jam19872016

You can do all those things to make a reservation. Then show up and stand in line with all the other people who have a reservation. 

On Carnival you walk right up with at most a 30 second wait barring the occasional off circumstance. 

Royal does a lot of things well and is usually the market innovator that other lines copy, but in this instance I really think they need to copy how Carnival handles flexible dining because the way they do it is a mess.

12 minutes ago, exlondoner said:

When is your crossing?

December 3, 2024.

1 minute ago, bluemarble said:

Excellent synopsis @jam19872016. Just to set expectations about your upcoming 18-day round trip crossing, I assume that's on QM2 (round trip from New York to Hamburg or Rotterdam). The Golden Lion does not serve dinner on QM2, only lunch, unless there's been a very recent change. But one dinner venue on QM2 that's not well advertised is the Chef's Galley. That's a casual dining venue with table service in the evening with a pizza and pasta menu. That might be a good option for you instead of the buffet on one of your gala evenings.

Thanks! Will give that a try. 

For a frame of reference, most of my cruises have been on Carnival and Royal - so about as relaxed as cruise ship dress codes go. I booked a Cunard Med cruise based on price as something to do schedule wise while sailing to Europe and back on Carnival while a ship was in dry dock. My biggest concern was absolutely the dress expectations and if I would fit in and enjoy myself.

My concerns were completely unfounded. I wore what I would wear to dinner on Celebrity or to a specialty dinner on Carnival/Royal and I fit in just fine and never felt out of place. True, many were dressed far, far better, but I never felt underdressed, looked down upon, or out of place in any way. The only difference was the dress code extended to many areas of the ship, but again I did not feel out of place in the evening around the ship.

The exception were the Gala nights as I do not own clothes that meet the dress code. I ate in the Golden Lion and the buffet but wish I had tried Golden Lion earlier, a fabulous dinner. Many areas of the ship were off access to me since I was not dressed up, but I accepted that going in and overall still enjoyed myself in the evening time.

The food in Britannia was excellent. It consistently far exceeded any cruise ship meal I have had on any line, including Celebrity.  

I enjoyed the experience so much that although I booked that first trip based on price, I have since book an 18 day round trip crossing at an eye watering price (compared to my usual Carnival/Royal trips) and can't wait to get back onboard!

1 minute ago, exlondoner said:

The only decoration I have seen is an Australian flag by a cabin door. Could the antipodean implications of this be significant?

It is worth keeping an eye on at the very least.

1 hour ago, exlondoner said:

It took me a while to find the cereals for there were so many counters of fried breakfast, and a nice looking bakery. I just don’t understand why people eat there rather than in the lovely restaurant.

 

i will check on the teas later on.

For me, for breakfast at least, I'm not a big breakfast person. It's mostly just to put something in my belly so I like to get in and get out.

For lunch and dinner, I completely agree so long as the meal experience is nice which was always the case for me on Cunard. Not always with other lines. 

5 hours ago, exlondoner said:

I hardly enter the buffet. Anyway, here it is called the Artisan’s Food Hall, for some inscrutable reason. Goodness knows why: it’s a buffet.

 

I had assumed your interest in the pineapple question is on the same basis as my own, mere spirit of intellectual inquiry. 😀

Ah yes, seems the trend these days is to replace the cruise ship buffet with a "food hall". But, it sounds like this is still a buffet in every way but name. 

4 hours ago, Host Hattie said:

But how are the salt & pepper containers??

3 hours ago, exlondoner said:

All the ones encountered so far are well matched but rather dull, like most of the ones on their other ships.

Let's hope they stay on their toes, I may have just recently booked my mom and I on another Cunard voyage and will expect standards to be met.

Don't think I've forgotten their trouble at seeing that the Cunard emblem on the plates is facing the correct direction either.

4 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Some may remember a most interesting review of a Cunard Med. trip by @Jam manI think. He asked about the incidence of pineapples on cabin doors. Just To say, so far, I have detected none. 
 

Or any form of decoration whatsoever. 😀

I love my new nickname but just to clarify, it was friend who was asking about the pineapples. I am a good boy with no need need for such knowledge 😌. 

He said to keep checking, they have gotten more discreet with their new found fame. Check for signs in the buffet. Has the pineapple display been rearranged in a southern direction 🤔. 

5 hours ago, iradi8 said:

Where is this? Looks like a great place to be when the ship leaves port!

 

At the very front of the solarium. It is indeed a very great spot to watch sailaway. It tends to be very crowded unlike in this picture. The bad weather kept most people away.

