Rare crusinthrough Posted April 20, 2013 #1876 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Hello all, Glad I found this thread. I am a loyal RC passenger (emerald status) and introduced my partner to cruising in 2011. I love RC innovated ships and activities (not necessarily belly flopping contests but the lively entertainment throughout the ship). However, I'm ready to see something different from a Royal Promenade. I saw Celebrity's 123 promotion and thought a cruise that will be all-inclusive sounds like a winning combination so we booked Reflection's Eastern Caribbean itinerary. However, the reviews on Celebrity ships are making me apprehensive. All lot of reviews indicate that the ships are nice but a bit of a snoozer and quite after 10 p.m. My partner and I are both in our 40's so I'm not looking for spring break activities but would like to be out and about after 10 p.m. with something to do. Even the roll call for the sailing is not active compared to other roll calls. Can anyone compare Celebrity and RC? and is anyone sailing with us on Reflection's 11/30/13 sailing? I started reading this thread from the beginning but realized it's from 2007. I skipped to 2013 but may have missed a post about Reflection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
need2bespoiled Posted April 20, 2013 #1877 Share Posted April 20, 2013 Hello all, Glad I found this thread. I am a loyal RC passenger (emerald status) and introduced my partner to cruising in 2011. I love RC innovated ships and activities (not necessarily belly flopping contests but the lively entertainment throughout the ship). However, I'm ready to see something different from a Royal Promenade. I saw Celebrity's 123 promotion and thought a cruise that will be all-inclusive sounds like a winning combination so we booked Reflection's Eastern Caribbean itinerary. However, the reviews on Celebrity ships are making me apprehensive. All lot of reviews indicate that the ships are nice but a bit of a snoozer and quite after 10 p.m. My partner and I are both in our 40's so I'm not looking for spring break activities but would like to be out and about after 10 p.m. with something to do. Even the roll call for the sailing is not active compared to other roll calls. Can anyone compare Celebrity and RC? and is anyone sailing with us on Reflection's 11/30/13 sailing? I started reading this thread from the beginning but realized it's from 2007. I skipped to 2013 but may have missed a post about Reflection. I'm the same age ramge, maybe a little younger and worried about the same thngs on Celebrity. We've sailed RC, NCL and recently Reflection as well as Eclipse. Reflection won't be quite as lively as most RC cruises but it will be far from dead at 10. Many shows were scheduled for 9:45 the casino and dancing was available after and they had some adult themed entertainment (dancing, raunchy comedy etc) scheduled as late as 12:30. There are lots of bars, the Martini Bar seemed active til well past midnight but its still a martini bar and not a dance club. Eclipse was a longer itinerary, an older crowd, and dead before 11pm. My only other caution is that the date of your sailing (between Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays) lends itself to great deals but less lively crowds by the nature of who seems to cruise then... Happy Sailing! (sent from my iPhone so please excuse typos) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11dfr11 Posted April 21, 2013 #1878 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Hello all, Glad I found this thread. I am a loyal RC passenger (emerald status) and introduced my partner to cruising in 2011. I love RC innovated ships and activities (not necessarily belly flopping contests but the lively entertainment throughout the ship). However, I'm ready to see something different from a Royal Promenade. I saw Celebrity's 123 promotion and thought a cruise that will be all-inclusive sounds like a winning combination so we booked Reflection's Eastern Caribbean itinerary. However, the reviews on Celebrity ships are making me apprehensive. All lot of reviews indicate that the ships are nice but a bit of a snoozer and quite after 10 p.m. My partner and I are both in our 40's so I'm not looking for spring break activities but would like to be out and about after 10 p.m. with something to do. Even the roll call for the sailing is not active compared to other roll calls. Can anyone compare Celebrity and RC? and is anyone sailing with us on Reflection's 11/30/13 sailing? I started reading this thread from the beginning but realized it's from 2007. I skipped to 2013 but may have missed a post about Reflection. Celebrity is a sleeper for the most part as it tends to be older in their shows and entertainment. It is a beautiful ship,the food is better than excellent in the All the restaurants. We don't eat in the main dining room. RCCL is doing a great job with all its new class ships but its food is no match for celebrity. That is why I do both. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusinthrough Posted April 21, 2013 #1879 Share Posted April 21, 2013 I'm the same age ramge, maybe a little younger and worried about the same thngs on Celebrity. We've sailed RC, NCL and recently Reflection as well as Eclipse. Reflection won't be quite as lively as most RC cruises but it will be far from dead at 10. Many shows were scheduled for 9:45 the casino and dancing was available after and they had some adult themed entertainment (dancing, raunchy comedy etc) scheduled as late as 12:30. There are lots of bars, the Martini Bar seemed active til well past midnight but its still a martini bar and not a dance club. Eclipse was a longer itinerary, an older crowd, and dead before 11pm. My only other caution is that the date of your sailing (between Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays) lends itself to great deals but less lively crowds by the nature of who seems to cruise then... Happy Sailing! (sent from my iPhone so please excuse typos) Thanks for the insight on Celebrity, which makes me feel better. My partner and I went on RC around the same time of year and the crowd was mostly couple and families with toddlers. We were hoping to get away from the strollers on this cruise, which is another reason Celebrity seemed like a good option. Knowing that there will be venues sill open later in the evening puts me at ease. Thanks again for your comments.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusinthrough Posted April 21, 2013 #1880 Share Posted April 21, 2013 Celebrity is a sleeper for the most part as it tends to be older in their shows and entertainment. It is a beautiful ship,the food is better than excellent in the All the restaurants. We don't eat in the main dining room.RCCL is doing a great job with all its new class ships but its food is no match for celebrity. That is why I do both. I'm not a food snob by any means, but on my last few RC cruises the food has been mediocre at best in the MDR, and the service slow, especially on beverages. I try not to go to the Windjammer. Between the lines, lack of seating and the food it is not worth the effort, imo. I do not mind spending the extra money at a speciality restaurant. The food and service are usually better. Since I really want to try a different cruise line from RC, and if the food is awesome on Celebrity that is reason enough (coupled with the drink package) for me to give it a try, thanks.. I appreciate your comments... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kruzngrl Posted April 25, 2013 #1881 Share Posted April 25, 2013 Hi CMHEND, we will be on the 11/30/13 Celebrity Reflection cruise as well. Are you a part of the Pied Piper group? We are, and there should be around 1,000 this year, so there will be plenty of activities. We love Celebrity. Great food, entertainment, beautiful ships. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusinthrough Posted April 26, 2013 #1882 Share Posted April 26, 2013 Hi CMHEND, we will be on the 11/30/13 Celebrity Reflection cruise as well. Are you a part of the Pied Piper group? We are, and there should be around 1,000 this year, so there will be plenty of activities. We love Celebrity. Great food, entertainment, beautiful ships. Hi Kruzngrl, good to read that someone else is on the sailing. I am not a part of the Pied Piper group. I just found out about Pied Piper after seeing the name in the Roll Call and subsequently doing a Google search. Although I've never been on one, I'm more familiar with Olivia cruises. Wow a group of 1000, that is awesome. I want to be a part of the private parties.. lol. Well, hopefully the fun continues after the PP events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berrytarte Posted May 2, 2013 #1883 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Glad to have found this thread. My wife and I are sailing on NCL Sky on 08/02/2013. We're celebrating our anniversary (together 10 years, married for 5). We live in DC, but we're originally from the West Coast. We love the Caribbean, but this is my wife's first cruise. I'm super excited but a bit nervous of the non-friendly reputation of the Bahamas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11dfr11 Posted May 2, 2013 #1884 Share Posted May 2, 2013 Glad to have found this thread. My wife and I are sailing on NCL Sky on 08/02/2013. We're celebrating our anniversary (together 10 years, married for 5). We live in DC, but we're originally from the West Coast. We love the Caribbean, but this is my wife's first cruise. I'm super excited but a bit nervous of the non-friendly reputation of the Bahamas. We never had a problem. Just be discreet if you know what I mean. Enjoy, Dale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy'sMoms Posted May 26, 2013 #1885 Share Posted May 26, 2013 We are an early-mid 50's couple together 28 years looking to take our first cruise (probably) next year. We were going to plan for our 30th anniversary in 2015, but found we've gotten pretty excited about the idea and may go in 2014 instead. We are currently "semi decided" on Oceania Marina "Princes & Palace" Barcelona - Lisbon in Sept 2014. Questions: Have any of you been on Oceania? Thoughts? Acceptance of a lesbian couple? We aren't overt, but don't want to run across anyone who would be negative. We chose Marina because we're big foodies and want to explore the Mediterranean. Any insight would be helpful. