New to Celebrity...looking for advice

[RealDeal]

I've been on several Princess Cruises and way back when Norwegian, RC & Carnival. Have heard fabulous things about Celebrity, especially the food, so I'm dying to try it. I'm a big foodie! LOL

 

Thinking about the Millennium to the Caribbean on 1/27. Any advice? Good ship? Good first Celeb experience? What about cabin? I was thinking about cat. 2B.

 

Oh....also....I believe Celebrity has "traditional" dining for dinner, but is there an alternative restaurant that is more flexible? If so, how is the food? On Princess, I actually prefer the food in their more casual buffet to the dining room.

 

I'd also welcome any advice on anything else I might consider that would be about on par w/Princess or better.

 

Thanks!!!

[dame2005]

never been on the Millie, but Welcome to Celebrity.

 

As for casual dining, they usually serve the same meal fron the dining room in the Ocean Cafe. They also have wonderful meals in the spa cafe for the late lunch crowd. we are foodies too and love celebrity!

 

Since it is a millenium class ship try the cabin selection boards. they will tell you about the sweet 16 cabins on the penthouse deck. They have killer balconies and the increase does not show on the deck plans. I have them marked as 6018- 6030 and also on the starboard side.

 

somebody else will chime in soon to help you even more.

 

 

good luck!!

[Drew B]

As for casual dining, they usually serve the same meal fron the dining room in the Ocean Cafe

 

 

I believe that is not true. If you choose not to eat in the main dining room, you have the following options:

 

1. Specialty restaurant - reservations required; surcharge of $30 pp ($56 pp if wine-pairing menu chosen); dress is never casual - informal or formal depending on the night.

 

2. Casual dining in the buffet area - this is a sit-down dinner with waiter service. They rotate 3 or 4 menus, each with several courses and several selections per course (I believe there is always a red-meat choice, a poultry choice, and a fish choice at least). Reservations are requested and there is a nominal surcharge of $2 pp to cover the gratuity for the waiters.

 

3. Spa cafe - remains open till 8:00. Healthier, lighter fare with counter service (no waiters).

 

4. Sushi Bar/Pasta & Salad station/Pizza Station - these areas of the buffet are open in the evening and into the night.

 

5. Room service - any item from the main dining room dinner menu is available from room service during dining room hours. If you are in a suite, your butler can serve your dinner course by course. Otherwise, all courses are brought at once. No official charge, but it is customary to tip the person who delivers the food.

 

PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE IS NO ACTUAL BUFFET IN THE EVENING.

[mii]

I happen to be a lover of the Casual dining. As was mentioned there is a $2p/p/ for the wait staff. They do change every 4 th day. There is always five entrees which consist of a beef, chicken,pork, pasta and fish dish. You have a choice of a couple of appetiziers, soup, salad and dessert. You are seated in a part of the buffet area where they place white table napkins and set it up just like a dining room. As previous mentioned there is also the pasta-salad bar, sushi, a stirfry area where you pick what you want in the stirfry, pizza station and the hamburger and hotdog station. It is really very good food.

 

I also like the 2b cabins. Never had a bad one.

 

Marilyn

[Drew B]

a stirfry area where you pick what you want in the stirfry,

 

Where is this? I never saw this station...

 

Oh, and I apologize for forgetting the Lido grill (hamburgers and hot dogs). I was on an Alaska cruise, and most folks weren't out on the Lido deck as much as in warmer climes...

[Host Anne]

Real ~ if you are a foodie ~ the Specialty restaurant (the Olympic on Milliennium) is a must. Every meal I've had in a Celebrity specialty restaurant has been outstanding. We sail Princess often and enjoy Sabatini's but the specialty restaurants on Celebrity are definitely a step above. The goat cheese souffle for an appetizer and the chocolate souffle for dessert are wonderful. And the main courses are pretty darn good, too.

 

Don't miss the made to order waffles in the buffet area for breakfast....very, very good.

 

If you enjoy Princess, you'll enjoy Celebrity.

[GORDONCHICK]

Don't miss the made to order waffles in the buffet area for breakfast....very, very good.

