RICCruisers

Hi Charla, We are currently on Beyond sailing toward Kusadasi and staying onboard for the next cruise. Weather has been perfect so far and hoping some of the long range forecasts are not correct for the October 20th cruise. I’ve always enjoyed your trip reports and look forward to reading one from a cruise we are also sailing on. We’ll wish Jeremy a happy birthday if we happen to see you folks onboard. 
 

Ed and Betty

22 hours ago, markeb said:

 

 

I realize this. I just find it strangely ironic that a martini bar doesn't list traditional martinis on its menu. It seems funny to me. 

They do lists some basic martins. Here’s a photo of the menu on Beyond from 10 minutes ago. 
 

6 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

Ken, that is a good idea. My wife and I always opt for two tops when cruising (when possible), but I had never thought of this reason for doing so.

There is no acceptable reason to serve cold food unless it’s supposed to be cold. 

One of the biggest changes we observed in the Eden Cafe on our last cruise on Edge was the significant degradation of the brownies and chocolate chip cookies. They went from luscious desserts to more like store bought variety not worth the calories.  It’s very sad to see the lower quality of many food items that we have enjoyed over the years of cruising on Celebrity while prices of cabins keep going up. New cruisers don’t see this since they never experienced the higher quality products that were served in the past. If this is working for Celebrity’s bottom line it will continue. My hope is that it doesn’t work and their race to the bottom ends soon. A business can only cut expenses so much before it finally catches up with them. 

Speaking of Food, The Points Guys ranked his Top 6 Cruiseline Food. Celebrity was not mentioned. 
 

Here’s a link to the report 

https://frankchiaro.wordpress.com/2023/06/27/best-cruise-food-these-are-the-6-cruise-lines-with-the-best-food-at-sea/

17 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

 

 

Several years ago, which was just after cruising resumed (and with capacity closer to 30% than 60%), granting folks special benefits, like suite guests bringing in non-suite guest friends was not usually a problem. With full or near full capacity, such benefits have become very limited.

Your estimate of the capacity % once cruising resumed is fairly accurate for the whole ship. It’s way off on the % in suites. Suites ran at.close to 100% in the months following resumption of cruising. There were a lot of cruise credits and unused travel budgets to spend. That may be part of the reason suite pricing has escalated significantly during the past year.  

3 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

It also depends on where the OBC is coming from, if a TA, then that will post after boarding a day or two...

 

If X, then OBC should be readily available for use before sailing.

 

It is not clear where the OBC is from.

 

bon voyage

Spot on Bo. Glad I read thru to your post before posting mine. I will add that if you are pre-purchasing something on the website be careful to make sure you enter the amount that should be deducted from your OBC prior to clicking the make this purchase button. 

I’m not sure Evian is still available on the Premium Package. They were serving Acqua Panna and Pelligrino on our cruise in January. Others may have the current offerings. 

Download the Celebrity App. You need to bring up one of the cruises on any of the E Class ships. There you go into the Main Restaurants and choose the menus from each of the 4 restaurants. You’ll see the menus that list the items for each. 

Yes, there is a discount for a B2B that varies based on the number of days. It works the same with a TA or booking direct with X 

10 minutes ago, SSAtlantic said:

Has anyone been successful in upgrading just one of you? I was able to do this twice this year, but tried today and was told no. Just wondering if it worth it to keep trying? There are 3 of us traveling, so it would be pricey to upgrade all 3 and 2 won’t really benefit. 

Are all three age 21+?  The new policy about everyone needed to upgrade is new this year. The exceptions are underage or documented reasons i.e. pregnancy, recovering alcoholic etc. 

While many cruisers rave about the burgers from the Mast Grill, I’ve always felt they were processed burgers with some type of filler besides ground beef. I only eat them if there is no other food available. 

If you call X to book your cabin you won’t have this issue. They will check  all cabins regardless if it is a cabin for 2 or 3 or 4. I’m not sure how it works with a TA but most likely they can get a cabin that handles 3 or 4 for 2 guests. It’s not your responsibility to maximize Celebrity’s profit margin. 

Just saw this announcement. 

Does anyone know where the courts will be?

Available On

APEXBEYONDECLIPSEEQUINOXSOLSTICECONSTELLATIONINFINITYMILLENNIUMSUMMIT

20 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Yes

Unfortunately the $50.00 Specially Restaurant is hard to find. On E Class ships Eden is $60.00 + $10.80 gratuity and Fine Cut is $65.00 + $11.70 gratuity. That’s $70.80 and $76.70 per person.  

I’m enjoying FORTUNATE’S post. He/She has described the cruise experience we hope to reach someday. 
 

I’m not sure why you would want to do this. You can get pretty much any drink you want at the dedicated bars. The only real outlier might be Eden, where they have their own menu of drinks and you can get any of those at the Eden Bar. There isn’t anywhere to sit in the Specialty Restaurants to enjoy your drink, only tables for guests who have paid for their meals. Each of the bars onboard should have a package that has the “ingredients” for all of the drinks offered ship wide. Some bartenders may or may not know the list exists. It’s basically a xeroxed list stapled together. 

