Celebrity First Timers

[barb-ottawa]

Have sailed with NCL 8 times and will board a Celebrity ship (Reflection) for the first time in a couple of weeks. Not familiar with anything Celebrity and have been reading reviews here like crazy, but am getting more confused. We are just in an inside cabin, no aqua class, no M class, no royal - just plain old cruisers. Will it be made clear through the dailies what is available to us "regular" people? We used to enjoy having our breakfast on the NCL ships in the Great Outdoors - an outdoor area overlooking the water just beyond the buffet. Is there something similar to this on the Reflection? We have the classic beverage package - is cappuccino and lattes included at the Cafe al Bacio? Is there any restaurants other than the buffet and MDR that do not cost extra? Thanks!

[kenevenpar]

On Reflection there is an outdoor area just aft of the Oceanview Cafe that you can take your food and sit. Quite a few tables.

 

The Dailies will list all of the activities and eating establishments. Cafe al Bacio, which has premium coffees ($), also has free pastries

[kenevenpar]

These are but a few of the tables in the outdoor seating area. I don't see any pictures of the entire area, sorry.

 

 

[ClaudiaB]

Pretty much all the beverages at Cafe al Bacio are on your package. Enjoy!

 

You will have a wonderful time and no one knows what cabin you're in. You can use some of that money you saved to get some specialty restaurant dinners. I think they're even MORE special on formal nights, but as a first time Celebrity cruiser you might want to be in the Main Dining Room those nights.

 

Do make sure to enjoy the great places to sit and relax on board, such as the front of the ship deck 14 in the Sky Lounge, the Relaxation room deck 12 front of the ship, the upper deck bars that are outside.

 

I love the solarium area (indoor adult pool). So peaceful. The library mid ship is nice to sit and relax/read/knit/stitch/do puzzles. You're not alone and you can hear the ping ping of elevators and music in the atrium, but it's still a nice place to relax awhile.

 

Mostly just have a great cruise and enjoy those first few hours on board as you explore and discover the "ooh" and "aaah" of a new to you ship for the first time.

[Duanerice1]

Yea we are usually just "regular" passengers too :) We pretty much eat in the MDR every night, maybe the buffet once or twice. There are also burgers/hot dogs at the mast bar which are pretty darn good too.

 

Breakfast = room service, MDR (sea days), Cafe al Bacio or buffet - not sure if the Aqua Spa cafe is open for breakfast.

Lunch = room service, Mast grill, Aqua Spa cafe, MDR (sea days) or buffet

Dinner = room service, MDR and buffet - don't think Mast grill or Aqua Spa cafe are open for dinner.

 

That's about it for free food but that is enough. We never use the specialty restaurants, just not worth it to us, even with a lot of OBC. Not foodies for sure.

 

You won't even notice the places you can't go to as they are usually tucked out of the way.

enjoy,

[Soca Queen]

The Lawn club that's really nice, Bistro on 5 worth the 7.00 dollars, panini's crepes, the cakes, pastries and cookies are to die for at Cafe Al Bacio, Mast Grill and Bar, few beers pina colada and the best burger and chips at sea. We're on Eclipse in 23 days owww so much joy.... So much food, so much choice enjoy every minute, it often takes a lot of hard work to get you on the gang plank .... Julie ( who happened to work a few extra Bank shifts to pay for the luxury of Celebrity [emoji4]

[vivi9909]

Have sailed with NCL 8 times and will board a Celebrity ship (Reflection) for the first time in a couple of weeks. We are just in an inside cabin, no aqua class, no M class, no royal - just plain old cruisers. Will it be made clear through the dailies what is available to us "regular" people?

 

The M class you mention only refers to the category of ship. You will sail on the Reflection, the newest, largest and most magnificent of the Solstice family (aka S class). The ships of the Millenium family (aka M class) are smaller and older.

You will have access to most of the public venues (except the Blu restaurant reserved to Aqua passengers) of your beautiful vessel. Enjoy!!

[tserface]

I fully agree with some of the other posters. The Mast Grill is included for everyone and really good and a great place to eat outside. It's burgers, hot dogs, and fries, but a really nice change from the stuffy MDR food.

 

There is not much on the ship that is exclusive. It mostly gets talked about on Cruise Critic so it sounds like more than it really is in practice. They do have an "Elite" party every night in one of the lounges and a small breakfast and coffees in the morning and Aqua Class cruises do get to eat that Blu restaurant and have some special spa privileges, but other than that most everything is available to everyone. And, not only will no one know what kind of room OP is in, no one will really care.

 

You are going to have a blast on one of the most stunning ships afloat today.

 

Another thing we've noticed. On Cruise Critic there's lots of talk about tipping and dress code and chair hogging and other controversial subjects, but on board the ship almost no one ever mentions anything about any of those things.

 

The Bistro on Five costs extra (I think it's $7 by now), but it's more than worth the up charge. If you like crepes you should really take a look at giving it a try. They are amazing.

 

Tom

[Mrdell]

We tried Celebrity for the first time in February after many NCL cruises and we really enjoyed Celebrity. We found the food a notch above NCL and the service a little better also..... I think you will be pleased!!

[ChiGal1962]

Almost everything/every place is available to all passengers - even us "regular" folks :) If any activities in the dailies were restricted or had added costs (like some of the wine seminars, etc.), they would clearly mention it.

