CruiseRQA

Is going from a butler who is assigned several cabins to a retreat team that is assigned to several more cabins a "material change"?

Le Bistro (IMO) for lunch is the best bargain on the ship. I think the cost is up to $30 for lunch so maybe not as good of a bargain anymore but nevertheless the best lunch on the ship or most other places.

You can adjust the tips up or down as you see fit.

I have always looked at a cruise as a vacation not so much as traveling.

Hopefully you are being sarcastic. Removing tips may seem fair to you but the person that hurts in your rebellion against the man is the poor cabin steward and wait staff.

Do you have travel insurance? If so they will want all sorts of documentation so I would call to cancel and ask for some written confirmation as to the date of the cancelation.

Chances are you will like (if not love) the IV. We felt the same way you do after booking and then hearing the negativity surrounding the IV. Don't be discouraged. We found we loved the open feel the IV gives to your room. Keep an open mind and judge for yourself. You will find some shade about the pool. Of course depends on the weather and time of day. Keep in mind there is also the solarium which will always be "shaded" You will enjoy your cruise.

Shows are typically about 45 minutes. No reservations, just show up 5-10 minutes ahead of showtime and you can pretty much pick your seat. Just one show (but performed twice each night) in one theatre.

Policy seems clear to me. Policy starts Jan 1. Allows for cancelation up until 48 prior to arriving at the excursion port. For all the crap Celebrity takes on this board this seems like a fairly generous policy given that cruisers are booking excursions months in advance. You booked nonrefundable excursions that will remain that way as the policy doesn't start until Jan 1.

And for part 2 and adding to 39August's helpful info: 1. Menus change every day but there are a few choices that are the same every day. Download the app and check it out! 2. MDR is table service as are all the specialty restaurants. 3. Despite having a fixed time of 6pm, dining in the MDR on Apex is not by reservation, you can show up anytime. Celebrity needs to fix this. 4. Yes, download the app! 5. Breakfast every day in the buffet or MDR. Lunch everyday in the buffet but only on seadays in the MDR. Protip: lunch is available at times in some of the specialty restaurants. Added charge but often easier to get a reservation than dinner.

1. I would book specialty dining as soon as you are able. Reservations seem to fill up fast and often there are not available reservations once you are onboard - at least in my experience. 2. E -class ships like Apex do not take reservations for MDR. However if you just ask for a table for two you will be accommodated. Probably won't be a wait if you dine early or late. Could be a short wait for a table for 2 from 6-8, again, in my experience. 3. As much as you'd like but keep in mind the rooms are small and the suitcases go under your bed. Your room steward will try to find a place for extra bags if needed. 4. Yes and yes. Don't really see the need for bring snacks onboard the Apex however! 5. Your room steward and wait staff are a great source of information about this. They may provide you a map or you can get one at the front desk. 6. No reservations taken for show seating, however I have never had a problem getting a seat. If you are very particular about location if you arrive 15 minutes early you will have your pick of seats. You will enjoy the Apex, when are you sailing/

Just checked my Apex reservation (sailing Jan 20). The premium drink package is currently "on sale" for $69.99/day. Directly from the website it states that: Champagnes and favorite wines such as Conundrum White and Red Blends, Decoy Cabernet Sauvignon, J&H Selbach Riesling Kabine, Mouton Cadet Bordeaux Blend, and Edmeades Zinfandel If I'm paying $70/day and then have to pay $2.40 more for Decoy Cab, I would say that it's not included.

So you're looking to pay $840 per couple for a 7 day cruise AND have them give you $620 OBC? Good luck! I also refer you the thread titled: "We are doing to Celebrity what we accuse Celebrity of doing to us"

Well everything is higher thanks to *****flation. Bought a footlong sandwich at Subway this week and it was $15! X is trying to get a certain amount of revenue per passenger. Psychology is involved. Last year my sky suite cabin on Beyond was $2000 more than my sky suite cabin this year on Apex. Last year tips were "included" and I got $900 in OBC. Last year I thought I splurged but got some nice perks, this year I think I got a bargain but will have a big bill at the end of the cruise. Will be about the same for each cruise.

The main complaint this season seems to be the nickel and diming as it applies to the pricing of wine and cocktails. And understandably so. Pricing ordinary wine and spirits outside of a pricey "premium" drink package is annoying and seems petty. Especially if you are paying big bucks for the suite life. However, we the travelers are responsible for much of this. Take airlines for example. 90%+ of people just shop for the lowest fare. As an airline how do you get to the lowest fare? Remove stuff from the fare, advertise a low fare and then charge back stuff like seat location and luggage as an add on. These boards are replete with stories of how to get the lowest fare or canceling a reservation to book a different one at a lower fare. Cruise lines must advertise low fares to attract bookings and then have to find ways to make up for the lost revenue. Like airlines they then charge you for stuff that used to be in the (higher) fare. Then just like we complain about lousy airlines (but scoop up their low fares) we complain the same way about cruise lines. Would we pay $1000 more for a Celebrity cruise that didn't charge for an additional lobster tail or 2 bucks extra for a glass of wine? Or would we take the cheaper HAL or Princess cruise. I think the market has spoken.

So you would turn sky suites into just another room with a balcony. Why would Celebrity turn these high priced cabins into low priced cabins? Why do you say Luminae is a failure? We have always had good food and service there.

Keep in mind, just because it's on some list doesn't mean they will have it.

Edge class has a fabulous buffet with an amazing variety of foods from ethnic choices to simple sandwiches, fruit, cheese. Edge class has several small venues for "treats" like ice cream (just off the buffet), Eden for some healthy breakfast things, a pastry cafe for great cookies and pastry treats. We have not eaten in the MDR of E-class but Blu has been great and Luminae terrific. No reason not to find something you like to eat on E-class.

I am always amazed by people that say ALL of the food was bad on a cruise ship. Everything from the MDR to the buffet to a specialty restaurant. I have cruised yearly since the late 1980s. Earlier on RCCL then HAL and now mostly Celebrity. I have always found the food to be good to excellent no matter the ship. At home we dine out often and generally at good (not usually chain) restaurants and find cruise dining generally on par. Not everything. Generally not getting a good steak on a cruise ship in my opinion. For whatever reason we have not been on Princess and so I can't directly compare. But no matter what you read here you will find the food on Celebrity to be just fine no matter the venue.

So far sounds like a pretty good cruise. Are you leading up to what made it your worst cruise ever?

Thanks for the positive review about Apex. We will be on the Jan 20 sailing. Did you have a drink package? If so, did you notice a lack of options within the package?

Around here we have always had our beer snobs, wine snobs and whisk(e)y snobs. I guess we will have to add a new category: Lobster Snobs!! (For you sensitive ones, I am just kidding!)

I believe the gratuities are shared among the staff by some formula and so nothing more is expected. However if you have a particular staff member that you enjoyed you can always tip them directly.

I would say "adult" show. Hardly "x rated". Most of the adult comedy shows wind up being tamer than the average comedian you might see at home.

Generally I find the posts here not to be representative of the cruise experience. There is a lot of good information here and specific questions can get specific answers. But the tone of the board is negative. We continue to enjoy Celebrity but if I had never cruised I would not pick Celebrity after reading this board. Same goes for Azamara probably. I take the advice of my trusted travel agent and respect the experiences of trusted friends and relatives.