Questions RE: How Celebrity differs from Royal

[davekathy]

6 minutes ago, Chip and Dale said:

You have been so very helpful. Thank you!

 

I’m on the computer or tablet most days. I’m an insurance broker. And sadly really busy right now. 

Dee

Also when you first board you are greeted and handed a flute of welcome aboard sparkling wine. 🥂

[Chip and Dale]

1 minute ago, If only said:

Chip and Dale

Since your allergy is the Anaphylactic type you should advise Special Services to have it put on your file.  The first night you may have to advise your waiter but every night after that the Maître ‘D will arrive at your table so you can decide what you want for the next nights dinner.  I know first hand what a pain in the neck that is as I am allergic to shellfish get very ill but not to the point of Anaphylactic that was Kiwi for me.   I have been on enough cruises with Celebrity to basically know that you have to check out what is in the sauce as obviously you would not choose shellfish, mushrooms or tarragon, but they could be lurking in sauces or salad dressing.

i have to say they have always been very careful but of course I was always vigilant as well.  I know it’s very scary to let someone else make you meals.  I found them to go out of their way to help.  If you have any problem the person to talk to is the Food & Beverage Manager.

 

 

 

I cannot thank you enough! That’s exactly what I needed to hear. My poor husband was getting so sick of the problems on Royal.  He’s seen me have reactions too many times. That’s why we’re trying celebrity. We can put up with other annoyances and inconsistencies but food safety needs to be taken seriously. 

 

We are Canadian as well. Georgian Bay. 

Thanks again

Dee

[Chip and Dale]

Just now, davekathy said:

Also when you first board you are greeted and handed a flute of welcome aboard sparkling wine. 🥂

I have goosebumps 😍🍾

[davekathy]

15 minutes ago, Chip and Dale said:

I have goosebumps 😍🍾

I really believe you are going to enjoy Celebrity. The daily you receive each evening I your stateroom is called "Celebrity Today". 

Edited February 7, 2019 by davekathy

[Chip and Dale]

9 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I really believe you are going to enjoy Celebrity. The daily you receive each evening I your stateroom is called "Celebrity Today". 

It’s sounding better and better. Thanks so much!

Dee

[Newbie2006]

1 hour ago, stevea36 said:

At least now you know where to find him  (unless he is at the martini bar (a great place to hang out), the sunset bar (another one), or getting a slice of pizza that is made from scratch and decent (this coming from someone who grew up with NY pizza).

 

BTW, I dont recall if anyone addressed you allergy issues...   Contact special needs at celebrity (I believe their email address is special_needs@celebritycruises.com.   Make them aware.   Send a second email about 6 weeks prior to them and celebrity_dining@celebritycruises.com.  and, once you are onboard, go to see the maitr'd to make sure they got the message.  They are pretty good with allergies...  (just dont let the waiter in the MDR know that dennis likes ice cream or he will have it with everything !!!

 

Steve

Where do you get the pizza? My other half LOVES pizza (we always go to the original pizza restaurant in NYC when we visit). The pizza on Royal C wasn't too impressive, as far as I can remember.

[davekathy]

26 minutes ago, Chip and Dale said:

It’s sounding better and better. Thanks so much!

Dee

Another difference about the CC HH is instead of having a buffet style setup like RC has in the DL, Celebrity has servers roaming around serving petit fours. Everything from savory to sweet. 

[Chip and Dale]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

Another difference about the CC HH is instead of having a buffet style setup like RC has in the DL, Celebrity has servers roaming around serving petit fours. Everything from savory to sweet. 

Sadly that’s usually a deal breaker for me. They always put a variety on the tray and ultimately there is either mushrooms or seafood of some kind on the tray so I’m out of luck. That’s ok. I usually stick with wings or cheese and fruit in the lounge. I don’t eat anything on nights when they have shrimp available. 

[Sam.Seattle]

2 hours ago, Newbie2006 said:

Where do you get the pizza? My other half LOVES pizza (we always go to the original pizza restaurant in NYC when we visit). The pizza on Royal C wasn't too impressive, as far as I can remember.

