D. B.

That was because the air pump that supplies all the hot tubs was broken. getting parts for things like that for a 20+ year old ship can sometimes require replacing an entire unit if parts are no longer available. A New and different pump can require work that's only practical during a drydocking.

You are wrong about Bingo. It has been reinstated fleetwide on Celebrity. I think people were put off by DorNoD and missed Bingo.

I have 9 future Celebrity cruises booked but I run dummy bookings for them on Celebrities web site every so often and just Found 3 of them Now have lower Prices then when I originally booked them! I called my TA and they were able to have Celebrity change My bookings to the lower Price while keeping my same cabin. These are All on bookings Before final payment has been made. The savings were about $700.00 on each. Checking some of my bookings the Cost had Gone Up so no savings there. My TA's website lists current prices so I check them for price drops and that leads me to do the dummy bookings on the cruise lines site. The biggest change I see since 2023 has been the reduction in OBC's. It makes it more important to take advantage of Celebrities onboard offer to pay a $100 deposit and have 6 months to decide on a future cruise And get the OBC that comes with that offer.

With the popularity of Cruises post Covid exploding in record bookings the cruise line’s have found themselves in a position of strength that no longer requires them to offer great deals to fill ships. It’s the old rule of supply and demand. the best deals are for booking close to the sale date but cabin selection is more limited.

When they found me new flights it was with completely different airlines and at no extra cost. Also I was moved to the front of the standby Q. best was that I was on the plane with no cell service or WiFi.

Unfortunately the Forward-facing Sky Lounge on Reflection is not as Nice as the one's on the other 4 Solstice class ships because X walled off 40% of it (the Port side) to have room for more Suites. Do Not let that influence your decision to book future cruises on the Solstice or Millenium class ships! The Newer Edge class ships Do Not have a Sky Lounge. The Lawn Club Grill is one of my Favorite (Specialty) Dining options. 😋 It is simi unclosed and can be a little windy on sea days when the ship is underway. Only 2 Solstice class ships (Reflection and Silhouette) have the Lawn Club grill shielded from most of the wind while the ship is underway by a forward wall. There Is a version of the Lawn Club Grill on the Edge class ships but it is simi open to wind from the forward motion of the ship and they have an Aft wall. Le Petite Chef has at least 2 different Menu's so once onboard you can ask about them as they will be different on part of the cruise and not the same every night. Some people think it is a kids cartoon but I have done it 12 times and would recommend trying it once. There are 5 different Videos and so far My favorite is the 4 chefs competition. Murano has a Lobster offering that is Prepared right at your table on a trolly with a burner and it is a real production to watch. Same with Murano's Crepe desert also done on a burner right at your table! Tuscan is at the very back of the ship with wall to wall windows and a view out to sea from the rear of the ship. The 3 meatballs appetizer can fill you up by itself.

Twice they have pulled off flight changes that got me where I was trying to go when my original flight was cancelled at the last min. while I was At the airport! Once I had to get on one flight while agents of FBC were working on a replacement for the next leg and I had to turn off my phone when the cabin door was closed. I went to the airlines desk as soon as my present flight landed and was told "It's all been taken care of and here is your new flight information" FBC only books flights that are Refundable most of the time. You can book directly with an airline at a non refundable ticket. Also you do not have to Pay for your reserved flights till 90 days before the sailing date. I sometimes pay the balance early if that allows me to do seat selection.

I was just on Eclipse last week (13 nights around South America) and overall I thought the ship was in excellent condition. A few lower windows in the forward facing Sky Lounge had lost their inert gas and had become cloudy. My Balcony cabin 1289 was in good condition except 1 drawer that didn’t close all the way. With Celebrity spending big on its new ships it’s not surprising they are not paying attention to all the details of the older ships. The Crew onboard Eclipse are great and the Activities staff are top notch. I don’t grade food and entertainment as there seems to be a lot of opinions about those . I will say that I had a great Cruise and many onboard were doing multiple B2B2B’s all the way to New Jersey so that’s a positive?

It’s great that we have choices!

Ok. Dumb was not the best word to define the 4 separate dining rooms on the Edge class ships. When I first set foot on a Cruise Ship (Celebrity Century,2000) I was Impressed with the Elegant 2 deck Main Dining Room and it's grand staircase and open spacious feeling. Unlike any restaurant I had ever dined in. I always look forward to that special feeling of a Celebrity main dining room. The Edge class ships ruined That experience, and the 4 small dining rooms feel more like cheap Chain restaurants so common in every city and state.☹️ Yes. We Do have choices in where we spend our Cruise $$$ and that Is a good thing.

South America has a possibility of Dengue Fever spread by Mosquitos. There is No preventive vaccine or Cure so Bring repellant and cover up . My guide was good at helping us at being prepared. Do Not let this keep you from going as the chance is very slight that you will be infected. Your odds of getting it are probably right up there with the odds of winning the Mega Millions lottery?🤔

I'm glad that my opening post has generated Options for those who want to visit the Falls. How you do it is a personal decision but Going There is a Must See experience. D. B.

