Lsimon

It's possible that it was the next guests that found the phone and not the steward. They could have turned it into guest services, and those folks aren't always the most efficient...they may not have yet tied that random iPhone in their lost-and-found bin to your report.

Yea, I wouldn't doubt that it is either sitting in a big lost and found box someplace or someone else along the way grabbed it. The cabin steward might be the least likely to steal it since an items disappearance from a cabin could be easily traced to them.

I've always found that the menu on formal nights included the best selections and always one or more of my dining room favorites.

All of the dividers between cabins on the Equinox can be opened part way - just the outer half (or maybe slightly less then half). I've seen lots of instances where all of the dividers between several cabins in a row were opened for a group.

Boatlover: I've edited your statement to address four points you mentioned:

1. ...It is the opinion of the parents and grandparents posting that the kids had a good time, not reviews written by the kids themselves.
   
2. ....why bring your kids on a cruise to do the same arts and crafts projects they can do at a day camp at home...
   
3. ...What kids want to dress up for dinner and eat fancy foods in the MDR?
   
4. ...prefer foods like chicken nuggets and french fries, things that Celebrity is not known for.
   

I'll address these based on by knowledge and experience from cruising with our friends who have a young child who has been cruising Celebrity since they were one year old, now going on seven:

1. Unfortunately writing a review is a bit beyond the writing ability of the six year old and in any event this is below the minimum age to register on Cruise Critic. But I know how excited the child is about every cruise they go on and that even though they've cruised lines which you'd consider more kid friendly, Celebrity is by far the child's favorite.

2. For the same reason adults take a cruise instead of going to the local pub, having dinner at home or a restaurant down the street, or just lounging on their sofa, back yard or a neighborhood pool.

3. Our friend's child absolutely loves getting dressed up for formal night. They are extremely proud of how they look in their formal clothing as I've seen many other children. Of course not all children enjoy this but if you look at any of the long dress code threads here on cruise critic you'll know that many adults cruising Celebrity abhor the idea of getting dressed up.

4. In addition to offering the opportunity to try lots of new "adult food" Celebrity had great children's menus and I can attest to the fact that their Chicken Nuggets and French fries are outstanding. Another adult friend who cruises with us even ordered them one night after "tasting" the kid's dinner on a prior night (or at least talked seriously of considering it). You should give them a try before you dismiss them if you like that type of food. I assure you that your dining room waiter would be more than happy to bring you the kid's menu so you can try them yourself.

OK, I've seen a lot of talk here which just points out to the material difference between a notary in the US vs. UK and it just didn't make common sense to me that a UK Notarization would be required. So I simply went to the Celebrity UK website and downloaded a UK Celebrity Brochure, which you can either find on the Celebrity UK Website or find right here:

http://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/media/worldwide%20cruises%202015-2016_tcm27-77482.pdf

Under Booking Conditions on page 142 (or 144 of the PDF) you'll find the following language (underlined bold words are emphasis added by me):

There are other matters, such as name differences, discussed in the same T&C section of the brochure which you should read as well.

This differs from the verbiage in the USA Brochure which only mentioned a notarized letter since that is the USA practice.

If I were the OP, I would find a hard copy of a UK brochure even if I had to call around a bit to find an agency that had one. I don't know how Celebrity UK is on sending these out, but I know from past posts it is hit or miss on getting a hard copy brochure request fulfilled from Celebrity USA.

...I have never understood why a baby or toddler are on a cruise, other than parents convenience but even then what convenience? It is a nightmare not a convenience to have a baby or toddler whose home routine has been disrupted. What happened to couples holidays? Maybe more attention needs to be paid to that considering the state many marriages are in but that is a whole other issue....

It's clear that you don't understand and are among a group of people who do not understand this. But it is equally clear that others do understand why families with young children want to travel together. The Celebrity Cruise Line is among those that does understand and fully supports families as evidenced by the point that they design their ships to accommodate and attract families with young children and advertise to that market segment.

Once consideration for those who would like to avoid children is to consider Aqua Class cabins. Because Aqua Class does not have staterooms for more than two guests there is a lower chance of children being guests on that floor - although still a possibility. Likewise, because of this there is a decreased likelihood that there will be as many children in the Blu dining room as their is in the main dining room.

Sorry you are finding this such a hassle, but it is important for you all that the documentation is absolutely correct. If you go to: thenotariessociety.org.uk and put in your post code, it will give you contact details of your nearest notary public. Then just call them and make an appointment.

 

Hope this helps

I read someplace that it is very expensive to get a document notarized in the UK, something in the order of 80 GBP. Is that right?

Clearly there is a different concept of notarizing documents in the USA and UP.

