Glass blowing

[Peteymil]

I know when you book a glass blowing class, you do not get a specific time. Where would you go once you get on the ship to book your time slot?

[hrhdhd]

They'll have a demonstration on the first day after sailaway. Go then to get best choice of times.

[jelayne]

Go to the Hot Glass studio on Deck 15 to schedule your session.

[LeeW]

Go BEFORE the demo.  During the demo they are too busy to schedule you and afterwards there can be a line in front of you.  Missed sail-away waiting for them to finish the demo.

 

Also, if you are doing something small, like dish or ornament, the onboard price can be less than the price booking in advance.  So if you want something small, book onboard.  If you are making a larger object book in the cruise planner.  For example, on our Equinox cruise two people price was $220 but the items we actually made (ornament and tumbler) would have been around $180 if booked onboard.  

 

You pick up your items on the next day since they have to anneal at lower temperature overnight.  They were packed very well in bubble wrap and we had no problems getting them home.

[shellunderwater]

15 hours ago, LeeW said:

Go BEFORE the demo.  During the demo they are too busy to schedule you and afterwards there can be a line in front of you.  Missed sail-away waiting for them to finish the demo.

 

Also, if you are doing something small, like dish or ornament, the onboard price can be less than the price booking in advance.  So if you want something small, book onboard.  If you are making a larger object book in the cruise planner.  For example, on our Equinox cruise two people price was $220 but the items we actually made (ornament and tumbler) would have been around $180 if booked onboard.  

 

You pick up your items on the next day since they have to anneal at lower temperature overnight.  They were packed very well in bubble wrap and we had no problems getting them home.

Thanks for the info.

We are planning to do this, but worry about it selling out if we wait to book on board.  We are on the Equinox in June for ABC islands.  Is selling out an issue?

[jelayne]

 DH does this on every sailing with the Hot Glass studio.  I don't know if they sell out but I do know that

on our last cruise the time slot my DH was able to secure was 5:00 pm.  

[CaroleSS]

So, I'm a tad confused.......if I booked a glass blowing for 2, the cost is $220 ($110pp). When I get there I pick a piece and the $110 is subtracted from the piece cost and I pay the difference, or is the price of the piece minus $120 (for a savings of $10 per piece)?

[leo72976]

16 hours ago, CaroleSS said:

So, I'm a tad confused.......if I booked a glass blowing for 2, the cost is $220 ($110pp). When I get there I pick a piece and the $110 is subtracted from the piece cost and I pay the difference, or is the price of the piece minus $120 (for a savings of $10 per piece)?

You essentially have a credit of $110 per person.  If you choose to make a $110 piece then you pay nothing additional.  If you choose to make a $200 piece, you pay and additional $90. 
 

The experience is very addicting!  I can easily see why people do it every cruise.  My wife and I did this for our anniversary while onboard Solstice in October.  I made the wave bowl,top row 3rd from left.  The artist help me pick the correct color pattern and the piece turned out beautiful!  I wanted to use the bowl on our table as a centerpiece.  Everyone that comes to our house comments about how beautiful it is.  It’s fun to tell them it was hand made while at sea on a ship!  My wife made a fish that sits in our living room and again everyone comments on it.  Is it expensive?  Yes.  I’m our opinion, the experience is worth every cent.

[I_Like_Cruising]

On 1/22/2023 at 12:58 AM, leo72976 said:

You essentially have a credit of $110 per person.  If you choose to make a $110 piece then you pay nothing additional.  If you choose to make a $200 piece, you pay and additional $90. 
 

The experience is very addicting!  I can easily see why people do it every cruise.  My wife and I did this for our anniversary while onboard Solstice in October.  I made the wave bowl,top row 3rd from left.  The artist help me pick the correct color pattern and the piece turned out beautiful!  I wanted to use the bowl on our table as a centerpiece.  Everyone that comes to our house comments about how beautiful it is.  It’s fun to tell them it was hand made while at sea on a ship!  My wife made a fish that sits in our living room and again everyone comments on it.  Is it expensive?  Yes.  I’m our opinion, the experience is worth every cent.

How hands on is it. Do you actually make it yourself, or are they making it for you? 

[deliver42]

My wife did it on our first Equinox cruise, and plans on doing it again. She loved it.

[chamima]

On 1/21/2023 at 8:58 AM, leo72976 said:

You essentially have a credit of $110 per person.  If you choose to make a $110 piece then you pay nothing additional.  If you choose to make a $200 piece, you pay and additional $90. 
 

The experience is very addicting!  I can easily see why people do it every cruise.  My wife and I did this for our anniversary while onboard Solstice in October.  I made the wave bowl,top row 3rd from left.  The artist help me pick the correct color pattern and the piece turned out beautiful!  I wanted to use the bowl on our table as a centerpiece.  Everyone that comes to our house comments about how beautiful it is.  It’s fun to tell them it was hand made while at sea on a ship!  My wife made a fish that sits in our living room and again everyone comments on it.  Is it expensive?  Yes.  I’m our opinion, the experience is worth every cent.