4 minutes ago, sparks1093 said:

Another consideration in addition to the venue is what other activity gets axed so that Quest can take place? The Fun Squad was going all out all week as was the CD and the entertainment schedule was jam packed. From what we saw everything was well attended so choosing which one to eliminate raises its own set of problems.

Adult game night if it hasn't gotten any better. I was on one of the first sailings to offer it (maybe the second or third) and I overheard the beards who were on the ship  mentioning it was getting terrible reviews from guests. It wasn't any better that night.

If I'm ever  fortunate enough to get on the Excel class again I will give it another shot, that was back when Celebration was brand new, perhaps they have worked the kinks out of it.

7 hours ago, sparks1093 said:

The idea of being crammed in a tiny space like that and being forced to participate is enough to make me cringe. A lot of people like to watch Quest and not having room for them is a good reason not to have it.

Perhaps I misspoke, nobody was "forced" to participate (although it was suggested it was not for spectators by the CD).

I think rather that the intimate venue led to more people feeling comfortable to participate. I'm sure not everyone did.

I would say you can't please everyone, but should everyone have to miss Quest because the venue is too small, or just a few people who are uncomfortable in a small venue or turned away if it's at capacity?

I feel like one way leaves more people satisfied than the other.

This CD also bragged about being the #1 rated CD in the fleet that past month based on the surveys we do.

Plenty of other things to enjoy on an excel class, but I do wish they would try Quest and see if it could work.

On Freedom it was held in the tiny lounge on deck 4 that used to be the cigar bar. 

Very tiny room and seemed like a terrible setup. Then once it began, it was a very intimate experience and turned out to be the best Quest I've ever attended.

Everyone had to participate, nearly impossible to be a spectator in such a small space and a genuis move by the CD.

So yes, saying there is no venue big enough on Excel class is an excuse. The adult game night they hosted instead was very cringe and hard to watch.

3 hours ago, Salt Lifer said:

Dinner tonight was s-l-o-w. More on that in a bit. Here is the menu for tonight, in Tuscan:

 

 

I had my favorite Tuscan shrimp soup, along with the baked Brie from Normandie, and the duck for dessert.

 

The soup was as good as always.  I may very likely order it most nights.

 

I had the baked Brie last year on Beyond and it really stood out.  I was not as impressed with it tonight.  I think the difference was last year it had a blue berry sauce, and this year it just had more like a couple small baked apple slices on it.  The pairing of the brie with the berry sauce was really a better balance.  

 

The duck dish was excellent. The duck was cooked well, the orange sauce was plentiful but not overbearing, and the accompaniments of the rice and greens were a good fit and cooked well.

 

By the time I was done with the duck I was stuffed and dessert was really not sounding good to me.  On top of that, because dinner service was so slow we were in danger of being late for the 10:30 Elton John show, so for both reasons we passed on dessert.  Our server was very apologetic - she had another table with a large group, and they were very difficult and drunk, which caused her to be distracted all evening.  We assured her that it was not a big deal and we were just too full to eat more at this point and were looking forward to heading to the show.  I had mentioned before how I love cannoli, so she insisted that she send some up to our room for later.  So when we got back to the room tonight I found a tray with four cannoli set up in our "sunroom" (i.e. Infinite Veranda)!  Since I am still stuffed I am saving one of mine for breakfast.  Anyway, that was a nice touch and makes up for the slow service.

The duck is another Celebrity favorite. I tried duck so many times on various cruise lines, including "

Cunard, and found it to range from didn't care for to just OK. 

I'd pretty much just concluded I didn't like duck but tried it again anyway and was blown away by how good this dish was! 

8 hours ago, Salt Lifer said:

Good time sing along!

Excellent news!!

19 hours ago, Salt Lifer said:

Piano bar performer, Tom McCormick is very good!  I have a special love for piano bars, so I am pleased to see Celebrity adding this to the entertainment lineup.

 

 

I love the piano bar and always sorely miss it on Celebrity. Any piano bar is better than no piano bar, but I have to ask, what style is it? Is it a rowdy, jolly good time sing along style piano bar music, or is it mostly just a guy playing music on a piano? '

19 hours ago, Salt Lifer said:

Tonight's dinner was good!

I had the Tuscan shrimp soup (a favorite of mine from the Beyond last year), and escargot for my starters; the trout for my main course; and the panna cotta for desert.

 

Sorry, my soup was half eaten before I remembered to take a picture!  I was just so excited to get to eat it again.  😉

 

The escargot were a really nice size.  Much better in size and taste than those I ate on Beyond last year.  

 

The trout was good.  The grapes on top seemed like an odd pairing, but the flavor contrasted perfectly with the fish and other items in the dish.  I may seriously have to start slicing grapes and putting them on all my dishes at home.

