chemmo

I think a lot depends on how easy it is for the crew to do. Several of us have suggested they request the food ‘family style’…No individual ordering just a mixed starter and mixed mains selection. Quite simply the MDR could possibly have this brought up directly from the buffet involving little effort. There would then be one large table not needing orders taken individually or serving individually… I totally understand your viewpoint, I do think it does come down to the logistics of providing…

Totally understand. As a family group of three adults our favourite room on S class is the RS. Much better than two rooms and paying a single supplement for me! On E class you seem to be paying a lot more for less space…Don’t even get me started on the veranda size! When I was younger missing ‘lots of innovations’ and experiencing new ships would have mattered…now my room is more important, especially the veranda!

Thank you for your review…Thoughtful and informative. I am sure at some stage I will try E class but I don’t feel drawn to it…

If you want a quiet Solarium pool it usually is empty between 5pm and about 7pm unless on a cold port cruise when it then may be family time. There are often several older guests in the Solarium pool either swimming slowly or gently exercising or enjoying the soak and it isn’t very big so swimming laps would not be easy…Most guests who are trying to swim for exercise tend to meander up and down rather than do serious laps…

I think the ‘scheduled’ tour we were on was about 10/12 people.

Sometimes I read posts about the buffet and don’t recognise the description at all… In our experience since you can now leave hand luggage in your room Oceanview is busy yes but overcrowded not usually. People no longer hog tables with their luggage and are unwilling to move until the rooms open announcement. They either drop off their hand luggage, get a quick bite to eat and then head off to explore, find a bar and complete muster or do the wondering and ‘jobs’ first then head for the buffet a bit later…Also as others have said you can easily grab some buffet food and head somewhere else with it. Also most guests in the buffet adhere well to hygiene standards using appropriate utensils and if they are with children supervise and monitor appropriately. Yes, over the years we will have all seen a ‘pick and put back’ guests or ‘nibble on route’ guests but they are an exception not the rule. OP I do suggest you either visit the buffet earlier or later to avoid the peak time but it is a nice venue with a good choice of food. We usually have access to Luminae for lunch and some cruises we will have lunch there but on other occasions we don’t particularly want a full sit down meal (especially if we have had breakfast at our hotel). On these occasions we will head to the buffet for a light snack. We always can see somewhere to sit but if the weather is nice we may simply take our plates outside. Despite having drinks packages we also find the free lemonade in the buffet is a really refreshing rehydrating drink to enjoy with our food…Plenty of time for cocktails later!

Last time we were there we saw a monkey fleeing surprisingly fast with a camera and large lens being pursued by a man with the physical attributes of John Cleese…The speed of both meant we never found out if he got his camera back…

So pleased you enjoyed your day in Muscat. We did a similar walk to you when there. As you say 4+ hours in a coach doesn’t appeal. On our visit there were several ‘adventure’ tours in off road vehicles needing you to declare no bad back, hips, shoulders, knees etc. At our age we knew the tours were not for us! Continuing to enjoy your daily missives!

I admire your sentiments…and your wish to keep a family tradition going. On Christmas Day with a specific focus on traditional I could understand the M’D being reluctant to offer any group ‘specials’. However, if you discuss this a few days before and if you were to say you are happy with a set Chinese menu served ‘family style’ at a set time then it actually could save the wait staff some time. All they would then need to do is serve up mixed starters and mixed mains with individual plates… If the M’D of MDR says he is unable to accommodate try having a word with the M’D/manager of the buffet. You may need to ask to meet with him/her. See if they can sort something special for you. With advanced warning and a set time I can see no reason why they can’t organise a family style meal for you. Much better than you all queuing to order stir fry individually. You could take your own paper table cloths and table decorations if you wanted to make it a bit more ‘Chinese festive’. Sushi is definitely another possibility although the speciality restaurants are often more expensive on holiday cruises so check. They often also have a reduced menu. Failing that just enjoy what is on offer and pack some fortune cookies! Whatever you manage to sort the important thing is you will all be together…

As cruisestitch says there is a full tour which your husband may like. We have done this and enjoyed. We have visited just the engine room but that was when we were in a higher suite and invited by the Captain after dining with him. I don’t think it is generally in the places sometimes offered to suite guests or higher CC members (galley tour, theatre tour, bridge tour) . As I side note I was unimpressed…The ‘engine room’ is a control room full of dials and readouts not the actual engines I had imagined. I am not sure exactly what I expected. Certainly not men shovelling coal but I had expected some machinery!!! Nothing to loose by approaching the Captains Club host on boarding, you never know… Sincere best wishes to your husband for a fantastic 70th birthday!

