BosoxI

You seriously don’t think a PH on Oceania and a PH on Celebrity are one in the same? We’ve stayed in a PH on the Oceania Reviera and it’s probably smaller than any S1 or S2 on Celebrity but the Specialty Restaurants are outstanding.

 

 

 

Of course I don't . The Celebrity PH we have visited was the size of a small house. Perhaps I should have said CS but the point I was making is that we are moving on. Thanks, Celebrity

As Celebrity's prices have ascended, we have seized the opportunity to wean ourselves away from X at least a bit. Even though we are paying more, the quality of a Regent cruise is so much better, that the extra cost is justified . It's not as much as you'd think. Today we booked a PH on an Oceania ship, We've never been on that line before and we've never booked a PH on any Celebrity vessel. and only once on Princess. So, in a sense Celebrity has opened new worlds for us and we appreciate that :)

All we wanted was to be in some sort of balcony cabin so we could celebrate a birthday at sea. I had noticed that there were more than 100 cabins in categories 1C on up and final payment had just occurred. The ship was going to places we had been countless times, so staring at a life boat was quite acceptable, but, honestly, my beady little eyes were set on a better outcome.

The Celebrity agent told me that we'd have our assignment within three days. I was surprised at that, but, indeed, two days later we were assigned a 2A a bit more forward than I liked. A call to X got us a stateroom mid ships and with a dining package, I feel golden. Celebrity has always done right by us with the few guarantees we've tried. This all happened around late June or early July.

BTW a few years ago my wife won a seven day cruise in a balcony cabin at a Bingo game on board. I knew for sure we'd be in the absolute worst cabin on the ship. But again we wound up in a very excellent cabin on a new ship.

I am not an apologist for X, but I have nothing but compliments for the way they've assigned cabins to us. I doubt we are special but, of course, eventually, someone will get the worst cabin on a sold out ship. He's probably writing his first posting on CC at this very moment.

Lawn Club Grille for al fresco dining and Murano for fine dining.

We'll be doing a B2B on the Silhouette and as we've never eaten in the Lawn Club, I booked us there for the first night of the first cruise. I was tempted to do the same for the first night of the second cruise, but I am concerned DW might not care for it. When the ship is underway, is the LC breezy? She has indicated an interest in Le Petit Chef which is a real surprise since to me it sounds so cartoonish and limiting. Or should I play it safe and stick with Murano on the second trip?

HEY! Shutuppa your face! :evilsmile::cool:

No, no. It's "Shuddauppa you face":evilsmile::cool:

I think the comment about ' east coast mentality ' is quite rude.

I was waiting for this. ;p Having been born and raised in NYC. or minutes away, I am not insulted at all. The rest of the East Coast can defend itself, I know what I escaped from

OTH, so many people swear by Blu (I'm not one of them) you might want to check upon boarding to see if there is a special deal in Murano on the first night. If there is, grab it. Then eat in Blu for a few nights, after which you should be able to determine if a return to a specialty restaurant is warranted. Personally, I would sign up for more nights in specialty restaurants but why spend money needlessly, if Blu suits?

I only asked because we had Captain Marek on Vision of the Seas last year and he was so funny and engaging. Realize he won't be on Silhouette. After reading the post about the funny things other captains have said, it reminded me of Captain Marek.

 

Sue

I didn't mean to imply there's anything wrong with wanting to know who the skipper is, just that it makes no difference to me.

I am always fascinated by people who like to know who the captain is. In over seventy cruises and thirty four years I can only recall the name of one skipper, a magnificent Italian by the name of Dichtel. I can't even remember his ship. I am a very trusting guy; if Celebrity puts him in charge, I trust he knows the pointy end goes first. The other 70+ masters were OK, too,; not one of them ran us aground or docked in the wrong port. :)

But there's always a first time for everything, and we'll be twenty one days on the Silhouette in December, so maybe I'd better be more concerned.

Definitely check daily on your own. Don't trust anyone to alert you. This is a do it yourself project

They must be very good friends. It's pay through the nose time.

I see bottled water is offered, has anyone had issues leaving with one? Thanks

Did it routinely on the Summit in May

We had this room last October in the Med. While it did extend the room, I too did not like that one person could not be out on balcony while other rested. it was so dark with curtain closed that we usually slept with window open as a/c wasn’t strong enough for us. Had a small bird visit one day. I have booked The Edge but went with Subset Veranda not an infinity.

I sure wish I had talked to you before booking two cruises.;) I am not going to panic and I can't imagine canceling over this IF everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) else on the ship is wonderful. But for me this is a serious flaw,

We had this room last October in the Med. While it did extend the room, I too did not like that one person could not be out on balcony while other rested. it was so dark with curtain closed that we usually slept with window open as a/c wasn’t strong enough for us. Had a small bird visit one day. I have booked The Edge but went with Subset Veranda not an infinity.

