Cruise a holic

As shown in this photo, most of the cabins and suites on deck 12 suffer from a rather prominent overhang, shrouding the balconies in perpetual shadow. Deck 12 is the one you can barely see in the photo linked below, behind the white diagonal struts.

 

http://www.motorship.com/__data/assets/image/0008/768959/Celebrity-Reflection.jpg

 

Ouch.

 

We just swapped Aqua Suite 2117 for 2157 for our sailing on the Reflection March 9, since the suites midship apparently get lots and lots of sun. :)[/quote

 

We prefer the shaded areas. Not a fan of sun damage. Nice to dine on a shaded balcony even if is raining

Has anyone had the pleasure of staying in this new suite? The deck plans make it appear irregular in shape but that may just be an anomoly in the drawings and not an actual reflection of the shape of the suite. We were assigned this suite for our upcominng cruise and were just wondering if anyone had any experience in it yet and had any comments on noise, convenience, etc..

Did you ever get any information regarding the Aqua Suite? We are considering upgrading from a AQ cabin. I want to know if it is worth the additional cost. On our upcoming sailing, seems like most are still available. Is that because they are not considered desirable?

Any information that isn't anecdotal would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Hi Iamthesea,

 

The reduced deposits are part of the 123 GO offer, which is currently scheduled to end on 2/18. According the terms and conditions it states the following :

 

 

50% Reduced Deposit Offer applies to new individual bookings made more than 70 days from departure date. Reduced deposits begin Jan 17, 2013. Reduced deposit is not applicable to groups. Reduced deposit must be paid by Feb 18, 2013, unless sailing is within final payment period.

 

I hope this helps.

Andy,

I am scheduled for the 3/23/13 reflection cruise. We are booked in AC and have the beverage package from the 123 special. My question, occasionally if the prices drop we trade up for a suite- would I be able to transfer the package to the upgrade? I deal with a travel agent.

Thanks,

Wendy

Same thing with us It shows up on our TA's invoice, but not on the Celebrity web site. Also, our TA had the original itinerary for our cruise which has changed twice since then. :confused: I noted it to the agent, and finally they fixed that on our invoice. :)

 

We would just like to pay for the upgrade before we sail. We really don't want to take the chance of having a sticker on our cards. These things sometimes fall off! :eek:

We want to upgrade also to the premium beverage- I was told that the cost was $10 pp per day. Do I call celebrity or arrange through my TA? Would also rather pay in advance and avoid stickers

Wow great offer, so if I already booked a cruise for April 2014 and put down a deposit do I need to cancel it completely then rebook it ? The drink package for 2 would be a great incentive to do this.

 

Thanks for sharing.

My husband and I cancelled our original reservation with our TA and rebooked. Everything was the same. The deposit was just moved over and we were fortunate enough to get the free drink package. We also booked 2 additional cruises and were eligible for the special.

Am looking for a cruise on the Reflection to take advantage of the 123 deal. I see that cabins 1547, 1549, 1552, and 1554 are available on some cruises. They are on the angle so I assume that they have a larger balcony, but on the Celebrity website they are listed as having a partial obstructed view. What is the obstruction? I see on pictures that it could be the window washing equipment but it looks as if it would block more of the cabins above and not those listed.

 

Would appreciate input from anyone that had any experience with those cabins.

 

Thanks

Was in cabin 1552 and loved it. The balcony is huge and covered so you can sit on it all times of day without worrying about rain or the sun. Great for dining. Liked it so much, sailing on the reflection in March in the same cabin. Window washing equipment is next door and unless you lean over and look to your right-you do not see it. Great choice for a cabin.

We were there that day too in a beach cabana (Enchantment). One of the best days ever!

We also had the Nellies Beach Cabana and agree- one of the best days!! Great location, easy access to the beach, not many steps and ours, not that we needed it, had a ramp as well as a short staircase- My only negative comment, is bring bug spray as my hubby got insect bites on his feet and legs.

She isn't talking about a regular cabin; once she decided to consider having her sister and brother-in-law come, she started thinking about the family cabin.

 

I just read on a member review that you MUST have five people in order to book the family cabin on the Silhouette.

 

I feel sure it isn't a hoax.

I am of the impression that the silhouette family cabin has two bedrooms. I thought the family was on a different ship. The cost of that cabin is more then the cost of two balcony obstructed view cabins with two bathrooms, more storage capacity etc The op said the cruise was two weeks!

But, you know, I never dress in the bathroom. I shower, brush my teeth, put on a robe, go into the cabin to do my hair and makeup.

 

And, as has been pointed out, the men folk might want to just run down to the gym showers.

