Questions RE: How Celebrity differs from Royal

[If only]

15 hours ago, Chip and Dale said:

Sadly that’s usually a deal breaker for me. They always put a variety on the tray and ultimately there is either mushrooms or seafood of some kind on the tray so I’m out of luck. That’s ok. I usually stick with wings or cheese and fruit in the lounge. I don’t eat anything on nights when they have shrimp available. 

When they bring around appetizers in the CC Lounge the cold ones are brought out first then the hot ones follow.  The servers pretty much know what is in them but tarragon will be tough.   I found eating in the dining room was far safer for dinner than the buffet for allergies, as the servers in the buffet may not know the ingredients.

Just realized we may be on both your cruises.

Edited February 7, 2019 by If only

[Chip and Dale]

10 minutes ago, stevea36 said:

Similarly, I had only been drinking Pinot Grigio..   I was introduced to Chenin Blanc and Voignier by the sommeliers.   Unfortunately, on my last sailing they did not have any Voignier by the glass (and I had the premium package), but I did have some very good Chenin Blancs.

 

I'm sure you will do fine... Just "grease his palm" and he will take VERY GOOD CARE of you as opposed to just good care 🙂

 

It may be nice to try glasses of other wines rather than needing to purchase a bottle. 

 

Can you suggest a “grease amount” to receive VERY GOOD CARE vs good care. We typically tip $1 per drink in the lounge on Royal.  

 

The service we received in the lounge on Adventure was positively OUTSTANDING!  The second week found many many newly minted Diamonds in the lounge who arrived at 3:30 and didn’t leave till 8:00!  They were very snotty with the crew who were 3 of the funniest, kindest, most accommodating crew members we have ever experienced in a lounge. YET there were soooooo many complaints against them. They did their damndest to keep everyone happy. Last call was 7:45 the week before, yet they were still trying to catch up most nights the 2nd week until 8:15. The three of them had to go to work in another bar immediately after they left the lounge. We tipped them extra the last night.  

 

We tip well but ONLY when warranted for good service. We always start out tipping for drinks in the lounge. I had to ask them to slow down on Adventure. One night I realized wow that was tooooo many glasses of champagne. They NEVER let my glass run dry! By the way a friend taught me years ago to drink champagne/sparkling on the rocks. Tall glass full of ice topped up with champagne. NO HANGOVER!!!  With those adorable servers I had to start counting the number of glasses and shake my head no when they looked at me at times. I was always the one with the tips 😉. 

Dee

[Chip and Dale]

11 minutes ago, If only said:

When they bring around appetizers in the CC Lounge the cold ones are brought out first then the hot ones follow.  The servers pretty much know what is in them but tarragon will be tough.   I found eating in the dining room was far safer for dinner than the buffet for allergies, as the servers in the buffet may not know the ingredients.

Just realized we may be on both your cruises.

On Royal it got to the point where I was much safer in the WJ. So sad. I go by “when in doubt don’t!”  

 

I rarely try anything offered on a platter. Servers often think its safe if it isn’t touching an allergen on the tray but soooooo not true. No worries I’m pretty sure I won’t starve 😁

 

We are on Reflection January 3 and 10 , 2020. Are you?

Dee

[Chip and Dale]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

Our favorite class RC ships are the Radiance class especially the Jewel.  Quest is held in the Safari Lounge on those ships. Up close and personal. Lot of fun.

 

On Celebrity we always pick the CBP and the OBC as our two perks. Longer cruises we do the CBP and gratuities. Like you, we don't  drink to break even. As a perk it's still a good deal. Celebrity has Sommeliers in the MDR. Nice as we feel the beverage service in the MDR (SD) is much better than RC in the MDR (MTD). We like that RC has a dedicated DL that you can use at anytime. But if you're staying in a suite or you are a Zenith Michaels Club is great and open to you at anytime. Bummer for us we don't do suites and we're not Zenith. 

Our favourite ships have a promenade. But we looooove the aft balconies on Radiance Class ships. 

 

We did exactly as you described with perks. The rep, Annie actually suggested it for the first two cruises. Smart girl!  

 

We used to do nothing less than a JS years ago. Then the rates seemed to climb and forget it. The value just wasn’t there. We never strived to reach Pinnacle on RCI. We do so much land travel now it never even appeared on our radar. We will see how we like Celebrity and may continue with the line. But highly doubtful we will pay the difference for a suite. We were bitten a few times with horrible cabin stewards in suites on Royal after paying a premium. It’s annoying if you pay a reasonable amount but it’s incredibly annoying if you pay through the nose for a suite. Royal is rarely helpful when it’s just poor service in our experience. 

 

We like variety. I’m enjoying the comments on here and the Celebrity boards about what to expect. Hoping we like Celebrity and have a good experience. 

Dee

[davekathy]

17 minutes ago, Chip and Dale said:

Our favourite ships have a promenade. But we looooove the aft balconies on Radiance Class ships. 

 

We did exactly as you described with perks. The rep, Annie actually suggested it for the first two cruises. Smart girl!  

