Mrs_Tiki

1 hour ago, Mrs_Tiki said:

Darn, I don't see on mine either. And I have a final payment coming up. Bummer.

I stand corrected. When I just checked back again, the offer is now showing up for my card.

Thanks to @Stockjock for the heads up! 

Darn, I don't see on mine either. And I have a final payment coming up. Bummer.

10 hours ago, Stem to Stern said:

Howdy Charla!  Your gal pals are in good hands with you as their on board navigator.  And if Rock-em-Sock-em Captain Kirk is at the helm all the better.🤩

Beware of the above mentioned short-cruise shenanigans to possibly include but may not be limited to three on-board weddings with up to 100 guests each, nightly-themed attire, outside voices indoors, and maybe even a random conga line or two.  YMMV.  Oh, also don’t be surprised if you witness the glass atrium elevators turn into pop-up gogo-dancer cages.  Heck, you might even bump into President Laura like we did.  She will be in the sea-borhood since the President’s Cruise is this month and she has been known to jump from ship to ship.  I hope you will indulge me and my photographic evidence below.  

 

After the Oops-We-Are-Booked-on-the-Tampa-Bay-Bucs-Fan-Cruise, we are sticking with 7+ night sailings.  But who knows?!?  Maybe with only one sea day during your B3B you can stay on board on a few port days and take advantage of a potentially abandoned ship.  Excited to learn how you plan to spend your time on board as well as at Mile Marker Zero and Bimini.  We went local to the south end of Bimini via a haphazard rented golf cart.  We had a fun morning exploring the tiny island.  No doubt “hydration” will be one of your top priorities.  It’s gonna be hot, hot, hot!!🥵 

 

Bon Voyage!!🛳️😎

 

 

 

@Stem to Stern you sums up our cruise very well with these photos! One of my highlights was meeting you!

What a great surprise to see you starting another review! I am very intrigued with your impressions of the shorter cruise format on X. I recently took my first solo cruise on a Silhouette 4-nighter and did find the crowd more “rambunctious” as you say! (But it was also a partial charter of Tampa Bay Buccaneer fans, so that was a whole other wrinkle!)

Meeting @lola2013 and her friends while waiting to board was a fun way to start that cruise! I agree with her that Captain Kirk’s musical performance was a highlight, as well.

I have no doubt that you and your friends will have a great time and look forward to hearing about your sampler platter of Retreat suites!

On 7/11/2023 at 2:18 PM, Northern Aurora said:

We have done this excursion off of a cruise ship.  The vendor was Allen Marine. We were picked up (essentially a tender operation) from the cruise ship about 7 AM.  The two level Allen Marine vessel was able to approach very close to Dawes Glacier. We had an excellent naturalist on board who knew when to talk, and also when to be quiet and let folks take in the scenery and experience.  There was quite a bit of space and folks were able to easily move around the small vessel.  Didn't feel crowded at all. 

 

We took a different route back to Juneau than the cruise ship as we diverted into Fords' Terror (google it).  We rejoined the cruise ship about 1 PM as it was completing their docking procedures in Juneau.  

Thinking of booking a similar excursion for our upcoming Edge cruise. Aware there restrooms on your excursion vessel?

@Georgia_Peaches, your description of the Pigs Foot Carpaccio experience was not only entertaining, but informative. I appreciate your sense of adventure but will certainly not be emulating you on our upcoming Edge cruise!

Thank you for taking one for the team...

On 5/24/2024 at 6:40 AM, mac_tlc said:

Looking forward to following along. We will be on Edge in August in Alaska. 
 

 

mac_tlc

What!? August 2 by any chance? 
 

Sorry to the OP for hijacking the thread - I got excited at the prospect of possibly sailing with @mac_tlc and his DW again.

Thank you for taking time to do a review. I look forward to following along!

13 hours ago, Folsomdoc said:

That is brilliant! Ordering one for our next cruise. X has priced us out of The Retreat butler service, so we will be grabbing our own from Cafe Al Bacio.

Nice review, glad you had a good time!

We sailed in an IV on Apex for a Caribbean cruise and didn’t hate it at all. The AC issue was problematic in hot weather, but we loved the extra space and seating with a floor to ceiling window. I think it would be great for a cooler weather sailing.

Cabin location is important to me. If I were you, I would keep the IV and not take a chance on a guarantee.

