margsipie

What is the norm for tipping at the end of the cruise in the YC?  We will plan to tip our waiter, assistant waiters, hostess, and an excellent musician who is frequently in the lounge (in addition to butler and junior butler), but is it customary to tip the maitre d?  It’s our first time on MSC, so just trying to get a handle on things!

We are booked on the Seashore in September.  Thank you for all of this info!  We have had butlers on Celebrity before, but I’ve always been stressed about calling/bothering them given the number of suites they have and the hours they work.  If they’re bringing someone coffee at 6:00am, but also bringing me pizza at midnight, do they ever get to rest?  Has anyone had someone other than the butler deliver things to the room?

We are traveling with my soon to be 13 month old.  Any thoughts on what I could ask the butler to make cruising with him easier?

Please don’t give me a hard time about my baby!  I am generally very worried about other peoples’ attitudes when he makes noise in public and quickly leave a situation - we aren’t going to ruin your vacation!

Curious about the infants and toddlers wearing masks.  Do you see very small children wearing them?  We will be on the Seashore in September with my (then) 13 month old.  Are you seeing babies that age with masks?

Hi all,

We are considering a Caribbean cruise on the Seashore in September.  A few questions:

Are there any areas of the Yacht club that are off limits to children?  Understood if so - I just want to be aware.

Is the Baby club currently open for parents to play with kids and/or drop off?

Is there anywhere to find ship specific yacht club menus?  If not, how much do they vary between ships?

Thank you!

Aiming for the Caribbean in September.  Not sure on specific ports yet.

Hi all,

We are trying to plan a cruise with my husband, mom, and my 12 month old son.  My son is not vaccinated (we are).  I reviewed Celebrity's website and spent 40 minutes on the phone with them today.  Even they are not 100% clear on their own policy, so I'm curious if anyone has first hand experience.  It seems that unvaccinated children can only leave the ship on Celebrity shore excursions.  What seems to be unclear is the policy for the family traveling with the child.  

If you have been on Celebrity recently with an unvaccinated child, were you able to leave the ship (leaving your child behind with another family member) and explore on your own?  Or were you also required to only go on a Celebrity shore excursion?  Thank you!

Hi all,

We are trying to plan a cruise with my husband, mom, and my 12 month old son.  My son is not vaccinated (we are).  I reviewed Celebrity's website and spent 40 minutes on the phone with them today.  Even they are not 100% clear on their own policy, so I'm curious if anyone has first hand experience.  It seems that unvaccinated children can only leave the ship on Celebrity shore excursions.  What seems to be unclear is the policy for the family traveling with the child.  

If you have been on Celebrity recently with an unvaccinated child, were you able to leave the ship (leaving your child behind with another family member) and explore on your own?  Or were you also required to only go on a Celebrity shore excursion?  Thank you!

Hi!

Looking at a cruise on the Joy and have a few questions.  Typically cruise Celebrity, so not sure of some of the norms.

How does specialty dining work if it’s an included perk and the menu is a la carte?

Is the only coffee/cafe option Starbucks?  I’m thinking in terms of espresso type coffee.

Is only the Sundeck in the Haven 16+?  Are kids allowed in the courtyard area?

Would it be frowned upon to have a 13 month old eating at the Haven restaurant?

Is the (parent supervised) open play for babies/toddlers closed?  I saw online that it seems it’s not available right now.  Just curious if anyone

has experienced this in person.

Thank you!

Breakfast, Second Breakfast, Elevenses, Luncheon, Afternoon Tea, Dinner, Supper

Jokes (name the source) 🙂  but generally relaxing, people watching, cocktails, reading, snacking, enjoying a lack of a schedule (though I break the no schedule rule for trivia).

What are some of the typical passed nibbles during the elite cocktail hour?  Finally elite and I've always wondered (not that we're starving on a cruise haha).

On 2/2/2020 at 1:55 PM, Jim_Iain said:

A couple that we have really enjoyed - 

 

Port Everglades to Buenos Aires through the Canal around the Horn and then on to BA. (4 weeks)

 

Alaska Cruise  Followed with Transpacific from Vancouver  and the Japanese Immersion Cruise.

 

Viet Nam Cruise followed with Singapore to Abu Dahbi and then Abu Dahbi to Rome  (I understand this years March Cruise will be the final one for this route)

 

Heartbroken to hear the Abu Dhabi to Rome route is ending.  I did this in 2018 and must have read your live blog 5 times in advance to prepare/impatiently pass the time waiting to board.  Completely loved it, might be my favorite cruise ever, and I had hoped to do this route on Celebrity again in the future.  Thank you for all the helpful info you provided in your live blog long ago!