Pizza is in the Buffet all day and into the night!  The pizza is much better than you find on Royal.  The crust is thin and there is a nice variety.  Next to the Pizza is a pasta bar..  You select veggies other goodies that are cooked and then added to the pasta with your choice of sauce.

 

[Sam.Seattle]

Overall.... Celebrity is the adult version of Royal with some more class.

No waterslides... etc.

[stevea36]

8 hours ago, Sam.Seattle said:

Overall.... Celebrity is the adult version of Royal with some more class.

No waterslides... etc.

Only one announcement a day (at 10am), no belly flop contest, no quest, but there is a love and marriage game !!

 

the pizza is in the buffet, on the starboard side.   You go past the ice cream and it is right there on the corner.   They will even make special pies for you if you ask (I have a problem with lactose so they made me a pie without cheese).

 

as Sam said there is also the pasta bar.   And, if I remember correctly, both of these areas are open late for a late night snack (but, sadly, the ice cream is not 😞 )

 

[Chip and Dale]

8 hours ago, Sam.Seattle said:

Pizza is in the Buffet all day and into the night!  The pizza is much better than you find on Royal.  The crust is thin and there is a nice variety.  Next to the Pizza is a pasta bar..  You select veggies other goodies that are cooked and then added to the pasta with your choice of sauce.

 

We love pizza! Dennis loves when they have the pasta bar in the MDR for lunch so this will be nice. I can never have the tutti salad or the pasta bar because they always have shrimp and use the same pans etc.

 

Options are good. We don’t always like going to the dining room. We’re not always that hungry after eating in port. The food has been so disappointing in the MDR on Royal that we started eating more in ports. Pretty sad when i feel safer eating in the islands than on the ship! 

 

What time is the buffet restaurant open till?

Dee

[Chip and Dale]

9 hours ago, Sam.Seattle said:

Overall.... Celebrity is the adult version of Royal with some more class.

No waterslides... etc.

We don’t use the water slides 😉. We absolutely love kids! We have grandchildren and will cruise with one of them in 2021.  BUT when traveling on our own it is no fun to be on a collision course with strollers 😳. Our last cruise had 500 children and I swear that most were on our deck!  The young parents don’t always have a good handle on discipline yikes. 

 

People on scooters were grabbing officers to help them get on elevators because they were clogged with pushy parents with HUGE strollers. I’ve never seen so many young babies on a ship in my life!  So many times the elevator doors would open and people on-board would say “no room” or “get the next one”. We waited, but others piled on. A lot of grumpy people that week. 

 

Thanks so much for the information. Greatly appreciated. 

Dee

[Chip and Dale]

52 minutes ago, stevea36 said:

Only one announcement a day (at 10am), no belly flop contest, no quest, but there is a love and marriage game !!

 

the pizza is in the buffet, on the starboard side.   You go past the ice cream and it is right there on the corner.   They will even make special pies for you if you ask (I have a problem with lactose so they made me a pie without cheese).

 

as Sam said there is also the pasta bar.   And, if I remember correctly, both of these areas are open late for a late night snack (but, sadly, the ice cream is not 😞 )

 

Sounds great!  What time is the buffet open till? Are there other places open for a dessert or snack later at night, if so what time?  We will be on Equinox and Reflection. 

Dee

[stevea36]

14 minutes ago, Chip and Dale said:

Sounds great!  What time is the buffet open till? Are there other places open for a dessert or snack later at night, if so what time?  We will be on Equinox and Reflection. 

Dee

 

The pizza and pasta is open until midnight or so, cafe al bacio serves (heavenly) desserts till really late (and really early).   The equivalent to coconut ranger cookies imho is the oatmeal raisin ones they serve.

 

btw, I have been on both EQ and RF and, for the most part, they are the same.   RF has an additional deck and the lawn club, EQ has the glass blowing classes (you can pay and make your own blown glass piece (albeit really done under the strict guidance of the pros).  You will be on EQ after the revolution so there will a few changes (i.e., silk harvest will be gone, replaced by petit chef),  still unknown to the masses (EQ will be the first S class ship that undergoes this revolution, to be completed by June 1, 2019).