7 hours ago, WonderMan3 said:

"3 times higher"? Last time I cruised a year before Covid specialties I think were around $45-50. So you're saying they are now all at $135-150 per person?

No they are not 3 or 4 times higher. As an example - Eden is $60 plus 20% gratuity for $72.00 per person. Fine Cut Steakhouse is $65.00 plus 20% for $78.00 per person. The 20% gratuity is new within the past 3 or 4 months and the cover charge is up about $10-$15.00. More like a 40% increase. 

59 minutes ago, Jobeth66 said:

OVC is great for those of us with dietary restrictions.  I can't do a chef's tasting without messing up the intended experience, so I don't.  I can do the grill-to-order station in the OVC with zero problem, so I do (or did).  Same with the Asian station.  

I’m sorry to bring disappointing news to you. As of January 1st the dinners in the OVC have been cut back drastically. There are several topics that discuss this change. You may or may not find what you are looking for at dinner.  We were on the Edge Cruise that began on 1/2/23 and went to the OVC after we finished our dinner in the MDR around 7:30 and the place was almost empty and I would estimate only 25% of the food stations were open. 
 

Here is a video that includes a good description of what the OVC is currently offering at dinner. It’s discussed a little way into the video. 
 

2 hours ago, Cruisegirl6 said:

I also would be disappointed and going on the Beyond in March and agree disappointed with the menu, but lets remember, things are difficult to get, especially for a cruise line that serves thousands of people on each of their ships.  So, I think I be a bit understanding with the cutbacks, just happy I can go again as I  refuse to take the vax.  About the drinks, you can always ask them to mix them better and if they are weak, you can ask for another shot of liquor and put in in your drink.

 

We need to be understanding, we are living in tough times.  The good thing is that you got on that cruise and I am sure putting aside the food and drink issue you are glad you went.

You have got to be kidding!!

Do you think Celebrity should be understanding that my portfolio took a big hit this past year and give me a break on their inflated prices??  
 

14 hours ago, mlbcruiser said:

I noticed next to our Eden reservation on the app it tells the reservation time and in parentheses it says four hours. Does it honestly take four hours to dine there? 😳

The 4 hours refers to the optional  Six Course Tasting Menu. If you are a smaller party, 4 or less, 1.5 to 2 hours is realistic. 

20 hours ago, mlbcruiser said:

With regard to the Eden lounge upstairs, can anyone answer if, in order to have a cocktail in the bar you must have a reservation for dinner to access it?

The lounge/bar area of Eden is available to everyone. It is a great area to enjoy cocktails anytime it is open. Some of the seating areas have chairs that are low to the ground and not the most comfortable. The bar staff of Alex, Victoria and Nemo are great. Give it a try, I think you’ll enjoy it as much as we did. 

We just returned from a cruise on Edge (1/2-1/13). We ate in Eden twice and enjoyed it both times. It sounds like you have been reading about the Eden restaurant from when it first opened and there was a unique show that was interactive and a totally different menu than the current one. The only holdover from the previous iteration of Eden is the drink menu which offers some very “interesting” options. The new/current menu is much more like a regular specialty restaurant with options like fish, chicken, meat.
 

We ate in Eden on two previous cruises when the previous menu and show were taking place and enjoyed those too. The current menu likely appeals to more passengers and eliminating the unique show also expands its appeal to a larger audience. 

There is an acoustic show that takes place in the Eden bar each evening but that is on Deck 5 and the restaurant is on Deck 4. You don’t really hear the music in the restaurant. 
 

One final note. There is a Wine Paring Tasting Menu Option on the current menu that is an additional $100 above and beyond the cover charge you pay and you cannot use your drink package to offset any of the cost. It breaks up your meal into 6 Courses. It uses the exact same menu offerings. Unless you are a real wine connoisseur or have a bunch of onboard credit I don’t see the value. 

 

So I have not read through all of these posts but from what I did read it appears the discussion has morphed from Prime Rib to the virtues or lack there of about Tilapia and every other cruise line except Celebrity.
 

What I can tell you that we were on Eden last week and Prime Rib was on the menu one night and I enjoyed it. 

39 minutes ago, Fivelinks said:

Thanks for providing great information! I am on the next sailing after you and am driving in from Virginia arriving early boarding day. Can you give any insight on boarding processes? They don't have us scheduled to board until 1-1:30 and I'm specifically wondering how strictly that is enforced. I hate the thought of sitting around that long... Also, what dining venues are available when you board? Any other tips and tricks for the Edge are appreciated. Have a great cruise!!

We also drove from VA. They were checking boarding times. We had 11-11:30 and arrived 10 minutes early but they let us enter where we sat and waited until about 12:15 when they started to board in groups based on where you were seated. They did stop allowing people into the waiting area for about 20 minutes because it was full. There were queue lines to enter based on assigned times. A lot may depend on how many passengers are expected. If you get there we’ll before your assigned time the likelihood is you’ll need to wait. 
 

As far as lunch options it’s the OV Cafe, Mast Grill, Le Grand Bistro. Spa Cafe and Eden Cafe were not open. 
 

No real tips other than cruise with an open mind and don’t sweat the small stuff.