boatlover19

So let me get this right, anyone who pre-tips is "reasonable, appreciative, and looking to have a great vacation with no issues " and if you don't pre-tip you're a greedy tourist trying to take advantage of the hospitality industry and get things for free. ...even though tips are added automatically, and lots of people, myself included, tip extra to those people who made our vacation a little more special....wow. ..so now I realize all these years of cruising I've been doing it wrong or maybe I was just lucky to have wonderful service without PRE-TIPPING...

I'm just stating my opinions and reasons for pre-tipping the cabin stewards. If your system works for you by all means stick with it. I do however, stand by my belief that pre-tipping shows an immediate appreciation for the hard work of the cabin stewards. Additionally, I think some cruisers come with serious entitlement issues because the gratuities are added automatically.

I totally agree with pre-tipping. The room stewards face too many people with bad attitudes, and entitlement issues. I want to let them know ahead of time that I am reasonable, appreciative, and looking to have a great vacation with no issues. I also think its important to let them know that I am not some greedy tourist trying to take advantage of the hospitality industry by finding loopholes to get things for free.

I decided to post a response because I am drained by all the negativity that is taking over these forums. I'll start by saying that I have cruised with Carnival, Norwegian, Princess and Celebrity. I also reside in Los Angeles and frequent various upscale restaurants. I find Celebrity to be far superior to any other line I have sailed. I have cruised on both M and S class ships and have enjoyed all of my experiences. I will be the first to admit, my partner and I are travel snobs. We like delicious foods and luxurious accommodations. Celebrity is not perfect, I've had a couple of not so stellar entrees, but overall they are pretty darn good. I can always find chairs around the pool. I can relax and enjoy DJ music or live (I think they do a good job appealing to various musical tastes). The rooms are spacious and decorated nicely (we like to relax on the veranda with room service and wine). We get a drink package and enjoy a cocktail or three during the evening. We make it a point to ENJOY the ship and the cruise. If you like to relax by the pool, can groove to different types of music, enjoy a drink, have a little fun in the casino, enjoy interesting cuisine, meet cool people, and see exotic locations Celebrity is probably the line for you. If you need the rowdiness of Carnival or the antiquated cruising of yesteryear to have a good time, by all means leave Celebrity for its fans (like me) to enjoy!

I may be in the minority, but I love Curacao. I spent a week on the island for my 40th birthday and had a great time. I would suggest taking a taxi to Tempo Doloe restaurant. It is an Indonesian restaurant with a Caribbean twist. It may sound strange but being that Indonesia and Curacao are both former Dutch colonies, cultural influences were shared. Another great restaurant is the Boathouse. There is nightlife in the casinos, and amazing beach parties at night in Jan Thiel. I found Curacao to be an amazing island full of culture and friendly people. It is not overdeveloped like many Caribbean islands, and that is part of its unique charm.

I'll start by stating that I 100% agree with the new evening chic dress code. I still think however, the MDR should be considered and nice restaurant. I would recommend that you select your attire the same as you would for a nice land based restaurant. If you would wear the running shoes to a nice restaurant on your hometown, then they should be fine for the MDR. Let's keep Celebrity a modern luxury line and dress accordingly.

Yaaay to this thread. I had my head taken off last year for suggesting Celebrity is better suited for adults. I would love a child-free cruise…with clothes lol.

I told myself I'd avoid these threads, but here I go, lol:)

 

I literally don't know anyone who dresses in everyday life, let alone on a cruise ship in the manner that is described by some here... & I just can't imagine someone who owns a "wife beater" or "wrangler' jeans (who wears these, & where do they buy them??? It's a mystery, are they from Texas & actually need to wrangle something?) carefully purchasing their airfare to Europe, or Australia, or Dubai, or wherever, buying & planning their cruise, & their pre & post cruise hotels or apartments, I'm not saying it doesn't happen, just that I've never personally experienced it. I think this is much ado about nothing, there hasn't been formal nights in Blu since late 2011 & people still present themselves quite nicely in there.... including plenty of tuxes, gowns & cocktail dresses if that's what you're into.

 

Happy Sails:)

YES!!!!!!! I Love your post! I do not believe the Celebrity passengers will all of a sudden lose all their style.

