One more Millie Feb 18 review

[Momto5]

If you can handle one more review, here you go:

 

First some general comments:

 

I was a bit nervous given some of the negative reviews I had read. Suffice it to say we were pleasantly reassured the minute we boarded. Are there some stains on the carpets? Sure. Are the seat cushions poolside showing their wear? Absolutely. But I was very happy to have a seat cushion, so none of this ruined our experience.

 

We did smell the infamous sewage smell occasionally. Mostly while reboarding when in port. Once or twice on the decks below us (7 and 8) in the cabin hallways. Can't remember why we were even walking that way, but I am sure DH had a reason... Anyway, never in the cabin, and it was never that obvious.

 

Crew

Cannot say enough about them. Our cabin steward Francis was excellent. Request were met promptly and always with an "of course madam". All of the cabin attendants on our floor and on others we wandered through were always there with a smile and a greeting. I go out of my way to say hello to people where I work, from the Chief Neonatologist to the housekeeping staff and I really notice it when others do the same. It was wonderful. Our cabin was always refreshed when we cam back, even if we had been gone 10 minutes. Our waiter Singh and his assistant Ugur were phenomenal. Requests were always accommodated and Ugur had our table in stitches half the time. Everyone we encountered from the Shore Excursion staff to the Aqua Spa staff to the security personnel when disembarking and reboarding while in port were truly wonderful. Special mention about Derek the Cruise Director. He is from a city about 5 minutes from where we live. He was very personable, and remembered us after a two minutes conversation four nights later. Impressive, given the number of people he encounters daily.

 

Embarkation

We flew down the day before and stayed at the Westin Ft. Lauderdale. I had chosen this hotel as we had Aeroplan points to use. It had received terrible reviews, so again we were nervous, but thought "hey, it's free, how bad can it be?" It was fine. Very comfy bed, and other than a bit of elevator noise we had no complaints. We did rent a car, and one would feel very isolated at this hotel if they did not have access to a vehicle.

 

We brought our rental car back to Budget at Port Everglades. After enduring a long line of mainly unhappy people trying to rent a car post cruise, we were off in the shuttle to the pier. Arrived there at 11:30 am and encountered no lines. Luggage carted off by a porter, and we breezed through. We were on board 15 minutes later, champagne in hand. The weather was very disappointing (cool and cloudy, followed by cool and sunny). The Canadian in me thought perhaps we would be fine in the sun poolside, but it was too cold even for us-lol! We ate lunch at the buffet (inside) and at 1 pm went to our cabin. We had 9201 (aft balcony) and it was everything we had been expecting and more. Decent sized, well appointed cabin, with that awesome huge balcony. If I had it to do over, I would have stayed a deck below-more sun and less noise from the chairs scraping above (which is not that bothersome, but if one can avoid it...). Although I wonder if you can hear the guitar in the evening if you a deck further down? We really enjoyed it. All the CC perks were there. We ordered pillows to try out and decided we would stick with the plain ones-quite comfy. New linens were very nice. Although the weather put a damper on our sun plans, we had lots of time to explore the ship and confirm our dining assignment and specialty restaurant reservation, as well as book appts in the Spa before things booked up.

 

We sat on our balcony, champagne in hand, for sailaway. Afterward we went down to the Thalassotherapy pool, a pre dinner tradition we continued every night. It was wonderful. The first night we had roughish seas, and the pool as like a wave pool. My DH is prone to seasickness, but doubling up on his meclazine was all he needed. If you are prone to motion sickness, start taking meclizine before you leave-it is a wonder drug.

 

Dinner that night was great-met our tablemates whom we adored. Dinners became something to look forward to. I think we were one of the last tables to leave most nights.

 

The show that night was one of the Celebrity production shows-wonderful!! I cannot say enough about the shows. Last year on Zenith we thought they were alright. This year shows with the Celebrity singers and dancers were not to be missed.