 

We used to do nothing less than a JS years ago. Then the rates seemed to climb and forget it. The value just wasn’t there. We never strived to reach Pinnacle on RCI. We do so much land travel now it never even appeared on our radar. We will see how we like Celebrity and may continue with the line. But highly doubtful we will pay the difference for a suite. We were bitten a few times with horrible cabin stewards in suites on Royal after paying a premium. It’s annoying if you pay a reasonable amount but it’s incredibly annoying if you pay through the nose for a suite. Royal is rarely helpful when it’s just poor service in our experience. 

 

We like variety. I’m enjoying the comments on here and the Celebrity boards about what to expect. Hoping we like Celebrity and have a good experience. 

Dee

I hope you do also as it is a nice change with some of the same benefits. Pinnacle and Zenith would be nice. If some day it happens, them it happens. Great. But we'll have a blast on our way.

Edited February 7, 2019 by davekathy

[If only]

54 minutes ago, Chip and Dale said:

On Royal it got to the point where I was much safer in the WJ. So sad. I go by “when in doubt don’t!”  

 

I rarely try anything offered on a platter. Servers often think its safe if it isn’t touching an allergen on the tray but soooooo not true. No worries I’m pretty sure I won’t starve 😁

 

We are on Reflection January 3 and 10 , 2020. Are you?

Dee

We do have the 3rd booked but we also have the end of Jan booked on the Reflection as well & will not be doing both. Depends on flight & hotel.  Will let you know when we are sure.

Shirley

Edited February 7, 2019 by If only

[stevea36]

1 hour ago, Chip and Dale said:

It may be nice to try glasses of other wines rather than needing to purchase a bottle. 

 

Can you suggest a “grease amount” to receive VERY GOOD CARE vs good care. We typically tip $1 per drink in the lounge on Royal.  

 

The service we received in the lounge on Adventure was positively OUTSTANDING!  The second week found many many newly minted Diamonds in the lounge who arrived at 3:30 and didn’t leave till 8:00!  They were very snotty with the crew who were 3 of the funniest, kindest, most accommodating crew members we have ever experienced in a lounge. YET there were soooooo many complaints against them. They did their damndest to keep everyone happy. Last call was 7:45 the week before, yet they were still trying to catch up most nights the 2nd week until 8:15. The three of them had to go to work in another bar immediately after they left the lounge. We tipped them extra the last night.  

 

We tip well but ONLY when warranted for good service. We always start out tipping for drinks in the lounge. I had to ask them to slow down on Adventure. One night I realized wow that was tooooo many glasses of champagne. They NEVER let my glass run dry! By the way a friend taught me years ago to drink champagne/sparkling on the rocks. Tall glass full of ice topped up with champagne. NO HANGOVER!!!  With those adorable servers I had to start counting the number of glasses and shake my head no when they looked at me at times. I was always the one with the tips 😉. 

Dee

When the Sommelier comes over the first night have him come close and describe what you want and slip him a 10 or 20.  that should be enough to get him going..   As I said, the first night you will get what you ask for, but lookout after that.    (Make sure he knows that you would like to try other whites as well as what you are getting).

 

Also, if you get an invite to the wine tasting, go, it is a lot better than RCI's.  They take the time to discuss each wine, its origin, etc.

 

Steve

[Chip and Dale]

10 minutes ago, davekathy said:

I hope you do also as it is a nice change with some of the same benefits. Pinnacle and Zenith would be nice. If some day it happens, them it happens. Great. But we'll have a blast on our way.

EXACTLY!  We’re just looking for fewer problems and less stress when we cruise. 

 

I’m hoping I don’t sound incredibly snooty and demanding. We are pretty patient and try to manage our expectations. Nobody and nothing is perfect. We have started telling cabin stewards to forget the towel animals, we’ve seen them all and it’s too time consuming for them. So save it for the newbies or those who like them. We usually stay cool till the problems reach serious or ridiculous levels. 

 

No matter what, we always seem to have fun 😀

Dee

[Chip and Dale]

1 minute ago, stevea36 said:

When the Sommelier comes over the first night have him come close and describe what you want and slip him a 10 or 20.  that should be enough to get him going..   As I said, the first night you will get what you ask for, but lookout after that.    (Make sure he knows that you would like to try other whites as well as what you are getting).

 

Also, if you get an invite to the wine tasting, go, it is a lot better than RCI's.  They take the time to discuss each wine, its origin, etc.

 

Steve

Excellent advice thank you so much!

Dee

[Chip and Dale]

4 minutes ago, If only said:

We do have the 3rd booked but we also have the end of Jan booked on the Reflection as well & will not be doing both. Depends on flight & hotel.  Will let you know when we are sure.

Shirley

We fly in on Sunday December 29 (points) and will stay at Marriott pompano beach for five nights (points as well). 

 

I do  believe we are quite a bit older than you are 😉. Dennis travels constantly for work so we try to do two or three weeks at a time when we fly.  This holiday is one of those times. It’s an excellent break after Christmas with kids and grand babes which is quite involved for Nanny cause she’s a sucker 😍

 

Hopefully we will meet!

Dee