New to Celebrity

[Alohaaloha]

Cruising with Celebrity ( Eclipse) in October on a TA, and I'm wondering how comparable will the ship's dining be to the RCI ship set up that we know and understand.

For example, is there an equivalent of the Windjammer, and an MDR? We are assigned Blu apparently, but would like to try other dining options if they're available.

Thanks in advance.

 

 

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[WestLakeGirl]

Yes there is a buffet, called Oceanview Cafe

 

If you booked Aqua your dining room is s Blu

 

For TThose in suites, their dining room is Luminae

 

For all others, their dining is in the Main Dining Room

[MR_T]

If you would like to try the MDR then you can do that as well, some say you need to ask the Blu manager to sort out but you can just turn up at the MDR select dining entrance on deck 4 and they will be happy to seat you! we've done this a number of times without any issues [emoji4]

[Wine-O]

Cruising with Celebrity ( Eclipse) in October on a TA, and I'm wondering how comparable will the ship's dining be to the RCI ship set up that we know and understand.

For example, is there an equivalent of the Windjammer, and an MDR? We are assigned Blu apparently, but would like to try other dining options if they're available.

Thanks in advance.

 

If you are in AQ, your dining room is Blu. On some ships Blu will let you order items off the MDR menu.

 

If you desire to dine in the MDR, just ask the Maitre'D in Blu to set it up for you. Shouldn't be a problem since there are always open seats in the MDR as people are dining at other venues. They do keep track of where you eat, except for the buffet. I suppose it's to jockey the tips around.

Edited May 12, 2016 by Wine-O

[Alohaaloha]

Yes we are in an Aqua Class suite, thanks for all the helpful replies.

 

 

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[chemmo]

Yes we are in an Aqua Class suite, thanks for all the helpful replies.

 

 

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We were regular RC cruisers until we tried Celebrity....We find the dining generally much better.

 

Others have already pretty well answered your questions I will just add a few more comments...

 

Blu is great for breakfast, avoid the chaos of the buffet!

Try out the speciality restaurants, yes, additional cost, but very good!

As you have not cruised Celebrity before listen out for the difference.....Yes, no announcements, no noise, peace, quiet....

 

Hope you have a wonderful first Celebrity cruise!

Edited May 12, 2016 by chemmo

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

In my opinion the Ocean View Buffet on Celebrity is superior to the Windjammer buffets on Royal Caribbean ships. It is open longer hours and offers a greater range of food, especially really good food. The plates are ceramic not Melamine. The coffee and tea cups are ceramic as well. Eclipse (or was it Silhouette) did experiment for awhile with a heavy plastic coffeee mug that probably kept coffee and tea warm longer. I find the seating slightly more comfortable too.

 

Both the Windjammer and Ocean View buffets can get pretty crowded on sea dayts and on port days when folks return from tours. There are times when it is much less busy. We try our best to go at those quieter times.

 

I also find the coffee shop on Solstice Class ships to be cozier than the Prominade cafe on larger Royal Caribbean ships meaning those RCI ships that have a large interior prominade. Both ships' coffee shops can experience very busy periods when getting a seat is a challenge.

 

To the Op, we've sailed both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean many times, so if you have any other questions comparing the two lines, please don't hestitate to ask. I hope you really enjoy Celebrity.

[WestLakeGirl]

Just so you know, there are no Aqua Class suites. That class of stateroom was eliminated.

[Texed]

Just so you know, there are no Aqua Class suites. That class of stateroom was eliminated.

 

And, it was never on Eclipse. :)

[ECCruise]

If you are in AQ, your dining room is Blu. On some ships Blu will let you order items off the MDR menu.

 

If you desire to dine in the MDR, just ask the Maitre'D in Blu to set it up for you. Shouldn't be a problem since there are always open seats in the MDR as people are dining at other venues. They do keep track of where you eat, except for the buffet. I suppose it's to jockey the tips around.

 

As someone who has stood in line waiting to be seated in the MDR (what empty seats?), I politely but totally disagree. And frankly, if I am not permitted to dine in Blu, I see absolutely NO reason why AQ pax can take MY seat in Select dining while I wait. Bad enough that they let suite guests go there without notice. I think you use your own dining room. That is what it is there for.

[Wine-O]

As someone who has stood in line waiting to be seated in the MDR (what empty seats?), I politely but totally disagree. And frankly, if I am not permitted to dine in Blu, I see absolutely NO reason why AQ pax can take MY seat in Select dining while I wait. Bad enough that they let suite guests go there without notice. I think you use your own dining room. That is what it is there for.