 

Sea Days

 

The first sea day was wonderful-great weather. The second less so, with downpours off and on from 1 until about 2:30, and cloudy skies before that. Chair hogs were a huge issue. We were out both mornings by 8 am and had trouble finding chairs. If you got up after 9, good luck. We had chairs next to us with a book on them for two or three hours at a time. On the second sea day, a gentleman secured a chair solely for the purpose of smoking a cigar, which he did every 2 hours on the clock. Otherwise the chair occupied his book. When someone would question the pool butlers about chairs unattended for a long time, they would scurry around and find them a chair. Solves the immediate problem, but I think the global issue needs to be addressed. If you want to leave for a quick bite or to jump in the pool, fine. But getting up at 6 am, securing an entire row of chairs for everyone you know, and then going back to bed until 10 should not be allowed. Jumping off my soapbox now. :D Both sea days were formal nights. Formal night number one showed pretty good adherence to the dress code. Much less so on formal night number two. In fact, many attended the Grand Buffet in shorts and flip flops, or sneakers, including the gentleman who stood on the back of my floor length gown, nearly ripping it when I stepped forward. Saw a lot of room service on formal nights too. If you don't enjoy dressing up why not choose a more casual line? Same old, same old...

 

Casa de Campo

My 40th birthday!! What a great way to spend it! We booked the Bayhibe Beach break before we left. Were informed the venue had changed, but a beach is a beach. Very nice beach at the Hilton hotel. Drank watered down drinks, but as many as you wanted. Finally hot, sunny weather. It was a great excursion, considering the port, which leaves much to be desired.

 

Dined in the Olympic. Phenomenal food and service. My only complaint here were the entree choices on the wine pairing menu. We really wanted to try it, but DH does not like lamb and is allergic to seafood, so both entrees were not an option for him. Perhaps an entree that appeals to the majority of people would be a good idea?

 

San Juan

Got up early and went for a run whil DH slept in. The running track on Deck 11 is awesome. It has a nice spongy feel to it-great for this runner's joints. Really felt the difference when it was back to asphalt this week. During that run, it was cloudy, raining off and on and humid. Back in our cabin we stood on the veranda and watched as the ship came into San Juan. Stunning shots of the forts on the way in. Truly gorgeous. We walked around San Jaun (after clearing US customs-all non-Americans in one lounge. Very well organized-they even had coffee). We went up to El Morro. You can do the Old Town on your own-no need for a tour. Wear good shoes-the cobblestones were particularly slippery with the rain on them. Some shopping in San Juan, The Coach outlet had the best prices I have ever seen on Coach.

 

St. Thomas

 

We had planned on taking the ferry to St. John and hitting Trunk Bay. We decided last minute it would be too rushed, as I has shopping plans as well. So we took a cab from the pier to Coki Beach. We got there at 9 am and it was practically deserted. It was completely the opposite by 11-cruise ship passengers were pouring in constantly. We swam in the warm, clear water. No need for snorkelling gear-you could see the fish without it. I would highly recommend this beach-people wefe friendly and not at all pushy. The guy selling "Frauda" purses was way overpriced. And the washrooms were absolutely foul. As in no running water, overflowing toilets. Beer was well priced-5 for 15 dollars. Cheaper than in town. We left there at 1:30 and headed into Charlotte Amalie to shop. I bought emerald earrings. I now am a but nervous about them, having read the shopping thread. Will get them appraised. Found prices on watches and cameras/lenses to be higher than home. You need to know your prices! All in all we were a bit disappointed in the prices.

 

Nassau

We booked the Rainbow Reef snorkel tour. Took us out on a tour of the harbour en route to the reef. Very entertaining and informative. The reef itself was large and we saw many varieties of coral and fish. Very good snorkelling. It was chilly, with water temp of 72 and once I got back on the boat I was freezing. We returned to the ship and hit the hot tub to warm up. The little we saw of Nassau en route to the snorkelling boat and back did not make us feel we had missed anything by booking that excursion.

 

A few foodie notes

What is a cruise review without food comments?

 

Breakfasts-we ordered the CC room service most mornings. Some mornings we ordered coffee and fresh squeezed juice only. The highlights were the smoked salmon omlette, the scrambled eggs and asparagus and those wonderful smoothies! We hit the buffet two mornings-mainly to get at those incredible waffles-yum!!! We passed on the dining room. We found the service slow last cruise and we were always in a hurry to get somewhere or to get back to our poolside chair! The almond croissant and pain au chocolat in the Cova are amazing. Get there early-they were gone by 9:30 most days we checked.

