TravelKnitter

In 2017, The Eclipse's pizza station in the buffet had an open prep area where they roll the dough. Flour was everywhere. I am highly sensitive, and since flour stays airborne and can land anywhere, I avoided the buffet completely. 

Truth be told, I probably would have avoided the buffet regardless, due to cross-contamination risk, but it is nice for the desserts they put in the single-serve, individual containers (as long as they are labeled correctly, of course).

I recently learned that The Edge has a completely separate gluten-free line in the buffet! I would LOVE that, as long as there isn't any free-flying flour around. Has anyone here been on The 

Edge as a gluten-free diner? How did it go for you?

I hope all of the Celebrity ships start doing this. Does anyone know if they do? I have not cruised since 2017, although I do have one coming up soon, on the Eclipse.
 

On our last trip on The Eclipse, Murano had a special they offered for lunch. It was available one or two days on a 14-day cruise. We opted to purchase it and loved it. The food was outstanding and the service impeccable. 

Does anyone know if Epsom Salts are available onboard or through the butler? 

When sailing Suite Class, is there any leeway in requesting alcohol that is no longer stocked by the ship? In the premium package, Celebrity always offered my husband's favorite, Laphroaig Single Malt, but it is no longer on the list. 

Has anyone here ever had a butler that was less than the best? We cruise with a couple who almost always sails Celebrity Suite Class, and I have heard only the most wonderful things about it.

There's a recent review here where it sounds as though the butler was pretty bad! Of course, there are always two sides to every story:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=645915

As for us, we have had excellent cabin service in our previous sailings (Aqua Class).  One of the things I enjoy most about cruising is appreciating the crew, and I am sure suite class will be even better.   

20 hours ago, jelayne said:

The check in, suite waiting area and priority boarding aren’t available in every port.  

 

We boarded a few days ago in San Antonio, Chile and there was a Suite Check in line, both Concierge and Aqua were shorter.  We are in a RS but at this port no expedited luggage service, no priority boarding, no escort onto the ship.  So the boarding “perks” can be different based on the port facilities.

Good to know. 

Embarkation and debarkation for us is in Los Angeles, so I'm assuming all will be well there. 

I know that a lot of bars onboard ship close while in port. Is Michael's Club open?

Great tips. I hope we will get even more people posting here. 

I love knowing that I can leave my carry-on in Michael's Club.

While my husband and I have sailed on the Eclipse previously, this fall will be our first time in a suite. If anyone has any tips to share about how to maximize our suite enjoyment, would you please post them here? Thank you!  

Has the Eclipse updated the ship to include the new "Retreat" for suite guests? 

Does anyone know how far removed the gluten-free kitchen prep area is from the regular prep area? If they use free-flowing flour in the regular prep area, it will stay airborne and cross-contaminate food. (Yes, I am that sensitive.)

Thank you for any information you might have!

How was your experience with gluten free eating on board? Appreciate any feedback - the good or the bad.

Yes! Please let us know.

Thanks for asking, VitaminSea53.

I just remembered I have a couple pictures of wine list on Summit April 2017.

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Do all of the ships have the same wine list? I hope my favorites from two years back, on the Summit, will be offered on the Eclipse in 2018.

Of course, much has to do with the quality of the the vintage, so perhaps that is a silly question.

Flame me if you want, but I still like to wear my tux!

 

Elvis

Bravo!

Why was the itinerary changed? Was weather an issue? The safety of the port(s)?

I still have no idea what evening chic is, other than a marketing term. To me, it sounds the same as casual, and in practice, is often the same.

A female friend of mine has cruised Celebrity countless times. She likes to dress comfortably and prefers not to dress formally on Evening Chic nights. She wears dress slacks and pairs them with a sweater twin set that has sparkles in it. She adds nice jewelry, and she's good to go.

I can relate to what you say. Because I dress corporate casual almost all the time (think Chico's suitable for an office), every top I wear could be considered "elegant," but I still don't feel it is dressy enough for Evening Chic (even though it would be).

Like my friend, I'm no longer into doing big-time formal, but I do like to dress up a little more on Evening Chic nights.

Tasteful yet fancy jewelry (including costume that doesn't look like costume) works well for me. I'll pair it with basic black, fluff up my hair a little more than usual, wear elegant shoes and carry an evening bag, and I'm done.

Then I will have the outfit cleaned, and, for the second Evening Chic, I'll change the jewelry or wear a fancy shawl that is appropriate for evening wear.

For me, it is like the difference between what I would wear to an upscale restaurant as opposed to what I would wear to a wedding. The latter, for me, is always dressier, but not super formal unless it is designated black tie.

I found it particularly easy to stop at the casino bar for a drink to take to the theater, the waiters there are REALLY overworked and slow as a result. Casino barman got used to me stopping by... ;)

Great idea. Thanks.

Same with wine, they won't let you wonder off with the riedell glasses and will swap it but that no issue. But take your drink anywhere you like

 

 

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I'm sure they also want to make sure that glass containers do not end up by the pool. As memory serves, glass is not allowed in the pool areas.

LOVE those Riedel glasses! :)

It has been an aggravation for me for months. I can get about 5 minutes of time doing anything in my reservation before it kicks me out and I get the locked out for 20 minutes message. I'm trying to review shore excursions right now and since I can't get through it in my rez I tried to go to the general shore excursion section and cannot get it to display excursions by port for the Caribbean. I haven't even tried to check in yet. We don't sail until January so I figure I'll just wait a bit and see if they fix these bugs. It's really unacceptable that a major company like this has had website issues going on this long though.

