rM3panno

28 minutes ago, schuddle said:

Can anyone confirm whether Millenium suites (post Revolutionization) still get Bvlgari/Bulgari amenities?  I know it seems silly to some people, but there are those among us who care deeply about this...  

 Not 💯 but I believe all suites on X ships except edge now have CO bigelow.

We are with you though, we sail on Summit on 8/3 and wish they were still there. Will be on my comment card. For some reason I have always disliked CO bigelow products.

27 minutes ago, lorimay said:

I just got off the Burmuda sailing on the Summit yesterday. Didn't want to do a full review but here are a few observations.

 

Embarkation at Cape Liberty was really quick but there didn't appear to be any priority embarkation except for suites.

 

We were in Concierge class and if we had not known about the embarkation lunch in advance we would not have been informed. On previous cruises we have received information about the lunch before boarding - but because we had checked in online and the way they check your documents there is no "desk" or any documentation to give you.

 

I really, really loved the revolutionized decor in the ship. And I am NOT a millennial (or younger). The colors are clean and contemporary and the ship looks new. There are a couple of things I didn't think were perfect - the MDR is a little "under" decorated - needs a little more "bling" to make it special. Also, don't know who chose the pink and blue chairs in the  Oceanview buffet, but they are already filthy. Dark marks, fingerprints, etc.  However, the cabin decor and new furniture was great. I'm not sure where anyone got the idea that there is less storage in the revolutionized cabins. If anything there is more storage. We had plenty of room for lots of clothes and still had empty drawers and shelves. I particularly liked the glass fronted shelves - easy to see what's in there and there was lots of room. The bathrooms are great too - seems like (I know they aren't) bigger - shower was great and it was not hard to get in and close the door even though the door swings into the shower. Lots of storage in the bathroom. And I liked the backlighted mirror at the desk - it was huge. Balcony furniture was about the same as we had on Infinity earlier this year. We did NOT have the armless wooden chairs. We had two mesh reclining lounge chairs (no footstools) and a small table in between.

 

The captain and crew on this ship are phenomenal. Best and happiest crew by far out of any cruise we have been on. And Captain Ioannis (Yanni) was everywhere - every event, getting on and off the ship. We mentioned how happy the crew seemed to be to the cruise director, Rich, and he said it was because they really like the captain and the hotel manager Danuta and that they are treated very well.

 

Had Select dining but had made the reservations in advance. We never had to wait but it was a full cruise and the line without reservations was sometimes very long. Our MDR waiter was Cedric and assistant waiter Santosh. Cedric was the best waiter we have ever had on any cruise. The head waiter told us they put the best waiters in Select since it is more difficult to serve so many people at different stages of meals than at fixed dining. The other waiters around us seemed very good also.

 

We were in Concierge 8167, which is across from a crew door - behind which is the staff elevators. This cabin was extremely noisy as they pulled loaded carts for room service across the bump in the doorway. Not the cabin for you if you are sensitive to noise.

 

Food was a let down. As long as you stuck the recommendations in the MDR you were ok, but a lot of other things were not great. Our waiter was great about telling us what not to eat. Went to Tuscan Grille one night and overall the food was good (I thought the pastas and appetizers were very good). My ribeye steak was decent - although the prime rib in the MDR was better - but my husband had the flank steak and it was truly inedible. We knew what the cut of meat was, but first they brought it out undercooked (rare instead of medium) and then it was so tough he couldn't cut it. The waiter (fantastic Rodrigo) finally brought him a filet mignon which was very good. Oceanview food was much worse on this ship than on Infinity a few months ago. You could find decent things, but the general steam table food was just not great. Also, the ship was full but there's no excuse for there to be no lettuce and salad dressing in the salad bar and that happened every single time we were there. They were obviously understaffed because many times tables were not bused, food was not replenished in the buffet, and you had to hunt down silverware.

 

Entertainment was decent. The fly in group Uptown was fantastic. If you ever get a chance don't miss them. The production singers and dancers were decent, but like all the shows on cruise ships the singers seem to have trouble with some of the notes. Dancers were good and acrobats were very good (although why they are in production numbers I will never know). The comedians were good but the second one, Dave Walker, was so much better than the first. You can always tell a lousy comedian when they laugh at their own jokes and lose their pacing. The "orchestra" was very talented. The small band "Ultraviolet" had great musicians but the female singer was just awful. You can always find something to do but don't expect to be busy every second of the day. I would say younger people might be a little bored. There were several Beyond the Podium presentations and the captain gave a fascinating talk on how the ship is run.