Now that this has become five in a room, could the post be a hoax? I would imagine that 5 adults in a regular cabin would not be allowed by Celebrity.

:---o

I say go and make a coffee now... as you will be here for a while!!

 

I can’t thank everyone enough for sharing their opinions and experiences! I have taken it all on board… so to speak…

 

Here’s my reply… in one massive post. Well done if you get to the bottom!!!

 

WHANSAMI

 

You said “We looked for the largest room we could afford. We made sure that there was a place for everything, and that we kept the room neat. Each person had a designated "personal space".”

 

This is probably the most valuable bit of advice given. I’ve seen many many photos of our cabin and have already designated the “drop zones” for everyone’s stuff.

 

I liked your comment about the Negative Nellies too. I guess if I had done this… and it didn’t work out… I would be negative too. I’m sure others are just wanted to stop me from doing what they consider to be crazy.

 

However, you last comment about it being a grand pyjama party… that’s exactly what I’m thinking this will be. The 5 of us have grown so close lately… especially since my sister’s breast cancer. I think all of us recognise that this is an opportunity of a lifetime to do something fantastic together. Sure there may be some hiccups along the way… and we might have to pay off a room attendant to make a sofa bed a bit more comfy… but we’ll deal with it.

 

 

CRUISE A HOLIC

 

You said “I think you might consider another more cost effective cruise if you can. Being together is wonderful, but I still think you need a little space. If you cannot consider another cruise that might be more affordable, just bite the bullet as they say, and drink plenty of cocktails!!”

 

My husband picked the cruise as he liked the number of sea days vs port days. He also liked the idea of going back to Hawaii again. One of the reasons we are married is because we often think the same way and like the same things. So that’s why THIS cruise is the one we picked. It’s also the reason why we are sailing on Celebrity Millennium again. We LOVED it so much! So while there may be more affordable options out there… different cruise line… different cruise… different room set up… this is the best option for us on this cruise. I know Mum is going to LOVE the balcony and will spend a LOT of time out there. My sister and her husband are both on pensions (she has cerebral palsy and her husband is her carer) so this is the best financial option for them. If we could pay for them to come we would… but my brother-in-law is very proud and wouldn’t want to be seen as a charity case. So they are saving their pennies already!!! Oh and the fact that she’s handicapped is NOT an issue when it comes to 5 in a room. She’s very able bodied and just has one weak side and a limp due to that. She is THE MOST EXCITED out of the 5 of us and so even if I said she had to sleep on the floor with no pillow she’d be thrilled just to be on the ship.:D

 

 

LOIS R

 

You said “I agree with the previous poster...only you know your family.......”

 

I remember you!!! I think you gave me the review on 7049 that convinced me we’d picked the right cabin for our honeymoon!!! And yes, you are right… I do know my family and I’m 99% sure we will all be fine in one room. All 3 of the family coming with us will be so happy to get this cruise at this price (particularly Mum) that I doubt we’ll have any conflict at all. So that 1% is all I’m leaving open to prove me wrong. I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes.

 

 

NEILLRR

 

You said “FORGET IT... I would rather not go...These cabins are relatively small and three is a BIG crowd... If I had my mother or mother-in-law in the cabin with us I would throw myself overboard.”

 

Yes but if you had MY mother in the cabin, you would not! I’m not saying this just because she’s my Mum… but she is one of the most beautiful, friendly, selfless people I know. She would do anything for anyone. Right now she’s trying to think who she can invite for Christmas dinner so they won’t be home alone.

 

 

HAWAIIDAN

 

I did love your post. You said too much to quote as I have done above… but the comment about the movie/book deal for the neon-lit disaster ahead made me laugh out loud. :D One point you did raise that I will investigate is the onboard account. If we can’t separate based on re-programming the room cards… then I’ll come up with a solution. I don’t see it as a big issue though. Just a detail to sort out beforehand… that’s all. So thank you for the heads up!!

 

 

LSIMON

 

I read your post with interest because I think you have stayed in this very cabin haven’t you (or one very similar)? I’ve seen your photos prior to your post also. Thank you a million for taking so many detailed pictures!!!

 

My biggest concern is the comfort of the sofa beds. A friend that cruised with us said the single sofa bed was fine (and she’s very discerning). I know from experience that pull out sofa beds aren’t normally known for their comfort. If it turns out they aren’t comfortable we’ll work something out. I think we might pick up a blow up mattress in Hawaii just in case.

 

I’m not too worried about the size of the bathroom for 5 people. We just need to plan ahead for times where we might all need it at the same time. So if there’s dinner and a show we want to see one night… we will start the shower cycle in the afternoon. Make up can be done anywhere (note to self… pack decent mirrors for doing make up on balcony). At least we won’t have the worry of running out of hot water!!!