I must be very lucky because my celebrity cruises have been filled with very stylish appropriately dressed passengers. I don't recall anyone in the MDR in shorts, t-shirts, or flip=flops. I found my fellow cruisers to be very smart and professional people who knew how to dress for a dining venue. I have faith that Celebrity cruisers will continue to look great on the ships. Relax a little, the MDR will be fine.

Maybe I have just been lucky, but on my Celebrity Cruises everyone dressed very fashionably. People in the MDR dressed very appropriately including formal nights. I have faith in my fellow celebrity cruisers. I think people will dress in stylish, upscale, fashionable clothes. Celebrity will remain chic.

There is no way Princess is better than Celebrity. Norwegian should not be in the same conversation. Just my opinion.

I had the same issue, I called Celebrity and the customer service agent emailed me the cruise confirmation and it had the OBC listed. She stated the OBC would not show on the cruise booklet nor the reservation on your Celebrity profile.

Hope to meet you guys. I'm Windee and traveling with Toni. She has had a horrible year and needs a vacation; this will be her first cruise. What type of excrusions are you doing? Doing any specialty restaurants?

Cozumel- we will probably rent a car and head to the east side of the island and stop at a beach and then head to Coconuts, a restaurant and bar we like.

Grand Cayman- Celebrity's sting ray city tour then a cab to seven mile beach

Falmouth- A Celebrity tour to Montego Bay and Doctor's Cave beach

Labadee- Adults only Sandbar excursion

We are going to try Qsine and Tuscan Grill, and ALL of the bars!

This is our first time on celebrity. We love Princess. My favorite thing on Princess is the Pizza and the Fettuccine Alfredo. What do I have to look forward to on Celebrity next week. Ready....Go!

I love the solarium pool and the aqua spa cafe. I have enjoyed all of the food on Celebrity. I like the modern luxury vibe of the ships.

Ralph and Robert from So. Cal. 1week to go!

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This is the common missive of people who don't want kids on Celebrity. The problem is that there a ton of evidence that kids like Celebrity product. Read the reviews and comments of parents and grandparents who have brought kids on board. It doesn't matter if there are 10 kids on board or 200, they will have a good time. As evidenced by this discussion, it seems like the kids are better able to adapt to situations than many of the posters.

Tons of evidence that kids like Celebrity, I think evidence is being used very loosely in your statement. It is the opinion of the parents and grandparents posting that the kids had a good time, not reviews written by the kids themselves. Again, I will stand by my statement that other cruise lines are better suited for young children. As for the kids having a good time on-board, why bring your kids on a cruise to do the same arts and crafts projects they can do at a day camp at home? What kids want to dress up for dinner and eat fancy foods in the MDR? Maybe I only know children from a lesser pedigree but they always prefer bells and whistles like water parks and theme shows and prefer foods like chicken nuggets and french fries, things that Celebrity is not known for. Bringing kids is solely for the convenience and benefit of parents.

Obviously Celebrity think very differently than you both as this was the title page of a recent email I received:

 

 

Appears that 'dragging' is optional :rolleyes:.

I never said that Celebrity did not want kids on board, as a corporation they should take anyone's money. I'm saying I don't think Celebrity is the most appropriate line for children, especially young children. I stand by my belief that children, including those in the advertisement would have a better experience on a ship with more programming for their age group (i.e. Carnival, Royal Caribbean, or Disney). It is for the parents benefit when they bring children to an environment like a Celebrity cruise. In the end anyone with a ticket can board the ship, and I can just hope for the smallest number of young children on my sailing.

All the topics here about bringing children on adult cruises end up pretty much the same. There are those of us who sail this line and not RC or Carnival or Disney to avoid kids on board. We specifically do longer cruises in order to achieve a kid free environment. We specifically try and find itineraries and times that accomplish that.

 

Here you will rarely find posters who will tell you that they want adult only cruises, for obvious reasons. Those that find it convenient to drag their kids along a line that offers them little, then will pounce on them, as I am sure they will on me very soon.

 

Others will quickly point out that the only problems they have seen, have been with older folks. This is the standard fare.

 

There are a huge number of people who sail Celebrity because there are fewer kids on board. Even folks who drag their kids say they prefer less kids on board.

 

Celebrity is building new ships , while welcoming families to help with the bottom line, I doubt they will be adding kid friendly amenities, thus still being a primarily adult attracting line, which we appreciate.

Very well stated. I will say that I'd prefer adult-only cruises. It may not be a popular opinion, but I believe there should be events and spaces where adults can relax and recharge amongst themselves without children present. After reading some of the posts in this thread, I am having a difficult time believing that young children prefer Celebrity over lines like Royal Caribbean, Disney or Carnival, I don't buy it. I think parents that bring children on lines like Celebrity are doing it for their enjoyment, not the child's. Maybe they (the parents) don't want to sail on the more family friendly lines.

I must admit I am a member of the camp that does not understand why parents would want to bring children on a line like Celebrity, when there are other more family friendly lines available. I say this because I think having children on a boat with few of their peers and very limited activities for them is a breeding ground for discontent, crankiness and dissatisfaction. Under these circumstances you are going to have episodes of bad behavior that is disruptive to other passengers. It has also been my experience that people always overestimate the quality of their own children's behavior and will often "loosely" interpret rules regarding where children are allowed. I understand the ideas of families traveling together and seeing the world, but why not take children on a line with pools, water parks, rock climbing, characters, and most importantly, other children to entertain them. I know my opinion maybe unpopular, but I've never experienced positive outcomes when children are brought into adult environments.

And remove the wonderful al Fresco dining aft of the Oceanview cafe? And the Sunset Bar? For a pool? No way!

I think it could be possible to have both. The aft-pools on Princess are a deck lower than a seating area. Particularly for Caribbean cruises another outdoor pool would spread some of the crowding on the main pool deck. Just my opinion.

-- add another pool to the ships.

 

 

 

What do you wish for?

I also wish X would add and aft pool similar to the Princess ships (the only thing I think Princess does better than X).

Great review, I too wonder why anyone would bring kids on Celebrity, there's nothing for them to do and when they get bored and restless, they ruin the atmosphere of the pool area. I am sailing on easter so I am planning to hang out in the Solarium. If there are lots of kids on my cruise, I hope I don't have to see them.

I have also sailed Princess because Celebrity does not sail from the West coast and I think Celebrity is a much better product. On the two Princess ships (Golden and Crown) I've sailed, in mini-suites, I have found the staff to be incredibly disinterested. I felt they behaved as if I was lucky to be on the ship and should take what ever subpar service they provided. One example was an audible sigh when I asked a server if a salad contained nuts followed by singing in a different language. I've read other posts comparing Celebrity to a W hotel, if one were to follow that analogy then Princess would be a Holiday Inn.

I am jumping from RCI to Celebrity. I am fed up with Royal. Now I need help planning a cruise with Celebrity. I am looking for a seven night cruise to the Caribbean. I don't know anything about the ships, rooms, dining etc on X and would love input from some of the experts on this board. I have done some research and I am looking at the Concierge, Aqua and Sky Suite staterooms. I have read that Aqua will become Sky Suits and I am a little confused on what this means. We do prefer to eat in the main dining room. We like the social aspect of it and have made many good friends this way. We usually do one night in a specialty restaurant. We have only been in a JS on Freedom Class ships on RCI. Any and all recommendations would be greatly appreciated! I value all input.

I am a huge fan of concierge class on Celebrity. I have never cruised in aqua or a suite, but concierge has nice perks that made my cruises feel special. The priority embarkation came in handy, as did the welcome bottle of Sparkling wine, and the priority reservations in the MDR. I have always enjoyed the Celebrity experience so I think you will enjoy any cabin you choose. Welcome to Celebrity and enjoy you cruise!

Thanks Ken!

I'm on the Silhouette April 5th cruise and I am considering booking an excursion to the sandbar in Labadee. Anyone know anything about this excursion? I'm traveling with my partner in our 30's-40's and like great beaches and drinks and a kid free environment. Is it a nice boat ride to the sandbar? Are there facilities on the sandbar or are refreshments served off the boat? Are there chairs and loungers? or just floating mats? Counting down the days!