 

If you enjoy Princess, you'll enjoy Celebrity.

 

Aren't the Belgian waffles on the aft deck? Maybe they're in a different place on Millie.

 

And while we enjoyed Princess, we loved Celebrity!

[StknCPA]

<snip> Specialty restaurant - reservations required; surcharge of $30 pp ($56 pp if wine-pairing menu chosen); dress is never casual - informal or formal depending on the night. <snip>

 

I thought I remembered seeing that the dress for the specialty restaurant was to match the assigned dress for the evening for the ship. I would actually like it to be a minimum of informal, but is this truly the case?

 

What is the dress code for the specialty restaurants?

Subject: Dress Codes

The dress code in Celebrity's specialty restaurants is the same as the evening dress code in the main restaurant. Please refer to the dress schedule within the "Onboard Experience" section of this website to determine the appropriate attire for each cruise length.

http://www.celebritycruises.com/beforeyourcruise/faq/home.do;jsessionid=0000PRpVHui7AQ_5H3TNJDaM5Ll:1051tg0lk;jsessionid=0000w9n3Vjtr134ZgWrRY0tBWJo:1051tg60i?faqSubjectName=Dress+Codes&faqId=2728&pagename=faq_answers

 

In practice, does everyone wear a coat and tie to the specialty restaurant, even on casual nights?

[Drew B]

I thought I remembered seeing that the dress for the specialty restaurant was to match the assigned dress for the evening for the ship. I would actually like it to be a minimum of informal, but is this truly the case?

 

What is the dress code for the specialty restaurants?

Subject: Dress Codes

The dress code in Celebrity's specialty restaurants is the same as the evening dress code in the main restaurant. Please refer to the dress schedule within the "Onboard Experience" section of this website to determine the appropriate attire for each cruise length.

http://www.celebritycruises.com/beforeyourcruise/faq/home.do;jsessionid=0000PRpVHui7AQ_5H3TNJDaM5Ll:1051tg0lk;jsessionid=0000w9n3Vjtr134ZgWrRY0tBWJo:1051tg60i?faqSubjectName=Dress+Codes&faqId=2728&pagename=faq_answers

 

In practice, does everyone wear a coat and tie to the specialty restaurant, even on casual nights?

 

Huh. I wonder if the rule changed. I could swear when I was on last year that there was no such thing as casual for the specialty. Well, everyone wore coats/ties when I was there.

[DaveFr]

Drew,

 

The dress code for the specialty restaurants changed last December, I believe. The dress code in the specialty restaurants now is the same as the dress code in the main restaurant. Here's a link to the appropriate FAQ: http://www.celebritycruises.com/beforeyourcruise/faq/home.do;jsessionid=0000FeVIpSIYyVqYZWR4Sm-99nF:1051tg3ld?faqSubjectName=Dress+Codes&faqId=2728&pagename=faq_answers

[Lois R]

Drew,

 

The dress code for the specialty restaurants changed last December, I believe. The dress code in the specialty restaurants now is the same as the dress code in the main restaurant. Here's a link to the appropriate FAQ: http://www.celebritycruises.com/beforeyourcruise/faq/home.do;jsessionid=0000FeVIpSIYyVqYZWR4Sm-99nF:1051tg3ld?faqSubjectName=Dress+Codes&faqId=2728&pagename=faq_answers

 

Hi, I was on Millennium in December and the Specialty Restaurant

was the same as the rest of the ship. So yes, on that sailing,

if it was casual night in the main dining room, it was casual

in the Specialty too.

I enjoyed dressing up anyway and especially to eat

in the Specialty Restaurant.

 

I don't know if the rules changed permanently, on all the M

class ships or not.......

 

But to be totally honest, it really is a fancy

restaurant and I enjoyed dressing up for my dinner

there:)

 

Who asked about a tie or not? I saw a couple (they were at the

next table). He was in a button down shirt, no tie, no jacket,

she was in a casual slacks and top.

I was not being the fashion police~they were just at the next

table so I noticed it.

