Answers to various disputed items on Celebrity Board

[Oz_Steve]

Just got off the Solstice and the music was never too loud. I actually made a mental note of music/noise levels as it has been a common complaint on here.

[Carolwesterly]

Just got off the Solstice and the music was never too loud. I actually made a mental note of music/noise levels as it has been a common complaint on here.

 

We are traveling on Solstice for 36 days in April (B2B2B Sydney to Vancouver) and were wondering a few things: Who was your cruise director, did they show any recent movies (other than in your own cabin), and did they offer the late-night Sin City comedy show? Assume the glass show is still there? Thanks!

[chamima]

I agree re the brunch. Very little that could not be enjoyed in the buffet. Presentation was different but it was a bit of a scrum on Eclipse this July. Wont rush to the brunch next time.

 

Worst was that they had big sides of salmon but unfortunately they were not cooked and were very very raw. When I mentioned it to the server they said they always serve salmon pink. This wasnt pink it was still breathing.

 

Smoked salmon ( Lox ) is always served raw,

Sorry that you haven't seen it before.

The three different flavors of smoked salmon at the buffet are my favorite thing!

[TravelerThom]

So just to verify then, when you were in Belize the ships time was Eastern time and actually one hour ahead of Belize time? Just trying to figure out excursions.

When and whether the ship changes time seems to be entirely up to the captain [if I ran the company:rolleyes: there would be a company wide policy, but they didn't ask me;)]. As they say about the stockmarket: past performance is no guarantee of what will happen in the future. That said, I often do private tours, and every tour company I have dealt with knew a lot more about when and where (such as in Cozumel where there are three docks, plus sometimes ships tendering) the ship would be arriving than I did. My advice is to ask the company what you should do, and then leave it in their hands.

 

enjoy

Thom

[Oz_Steve]

We are traveling on Solstice for 36 days in April (B2B2B Sydney to Vancouver) and were wondering a few things: Who was your cruise director, did they show any recent movies (other than in your own cabin), and did they offer the late-night Sin City comedy show? Assume the glass show is still there? Thanks!

 

Friends of friends are doing the same trip and then being joined by my friends in Vancouver. Sounds fun but it would be too long for me. The 12 days I just had was great but I was starting to get a little exhausted at the end (we had the drink package). The cruise director was Ian Cresswell who is an Aussie (as was the activities director and the executive chef who is moving to the Silhouette in Jan as is the F&B 2IC). We didn't get to any movie screenings and I don't think the comedy show as on as I did look for one. The glass show is still there and the Martini Bar is still broken.

[AttilaTheFun]

Are the LGBT Gatherings posted in the daily activities newsletter or on some bulletin board near Guest Services? This is my first time on Celebrity and had read they don't post LGBT events in the events schedule officially.

[Terawyn]

We just got off the Silhouette yesterday from a 7 day Caribbean Cruise.

 

We did in fact change timezones when we arrived in Cozumel and again when we left.

 

As far as towel animals, my SO likes to keep the room a little chilly so on the first day I requested an extra blanket. When we returned at night, I usually found it folded in the shape of a boat of some kind. I think it simply depends on who your room attendant is.

 

Our room attendant asked if we wanted the news delivered on the first day, and what country we preferred. We said we did, and each day found it with our itinerary of on board events.

 

@AttilaTheFun- We did not see any LGBT events posted in the daily activities newsletter. However, I know there were several couples on board. It may be something that is worked out on a private basis?

Edited December 23, 2013 by Terawyn

[TravelerThom]

Are the LGBT Gatherings posted in the daily activities newsletter or on some bulletin board near Guest Services? This is my first time on Celebrity and had read they don't post LGBT events in the events schedule officially.

It used to be posted in the daily newsletter, but it along with a number of other get together notices [such as Friends of Bill] have been moved [at least on most ships] to the bulletin board in order to keep the newsletter down to a manageable size. Pretty sure that the gathering has a standard time and location, so that there is no need to check every day. I have to confess that when I first went cruising I did understand "Friends of Bill" (AA) and jumped to the conclusion that "Friends of Dorothy" must be the women's AA meeting. Someone on my trivia team who was a "Friend of Dorothy" had to straighten me out:o

 

enjoy Celebrity

Thom

[kevinyork]

Are the LGBT Gatherings posted in the daily activities newsletter or on some bulletin board near Guest Services? This is my first time on Celebrity and had read they don't post LGBT events in the events schedule officially.

 

No they dont. They are on the board by Guest Relations.

[AttilaTheFun]

I have to confess that when I first went cruising I did understand "Friends of Bill" (AA) and jumped to the conclusion that "Friends of Dorothy" must be the women's AA meeting. Someone on my trivia team who was a "Friend of Dorothy" had to straighten me out:o

 

Hahahahaha, my Dad said the exact same thing! :)

 

Thank you everyone who responded to my question.

[jtravel777]

• There is candy on the pillow each night, but no towel animals.

 

I wouldn't say that is an absolute.c:) On our Adriatic cruise on Silhouette in October, we came back to our cabin on several evenings to find different towel animals (no children with us).

