thing is that the smaller dining rooms are more intimate.

However, although we have done anytime dining for many years, we always find a table and waitstaff we like then do the entire cruise with them...in this case that won't be possible and with 3 tables of 8 that means we'll be meeting new waitstaff each nite...may not be ideal but...oh, well!!!

Thank you all for the info, especially the detailed dining info listed!

So, I was on Quantum OTS a couple years ago and they also have 4 MDR's...we stressed and stressed about getting all our reservations for the two week cruise in advance (plus they require certain 'windows of time' for entertainment too) and when we go onboard, after the first nite, we just walked into any restaurant we wanted, with 6-8 people and never had a challenge with seating.

Also, and not sure if this is just RCCL and not Celebrity, but do they actually allow us to take up all the reservations online in advance? That would seem unfair to all those who don't do online scheduling and will arrive onboard with no reservations for their regular dining?

I have a group of 24 so hoping to get some organization for at least one nite in a specialty...fingers crossed!!!

Shoreexcursioneer dot com has this one available on the date of my cruise for $64.99

Cozumel Salsa and Salsa Excursion, Cooking and Dancing at Playa Mia Beach Club (S3133)

Oh my goodness!!!

Thank you Scsagh! I have contacted the company directly and they were adamant (as is their website) that they only deal thru the cruise ship...it's $64.99 for our sailing also! And reading the info on Shoreexcursioneer there are different times for the class, not everyone at one time.

Hmmm...now I don't know WHAT to do! Was already looking at other options for this date:cool:

ok, I need everyone's advice!

Will be stopping in Cozumel on the Celebrity Edge next Jan with a group of about 20 ladies. Many many of us have been to Cozumel multiple times and this itinerary is all about the ship, of course! We'll also be stopping in Costa Maya and Grand Caymen...it's my job to find fun/different/memorable things to do (just back from Windstar last week)

So, I love the Trikes Tour.

But wondering if we need to look into the Dos Ojos tour....looking at the Cozumel tours website by Johan and Sandra, they offer the snorkeling/Dos Ojos Cenote tour as well as a Chocolate and cooking tour...

Help steer me in the right direction, please!!!!!!:cool:

So, I know this thread is old but wondering if I can get some info...a friend recommended this tour but it's now only available thru the ships and Celebrity is charging $99...wondering how crazy busy it is...they said they take 30-90 guests. I have a group of between 14-20 and really don't want to be in a 'cruise ship busload' tour!

Anyone had any recent experiences here?

Is it worth $99/per person?

Having booked and participated in numerous private tours all over the world, many times we cannot book with a vendor as the cruise lines have them locked up but IMHO I don't believe they vet the tour companies any better than we do...it's the luck of the draw.

There have been accidents with private tours and ship sponsored tours,..no way to discern the difference.

This is a very sad tragedy and there's no way to determine who's better or worse...and who knows if the driver was speeding because he wanted to or because he had a deadline....:rolleyes:

Like anything else, we might never know the answers and will continue to travel.

Sam Fritz,

Words never seem to be enough in times like these but your post is beautiful and reminds us all that life is truly too short and we must take the time, every day, to acknowledge those around us and what impact even the smallest and seemingly minoract of kindness can impart to those around us.

I am sure I am not alone in trying to find answers and waiting patiently for an explanation, although there is nothing that will ever make this sad situation right.

Sending you, and your family, all the positive prayers and strength you will need in this time of sadness and that you can find peace and comfort in knowing what they left behind as their legacy.<3

SamFritz,

My heart goes out to you and your family...words cannot express our sorrow in your loss and the other families affected by this tragedy.

Having done both private and ship sponsored tours we rarely consider the possibilities and this is the worst case imaginable.

I was reading an article on one of the news sites and the way it was written insinuated that this was NOT a ship sponsored tour but knowing it was and that private tours, especially in that region, are rarely in the big buses. Sounds like there were quite a few buses doing this tour reading the comments by those who were driving by on the way to/from the ruins.

Mind numbingly sad....

From what I saw, two weeks in a row, the ferries have relatively few passengers in the morning. Your group of 12 should have no problem getting on at either location. Anse Mitan should work fine since you are already there.

 

When you buy the $7 return ticket, they give you a small purple ticket that will be needed for the return. Make sure your group members dont lose the ticket, or they will need to buy another for the trip back to Anse Mitan.

 

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Thank you so much and Happy Holidays!

Question, we will be tendering into Anse Mitan (onboard Windstar) and I have a group of 12 that needs to get to Ft. de France to meet our tour guide...do you suggest catching the ferry in Anse Mitan or Anse L'Ane? We arrive at 9 and need to meet the tour guide at 10...hoping at that time of the morning the crowds are arriving into where we're leaving from?:confused: