digital_curator

 

Finding an explanation of perks in your room? For years, celebrity has had a choice of pillows for concierge and above cabins and they have referred to a pillow menu. No one I've ever spoken to has ever found a pillow menu in their rooms.....not sure if it even exists. You just have to somehow know and ask your cabin attendant for the type of pillow you'd like.

 

Welcome to Celebrity......

When we first sailed on the M-class ships, we had a pillow menu in the room, which went away in recent years. But we just got off the Reflection in a CC cabin, and our pillow choices (3) were listed in our letter from the concierge, which listed all of the room perks, as well as her desk location and hours.

We had printed menus in our room (both the breakfast door hanger and the lunch/dinner menu in the info book) in our balcony room on the Reflection at Xmas, so they do exist!

I don't have copies though and it wasn't a CC room....

We were on the Reflection over the holidays and this is the first time that we noticed uncomfortable pillows on Celebrity. They were super thin and kind of lumpy.

After a few days of waking up with a really stiff neck, I asked our steward if he could find us "fluffier" pillows and he brought a much superior product- at least twice the thickness with none of the lumps. I had no neck problems after the switch.

4 and 11 day B2B starting next week. Was told the 4 day was too short but the 11 day gave us $100 discount for the cabin.

 

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I just found out about this.I'm on the same cruises as Paulras and got the same discount. Called my TA who linked the reservations, contacted X, and got the discount. $100 was refunded to our CC in a few days.

It is annoying that the same offers are not always available outside the US. However, I have to say that my TA had never heard of it, and had to check with X. Once again, my fellow cruisers often know more than the professionals. :cool:

We always have dinner in the MDR, but we walked through the buffet on Christmas Eve and found lots of traditional treats- sugar cookies, buche de Noel, etc. So grab a plate for Santa before you head out caroling on the 24th! :D

(Side note- glad to be holiday cruising again with you this year, Tiggertastic! Will miss you LuAnn and Texed!)

Cheers,

Silly question but I am going on a Caribbean cruise for Christmas and I can't figure out what to do with my nails?

Usually for Christmas I go a deep red but for the Caribbean I usually do something bright, like a pink. My day wear will be very tropical but my evening wear is split between tropical stuff and red/black combos.

Has anyone ever done anything that would be suitable for both?

Cheers,

As someone who has only sailed RCI and Celebrity (see ships in my signature), I think the Equinox is an excellent choice- it has one of the widest varieties of restaurants and bars (we really enjoyed Crush- the frozen drink bar, and will miss it on our upcoming Reflection cruise), as well as the Hot Glass show by Corning.

We wanted a slightly more laid back atmosphere than RCI, tried Celebrity, and haven't gone back. Having the drink package included has been a big incentive.The food on last year's Equinox was really good, though I miss the menus that they had when we first started cruising on Celebrity. On the whole, we find the food much better on Celebrity.

We used to find the service on Celebrity very formal and and the crew a little stiff but they have lightened up in recent years and we have really enjoyed getting to know the servers, bartenders, and stewards.

We haven't found the entertainment as good, so we don't go to many shows. But we do like the live music that can be found at various bars and the silent disco was fun. We also miss a few of the activities, like the mini golf, but the ships are less crowded and that is enjoyable.

Personally, I wouldn't love a balcony on deck 6, since you can see the lifeboats obstruct your view of the water (we usually book on 8) but a balcony is better than no balcony, right? :D

Pull the trigger and enjoy!

Cheers,

Thanks for your review- it's great so far! We board the Reflection on the 18th for a B2B that includes the "Ultimate" (;)) Holiday Caribbean cruise, so you are providing a much-needed preview!

Cheers,

Thanks! I thought that sounded too early but again, I don't know NCL and I didn't see the documents. I will call them and encourage them to go later!

Cheers,

I have never sailed with NCL and am asking for my in-laws. They are boarding in Miami tomorrow.

We booked them a hotel with a shuttle but they have emailed to say they can't use it because the first one is at 10:30 and their check is at 9:30. I have never had a specific check in time for a cruise, we just show up when we show up. How does this work on NCL? Do they have to be there at 9:30? It sounds so early to me! I hate for them to pay for a cab when they have a ride paid for already.

Cheers,

I have always found that they offer deals once onboard. I wouldn't worry too much now and see what you can get when you are on the ship.

Did you want a connecting cabin? This wouldn't be my first choice for that reason- we have found connecting cabins noisy. Otherwise, this cabin is in a great location, though it isn't hidden away from foot traffic behind the elevator corridor wall.

Are there other options in this category? What are you looking for in a cabin?

We were on a holiday cruise last year and each night I gave a "12 days of Christmas gift"- some cash with a little treat. Most were chocolate, packaged shortbread cookies, etc. but I gave a few small things like holiday Kleenex packs and candy cane Chapstick.

I learned my lesson. They LOVED the treats (I heard about the Harribo gummy bears for DAYS from my Eastern European servers and our favorite Russian bartender told everyone she could how much she loved the shortbread and wanted to know how to make it) but they were noticeably unimpressed with non-yummy things.

So this year I'm bringing more $ and more treats :D We had 100 little bags of Hershey kisses and gave them out to every staff member we met that day and we had people running over to get one when a friend would show them. Sometimes little things do make a difference.

With a PhD in art history, I am very interested in the ships' collections.

On our first X cruise (the Millennium) there was an iPod tour which, unfortunately, only found out about as we were debarking. That ship has a truly amazing collection.

I was on the Eclipse last year for a holiday cruise and nothing like this existed- I asked. However, it is still worth wandering around and checking it out. I did it as part of my exercise- instead of doing laps up on deck, I did them up and down the stairwells and along each deck. :D

I had a really funny experience on a RCI transatlantic. On one of our many sea days, the advertised a guided tour of the ship's collection. About a dozen of us showed up and from the chatter I overhead, it was obvious that this was an engaged and well-informed group of art appreciators. The guide they sent was this young guy from the auction group, a freshly minted BA in art history on his first contract on the ship, He took us around for an hour, saying things like "this one is kinda cool" and "I think this is pretty neat" while I watched the group's expressions range from bemused to annoyed to pitying. Fun but not what I expected! :D

You will probably even be able to upgrade at the pier- for our last few sailings, they have had a table set up between the check-in area and the photographer! :D

We've only done 1 (westbound, 16-night) but love the extra hour to sleep in!

We had a few spots of bad weather with some rocky seas but nothing worse than we have experienced on Caribbean cruises.

We were never bored on our 5-sea days. Got into a routine of participating in trivia and other events, mixed in with some exercise, lounging by the pool, and meals! We actually wish that more cruises had extensive sea days. :) We did ours before drink packages and, from what I have heard, few people have them on TA's because they aren't offered as a free perk. :(I guess those cheap TA fares could help offset the big expense though....:p

I had a really hard time with "land-sickness" after this cruise- I felt like I was swaying for several weeks. But this does not seem to be a common issue for most cruisers.

In terms of advice, I would suggest to pack light and think of outfits that can be easily mixed and matched and to take advantage of the all-you-can-stuff laundry bag sales for things like socks and underwear. We were gone for a total of 3 weeks and kept it to one bag/one carryon each.

I would love to do another but the timing is not good with my work. I am hoping to do a Transpacific one day though!

Cheers,

Thanks for the response, but now I guess I'll have to clarify my package situation. When I booked my up coming cruise, I elected to accept the "Special Offer" "Go Best" which included Premium Beverage for 2, $150 on board credit for 2, Prepaid Tips for 2, and Unlimited Internet for 2.

 

The cost of $465 was added to the stateroom price, and the packages are itemized on the confirmation, but not a breakdown of the itemized or total cost.

 

The way I looked at it was the cost of the on-board credit and paid tips was well worth the price, let alone the extra beverage and internet package. Hopefully I am correct.

 

Wes

The 18% gratuity on the premium package is included in your Go Best purchase- you will not be charged extra.

The premium package is worth $76.70 pp/day (including gratuities), gratuities are $13.50-$17 pp/day depending on your cabin type, and internet prices vary slightly by sailing but on our last 7-night sailing was about $200 (not including any Select or Elite discounts).

Cheers,

Thanks! LOVING your review so far.

But which one was better- the crema catalana or the regular crème brulée? :p

Cheers,

For our upcoming 14-night Christmas/New Year's cruise, we are paying $155 pp/night for our veranda room, including taxes and port fees, premium drink package, gratuities, and unlimited internet (and subtracting cruise line and TA OBC).

We were pretty pleased with that price!

We were in a balcony cabin last year on Reflection in the Caribbean and did NOT get a beach bag.

On our last cruise, it was on the shelf in the closet.

Cheers,

If you have sailed a Radiance class ship with RCI, I think that you will find the Infinity similar in terms of layout, amenities, and entertainment.

Some differences- no rock climbing wall, mini golf. But similar solariums, lounges, and entertainment (production shows, guest singers, magicians, etc.).

In terms of food and service, we think that the food is better on Celebrity but getting closer to RCI in terms of what is offered and quality each year. The service is good but more formal on Celebrity, though we have found this changing too with staff seeming more friendly/easy going on more recent Celebrity sailings.

We prefer the theater entertainment on RCI- much more professional. But Celebrity does a good job with live music all over the ship- bands, pianists, guitar players, etc. We tend to go to these and just enjoy our drink package. :D Some lounges now have a dj (martini bar on our last cruise), which give a younger vibe. But things will start to shut down around midnight.....In the day, there is the usual trivia etc. and at night, game shows.

Celebrity's demographics are certainly getting younger. While you will find few children or 20-somethings, there are a lot more people in their 30's and 40's.

We did a Pacific Coast/Alaska cruise on RCI and loved it!

I think that, unless you are used to sailing the new, big ships, you will find more similarities than differences. I say try one and see which you prefer- your RCI status will get you a reciprocal status on Celebrity.

Cheers,

Tracey

Loving your review- thanks for sharing!

Cheers,

In which ship are you interested?

Cheers,

So much walking on a cruise ship- especially on an S-class ship! I would certainly look into a wheelchair or scooter so that you don't damage your foot.

I have a torn tendon in my ankle and have an aft cabin on our upcoming cruise, so I'm bringing a tensor bandage and sensible shoes to try to keep the swelling down.

Get well soon and enjoy your cruise!

Cheers,

The button usually shows up on your online account about 4-6 weeks before you sail.

If you go into "manage my reservation" it will be towards the bottom of the page, below your dining time, etc.

Nothing like having those tags come through the mail slot!:D

Cheers,

Tracey