Changes for the better or worse

[SnorkelMoose]

 

Is sushi still held every evening in the buffet area?...Chocolates on pillows in the evening?

 

Just a couple of things I wonder if they still are doing.

 

 

Yes, and yes! On the Equinox, there was sushi every day at the buffet. We received little dark chocolate squares on our pillows every night. Can't complain; I ate way too much on that cruise!

[sarahc78]

Yes, usually 99% of the time. But having said that I think I have read sometimes Celebrity has the right to change it.

 

But now that you have a class of cabin assigned if you can find out if there are others in the same class in an even better location you can switch.

 

Example: I book an inside guarantee and they give me a Cat 9 forward on deck 7 and I find a Cat 9 midship on deck 8 is open. I can call and get it changed to that other cabin.

 

Have a great trip.

 

Anne Maria

Awesome! Thanks for the info Anne Maria ;)

[4774Papa]

Chocolates are back, but we don't eat them.

[CruisingChick]

Chocolates are back, but we don't eat them.

 

You can send them to me!!

[TeaBag]

Sara, ours are 38 & 32:eek: and suites are still not within our desired budget:D

Same here and ours are 40 and 42! However, there is a screaming deal today on the Silhouette Baltics from Amsterdam, suite $2599 (May 16) and $2699 (May 28). I am so bummed that we are on the Eclipse May 30 out of Southampton and yes, it is 3 days longer, but we paid more than $1000 more than those prices for an A1, a year ago. Sometimes it pays to wait, although the prices on ours now are prohibitive no matter what cabin you choose!

[TeaBag]

Anne Maria I actually booked us a gurantee cabin for this sailing.... I was totally nervous about it too. But I got our room assignment last week and we ended up getting upgraded to a better location on the ship! Other rooms in the class we were upgraded too are going for $150 more pp so I am super stoked!

 

Once its been assigned its ours right??? :eek:

I'm another "guarantee" fan as of the last cruise. We bought a 2D guarantee and were assigned a 1A. Later a better cabin came free and we moved to it. It was the best. Enjoy your cruise.

[hulamoon]

I saw that screaming deal in the baltics...I would have to cancel another to take it though, so I may think about it until it is gone!

 

So many changes happened in the last two years. And actually the take always and returns of benefits from last summer was rather stunning.

 

Honestly when I found this thread I was considering posting my own to see if someone would give me the Cliff Notes for this week changes.

 

Can we or can we not keep old drink prices for upgrades? Will Luminae provide lunch as promised?

 

I feel rather updated in changes as of Dec 2014 however.

 

I would say food is better than last year, but not as good as 2011 and Tuscan Grill lost a little of its flare, but we would still go. Bistro has a bigger menu, but doubled in price to $10. qsine was better in Summit than S class, just our experience. The spa is new! More expensive, but with better anytime discounts.

[TeaBag]

Love your reference to Cliff Notes hulamoon:D! That's about it.

 

I don't know if you'd call it a "cut back or a cut up" but I really am disappointed that we now have to pay for Zumba. I used to love doing that, sometimes twice/day but at $12.80/class that cuts into mu budget.

 

I agree that the food is better in MDR than it was a year ago or so. However, we will be in AQ for the next 4 cruises so I won't get to compare it.

 

All this being said, we still book Celebrity exclusively because we love our loyalty perks. Time will tell if this will continue.

[hulamoon]

I think Blu improved over our cruise before last, but it also does not wow me the way it did in 2011.

 

Yes I forgot about Zumba, I was pleasantly surprised in Dec. to not have to wait for a spa deal they had all week long ones, at least on the Summit.

 

There have been cuts in entertainment staff, however they did announce new shows, thank goodness!

[true45]

Positives on January 2015 silhouette

 

Lavazza coffee delicious in every venue at no extra charge and we are coffee lovers

 

Excellent entertainers

Band Soul

Solomon Jaye

Comedians

Voices and dancers in production shows -- we almost skipped these as boring not this time

 

Room service breakfast upgraded - loved this every morning but one

So many choices corned beef hash, blueberry pancakes etc etc on time

Also Blu breakfast wonderful although not a Blu fan for other meals -- hostess great at dinner

 

Our room steward was terrific

 

Ship itself beautiful

 

Happy sailing

[cherylroslyn]

I dont think I've ever had a bad meal in the MDR. If I did get something I didnt enjoy I was always able to find somethign sutible to replace it w/.