 

As for the food, people have already mentioned here the options available at no extra charge. I have found that the buffet and MDR on Celebrity are consistently fantastic, so haven't felt the NEED to go elsewhere. I will say that I do love Bistro on 5 (and for $7, can easily justify it). At the buffet, there is outdoor seating, both at the aft of the buffet and by the pool. Depending on the weather and the time you go, it sometimes might be hard to snag one of those tables, though.

 

Any drink under $8 is included in the classic package, and if I recall correctly, includes most things at Cafe al Bacio (one of my favorite places). Don't forget to add some of their glorious pastries - those are free to anyone (I personally recommend the chocolate croissant).

 

Have fun, and welcome to Celebrity :)

[barb-ottawa]

Thanks for all the great information! Looking forward to our first Celebrity experience on March 21st.

[kristinp36]

Another newbie sailing in late April.....I have sailed Carnival, Royal and Holland. They all have diferent types of food available for room service. Some cold stuff only some full menus.

 

What variety and type of food is available with Celebrity room service? Is there an additional cost at night?

[GUT2407]

Aqua Spa is open at breakfast, herself ate there every morning.

[wallie5446]

We have sailed 7 diff lines over 25 years and the Reflection is our favorite ship. We have stepped out lately and booked a balcony, but for years sailed in ocean view.

 

You will find the day to day activities on Celebrity just as they are on NCL, it is after all a cruise! :D

On the Reflection in 2013 we found people dressed a lot nicer thru out the evening.

Ya'll are in for a treat, and this will be just like your first one all over again.

Enjoy!

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I'm only familiar with the Millennial class, but the Bistro was a nice break from the buffet for only $7. The MDR is the best we've had, nice relaxing ship. ;)

Edited March 7, 2015 by Stateroom_Sailor

[HokiePoq]

Thanks for all the great information! Looking forward to our first Celebrity experience on March 21st.

 

We are NCL platinum and also cruise Celebrity. I agree with those who say the MDR food on Celebrity is better. I think of all the lines (mainstream lines only) that Celebrity has the best food in our opinion. Shrimp cocktail is on the everyday menu and lobster night is still there. At least it was on our January cruise. The biggest difference for us was the set dining time. You can choose anytime dining, however. We've had great service on both.

We found the entertainment in the lounges not as good as NCL but I imagine that is personal preference. Production shows on Celebrity were best we've seen....individual entertainers not so much.

Have a wonderful time!

[Azulann]

Another newbie sailing in late April.....I have sailed Carnival, Royal and Holland. They all have diferent types of food available for room service. Some cold stuff only some full menus.

 

What variety and type of food is available with Celebrity room service? Is there an additional cost at night?

 

There is no charge for most room servce food. it is available 24 hours. You will have a card for ordering breakfast for the next day. You hang the card on your door before retiring for delivery in haft hour increments the next orning. We do this alot when we have a early tour on a port day.

You will have a menu in you room for other food, sandwiches, soup, hamburgers, cheese and crackers etc. You can also order dinner from the MDR through room serivce for dinner in your cabin or on your balcony.

Welcome to Celebrity and happy sailing.

[Tiggertastic]

We sail ncl and celebrity often. Everyone's answered the food question but you can also take the buffet food up 1 deck to sunset and sit up there with it. Celebrity don't have an outdoor buffet area in the equivalent of great outdoors. So get the food inside then take it out.

It's the clothes that differ for a couple of nights and mdr. No shorts in mdr. Formal evenings you can't use mdr if you've not dressed up. Other than that we wear exactly what we would on Ncl

 

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[GUT2407]

We sail ncl and celebrity often. Everyone's answered the food question but you can also take the buffet food up 1 deck to sunset and sit up there with it. Celebrity don't have an outdoor buffet area in the equivalent of great outdoors. So get the food inside then take it out.

It's the clothes that differ for a couple of nights and mdr. No shorts in mdr. Formal evenings you can't use mdr if you've not dressed up. Other than that we wear exactly what we would on Ncl

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk

 

 

Some ships [i can't say all as I haven't been on all] also have open air seating at the rear of the buffet or also open onto the pool area which will have some seating.

[waterbug123]

The Lawn club that's really nice, Bistro on 5 worth the 7.00 dollars, panini's crepes, the cakes, pastries and cookies are to die for at Cafe Al Bacio, Mast Grill and Bar, few beers pina colada and the best burger and chips at sea. [emoji4]

 

The OP was asking specifically about dining venues that are included. The Lawn Club has a hefty surcharge ($40 I think?). Worth it in my opinion, but certainly not included.

 

You will have access to most of the public venues (except the Blu restaurant reserved to Aqua passengers) of your beautiful vessel. Enjoy!!

 

Michael's Club is now for suite guests only, I believe. It keeps changing and I can't keep up, LOL.

 

Also for the OP: several have mentioned Bistro on 5, which is a minor ($7) surcharge. Similarly, the Porch is only $5, so might be a viable option for breakfast and lunch. It is adjacent to the lawn area, and has outdoor seating. They serve sandwiches (or breakfast sandwiches) and I think salads and some desserts at lunch. We usually have breakfast and/or lunch there several times during the week and find it well worth the $5.

[fsmengal11]

Beredan

[wallie5446]

OK, Barb is now on their 3rd day on ship and at their 1st port stop. Hope she comes back and lets us know how it was.

Edited March 24, 2015 by wallie5446