canderson

Am guessing that on a long TA with numerous at-sea days, they will be offering more than the usual number of classes, but wondering whether it's normally possible to sign up for multiple classes given the slots available vs. pax count for a particular cruise. In the photos, it looks like they have about 10 stations, and I am guessing that couples double up on a station?

Service may well be thanks to keeping legacy systems available/switchable in parallel until Starlink's full cross-linking capabilities are near fully built out. There will still be many gaps in coverage until then, and whether or not Starlink can perform in a given spot in the middle of the ocean will be a roll of the dice based upon the configuration of their constellation in a given moment in time.

That's the plan, announced in August 2021, but the number of satellites deployed with that capability (laser cross-link communications between satellites) is so far only a fraction of the total. So for the time being, most of the satellites are dependent upon ground station access. Again, if you look at the current Starlink Maritime maps, they show coverage only in ocean areas near land. So what you describe is the solution for the future, but hasn't been realized just yet. The logistics will be a bit messy, since with an average in-orbit life of 5 years, the earlier birds without this capability will be holding up the show a bit, and may at times be in inconvenient locations in the constellation.

Atlantic (and Pacific, and anywhere else where there's no land) may continue to be a non-starter for some years to come. It's not because a large part of the constellation doesn't already traverse ocean waters -- they do -- it's that they have no ground stations to talk to out there in the middle of the ocean. The thing people forget is that these satellites aren't big data servers floating around in space. They serve as comm links to the servers on the ground. They're also operating at a very low orbit, so they don't have much range at all to the horizon. Figure the limit to be around 80 miles in any direction - or a diameter of about 160 miles. There's a LOT of empty ocean that fits into that category. Until it's possible to use Starlink satellites as data relays for one another so that those 'stranded' out in the middle of the ocean can use another Starlink satellite - or several of then in a daisy chain - to obtain a link to a ground station, there won't be Starlink service over much of the water surface of the planet, as Starlink Maritime's own coverage maps show. To accomplish that now, one still needs satellites in high orbits with a wider view of the Earth's surface so that both the user and a ground station are in view simultaneously. The downside to these satellites is that, all other things being equal, they're going to be slower (more power needed for less data) and have more latency in their communications (a simple function of distance up and back). When they claim that Starlink Maritime is global, what they really mean is that it operates near land masses pretty much all around the globe. So if you're planning that big TransAtlantic cruise, you'll be glad a ship retained its old gear and laid in the Starlink equipment in parallel for use nearer land.

Yes, and what they left for us when they forgot our 'switch' were 1.5L bottles. Think you can get through 3L in 4 nights? 😦 They'll trade one or both for wine if you prefer.

Especially true for some dress shirts that don't get worn that often when a person is retired. A few I've missed and have been collecting on the bathroom counter for some reason!

Wasn't he absolutely the best ever?

Given that more here would likely know than on any other CC threads ... Has anyone seen butler Anu anywhere since he left Constellation at the end of his contract in early 2022?

To be fair, we've experienced this consistently through our 2021/22 cruises. Best thing is to consult with the onboard Retreat concierge who will have the schedule for the current cruise and can book the reservations for you.

Terrikka took VERY good care of us prior to our recent Reflection cruise.

Our experience as well until our recent Reflection TA (Oct 31 - Nov 13). Have never had food arrive so slowly. Best we could tell, the problem was in the galley. Ship at about 50%, but suites full.

Hello, next door neighbor! Yes, Dina handled our few requests very well, but we did not ask for much. Did you know that the waiter Vincent down in Luminae was her husband? The 'family' took good care of us! I got a chuckle out of all of my t-shirts being returned on hangers! That was a first. On prior cruises, they came back as the expected wash-and-fold. At least there won't be much laundry for the butler's to deal with on this current cruise! 😲

We were just ahead of you in November 2021 on Constellation for the restart cruises, and they were without question our best Celebrity cruises ever. Were you in the starboard or port PH?

Waffles made fresh, port side, aft end of the buffet. Got my fill several mornings. Just wanted to note, in case no one had yet ... Captain reported yesterday ... ZERO positive COVID this cruise!!!

Beds are replaced and very comfortable. The ones used were the ones that were originally scheduled for Constellation (packaging marked as such)! We had noticed the old mattresses (even in a RS) on Connie a year ago after her dry dock and restart.

Jim - hang in there. I promised you a full photo documentary, and I have it all on my phone and will put it together for you on our first at-sea day. Covers all from the walk to the market to lunch to the final dinner in Tuscan tonight. The market was outstanding! Only wish we had anything similar at home! Least I could do for the private journey help you gave us for the Carribean last November!

Interesting.. bartender says only ~1400 booked. When we left, only 25% of cabins still available for booking. Did X limit capacity or was bartender wrong. Will investigate!

Captain advised during pre-cruise briefing announcement that we have 1200 crew ... a handful below full complement. Some are definitely inexperienced on S class, but showing lots of hustle. We're only about 75% booked, which helps.

Michael's looks really good. Sure what was meant was CClass cabin.

And unless upper suite where they seem to have your mug shots behind the bar, the lounge may well ask to see your card the first time or two.

First, usual X mistake. It's been two per person for some months now. Second, if you have classic or prem bev package, no corkage charge. If you don't, they'll charge $25 if you take it to a restaurant or other public venue.

We call him Dave... as in 'Letterman' 😁

Another data point... Our bids always show "Pending" from the beginning. Always seems to simply indicate that a) the bid has not been rejected, and b) no decision has been made. That said, we're always bidding on cabins that aren't available unless the current holder cancels. Even a year+ out, by the time we get around to booking, a RS is the best available cabin, and suits our needs anyway. Bidding on anything higher on the cruises we choose would require an extraordinary event in order to be successful. We call these 'backfill' bids. That said, should the current owner no-show for whatever reason, we have a cabin that when abandoned could open the way for several ripple-up upgrades to occur with X gaining the additional revenue on each, which I would think would put us in a decent position.

Somebody needs to tell them that Horizon hit the scrap yard in Aliaga last month.. or was it the month before. Ain't nuthin wonderfull (or wonderful) on the Horizon no more. 🤪

It's probably what I'd call a 'backfill' bid, designed to assure that if the current 'owners' have to cancel for any reason, X will be able to fill it and garner the additional revenue. We had the same opportunity to bid from our RS on Reflection but the PS was booked well over a year ago.