2chiefs

19 minutes ago, Host Clarea said:

 

Do they have drink vouchers on Celebrity?

I read that they now load 3 drinks on the sea pass to use at any venue. But they also limit you to 3 drinks in the Elite event as well.

Very short event too (2 hours I think).

We are on Celebrity Reflection next week so I'll find out first hand.

T

3 hours ago, Ken Greco said:

Are you allowed to take the drinks from the diamond lounge party out of the room?

Offically: No

Unofficially: Yes - many people do on their way to dinner

 

Is there Diamond parties every night on a 8 day cruise?

Yes

A check?

What's that?

T

Bill & Marie,

Thanks for posting this. Sallie & I are going on our first Panama Canal Cruise on Celebrity Infinity in November 2019 and this review is great. We were on the 2017 Radiance Hawaii cruise with you and really enjoyed it. Hope to hook up with you again.

(I gotta get me a suit like the Alley Cats are wearing).

T

For us it's always been in the hall and occasionally the porter will put it in the room.

Except once!...  When Sallie stashed an iron in a suitcase on one of our earlier cruises. I had to go to the :naughty room" to retrieve it.

T

18 minutes ago, justcrusn said:

<<<SNIP>>>

If it helps to ease your senses, you didn’t miss much, it’s nice don’t get me wrong but not something that makes or breaks a cruise experience.

I agree with you. I certainly wouldn't book Concierge just for the perks and certainly not specifically for the lunch. A Veranda is fine for us. It's just that sometimes the Celebrity pricing is up-side-down and Consierge is sometimes less or perhaps very little more than Veranda class.

T

On 10/1/2018 at 12:54 PM, mom says said:

I enjoy the buffet lunches. But NOT on embarkation day! Waaaay to crowded and chaotic; at least until the cabins open. So I'm very happy for a quiet, relaxed dining room lunch that we can enjoy at our leisure (and break in the beverage package).

 

And I'm pretty sure the other dessert option is still the chocolate cake. 😄

I agree. I also like the Buffet but not on embarkation day.

I love the relaxing lunch regardless of the menu. 

T

17 hours ago, topcruz said:

When do they put up the decorations?  We will be on Reflections Dec 7 to 21 so was hoping we may see some decorations towards the end of our crusie which is just before the holiday cruise.

We will be on the cruise with you next week. We went on a 4-day cruise last year on the Reflection (December 18-22) and they were decorated.

We always cruise in December (mostly RCCL) and it varies from ship to ship as to when they start but mostly it begins shortly after Thanksgiving and continues for several weeks before it's completely done. We've seen progress such as gingerbread villages being built in the windjammer over a period of a week for instance.

T

The "Around The Island of Spice" Sounds like a great tour. Our preference would be for a little shorter tour but that one sounds interesting.

When we last visited (on RCCL) we went on a rum tour. That was also very interesting. Not only did we visit current rum distilleries, we also visited some that had shut down. Our tour sounds like it might be incorporated into your tour.

It was particularly interesting to hear about the 1983 "invasion" (I prefer to call it a liberation) from the locals. All locals we heard from were supportive of it but I'm sure there were others. A SEAL I served with in Vietnam died there during the operation. The date (October 25) is celebrated as "Thanksgiving Day" locally.

Seems kind of silly. It's not like they would lose money on drinks as most people (I'm guessing) would probably have 3 drinks or less in the short time the event is held. With the way Celebrity does promotions, I would think a lot of people have drink packages on Celebrity which again would reduce the effect of losing money on a drink limit in the Elite event.

T

The two times we cruise during Christmas, they also had a Christmas themed Ice show.

We cruise the week before Christmas every year as well and they are always decorated and varies from ship to ship.

Her first name is Lamp.

Son's name is Com

Father's name is Goal

On 11/25/2018 at 1:56 PM, KmomChicago said:

<<<SNIP>>>

One thing I found. Even through the Solarium is for adults, it gets quite full on sea days. If you don't care for the ports, do what I did one day and find yourself a nice padded lounger while everyone else abandons ship.  I darn near had the whole place to myself for a couple hours in the morning and had a glorious sunny, luxurious nap there until I disembarked to meet my family ashore.

<<<SNIP>>>

 

 

We do the same thing.

T

We enjoy the MDR and socializing. We even use the MDR for lunch when it's open. We tried specialty dining a couple times and for us, there is no value.

The true cost is much more than the upcharge since you are essentially paying for two meals since the MDR is pre-paid.

Bottom line is if you enjoy specialty dining don't mind paying the up charge then go for it. For us it's not value-added.

We have some very nice "specialty" dining venues here in Atlanta area that we enjoy when not cruising.

T

1 hour ago, katiegirl1264 said:

Seeing it in person, right in front of you, really is key and makes it come alive. It was a different and delightful experience that we thoroughly enjoyed. I highly recommend checking it out when you board Reflection. Have a wonderful trip!!

Thanks.

Perhaps we'll give it a go.

T

We shut down our cell phones and lock them up in the safe for the duration of the cruise.

We always book a balcony but, unlike most, we seldom use it as we like meeting new people and socializing.

We almost never order room service. 

We almost never sit at a table for two and try to meet new people.

We only go to the buffet occasionally and prefer to be waited on.