1 hour ago, Stem to Stern said:

I am trying to become more app-centric in my cruising life, but I am not evolving very quickly.  It is just easier for me to jump on my pc and log in to Celebrity's desktop version and find the luggage tags or anything else I am looking for.

So, where in the world are the luggage tags on the app, pray tell?

After my prior issues, I am not sure that I am the one to ask! I don't see them on the app. I printed mine from my laptop.

10 minutes ago, SbbquilterUT said:

Were you able to find the other cruise on the "select a different cruise" option under the little person symbol at the top of the app?  I am able to see all my cruises there.  Hope that helps.

I did not see that - thank you for pointing me in the right direction! It is not often that I have two booked at once.

And bonus points - now my Xpress Pass is showing, too.

Thank you for your help!

Is anyone else having issues with the app? I have two upcoming cruises - one in 9 days and one in October - but only the later cruise is showing on the app. (I have never been able to pull up my boarding pass for that one on the app.)

Happily, both are showing up in my Celebrity account when I log in on my laptop, or I would be in a real panic right now!

Anyone else having similar issues? Any advice? (I have already removed the app and downloaded and signed in again.)

I have had mixed experiences with embarkation at Terminal 25 at Port Everglades for post-shutdown sailings, usually arriving 11:00 - 11:30.

One time (Apex, November 2022), there was strict enforcement of lines for various boarding times, on others (Beyond 2023, Ascent 2024), there were no lines at that time and pax could enter the terminal as soon as they arrived. Not sure of wait times once in the terminal, as we were in the Retreat and had separate check-in.

 For my upcoming cruise in AquaClass on Silhouette, I will likely arrive at the port around 11:30 for an assigned 1:30 check-in time. I plan to hangout outside until lines abate, then politely ask port workers if I might check-in ahead of my assigned time, provided there aren’t people waiting.

I think that you were smart to go ahead and book the AQ on Eclipse. The ports are much better, and Blu’s location and views on the S-class ships are superior to those on E-class.

Yes, agree that it is a placeholder. We had it booked for our January 20 cruise on the Ascent, but it was cancelled and our account was credited. Hope you get to have that experience!

I can’t speak to the PH on S-class, but DH and I did sail in the RS on Edge in March 2022. And we did have some lovely sunset cocktails on an M-class PH balcony (thank you, @l_n_m!)

I agree with others that the balcony in the RS on E-class ships is very disappointing, especially compared to the PH on M-class, which was phenomenal! The rest of the suite was lovely, especially the luxurious bathroom. 
 

Although we have no experience with The Retreat amenities on other class ships, we have really enjoyed the dedicated facilities on E-class, especially the Retreat Lounge and Sundeck. I would miss them on other ships.

As to dining, our experiences in Luminae have been mixed. On our last cruise on Ascent in The Retreat, we opted to ah e several dinners and breakfasts in Blu. Happily, we were easily accommodated.

Another vote for Pan Pacific. We had a wonderful experience there this past October. Because our room was not ready for early check-in as promised, we were upgraded to a harbor-facing suite.
 

Since we were traveling from the east coast, we were up early the day of our sailing. It was a spectacular sight to watch our ship sail in and dock at Canada Place as the sun was rising.

And so, so easy to have the bellman pick up your bags and deliver to the ship!

@mac_tlc, we hope you and DW have a great cruise!

I am so sorry to hear this. There is a way to politely address issues - no excuse to be rude!

16 minutes ago, LisaLeone said:

And please do because it is one of the three I'm reading!

 

Charla, I am so happy you have this healing time...happier still that your lovely husband sacrificed his for yours. What a tremendous picture of what marriage can be. Enjoy... I know you shall! 💕

It is done and posted! And I agree that Jeremy’s sacrifice is indicative of a beautiful marital partnership. 

1 hour ago, Tierun said:

MSC designed their muster program based on their European sailings. Especially in the Med, passengers embarked from various port stops and each did their muster on their embarkation day. This meant that there was no very large flow of all passengers going to their muster stations at the same time. Most passengers were in port while the newcomers did the muster and it was surprisingly pleasant.

Thank you for that context. It makes sense, but I wish that they would re-think this for departures where the entire ship embarks at once!

Apologies for the delay in completing this comparative review. We had a full day in the car driving home on Thursday, then piles of laundry and work to tackle yesterday!

Beverage Addendum: (point to Ascent)

I realize that I addressed included wine but did not talk about cocktails. Although I said I only drink wine, I do sometimes enjoy a poolside cocktail, and pre- or post-dinner martini or "fancy" cocktail.