Did any Celebrity employee ask for your opinion of the cabin? I can't imagine that X would miss the opportunity to get input but I believe the OP was not asked. Why install the new setup and not "ask the man who owns one"

Unfortunately not the way it is on Constellation. BUT maybe they will have learned from it and changed it for Edge. The blind is on the window.

 

 

 

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I was afraid of that. That is extremely limiting. I love reading on the veranda at night with the door closed behind me and the curtain drawn. That won't be possible on the Edge and that, for me, is a real problem. Same in the morning when I would part the curtain and sneak out on the veranda without bothering my wife. I know I'm not alone in this. The good thing is we're taking a seven day cruise and if we can't live with it, we'll (painfully) cancel the TA on which we got such a fantastic price. Suddenly, regular verandas have special appeal

I can't wait for the reviews to start flowing in December/ January.

Unless you're collecting points, I would not recommend Concierge. There are many excellent 1A/2A verandas midships. Use the 400 on things that you enjoy or keep it in your bank account

DW likes to sleep in; I'm an early riser. Is it possible somehow for me to get out on the veranda without disturbing her and then closing the blind ? I think I know the answer already.y

C'mon, folks. Of course food is subjective. So are mattresses, automobiles, wines and virtually every commodity in life. That's why accepting the recommendations of people on a travel board is risky business. I am omnivorous. I eat everything. All I ask is that it be something a bit unusual or something common prepared in an uncommon fashion. Not every menu item, of course, but at least something different on each menu. But the Luminae menu frequently is quite mundane, and, as someone noted, items are promised but not delivered. DW remembers everything that is supposed to comprise a dish, and she has frequently noted to the waiter that what is sitting in front of her is not what is on the menu. What with one thing and another, I've had to order too many times from the MDR menu. So the OP's question might well be "Is Luminae really an upgrade over the MDR?" And my question might be "Why am I paying for a suite to eat MDR food?"

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I would usually recommend Princess but her ships don't impress us anymore. MSC Yacht Club is an excellent choice, but now that we've tasted life on Regent, that is our first choice. Just a different world

Unfortunately, they do not offer guarantees on every cruise, especially for suites. We've only had them like once in our last 6 or 7 sailings.

And then there was the time I booked my favorite S1 months in advance. At check in we learned we had been upgraded to a Celebrity Suite. We didn't complain, of course, but I had my heart set on that S1.:loudcry:

As others have intimated, unfortunately this isn't confined to a cruise/travel. It's a sign of the times.

 

My wife has run a very successful in-home daycare for 23 years (I help when I can). Our most common conversation topic is, how parents don't parent. They want to be the cool aunt or uncle and never upset their child. Add to the fact that a four year old has never heard the words stop or no. Let alone taught please and thank you. The parents are often drama queens and knowingly take advantage of her kindness. When she can, she will unfortunately be closing her daycare. I know this sounds harsh, but in this business you really see all of the warts that a family has.

 

This is NOT something that has just started in the last decade. It's just getting worse. And worse.

I couldn't stand that for a moment. Clearly, it is the parents' fault in most cases. These kids have no discipline and when they are older, they will be unable to face the realities of life. They'll be doing their screaming in Daddy's basement when they are thirty.

On the first day of our cruise I was stopped at our cabin door by the young couple next door who asked what kind of music I preferred. The alarm in my head sounded, but I said Mozart and Chopin. I could tell it didn't register. They set up speakers on their balcony and treated us to raucous "music" in the afternoon and after dinner. I was about to call security one night when we heard a knock on their door. Within minutes the noise stopped. Permanently. Some other passenger beat me to the phone, so it's not only kids.

I like the lamb chops, but they are no better than the lamb chops in the MDR. As a matter of fact for me there is no great difference between Blu and the MDR as far as the food goes. Blu is smaller and sometimes the service is better but it can be very noisy. Many people swear by it so we hope you enjoy it

I would love to hear your opinion of Blu on the Silhouette, as DW and I are doing B2Bs on that ship in December. I know what to expect food wise, but I am a bit concerned about the service which has not always been the best

I was in a bit different situation. We had a sky Suite guarantee and there were no skysuites showing as available. The other Suite categories had cabins showing as available and we were pretty near sailing time. I thought our chances were very good for getting a better Suite. But guess what. We got a very nice S1 and were very happy. There's simply no telling what will happen.

I know what you went through with the flights. My wife returned from Athens and had booked a flight to Richmond. Every flight out of JFK and LGA had been canceled except hers at 8:29. It finally left at 11:45PM. Fortunately, she wasn't trying to make a cruise connection, but the lesson regarding flights is clear. Glad all went well

I wouldn't confuse Blu with a specialty restaurant. It might be a step up from the MDR but it surely doesn't compare with Murano or even the Tuscan Grille. And it certainly can be noisy.