CruisersTimesThree

4 minutes ago, Blues51 said:

Trying to decide whether to get a drink package during the Labor Day sale.  Wife and I are not big drinkers, but enjoy a glass of wine with meals.

 

Hence my question - if I don't get the drink package, does the basic cruise fare include wine with meals?  We're travelling Aqua Class, if that makes a difference.  Thanks.

 

To have wine or any other alcoholic drinks you’ll need to have a beverage package or just pay as you go for each drink that is ordered and it gets charged to your onboard account.  

15 minutes ago, sixpackeddie said:

Have not been able to find much information on this suite, not many pictures, video's. I do understand it's not the same suite as the Royal Suite on the S or Edge Class. 
Any pro's or con's? Do upper suite benefits still apply?

Thank You!

Do a YouTube search for Constellation, Infinity or Summit Royal Suite. You should find something as they are all sister M class ships and the suites are the same. Only difference would be if you view a new Summit Royal Suite video the furnishings will be different as the Summit has been refurbished to the new Retreat look.

M-class Penthouse, best suite in the fleet in my opinion.

Stayed in both RS and PH on the Summit, both are an amazing experience, same perks, but nothing beats the butlers pantry and that veranda! 

4 minutes ago, curry767 said:

Did you have any issues with getting a table in Luminae even though you were in an Aqua Sky Suite?

Aqua Sky Suite passengers dining venue is Luminae so there is no issue eating there. They also can eat in Blu if requested and get priority over other suites since it’s an “Aqua” Sky Suite. 

We had booked a b2b, a 4 nighter followed by a 10 nighter, for April of this year on Silhouette with the second cruise being the last before it repositioned to Europe. Several months before sailing we were notified that Celebrity decided to cancel the 10 night cruise and were moving the ship that week. Needless to say we were so disappointed as it was to be our first b2b. They accommodated us by moving the 10 day, same cabin, no extra charge (it was the PH, which was thousands more at this pt) and gave us $400 in OBC. What was upsetting is they wouldn’t help with the 4 night cruise. They said they couldn’t help with that because that cruise was still sailing without changes. There was one on each end of the moved 10 nighter, but the price was absurd and they wouldn’t budge on price or offer anything else for ruining our plans. In the end we cancelled the 4 nights and they refunded the non refundable deposit. Took the moved cruise 2 months earlier than we wanted. 
Lesson learned, I will never book what is suppose to be the “last” cruise before a reposition. 

54 minutes ago, tbo said:

Do you know if the same applies to Blu on E class ships? We are going on Beyond in a sky suite and looking at the menus Blu has rack of lamb on the 2nd night, hubby would love to have that. I know that we can request to dine there, but may not get in. Would we be able to order from Blu?

 

I would assume the same for Blu. Luminae is on deck 16 all the way forward and Blu is on deck 5 towards the aft.

I’d suggest you speak with your butler or the retreat concierge upon boarding and tell them the night you’d like to dine in Blu and let them arrange it for you.

The MDR menu is offered in Luminae on M and S class ships as the kitchens are in close proximity and it is easy to get items from there.

Beyond is an E class ship and the Luminae dining room and the MDR galley are on opposite ends of the ship and on different decks, therefore making it somewhat of an inconvenience for the wait staff, so depending on the Maitre D’ they may not allow ordering off the MDR menu as it ties up the staff. Some people say they have no problems, while others say they have been told no, can’t be done. 
You can see the menus for the full week once you board and if you prefer MDR items on a specific night you can go eat there. The Luminae menu also features the classic MDR items such as French onion soup, Caesar salad, steak, chicken among a few other items. 

19 minutes ago, SDWCruise said:

Another Retreat question .. we will be joining the Ascent out of Civitavecchia in September. Just checked in but had to select an arrival time! Thought Retreat guests could board anytime? Can any Retreat guests recently sailed out of Civitavecchia confirm this? Thanks in advance .. 😊

Retreat guests can board a ship at anytime after it opens to guests. The IT dept for Celebrity is horrible and can’t do certain things. Your allotted boarding time is just a placeholder for your check in. 

46 minutes ago, George C said:

We got a liter of Hennessy cognac wasn’t on list but I asked concierge and got it , I believe that normally sells for above 40. We bring home one or two bottles sometimes since we prefer drinking in bar with live music.

We were in Silhouettes PH in Feb and requested Basil Hayden bourbon if possible for my husband. They not only had a bottle in our suite, but also had one in the Retreat Lounge tucked away for him. They really go above and beyond for you in the Upper tier suites. 

1 hour ago, chemmo said:

No, drinks packages weren’t part of the RS package then nor was unlimited speciality dining. However, didn’t all suites then get one free speciality meal per cruise? I seem to remember lots of Sky Suites being annoyed that they lost this perk as Luminae opened.

I do remember that perk, not sure if we had it back then. 

Our first Celebrity cruise was in 2012 on the Summit for our 30th anniversary. We were in a RS and my cousin was in a SS. We both had the higher end drink packages, but I don’t think at that time it was an amenity of booking a RS. I’m pretty sure we paid for it, know for a fact my cousin did. 
In fact, I don’t believe the upper tier suites had many perks back then. I remember the Maitre D’ in the dining room (no Luminae back then)  trying to sell us dining in the Normandie and finally offered it at half price and we went. Also positive we paid for dinner in the original Qsine. 

27 minutes ago, dml said:

We're sailing on Apex March 8, 2025 transatlantic. Besides dress up nights, aka formal,  are there any themed nights in the MSR?

