cybx

Hi all. My wife and I would like to do the Mystery Dinner Theater one night on our upcoming cruise. We'd like to do it without our two children (ages 4 and 6). Unfortunately the dinner starts at 6:30pm while childcare closes at 5pm and doesn't open again until 7pm. Do we have any other options to cover 630-700p?

Overall I think Edge looks great so far. But I'm not sure about those infinite verandas. It feels more like a bigger room with a giant window you can open or close, rather than an balcony. The walls go right up to the edge of the ship and it just looks a touch claustrophobic when compared to a traditional balcony.

 

Which reminds me of another question. In the event of a true emergency, is it necessary - or recommended to go back to the state room for our life jackets, or do we proceed directly to the Muster station? Each ship and or Cruise line does things differently. I will be on the Solstice.

On our recent sailing we were told specifically not to go back to your room. Get to the muster station as quickly as possible, they have enough life jackets there for everybody.

$300 isn't a huge difference, but having done both regular rooms and concierge class, I'm not sure it'd be worth it. The only reason I did concierge class on my most recent cruise is because the price dropped after final booking and it was a free upgrade. The free sparkling wine is decent, the afternoon canapes are hit or miss, but nothing you can't get elsewhere. We actually did end up using the Concierge to sort out a shore excursion issue that the shore excursion desk wouldn't handle, but YMMV there. The other benefits we really didn't use. I might consider it if the extra Captain's Club points would push me to the next tier.

If you enjoy overpaying to be herded like cattle on an overcrowded excursion with zero ability to personalize, lots of wasted time and often forced "shopping" stops at venues that give a kickback to the cruise line, so be it. :rolleyes:

 

If one does a little research and books with a reputable private vendor and utilizes a little common sense the chances of missing the ship are minuscule. Perhaps the tiny, remote chance of missing the ship is enough to entice some people to overpay for an inferior experience, but many informed cruisers refuse to partake in a cruise line excursion.

This tour was actually fairly small, about 16 people in a small bus. It didn't feel like a cattle call and there were no stops for shopping. Though I have no doubt it'd be cheaper if I did this on my own, it would have been impossible to fit everything we saw that day into a private tour and still make it to the ship on time.

I've done both and my choice mostly depends on the port. In Jamaica, I felt more comfortable with Celebrity. When I was in Italy, we took a private tour through very reputable company with 4 other people on the ship. In fact, we ended up switching ports last minute and our private tour guide was waiting for us before the paid shore excursion buses and tours relocated to the new port. It ended up being cheaper than Celebrity and being in a small van with 6 people was much better than a large tour bus.

2) RCI have never operated 'Independence of the Seas'.. they own it. Their subsidiary, RCCL is the operator.

 

I agree with everything else you said, but you have that backwards. From the RCCL investor page:

"Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is a global cruise vacation company that operates Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, Pullmantur, Azamara Cruises and CDF Croisieres de France."

My family and I just got back from a fabulous cruise on the Celebrity Reflection. We booked a shore excursion with Celebrity for our stop in Jamaica. Our scheduled time in port was 8AM-4PM. Most of you will know that means all passengers are due back by 3:30PM and the ship will frequently leave up to 15 minutes before the official departure time.

Well our tour was running much longer than expected and then there was a TON of traffic on the highway leading back to the dock. We ended up arriving at the tour staging area around 4:15PM where a ship's officer quickly escorted us to the ship. It was about 4:20PM when we got the ship. Right as we were stepping on the ship the horn was being sounded and deckhands started unmooring the ship. We were moving away from the dock before we made it to our rooms!

 

We had the Classic Drink package and this suited us just fine. We aren’t big drinkers. Had it not been a free perk, we wouldn’t have bothered. It would be less expensive to pay as we go. However, bar service was great wherever we went.

Glad you had a great time! My family and I were all on the Dec 17-24 Reflection sailing. Our experience basically matched yours.

One bit of advice, and you may have figured this out already, but you are light drinkers, definitely opt for the $300 OBC instead of the Classic Beverage Package (or gratuities on 15+ night cruises).

My only real criticism on this last cruise were the premium package hawks on the first day or so of the cruise. I get the feeling that the bartenders and cocktail waiters make a nice commission of they get somebody to upgrade their drink package, because I was asked to upgrade constantly. But it died down after the first 24 hours.

We book a cruise over a year ago on the Silhouette leaving April 2. Got a decent price, great cabin 9th deck, on the bump, drink package and $650 in OBC. I work for the schools and this is our spring break--statewide we all have the same week off. Airfares are crazy---for 2 people flying out of Detroit cost is $1,800!!! IF we could take the exact same me flight:mad: a week later cost is $775 for 2 people. I can NOT take the day off before or after break. - I have been looking at airfare since June, even then it was over a $1,200 for 2 of us. Very disappointed--- not at Celebrity-- but airlines

I hope you haven't canceled yet. I strongly recommend checking flights.google.com - You can search multiple airports at the same time. Using Detroit and Cleveland as starting points and Ft. Lauderdale and Miami as destinations I found 2 round trip tickets for $728 on American Airlines, CLE > FLL. It does have two lay overs. Or $912 direct CLE - FLL. If you can amke the 2.5 hour drive to Cleveland it seems much cheaper. Did you try searching other airports? I'm even seeing $1032 from Detriot.