 

Did you actually get to chose your own colors or are you encouraged to use colors and/or combinations the Hot Glass team prefers?

[thebutlerdidit]

On 1/20/2023 at 2:16 PM, shellunderwater said:

Thanks for the info.

We are planning to do this, but worry about it selling out if we wait to book on board.  We are on the Equinox in June for ABC islands.  Is selling out an issue?

There are enough sea days on the ABC itinerary that you shouldn’t have a problem securing a time slot. I’d be comfortable waiting to book it, although there’s a small savings pre-cruise if you book through the cruise planner online. We booked pre-cruise because we had onboard credit from Celebrity to cover the cost. 

[beachluver9]

We did the glass blowing in November, 2021 (multiple times).  We wandered by the glass blowing area a couple of times in the afternoon on embarkation day in hopes that we would catch one of the demonstrators there.  Shortly before sailaway we found one of the ladies there who helped us reserve our times.  She said that most of the slots for day one were filled by people who were on a B2B, which was fine with us.  We simply booked for the following morning.  We were a group of three ladies and were able to book consecutive time slots with no problem.

 

There were two ladies working the demo on our cruise and they were both very nice and great glass artists.  They did not try to influence our decisions regarding which piece we chose and the colors were completely our choice.  If I remember correctly, we were limited to two colors per piece.

 

We all made the large vase and all chose different colors.  They will give you as much or as little help that you desire.  They all turned out beautifully!  Both of my friends ended up making multiple items and giving them as Christmas gifts to family, appreciating the ability to customize the colors for each recipients decor.  There were plenty of sign-up spots available all week long, but our ship was not at capacity so that might not be the case on your cruise.  My friends would not have made multiple items if others could not get slots easily.

 

Depending on the time of year and location that you are sailing, try to avoid times that are really hot.  The evening appointments after 7pm were much cooler that the afternoons which were very hot (So Caribbean).

 

If you will have extra time either before or after the cruise and you are sailing out of S Florida, the demo company (third party) is based in Ft Lauderdale.  You can make the same exact items (plus many other choices) if you go to their studio there.  If you make it there, you can arrange for them to pack/ship your piece once it is done cooling and it will be waiting for you when you get home.  The cost is comparable.  

 

There will be several custom display items that the demonstrators have made in a display case near the elevator (really really beautiful) and several at the demo site.  These are all for sale if you would like to purchase one.  The prices were all quite reasonable.

 

This is the sting ray that I purchased:

 

[beachluver9]

I also forgot to mention that if you pre-purchased this ahead of time with X and you chose to make one of the smaller items, they would refund you the difference back to your credit card, so you would not lose the money.  Pre-purchasing really gained us nothing...not $ savings since each piece is priced individually, no guaranteed reservation time, etc so not really worth paying in advance.  If you pay when you have your appointment, you can leave a tip on your account.  If you pre-pay online, your tip needed to be in cash.  

 

Our experience is not 14 months old and shortly after cruises were starting back post-pandemic.  Things may be operated differently now.

[shellunderwater]

2 hours ago, thebutlerdidit said:

There are enough sea days on the ABC itinerary that you shouldn’t have a problem securing a time slot. I’d be comfortable waiting to book it, although there’s a small savings pre-cruise if you book through the cruise planner online. We booked pre-cruise because we had onboard credit from Celebrity to cover the cost. 

thanks.  yes, 6 sea days.  We are getting shareholder and credit card OBC, so looking to burn that with the 2 person glass.  we have all inclusive, so don't need the OBC for gratuities and drinks.

[CaroleSS]

8 hours ago, I_Like_Cruising said:

How hands on is it. Do you actually make it yourself, or are they making it for you? 

You "help" - you do have the ability to do parts......they supervise and handle the difficult/safety concern parts. I think they feel you out and see how much you want to do and allow you to do as much as they perceive you can.
 

We have done the glass experience at the Morean Studio in St Pete and it is very exciting.

[CaroleSS]

On 1/21/2023 at 8:58 AM, leo72976 said:

You essentially have a credit of $110 per person.  If you choose to make a $110 piece then you pay nothing additional.  If you choose to make a $200 piece, you pay and additional $90. 

I guess I'm still a bit confused then -

 

If you we are simply "prepaying", then what is the benefit of a) the pre-cruise discount and b) the "discount" for booking two people?

 

I am hoping that by booking online, we are "prepaying" a value of $120 and have received a $10 discount for doing so. (Similar to purchasing dining or beverage packages)

[beachluver9]

We found zero value in pre-paying.  You don’t save any money and you aren’t guaranteed a slot.

 

If you are concerned that it might be difficult to get slot that works with your schedule (port intensive cruise with all day excursions) you might end up trying to chase a refund.