 

I don't think you guys will starve !!!  and NO RESERVING POOL LOUNGERS... be like me... reserve a bar stool instead (Just kidding !!!)

 

[davekathy]

We enjoy Quest on RC and wish Celebrity would do a Qiuest or something similar. 

[Chip and Dale]

1 hour ago, davekathy said:

We enjoy Quest on RC and wish Celebrity would do a Qiuest or something similar. 

We loved Quest before it became a crazy free for all.  We won many times years ago with friends we travelled with.  So much fun.  Not a fan of it in the Ice Rink!  Too large, too impersonal and now with the beverage packages helping with sooooo many inebriated pax, too crazy.

 

Don't get me wrong, we have the pkg on Celebrity, it came with the price of admission though, so we don't feel like we need to drink X amount per day to get our moneys worth.  Yes I do realize it is included in the cost of the cruise, but it is small compared to paid gratuities or a $300 obc. 

 

Dennis Looooooooves the Love and Marriage show, he never wants to miss it.  Our first week in January on Adventure the man of the older couple (65 years married) started an argument with the CD.  It looked like he might hit the CD.  It was wild.  It wasn't a great show, but the one the next week was incredible.  Absolutely hilarious and full of good clean fun!

Dee

[Chip and Dale]

1 hour ago, stevea36 said:

 

The pizza and pasta is open until midnight or so, cafe al bacio serves (heavenly) desserts till really late (and really early).   The equivalent to coconut ranger cookies imho is the oatmeal raisin ones they serve.

 

btw, I have been on both EQ and RF and, for the most part, they are the same.   RF has an additional deck and the lawn club, EQ has the glass blowing classes (you can pay and make your own blown glass piece (albeit really done under the strict guidance of the pros).  You will be on EQ after the revolution so there will a few changes (i.e., silk harvest will be gone, replaced by petit chef),  still unknown to the masses (EQ will be the first S class ship that undergoes this revolution, to be completed by June 1, 2019).

 

I don't think you guys will starve !!!  and NO RESERVING POOL LOUNGERS... be like me... reserve a bar stool instead (Just kidding !!!)

 

You're safe with the loungers with us !  We sit on the balcony and read.  We loved sitting at the one cafe on the Promenade on Adventure etc. to drink a coffee and people watch.  Looking forward to checking out the layout of the EQ and RF.  I read something on these boards about the changes, but it won't really make sense to us till we are on a ship to see the layout.

 

Speaking of reserving loungers.  Are the loungers on the deck with the track?  On sea days especially we use the track (I could never get Den to work out on a machine) and on Royal the loungers are all around the track with people getting up or walking slooooooooowly exactly when you need to get by.  They used to put the loungers in the middle of the track.  Many many accidents.  Now the loungers are tied to the rails, so a little better.

 

We usually book 5 nights or a week at the Marriott Pompano Beach Resort and Spa prior to a cruise out of Fort lauderdale.  There have been major complaints every year in January/February who maintains a spot by the pool and would leave her book, towel or whatever to hold her spot.  If someone took the spot she would give them the evil eye.  We aren't sure if she is there just during the winter or if she lives at the hotel.  Originally she would give people a hard time if they took her spot.  The next year the staff would put towels on the chairs around the table to reserve it.  This year it cracked me up to see a reserved sticker on the top of the table so that NO ONE could invade her space unless invited.  She acts like a queen holding court.  It's pretty funny.  Talk about a chair/table hog.  We go for the beach so no worries.  You walk out the back gate of the resort and voila.......beautiful beach.  We walk the beach each day for 1 - 2 hours and often walk down again and go for dinner along the strip.  Heaven!

 

The beverage package opens up many options for us since we can go to the Happy Hour or not if we choose.  We like wine or a drink prior to dinner, wine with dinner and then maybe a nightcap or wine after dinner.  Me I love my champagne!