I was thinking exactly the same…

In the UK the cost to make a change to a booking is £75 each for guests 1 and 2. If there are more guests in the room there is no further cost. One change free if you are elite or above unless anything has changed in the last few months. Phone don’t try to cancel and rebook on line. If you have booked through a travel agency they may have an additional fee, alternatively they may be able to waiver if you were part of a group booking (they had a group booking not you personally). Hope that makes sense.

Thank you for such a clear and honest review! So agree with you that if you have an issue, raise it with the staff and give them the opportunity to put things right. Also agree with you about wanting your brandy in a brandy glass….Doesn’t taste the same in a tumbler!

Thank you for taking us on your voyage!

Definitely let the M’D know on your first visit about your hearing difficulty and they should try to ensure you get an appropriate seat… Totally agree with jelayne…Against a wall or corner if possible is much better than centre of the room.

Thank you for your review so far! Please try to get a picture of ‘Mr’ face when he enters your next room!

If you buy some wine from duty free or any port it will come to your room last evening of your first cruise then repeat on the next…Saves toting six bottles in one go!

Thank you so much for the additional information. Group size sounds ideal and with lunch (good) and dinner (so so) I guess reasonable value…I think I may look up a range of food/wine related tours by locals before deciding….

So enjoying your cruise! Thank you so much for taking us along…

For an extra fee there is Sushi. This is an a la carte menu and you can enjoy as little or as much as you like. We find it very enjoyable once or twice per cruise. Usually once per cruise Tuscan will be open for a fee lunch. This is a reduced menu compared to the evening one but usually at a lower price. The buffet on Celebrity, in addition to usual items, often is themed. Indian, Pie Day, Italian…This will be in your daily newsletter. Much as I don’t enjoy buffets every day it is nice to graze there a few days…We will often put together a salad and sandwich and take it somewhere else to eat… We have rarely been to the MDR lunches on sea days so I will let others describe. Again for a fee there is always the option of the all day room service menu. If you are shattered after a few busy sightseeing days and have a balcony this can be a really enjoyable option…

We tend to simply see the gratuities as part of the cruise fair when booking a cruise with stated daily gratuity rates as many do. Celebrity follows this model. We then budget extra for those staff that go above and beyond… I must confess I don’t know why you are saying ‘we don’t have a culture of tipping’ in the UK? We do! Restaurants, hairdressers…Perhaps it is less prescriptive (doesn’t suggest a %) but it is still there… The snag with this is twofold…firstly you won’t see directly everyone who serves you and secondly if this was generally allowed some guests may simply see removing gratuities as a way of reducing their cruising costs. Much as I know this isn’t why you are querying sadly some people would cancel their auto grats and then find excuses not to pay what staff see/expect as part of their salary. Agree, on the odd occasion we have had iffy service we have brought it to the attention of an appropriate staff member and it has been corrected. No reason to remove gratuities. I agree that the phrase ‘When in Rome’ is fairly appropriate. We choose Celebrity knowing its tipping policy and accept it as it is…

Remember you will be using the MDR or buffet for breakfast and lunch even if not for dinner. Hence it would not be reasonable to cancel dining gratuities even if you could. Remember your room attendant and others are also part of the gratuities too.

Thoroughly enjoying your review. I have been particularly interested as we are on Infinity next year. So pleased your chefs market tour went so well. Something I have always fancied doing. However, reviews seem very mixed. If possible could you give a bit more detail about the actual tour…How big was your group? How long were you in the market for? Was the food you ate in the evening eat food purchased during your visit? Thank you!

Seriously, despite the laughs, keep checking your account over the next few days just in case!

I guess I felt offended and targeted as I was one of very few who was looking at the use of the Solarium from the viewpoint of families…I totally understand and respect the reasons why some people really don’t want children in the Solarium. I expect those posters to understand that others (like myself) have a different viewpoint. I love the humour in many of your posts. I value your contributions. I expect you to value the opinions of myself and others with a different viewpoint without needing to see us as ‘bad’ or ‘thoughtless’ cruisers which is the implication I took from your comment.