In the USA is pretty easy and inexpensive to be a notary. As a result just about every bank, insurance office, law office and most mid size or larger general offices have at least one notary. In a past job I had our office secretary become a notary so we wouldn't need to run out to get documents notarized. You can generally get items notarized at no cost at place you do regular business at such as a bank, law office, or insurance office. At worst it would cost a small amount, usually $5 or less, to have a document notarized at other types of local businesses who provide various services. Here a notary is basically just someone registered with the state who will be a special witness to your signature. They'll check appropriate ID if they don't know you already and then sign as verification that the signature is yours. As a result it is pretty common to require all sorts of documents to be notarized here.

We've cruised many times with a couple who have a child who started cruising Celebrity at an age well under 5 and is now a little over that age and sails Celebrity at least once a year. All, or most, of their Celebrity cruises were longer cruises of 10 to 14 nights and they always had the kids club operating. The kids club was not crowded but there were always enough kids to have a small group for nice activities. The child loved the kids club and even though they occasionally sailed on another cruise line the child liked Celebrity the most. Their child is well behaved and had no issues at all around the ship with guests or staff, and many staff tends to give young children extra attention.

Definitely check with Celebrity. I emailed the special needs department yesterday about a 'fit to travel' letter that I apparently need as I'm pregnant. Seeing the midwife next week for one. The reply I got was that their website isn't up to date (I had to laugh, really?!) and I don't need that letter anymore.

 

So despite what the website and others tell you, best to get it in writing from Celebrity.

 

Good luck!

That requirement is also printed in the T&C published in their current brochures. If you do have an appointment coming up it couldn't hurt to have it with you. I always worry about the many information "disconnects" between Celebrity's policies as communicated in written materials, phone reps, and on board practices.

From the current Americas brochure 2014/2015:

There was actually a luggage allowance on Celebrity for our first cruise. It was 200 lbs per person. I only know because, being our first cruise [and in the days you could actually find a printed brochure] I read the whole T&Cs. I have not read the complete T&Cs since so I have no idea if the allowance is still there...

You can still find printed brochures, or even better yet you can download a full copy of one from Celebrity's website which include about 11 pages of T&C fine print in the back. The 2014/2015 Americas brochure has no limit on baggage weight nor number of bags. But it includes the following verbiage:

I was told that you could pre-book excursions on your credit card and that once onboard you could cancel the excursion and then re-book using your OBC. However, I have no experience at this, only hearing this online. Does anyone know if this is correct?

First off if there is a wait list you'll lose the excursion to someone else as soon as you cancel - which defeats the purpose of booking in advance.

Second, the only report I've read on Cruise Critic about this the person had problems getting the excursion desk to do this. Frankly I don't blame them. If I was working the excursion desk taking care of a line of people and had other work to do, or if I was standing in line behind you, I sure wouldn't appreciate your make work project of cancelling all the excursions and then re-booking the same exact one. Have a little consideration for people.

If you can't find another way to spend your OBC on board just take it out at the casino for a small discount (around 3% or 5%) and don't make extra work for people and increase other's wait time for this.

Thanks for clarifying this as I was confused after the previous post. Would you remind me, on an M-class vessel where can you get specialty coffees other than Café al Bacio? I am referring to espresso, cappuccino, latte, etc.

They'll have something set up in the buffet - at least in the morning. Although to be honest it's been years since I was on an M class ship. Not avoiding them but it has just been that way. All dining areas should have them available but some report the service as being spotty in the main dining rooms. The best quality coffees, and perhaps they only place to get the real fancy coffees (beyond the basic espresso, cappuccino, latte, etc), is the Café al Bacio as it is a true full service coffee bar (as well as a full bar).

How are you connecting your iPad? No connection sites other than the power!

Apple, and stores selling Apple products, sell a special cable. There are different models for the older iPads with the 30 pin connectors and the newer iPads with the lightning connectors.

http://store.apple.com/us/product/MD826ZM/A/lightning-digital-av-adapter

They have some other interesting accessories too including an adaptor to import your photos right off of a camera's memory card.

I "upgraded" to premium non-alcoholic prior to our cruise, because we don't drink alcohol, or really any mocktails, but we do drink lots of Perrier, Pellegrino, Evian, and Cafe al Bacio coffee and tea drinks, which were not included in the basic package.

For the benefit of others here, most of the Cafe al Bacio coffee and tea drinks are included in the classic package.

I am a recovering alcoholic (23+ years) and have the Classic Beverage Package, and looking forward to the non-alcohol selections. Between Cokes and mock-tails i think it will be a good thing (and it was a freebie, so who can argue!) My husband does drink wine and mixed drinks so he is REALLY looking forward to it too !

There are a few non-alcoholic drinks that are not included in the classic package, most notable for us has been the sparking waters. I've read in other postings that if you go to guest relations ASAP after boarding that they will allow you to "downgrade" your classic alcohol package to the premium non-alcohol package. Haven't tried this myself and from what I've read if you call in advance they'll tell you this can not be done, but have read reports here from several who have done it on the ship.