 

Do you have a recent copy of the Room Service menu? There were a lot of items on there that we loved. It was nice to be able to get a turkey club, steak, ceasar salad or cheeseburger at 1am! LOL

 

AWESOME! This is exactly what I want to hear Cheryl! I liked the Reflection but found it not as intimate and easy to navigate as the Summit.

 

What are the new perks for the drink packages? I just assumed it was the same as before.

 

DH has been working overtime these past few weeks...He text me Saturday night w/ a copy of his time card showing all the over time and he captioned it "WOOOOO gonna get some drink packages, gonna get some drink packages" Like the cold cuts commercial. I was dying laughing!

Most people booked with the drink packages included for the first two passengers. It was called Pick your Per, then it was called 123GO, then it was called 321 Gone.......

 

 

All basicaly the same thing, drink package, tips OR OBC for ocean view and up. CC and Aqua and up got all three.

 

You may have booked in between the sales with the lower fares.... When did you book?

[sarahc78]

Most people booked with the drink packages included for the first two passengers. It was called Pick your Per, then it was called 123GO, then it was called 321 Gone.......

 

 

All basicaly the same thing, drink package, tips OR OBC for ocean view and up. CC and Aqua and up got all three.

 

You may have booked in between the sales with the lower fares.... When did you book?

2 weeks ago We went w/ an inside. OV or Balconies were $700 more per person. There was no 123 go or pick your perk going on but we did get a nice OBC...nice for an inside at least :)

 

The drink packages are the same though correct...theres no limit on the number of drinks per day or that people in the same room have to have the same package?

[lovetotraveltx]

Are you talking about the current $45 charge for specialties being the increase or they went up again?

 

Thank you!

[disillusi]

Sushi is still there but it's forgettable. You can order dinner items to your room, for free. There are charged room service items but they're only at breakfast (or drinks).

 

No chocolates as of 3/22. You did get one chocolate-covered Oreo randomly during the cruise, though.

 

Chocolates are back. I'm sitting next to a small pile of them on Reflection right now.

 

Sushi _is_ forgettable. Wife complained they used smoked salmon for the nigiri, though I don't know if that was true or it was just unimpressive.

 

Charged room service has expanded to now include steaks and sides for $20 or so. Free room service is still available and damn decent. (Especially impressed with cookies this cruise, silly as that sounds.)

[disillusi]

Are you talking about the current $45 charge for specialties being the increase or they went up again?

 

Thank you!

 

Murano is $50 this cruise. (Which, comon.) I think TG and Lawn Club are $40 or $45 but I'm not sure, I bought the 5 package.

[villageneighbor]

We were on the 3/29 Silhouette 7 day cruise.

Chocolates were back - they were squares, different varieties (dark, milk) left each night. They were good.

 

On Silhouette this was the 2nd week of Bistro 5 having new menu (6 crepes, special of the day(sunday is Sunday roast), soup, salad,) with the $10 per head cost.

 

Sushi is at the OceanView café starting 5 or 5:30. Our children enjoyed it (it was a bribe to clean cabin and get promptly ready for dinner).

 

Last night in MDR was the Top Chef menu - it was very good- particularly the flank steak.

 

MDR food was good, bar service was good, Spa prices were more reasonable on March/April 2015 Caribbean cruise than on Med cruise July 2014.

Nice, friendly, very service oriented staff. Still had the nice touches of cool towels/drinks coming back to ship from being in port.

[sarahc78]

Chocolates are back. I'm sitting next to a small pile of them on Reflection right now.

 

Sushi _is_ forgettable. Wife complained they used smoked salmon for the nigiri, though I don't know if that was true or it was just unimpressive.

 

Charged room service has expanded to now include steaks and sides for $20 or so. Free room service is still available and damn decent. (Especially impressed with cookies this cruise, silly as that sounds.)

 

Thanks for the live update! Would you be able to snap a shot of the room service menu...pretty pretty please :)

[sarahc78]

We were on the 3/29 Silhouette 7 day cruise.

