Celebrity Cruising Pointers

[ArkansasCruiser73]

All,

I have been reading the threads off and on over the past year and notice some of the complaints are related to people either being new to celebrity or cruising. I figured a new thread for suggestions might help others make the most out of their cruise on Celebrity. Please post any pointers you may have for new and veterans alike that go overlooked.

 

My pointers/suggestions are:

• Understand the travel insurance and make an informed decision. Make sure you understand what would be covered and what you are risking by not getting the travel insurance.
  
• If you have a special event like an anniversary or birthday you want recognized at dinner, remind your waiter the night before. Even if you noted this during booking, it's a good idea to remind your waiter the night before so it doesn't get overlooked.
  
• If something is important, talk to the staff.
  
• Your room attendant will make an effort to meet you the day of boarding. If you want chocolates on your bed, towel animals, bottled water replaced, a better time to service your room, an extra chair in your room, etc. make sure to talk with your room attendant. Things change so something you expect might not be standard or may be replaced with something new. They cannot always provide what you want, but a good staff will make an effort. If you expect something, let them know!
  
• If your room attendant, butler, waiter, etc. aren't providing the level of service you are expecting make sure to talk with them. Every passenger wants to be treated differently and they may not realize you are unhappy with the service. Let them know in a polite way why they aren't meeting your expectations.
  
• If you are making extra requests of the staff, tipping doesn't hurt.
  
• Most important, showing respect to the staff will go a long way and can be more important than tipping. If someone is a jerk to you in life how much effort do you make in meeting their expectations?
  

[TLCOhio]

All, I have been reading the threads off and on over the past year and notice some of the complaints are related to people either being new to celebrity or cruising. I figured a new thread for suggestions might help others make the most out of their cruise on Celebrity. Please post any pointers you may have for new and veterans alike that go overlooked.

 

Appreciate the excellent listing, solid tips and ideas. Great sharing. Very practical and smart.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 68,592 views for this fun posting.

[Celebrity Cruises]

Wonderful list. Thank you for sharing!

[Tommy3putts]

Woooopig Sooooie!!

 

Great idea.

 

My tips.

 

Do your port research early. Make reservations well in advance. Don't be afraid to do a ship excursion.

 

Don't over plan excursions. You can't see and do everything.

 

Don't over research your cruise ship here on CC. half the fun is discovering the ships secrets on your own.

 

Don't over pack.

 

Bring a power strip for electronic gadgets.

 

Get out and get to meet your fellow passengers.

 

Wash your hands constantly. Use the hand sanitizers.

 

Be mindful of your fellow passengers.

 

Check out the Sunset Bar! My favorite spot on the ship.

 

Agree, be respectful to crew.

 

Hundreds more I'm sure

[ArkansasCruiser73]

Good ones Tommy. Our first cruise we went overboard :rolleyes: on excursions and now try and now plan for a little more freedom.

[Phxazzcruisers]

Great suggestions. Happy cruising

[Lois R]

Please and Thank You go a long way.

[coldweathergirl]

Something that comes to mind for me is wait times.

 

Remember that you're not the only person on board so you may have to wait a few minutes for service or delivery of things. (examples are a cocktail by the pool or a refill on your wineglass at dinner or a bit of extra time between courses). If you stress out over this you're going to have a lousy holiday. I know we're all paying for the trip but the staff work hard and if you have to wait it is not deliberate....unless you're being a total jerk to the staff the whole cruise and then maybe they're getting even :p

[Tommy3putts]

Saw a passenger berate a bartender because he didn't like the way a drink W's made. Totally rude. As the guy was leaving I said loud enough to be heard, "on behalf of the other 3000 passengers I apologize for that $&@#!"

Edited July 28, 2014 by Tommy3putts
edit

[TLCOhio]

Do your port research early. Make reservations well in advance. Don't be afraid to do a ship excursion.

Don't over plan excursions. You can't see and do everything.

Bring a power strip for electronic gadgets.

Wash your hands constantly. Use the hand sanitizers.

Be mindful of your fellow passengers.

Check out the Sunset Bar! My favorite spot on the ship.