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kreuzfahrtneuling Posted May 28, 2013 #1886 Share Posted May 28, 2013 hey everybody, me and my wife did a med cruise last year on the adventure of the seas....now in 50 days we'll cruise on the Serenade of the Seas. I'm trying to write a photo day to day review of the last trip right now to kill time before the next cruise...so if any of you are interested ...check it out. It's in my signature. see a, Stef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
proudaunt Posted May 31, 2013 #1887 Share Posted May 31, 2013 My wife and I will be cruising on the Carnival Freedom in 135 days! Anybody else? :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karalovespink Posted June 1, 2013 #1888 Share Posted June 1, 2013 My girlfriend and I will be cruising for our first time together on Feb 1st 2014. I have cruised with Disney with my family once before, but this time we will be on RCI Liberty of the Seas, five night Western Caribbean. It is her first ever cruise. I am so excited! She has no idea, her birthday is later this month and I've been making a scrapbook of our room and the trip to surprise her with it. :) Our 3 year anniversary is Feb 2cd, whats better then a day at sea? I cant wait!! Keeping it a secret is so hard!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lipz Posted June 1, 2013 #1889 Share Posted June 1, 2013 We just did our first cruise of 2013. We sailed the inagural Norwegian Breakaway cruise to Bermuda. The ship is beautiful and we enjoyed her. Bermuda has some gorgeous water and our beach days were great. Next up.... Allure of the Seas in August. We're also sailing the Norwegian GEM for Christmas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T.O.Planner Posted June 2, 2013 #1890 Share Posted June 2, 2013 My girlfriend and I will be cruising for our first time together on Feb 1st 2014. I have cruised with Disney with my family once before, but this time we will be on RCI Liberty of the Seas, five night Western Caribbean. It is her first ever cruise. I am so excited! She has no idea, her birthday is later this month and I've been making a scrapbook of our room and the trip to surprise her with it. :) Our 3 year anniversary is Feb 2cd, whats better then a day at sea? I cant wait!! Keeping it a secret is so hard!! Keeping the secret is hard but well worth it...I planned a surprise trip for my partners birthday and she loved it... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lipz Posted June 2, 2013 #1891 Share Posted June 2, 2013 Keeping the secret is hard but well worth it...I planned a surprise trip for my partners birthday and she loved it... You are sure right about that. My wedding gift to my wife was a 5 day cruise to Canada which was a week after our wedding cruise. I even got the okay from her boss for that week off, which was a long shot since we would just be off a week for the wedding cruise. The best part was me giving her the surprise. We were getting dressed on the ship for the wedding and I handed her a card. After she read the card I told her I hope she would love my wedding gift to her and then I pointed out the cabin window. She was like 'what?!?!', I told her in 10 days we would be setting sail again, on that ship. Fate would have it that the ship we were sailing on was docked next to our wedding ship and our cabin window was facing it. It didn't dawn on me that the ship would be there. She did not see it coming. She was totally shocked. My soon to be wife reading her card while on the Norwegian Jewel. The Carnival Glory right outside our cabin window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockstarmami Posted June 3, 2013 #1892 Share Posted June 3, 2013 (edited) Hey Yall, Know a Couple Of you all ready.. But I LOVE to CRUISE OMGosssh.. ME and my Wife Already got married in DC on March 7,2013. But Its going Down for our Ship Wedding on Sept 8... The Breeze Will never be the same... The Crew and us Are flying down the Weekend and Partying it out!!!;) For some reason I want to go to Kings Of Diamonds.. We shall see what My Gurls are planning for the Miami Bachelorette.. I LIVE on these boards as they have helped me ALOT, so if I can EVER help anyone let me know.. Take care Fam:) You'll love KOD, those strippers are acrobats! Edited June 3, 2013 by Rockstarmami Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThisFemmeKat Posted June 3, 2013 #1893 Share Posted June 3, 2013 You'll love KOD, those strippers are acrobats! I dont know what the Kings of Diamonds are.. but i feel like i should be looking them up when i get home from work.. