CTSandy

Just returned from my first b2b, greatly enjoyed it and would love to repeat the experience. I would like to thank everyone on this forum who offered information on procedures for a b2b - made me feel more comfortable about the sailing. I have sailed on Equinox several times and was happy to see the ship still looks beautiful and well maintained - observed cleaning and polishing going on everywhere at all times - hard working staff. I sailed the first leg solo, then had friends that came for the second leg, one of which shared my cabin. I was fortunate enough to have the same cabin for both legs so did not have to pack anything up at all. I had a concierge cabin on deck 11 aft; the only negative was that it was almost at the end of the hall so it was a long walk back and forth to elevators or stairs! Big shout out to the cabin steward I had on the first leg - Dickson - incredible service and a perfectionist cleaning the room. Lots of cruises and he was the best I’ve ever had. Sadly (for me) he was leaving at the end of the first leg to return home for four months for the birth of his first child and first grandchild for both families. He’s heading to Reflection in July; I would be overjoyed to be lucky enough to have him as a steward again. I did comment with the QR code on what a great representative he was for Celebrity. The second steward was fine, but not exceptional. Dining - I went to the Maitre’d a couple of days before the start of the second cruise - my cabin mate and I had a confirmation for 6 pm traditional dining; the person joining us in a different cabin had linked her sailing to ours but we didn’t have anything indicating she was dining with us and I wanted to confirm that three of us would be dining together. I was given a card with a table number and thought it was resolved. Unfortunately, the first night we came to the dining room there was someone seated at our table. Lots of confusion and we got sent upstairs to deck 4. We were seated and they told us we should just come to deck 4 the following night and we would be seated at one of the four tables there. The next night we went to the hostess at deck 4 who wanted to know why we were there because we had an assigned table on deck 3 - she finally seated us, but told us to report to our regular table the following night. Day 3 we show up to our assigned table and meet our wait staff - day 4 we get there and a party is seated at the table and again, mass confusion. I am now up to three conversations with Webster, the maitre’d and finally they gave us a table that they assured us would be ours. I understand that part of the problem was that they had a charter of approximately 700 people on board, but it was poor organization. As others have mentioned, food in the MDR is not of the same quality as prior cruises. A few dishes were very good (beef tournedos and lamb in phyllo) some were poor (beef bourguignon - toughest beef ever) - disappointing but I was not surprised. Service was not as slow as I’ve been reading about, but it seems they may still be a little understaffed. The night we dined on deck 4 our waiter apparently had no assistant and was visibly stressed. Dined twice in Murano, once solo and once with my friends on the second cruise. Very happy to report service and food was still excellent there, one of the reasons I love Solstice class. One night I dined at Sushi on Five and enjoyed it - had dumplings and their very excellent udon soup; I thought it was very good value for the price and service was fine. I also did the buffet for dinner a couple of nights. I expected very little, based on reports, and was pleasantly surprised. The pasta station was open, so was the grill station which offered cooked to order chicken, fish, and minute steaks. Several assorted casserole type dishes were available (one night eggplant Parmesan, meatballs, a vegetable casserole with squash, onion, tomatoes), a decent salad bar. It was not very busy but there were diners there. Cafe al Bacio is still one of my favorite stops - by day 2 Jayson knew I liked an almond croissant with my cappuccino and had my order a couple of minutes after I sat down - he was another person that I submitted a positive comment card about. Ports - first cruise included St. Kitts, Barbados, Martinique, St. Lucia, and Antigua. I had visited St. Kitts before so just walked around the port area. Most enjoyable excursion was Karambola excursion on Martinique. I discovered many positive reviews about this company on the Martinique forum and was very happy to confirm it’s as great as described - small group (16), comfortable vehicle, plenty of personal interaction. Second cruise was Grand Cayman and the ABCs, this is the sixth time I’ve done this itinerary so I only did one excursion - a ship excursion that was a sunset sail on a schooner, which we all enjoyed. Perfect weather, music that had recognizable lyrics, an open bar, a few snacks - a fun evening and it was beautiful out on the water. There was a noro outbreak on the second cruise and my cabin mate unfortunately was a victim. We took her down to the hospital facility because she was so sick, they gave her an IV and some meds, quarantined her for 36 hours, and called and checked on her frequently. She was doing well two days later and I was impressed by how compassionate the medical staff was. I just read today that there were 122 passengers diagnosed with noro. They did switch to having staff serving at the buffet a day or so after the outbreak. Happy that I wasn’t a victim, in spite of sharing a cabin with her. I think it may have started on the earlier cruise because a woman warned me not to eat burgers at Mast Grill because she got “food poisoning “ after eating one. The entertainment was similar to other Celebrity cruises - I skipped Elysium (saw it a few times before), ashamed to say I can’t remember the name of the woman who did a tribute to Aretha Franklin but I enjoyed her performance very much. Chloe in the Ensemble lounge did some great sets. Loved Beyond the Podium and attended all of the sessions. Spent a lot of time in the Solarium during the day and the casino at night. Overall a very enjoyable and relaxing three weeks! Did walk off at Port Everglades, off the ship by 7:30, and at FLL by 8:05. I had a 10:55 flight and made it with plenty of time to spare. Airport was a zoo with spring breakers coming and going but flight got off on time. Flying out is the only thing I hate about cruising😁 I was surprised I never got a survey for either leg of the cruise but was happy I had submitted positive comments about the two staff members I found exceptional