 

Super excellent summary by Tom W. from northern Virginia. I have highlighted a few of these above as the ones I would urge as meriting special attention to be considered and given.

 

For port research, here would be some of my added tips and ideas. Be sure to use the "SEARCH" function on these boards for each of the various cities/ports you are going to visit. There have been lots of different posts, photos, etc., posted earlier that can help you get a sense of your many options in these ports. Don't be shy! Ask questions. Lots to share and learn from previous travels to these great areas of the. Also grab, maybe from your library or a book transfer they can do for you, such good visual books such as Eyewitness, Insight, etc. Rick Steves, Fodors, Frommers, Lonely Planet, etc., can work well, too. No one travel book has it "ALL", perfectly and completely. These resources, especially the visuals one, can you help better figure out your priorities, in advance, for what you want to do and see.

 

I will search Google.com or Bing.com in the images section to look at visual examples for these key places we are going to visit for the first time. The visuals in both travel books and from the Internet really help get a "picture" for what you want to do and visit. On such cruises, our port time is limited and you need to consider the many good options.

 

Don't let out the secret on the Sunset Bar!! We don't want it to get too crowded, especially when sailing away from a scenic port. See two items of "evidence" presented as proof below.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Did a June 7-19, 2011, Celebrity Solstice cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Enjoyed great weather and a wonderful trip. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc., on these postings. We are now at 178,666 views for this live/blog re-cap on our first sailing with Celebrity and much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

 

 

As the Solstice starts its sail-away in Sydney, here is that view from the top, back of the ship. During most sail-away during this cruise, we super enjoyed hanging out at the Sunset Bar. Great view, drinks, fresh air, sea views, etc. But, don't tell others about our secret place! The second visual shows our roll call Chart Master Mike from Miami, capturing some of our Cruise Critic group (good folks from Kansas and South Carolina) during our sail-away party at the Sunset Bar on the magical 15th level of the Solstice. :

 

 

 

[jasm8449]

When the elevator arrives, please don't rush past a person with a wheelchair, scooter or walker, who was waiting for an elevator before you arrived.

 

Also, stand aside and let people off before you try to get on.

[Tommy3putts]

Super excellent summaryDon't let out the secret on the Sunset Bar!! We don't want it to get too crowded, especially when sailing away from a scenic port. See two items of "evidence" presented as proof below.

 

 

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Oops very true advice. Most important tip of all. I never been accused of being very smart. Shhhhh all y'all.

[Caribbean Chris]

I would add a little dining room courtesy.

 

Understand that if you have fixed dining time, you should show up on time, within the first 5 - 10 minutes at latest, since your waiter is likely to be waiting to take all the orders for your table at the same time. Your table mates will be delayed if you stroll in late or fail to appear. (So it's also a courtesy to mention it to them and your waiter/dining room manager if you plan to skip dinner.)

 

Along these lines is an understanding of the flow of service. It is always miraculous to me that a ship can feed thousands of people in such a short time, and the reason is that the chefs & waiters have a system and traffic patterns in the kitchen. So if you decide to order another bowl of soup at the point when they are getting their dessert orders fulfilled for the table, it puts a little kink into things and may take a few minutes to arrange.

[CathyCruises]

When the elevator arrives, please don't rush past a person with a wheelchair, scooter or walker, who was waiting for an elevator before you arrived.

 

Also, stand aside and let people off before you try to get on.

 

I guess it's because most of us don't take elevators on a regular basis that so many people don't understand the elevator etiquette. It makes it so much easier if you stand back and let people get off before you try to shove your way on. It's one of my very few pet peeves about cruising.

[shorefolks]

While I would certainly agree with the need in most cases for travel insurance, I would also urge the prospective traveler to make an evaluation not just of what is offered (by the cruise line, your TA, or a 3rd party) but rather what s/he already might have. It is possible that one of your credit cards already provides some measure of coverage. If that is sufficient for your needs, then additional insurance is an unnecessary expense.

[mellowrose]

Excellent advice here!

Its a good idea to explore your new ship on arrival but don't forget to do it again part way through the cruise, just when you think you've got your pathways down pat, there could be another cozy spot you overlooked.