lhsail

A few years ago, when people asked us what our favorite cruise line was, we would say Princess. And, we have also given RCI a chance lately taking advantage of the ability to sail out of Galveston. We're now total Celebrity fans after having come back to them for several cruises in the past few years. We find the food and beverage options superior on Celebrity. Especially as compared to RCI. Although we enjoy an occasional dinner in Murano on the S class ships, we're perfectly happy with the MDR. We're wine drinkers and the selections are definitely better on Celebrity, plus they have wine stewards/stewardesses that are actually knowledgeable. Balcony cabins on Celebrity are bigger than the standard balcony on Princess and you always get at least a love seat and a small table. We are in our mid-60s and prefer the demographics on Celebrity. Not nearly as many kids as are on RCI and we've been on Princess cruises when we've felt like the youngest on the ship. Celebrity is more upscale than RCI without being stuffy. The staff is always attentive and fun. We have two Princess cruises planned and will continue to take short RCI cruises out of Galveston, but we'll be back on Celebrity ASAP.

I’m sure the balcony cabins are fine. Just not many of them, they sell out quickly and are priced significantly higher than they were on the Adventure. I totally understand it’s a supply and demand issue.

Don’t mind that the ship doesn’t have all the bells and whistles. My frustration is the lack of balcony cabins, and therefore the relative cost compared what was available on the Adventure.

We’ve been on several Celebrity cruises in the past few months and have been very happy with their food and beverage offerings. We do always upgrade to their Premium beverage package. We have some significant FCC to use up on Princess, but Celebrity is winning us over.

We could be satisfied with Decoy Merlot and Rodney Strong Cab, but they are both currently at the top end.

Just looked at some of the wines on the current bar menus. I’ll be shocked if there are not price increases putting those we would prefer over the $12 limit. As we don’t care for any of the other offerings in the Premium package, I’m hoping paying the difference per glass works in our favor.

We booked the Southbridge. A good mix of location, amenities and price for this trip. Plan to drive up to St. Helena the day we fly into SFO and back to San Fran the day we sail. Thanks to all for your input.

Spent a lot of time on the Summit last year and and tried all the specialty restaurants. We have not had very good luck with Tuscan Grill and our experience was the same on the Summit. In addition, it’s on the interior of the ship, not the beautiful aft view as on the S class. Le Petite Chef was entertaining and the food was very good. For us a one and done. Our favorite was Sushi on 5. Are there several times, especially for lunch. We were very pleased with the food in the Main Dining Room.

Thank you. Like that it’s within walking distance of lots of places.

Thank you for the great information. Many years ago we stayed at the Foothill House a few times. Calistoga is a beautiful area, kind of looking to try something different this time. We are taking the Ruby Princess through the Panama Canal into Galveston. We’ll be dropping our car off at the Hertz location at Fisherman’s Wharf.

Appreciate all the recommendations. I have to admit I’m shocked at the prices given the fact we’re looking at late November/early December (after Thanksgiving) and weeknights. Thinking St. Helena might be a good match for us if we decide on Napa vs. Sonoma. Does anyone know anything about the Southbridge Inn?

I have called twice and been on hold so long I had to hang up. Very frustrating. But, it will pay for the drink package upgrade once I finally get through.

Hope this isn’t too far off topic. We are sailing out of San Francisco in early December. Looking to spend a few nights in Napa Valley before cruising. Many years ago we stayed in Calistoga every fall, but haven’t been back in many years. Two questions. One, what area of Napa Valley would you recommend? Two, do we need to move to San Francisco the night before sailing? (FYI, we’re not interested in spending our son’s inheritance on lodging 😄)

Thank you all for the information.

Appreciate the information. At this point we don’t have another cruise with Celebrity that has not already been paid in full. And, I have another credit card I use more for paying off cruises as it has travel insurance attached to it.

But, a lot of fun!

We took the card out when booking an additional week while onboard last summer. Agree that it’s benefits are not very good. Will not be renewing.

Interesting that I would need to make a call in addition to requesting online. Not very efficient.

I did it on the bank’s website.

Requested OBC from my Celebrity credit card for a July cruise a few weeks ago. It is not showing up in My Account. Can someone with experience tell me when I will see this? Want to use it to upgrade the beverage package with our 10% Elite discount (at the new price!).

We have been on nine cruises since August. Not once have we felt like our cabin steward put us at risk. This is an airborne virus and there will be many more exposures than your cabin being cleaned.

Just want to say “thank you” to those that have posted their experiences. We have a 21-day European cruise with Princess for which final payment is just around the corner. We have decided not to move forward. Although the chances of any of these scenarios is slim, we feel it would not be the same with all this hanging over us. We’ll keep cruising closer to home. To those who are working through this, prayers. For those who are moving forward with their travel plans, I truly wish you nothing but smooth sailing.

Completely different from the FV on the Solstice class. Had a FV on the Summit for several cruises last summer and fall. Totally spoiled? Afraid once occupancy picks up booking an FV will become more difficult.

Don’t know when you’re sailing. Think you have to be a party of five to able to book initially. In March we had a chance to do a Move Up bid for a FV on the Reflection. We pulled our bid, but for a family with kids would definitely consider it.

As am I. We have cruised with Celebrity seven times since August departing from either St. Maarten or Fort Lauderdale. We have always used “days” as a guideline, not “hours” and have never had a problem. Maybe European departures are different.