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusinthrough Posted June 3, 2013 #1894 Share Posted June 3, 2013 We just did our first cruise of 2013. We sailed the inagural Norwegian Breakaway cruise to Bermuda. The ship is beautiful and we enjoyed her. Bermuda has some gorgeous water and our beach days were great. Next up.... Allure of the Seas in August. We're also sailing the Norwegian GEM for Christmas. I'll be on the Allure Western itinerary in August, which sailing are you going on? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lipz Posted June 3, 2013 #1895 Share Posted June 3, 2013 I'll be on the Allure Western itinerary in August, which sailing are you going on? Hey there.... We will be sailing August 11 to the 18th and I can't wait. We have been wanting to cruise the Oasis class ship since inception!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
H2ocoachanne Posted June 3, 2013 #1896 Share Posted June 3, 2013 My wife and I will be celebrating our 5 year anniversary on the Carnival Conquest out of NOLA. I can't wait! I am new to Cruise Critic and am excited to see all of the different threads on cruising. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare crusinthrough Posted June 4, 2013 #1897 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Hey there.... We will be sailing August 11 to the 18th and I can't wait. We have been wanting to cruise the Oasis class ship since inception!!! Hi, looks like we'll just miss each other. I'm on the 8/25 sailing. I sailed on the Oasis and it's a beautiful ship. I hear the small changes made to the Allure makes it nicer than the Oasis. I know you are getting excited, final payment is due and August is around the corner. I know there is a happy hour nightly maybe at the On Air bar. This information is always in an obscured place on the Cruise Compass or passed on from a bartender. If find out where and/or any other insider information please let me know :). Enjoy you're cruise!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lipz Posted June 4, 2013 #1898 Share Posted June 4, 2013 Hi, looks like we'll just miss each other. I'm on the 8/25 sailing. I sailed on the Oasis and it's a beautiful ship. I hear the small changes made to the Allure makes it nicer than the Oasis. I know you are getting excited, final payment is due and August is around the corner. I know there is a happy hour nightly maybe at the On Air bar. This information is always in an obscured place on the Cruise Compass or passed on from a bartender. If find out where and/or any other insider information please let me know :). Enjoy you're cruise!! Ohhh darn. We've yet to have the same booking with anyone here. We are so excited we have been paid in full since end of April!!! lol We've also booked flights a few months ago and are flying in the day before so not to miss the ship. I will try my best to let you know but be sure to remind me as we get closer. My memory sucks!! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
11dfr11 Posted June 5, 2013 #1899 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Hey there.... We will be sailing August 11 to the 18th and I can't wait. We have been wanting to cruise the Oasis class ship since inception!!! Labadee was a waist as you needed water shoes to get in the water or your feet would get cut. In Cozumel you should book the private beach called Nachi Cocom(look it up):). It was a blast. For $55.00 you get to drink whatever you want continuously, eat true mexican food, have your own waiter and the place is spotless with only 100 people allowed on the beach and the is crystal clear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lipz Posted June 5, 2013 #1900 Share Posted June 5, 2013 Labadee was a waist as you needed water shoes to get in the water or your feet would get cut.In Cozumel you should book the private beach called Nachi Cocom(look it up):). It was a blast. For $55.00 you get to drink whatever you want continuously, eat true mexican food, have your own waiter and the place is spotless with only 100 people allowed on the beach and the is crystal clear. Thanks for the 411!! Water shoes is a MUST and going on my list (even though I always bring them). As for Cozumel, we did Paradise Beach our first time there and loved it. This was before they had the pool and swim up bar they have now. This time we were going to go back there and see the changes, however......you are not the first person to put the Nachi Cocom whisper in my ear. We are preparing to book in the next few days, I just have to get the information out to those sailing with us and I had planned to do so this week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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