Questions about our First Celebrity Cruise on Reflection.

I posted this on the thread about tips but it got on page 2 without answers..

We are booked on the Reflection with Friends for the first time in a balcony cabin on deck 7..Also doing a B2B cruise..We return to Ft. Lauderdale after the first segment..We are normally HAL cruisers but we're all looking forward to trying Celebrity..

Our Friends don't have a computer so I'm pulling up as much as possible for them too.. But having problems finding info on Celebrity's WEB site so would appreciate answers to some questions:

1) will the Gratituities be auto billed to our account & are they still $23 per day per couple or has it increased?

2) Will our waiters & wine steward change after the first segment.. Assume we will keep the same Cabin Steward or will he/she change too.. Also assuming we will have excellent service & planning to tip extra mid cruise if there are changes to our crew.. If we go to the specialty restaurants will also tip extra..

3) Can we bring soft drinks or diet green tea on board..My Friends DH does not drink alcohol..

4) Since we are doing a B2B can we take 2 bottles of wine on board the 2nd segment without paying corkage..

5) Is corkage still $25.00 for extra wine taken on board.. May go to either Publix or Total Wine on on our layover day in Ft. Lauderdale if we don't purchase a wine package on board..

6) Does Celebrity have 5 or 7 bottle wine packages at a fairly good price?

Thanks so much for your help.. Looking forward to our trip..:cool:

I posted this on the thread about tips but it got on page 2 without answers..

 

We are booked on the Reflection with Friends for the first time in a balcony cabin on deck 7..Also doing a B2B cruise..We return to Ft. Lauderdale after the first segment..We are normally HAL cruisers but we're all looking forward to trying Celebrity..

 

Our Friends don't have a computer so I'm pulling up as much as possible for them too.. But having problems finding info on Celebrity's WEB site so would appreciate answers to some questions:

 

1) will the Gratituities be auto billed to our account & are they still $23 per day per couple or has it increased?

 

2) Will our waiters & wine steward change after the first segment.. Assume we will keep the same Cabin Steward or will he/she change too.. Also assuming we will have excellent service & planning to tip extra mid cruise if there are changes to our crew.. If we go to the specialty restaurants will also tip extra..

 

3) Can we bring soft drinks or diet green tea on board..My Friends DH does not drink alcohol..

 

4) Since we are doing a B2B can we take 2 bottles of wine on board the 2nd segment without paying corkage..

 

5) Is corkage still $25.00 for extra wine taken on board.. May go to either Publix or Total Wine on on our layover day in Ft. Lauderdale if we don't purchase a wine package on board..

 

6) Does Celebrity have 5 or 7 bottle wine packages at a fairly good price?

 

Thanks so much for your help.. Looking forward to our trip..:cool:

1) They'll still automatically bill your account. I think it's gone up a little, but not much.

2) For us on a B2B on the Regal Princess..We lost an asst.waiter, but everyone else stayed. No Sommelier on Princess cruises.

3) Yes you can. Alcohol they frequently hold until the end of the voyage.

4) I think you'll get hit with a corkage fee if you want to drink it in the MDR.

5) Not sure of the corkage fee. That sounds a bit high(but we haven't had the fee as we purchase on board.)

6) Not sure. We usually just buy individual drinks. I don't drink & still found the soft drink package a rip off!

1. Gratuities are now $13.50 pp/day for std cabin and will be auto billed each day.

2.Waiters and room stewards could change if it is the end of their contract, but you'll likely have the same ones and they do very much appreciate a little bit extra in tips.

3.Yes, you can bring soft drinks, tea and water. Just put a tag on the case with your bags.

4.You should be able to take your 2 bottles of wine on at the start of the second leg.

5.The corkage fee only applies if you bring your personal wine to the dining room. If you consume it in your room, no fee.

6. I think they do have packages but we have never bought any so I'm nor sure about this.

Have a great cruise. Reflection is the only S class ship we have not sailed on but it is very similar to Silhouette and that is my favorite Celebrity ship. Don't miss the Lawn Club Grill. They sometimes give discounts if it is not well booked.

We did a B2B on the Silhouette in December. We stayed in the same cabin and had the same room steward. We had a great table for dining and was able to keep it but we had a different waiter and assistant waiter. Our original staff was about four sections away.

Thank you so much Kethm & Teabag.. :cool:

Copying your answers for our Friends too..

Appreciate it & looking forward to our first cruise on Celebrity..:cool:

Have a good weekend..