 

Lunches-We were not inspired by the buffet very often, meaning the hot dishes. Salads were wonderful, breads and desserts as well. The cheese selection was great. We enjoyed the pizza, burgers, pasta bar (whole wheat pasta done perfectly-hard to do), sandwich bar and the food from the Aqua Spa which is really, really good. Late afternoon tea and sushi were also faves of ours.

 

Dinners-Lots of choices-something for everyone. I can see if this is your 10th Celebrity cruise how the menu might get tiresome, but as it was our second, we were still inspired. Anytime items (escargots, shrimp cocktail, ceasar salad, NY strip, salmon, chicken) are listed on the menu now. Many people ordered two appetizers, two entrees, and there was no issue. We had an unfortunate incident with an angry passenger at our table (we missed it-we were in the Olympic) which resulted in cheese platters, plates of proscuitto, olives, and extra desserts every night. It was almost embarrassing, and we felt obligated to partake in at least some of it. No wonder I gained 5 pounds! One night I was full and only ate half my dinner. The waiter and Maitre D' were very concerned I did not like it and were offering me all kinds of things. Almost made me feel they live in fear of dissatisfied passengers, which is very sad. Fish was hit and miss. All beef dishes I had were great. Pasta so-so, but it is hard to do pasta for that many people well. Appetizers, salads and soups were all wonderful. Breads, especially breadsticks were phenomenal! Desserts were great.

 

Beverages- 5 Coronas for 20 dollars by the pool. Unlike last cruise, this was not advertised, so ask! We bought a soda card for my DH. I am not a huge soda drinker. The pool waiter INSISTED on bringing two each time, even though we showed him we had one sticker. "No problem Ma'am". I felt very dishonest about it all-I am a stickler for the rules. Wine selection was limited, but good. We are dedicated Shiraz drinkers, and only having two to choose from makes it tricky. But we thoroughly enjoyed them. Martinis were excellent as always.

 

The worst part of vacation is coming home. Fort Lauderdale Terminal 4 was a nightmare. No other word can describe it. Night and day from Miami last year. As well, thanks to all at the pier that jumped the line that had formed waiting for taxis. I cannot believe how pushy and rude pepole can be. A sincere thanks to the silver haired gentleman from New York who secured us two cabs, the first one having been taken from under our noses by a line jumper. I hope you and your wife were able to get the next cab. We landed in a huge snowstorm in Toronto-rude awakening!

 

Next cruise is not for 3 years. How will we survive? When I got home the other day there were no canapes (stale and mysterious as they are, I miss them), and no chocolate on my pillow at night (unless it was smeared there by my 2 yr old). Sigh.

 

If anyone has questions (those of you who are still awake) fire away!

[ATLfuzzy]

Hi there...

Sounds like you had a splendid time.

 

Can you tell me about the "new" bedding? Comfy?

 

thanks!!!!

[Momto5]

Vey comfy, we found. Was a bit worried about the rounded corners on the bed as DH is very tall, but he had no complaints.

 

I did have trouble sleeping, but attribute that to wine and coffee at late seating dinner, as opposed to the bed.

[port345]

Just returned from Feb 18-25 Celebrity - Momto5 review right on the money! We booked last minute, everything worked out beautifully, especially the adult spa.

 

Enthusiastic about all - would also go with unappetizing hot dishes for lunch buffet and just pasta bar for dinner. Dining room experience was excellent.

 

We loved it and hated to leave.

 

Port 345

[dutchess43]

Hi Momto5

Glad you Enjoyed Francis we were in 9201 2/4-2/11. Francis was the best. We just loved the bed & the new bedding. We also are red wine & some white wine drinker's. X allows you to bring 2 bottles of wine on board, you can pay the corkage fee or like us enjoyed them on that balcony. We also orderd breakfast including those waffles from the cc menu. We were a little hung over one morning & could not remember what we ordered the night before, & was quite embarssed when Franics had to make 2 trips. I took my DD on that trip & have booked the same cabin # on the Infinity in April for Hawaii. I know that DH will be happy with my choice. I know what you mean by the chairs scrapping but still loved to hear the music every night. I wholeheatly agree with the service & enjoyed the entire cruise. I am an Elite Member & just can't get enough of X. I did learn something from you I did not know about the Corona's but will check it in April. I must admit even the second formal night on my cruise everyone was just as dressed up as the first night. Everyone also adhered to the dress code's. I have found that during the TA'S passenger's dress up more including the informal nights.

You wrote a great review.