No theme nights in the dining rooms. No “formal” nights either, they are called Evening Chic. Dress code is anything from smart casual to some that still follow the old tradition of evening gowns, suits/tux. You will find that most women wear dressy tops with pants and most men wear a dress shirt with slacks. Very few go old school. 

55 minutes ago, hcat said:

Great deal...less than booking a suite..  I recall there was a cap on the number of passes..to avoid  crowding..

Yes, there are only a handful of passes available on each cruise, if at all. I’ve been told that if the retreat is completely full, meaning all cabins are at capacity, they will not offer them at all. 

If they still offer the retreat pass, it has to be purchased by the suite guest and the reservations need to be linked together. It gives the non retreat guest access to dine in Luminae, the retreat lounge and the retreat deck. It DOES NOT give them the perks of the retreat (drink package and wi-fi) 

It has to be purchased for the entire length of the cruise, it’s not sold on a daily basis. I believe the cost use to be $100 per day per guest, but was raised to $200 per day.

5 hours ago, SSFrance69 said:

If she is in an Aqua Sky Suite, she can dine in both Luminae and Blu. It's combo aqua/suite category. I'd love to have that option, but those were a lot higher in cost than the standard sky suite. Note that category of stateroom is on Edge class. Not sure about the others...

Any suite guest is allowed to dine in Blu, not just Aqua Sky Suites. It just has to be arranged ahead of time and is at the discretion of Blu’s Maitre D’. Harder to do during prime dining hours, but not impossible. 

Only Silhouette has been refurbished and has added the Retreat Sundeck and rebranded Michaels Club into the Retreat Lounge.

Reflection has not undergone these changes, so there is no separate area outside for Retreat guests, but they still have the private lounge, Michaels Club.

We sailed on Silhouette in Feb and loved everything about the Retreat. The sundeck is two levels, all the way forward on decks 15 and 16. Plenty of comfortable seating including chaises, sofas, chairs and a few covered daybeds. There is a hot tub, showers, restrooms and a full bar with servers who were very prompt and friendly. Pools can’t be added to existing ships unfortunately.  They also offer a lunch menu that they will bring right to your chair which was so convenient!
Both ships have extra speciality dining that the other S class ships do not, The Porch and the Lawn Club Grill, both wonderful venues. 
Some people feel that the Luminae on the Reflection feels more crowded because there are extra suites on her,

Silhouette is our fave ship, btw 😃 

We were invited twice to the Captains Table dinner before they stopped doing them. First time we were in a Royal Suite for our 30th anniversary. We had our cousins in a Sky Suite and the invite was extended to them also. The next was 2 yrs later, we were the Penthouse guests, but we actually declined as we didn’t feel like all the formality that went along with the evening. We actually dined that night in the original Qsine which we always loved and had so much fun! 

3 hours ago, awhcruiser said:

Guests can bring up to two bottles of wine per stateroom at the beginning of the cruise. However, if the wine is consumed in a shipboard restaurant, bar, or dining venue, there is a $25 corkage fee per bottle. Wines purchased from the Little Luxuries Collection are not subject to the corkage fee.

Somewhat incorrect information. The policy is that each person of drinking age may bring a bottle onboard, if there are 4 people in one cabin, they can bring 4. Also if you have the premium beverage package they will not charge you the corkage fee if you bring it to any venue. 

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

Laura has started answering the questions and I have to say so far I am disappointed.  It is all marketing speak and nothing specifically said to address the question.   

 

She's only answered half a dozen so far but answers are being posted 

 

 

I agree, she only answered a handful of questions and they are all “fluff” answers. When asked why they no longer offer gratuities she sidetracked it with telling us we have the option to pay for them ahead of time 🙄

Why has the Bermuda cruising season been cut to just a few cruises out of Cape Liberty when it used to be from May-Sept? Many northeast cruisers don’t have too many options anymore! 
Any consideration to porting a ship here for winter cruising to the Caribbean? I know so many people who would jump at the chance to not have to fly to Fla every winter to enjoy a cruise. Silhouette did it once and it was a great option! 
It’s a shame that up north there are barely any choices for those of us who love Celebrity. 

1 hour ago, Reel Love said:

Yes, all will be booking suites.  Most couples in Sky Suites and at least one couple in a Royal Suite.  I should have been more clear in my initial post!  Sorry about that 😊 

Which now leads to another question.... I assumed that as long as we are all booked in suites, the exact "category" of suite does not matter and we can all dine "together" in Luminae (and hopefully at the same table lol)

All suite passengers dine in Luminae, it does not go by which level suite you booked. As others have said, talk with the Maitre D’ first chance you get, preferably when you arrive for the embarkation lunch to discuss how they can handle your group. I once traveled with my family as a group of 11 on the Summit and they set us up on one large table at the back end of Luminae without issue, (my immediate family were the PH guests, so not sure if that helped) It will be at the discretion of the Maitre D’. 

3 minutes ago, HBDave said:

I know it's been stated that B2B Passengers can attend the Concierge Lunch on embarkation day. Is this for both cruises or only the second one?

2nd cruise

The MDR is open for lunch for concierge class cabin passengers, b2b passengers and Zenith Club level guests only on embarkation day. 

Luminae, the Suite dining venue is open for Suite class passengers only.

Options for all other cabin classes are the buffet, the Mast Grill (burgers and hot dogs one deck above the pool) the spa cafe may be open as well as Sushi on 5 (fee to eat there) 

Thanks everyone! 

8 hours ago, wrk2cruise said:

The Celebrity MGM match resets about every year.  You have to continually call to get it re-applied

 

I miss the Hyatt match.

Can you share the phone number to call to get the status match?