cheryl20772

When you went to Revelations did it seem the "same" as the usual Elite cocktail hour - in other words, staff at the door to greet you, the special cocktail menu on the tables, served hors d'oeuvres? Or was it business as usual as if anyone could come to the lounge

We showed our Elite status using our ship card at the door. We've sailed Aquaclass 5 times before, but only twice before as Elite and we had never before used a ticket for the cocktails in Revelations at Captain's Club cocktails. Revelations was full of people and nothing was roped off. It was just our first introduction to coupons for that. We have a drink package so it was a surprise to be asked for a ticket we didn't have and when we offered our card he didn't want that.

We do miss daily water delivery b/c folks at some of the bars and venues snarl when you ask for it..they often do not have it cold or don't have the smaller size but try to sell you the upcharge ones which are kept cold...how convenient!

 

We go early to BLU to get our preferred tbl or area...we would wait for tbl for two as group dining is no longer what we prefer...too much like mdr!

I know! It kind of changes the feeling in Blu to have the whole middle given to group tables. Guess we can get used to it. Last night we went late and needed the pager as they were all full.

The flowers in our cabin are lovely. They come with a little note that they come from Captain's Club hostess, Angelina Cammalleri. In past, I just thought they were a perk from Celebrity for buying Aquaclass.

We've seen the water man selling water and bloody mary's in the Oceanview in the morning and I usually run up there to get our bottles from the Oceanview before we go ashore. Maybe they thought we needed more exercise, but they've been pushing water on us.

Now if the sun could just burn off this heavy fog! Our excursion was cancelled this morning in Bar Harbor.

There are a lot of people who prefer dining with others so I wouldnt have a problem being asked if I wanted to share a table. We have sailed Aqua many times and on some occasions have had to wait for a table- I never thought a thing about it.

I don't have a 'problem' with it, but in the past we would see a couple of unused group tables that we were never offered when having to wait to be seated. Now it looks like there are more group tables and they are being offered. That's definitely a change.

We told the young woman at the Revelations door about the requested ticket that we didn't know anything about. She wrote our room number down too. Tonight when we got badh from dinner we got our tickets in an envelope on our door. There were 5 for the earlier event. 5 for each of the next two nights and 6 for the following.

They always take stuff away on never seem to add anything new. We have sailed in aquaclass several times now and can't help noting changes. We're on Summit running in front of tropical storm Hermine and due in Boston tomorrow morning.

Tonight I asked the cabin steward if we could have more bottled water in our room and he says it's just for the first day now.

Last night when we arrived at Blu for dinner we were offered a group table instead of our usual table for 2. We could have the 2 top but would have to wait.

Boarding was messed up because the ship was departing at 2 PM to stay in front of the storm. That said, we were sent to the Elite boarding line instead of Aquaclass and Aquaclass was definitely more expedited.

Related:

When we went to the Captain's Club Elite and above cocktail hour tonight in Revelations we showed our card at the door as usual,but when a server brought our cosmopolitan and our Vodka martini, he asked for our coupons. Neither of us knew what he was talking about and he took our room number. There were no coupons in our room for that event and the Celebrity Today said that there wouldn't be any separate invitation. We didn't I feel very welcome after that and left.

Last time we cruised I ordered luggage tags twice and got none. This time they were in the mail today. That's three days after ordering them!

Was l ever surprised :)

After putting it off for weeks now, while dreading the inevitable frustration, this afternoon l sat myself down to do the online check in for our September 4 cruise.

The website was nothing like I remembered. I couldn't believe it worked like melting butter on biscuits. There was no lag and no failure to record. It just worked and it was finished so quickly and easily I kind of wished I had another cruise to check in. Even the Excursion shopping pages were flipping from page to page with no waiting or non response. Wow! Was I dreaming? Or did that really happen?

If it's really fixed, Thank you Celebrity!

A couple notes...those ARE NOT professional photographers cruise lines hire, they just hire people and train them to shoot portraits, they usually do a good job but prior to being hired most knew nothing more about photography than your average Joe....

SheriffJoe, I just love your explanation of the photographer situation on the ships. Do you know how long those people they hire and train to shoot portraits on the ships have to do that job before they can be considered professional? l was just thinking that they got trained and paid for doing it and that kind of elevated their work from amateur into professional.

We usually buy a few of the pictures taken by the ship photographers -professional or amateur it's worth dressing nicely on chic night and posing for a few. What I don't like is when they bring the camera to the tables in the dining room.

On elegant or chic nights there are several pro photographers set up throughout the public areas of the ship with various fancy or classic backdrops and benches. Many people dress up just to take advantage of getting a nice portrait done at that time. You might want to plan your wardrobes with that in mind, not just what everyone else might be wearing.

I think it's satellite TV/internet and it depends on the ship's location and the atmospheric conditions for quality. The channels available can change when they have to switch satellites too. The internet is not really reliable for streaming. It becomes very slow when there are lots of people using it and sometimes it's gone. If you read live reviews from some members you'll read that some days they can't upload their pictures when they want to. Please don't let your cruise happiness depend on having internet at a given time.

I don't think any cruises line is pandering to any one religion. If there happens to be a priest onboard, it's nice if they let him have space to do his work.

We put up the CruiseCritic sign on our door too. We use double sided tape. It's made for attaching photos and is made to easily peel off when that sad packing up day arrives.