 

I'll be happy to answer any questions I can. Overall a good cruise on a great ship.

 

 

Thanks, we board this Sunday, 8/3 and will be in a suite but in any onboard restaurant we always find its best to go with the staffs recommendations.

1 hour ago, tkline said:

So, we booked an Iceland & Ireland cruise for next year. We have an issue with our flights though, the only ones available have us leaving Philadelphia the day before at around 6:30 PM, and arriving there in Ireland a little after 8 AM local time. (we also checked NYC and times were similar). It’s a 6+ hour flight. We called Celebrity and they said we won’t be able to start boarding the ship until around 4 PM. So we are going to have around 7 hours to kill, with luggage in tow. I’m also a bit worried that when we arrive it will feel like 1-2 AM for me, and we’ll be too tired to want to do anything. I don’t know if it’s worth it to get a hotel room just for a few hours. If we did some kind of bus tour, I'd probably fall asleep.

 

Have you ever had a long wait before you could board your ship? What did you to do kill the time?

Check your bags at a hotel, Ireland has so many nice people and I I don’t think it would be much of an issue with a tip.

Whether you are a beer drinker or not then head straight to the Guinness experience. It truly is a neat and well done tour. Lines can be long but the view from the top observation bar is beautiful.

2 hours ago, Mynki said:

 

You're talking about exceptions and not the rule. You just don't see many people in that age group in Luminae or MC etc. I'm not sure that X would be the first choice cruise line for many twenty somethings either, regardless of how much disposable income they have. Take a look at the videos of X ships on Youtube and you'll see the vast majority of passengers are much older. 

I think this is more nuanced than most people will dive into. Maybe the majority of Celebrity cruisers are older but I think that is currently changing. In general, I would say most cruise lines have an older demographic than the overall traveling population.

I grew up cruising on Celebrity and now cruise with my wife and children almost exclusively on X. We have friends that have the money to cruise in suites with us but prefer land vacations/luxury all inclusive resorts. Ultimately, the traveler and their whole family have to like cruising (I.e. not get seasick) for it to work.

We are millennials and see more people in our age group each time we cruise. I think the 2008 recession really delayed the disposable income generation of many people our age. I believe we will see the affects of that start to fade as their careers and families grow.

21 minutes ago, DebInAntigua said:

 

Hopefully you’ll also remove said toddler if they start to be noisy or fussy? In Blu or any other cruise restaurant, it’s not nice to have one’s relaxing vacation dinner ruined by noisy children (whose parents are often so used to the din that they don’t realize how disruptive their darling is being for everyone else). 

Good grief. This place is not a parenting forum. ShipMonster came here to discuss the refurb and posit some legitimate questions. Somehow the sleuths here have uncovered a change to occupancy policy in AQ cabins and that he is also going to disrespect the other diners in Blu.

ShipMonster correctly pointed out that everyone took it upon themselves to find out how he had 3 guests in AQ. As a frequent cruiser with 2 children under 4 I may be overly sensitive but it gets old hearing how no one wants their meal or cruise ruined by some unruly children. In my experience the adults are more poorly behaved than any children I have seen on Celebrity.

13 hours ago, Oville said:

My understanding is that only suites guest have access to the lounge, Zeniths do not.  If I’m incorrect, someone please clarify.  Thanks

Last I checked:

Only suite passengers have access to the Retreat sun deck. 

Suite passengers, Captain’s Club Zenith members, Blue Chip Sapphire and Ruby level members, and certain VIP’s have access to the Retreat Lounge (formerly Michael’s Club/Lounge).

1 hour ago, WestLakeGirl said:

zenith and VIP passengers

And Sapphire and Ruby level guests with Blue Chip Club.

Any pictures of a Royal Suite?

6 minutes ago, missingyou said:

Where can I find the menu for the main dining room for the Summit for the 7 day cruise to Bermuda?  Wondering if anyone had pictures of the menu or if it is listed anywhere.

 

Thanks in advance!  We will be on the July 28 sailing.