 

Oh, I agree with you 100%. As one who eats in Blu, I get irritated with all the Suite pax taking up space so we were having to wait. Now that they have their own dining room, it has become less of a problem.

 

I would never expect a Blu pax to butt in line in Select dining. I intended to infer that those Blu pax wanting to eat in the MDR do traditional dining as there are always vacancies at tables.

[DrivesLikeMario]

I think the OP means he has an Aqua Class cabin, not a suite. Many newbies think their cabin is a suite when it isn't. I hear it all the time. Just like people calling it a boat (totally wrong) instead of a ship. ;)

 

OP - Your dining room is Blu. There's some great specialty restaurants you can try too, like Murano and Qsine. Hope you enjoy!

[dkjretired]

Oh, I agree with you 100%. As one who eats in Blu, I get irritated with all the Suite pax taking up space so we were having to wait. Now that they have their own dining room, it has become less of a problem.

It's

I would never expect a Blu pax to butt in line in Select dining. I intended to infer that those Blu pax wanting to eat in the MDR do traditional dining as there are always vacancies at tables.

 

Brings up a good point, will there be spaces now that the floors have been switched, I would tend to believe yes because many do go to Specialies, but we will have to see.

 

Also, curious if Celebrity will clamp down on those not eating in Blu and going to MDR.

Edited May 13, 2016 by dkjretired

[Alohaaloha]

I think the OP means he has an Aqua Class cabin, not a suite. Many newbies think their cabin is a suite when it isn't. I hear it all the time. Just like people calling it a boat (totally wrong) instead of a ship. ;)

 

 

 

OP - Your dining room is Blu. There's some great specialty restaurants you can try too, like Murano and Qsine. Hope you enjoy!

 

 

I apologise. We are seasoned RCI sailors ( Diamond) and we are un-familiar with the class of cabins onboard the Eclipse.

However, thanks to CC and this thread's contributors, we are now disappointed to learn that Aqua is not a suite after all, as we've only ever travelled JS and up on RCI, and I'm now wondering whether we should ask our TA to look at the availability of suites? What do you guys think?stay with what we've got or move on up so to speak?

 

And with regard to my original questions, Thanks very much for all the help you've all given, very informative.

 

 

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Edited May 14, 2016 by Alohaaloha

[Alohaaloha]

To the Op, we've sailed both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean many times, so if you have any other questions comparing the two lines, please don't hestitate to ask. I hope you really enjoy Celebrity.

 

 

Thank you so much! Very much appreciated- I'm sure there'll be more questions, so TIA!

 

 

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[rhw2014]

I don't think anyone mentioned this (since you didn't ask) but in case you didn't know, you are entitled to Elite benefits on Celebrity because of your Diamond status on Royal. (The benefits are similar but not identical). You'll need to call and get assigned a Captain's Club number which they can then link to your Crown and Anchor number. (I just did this in reverse when I took my first Royal Caribbean cruise recently)

[kevinyork]

As someone who has stood in line waiting to be seated in the MDR (what empty seats?), I politely but totally disagree. And frankly, if I am not permitted to dine in Blu, I see absolutely NO reason why AQ pax can take MY seat in Select dining while I wait. Bad enough that they let suite guests go there without notice. I think you use your own dining room. That is what it is there for.

 

 

 

I agree. We always eat in Select dining and to read that Suite guests can skip lines and eat in Select if they wish or Blu passengers can choose to eat in Select really irritates me.

[chemmo]

I apologise. We are seasoned RCI sailors ( Diamond) and we are un-familiar with the class of cabins onboard the Eclipse.

However, thanks to CC and this thread's contributors, we are now disappointed to learn that Aqua is not a suite after all, as we've only ever travelled JS and up on RCI, and I'm now wondering whether we should ask our TA to look at the availability of suites? What do you guys think?stay with what we've got or move on up so to speak?

 

And with regard to my original questions, Thanks very much for all the help you've all given, very informative.

 

 

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I suggest you look at the perks included for suite guests and see if you think they are worth the extra cost...

 

All suites have access to Luminae, the suite restaurant, Michael's Club, the conceirge lounge, priority boarding, butler service...The better the suite you book the more perks are included....

 

In terms of room size/layout look on YouTube...The size and layout is quite different to RC, especially the bigger rooms.