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bEwAbG

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  1. When Luminae was first announced, they said it would be open every day for lunch but did a retreat (!) on that before it was rolled out. Quite a brouhaha about it then. Luminae has not been open at lunch on port days (except embarkation), from the beginning.
  2. I might agree on Persian Garden, though I think they are very similar products so not sure what Celebrity's would have over HAL's. I would not say Celebrity's food is "far superior" than HAL. That may have been true at one time but Celebrity's food standards have slipped a great deal from when that was true. I find them more similar than different and have had some terrific meals on HAL. I too would vote for Glacier Bay and HAL as the itinerary unless you plan to do this route regularly. If it's a one-and-done (which I think it is, though I know many who would disagree), I would choose to see Glacier Bay.
  3. The ships can be cool in the evening, too, so that should be a consideration. I often find them cold, even. I wear shorts all the time at home but feel more comfortable in long pants (or jeans) in the evenings on the ships.
  4. Mind if I ask where you're taking that class? I'm in your area and looking for a gift idea for someone.
  5. More ships are sailing out of Galveston these days and I doubt X has the demand to compete with the others. I have family in TX, but my problem every time we've looked at sailing from there is that it takes a couple days to get out of the Gulf and a couple days on the back end, so the itineraries are very limited on a typical 7-day cruise. Cannot get too far into the Caribbean before turning back, so lots of Western Caribbean/Mexico stops but not much else.
  6. The internet discussion is interesting but a fatal flaw of the OP's post is the idea that you have to send a photo to anyone, let alone pay more money to do so. Texting photos is a relatively recent development in our lifetimes, even more so from the middle of the ocean. I'm sure the recipients will survive without visual proof that you are where you say you are.
  7. Frankly, I wish they would sell one or two of them and use the crew to better staff the rest of the fleet.
  8. But the instructions you receive on the ship always give you a time to be out of your room and in a designated area and it's never "stay in your room until 10am." That's the whole reason there is an embarkation lounge for Elite level.
  9. They have to strip all the cabins to start the changeover so you're delaying them from their turnaround job, which is already stressful enough. The steward is going to tiptoe around guests because you could still give them a bad review. Really unfair to put this on the steward when you're not following the rules that most everyone else does. Adults shouldn't have to be asked to follow the procedures for leaving the ship.
  10. You've also sailed enough to be Elite yet have never heard of the embarkation lounge despite it being a benefit for years and years. Sounds like you need to start paying attention more. Your justifications for delayed debarkation are just excuses for being selfish and inconveniencing the workers and other passengers.
  11. Familiarity breeds contempt, so it's a wise strategy to rotate around, IMO. When I first sailed HAL, I found the food on par with X and the service often exceeded anything I experienced on X (content/happy/relaxed employees on HAL versus some aloof/angry/stressed ones on X). I think X ships are better overall, but the price on X usually doesn't justify the product they offer, especially on routine itineraries. HAL generally has better and more varied itineraries. I think when HAL first introduced the Music Walk, it was miles better than anything X has ever done, entertainment-wise. I know Ken has the opposite opinion, but I think that is a minority one. They've made some recent changes that are less popular, but HAL does seem to listen to their cruisers and will make tweaks to keep their customers happy whereas X seems to always be chasing people who are not cruising while ignoring the ones who do. X used to be known for their food but the other lines in their class caught up, and now X has degraded their product to the point where the differentiation no longer matters. I still price out Celebrity and will sail them when I find a deal, but it's no longer my go-to once you learn what their competitors offer.
  12. A big part of the cost of suite class is access to Luminae. I'd do everything possible to make that work (with requests as suggested by others) versus going to the MDR. The menu descriptions are sometimes awful, IMO, often not indicative of what is really being served. Focus on the base dish (chicken, seafood, beef) and then also ask the waiter what they recommend. They tend to know what is popular and what is less popular on a given menu. You can always order a replacement if what you get isn't to your liking. I think the MDR menu descriptions are sometimes the same in that the description makes you think one thing but the execution is something else (and often not the same ship to ship).
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