 

 

We had towel animals on two different nights on our (December 2013) Silhouette transatlantic. Same with us - no children.

[X-elite]

We had towel animals as recently as last October (at stateroom attendant's initiative, not requested by us).

 

The Alcoholics Anonymous and LGTB meeting notices are near Guest Relations.

[royalcruz]

I was on Silhouette 12/15/13 for 7 nights.

We got towel animals a few times.

Elite cocktail hours were in Sky.

Fort Lauderdale no longer has preferential disembarkation (the Elite hostess used to escort the whole group out of the Tuscan Grill at a priority time).

There was a jazz quartet, acoustic trio, party band, and solo guitarist.

The Porch no longer offers the daily assortment of salads (still has caesar and garden salads).

There were very few children. There were very few people over 75 and the ones that we saw were with younger family members. The adults were much younger than on any of our X cruises, and it looked like there were hundreds of people under 35, maybe 30%.

Brunch was held on the last sea day.

 

People were still smoking on balconies despite it not being allowed. I'm not sure how the staff would have responded, as I couldn't determine where it was coming from to report it (I was not near any public smoking areas).

Edited December 26, 2013 by royalcruz

[fishycomics]

Yes there has been a lot of questions, and rumors, those may be from never cruised to have cruised years ago, even some on the same ship to other ships, but when it is said with one character off, all hell breaks out...

 

Title says dispute on celebrity board, not ship:

 

Candy, Chocolates, Towel animal, of the 14 day cruise at least 3 towels made on our recent Celebrity Eclipse cruise. Last it was not, was on the Equinox. It is an added touch.

 

There is a Menu, that you can trip over, and the choices clear, whatever they are. a quieter place, or a better place it is a pool side café no less, different place, different crowd. selected dishes.

 

Michaels Club, 10:15 till late. Acts per cruise ship, Perry Grant, Posted in the daily, times 7:30-8:15. No other shows but open.

 

Breakfast is Tuscans, just a quieter place to Eat, as well the other specialty places for breakfast. with a smaller buffet offered. As well per menu

 

.

 

 

 

I do my best to enjoy my time worry about what is at hand... you'll never leave your seat, because some one steered you wrong..

Edited December 26, 2013 by fishycomics

[PSCruiser]

Yes there has been a lot of questions, and rumors, those may be from never cruised to have cruised years ago, even some on the same ship to other ships, but when it is said with one character off, all hell breaks out...

 

Candy, Chocolates, Towel animal, of the 14 day cruise at least 3 towels made on our recent Celebrity Eclipse cruise. Last it was not, was on the Equinox. It is an added touch.

 

There is a Menu, that you can trip over, and the choices clear, whatever they are. a quieter place, or a better place it is a pool side café no less, different place, different crowd. selected dishes.

 

Michaels Club, 10:15 till late. Acts per cruise ship, Perry Grant, Posted in the daily, times 7:30-8:15. No other shows but open.

 

 

Are these comments in code??? Don't comprehend.

[chamima]

Are these comments in code??? Don't comprehend.

 

Thanks.'

I thought it was just me. ;)

[Jen1000]

I was on the same cruise. We had towel animals 2 times. We were not asked about having the 4 page newspaper delivered daily, I found it about mid-cruise on a rack near the front desk.

 

Michael's Club, private events seemed to be mostly held there. I attended a cocktail party there and when ours finished, they said they had another one starting in 30 minutes. Not sure if much of anything else went on in there.

 

On the formal nights, the initial literature on board listed 3 formal nights. The information at the front desk that the staff reference showed 3 formal nights. On the day of the 2nd formal night, the cruise director announced no formal night and the daily activity guide did not list it as a formal night. We had 2 formal nights.

 

We were on local time in each port.

 

Brunch was a bust. It was disorganized (like other things on the ship). We were taken to a table and then went to get our food. It was very crowded and long lines if you wanted anything cooked (1 person doing stir fry). The brunch was mostly breakfast items and the selection was actually better at the Oceanview Cafe. The decorations and displays were very nice though. I saw some people that were travelling in my larger group and they asked if we had found a table. They were surprised we had been given seats because they were told to just go in and get food and then find a seat. They could never find a seat so they left and went to the Oceanview Cafe. The food was just OK in the brunch and if I go on Celebrity again, I would go look at everything and eat in the Oceanview Cafe.

 

Events were not held in the appropriate sized rooms. You would arrive and it was standing room only and other events would be going on with the venue almost empty. On a couple of occasions things started at a time different from the daily. I remember arriving at a port talk 5 minutes early and it was already almost over.

 

On several occasions I arrived for an activity and something else was going on or running late. The staff did improvise as best they could but it let to some confusion.

 

On this cruise people arrived very early for everything.

 

Cafe Al Bcio- to get a snack you do not need to buy anything. I got something there almost daily and never bought anything to drink. In the afternoon there are little sandwiches in the Oceanview Cafe as part of the afternoon snack offering.

 

There have been a lot of questions and rumors on these boards. Here are my experiences from the Dec. 9 Equinox cruise. It was 11 days to Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Panama. Costa Rica, Belize and Cozumel. It was the first cruise of the season, having just returned from Europe. I plan to post a review of this cruise in the review section. I will try to answer any questions you post.