Does anyone know if the Apple Watch is available on Celebrity yet?

The Apple Watch is not available anywhere right now. It goes on sale sometime in April and they are not even taking orders yet on the Apple website. I'm guessing Apple will not have enough to meet initial demand so they can get lots of PR about people standing in line for hours or days to be able to get one. If this is the case it will probably be a while before they are carried on board.

Hi There

as a european we are used to go to sauna nude. How is it handled on the ship? Does anyone know?

I don't use these areas so I'm not speaking from personal experience but from what I've heard and read:

This is no problem and not unusual in the single sex saunas which are off the men's or woman's locker rooms.

It is not allowed in the mixed sex Persian Gardens areas.

Can my Husband come with me to party even though he is not at my level? I would never go alone.. they have to realize this ..right?

Yes your husband will be able to come to any Captain's Club events with you but your son and his wife would not be able to attend based on your level unless they were staying in the same cabin. The Captain's Club invitations we've received in the past have said "members and companions staying in the same suite/stateroom over 21 years old are welcome...". This has been for the Elite events, which include some of the Select events, but I'm sure the same policy applies for select members.

As far as the programs, if it isn't clear already:

Celebrity and RCL provide reciprocal benefits. What that means is that if you've obtained the second tier or higher in either program you'll be entitled to the benefits of the similar tier in the other company's program. But the points you earn on Celebrity only count towards Celebrity and not RCL. For example if you take your first Celebrity cruise which earns 14 points, then your Celebrity points would be 14 and your RCL points would be unchanged.

What exactly is included in the Persian Gardens? Is it just a quiet place to relax?

If you think you might have any interest then head there on embarkation day afternoon. They will be giving tours of the spa area and the Persian Gardens will not be in it's normal operation and instead should be open for tours. Ask about rates then and if you can have the price of a day pass applied to a cruise long pass if you're interested.

Are these saunas, steam rooms etc mixed sex? Or do they have gender specific ones?

 

Thank you!

The Persian Gardens areas are co-ed (both sexes in all areas).

However, in the Men's and Women's locker rooms there are same sex only saunas that are not part of the Persian Gardens and are open to any passenger at no extra charge.

I wasn't trying to be nasty......its is just so far off from what they had bee doing......

 

 

Its totally shocking!!!!

Didn't think you were nasty at all. I was pretty surprised by what I read in that thread too!

There is no way that a minimum for bar drink on RCL is $10.00 that is totally ridiculous. ......

There are some threads over on the RCL board discussing this - apparently something like a 40% price increase recently went through.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2179789

I hope I can get my Wenger Model 16999 Swiss Army knife onboard my next cruise!

Click on the image to read the Amazon reviews which give some great example of uses for this wonderful tool!

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We are booked on the Celebrity Equinox next month. I checked on beverage packages, specifically wine packages. The Classic Wine Package is $109 per person per day. This seems outrageous. I don't believe I would want to cruise with folks drinking $109 of wine every day. Holland America has 3 or 5 bottle packages at reasonable prices. Why can't Celebrity come up with something similar. As for me, I will use my OBC to have a glass of wine with dinner every evening. I'm sure it will cost a lot less than $109.

As others have pointed out it is for three bottles. Period. You can take as long as you want to drink them, share them with as many people as you'd like, and enjoy them anyplace on the ship you'd like. They also have options for 4 or 5 bottles which is why it says $109 and up.

As Julia pointed out, the misunderstanding is due to Celebrity's erroneous inclusion of the same fine print used on the unlimited beverage packages on that page. Of course the unlimited beverage packages ARE charged per person per day. You're not the first person posting here to be totally confused by those terms and conditions and I imagine that is just the tip of the iceberg since most people using Celebrity's website don't even know about Cruise Critic. Like other problems with their website they are likely losing far more in lost sales than they're saving by keeping the website development/maintenance budget low.

... Does anyone else bring their laundry with them, or do you all do it onboard or have it done for you during your trip? Just curious :)

I think everyone brings dirty laundry home!

They do have laundry services on board that we use frequently, but we use it for clothing we plan on wearing again later in the cruise. I imagine that there are some people who get their clothing laundered on the ship to take home clean but that these are the exception.

Heck, I even bring some clothes from home that are dirty on my way to the cruise! If we're packing clothing for our cruise that needs to be dry cleaned I'll pack it dirty instead of sending it out just before we pack. That way we can have it done on the ship. The prices are not much different than at home and that way those items are going to look fresh and nicely pressed.

Your best bet in posting this would be to do it on the roll call for your cruise.

If you don't yet know what a roll call is then look at this post: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=547106