 

You said it. Going to their site should NOT be a painful experience, but it is. This is not modern luxury.

 

However, I have had good customer service when calling Celebrity to help me book excursions, etc. I'm glad I booked through the cruise line instead of an outside travel agent, otherwise, I wouldn't be able to work with them as easily.

 

I do not remember if I had to wait on hold for long. I'll pay better attention to that next time.

 

I wonder how many potential first-time customers they may have lost. If I were new, I would say "Forget it!" and shop elsewhere.

I have Celiac disease, and I sailed on the Summit a few years ago, before the "Dine Aware" program, and they took very good care of me. They showed me the dedicated food allergy kitchen, and walked me through the buffet area. They even made me my very own chocolate cake. All I had to do was ask for a piece, and they brought it to me. On the last night, they brought the last third of the cake to the table for dessert. =) That being said, cross contamination does sometimes happen, so I always make sure to take care of myself. Ultimately, it is my responsibility to make sure whatever I consume is safe.

I sail on Reflection in a few months, and I have contacted the special needs dept. I will talk to the Maitre D, and I have assigned dining so I will have the same dining staff every night. They will know that being gluten free in not a "Trendy Choice" for me. So I am cautiously optimistic but I will be prepared for whatever happens, and the Dine Aware program will help. :)

I hope you'll post here about your Reflection cruise!

You make an interesting point about being ultimately responsible for yourself. I agree with you. I had an experience on the Summit in 2016, and I take much of the responsibility for it.

Note: The following is meant to talk only about those times when there MIGHT be the risk of cross contamination or when someone is not 100% sure if a food item will be safe. Okay, here goes:

On the oversized menu posted outside of the main dining room, Pad Thai was listed as being gluten-free.

Pad Thai is a dish that is often available gf, as you probably know, so I was excited to see it offered.

However, on the actual dining room menu, the gf symbol did not appear. I asked my server to check to see if the dish was indeed gf. He checked, and his answer was, "If it is labeled gluten-free, it is gluten-free." So, I ordered it.

One bite and I knew I was in trouble. I detected soy sauce. I'm sure you've guessed the rest. Upon checking further, the dish was not gluten free.

I'm going to quote from my blog (note that I am not giving the name of my blog here. This is not to attract people to my blog, which is not what this forum is all about, I just want to quote it rather than retype it all):

"While I only had one small bite, after returning to my room, I started to feel sick, and oh boy, was I ever!

Did I get so sick that I clogged the plumbing system in my room?

Don’t ask.

Okay, ask.

Indeed, I did. And, even if I must say so myself, I did a fine job of it.

Now here’s the thing: Those of us who must keep vigil on food know that sometimes mistakes happen. We must be steadfast in guarding every bite. Diligence is the curse of having to deal with food allergies and intolerances—difficult and sad, but true.

Who's fault was it that I received contaminated food?

Celebrity’s? Yes, but also my own. I should have made sure the server spoke with the chef directly, and I should have known that “If it is labeled gluten-free, it is gluten-free,” is a questionable answer, especially since it was not labeled gluten free on both menus.

Truth told, on a 14-day holiday, I expected to have at least one setback. Mistakes have happened to me everywhere, including Walt Disney World, which I adore and which has the reputation of offering the most responsible gluten-free options in the world.

If I have food issues, vigilance is the key, and when it comes to questionable offerings, I hold the key."

I had a recent ship visit with Celebrity with a lactose-free friend and myself, I'm vegan, though have lactose-intolerance too. They wanted dietary requests in 2 months in advance which were submitted, but MDR was not prepared at all for us.

 

Oddly, the same butternut squash soup served in OWC at lunch was marked veggie and lactose-free, the lunch menu in MDR looked like it had milk or cream so checked with staff and were told it definitely had dairy. Frustrating. Only other starter was Caesar salad - full of dairy. So we got lettuce, cucumber and tomato slices. Not even a balsamic dressing or vinegarette to go with it.

 

Main course was even worse for me, even though they could've easily combined a large plate of side vegetables, cous cous etc. Did not fill me with confidence... I love Celebrity ships, I would hate to dine poorly, am torn about booking them or not. Even on Royal Caribbean I have had desserts, not just fruit. They even attempted cake!

 

Princess is the best cruise line for dietary needs that we have travelled with - with proper dessert! Their vegan desserts were suitable for coeliacs, egg- and dairy-allergy passengers (apple pie, cobblers etc) so there is no reason why ships shouldn't cater for vegan passengers. Especially as vegan food is not just vegans - it is food, can be enjoyed by everyone. Last time on Royal I was offered a lovely chickpea curry, boiled rice and poppadums and I had other omnivore diners jealous at my food. It may have been 'just' the staff curry (as many staff are from India/Pakistan and many are vegetarian) but it was a great curry. Just happened to be vegan too.

 

I would love to try Disney sailings, but there aren't that many sailings here in Europe and Oceania is so expensive, though v vegan aware hence would expect them to cater well for other dietary needs.

 

I've got my Celebrity day visit post here: http://vegancruiser.co.uk/visit/celebrity-eclipse-ship-visit/

I enjoyed reading your review, and thanks for taking all of those photos!

Thanks, everyone.

While we waited to board, crew members walked around and offered 1/2 off specialty restaurant dining on the first night.

I'm not sure if this question belongs here. If my husband and I have a premium drink package, how is it handled if we order a bottle of wine instead of by the glass? I think the amount covered per glass is $11, so I assume that if the bottle is more than $44 (4 pours per bottle), we would just be charged the difference?

I cannot eat regular bread, but my husband can, and he loved the bread basket!