I think you are misunderstanding the corkage fee. You can bring on 2 bottles per cabin. That is all. I don't know if you'll get double the allotment upfront for a b2b or if you'll have to wait for the change day to bring 2 more on but you don't get charged a corkage fee to bring on 'extra'. You simply cannot bring on extra, they will confiscate and hold until the end of the cruise. You are charged corkage if you want to bring your bottle to the MDR. If you pour a glass in your room and consume it there or take the glass with you there are no additional charges.

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Lets address the dining room questions. Celebrity has two basic Main Dining Room (MDR) schemes which are Fixed Dining (where you have an assigned time and table) and an open dining program (where you can eat when you want...and do not have an assigned table). If the OP has elected to have Fixed Seating.....then they will have the same table and waiters for their first cruise. But Celebrity, unlike some other cruise lines such as HAL, considers back to back cruises as two separate cruises. So there is no guarantee that the OP would have the same table/waiters for their 2nd cruise. My advice is that if you discover that you like your table and waiters....you simply stop at the Maitre'd's desk (by the MDR entrance and ask them if they can assign you the same table/waiters for your 2nd cruise. However, there is no guarantee that the same table would even have the same waiters (they do move waiters around) so you might want to inquire about this issue when you speak with dining room management folks.

Hank

May I add something about the drinking question? Since a bunch of you aren't alcoholic drinkers, you might consider purchasing the Bottomless Drinks package. It's about $50 up front but you can have as much soda or any non-alcoholic beverage you want over the course of your cruise. I'm not much of a drinker either, and the package saves me a lot of money.

Here's a link to the beverage packages on Celebrity: https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

Celebrity does not have a bottomless drink package but you are not limited in the amount of beverages you can consume in a day. The least expensive package is the soda package at $9 + 18% gratuity per person per day. The costs go up from there. They also offer a wine package by the bottle starting at $109 + 18% but I don't know how many bottles that includes. Also, the web site indicates $109 per person, but it is not per person. You can bring on 2 bottles per stateroom on the 2nd cruise.

If you log into your reservation on Celebrity's site you can view the various packages with pricing.

If there are a lot of B2B cruisers you might get offered lunch in the MDR on embarkation day for the 2nd cruise. We were given a special for laundry, spa discount, and 10% discounts on excursions booked on board the 1st day of the 2nd cruise. Most B2B cruises also offer a $50 discount on both cruises but you have to ask for it.

Enjoy your 1st Celebrity cruise.

I think you are misunderstanding the corkage fee. You can bring on 2 bottles per cabin. That is all. I don't know if you'll get double the allotment upfront for a b2b or if you'll have to wait for the change day to bring 2 more on but you don't get charged a corkage fee to bring on 'extra'. You simply cannot bring on extra, they will confiscate and hold until the end of the cruise. You are charged corkage if you want to bring your bottle to the MDR. If you pour a glass in your room and consume it there or take the glass with you there are no additional charges.

 

 

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Are you saying that If we want to bring on more than our two bottles we can't do it & pay the corkage fee?

"May I add something about the drinking question? Since a bunch of you aren't alcoholic drinkers, you might consider purchasing the Bottomless Drinks package."

You must be thinking of some other cruise line. Celebrity has nothing called Bottomless Drinks package.

"Are you saying that If we want to bring on more than our two bottles we can't do it & pay the corkage fee?"

Yes, that's is the policy. You can bring two bottles per stateroom on embarkation day only (not port days during the cruise). If you take those bottles to a bar or restaurant you will be charged corkage. If you open and enjoy them in your stateroom there is no corkage. But the limit is two bottles per stateroom. So let's say you want to bring a case of wine, you can't do that, corkage or no corkage.

Lets address the dining room questions. Celebrity has two basic Main Dining Room (MDR) schemes which are Fixed Dining (where you have an assigned time and table) and an open dining program (where you can eat when you want...and do not have an assigned table). If the OP has elected to have Fixed Seating.....then they will have the same table and waiters for their first cruise. But Celebrity, unlike some other cruise lines such as HAL, considers back to back cruises as two separate cruises. So there is no guarantee that the OP would have the same table/waiters for their 2nd cruise. My advice is that if you discover that you like your table and waiters....you simply stop at the Maitre'd's desk (by the MDR entrance and ask them if they can assign you the same table/waiters for your 2nd cruise. However, there is no guarantee that the same table would even have the same waiters (they do move waiters around) so you might want to inquire about this issue when you speak with dining room management folks.

 

Hank

Thanks Hank.. We'll do that

May I add something about the drinking question? Since a bunch of you aren't alcoholic drinkers, you might consider purchasing the Bottomless Drinks package. It's about $50 up front but you can have as much soda or any non-alcoholic beverage you want over the course of your cruise. I'm not much of a drinker either, and the package saves me a lot of money.