For relaxation:

     -In ports we have visited many times, we might stay on board and simply enjoy the ship

     -Hot tub

     -Reading a book in the Solarium

T

I saw it on Youtube and seemed a little silly to me. Perhaps it doesn't translate well on youtube vs in person?

T

On 8/5/2018 at 3:01 PM, TinyG said:

We are on your sailing as well. We have booked Smiths for Airports for both directions. It will be 98Pounds for a dock pick up or at the Holiday Inn for 75Pounds. We will walking to the terminal before and after the cruise...we will need the walk especially after 23 days of eating...and drinking! We have been assured that a credit card can be used for both directions. They have been very good with communication. See you soon!

Is that 98 pounds per person?

Thanks

T

We've been to it (A long time ago). As the others have said, easy walking distance and about 1 to 2 hours depending on how long you linger. It's a nice museum. I can't comment on the price since it's been so long. We don't even get off the ship at Nassau anymore. A fun day to enjoy the (uncrowded) ship....

T

8 minutes ago, kinggartk said:

I'll try not to provoke an us vs them war...and I'll try not to be biased.

 

I just completed my first RCL cruise aboard Oasis.  I'll start by saying Oasis is a beautiful and massive ship.  It rarely felt crowded.  The staff was all very nice.

Carnival has no ship to compare to Oasis.  In that category...RCL wins Hands Down.

 

Staff for both cruislines are excellent... This one is a draw.

 

Main Dining Room...that's where Carnival shines in my opinion.  Carnival seems to have a more varied menu from night to night in the MDR than does RCL.  RCL had many items repeated night after night with only a couple of changes from night to night.  Carnival on the other hand...has only a couple of items that show up each night while the rest of the menu changes each night.  Also...Carnival has Warm Chocolate Melting cake...RCL trys to replicate...but fails.   Carnival wins hands down.

 

All other food venues.   Carnival and RCL are pretty equal.  Food Quality is fairly equal across both cruiselines. This one is a draw.

 

I don't like the reservation system for shows on RCL.  This is just my preference, others may feel different.  Carnival Wins

 

I like that Carnival has their shows scheduled to work around MDR schedules.  If I have late dinning, I can go to the early show.  If I have early dinning, I can go to the late show.  RCL seemed to only have shows at one time (10:30).  We had 8:00 dinning and found ourselves with not much to do from 5:00 PM to 8:00 PM.  On carnival...we would have been seeing a show during that time.  Carnival Wins.

 

Carnival seems to have more going on during the day than RCL...maybe that's just my perception.  I wanted to do more than sit in a lounger by the pool during the day...but just didn't find much more to do during those times.  Carnival Wins.

 

The Quality of the show are hit or miss from cruise to cruise.  The Water show was fantastic...Cats was very good, the Ice Show was good.  Come Fly with me was a snoozer and singers were not good.  Overall Carnival and RCL are equal when it comes to the Shows...but the Water Show and Ice Show put RCL over the top.  RCL Wins (because of the Ice and Water shows)

 

RCL communication with passengers was a little lacking.  We had to figure out on our one what documents to take with us to the various ports.  RCL gave us very little information about when and where to meet for excursions.  There was information provided on the tickets them selves...but finding the various excursion meeting locations was a crapshoot...especially on Labadee.  Carnival Wins.

 

Finally...Price.  This cruise seemed to be much more expensive than any of the cruises I have taken on Carnival.  Carnival Wins.

 

Disclaimer:  I have been on 5 Carnival Cruises and one RCL cruise.  I would definitely sail RCL again...but this Cruise on RCL helped me confirm I'm partial to Carnival.  I tried not to be biased...but...maybe I failed.

I guess it's best to compare ships rather than lines. Many of the items you cite on Oasis are unique to Oasis because it's such a large ship. For instance, the timing of shows around the MDR schedules is as you describe on the smaller RCI ships. No reservations are required on the smaller ships as well.

T

46 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

 

<<<SNIP>>>

 

We make an appointment, show up prepared, and have received excellent service.

That's what we do and I believe the best advice.

As with any salespeople, sometimes you get good ones and sometimes not so good....

T

4 minutes ago, LrgPizza said:

I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here, but the Santa that shows up isn't the real one.

Are you sure? I was on a cruise and the captain had him on radar. Seems to me that only the real Santa could actually fly to the ship.

Pork Knuckle is my favorite. Glad to see it on the menu. Hope they do this for our upcoming cruise in December.

Thanks for posting.

T

I was at a Hampton Inn recently in NC and a guy was in the food area filling his plate with one hand and carrying a Chihuahua in the other. I complained to the front desk and the clerk agreed that animals were not allowed in the food area but did nothing about it. That particular hotel is dog friendly and always has several guests with dogs most days I am there. I visit the same area frequently so I've switched hotels.

The rules are bent/broken by a few all the time and if not enforced then are larger populace suffers.

1 hour ago, Mr. Click said:

Finally a reason to be glad we passed on doing this TA.  The whole "service animal" it out of hand.  Airlines are cracking down on it and cruise lines need to do the same.  The US air carriers have rules now that are so rigid that I can no longer bring my therapy elephant with me.

I heard that therapy elephants can be unruly at times.

T