 

The panna cotta was a nice light and refreshing ending to the meal. 

 

Our server in Tuscan was very personable, so we ended up making reservations for the rest of the week so we could sit in her section.

 

 

The trout is one of my favorite dishes on Celebrity. I was like you the first time I tried it, grapes seemed like such an odd choice. They paired with the fish perfectly and now I order it every time I see it on the menu and it has never disappointed. Yummy!😋

It's getting hot in here

2 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

This is exactly what I do. Yes, I'm on WW but that is a program for living, not dieting. I will do stairs as much as possible and use the walking track, and I'll be aware of what I'm eating and do some things like ask that my servers not bother with heating up gluten-free bread for me at dinner (easy since I'm usually solo...or with my parents who are gluten-eating, so they can have their bread and I'm not tempted), but I don't deny myself.

 

One week (or 8 days in the case of my last and next cruises) is not going to make or break me. I know how to get back on track.

Yea I don't bother behaving either on vacation but I still track it so I don't get too bad of a shock when it's all over. I gained 18 pounds last cruise, which sounds so much worse than 1-2 pounds every day for twelve days.

5 minutes ago, Salt Lifer said:

They did today. Three kinds: a turkey sandwich, a brie sandwich, and the salmon sandwich that I had.  They are more like mini sandwiches, but a nice size for pairing with the chocolate tort for a snack or to mix and match for a larger meal.

 

I'll keep you posted if this is a daily thing.

Yummy. I would try all three and then go back for seconds of any real standouts along with some dessert. That and a salad upstairs, I think I would be set. Then head back for tea time at 3 so I can make sure my scale insults me consistently 😅

1 hour ago, Salt Lifer said:

On the ship by 11:08. The guys who work in the pier waiting area in the teal shirts did a phenomenal job.  This was literally the smoothest process of getting on the ship I have experienced at this pier.

 

First stop our room, then to the muster station, then to Cafe Al Bacio for a pre-lunch snack!  I got the chocolate tartlette and the salmon sandwich.  Both were delicious.  

 

Next stop is our Concierge lunch....

 

 

So they do have sandwiches now! That is awesome to see. I hope they continue to be delicious, I could see myself making a lunch out of it as I just don't usually find much I care for at the buffet.

4 hours ago, Salt Lifer said:

Good morning! Today is the day!  

 

Our check-out is at 10am and our boarding time on Ascent is 11:30am, so we are taking a gamble and heading straight to the pier and hoping we can at least get through security and into the lobby to wait.  With luggage and no car we really don't see any other practical option.  See you on board!

 

I've recently lost some weight and, while I intend to eat ALL THE FOOD this week, I still want to be held accountable for keeping my step count up in an attempt to burn some extra calories.  So I think this trip I'll do as @jam19872016 did in the last live and post my daily step count.  This is from yesterday.  

DId you bring a scale also? Mine was pretty mean to me. Two weeks back and I've still got 3 lbs to go before I get it back off. Terrible. Totally worth it though 😄

Following along!

Can't wait to see some Al Bacon goodies to remind me what I'm missing as I am back to fasting trying to take those cruise pounds back off.

8 hours ago, exlondoner said:

Trust me to get the name of the ship wrong. Apologies. Anyway, it did seem very nice, apart from being so much turned inward. Incidentally, QE is apparently going to be based in Miami for some of winter 2025-6. 
 

I think one’s appreciation of soon varies with age. Do you remember how almost infinite six weeks to the summer holidays seemed when you were first at school? Then, as one gets older, there is a strange double effect. Six weeks seems very soon, as time seems to go quicker. Yet 298 days is a rather larger portion of time remaining for me than for you, so not soon enough. So get yourself another cruise  before then. Meanwhile I am off on the new Cunarder in May. I hope it is as enjoyable as following your voyages. 

Many thanks again.

I'm just trying to convince myself that the next cruise is not so far far far away 😅

My mom called me today. Seems Cunard has sent her a brochure with some lovely rates. I am quite tempted and the wheels are certainly turning. One of them was the Alaska trip I was already eyeing, the flight costs all the way to Vancouver are really what is holding me back from booking, as the cruise fare is an absolute steal, 10 days for $699 plus taxes. 

15 hours ago, bluewater1298 said:

Oh wow! Can you imagine? Yes I will be looking for another Celebrity cruise in the future.

We set sail on Oasis this Sunday! Can't wait 😁 Thanks for all your info!

Just a few days to go! How exciting! Enjoy Oasis, it is a wonderful ship even if Café Promenade is nowhere near as good as Al Bacon 🙂