That's a great idea for our non-drinking friend.. I'll tell him about it but wonder if his wife can take the drink package & he have the soda package? As a matter of fact I might even take the soda package myself, as there are many times that I don't really want to have wine but instead might have a Baillys for an after dinner drink..Thanks for that suggestion..

If you are choosing perks with the initial booking, then both parties in the same room must choose the same perks. You can't have one choose the OBC and another the beverage package. Similarly, you can't have one choose the classic alcohol package and the other choose the non-alcoholic package.

But once the booking is made, if you are adding beverage packages, then one person can purchase a package and there other one doesn't have to.

Here's a link to the beverage packages on Celebrity: https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

 

Celebrity does not have a bottomless drink package but you are not limited in the amount of beverages you can consume in a day. The least expensive package is the soda package at $9 + 18% gratuity per person per day. The costs go up from there. They also offer a wine package by the bottle starting at $109 + 18% but I don't know how many bottles that includes. Also, the web site indicates $109 per person, but it is not per person. You can bring on 2 bottles per stateroom on the 2nd cruise.

 

If you log into your reservation on Celebrity's site you can view the various packages with pricing.

 

If there are a lot of B2B cruisers you might get offered lunch in the MDR on embarkation day for the 2nd cruise. We were given a special for laundry, spa discount, and 10% discounts on excursions booked on board the 1st day of the 2nd cruise. Most B2B cruises also offer a $50 discount on both cruises but you have to ask for it.

 

Enjoy your 1st Celebrity cruise.

Thanks for all that info.. I'm copying all the suggestions & will talk to our Friends about them..

I'll try logging in with our reservation to get the prices..

Appreciate so much help..

I'm quite offended to the the term alcoholic package! Because people drink alcohol, it does not make them an alcoholic!:rolleyes:

It might be a language misunderstanding, and if that is the case, I do apologize.

It is an Alcohol package - classic or premium

I'm quite offended to the the term alcoholic package! Because people drink alcohol, it does not make them an alcoholic!:rolleyes:

It might be a language misunderstanding, and if that is the case, I do apologize.

Yup, it's a language problem.....the word can be an adjective describing something or a noun, referring to a person. The writer was using it as an adjective to describe the package, hence you should not be offended.

Be happy!

Thanks Hank.. We'll do that

 

 

 

That's a great idea for our non-drinking friend.. I'll tell him about it but wonder if his wife can take the drink package & he have the soda package? As a matter of fact I might even take the soda package myself, as there are many times that I don't really want to have wine but instead might have a Baillys for an after dinner drink..Thanks for that suggestion..

It depends on the cruise line itself. I know that on Carnival, they would have to each have their own Bottomless Drinks package and each have to use it to buy their own drinks. However, "a long long time ago in a galaxy far far away", Celebrity and Royal Carribbean used to let you use your drink package and buy yourself and others a drink....I used to use my package to buy myself and my mom Diet Cokes all the time.

So I would ask the cruise line or go on their website to see what their rules and regulations are regarding the Bottomless Drinks package.

You're welcome!

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5.The corkage fee only applies if you bring your personal wine to the dining room. If you consume it in your room, no fee.

6. I think they do have packages but we have never bought any so I'm nor sure about this.

You can carry a glass of wine into the dining room. If only one glass of wine will get you through dinner, you can always open your bottle in your cabin and carry your wine glass to the dining room.

The wine packages are listed in your cruise planner which can be found through the "manage your cruise" link. We haven't purchased bottles of wine so I can't comment on selection or pricing.

IMHO, Lawn Club Grill is the best specialty restaurant on the ship. We had dinner at the Lawn Club Grill on the first night of our cruise - and again on the last night. We were offered a discount for the first night's dinner while having our lunch in the Oceanview Cafe on the first day; the original offer was for a 30% discount but we bantered back and forth with the waiter and were given a 40% discount As my DH reminds me, always ask for the discount as the worst thing that can happen is they say "no". We were offered a 25% discount for the return visit. Be sure to have the warm chocolate chip cookie with vanilla ice cream for dessert. Delicious!

Enjoy your cruise! Reflection is a beautiful ship. We will be sailing on her again in February and I can't wait.

I'm quite offended to the the term alcoholic package! Because people drink alcohol, it does not make them an alcoholic!:rolleyes:

It might be a language misunderstanding, and if that is the case, I do apologize.

Yes, it might be a language problem. But we do think the term "offended" is the most overused and abused term in the English language. In fact, I get so tired of folks being "offended" by just about everything...that I will often respond with something like "well, that is your problem," or perhaps "I am offended that you are offended." If somebody used the term "alcoholic Package" I might response (with a big smile) that "I resemble that remark."

Humor is a much better way to deal with many problems...rather then being offended.

Hank