2chiefs

7 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

 

I also am very glad that they are returning to this format. 

 

 I am pretty confident that it will not be held in Michael's Club or the Retreat Lounge.  My money says it will return back to the Sky View Lounge as it's a larger venue and more suited to a gathering of this type.

 

I like the Sky View Lounge. Perfect venue for this.

11 minutes ago, hcat said:

 

The Retreat in Michaels (on some ships) is a more  "recent"  concept for the  benefit of suite guests to enhance suite marketing.

 

Michael's Club was originally a cigar bar with humidors along the wall..  When it was no longer used as a Cigar Bar,  it became a piano type lounge on most ships. (Perry Grant).

 

BUT  It  was  also used exclusively for the  Elite and E plus get together just before dinner (no shorts) , with  complimentary drinks, and excellent snacks &  surprise tastings from the Specialty Venues.  We looked forward to it most days as a cozy congenial get together..more about socializing than free drinks!

 

Michaels   also offered a small cold lite breakfast buffet with coffees.Cap Club host/ hostess presided.

 

Then two things happened...there were too many Elites or E + for the space so it was moved to the upstairs lounge.Not the same anymore. 

AND, it was given over to suite guests as their exclusive lounge.

 

Happy to hear it may come back as an option.  Our next cruise is in late January so hope we will get to experience it. 

 

I am sure it won't be in the Michaels,  but hopefully in a nice space!

Thanks. We didn't know that history. We just started sailing Celebrity a few years ago.

25 minutes ago, njguy_south said:

I and some friends are sailing a holiday cruise on Beyond, leaving Dec. 22, 2022 and returning Jan. 2, 2024. I wonder if they will have this on our one evening at sea in 2024 -- Jan 1?! LOL

We are on that cruise with you

2 minutes ago, DaKahuna said:

Just checked my email -- nothing so far.  

 

LOL. The only thing we get via email are sales pitches....

5 minutes ago, mrgabriel said:

We have fond memories of sitting in Michael’s Club at the end of the day and this seems to be a return to those times. My initial reaction is 👍👍👍

I thought Michael's Club was for Retreat guests. I don't think that ever went away.

1 minute ago, cbfb said:

Just received this email:

 

I have heard from many of our loyal Captain’s Club members, such as yourself, that one of the program’s most gratifying aspects is the opportunity to be part of a community of like-minded travellers with whom you can share your experiences on board. I love that so many of you are eager to connect over your shared passion for travel and cruising.  I am excited to announce that starting in January 2024, we will designate an existing lounge space for our Elite, Elite Plus, and Zenith members to get together on board during the daily Elite Cocktail hour.  The lounge space will be available twice per cruise on sailings between 5 nights and 7 nights, and three times per cruise on sailings 8 nights or longer, from 5pm to 7pm. Your concierge team will inform you in your welcome letter of the specific days and locations where you can gather on board. Additionally, drinks will still be available at bars and lounges throughout the ship daily by presenting your Seapass card if you prefer not to use the designated lounge space.  This gathering, in addition to our Captain’s Club Welcome Party, Senior Officer Party, Music & Mixology event, and more, provides our members with several opportunities to meet up, and we could not be more excited. Thank you for your loyalty, and I hope to meet you on board soon.  Best,

Laura Hodges Bethge President, Celebrity Cruises

Thanks for posting. I'm glad this is happening although I'd rather see the nightly one (except embarkation day) like they used to have which was stopped during Covid. Also, I notice she doesn't mention Hors D’oeuvres like they used to have. They had some nice snacks! I enjoy having the get-together with fellow frequent cruisers.

5 minutes ago, cruisin 07 said:

Thanks for all the input. AA let me change to a later flight at no additional charge. I just get home 4 hrs later but will make it with no stress,

Whew!!

Don't they vary from ship-to-ship? Sometimes from day-to-day as well.

14 hours ago, island lady said:

 

OMG...I miss the Tuttie salad bar.   Sigh..so many cut back now.  Just not the same. 😞 

Yep. First it was Honey Stung Chicken and now Tuttie..... Next it'll be the Ranger cookies

2 minutes ago, nelblu said:

At $20+ per pound it's a delicious perk.😆 The only thing that is missing are chunks of Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.   However, I get it at Giovanni's meat and cheese platter.

When they used to have the Tuttie salad bar at lunch in the main dining room (pre-covid), I would go up and simply request prosciutto and feta cheese only. I would get a weird look, but they complied, and I would take it back to my table and enjoy....

2 hours ago, C cruise said:

<SNIP>> Is the walk far from the ship?

 

No (if you're young)

Yes, if you're old like me (but I still walk it. LOL)

They have shuttles to take you all around the island. It might be a good idea to ride it all the way around first before you choose a place. It's quite large. No problem getting 10,000 steps in if that's your thing.

On 10/11/2023 at 11:34 PM, Ret MP said:

<SNIP>> I was underwhelmed by the food.  

We actually liked the taco/burrito bar (not the attacking birds though), so we get off, eat lunch at the taco bar and go back to the ship and have a drink in the hot tub in the solarium (pretty much to ourselves!)

On 10/11/2023 at 11:20 PM, neverbeenhere said:

I love love love ❤️ 💕 Coco cay, Almost everyone gets off our ship, so we can enjoy our personal yacht. Thanks to all. 

Ditto. Thanks CocoCay.

Having said that, I think RCL added another private island so they could have an extra stop for their mega ships that can't go to many ports. Afterall, the mega ship is pretty much a destination in itself.