 

The lack of privacy isn’t too much of a worry. I guess I’m thinking that for 18 nights of holiday fun a few sacrifices or inconveniences are acceptable. Once we get into the room we can quickly work out how things will flow. i.e., I’m happy to use pyjamas for 18 nights… :eek:

 

Switching to 2 inside cabins will cost about $800 more and won’t completely solve the sofa bed problem. Also, it takes away what I think will be the best part… the balcony. I can see us all sitting out there eating breakfast… sunbaking… reading… talking… partying with newfound friends… watching sailaways… etc etc.

 

 

FLECKLE

 

You said “If you really want to have 5 adults in a FV cabin, you would be much, much better off picking one of the S-class ships instead of the Millennium.”

 

I did look at the S class ships… but my husband thought being at the front of the ship would be too much movement and thought it would be out of our price range. Also, the balcony (which is where we will spend most of our “at home” time) seems to be so much smaller.

 

 

NOTHRIVER

 

I’m sure I’ll read your post again when we get home and think “Wow… she was right”. But it comes down to affordability… and planning… and organisation. Knowing all of this before we go means we’ll be able to be aware of the pitfalls and work to avoid them. From my one cruise worth of experience… I don’t think we’ll be spending too much time in the cabin. The balcony is where we’ll be until we go to bed… and then we’ll just have to be considerate when moving around. There’s plenty to do anywhere you look on the ship so I’m sure we’ll get into a routine after a few days. Either stay out… hit the balcony… or go to bed.

 

 

MOYERCLAN

 

You said “Mom deserves the respect that giving her space and privacy affords her. She'd probably be quite fine in a cheaper interior room to sleep, change, bathe and just not have to talk to anyone. Then she could come enjoy your balcony as desired.”

 

I know Mum… she will spend 95% of her awake cabin time on the balcony. If she was staying in an inside cabin and borrowing our balcony… she would not. She stayed with me at home once for a few months… and she spent all her free time sitting in our screened BBQ area doing crossword puzzles or reading. She will LOVE LOVE LOVE this balcony and it’s availability to her as it’s in HER cabin. The fact that she’s sharing that cabin with us will not be an issue. It’s not about a lack of respect… it’s about enjoyment of a once in a lifetime opportunity.

 

 

PHOENIX DREAM

 

You said “Personally, I would cancel a cruise before I would put 5 adults into an FV cabin. They are very comfortable for three, but having sailed in them multiple times I cannot imagine cramming 5 adults in there.”

 

I do hear what you are saying… but the 5 of us do get on exceptionally well. That’s my only defence when I read your post. I hope I’m able to give you a positive review when we come home.

 

 

RUNNERANDME

 

I loved your post. You and I seem to think the same way. I do believe it’s all about how much planning and organisation goes into it beforehand. That will make it a better experience. I loved your comment “I learned to take more money and less clothes”. My husband and I will pack differently next time. We did take way more than we needed (he’s a bit of a “just in case” person). Also, what isn’t likely to be used will be left in the suitcase and stowed under the bed. The private hallway leading to the cabin has room for 2 suitcases I think… so what doesn’t fit under the bed will go there nicely. We’ll be getting the mini bar emptied… and as much as the ice bucket was a nice gesture the last time… we didn’t use it... so it will go too.

 

 

CRUISECRASY

 

You mentioned the word “elderly” and “mobility issues” in one sentence – presumably referring to my mother. I’ll be sure not to show her your post :D She may be 70 but she’s recently lost 50 pounds and swims/walks every day! She ain’t your typical 70 year old… just as she ain’t your typical mother/mother-in-law!!!

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

WOW... you are still reading?!?!

 

 

Thanks everyone for sharing your thoughts with me... good and bad. I've tried to be realistic in my responses. I'm not usually one to shove their head in the sand.

 

 

4 more sleeps until we tell her!!! I might have to set up the camera to do some video and share the experience with you all. That might be what I do in the next 4 days... work out how I can do that on here! :confused:

Have a ball! Enjoy!

OK the deposit isn't paid yet... but for an extra $1500 we can add 2 more people and get a family verandah cabin.

 

5 in one cabin... albeit a family cabin... does anyone know what that's like?

 

My first thought goes to cycling 5 people through one bathroom!

 

I know as soon as I tell my sister what we're doing for Mum... she will want to join us. So I checked on the cheapest inside cabins... and it would be $4500 ish

 

But then I thought about the family cabin. So to be able to add them to my booking for just an extra $1500 makes this one very difficult decision. My sister has had the worst 12 months of her life lately... with breast cancer... so this would be a huge opportunity for them.