A class action lawsuit over $5-10 in bottled water? I commented previously that AQ losing water was an obvious decrease in benefits for AQ and that sometimes it's the little things that can make a cruise better. But I feel it's exactly that, a little thing.

Personally, I feel the only people that should feel they are entitled to any recourse are those that got this news and could not cancel without penalty. Anybody else is welcome to cancel their cruise and take their money elsewhere.

That being said, wasn't it stated elsewhere that the daily bottled water was removed from the perks listed back in May but they only started enforcing it recently?

I would like to know where you found the Federal drinking age is 18.

 

My research found this: National Minimum Drinking Age Act

Well from reading that it looks like there is no federal drinking age. It is still a state law though and US government can withhold 8% of the states highway funding if they do not establish a drinking age of 21.

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If they didn't allow exemptions, they wouldn't have a form to request an an exemption. Seems like a reasonable question to me.

 

In the U.S. drinking age is 21 by law -- once the ship is outside U.S. waters the drinking age is set by company policy not law. NCL for one, allows beer and wine sales to 18+ with parents permission, as long as they are not in U.S. waters.

 

Happy New Year! :)

Technically the federal drinking age is 18 but the states are 21. Doesn't really matter though

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We just got off the Equinox yesterday from a 10 day cruise. This was one of the 1st under the new formal/chic policy.

 

I heard very few comments about the changes while aboard. The biggest complaint were from folks that had not been advised (or missed the announcement). They were mildly upset that they packed clothing that were unnecessary.

 

I heard one grumpy comment in the dining room from a traveler that was blissfully ignorant of the policy - she was amazed that so many men were without jackets. A waiter informed her, but she argued that it wasn't so...maybe she was the same woman that I heard on the pool deck explaining that 'there is no such thing as a smoking section' :confused:

 

In any case, my wife and myself were both delighted with the change - it suits our lifestyle much better. I think most folks looked quite presentable - some less so, but then some people can make a 3 piece suit look sloppy, so it is what it is.

 

Overall, its nowhere as 'radical' a thing as some would have us believe. The overall look and feel of the dining room and the ship didn't seem greatly affected by any means.

 

I am more concerned about the accumulative effect of all the small cost cutting moves that I see. No more bottled water in the cabin after the first night, the cancellation of the daytime buffet in the dining room towards the end of the cruise is a big loss, ice buckets on request only, etc. Each thing is small but added together it makes X more mass market than it ever was.

 

I'm hoping that this trend is reversible - maybe future changes in the board room will get them back on track. Personally, I fear that is X is diluting its brand with these policies. The differentiation between RC and X is fading - they should be trying to enhance the experience, not cheapen it.

 

OK, I got off topic and ranted - that wasn't my original intention. I will keep sailing with X and hope for the best. I still think it's the best vacation value.

Just wanted to point that the cancelation of the grand buffet was a result of US Law/regulations concerning food service aboard ships. Something about no buffets in a carpeted area. This was mentioned a few times on other threads but I can't confirm it myself.

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Are there any open balconies on Silhouette??!!

Aft Balconies are fairly open, so Sunset Verandah or C1 Aft Balcony. I think corner Aft Sky Suites as well.

$6 would buy you nothing. Interesting. have never heard of it!

It won't you get any of the cocktails on the regular menu, but it'd perfect for somebody who wants simple mixed drinks with well liquor. Rum and Coke, Vodka Cranberry, etc.

Those sound great. I hope they do something like that in Bermuda.

I was in an Aft C1 on the Silhouette on a TA back in 2009. I don't recall that part of the ship having noticeably more movement than other parts of the ship. I don't think we ever had soot problem. I do wish we got a sunset verandah instead of paying the premium for the concierge class. The perks weren't really worth it. The higher balcony was a nice, though. Also I don't remember too much cover between us and the balconies above us. And I could clearly see all the balconies below us.

Quite agree, the water from a ships tap (faucet) distilled on board using the osmosis system will provide far purer water than any fancy bottled variety; and if you want it chilled fill your own bottle and put it in the fridge.

I had to laugh when I heard somebody say the ships tap water was too salty.

That being said, cutting daily bottled water from AQ seems like it will be a tangible downgrade for many especially given the increased cost of an AQ room. It sometimes really is the small things that make a cruise experience more enjoyable or a step above the competition.

Thanks Jenna. I enjoyed reading through your last report. I'm looking forward to doing it again!

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Yes. And it's still an upgrade even if you pay for it.

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No. Celebrity has a new upgrade program. If higher level cabins are unsold they will contact you and try to sell an upgrade to a higher cabin, usually at a reasonable rate from the few stories I've read. $500 total for an upgrade for a balcony to a suite, for example.

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Offer came 48 hrs ahead. Sailing tomorrow but still not really sure of all "Current" amenities. I am Elite + if that matters.

How much did the upgrade cost?

Thanks! I didn't know about the 60 day rule.

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Mynki, thanks for the update. Hopefully this issue is resolved fleet as it should have been weeks ago.

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It's typically in the form of OBC from my experience. I've seen a few big box TAs offer a lower fare than advertised when they had locked in a group rate with the cruise line. Specifically it was for a wine inspired cruise on Celebrity through a discount warehouse TA.

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