I am so loving your report! We were on Apex in April and they did move the magic carpet a few times - no tendering on our itinerary, but they offered dining there twice. Loved the train in St. Kitts - a fun ride with copious tropical beverages and beautiful scenery. Also enjoyed your clip of “Umbrella”😁. Thanks for taking the time to share with us!

We did this same tour pre Covid and felt the same way about it - what a waste of time. Our guide ended the tour with a pitch for bigger tips because cruisers didn’t realize how poor Bahamians were.

Usually no one is staffing the casino when you board, but I have gone to guest services and they have issued me a new card with the drink package on it. Not sure if all the ships are doing this. If you wait until casino opens, they will put a sticker on your card and set you up with your free play.

Thanks for sharing - we will be cruising on Solstice on April 8 - I’ve cruised several times on S class, but this will be the first time on Solstice. Will be following this topic with interest!

My first cruise was on Carnival - hated it so much I didn’t cruise for ten years! I have since cruised on NCL, RCL, and Celebrity; found my niche on Celebrity and have six cruises booked with them for 2023. A big plus for me is that the interior of the ship is smoke free.

Yes, you should go! Is this one of the Celebrity Solstice cruises? I’m doing the Mexican Riviera itinerary in April. I spend a lot of my time in the casino, too, but the rest of the time I enjoy my balcony, the solarium, the spa, a cocktail, a cappuccino at Cafe al Bacio - as busy or lazy as you want to be!

I have been traveling solo for ten years and enjoy both land and cruise vacations. On cruises I prefer not to dine at shared tables; tables are so close than you are dining with company anyway. Looking forward to a b2b at the end of February on Celebrity Equinox - first leg of 10 nights will be solo; second leg being joined by two friends. As someone mentioned in one of the above posts, it’s only dinner time that is not quite as comfortable as other meals. I do take a book with me, or an ebook on the phone, to glance at if it feels like the meal is dragging. i sail almost exclusively on Celebrity and cruise frequently, so I feel quite comfortable on their ships and recognize crew from prior sailings. I do spend time in the casino and most people are very friendly there. Most of my cruises are casino comps so I don’t have to pay a single supplement. My running joke when people travel with me, is that there are only three places on a ship to look for me - the casino, the solarium, or Cafe al Bacio.

Depends on ship and itinerary - doing an ABC itinerary in August 2023 with my niece and her husband - port fees and taxes are $139 each and the third person is around $550 including his port fees and taxes for a concierge cabin on Equinox. Btw, the third person was not an add on after booking - I booked for three people initially.

