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Water babies

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  • Location
    Philadephia
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Celebrity
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Europe

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Water babies's Achievements

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Cool Cruiser (2/15)

  1. Got off the Beyond 1 March. Sailed in 10113. No significant noise and slept just fine, and we had some moderate seas during the cruise. If not resolved by the end of the cruise, post your cabin number in the room report thread so others can avoid.
  2. Yes, you can ask to exchange, but you get what they have available, not necessarily your choice of any wine
  3. We did the Music Cities cruise in early June last year and found the stops to be surprisingly interesting (Paducah, Clarksville) and the scenery beautiful. When we booked, we were thinking mostly of Memphis and Nashville rather than what we'd see in between. We did the included excursions and were happy with them. I think Jim Zim posted video reviews of his 2023 cruise for that itinerary on You Tube.
  4. We booked the Tasting Menu at Le Voyage on the Beyond next week, which appears to be similarly priced as the Chef's Table on other Celebrity Ships under discussion. Luckily we had $1500 of onboard credit to burn for this cruise. I don't think we would have booked it if we were paying "extra". Now I just consider it an "included" perk of the cruise.
  5. So glad to hear this. We board Beyond on Monday, February 19 so I don't know if we'll have a dedicated Butler there yet, but fingers crossed. I had just about resolved that this would be our last Sky Suite, on E-class at least, and maybe our last cruise on Celebrity. If Luminae is better than it was on the Apex in 2022, that and the return of the Butlers may change my mind.
  6. Whatever you do, don't book a 5 night specialty package. You won't be able to make reservations until you get onboard.
  7. Thanks for pointing this out. Apparently I missed the fine print as have many others. I still wish they EXPLICITLY told you that you COULD make an advance dining reservation for a particular restaurant by purchasing separately and not in a package.
  8. Celebrity is aggressively marketing specialty dining to be purchased before boarding with all sorts of promotions, yet they never tell you that that packages preclude making advance reservations. When I realized this, I went to book a reservation for the restaurant I wanted to try the MOST, separately from the package (lots of onboard credit to use) and there were no dates/times available. Others on the same sailing HAD been able to make reservations by booking individually WAY in advance (before 120 days I suspect). I am hoping there are still some reservations that were held back to book onboard and feel like those who pre-purchased packages SHOULD get SOME preference. Otherwise I’ll be asking for a refund of my package to my OBC for certain. I know that suites get some preference (Royal and above get unlimited specialty dining included), but not certain about Loyalty (Captain’s Club) status. So dining package buyer beware. And if you REALLY want to dine somewhere, especially on a certain date/time, book it as soon as possible without looking for discounts—there is always a catch!
  9. Well, this is disheartening. Just when I thought we had found a good fit with Celebrity. We first sailed with Celebrity on the Reflection when it was their newest ship in a traditional balcony cabin. We paid for Concierge class, but honestly never used the concierge for anything. Not a great value for additional dollars paid. Once we booked a Royal Suite on the Celebrity Summit, we were hooked, and that was before Luminae (just as it was being added across the fleet) and the Retreat. We sailed 3 more times in a Royal Suite (M-Class) because that suited our needs the best (our son used the pull out couch in the living room). Thoroughly enjoyed each of those cruises. Once the Edge Class and the Retreat came along, we were priced out of a Royal Suite. We did our last cruise in a Magic Carpet Sky Suite with adjoining inside cabin on the Apex in 2022 (postponed from 2020). I found Luminae over crowded compared the M-class. We ate there only once for dinner since it turned out there was an up-charge whenever our son wanted to join us (we were told it would be "no problem" when booking our cabins). The four main dining rooms were just fine. We paid for the specialty dining we wanted to try since we had onboard credit to use. Since it was not a warm weather itinerary, we never used the Retreat Sundeck and also found the Retreat lounge overcrowded on the few occasions we went there. I dealt with 2 of the 3 Retreat Concierges on board for what I thought was a very simple change in an excursion and got probably the worst service I have ever experienced on Celebrity. They worked separately rather than together and seemed to be competing with each other. They were always so busy and had too many requests to keep track of. Our butler was also very busy, but he managed to do whatever we asked of him (morning coffee, laundry, getting our passports back after clearing some ports), unlike the Retreat Concierges. I made our reservations on the app much more easily than asking someone else to do it. I also went to the Future Cruise desk when it wasn't busy rather than drag them to the retreat for an appointment. So maybe I don't need a dedicated butler, but we paid for one. I have very little confidence that the pooled retreat hosts are the answer to fair distribution of workload over all the "lower" suite guests. Not to mention, some of the staff losing their job, or at least their status, within the organization. Are they now so flush with staff that they are firing the "excess" butlers? Or are they assigning them to other roles with less compensation? Lots of questions and absolutely NO transparency from Celebrity. We have an Aqua Sky Suite booked on the Beyond in 2024 for just my husband and I; our son is in college now and has outgrown traveling with us. If we are not wowed, we will take our cruising dollars elsewhere in the future. This whittling away at the product while prices continue to increase has got to stop or they will ruin what was a very good thing.
  10. We were on the 26 June Apex sailing to Iceland and Ireland. Destination Gateway on Deck 2 was ONLY used for tendered ports, otherwise we had STEEP gangways from decks 4 or 5 to negotiate. Why they didn't use deck 2 with such a nice facility is certainly beyond me! I assume that is where they had handicapped passengers exit/enter because there was no way they could have negotiated those gangways. Somehow passengers in wheelchairs just magically showed up at the tour buses (with reserved seats in the front). Instead, they shut down the Craft Social Bar to set up the security check points for all the other passengers and it was plenty congested both going and coming back.
  11. Yes, I can see that point. Perhaps because of his age, we have been told repeatedly that it will be no problem for him to join us in the Retreat/ Luminae, that we only need to speak to the Retreat host (Butler). Now whether that is the reality when we board is yet to be seen. He does not join us for most meals, only dinner some nights. He probably won’t really use Retreat pool or lounge either once he finds other cruisers his age. Your 24 year old may want to spend more time together than he does. I’ve also been hearing great things about the 4 main dining rooms and Blu, more “meh” comments about Luminae on Edge class ships. I have not experienced that myself yet, so I can’t really speak about whether a Suite is really better than two Aqua class IV’s (if you want Spa access).
  12. We faced the same decision cruising with our now 18 yr old son. A Royal Suite was nice and roomy, but having him laying on the sofa bed in the living room while we moved about the suite was annoying. And a second bathroom would have been really helpful. We had originally booked an aft Sky Suite with connecting sunset veranda on the Reflection in 2020, but will be sailing in an S3 Sky Suite along the Magic Carpet with a connecting inside stateroom for our son on the Apex 26 Jun. It used up our FCC; both itineraries were to Iceland/Ireland. Having that second bathroom and a real bed for our son were key factors in our decision. It would be lovely to have an Edge Villa or the 2 bed/ 2 bath Penthouse, but they always seem to be sold out, even if you could afford them.
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