Chocolates were back - they were squares, different varieties (dark, milk) left each night. They were good.

 

On Silhouette this was the 2nd week of Bistro 5 having new menu (6 crepes, special of the day(sunday is Sunday roast), soup, salad,) with the $10 per head cost.

 

Sushi is at the OceanView café starting 5 or 5:30. Our children enjoyed it (it was a bribe to clean cabin and get promptly ready for dinner).

 

Last night in MDR was the Top Chef menu - it was very good- particularly the flank steak.

 

MDR food was good, bar service was good, Spa prices were more reasonable on March/April 2015 Caribbean cruise than on Med cruise July 2014.

Nice, friendly, very service oriented staff. Still had the nice touches of cool towels/drinks coming back to ship from being in port.

 

Thanks for the info. Sounds like you had a good time :)

[lovetotraveltx]

So Olympic would be $50 and Qisine still $45? Any online deals for specialties?

[tbmrt]

We cruised on the Equinox in 12/14. Thought the MDR food was the best that we've ever had on any ship. Usually we hit the specialty restaurants for better food, but didn't find the need to do so.

 

Really didn't care for the entertainment much except for singer, Jane Curry.

 

Think the increase in prices that I've recently read about for specialty restaurants and Bistro have really gotten out of line.

 

Loved our Concierge balcony cabin with plenty of storage.

 

Select Dining worked out really well for us.

 

The Martini Bar was the most fun with great bartenders. The Passport Bar and had an extremely grumpy bartender when we were onboard.

 

The Oceanview bartenders and food at buffet were very good.

 

Gastopub was always empty and the bartenders seemed very disinterested in serving people. They chatted between themselves and ignored the patrons waiting for drinks. Many people told me they had the same experience

 

Although there is now a fee for zumba, there were a few great Free zumba like dance classes with Shawna on the deck.

 

Embarkation and debarkation in Ft. Lauderdale went extremely smooth.

[ghstudio]

 

Wife complained they used smoked salmon for the nigiri, though I don't know if that was true or it was just unimpressive.

 

 

There are many definitions and types of sushi. Most are familiar with Japanese Sushi...but several other countries have their own sushi as well. Most all definitions of Japanese sushi talk about nigiri sushi..which uses vinegared rice. Most American's (and perhaps others) are used to unflavored rice....which is what is used on Celebrity ships and most japanese sushi shops outside the major food cities. The rice, flavored (or unflavored, I guess) can be topped with any number of things including an egg omelette, raw fish, or vegetables. Many are familiar with mackerel sushi which is almost always mackerel that has been pickled. Smoked Salmon is just another way to process salmon....there is no reason that it can't or shouldn't be on nigiri sushi, other than it usually isn't. Smoked salmon is also used in philadelphia rolls in maki sushi (rolled sushi).

 

Perhaps more than you wanted to know about sushi....but there's no reason you can't have smoked salmon sushi.

[Kelani]

We were on the 3/29 Silhouette 7 day cruise.

Chocolates were back - they were squares, different varieties (dark, milk) left each night. They were good.

 

On Silhouette this was the 2nd week of Bistro 5 having new menu (6 crepes, special of the day(sunday is Sunday roast), soup, salad,) with the $10 per head cost.

 

Sushi is at the OceanView café starting 5 or 5:30. Our children enjoyed it (it was a bribe to clean cabin and get promptly ready for dinner).

 

Last night in MDR was the Top Chef menu - it was very good- particularly the flank steak.

 

MDR food was good, bar service was good, Spa prices were more reasonable on March/April 2015 Caribbean cruise than on Med cruise July 2014.

Nice, friendly, very service oriented staff. Still had the nice touches of cool towels/drinks coming back to ship from being in port.

 

 

We were on the Infinity March 29th. We did lunch at the Bistro and it was $7. We also ate at Qsine & booked on ship when they were giving a discount of $13. I agree the chocolates were very good.

[nikel]

On Silhouette this was the 2nd week of Bistro 5 having new menu (6 crepes, special of the day(sunday is Sunday roast), soup, salad,) with the $10 per head cost.

 

Do you remember what the other days "special of the day" were?