They are all free, but I do spend time in the casino so free is a relative term😆. I tried to book the New England cruise last year as a comp but they were sold out of everything but a few inside cabins. I love that itinerary and have done it several times on Celebrity and Royal. Looking forward to PEI as none of the prior cruises have stopped there. This time we’ll be in Aqua, I enjoy Blu, but we’ll see if the changes have impacted their dining room. One of the cruises is Solstice Mexican Riviera in April - wasn’t planning on that, but my niece got one of the offers they were pretty much mass mailing, and talked me into booking. They offered Aqua but I turned it down because she and her husband will be in a regular veranda and we want to dine together. I did get a very nice concierge cabin on the bump with a large balcony.

I’m booked on 5 BCC cruises this year - the one I’m most looking forward to is an 11 night New England/Canada one out of Boston in Aqua class. I love sailing out of Boston or Cape Liberty - both just a couple of hours away so no air or hotel, just drive to port early on cruise day. As Kwokpot said above, it’s cheaper than staying home!

Thanks for your help!

I am sailing solo on the first leg of a b2b, but my friend is joining me for the second leg. When I completed my check in the standard form says all passengers on the same reservation need to check in together. Does this mean I have to get off the ship at Port Everglades after doing the regular b2b procedure and check in with her when she arrives? Thanks for any assistance - I thought about calling Celebrity but wait times are so long for existing reservations and I couldn’t find anything when I did a search for this issue.

Amazing pictures and loved your report! Thank you so much for sharing such a special journey.

Away in New Orleans for a long weekend and just catching this great review today. Read all the comments this evening - the evening buffet is pretty sad looking; I don’t have dinner there often, but used to do a dinner there once or twice on a cruise especially if I don’t like MDR options. Like the author, I often cruise solo and enjoy it - plenty of people around if you feel like being social, and the freedom to do exactly what you want the rest of the time. Thank you for the wonderful pics and answers to all the questions!

I am Sapphire with Celebrity, too - I think it’s odd that I rarely get emails with offers, but if I call BCC, I can pretty much get a comped concierge or aqua class cabin on any cruise I want. I have 5 cruises booked for 2023, I am most looking forward to a b2b at the end of February on Equinox.

Appreciate the update!

Charla, I was so excited to see your name pop up with cruise comments to follow! Love your reports and look forward to the comparisons. Thank you for sharing your trip with us!

Enjoying your report - I will be on Equinox for a b2b at the end of February. First leg sounds like your itinerary, second leg is ABC Islands. I saw on your review that they are still doing the plated Elite breakfast, read that some ships were going back to the buffet format. Looking forward to your comments about ports. Thanks for taking the time to share!

I am currently Sapphire, although I understand they will be making some changes in the program as of January 1, 2023 so who knows what next year brings.

I have a 10 night and a 9 night b2b coming up on Equinox from BCC. Because of my level in the casino, I get a comped classic beverage package and free internet. I primarily use the beverage package for specialty coffees and water - some days a drink or glass of wine with dinner. The cost of my flight and hotel for the night before the cruise is more expensive than the cruise, so for me the comped concierge cabin is a real bargain!

When we did Halifax a couple of years ago, we rented a car - had plenty of time to visit Peggy’s Cove and take some pictures of rocks and lighthouse, then went to cemetery and visited the Titanic graves. Finished up with a quick tour of the gardens near the cemetery. It was much cheaper than booking excursions and we were able to explore at our leisure. I would like to visit the immigration museum when I go back to Halifax in September.

So glad that I will be having another great live report to enjoy every evening! We will be sailing Solstice for the first time in April 2023 - looking forward to your comments on ports, also our first visit to the ports on the west side of Mexico. Thanks in advance!

Thank you for sharing your trip and pictures! Is Tuscan back to doing buffet breakfast? My last cruise in June, they were offering your choice of several prepared plates instead of buffet.

Just back from Atlantis Bahamas and I find a GenerationX review - so happy to cruise vicariously! Btw your Gatsby dress is stunning! Looking forward to enjoying the rest of your comments.