 

 

 

Oh God...

 

I"m just waiting to find out availability before I do anything else!

I think it is great that you are so caring about your sister. About two years ago, my brother, eldest sister and I decided we wanted to all take a vacation together. We realize that we aren't getting any younger and it might be fun to just be "kids" again ( albeit over 50! ) and life is getting shorter everyday! We are each married with families and careers, but decided to take a cruise for a week without our spouses. Since price was an issue, we decided on a reasonably priced Carnival Cruise. We were able to take one of the cheapest balcony cabins, for my sister and I, and a small inside cabin for my brother. His cabin was listed as a single, and the same size actually as other inside cabins. We didn't even know that some carnival ships have a handful of single inside cabins. It was a trip of a lifetime! We all had a ball and were kids at heart for one week! I think you might consider another more cost effective cruise if you can. Being together is wonderful, but I still think you need a little space. If you cannot consider another cruise that might be more affordable, just bite the bullet as they say, and drink plenty of cocktails!!

Good luck!

I'm watching this thread very closely because I too am acting as a "chaperone" to my wife and her mother on their "girls weekend" cruise on the Constellation in a few weeks. My wife feels more comfortable with me along while traveling and I figured "What the heck?". Why should she be able to take a wonderful X cruise! :)

 

We're staying in a concierge calls room and I'll be sleeping on the pull out coach. I'm not a huge guy (5' 11") and I can sleep just about anywhere so I'm not too worried about it. Plus we've all stayed together in a very small camper several times so it's nothing new.

 

I do have a question however. Does anyone know if it is possible to buy an unused stateroom once the cruise is already underway? I am worried that we may be more crammed in that we expected and it would be nice to have the option of buying a cheap inside stateroom if necessary.

When on board, you can purchase or upgrade your stateroom if one is available for the regular rate No special discounts. If you go during a popular vacation time chances of getting any cabin is very slim. Perhaps best to consider before your cruise Maybe if you call the cruise line you can get a guarantee inside for a good price before the cruise date.

My adult daughter slept on the sofa bed in a Celebrity Suite, and thought it was very comfortable. 3 adults to one bathroom was much more of an issue for us than the beds were. :)

 

Another nice thing about a CS is that the bedroom is a separate room from the living room/sleeper sofa, so privacy is possible.

however for the cost of a cs suite, you could easily get two balcony cabins and have two bathrooms and privacy The millineum class Cs suites require a walk throught the bedroom to use a bathroom so privacy is still a problem.

I wouldn't like to share the same MDR with my mother let alone a cabin.:D

If she reads your post! your in trouble!

We have just returned from almost 3 weeks on Millennium (our honeymoon). We sailed from Hawaii to Sydney and loved it so much we are thinking of doing something similar next November (same start/end… different ports in between).

 

My Mum turns 70 in April so my new husband thought it would be nice to take her with us next time! Yes he’s an exceptional husband and she’s not your average mother-in-law!

 

So my question is… has anyone slept on the sofa beds on Millennium?

 

We were in cabin 7049 – with a larger triangular balcony – and we’d happily share the same cabin with my Mum, but I won’t do it unless I know she will be comfortable.

 

I’m thinking we might be better off with a bigger cabin… so she can have a normal bed… but I’m sure that will put it out of our price range.

 

Has anyone done 3 in a cabin? If so, do you mind sharing your experience?

 

Thanks!!! :)

I am sure that your mother in law has a great relationship with you, however I would "assume" that a young couple as well as a Sr. Citizen would like privacy. If my husband and I were sailing, with my mum, I would prefer two inside adjoining cabins if my budget was an issue. That would afford you privacy including two bathrooms. On the solstice class ships they are really nice. If you can afford two window or balcony cabins, even better. I would bet the cost would be less then a small suite and much more comfortable

The sofa bed or bunk are not comfortable for anybody but a small child.

miched, if you have a suite, you do not have to pay extra to dine in Blu. The only restriction for dining in Blu, is that the AQ class has first choice, but we never had a problem dining in Blu.

 

Rick

We had a celebrity suite on our last Summit cruise. Dined in Blu and yes, they never charged us additional and always had room for us. I have used the Persian Garden on the Solstice class ships also, and no biggie- wasn't what I had anticipated. Probably will not use it again, regardless of the ship.

Thanks for all the feedback and I think we are going to splurge and og for the Sky Suite. 6145 is available on our sailing - in looking through the boards here, I see a lot of nice things written about 6146. Is 6145 identical or are there differences?