Dee

[stevea36]

 

6 minutes ago, Chip and Dale said:

 

Speaking of reserving loungers.  Are the loungers on the deck with the track?  On sea days especially we use the track (I could never get Den to work out on a machine) and on Royal the loungers are all around the track with people getting up or walking slooooooooowly exactly when you need to get by.  They used to put the loungers in the middle of the track.  Many many accidents.  Now the loungers are tied to the rails, so a little better.

 

We usually book 5 nights or a week at the Marriott Pompano Beach Resort and Spa prior to a cruise out of Fort lauderdale.  There have been major complaints every year in January/February who maintains a spot by the pool and would leave her book, towel or whatever to hold her spot.  If someone took the spot she would give them the evil eye.  We aren't sure if she is there just during the winter or if she lives at the hotel.  Originally she would give people a hard time if they took her spot.  The next year the staff would put towels on the chairs around the table to reserve it.  This year it cracked me up to see a reserved sticker on the top of the table so that NO ONE could invade her space unless invited.  She acts like a queen holding court.  It's pretty funny.  Talk about a chair/table hog.  We go for the beach so no worries.  You walk out the back gate of the resort and voila.......beautiful beach.  We walk the beach each day for 1 - 2 hours and often walk down again and go for dinner along the strip.  Heaven!

 

The beverage package opens up many options for us since we can go to the Happy Hour or not if we choose.  We like wine or a drink prior to dinner, wine with dinner and then maybe a nightcap or wine after dinner.  Me I love my champagne!

Dee

 

there is no promenade on celebrity like on the RCI ships, but if you sit by cafe al bacio (do you get the hint that I like this place) you can do a bit of people watching...

 

As for the track, you have the same issues as RCI, but I find that people will rarely move their loungers into the track itself.  (before I developed knee issues I used to walk the track quite a bit). you will get the slow folks who walk three abreast.. just let them know you are there before you put your footprints up their backs 🙂

[stevea36]

Just now, stevea36 said:

 

 

there is no promenade on celebrity like on the RCI ships, but if you sit by cafe al bacio (do you get the hint that I like this place) you can do a bit of people watching...

 

As for the track, you have the same issues as RCI, but I find that people will rarely move their loungers into the track itself.  (before I developed knee issues I used to walk the track quite a bit). you will get the slow folks who walk three abreast.. just let them know you are there before you put your footprints up their backs 🙂

Make friends with your sommelier in the dining room.   I usually sail aqua class and found that the sommelier in BLU would offer me wines on the classic package the first night and after he found out what I liked would offer me others that, i bet, weren't on my package..  but, these guys are very knowledgeable as opposed to the folks on RCI.   I make sure that I have some sort of camera with me to take pictures of the labels of wines I like !!

 

 

[davekathy]

50 minutes ago, Chip and Dale said:

We loved Quest before it became a crazy free for all.  We won many times years ago with friends we travelled with.  So much fun.  Not a fan of it in the Ice Rink!  Too large, too impersonal and now with the beverage packages helping with sooooo many inebriated pax, too crazy.

 

Don't get me wrong, we have the pkg on Celebrity, it came with the price of admission though, so we don't feel like we need to drink X amount per day to get our moneys worth.  Yes I do realize it is included in the cost of the cruise, but it is small compared to paid gratuities or a $300 obc. 

 

Dennis Looooooooves the Love and Marriage show, he never wants to miss it.  Our first week in January on Adventure the man of the older couple (65 years married) started an argument with the CD.  It looked like he might hit the CD.  It was wild.  It wasn't a great show, but the one the next week was incredible.  Absolutely hilarious and full of good clean fun!

Dee

Our favorite class RC ships are the Radiance class especially the Jewel.  Quest is held in the Safari Lounge on those ships. Up close and personal. Lot of fun.

 

On Celebrity we always pick the CBP and the OBC as our two perks. Longer cruises we do the CBP and gratuities. Like you, we don't  drink to break even. As a perk it's still a good deal. Celebrity has Sommeliers in the MDR. Nice as we feel the beverage service in the MDR (SD) is much better than RC in the MDR (MTD). We like that RC has a dedicated DL that you can use at anytime. But if you're staying in a suite or you are a Zenith Michaels Club is great and open to you at anytime. Bummer for us we don't do suites and we're not Zenith. 

