Djptcp

DH and I did the Chef's Table on the Legend a few years ago and enjoyed it very much. It cost $75 pp and we felt it was worth it. Now that it's $150 pp they would really have to ramp it up significantly for us to pay that.

I only book HAL cruises with my casino offers and the AARP benefit is not allowed with those offers.

On our last cruise on the N. Statendam in Dec., I got an upsell for $99 pp to go from an ocean view to a balcony and I got to choose my mid-ship location. The first offer was $299 pp, then a week later it was $199 pp. A week later I received the $99 pp and took it. I usually take the offers but it depends on if I can get the mid-ship locations I want and of if I can go from an ocean view (rarely book them) to a balcony or higher. No forwards at all and no afts if way aft. I try to book at least a balcony or Vista Suite.

Our first cruise was in 1994 on the Norwegian Seaward - it was great. DH forgot to pack black socks for his suit and the ship didn't sell any. He ended up wearing a pair of my black knee-his😀 Very European looking. We just completed our 76th cruise 2 weeks ago! We are 4* Mariners on HAL and couldn't be happier after cruising on NCL, Carnival, RCCL, and Celebrity.

We were not the only passengers to comment on the lack of service and the unfriendly crew. In fact, on the 10th day some people we talked to remarked that someone higher up must have told the crew to lighten up and be more friendly. One husband told his wife to never select Celebrity again. I was commenting on the buffet. DH and I rarely eat in the MDR on HAL either, mostly in the buffet, NY Pizza for breakfasts, and in the specialty restaurants. I will give Celebrity the benefit of the doubt and agree that others on the ship said the newer X ships had better service and more to offer.. That said, we still will stick to HAL. We love our 4* perks and free casino offers and those are hard to give up.

This was our 76th cruise and let's just say that DH and I can't wait for our 2 booked HAL cruises in Nov. and Feb.! We debarked from a 12-day Central and South America cruise on the Constellation on Sat. Our complaints are really not related to the 22 year old ship as we knew ahead of time it was an old ship. Our complaints are that service was non-existent, the crew was unfriendly even the officers, the food was mediocre at best. The friendliest person was our cabin stewardess. Bar service was spotty - DH finally told several of the bar waiters on Deck 10 who had completely ignored us and the other guests to please come around and their responses to us were snarky. No one asked for our names during the whole cruise. I mentioned to other passengers that the after cruise surveys on HAL ask if crew called us by name? Food is subjective, but after HAL's great food in our estmation the Constellation's was bland and boring. We tried one of the specialty restaurants, supposed to be Italian, but most of the selections were not Italian. We ate in the MDR once and service was awful. I did have room service breakfast every morning and it was pretty good, but on HAL the plates with hot items are placed on heated things to keep the food hot, not so on Celebrity. So, we tried Celebrity only because it sails out of Tampa and we live 45 minutes from the Port of Tampa. It was supposed to be on par with HAL but not even close.

Thank you!

On Holland America we can check our onboard account during the cruises via our television. We'll be going on our first Celebrity cruise on 3/11 on the Constellation and wonder if we can do the same on the Connie?

On our last HAL cruise in Dec. I received an upsell email about 2 weeks before the cruise, but it was $299 per person and we didn't take it.. Then about a week later, I received another one and it was $199 per person, but didn't take it. A few days before the cruise, a third offer came and was $99 per person and we took it. Saved $400. If I don't receive an upsell offer, I call the Inventory Dept. a few days before a cruise and have been lucky few times to move from Verandahs to Vista Suites in locations we want.

We are 4* Mariners on HAL and sailing on Celebrity for the first time in a week. We booked it a year ago and decided to try it as it sails from Tampa, 30 miles from our home. As the year since booking has progressed I have had my doubts that it was a wise choice. It's the oldest ship and going into dry dock after our cruise. Long time Celebrity cruisers have complained about deteriorating service and food (Cruise Critic and Facebook). Some HAL passengers complain about this, too, but we have not seen it. Friends are going with us and they have only cruise 3 times, once on Carnival and the last two on Holland. They wanted to try another cruise line, so we acquiesced. I found the Celebrity website awful. I couldn't pre-pay gratuities online and had to call Celebrity to do it. Descriptions of some of the services and gifts you could buy were lacking and not complete. I am used to charging our room in the HAL casinos, but Celebrity has come weird thing about it and it doesn't look easy. They give you a card in the casino to show how to do it and how much you can charge. We are bringing a lot more cash with us for the casino because of it.