Curious to hear about your sake lunch and your thoughts on downgrading from a suite/aqua class if you find any time for another post!

Great review - thanks for taking us along!

We are sailing on the Sky next month.  With the Free at Sea perk for specialty dining, how does this work at a an a la carte restaurant?  What is included?

Since the Sky is all inclusive, I heard once that drinks on Great Stirrup Cay are included.  Is this true...did I imagine this?

Can you tell me what the code is for your excursion. Thank you in advance.

I believe it is SK76, but the description this year says you would do the railway first on the way up unfortunately.

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Thanks for your quick reply. Since you are on your way to Skagway, I have a question for you. We are going there in August with the Solstice. We are trying to book the train trip and I am so confused and have received conflicting information from Solstice.

 

Do you know which trip (short trip) goes by bus to White Pass and does a return on the train. If you can answer great, but please don't waste you precious cruise time.

It may be longer than you want to do, but last year we did the Yukon Adventure and White Pass Railway excursion. We went by bus up to White Pass and beyond to get to the Yukon (amazingly scenic and we saw a bear on the side of the road!) and then turned around, had lunch at a sort of gorge with a suspension bridge and then took the train down. I recommend it.

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Recently did summit my only issue was size of sky suite compared to S class

Very true, that was frustrating, almost half the size it seemed. I did love the balcony facing beds with the different layout. Quite lovely to lie in bed and stare straight at the ocean.

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We got off the Connie on Monday and were so sad to leave. I had only done S-class ships prior to this and was a tad nervous. I did find that it was more intimate and we saw more people repeatedly, but that’s not a bad thing necessarily. Loved getting to know the crew better due to the smaller ship. The 3 sets of elevators are great. I did miss the atrium, but not a deal breaker. Buffet layout is far worse than S-class and I found the offerings slightly lacking as well. All that said, I wouldn’t hesitate to sail on the Connie again. Crew was amazing!

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I already saw that one, was just curious to see another one. ;););)

If you download the Celebrity app (new and improved), you can choose your sail date (some are up) or our current one and look at all the menus. I’ve only noticed one day where they had the lunch menu on the wrong day, otherwise it has been reliable.

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Thank you so much for this review.

 

I love Celebrity, but have only sailed on S-Class ships. I am considering a cruise on the Constellation later this year, so I'd be very interested to hear how you "feel" being on an M-class compared to your usual S class ships.....

 

I've been reading up on the 'physical' differences of the two classes, but I'd be really interested to hear more about the "experiential" difference (if any) ....

 

Appreciate any photos of the ship that you feel like sharing.

 

Also, hotel director Andrea was incredible on the Eclipse when I was there. Would be interested to know how long she's onboard constellation if you ever have an opportunity to ask :)

 

Thank you for taking time out of your vacation to spend on cruise Critic here with a review. Enjoy!

I spoke with Andrea last night in Michael’s. I didn’t get a chance to ask how much longer she is on, but she did say she only boarded on 4/2 in Sri Lanka, so she will likely remain on board for some time.

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I have done the Med on the Reflection and it was brilliant a beautiful ship and we thoroughly enjoyed it, we have just returned from Asia on Constellation and I would not go back on that ship again.

Just curious, what was so negative about the Connie?

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I know the layout is different (and less desirable) on the M-class ships, but is there a difference in food quality or the number of options on the M-class ships in the ocean view cafe? We have been relatively impressed with the ocean view cafe on the Solstice and Silhouette. We are heading on the Connie soon and just curious about what we are in for.

If you like ruins, check out Delos a small archeological island off Mykonos. Amazing experience!

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100% Aqua if they are the same price. Blu is so much more personal than the MDR and the food is better. Nicer shower and nice to have access to the Persian garden (not worth paying for it on its own imho).

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Has anyone figured out a good method for holding down the button on the hair dryer (not with your hand)? I’ve tried to wrap around a hair tie but it never goes very well.

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I’ve been following along and enjoying your review and had two fun surprises while reading about your Miami adventures. I have been to both the Peruvian spot and Pane E Vino when I was in Miami Beach for a couple months for work a few years ago. Love Pane E Vino and glad you discovered it!

Thanks for your review - it’s keeping me entertained while impatiently waiting for my cruise on the Connie in 3 weeks!

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