Download the Celebrity app for your phone if you have a smartphone. The me is for each day at each restaurant is posted once the reservation is loaded in your app. You can see day by day what will be offered in each restaurant.

I called on this exact topic last week. The Captains Club rep confirmed with a supervisor as we were both finding conflicting information. They had originally planned to integrate LPC with Qsine on Summit and Millenium but have opted not to do so at this time. They had no news on future changes. 

We were honestly a little bummed as our sons 4th birthday will be on Summit this August and thought he would have loved it for that evening.

1 hour ago, WestLakeGirl said:

Not required.  You don’t even have to chck in on line at all.  Do it all at the terminal.

Technically true so I will rephrase my original response.

It wasn’t required but we always complete check in online and show up with our Express Pass in hand. It was required when checking in in order to get their system to generate the Express Pass.

26 minutes ago, SSAtlantic said:

We are on Infinity in a month. I have completed our on line check-in a few weeks ago. Friends traveling with us are attempting to complete but are  being asked for photos. Is this new or is she doing something wrong? I believe Edge asks for photos but she said that is not what she did.

Thanks

It was required to complete check in for our August cruise on Summit.

Thanksgiving week of 2016, just about 2 weeks after the 2016 presidential election we sailed with Reince Priebus and his family on the Reflection. If I recall correctly,  his family was able to take the whole trip but he couldn’t get away from then President elect Trump’s campaign requirements until several days into the cruise. We saw them in Michael’s Club and several restaurants. They were very nice and said they had been traveling on Celebrity cruises over thanksgiving week for several years.

1 hour ago, jcpc said:

"Special Delivery" bag drop off (for PH and RS only) is located in dropoff Area #6 (right in front of the entrance door to the terminal).  You will see a "Special Delivery" sign on the sidewalk.  Once you enter the terminal, Suite passengers are directed to the left of the security line and you will proceed through Security.  After Security the Suite/Zenith Check-in Area is to your left - all the way to the end of the terminal and right in front of the door to embark the ship. As soon as the ship is ready for boarding the Retreat (i.e. Michael's Club) Concierge will greet all the suite people and escort them en mass onto the ship.  If you arrive a bit later after they have begun the embarkation process, my experience is that after check-in the RS and PH suite passengers will be personally escorted onboard the ship and into The Retreat Lounge (formerly Michael's Club).  Lunch will be available in Luminae from approximately 11:30 am to 1:30 pm.

Thank you so much for all of the details!

90% of the time we sail in sky suites and our last Royal Suite was in 2016 departing from Amsterdam. It was either before the new suite amenities or right after the rollout but the boarding process there was terrible. We waited in an insane line out of the building until we got our keys at which point they realized we were in a Royal suite and the whole process changed. The onboard experience was unforgettable though and we look forward to experience it again!

We are fortunate to have 2 Royal suites booked this year but the 2nd is on the Equinox over thanksgiving. Hopefully the rooms get freshened up a bit with the altered drydock schedule.

It is Luminae and Tuscan Grille for us. The burrata, charcuterie, filet mignon, and chicken parmigiana are some of the best dishes on the ship.

We have sailed out of Cape Liberty only once before and my memory is foggy.

 What is suite class check in like at Cape Liberty? Is there a separate bag drop and entrance or just the line marked for suite class once you enter the terminal?

Headed to Bermuda in August in a Royal suite!

I won’t really recommend one over the other as we have sailed on both with family and both are great! 

Equinox is a beautiful ship and we will be on her again this Thanksgiving but we sailed the Edge over the past New Year and I think it is a great mix for all ages. The Kids club on X always treats our son like royalty and he loves it. The Edge has some unique areas which I think benefit the Kids club as it gives them some great places to play. For the adults, the Edge definitely shows it’s newness and overall feels like a swanky hotel more than a cruise ship. Either way, I think you will love it. We are Celebrity loyalists and have cruises since we were kids and now our kids go and enjoy it as well. You may see mixed reviews but we feel Celebrity has a great blend of activities and the fewer children allows for more staff supervision and interaction.

27 minutes ago, TheBigBean said:

Thanks for the replies.

 

Empty lounges are ok, but they are quite hard work as a parent as there are lots of tempting things to be thrown about e.g. menus, ornaments. I was really hoping there would be some sort of soft play area such as those often seen in airports.