[emcee207]

We were on Century in Feb and diined at Murano's. The dress code in the specialty restaurants coincides with the rest of the ship on that night. However, the elegance,ambiance and service of these places deserves at least a jacket, in my mind. I'd feel uncomfortable in casual dress there. Just MHO

[C 2 C]

I actually prefer the food in their more casual buffet to the dining room.

 

Except for day one when casual dining was not available, we ate in the alternative casual dining for 13 days straight on our Infinity cruise in March.

With a limited number of guests, we found the food hotter, tastier and tailored to our requests even though the choice was more limited. Having a table right next to a window not obscured by shades during evening sunsets was a clincher...

[Radagast]

I've been on several Princess Cruises and way back when Norwegian, RC & Carnival. Have heard fabulous things about Celebrity, especially the food, so I'm dying to try it. I'm a big foodie! LOL

 

Oh....also....I believe Celebrity has "traditional" dining for dinner, but is there an alternative restaurant that is more flexible? If so, how is the food? On Princess, I actually prefer the food in their more casual buffet to the dining room.

 

I'd also welcome any advice on anything else I might consider that would be about on par w/Princess or better.

 

Thanks!!!

I've not been on Millennium but in April was on Century for nine days in the Caribbean. Apparently Celebrity is getting much more casual, even in the dining room, especially on shorter cruises. (We did a 4-night and a 5-night, back to back.) Even on formal nights there were very few tuxes in the main dining room. Dark suits and sport coats dominated, but there was everything else you can imagine, including one rather large man wearing a loud aloha shirt!

 

If you are interested, I am in the process of writing a detailed, episodic review of our whole Celebrity experience, including lots of pictures. I've just posted the 11th part. I've already talked some about the food and dress code and will go into more detail in future posts. My review begins at:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=546008

 

I think you'll have a great time on Celebrity in the Caribbean.:)

[Lois R]

Hi,:) I respectfully disagree (If I may do that without being

flamed).

I believe that might be true on a shorter cruise, though I will

still dress up when I sail Century in December for a short one because

I love to get dressed up in the evenings:)

 

But as for the line itself, In my opinion, it is more than just dress,

but the traditional times for dining as well, sitting with same

tablemates each night, having the same waiter etc.

 

I do hope they keep it this way as I am one cruiser

who enjoys those things:)

[RealDeal]

Thanks everyone.

 

But now I'm really confused! Again, I only have Princess to use as a comparison....On Celebrity, instead of traditional dining, isn't there a more casual buffet you could go to? Seems everyone is talking about a sit-down w/waiters/waitresses that requires a $2 charge (not that that's a problem!)

[Lois R]

Thanks everyone.

 

But now I'm really confused! Again, I only have Princess to use as a comparison....On Celebrity, instead of traditional dining, isn't there a more casual buffet you could go to? Seems everyone is talking about a sit-down w/waiters/waitresses that requires a $2 charge (not that that's a problem!)

 

Sorry to have confused you~if I was part of the confusion;)

 

Celebrity does not offer a buffet for dinner. They do offer

what is called "Alternative Dining". It is located up on the lido deck,

"near the buffet" but it is a sit down dinner.

You are waited on and a tip of 2.00 per person is suggested.

You order off a menu~not as expanded as the main dining room

menu but there are choices:) and it is a more casual atmosphere.

But again, there is no buffet for dinner on Celebrity.

[RealDeal]

Thanks for clearing that up! And you need a reservation, or it's just suggested?

[Lois R]

I have heard both. I have not eaten there but have heard

the correct thing to do is to make a reservation.

But....(not to confuse you;) ) I have also heard people

just go and have been seated without one~so it seems

to run both ways.

[RealDeal]

Thx for all the info Lois!

 

Wow...a big sacrifice...I really love Princess's dinner buffet!

[C 2 C]

While onboard Infinity we had a set reservation time for every evening. People who are looking for an occasional seating would have to check if there is space available. I believe they only set 15 tables per half hour. A reservation is needed only if there is a high demand but limited to about that number. We found that the traditional dining times of 6pm is too early and 8:30 too late.