From MSN: A Celebrity Cruises ship will begin sailing out of Port Canaveral late next year, as Celebrity will become the seventh cruise brand at the port. The Celebrity Equinox will begin Caribbean sailings from Port Canaveral on Dec. 3, 2024, the cruise line announced Tuesday. It said it will have 20 cruises from Port Canaveral, running through April 19, 2025.

If our offer is for an ocean view we always pay the extra cost to upgrade to a verandah or vista or neptune suite and then we pay extra again to choose specific cabins. If it wasn't for the "free" casino offers we wouldn't be sailing on HAL - way too expensive when we compare a vista or neptune without the offer. So, we're happy to be able to cruise on a wonderful cruise line.

Land casinos reward their gamblers with comped rooms and food. There is a long history of gamblers being rewarded for the money they spend in casinos. On land? At sea? What's the difference. On our "free" cruises we do pay the same port charges, taxes, and fees that everyone does. We spend money on board shopping, eating at specialty restaurants, drinks, and excursions. Nothing is free in this world.

After our first HAL cruise, all of our cruises with HAL have been through casino offers. In reality we have paid for our "free" verandahs and suites by spending lots of money in the casinos over the years. DH and I are 4* Mariners and we deserve our status. This is not at all unique to HAL - we have had "free" cruises through ships' casino offers on Carnival and friends regularly receive them from Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.

We prefer the Neptunes on Deck 7 because of the proximity to the Neptune Lounge. Had an aft Neptune once, not by choice as we had a Guarantee, and never again - way too far from everything.

We always eat in the Tamarind and Canaletto at least once, sometimes twice on longer cruises. We usually don't eat in the MDR so the two specialty restaurants are a nice break from the Lido Buffet and NY Pizza. We tried Rudi's twice and weren't impressed; wouldn't have gone the second time but we had friends on board who wanted to try it. The Pinnacle Grill is okay, but the steaks are just too large. We prefer to eat there for lunch on at sea days.l

Thanks tschwa2, I appreciate your information.

We have sailed 75 times on other cruise lines, mostly Holland America. Our first Celebrity cruise is in March. On the other lines we can purchase more Onboard Credit for our cruises before we sail. I thought I saw it was available also on Celebrity one time when managing our reservation, but can't find it again. Is this possible to do on Celebrity?

Thanks for your responses. I guess I will bring a Holland tote in case we need it for carry off at the end of the cruise.

We receive tote bags in our cabins on Holland America to use during the cruises and to carry stuff off at the end. Will Celebrity provide something similar in our cabin?

We are new to Celebrity (will be our 76th cruise overall) and are used to paying the staff gratuities before we sail on other cruise lines. I have searched our reservation and cannot find that opportunity. If it is possible, where do I find the link? Thanks.

We didn't sign up for it. Received a Move Up offer email about 2.5 months ago for our March 11th cruise. Bid the top bid amount for a Family Balcony cabin. First time on Celebrity and the ship is full, so doubtful we will get it.

I had a Neptune Suite Gty once and my PVP suggested I send an email to the Inventory Dept. telling them I had mobility issues and needed a suite near an elevator. Unfortunately, we were assigned a Neptune at the absolute aft on Deck 4! I emailed the Inventory Dept. again and requested a different Neptune. Never heard from them. We were 4* Mariners. We hated the location and the Neptune was smaller than the Neptunes we were used to. Really made a negative impact on our cruise being so far from everything. It was a casino offer and I had to take a GTY - never again! Most of our cruises are casino offers with free verandah or Vista suite GTY. We now always pay more to select a specific cabin and it's worth the extra money after only having to pay port charges, taxes, and fees with the offer.

We have had Vista Suites on the Rotterdam a number of times and also a Veranda once. We much prefer the Vista Suites as they are larger. Plus we receive double sailing days - a 7 day cruise gets you 14 sailing days. We are 4* Mariners and having Neptune and Vista Suites got us to 4* a lot faster than if we just kept booking Verandas. Being new to Holland that might not mean much to you now though. Whatever you decide, have a wonderful cruise. The Rotterdam is a beautiful ship with a great crew and wonderful food.

We were on the Rotterdam in Oct.-Nov. and enjoyed watching the dancing in the BB King area from 5-6pm. We sat above on Deck 3. There was one couple that looked very professional and it was so much fun watching them.