Pool (point to Ascent) - The pool bar service on Ascent was much better, as well as the readily available signature cocktails. The Retreat cocktail is my favorite - just don't look at all that is in it! On MSC, after one margarita on the rocks made with yucky mix from a bottle and well tequila, I learned to order Silver Patron and soda. On Ascent, bar servers circulated and ensured that they were there when you needed a refresh. On Seashore, we always had to get in line at the bar to get a drink.

Topsail Lounge/Retreat Lounge (point to Seashore) - As I mentioned previously, it was sometimes hard to find a server in the Retreat Lounge, but Topsail's servers circulated about to ensure that everyone had what they needed. DH very much enjoyed a craft cocktail recommended by the bartender.

Bars Outside Retreat/YC (point to Ascent) - Again, the win goes to Ascent, because we enjoyed visiting other areas of the ship and had no desire to leave YC on Seashore. We had fun times chatting with other pax and delicious cocktails in the Martini Bar and World Class Bar on Ascent. The bartenders in World Class Bar are truly artists and made a wonderful off-menu drink for me - "Something Special." I think they say that to all the girls! 🤭

Entertainment: (too little data to judge) 

I'm not going to try to name a winner here, as entertainment is not a big deal for us, and we did not do much on either ship. I will just share my impressions based on the entertainment in which we did partake.

Ascent:

• We enjoyed one show in the main theater, Residency: Las Vegas, but as others have said, arrive early to get seats! I believe that reserved seats for Suite guests are limited to Evening Chic nights.
• The live music in the main atrium is always enjoyable to us.

Seashore:

• It was a real plus that there was live music in the Topsail Lounge in the evenings vs. none in the Retreat Lounge.
• We ventured out to Cabaret Rouge (kind of like The Club on Ascent) one evening and were fortunate to arrive at exactly the right time to get a front-row seat. It was a variety show with singing, dancing, and a juggler and was entertaining. However, we decided to duck out just as the main theater show was getting out, and it was muster drill all over again!
• The light show on the lighthouse at Ocean Cay was very fun! That was night 9 of the combined cruises, and we were pretty tired of getting dressed for dinner. Our balcony had a perfect view, so we ordered a salad and pizza from room service and had a lovely night in.

Disembarkation: (point to Seashore)

The only reason that Seashore gets this point is that the proximity to the parking garage at Terminal 10 allowed us to drag our own bags there rather than for me to wait in the crazy private car pickup line at Port Everglades while DH retrieved the car. We were able to simply cross the street, enter the parking garage surface lot, and there I stayed on the sidewalk with the bags until DH could bring the car down. Easy-peasy!

On both ships, escorts were provided to the card scanners just ahead of the gangway, luggage retrieval was well-organized, and facial recognition made the immigration lines move quickly. 

And the winner is..... 

If pricing were no issue, we would probably default to X Edge-Class Retreat Class. But we were glad that we tried Yacht Club again and will likely return in the future due to the much better price point. As well as the fact that they have one of their newer ships at Port Canaveral, which is a much easier drive from our home near Atlanta than Port Everglades.

As with any review, this was all just my opinion based on the sailings that we were on and our personal preferences. YMMV!

PS - Thanks for the inspiration to try my first "semi-live" review, @mac_tlc and @GenerationX. I am so excited to get my first CC badge. Was that you, @Host Anne? 

Oh my gosh, another @GenerationX live review! It is taking all of my self-discipline to make myself finish my comparison of the Ascent and MSC Seashore before I dive into this delightful escape.

1 hour ago, JDPCruisers said:

In regard to "It seems that X is bringing back some sort of butler service for Sky Suites beyond the one head butler." any sense of how they determined what SS would have butler service in addition to the Head Butler? 

I really don't know. My comment was based on the observations of me and my fellow Ascent cruisers last week. Between 3 CC members in Sky Suites, we had 2 different butlers. Not a statistically significant sample size for sure, but we inferred from this that butler service for Sky Suites had expanded beyond one Head Butler as in the initial iteration of the Retreat Team concept.

Another CC member in an Edge Villa heard from his butler that X was adding back butlers as quickly as they could get them on the ships.

So, I guess I am guilty of sharing hearsay and speculation. That's why I said, "It seems....," since I do not have any official word from X, just what I experienced last week.

Hopefully, you have found the thread on this topic:

It includes info from people have been in touch with X on the subject.