I hope everyone knows that any suitcase with a zipper closure can be opened and re-closed without any evidence of it even if locked. We never place valuables in a checked bag. We now just lock our zippers with nylon ties. If TSA wants in, they can cut them, we use a nail clipper to get them off. Locks create a false sense of security.

Here's what I mean:

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I don't think I could be an advocate on a website that fails as often as the Celebrity site does. There are no words to sooth the angst it can cause when trying to do the online checkin or just order luggage tags. Now it has half axxed info on it for things like what's included with Aquaclass and what's included with a drink package.... That's just so unnecessary. What they need is a responsible webmaster.

It's not just a question of being on at the same time. In selling it's unlimited packages, they would assume that no one would be actively online and using band width 24 hours a day

Of course it's very easy to share their crappy internet with whomever I give the key to my phone's hotspot. It's going to happen one way or another. If I have unlimited, it will only be limited by me going ashore. I have no problem with limited access, but my partner gets high anxiety if he can't frequently check his security cameras. It's a small thing that let's us be able to enjoy cruising.

Maybe this picture can help. When we arrived at port, we dropped off luggage with the porters and then paid for parking and self-parked at the lot. We rode the shuttle back. When we debarked hubby stood with the luggage to the left side of the port building while I hiked the quarter mile to the car and drove back to pick him and our bags up. There was a large shuttle bus running to the cars, but I didn't want to wait for people to board it with their bags.

Also, I think the Port Terminal Blvd goes to the right now and loops around in front of the port building. It's all very simple and I can't wait to do it again!

The free tastings at the duty free shops is a total zoo. They have people passing samples back through the pressing crowd and others are spilled on people or floor for a sticky, smelly mess. For me it's not worth it to go again.

Celebrity has a webpage for travel agents that usually includes copies of the onboard booking forms. They have updated that site with the BBB promotion, but none of the links to the forms work yet. http://celebrityonboardcruisesales.com/

We find that booking onboard gets us additional OBC and lower initial deposit.

This is all really good info. I booked CC last time and my TA gave us $35. I think I missed out on a lot. So, since I just booked online last week, I should consider moving my reservation to a TA? Even if I booked an inside? I know no one can list TAs, but how would I find one that would help me with some decent OBC? I just want my beverages paid for. :)

One thing you can do is search google for a site that lets you set up an account to have the TA's bid for your booking. It's like a cruise 'compete'tion where you pick the TA with the best offer. You can also check your various memberships. Some of them offer pretty nice perks. We like to use our membership warehouse store TA.

We got all kinds of perks and a great price by booking our next cruise onboard. Then we told them to transfer it to the TA we always use. When we got home I called the TA to talk cruise insurance and they found our confirmation and reviewed everything with me. They are adding an additional refundable $500 OBC. We can't afford to not have a TA ;)

Oh geesh... was sorry to read this post and it's not encouraging info for getting into Blu with a special deal at all.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=47212040&postcount=14

Also, I think, if they want to join you in the main dining room, you all need to be assigned to Celebrity Select dining. It needs to also be arranged through a hostess or maître d'.

Question

 

(please don't bash AQ is completely new/foreign to me)

 

So my parents were upgraded to AQ after booking a guarantee. I forwarded over some Blu menus for my mom to look at...My dad is more of a meat and potatoes kinda guy so she's thinking that is not something he would like. Are they allowed to eat w/ us in the MDR? Also if my dad did not go to Blu w/ my mom one evening for dinner could I take his spot and dine w/ her that night?

 

Again totally foreign to me so I'm not sure how Blu works. :confused:

You would need to speak with the Maître d' privately about swapping your self for your dad. They take names and cards at the desk as you enter and you might be able to, but it's not publicly allowed. People in suites can eat in Blue, but they have to pay (or have in the past).

As to meat and potatoes... every menu includes either steak, chicken or fish that could be ordered with potatoes. I think you can also ask for whatever the main dining room is serving. I saw lots of people getting served French onion soup on multiple nights and that was not once on the Blue menu.

So food should not be a problem. Just ask for what is wanted. The short ribs and smoked trout are to die for. If you want a larger serving, ask for it and if you prefer, order two appetizers instead of the entrée. People complain sometimes about the Blue menu, but it's not really a limit. You should see the huge bowl of meat you get when you order the Osso buco. You can order two steaks if they are too small.

Make a private deal with the hostess or maître d' if you need one, but don't brag about it later cause the rules are there for a reason even if exceptions happen.

You go to the spa and buy the pass at the counter there. Here's the list of services and hours including prices, but the Persian Garden pass price is the only thing not included.

http://www.canyonranch.com/sites/default/files/i/downloads/atsea/celebrity_cruises_guide_to_services.pdf

I've been in Infinity 1128 and can say that 1125 will have a small balcony. The deck 11 balconies get shallower from bow to stern. I've also been on Summit and the situation is similar.

Here's cabin 1128's balcony

Here's the larger balcony at cabin 1100.

Why not just use the chair next to it where you moved their stuff to?

Because there's other stuff on the chair next to it. I just line the stuff up on one reserved chair so we can actually use the pair we need. I really like the lost and found idea too. I'm sure there are loads of books, sunglasses and stuff in lost and found.