[Chip and Dale]

1 hour ago, stevea36 said:

 

 

there is no promenade on celebrity like on the RCI ships, but if you sit by cafe al bacio (do you get the hint that I like this place) you can do a bit of people watching...

 

As for the track, you have the same issues as RCI, but I find that people will rarely move their loungers into the track itself.  (before I developed knee issues I used to walk the track quite a bit). you will get the slow folks who walk three abreast.. just let them know you are there before you put your footprints up their backs 🙂

I haven’t done the footprints up the back for a long time 😜. I used to run till arthritis and a broken knee stopped that activity.  I usually just say “on your left”  or pass when there is a larger spot. No worries. 

 

We we love to people watch. 

Dee

[Chip and Dale]

1 hour ago, stevea36 said:

Make friends with your sommelier in the dining room.   I usually sail aqua class and found that the sommelier in BLU would offer me wines on the classic package the first night and after he found out what I liked would offer me others that, i bet, weren't on my package..  but, these guys are very knowledgeable as opposed to the folks on RCI.   I make sure that I have some sort of camera with me to take pictures of the labels of wines I like !!

 

 

I will definitely follow your advice. We aren’t wine snobs per se but we like what we like. So it will be interesting to see what is available. We were drinking Reislings from Germany when in Pompano in January. Neither are available in Ontario where we live.  So sad! We purchased Reislings when we returned home that were far more expensive yet not as good. Sometimes price matters (like my favourite Moët et Chandon) but at times it doesn’t have any bearing on the taste. 

 

My oldest son introduced us to a phone app called Vivino. You can input a name or take a picture and it almost always provides a rating and a review.  I have an iPhone but I believe the app is widely available. It has helped us to be adventurous finding good prices for wines that appeal to us. 

Dee

[Chip and Dale]

1 hour ago, stevea36 said:

Make friends with your sommelier in the dining room.   I usually sail aqua class and found that the sommelier in BLU would offer me wines on the classic package the first night and after he found out what I liked would offer me others that, i bet, weren't on my package..  but, these guys are very knowledgeable as opposed to the folks on RCI.   I make sure that I have some sort of camera with me to take pictures of the labels of wines I like !!

 

 

I will definitely follow your advice. We aren’t wine snobs per se but we like what we like. So it will be interesting to see what is available. We were drinking Reislings from Germany when in Pompano in January. Neither are available in Ontario where we live.  So sad! We purchased Reislings when we returned home that were far more expensive yet not as good. Sometimes price matters (like my favourite Moët et Chandon) but at times it doesn’t have any bearing on the taste. 

 

My oldest son introduced us to a phone app called Vivino. You can input a name or take a picture and it almost always provides a rating and a review.  I have an iPhone but I believe the app is widely available. It has helped us to be adventurous finding good prices for wines that appeal to us. 

Dee

[stevea36]

32 minutes ago, Chip and Dale said:

I will definitely follow your advice. We aren’t wine snobs per se but we like what we like. So it will be interesting to see what is available. We were drinking Reislings from Germany when in Pompano in January. Neither are available in Ontario where we live.  So sad! We purchased Reislings when we returned home that were far more expensive yet not as good. Sometimes price matters (like my favourite Moët et Chandon) but at times it doesn’t have any bearing on the taste. 

 

My oldest son introduced us to a phone app called Vivino. You can input a name or take a picture and it almost always provides a rating and a review.  I have an iPhone but I believe the app is widely available. It has helped us to be adventurous finding good prices for wines that appeal to us. 

Dee

Similarly, I had only been drinking Pinot Grigio..   I was introduced to Chenin Blanc and Voignier by the sommeliers.   Unfortunately, on my last sailing they did not have any Voignier by the glass (and I had the premium package), but I did have some very good Chenin Blancs.

 

I'm sure you will do fine... Just "grease his palm" and he will take VERY GOOD CARE of you as opposed to just good care 🙂