 

rM3panno - what did you do before you had access to the kids clubs? And, am I right in thinking my son won't be able to play there even if he is accompanied?

 

 

 

My wife and I would take him everywhere with us. Dinner, specialty restaurants, pool, etc. We would also take turns if one needed a break. 

In room babysitting has been hit or miss for us since the first cruise we took him on. When available it is great if you want a date night. $19/hr for 2 staff members in your room.

While the Baltic isn’t usually the most pool friendly itinerary we had our son potty trained right around 2.5 and the pool was a good distraction.

4 hours ago, TheBigBean said:

We are thinking of booking the Northern Europe cruise on Silhouette, and wondered what activities our 2.5 year old may be able to do. It seems that he wont't be allowed in the pool (not potty trained) and is too young for the kids club. The website mentions Toddler Time, but that is only "select times". Is there a general play area I can take him any time of day?

The alternative is a Cunard cruise which seems to better for toddlers, but has its own downsides.

 

 

We are Celebrity loyalists and our older son (3.5 years old) has been on 5 cruises. The latest cruise was the first he was old enough to go to the kids club and it made a huge difference in our trip. He loved it and we had some nice windows of time where we could do our own non kid activities. Having most recently done the Baltic in 2016, he was only 1 at the time and stayed with grandparents. That itinerary would be a little too long and port intensive for us if he didn’t have the kids club.

2 hours ago, jelayne said:

No April Fools joke.  On the Eclipse sailed from San Antonio on the 24th.

 

I didn’t mention alcohol or look close enough at price/inclusions to see if they  included alcohol.  I did see that price for canapés  started at $12pp.   I was shocked that the first thing the Suite Manager did was pull out a price list so  I quickly said no thanks.  

Are you referring to guests in the Retreat Lounge or in your suite? It sounds like they are referring to the lounge and you your actual suite stateroom.

Personally this topic doesn’t really bother me as I have a 3.5 year old who has been on 4 Celebrity cruises and is almost always well behaved. When he isn’t we leave or take a short walk. We have found the staff to be very accommodating in every venue, we typically sail in suites so he has fined in Tuscan, Fine Cut, Luminae, Blu, Sushi on 5, Lawn Club Grille, and Murano and have been treated well by the staff in every venue. There are the occasional glares when people can’t understand why our child is dining with us. We are of the opinion that he is well behaved because we have taken him everywhere since he was born and has a healthy understanding of appropriate behavior in different environments. The staff in Blu was enamored with him because they so rarely see children there. We have a baby due this week as well and plan on taking them wherever we go regardless if other diners approve or not. We will monitor their behavior and if required remove ourselves from the restaurant. I find toddlers and infants less annoying than belligerent adults drinking too much on the drink package.

Lastly, we do enjoy a date night in the cruise as well and while we used to have great luck in availability for in room babysitting it has been increasingly difficult to impossible as staff are stretched thinner and X requires 2 staff to be in the room at all times. On our last sailing at New Years on the Edge we had no nights that in room sitters were available but our son was now old enough to go to the Fun Factory and he absolutely loved it.

Bermuda is not like your typical Caribbean stop. It is sub tropical and their primary source of income is not tourism like almost every Caribbean stop. The British influence is more apparent in Bermuda than old territories in the Caribbean. You will find Bermuda a pleasant mix of America and Britain on an island. People are friendly, beaches are beautiful and you aren’t constantly being asked to buy some trinket. We went 2 years ago for the America’s Cup and loved it. Booked on the 8/4/19 this year and we can’t wait.

2 minutes ago, orchestrapal said:

 

Link did to work for me either.

 I have searched in every combination of those words with no success.

It appears the issue is that the photos are posted in the closed Celebrity Captain’s Club group. You have to be a member of that group to see the photos.

7 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Not sure I'm allowed to do this based on CC rules but give it a try.

 

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10205916284304316&set=pcb.2295015107451044&type=3&theater&ifg=1

Any chance you could tell us what you searched for on facebook? I tried Millenium and celebrity Millenium and revolution and royal suite but no luck. The link you posted doesn’t seem to work.

I haven’t ordered for myself off of the kids menu but have tasted several of the dishes from my 3.5 year olds dishes. The filet mignon is consistently one of the better steaks on Celebrity in any restaurant. The spaghetti, Mac and cheese, and fish sticks are also favorites of our little man.