 

I sure wouldn’t feel comfortable doing this activity after a lively cocktail hour, lol

Edited January 24, 2023 by beachluver9

[leo72976]

On 1/24/2023 at 2:21 AM, I_Like_Cruising said:

How hands on is it. Do you actually make it yourself, or are they making it for you? 

You are making it with their assistance.  They tell you what tools to use and where to cut, squeeze or blow.  No, you are not doing it 100% by yourself but they aren’t just making it for you either.  On my bowl, I spun it to give it is own unique waves, I blew it to give it its own size.  When it came to putting colors on the glass, they were also holding the pole to make sure the beads were put on correctly. 

[leo72976]

On 1/24/2023 at 6:41 AM, chamima said:

 

Did you actually get to chose your own colors or are you encouraged to use colors and/or combinations the Hot Glass team prefers?

You choose your own colors.  My wife wanted certain colors on her fish and they said they would do it but recommended other colors and showed her why her first choice was not the best.  They want you to have a personalized piece but they also don’t want it to turn out bad.  You truly don’t get to see and appreciate the colors until it cools down.  My blue, white and gray bowl was orange, black and brown until it cooled.

[leo72976]

On 1/24/2023 at 10:34 AM, CaroleSS said:

I guess I'm still a bit confused then -

 

If you we are simply "prepaying", then what is the benefit of a) the pre-cruise discount and b) the "discount" for booking two people?

 

I am hoping that by booking online, we are "prepaying" a value of $120 and have received a $10 discount for doing so. (Similar to purchasing dining or beverage packages)

That is exactly it!  I don’t remember the exact price but as an example, you pay $100 per cruise and get $120 towards a piece to be made.

[SusieAV8R]

On 1/19/2023 at 10:42 PM, LeeW said:

Go BEFORE the demo.  During the demo they are too busy to schedule you and afterwards there can be a line in front of you.  Missed sail-away waiting for them to finish the demo.

 

Also, if you are doing something small, like dish or ornament, the onboard price can be less than the price booking in advance.  So if you want something small, book onboard.  If you are making a larger object book in the cruise planner.  For example, on our Equinox cruise two people price was $220 but the items we actually made (ornament and tumbler) would have been around $180 if booked onboard.  

 

You pick up your items on the next day since they have to anneal at lower temperature overnight.  They were packed very well in bubble wrap and we had no problems getting them home.

This was very useful.  Thanks 🙂 

[SusieAV8R]

On 1/24/2023 at 8:52 AM, beachluver9 said:

We did the glass blowing in November, 2021 (multiple times).  We wandered by the glass blowing area a couple of times in the afternoon on embarkation day in hopes that we would catch one of the demonstrators there.  Shortly before sailaway we found one of the ladies there who helped us reserve our times.  She said that most of the slots for day one were filled by people who were on a B2B, which was fine with us.  We simply booked for the following morning.  We were a group of three ladies and were able to book consecutive time slots with no problem.

 

There were two ladies working the demo on our cruise and they were both very nice and great glass artists.  They did not try to influence our decisions regarding which piece we chose and the colors were completely our choice.  If I remember correctly, we were limited to two colors per piece.

 

We all made the large vase and all chose different colors.  They will give you as much or as little help that you desire.  They all turned out beautifully!  Both of my friends ended up making multiple items and giving them as Christmas gifts to family, appreciating the ability to customize the colors for each recipients decor.  There were plenty of sign-up spots available all week long, but our ship was not at capacity so that might not be the case on your cruise.  My friends would not have made multiple items if others could not get slots easily.

 

Depending on the time of year and location that you are sailing, try to avoid times that are really hot.  The evening appointments after 7pm were much cooler that the afternoons which were very hot (So Caribbean).

 

If you will have extra time either before or after the cruise and you are sailing out of S Florida, the demo company (third party) is based in Ft Lauderdale.  You can make the same exact items (plus many other choices) if you go to their studio there.  If you make it there, you can arrange for them to pack/ship your piece once it is done cooling and it will be waiting for you when you get home.  The cost is comparable.  

 

There will be several custom display items that the demonstrators have made in a display case near the elevator (really really beautiful) and several at the demo site.  These are all for sale if you would like to purchase one.  The prices were all quite reasonable.

 

This is the sting ray that I purchased:

 

Thank you so much for your very informative post!

[CaroleSS]

11 hours ago, leo72976 said:

That is exactly it!  I don’t remember the exact price but as an example, you pay $100 per cruise and get $120 towards a piece to be made.

I contacted X and they confirmed this. Just as with other pre-purchases, we are getting a $120 value for a discounted price. We will pay the difference for any item over that $120 threshold.

[PRH]

We just did this this morning on Equinox.  I made the jellyfish $120 (purchased pre-cruise with discount) and my husband made a vase $150 (we paid the difference from the $120 “voucher”).  Here are the items you can make with their prices (first 2 pictures).  You choose your colors and they will advise based on the item you want to make.  Come 10-15 minutes earlier than your appointment to make decisions.  Closed toe shoes and recommended no white clothing because of ashes on equipment.  It was great fun.