While I am a fan of Aqua Class, the suite is much nicer and you can also dine in Blu. Either suite above is fine. The Persian Garden isn't worth $25. per day- we never use it perhaps others do. It is small with a few lounges.

We are going to be booking this suite later today and quite excited after seeing all the photos. Just want to be sure about this room as opposed to another sky suite.

 

Is it a problem only having the one glass door and not the larger patio ones giving more light and view? I am thinking the lovely room makes up for that.

 

Also re the loungers which I would like, do you ask your stateroom host to get some when you get to the room or do you have to ask before the cruise?

 

Many thanks.

Somebody who was recently in the cabin had posted a review. I saw pics of this cabin also- google it- and it looks wonderful! The cabin has plently of light- The best part of the cabin is that it has a huge bathroom. Much nicer then other typical sky suites. It has double sinks, is marble- a stall shower and a large jetted bathtub. Also, since you are in "suite alley" supposedly you have the best butler and cabin attendants. I was supposed to stay in that suite in a few weeks, but upgraded to a celebrity suite. Based upon my research, you should have a beautiful cabin. Enjoy your trip

:)Yes- we upgraded to a celebrity suite. Hope to meet you on the cruise!

I'd have sworn that the new AquaClass cabins on Deck 11 are identical to the Concierge Class cabins as they have always been designed/sized on Millennium Class ships... In fact, I was amazed at how closely they were replicated right down to the last detail...

While I agree that the drawer space is limited, on the Equinox and Solstice they had a large cabinet above the bed which was very useful for clothes and other items. Also, the bed was slightly higher, and suit cases and large items also could be tucked under it. If you can afford it- their is nothing like a suite!

I "assume" that the summit also has this above the bed cabinet.

Pretty experienced cruisers /First time cruisers on Celebrity......

 

We are looking for a change, and we need your help! The Celebrity Summit to Bermuda looks good to us, but we are having a tough time deciding which category of cabin would be best for us. Vacation planners at Celebrity haven't been exactly helpful in our choice of cabins! CC posters have always been SO helpful that I thought I'd ask here....

 

We love the Aft cabins best, but are also open to mid-ship. I think I can safely say we'd be interested in the Aqua cabins, a Sky Suite, or a Celebrity Suite.

 

If you could have your choice of cabin on the Summit (category and placement on ship), what would you choose??? Please include why....

 

Thanks to you all for your responses. We need all the help we can get. We'll be booking in the next day or so.

I was on the summit (going again) and had a cabin on the deck below the pool. It was near the middle and we really weren't bothered by any noise. If you can, try to get a cabin that is positioned with cabins above as some people have complained about noise with the pool above. I highly recommend aqua class. You get many perks, including priority boarding and dining at Blu which is really nice. We have dined in Blu on the Solstice class ships previously. Dining in Blu is like having dinner in a fine restaurant every night, rather then at a wedding reception. I must say however, based on our last Summit cruise, the main dining room on had excellent service.

Ironically, we are again traveling on the Summit in a suite in August. We will not be assigned to Blu, but might pay additional to have dinner in Blu $5.00 pp. I believe if you are in a suite and their is availability no problem.

Just trying to make sure I understand this correctly, my wife and I are heading on Eclipse this summer and she's a big coffee drinker. She likes better coffee so from what I've read she'll be wanting coffee(latte and mochas particularly) from the Cafe al Bacio with regularity. If we get the Classic Non-Alcoholic package, will these drinks be covered on the package? Or do I need to get the Premium version? Fortunately, neither of are drinkers so I'll be fine with the soda package, but coffee is not an optional thing for her.

 

Thanks for your help.

Since I am also a big coffee drinker- I take the non alcoholic package which includes: unlimited soda, bottled water, coffees, teas and all of the speciality non-alcoholic drinks- such as smoothies, etc. My husband likes premium H20 so he takes the higher end package above- We like the idea of having unlimited nonalcoholic beverages. While we typical limit our choices to Lattes, soda, water and good teas- Do not want to drink the high calorie smoothies!

I do see people "sharing" drinks or going to multiple bars for soda and giving a drink to a member in their party- tacky but you can do it.

We are so excited to be sailing in this cabin on 8/12/12! It truly looks beautiful and hopefully, being so close to the front will not have too much movement!:)

I plan on buying the premium non alcoholic package. I am wondering if anyone knows if I'm allowed to go to different bars to get a few bottles of water to keep in stateroom. Thank you.

You can take the beverage ( or bottled water) with you to your cabin if you have the package. We also were able to take large premium water bottles off the ship for shore excursions included in the beverage package. We always asked that they empty the cabin fridge and filled with our water and canned soda that was included in the package- You can pick up at most bars on the ship and bring with you all over the ship or ashore. :)