 

• There are separate vegetarian menus with 2 appetizers, 2 soups, 2 salads, and two main courses. A few of these overlap with the MDR menu, but at least one of each type is always different.

 

• There are daily menus in the Aquaspa Café. There is no grilled salmon or tuna daily, but poached salmon some days.

 

• There is candy on the pillow each night, but no towel animals.

 

• Michael’s Club is open to all and very little going on there.

 

• “Friends of Dorothy” has been replaced by a daily LGBT get together.

 

• Elite cocktails were held in Sky Lounge; no coupons. Breakfast was in Tuscan Grill.

 

• The ship was full. (Someone with a flooded cabin (the only major complaining I encountered) could only be moved for one night, until Grand Cayman, where the occupant was catching up with the ship.) There were a few kids. The median age appeared to be around 70. The ship was not dead after 11pm. When we got out of the Sin City late night adult comedy show (standing room only in Celebrity Central) at 12:15am, Quasar was hopping; the Casino and Martini bar were both busy. We did not check out all the other venues.

 

• Celebrity literature says 2 formal nights on an 11 day cruise; on the first day they listed 3, but the second one became smart casual.

 

• Ships time moves back an hour to CST between Panama and Costa Rica and then moves forward to EST after leaving Cozumel.

 

• Café al Bacio only serves sweets, no sandwiches; it is open 7am to 1am.

Ice cream in Oceanview for 11am to 10 pm

Pizza and Pasta is noon to 1am

Bistro on 5 is 10am to 10pm

 

• Music around the ship has changed

Le Chic Duo - two young ladies from Quebec with guitar and smooth vocals

Sean Golden - guitar, singer

Trio Sunrise - guitar, a little percussion and male & female singer

Elaine Abras Quartet - jazz

7-piece band

party band

 

no a capella group

no piano bar

no string trio or quartet

 

• If you ask Guest Services, they will deliver the news sheet (4 pages) to your cabin daily.

 

• Select Dining uses the whole second floor of the dining room.

 

• Brunch in the MDR held on third (of four) sea day.

 

• Elite coupons include one for a scoop of gelato. Laundry and internet coupons haven’t changed.

 

• Music is often too loud, particularly in the Sky Lounge during the Elite cocktail hour.

[AlanAllyn]

I was on the same cruise. We had towel animals 2 times. We were not asked about having the 4 page newspaper delivered daily, I found it about mid-cruise on a rack near the front desk.

 

I was only asked when I went to Guest Relations looking for the paper; it was too early that day for the paper to be out.

[HAM]

If one wants towel animals, I would suggest providing your cabin steward a generous tip early on in the cruise and simply ask for towel animals or anything else you want to make your cruise more enjoyable.

 

Can I give a tip so I WON"T get those towel animals?

[sharkwl]

Are these comments in code??? Don't comprehend.

 

 

I agree! I have no idea what that person is saying? :eek:

[gimletgal]

I was only asked when I went to Guest Relations looking for the paper; it was too early that day for the paper to be out.

 

The paper is there for the convenience of the passengers. It has never been offered to be delivered, in my experience. I think we all "discovered" it at some point in our cruising lives down by Guest Relations. Now, I ask to have it delivered on every cruise. :)

 

Can I give a tip so I WON"T get those towel animals?

 

LOL! :D I've never had them on a Celebrity cruise and really have no desire to have them.

Edited December 27, 2013 by gimletgal

[hulamoon]

We were also on this cruise.

 

We received two towel animals, which make me smile every time.

 

Our coupon book was an old one without a gelato coupon. When I asked for one, it caused a bit of trouble. My advice is not to if you get an older one. For two reasons, you are on vacation and really do not need to upset people for gelato that is not that compelling.

[Carolwesterly]

We were also on this cruise.

 

We received two towel animals, which make me smile every time.

 

Our coupon book was an old one without a gelato coupon. When I asked for one, it caused a bit of trouble. My advice is not to if you get an older one. For two reasons, you are on vacation and really do not need to upset people for gelato that is not that compelling.

 

I'm surprised by the number of people who have gotten towel animals. We have been on at least 20 Celebrity cruises and NEVER got them -- when we did a Royal Caribbean about 5 years ago, we did get them a few nights and I found it a nuisance - it was in the way, had to be dismantled, etc. I can see a young child being charmed by a towel animal, but personally I don't want them! I do like getting the chocolates on the pillow - we collect them, bring them home and put them in our freezer and enjoy from time to time. When our cruise buddies visit, we put them on their pillows, and my grandkids like them also!:D

[Studley]

There seem to be lots of comments about eliminating towel animals. Since this is a no to low cost item, I would think cruise lines would encourage continuing this practice.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I think receiving or not receiving towel animals is dependent on your stateroom attendant. We finally got some on our Norwegian fjords cruise on the Infinity. They were cute and we saved them. Fortunately we had a very large stateroom with room for them. I can see that they might become ho hum if they were a regular occurrence, but I'd never received them before on Celebrity.