cruzzzinma

I agree with others comments. I would almost always choose a suite.But there are some things you need to think about.

My husband and I were in a Sunset Sky Suite on the Beyond last year. It is far with a wheel chair or a walker (he used a walker.)

Do you need a handicapped sky suite? I personally think the tub/shower combination in the regular sky suites on E Class is a challenge. The tub is large and there is one grip bar in an inconvenient place but it is easy to step in and out of.

42 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Had a tough time finding a city, as Fitbit doesn’t like just changing the time. 

I use this website with the cities sorted by time

https://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/?sort=2
 

The aqua class sky suites are usually better in location or have a better balcony size. I personally don’t think the amenities are meaningful.

1 hour ago, markeb said:

Unfortunately, I've not found on my more recent sailings any real ability of the server to suggest a wine. It's more of a "do you want a cab or a merlot?" discussion, if they have a merlot available. With rare exceptions, they're just not that skilled at wine pairings. Admittedly, it's a 7-14 day menu so it would be harder to match on the fly, but I'd think they'd work up pairings ahead of time. And agree on Decoy... (Now if they had Duckhorn, it would be a different story.)

Agree, agree, agree!!!

5 hours ago, MandL said:

 We finally purchased a bottle of good wine towards the end of the cruise that couldn’t be purchased by the glass.  That’s how they hold back the best wines.  

The sommeliers used to have the ability to provide those wines by glass if the number of glasses at the premium package top price totaled more than the bottle price. I admit is has been a long time.

25 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Will be interesting to see how it works out on QM2

I think you will find it amazing!

Our first cruise in the retreat was on the Summit in 6146 after she was revolutionized. I am in that cabin in November 2025.

6145 and 6146 are my favorite sky suites because they have a separate real shower and tub which is great for used towels. The Dakuna is right on target about noise.

10 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

How different was Cunard.   I hear some gripes but we enjoy dressing for dinner so should not be a big issue for us.   It is very close to the price of flying Business Class -   I booked it on a Christmas Sale for $8,000 in Queens Grill.      I am guessing the room is in-between a Sky Suite and a Celebrity. 

I think the dressing for dinner was the biggest difference. The shows were good and I thought the activities, mostly lectures, were better than Celebrity. We found the open balcony to be unusable because of the ship’s speed and the cold North Atlantic.

Thebeverage packages were not a good value for us so we paid as we went.

We booked two future cruises on board but both were cancelled during the pandemic. We never got back to Cunard. We opted for much simpler cruises due my husband’s health once cruising restarted.

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

October East TransAtlantic on Cunard to Southampton - 5 days at our favorite AirBnB in Lymington (where we rode out Covid) with a road trip to Scotland.   We will be completing the journey with a TransAtlantic on Equinox back to Florida. 

Impressive planning! In 2018, we did a Cunard crossing, followed by an Iceland Ireland cruise and an Ireland land tour but we had to fly back.

52 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

We have always received the B2B discount when booking legs at different times.

Same here.

I am Zen (just over halfway to Zenith) and will never make it. I do appreciate also being Discover Plus on Azamara.

My late husband’s cruises were all there but they didn’t add correctly.

If no one is taking specialty reservations when you embark, I would go to the closest speciality restaurant and a make a reservation. Sometimes someone is outside the ocean view making reservations. I would not go to the retreat and lineup with others to speak to concierge first thing.

21 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

When on Edge and Apex they allowed ordering from both MDR and Blu.  

Same on Beyond early last year.

I would take the Sunset Veranda because I love the wake view.

14 minutes ago, hcat said:

Our  issue on Ascent was that  it was loud and shouty ALL DAY/NIGHT

Same experience on Beyond in the Caribbean last winter. The bars were extremely rowdy during the Elite Happy Hour every night before dinner. We gave up on the Martini Bar because there were too many people downstairs and IF we found seats, it took a long time to get drinks. My husband used a large complicated walker and we could not manage the tiered seats.
 

We ended up in the retreat.

Norwaylady, thank you for taking us along on your vacation. I love your reviews. Safe travels home for you and the Mr. 

6 hours ago, jelayne said:

Drinks in Luminae are complimentary either  it’s a Move Up bid. 

Just to clarify Jelayne’s post, drinks in Luminae ARE NOT complimentary.

12 minutes ago, DJluv2cruise said:

Wondering if all the Aqua Class rooms are on the same floor? Yes

 

If I went with a guaranteed AC wondering if it will be worth saving the couple hundred dollars?  Maybe. Some aqua class staterooms are under the fitness center or pool deck and are sometimes noisy.

Can you see the menus daily before you go to the dining room. They are in the Celebrity app and most accurate close to the cruise. Menus do change.

 

hoping my DH will be ok with the Blu menu, so we could compare with the MDR. I think you can still order from the MDR menu in Blu. Someone else needs to verify. 
 

Can we both take a bottle of wine on board at embarkation as with the other lines?  Can I order a bottle of wine at dinner and it can be kept for me for the following night?  Yes and Yes. 
 

With being a couple and not having company with us is there the option to dine with others on this Cruise line? Tables are close together and you will have the opportunity to chat.

 

We really enjoy meeting other people at dinner.  Is the entertainment at 2 separate times during the evening to allow for everyone to see? Yes

3 hours ago, 81Zoomie said:

 Then we met Joana the new Retreat manager who just boarded in Sydney.

Joana is amazing if she is the same Joana on the Solstice in Sep/Oct 2022. 

Go to the Celebrity website and click offers on the menu across the top of the page. Exciting Deals is on the drop-down. I am logged in and I don’t know if that makes a difference.

16 minutes ago, TheHawk1 said:

I would think Deck 12 could be noisy on E class ships

It wasn’t on Beyond. Occasionally we hear voices or tinkling of silverware but it was low level.

We used to take magnets with hooks and I’d hang my light weight clothes in the main cabin to dry. I always asked for extra towels. I did it from  Vancouver/Hawaii/Sydney on the Solstice and from Seattle to Sydney on Explorer of the Seas. The Explorer cruise was a side by side to a Solstice NZ cruise.

27 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

The more we read about Oceania the more we believe they may be a better fit for us.

Jim, we loved Oceania and found it a good fit. I thought Oceania cruisers might be stuffy but almost all of them graduated from Celebrity, Princess, and/or Holland America. They were interested in our cruise experiences and specifically why we wanted to try Oceania.