We didnt allow Celebrity's failure to deliver on my special needs request to mar our entire cruise. We had a great time. It could have been perfect with very little effort on their part. Sadly my ratings reflect that my stress was pushed me to levels where I almost went home mid cruise!
Transatlantics are really about cruising at sea, socialising and having fun in board. This cruise delivered on all those fronts.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We were in a suite so used the suite embarkation facility in Port Everglades. Process is so easy if you download the app, check in online, upload your required documentation, and filled in on line questionnaires. Very quick process.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
Highly recommend EDEN restaurant . Great food service and ambiance. Luminae was excellent and consistent throughout the cruise. Actually better at breakfast and lunch when not so busy. For casual lunch Eden has a great selection of salads and sandwiches made to order which you can eat indoors or on the terrace outside.
We took dinner on the magic carpet...an expensive option. It started out great but the wind picked up and there was food plates glasses flying all over. Very sad for the crew!
We tried the Bistro, Fine cut Steakhouse and Raw on 5. All were good but not stand out like Eden.
Luminare at the Retreat
5 out of 5
Luminae is a consistently very good offering to suite guests for breakfast lunch when not in port and Dinner. The menu is varied although not long although it suited me. The service at table is excellent.You can order from other dining room menus if you wish.
Eden Café
5 out of 5
A great option for a light lunch. Sandwiches, soup, hot roast sandwich, lots of interesting salads and sides. Also non alcoholic drinks cakes and cookies. It only has a fairly short lunchtime opening!
Café Al Bacio
5 out of 5
Lovely coffee. Nice selection if complimentary tarts cakes and pastries. Excellent service.
Onboard Activities
2 out of 5
Outdoor was limited because of tge weather and the team did their best to bring activities indoors .
Eden
5 out of 5
For me the best meal on the ship. Super service, wonderful ambiance. The food was amazing. Full of flavour and beautifully presented. Worth the extra charge.
Entertainment
3 out of 5
Thought Entertainment was a bit patchy. Sometimes multiple things going on, other times very little. Some excellent individual entertainers on board who over a few days did theatre, matinee and then a more intimate performance in Eden or Grand Foyer. Sometimes the style of music seemed a little low key at times people wanted to dance. For me the martini bar show became repetitive night after night...it lost its sparkle! We had a blast but that was more to do with the group we mixed with!
Children's Programs
No kids with us
Service and Staff
2 out of 5
This is excellent good bad and ugly!
The waiters room stewards our Butlet servers etc.were excellent, couldn't have been better. 5 star
Captains club were almost invisible. They had 3 events in the entire cruise. A welcome party, a wine tasting and a cocktail party for Elite and above guests. There were 3 captains club hosts on board. Dont know what they do. Awful when we had so many Days at sea. 3 STARS
Now the ugly...the retreat concierge questioned the special needs request that Celebrity had agreed months in advance. I was asked for medical details so she could look it up to decide what I needed! After 8 days of stress I had enough and had decided to go home. I had a meltdown which almost put me in sick bay. I went to guest relations in tears and they intervened to help me. They might be getting better on some diversity fronts but special needs especially when not visible as in my case are at best ignored at worst not believed. The assistance dog in board was treated better than me. I had written confirmation that my needs would be met but had 8 nights of stress and anxiety! There was no programme of pre dinner entertainment. One night a guitarist rocked up to an almost empty lounge. One night we has a silent disco on the rooftop. The concierges danced with each other rather than engaging with the guests...very poor 1 star
This is an aft corner sky suite. It is a long walk fro. The retreat areas but we don't mind that! We love the aft. We prefer the room layout and the verandah has space for 2 loungers and a table and chairs Excellent!
We independantly pre booked cable car tickets meaning you skip the ticket line. Went to Monte Gardens and the Botanical Gardens.
In the afternoon we joined a ship tour to Reids hotel for a garden tour and afternoon tea. A very nice experience in a beautiful place
Loved Cartagena. Went to see a number of sites or Roman ruins, very interesting and very well presented. Again we bought an online ticket in advance. We finished with compulsory tapas and wine of course
I'll just say my special need is not physical or visible. It is difficult to understand and impacts ne at certain seating positions in restaurants Difficult to understand ...yes it is BUT Celebrity had been briefed and agreed in advance to meet ny needs...they didn't so ny enjoyment of many mealtimes was spoiled.
I will look again at my ratings though...the room was brilliant so maybe I didn't get it right!
Appreciate your feedback. Sorry you had so many issues but happy some were addressed. Cruising at this time seems to be chancy. Hopefully, things start improving soon.
I have to say this is a confusing review to me. Your star ratings don’t reflect your comments, e.g., food and dining: 2stars only, yet very good review; ship quality: 2 stars, again with very good review; you loved your cabin and gave it one star? Sorry about your stress issues, that’s what cruising should alleviate! But thanks for such a detailed review.
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