On 10/14/2023 at 12:46 PM, ckmommy said:

Rooms:

Good:

-Room was ready at 1:30

-room keys on the door

-Met our room attendant--he would be cleaning our room in the mornings

-plenty of storage for our clothing and room under the bed for luggage storage

-nice reading light over bed

-there was an offer for pressing of clothing (up to 10 items that fit in a provided bag) for $17.49--But it stated to allow up to 48 to get the clothing back.  Our stateroom attendant assured us they would be back in 24 hours (and they were--we gave him 2 mens dress shirts and to pairs of pants)

-we got towel animals 2 of the 5 days--that was fine for us

 

The Bad:

 

-the shower head did not have a diffuser (?) on it--so it was just one strong stream of water--we did not ask for maintenance to come and fix it.  I wished we had after getting a sunburn the 2nd day.  But that was our fault for not asking for it to be fixed.

-No paper Cruise Compass--I did see some on people's doors, but I did not see our stateroom attendant after the first day to ask for one.  I really did miss the paper copy

-Some one stole some of my door decorations.  

-We only had 2 in our room- but have cruised with 3 in the room before.  With Cabin service only in the AM OR PM, the couch that makes into a bed would have to be left open all the time.  That would be an issue.

-For some reason the cabin attendant only left 1 towel on the 2nd day of the cruise.  So we had to share that wet towel.  I guess I could have gotten a pool towel, but we did not realize this till too late.  And, there were not cabin stewards around to ask for more towels

 

The Ugly:

 

-there was a lady across the hallway from us that was loudly complaining about crazy things the first few days--why are my sheets not being changed everyday?, where is my ice? Can you push the beds together to make more room during the day and then take them apart at night?  I felt bad for the Attendant

We always ask for paper too so we can scribble on it. Another nice feature though that you may not have noticed is that you can download the compass in PDF form by scanning the code on the TV. It's nice to have the PDF copy as it's easy to read on the phone and then saved to your digital cruise pictures for future reference.

5 minutes ago, nelblu said:

Just off Oasis and the D lounge had people but not completely full.  Some nights very few.  Snacks were offered at Breakfast and Happy Hour time.  Occasionally, while getting my decaf cappuccino, some cookies were available in the afternoon.  Loved the prosciutto served in the PM hours.  One night I got a plate full and brought it to Chop's as my granddaughter loves the stuff.🤣

Me too!! I skip all the hot food and load up on prosciutto, cheese and crackers (with my wine).

On 10/14/2023 at 11:50 AM, NMTraveller said:

I am definitely seeing more menu items on the menu.

 

Tilapia is also missing from the menu.  Which is a plus in my opinion.

 

I definitely like the new menu better than the previous one.

Yuk. Worst fish in the world in my opinion. Not healthy, over-farmed, cheap, includes over 100 species of fish so there is no consistency. Often fed feces from other fish on farms.

1 hour ago, budmeister said:

This lowly Diamond will miss the 5-8 snacks. They always seemed like a special variety. 

 

I am not sure if the always had snacks in the afternoon. Is that new? 

 

I am most relived not to be kicked out of breakfast or the view of the ship from what used to be called the Viking or Constellation lounge. I guess I will be satisfied to only lose the least of 3 enjoyed benefits.

 

At the rate things are going, I will never be a Diamond Plus. 

 

Not new but also not standard. I've seen cookies on most cruises in the afternoon. Sometimes mini sandwiches & such.

We have seen a nice continental breakfast on most cruises we've been on. Not sure if it's standard as we always eat breakfast in the main dining room.

30 minutes ago, Jerseygirl1416 said:

Just off Oasis today. No changes to Diamond Lounge sign and access the same as it always has been. The Solarium sign has been updated to read 18+. Still a young couple with a baby in a stroller thought it didn’t pertain to them lol. I’m sure this change in the Diamond Lounge is just to placate the Pinnacles when they can’t access the suite lounges due to crowding.

This sounds like the best explanation I've seen so far!

40 minutes ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

And what is Anthem?

Here's how I ID them:

Anthem

Adventure

Allure

Can't go wrong!!

7 minutes ago, steveru621 said:

 

On Radiance class ships there is a great view.

👍

46 minutes ago, OCSC Mike said:

 

People who like the snacks.

And camaraderie... 

14 hours ago, Peterpan&#x27;s girl said:

We are booked for AOS sailing 10/21.  It seems there is not a comedian scheduled, in fact, most of the entertainment seems very blah. Anyone know why?

That's not funny...

We love breakfast at Johnny Rockets. Never too crowded and good food.

(Sucks if it's raining LOL)

13 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

I prefer the "quieter" atmosphere of Celebrity (M and S class) versus RCL.

We do too, and we have three cruises booked with X.

However, we are going on Oasis though in 2025 with family of all ages which is what Oasis class is good at. So, my take is that one is not necessarily "better" than the other. It all depends on what you like and want. At our age, we love Celebrity more than RCL, but we still sail RCL.

17 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

We did 21 days last September on Voyager of the Seas , the ship need to beached , so many problems 

Great Ports, we were with a great group of people but that was about it  

The ship was in terrible ship , pipes were leaking all of the the place  , the ship look like it was never update since it was put in service 

Agree. We haven't been on Voyager in many years but we didn't care for it way back then either. We were on Mariner for Bermuda for our first cruise after Covid and it was still in great shape. Same class and only 4 years newer but big difference.