Next up for me will be Summit sailing up the Pacific coast and in about 12 days I will be in the Sky Lounge as we sail in and out of San Francisco Bay under the Golden Gate Bridge.

That was just One of the things I disliked about Princess. I will not be sailing with them again.

You are correct about the design for suite guests. My favorite place on S and M class ships is the Forward facing Sky Lounge. We sailed on Edge when it came on line in 2018. The View from Eden in the back of the ship only lets me see what's Behind us and Not where we are going. The weird hall of mirrors you have to go through is disorienting and we called it the Halloween Forest. The Infinite Veranda is a cruel joke and the 4 dining room Idea is dumb. The only thing dumber is the Magic Carpet that you have to Get Off of when they raise or lower it. X puts another 1000 guests in a ship not much bigger than a Solstice class ship and even my Wife thought it was crowded.

The Only Thing Free on a Cruise Ship is the Air. Everything else can best be described as Included but Free is good marketing................

Last week at the end of my 13 night Valparaiso, Chile to Buenos Aires cruise on Eclipse I did a 2 night (Post Cruise) Celebrity City Stay excursion to the Iguazu Falls. This was my first experience with one of these multi day excursions offered by Celebrity. It was operated by a Tour company and was all inclusive right up to the Tour Director taking me to the Buenos Aires (International) airport after the tour in a private car and driver and guiding me all the way to the Security checkpoint. I had looked into booking my own Iguazu Falls tour pre covid but that was cancelled like so much travel in 2020. When I was offered a Celebrity City Stays tour at first I thought the price was high But as a solo traveler with an age that starts with an 8 I decided having all the details taken care of was worth it. I do not speak Spanish or Portuguese and didn't want to stress over the details. My Experience with this Excursion was All Positive and so well organized and carried out that I would recommend it to others. We were met at the Ship by a Tour guide who stayed with us the Entire Excursion and handled Everything expertly. All Busses we traveled on the entire time were Newer, Clean and Modern and our luggage was taken care of at all times after we arrived at Iguazu. The trip started out with a Bus ride to Buenos Aires Domestic Airport for a flight (1Hour 45 Min.) to Iguazu for our group of 14 guests. The Buenos Aires (Domestic) and Iguazu airports were clean and modern and our flight was on a modern aircraft of a domestic airline. We were met at Iguazu by a Local Tour Guide who was an excellent English speaker and he stayed with us at all times while in Iguazu. Because one side of the Falls is in Brazil and the other side is in Argentina we made multiple crossings of their borders and Our local guide knew all the photocalls involved. Turned out he had lived for some time in New Zealand and worked on a Cruise Ship and was well travel himself! I won't go into details about our experience, but our hotels, meals and bus were all Excellent in My estimation. This excursion requires a Lot of (Miles) walking over different surfaces and is not for those with limited mobility. To see and experience as much as possible the guide needed to keep to a schedule, but we were never rushed. Or April Weather was Perfect and the water level was high enough to provide a good appreciation of the falls. The weather (temperature, humidity) and water level can be different at different seasons so best to do your research in advance. The Falls are definitely one of the Wonders of Nature and are most impressive for the Length of the tip over point (2-3 Miles wide) and volume of water falling 3 different steps. D.B.

Yes to the same Valparaiso boarding experience. I took a Taxi from my Hotel to the Cruise Terminal ( a mile from the Ship) and then the Taxi had to sit for 45 Min. in a one lane Q before we got to the terminal then found disorganized conditions. I think that is why the future X cruises around the tip of South America will start and End in Buenos Aires. It makes sense because the first 5 days of my cruise South from Valparaiso were Sea Days. We also had Great Weather at the tip of SA but then a big storm off Argentina going Up the East side made for 2 cancelled ports. Still a wonderful experience overall.

Thanks for the warning! If that's the case I won't be playing Bingo. I will be on Silversea in a few weeks and I already know it will be One and Done because their Early Dining is 7:30PM and I like to eat at 5:30 or 6pm.

I was just On Eclipse for a Valparaiso Chile to Buenos Aires Argentina cruise. As at least 50% of the guests were primarily Spanish Speakers so all announcement's and even the main Theater performers repeated most everything in Both English and Spanish. The activity staff and cruise director were obviously selected for their ability to speak both English and Spanish. The Ship itself was in good repair and the Crew were Outstanding. My Veranda cabin was in good shape except for one drawer that could not be closed all the way.

Every time I either Played DorNoD or just watched the 3rd. person drawn for the "Free Spin" at the end had a 50% chance of winning a "Free Cruise" Until last weeks on Eclipse when DorNoD was run Twice and the 3rd. person that got the "Free Spin" ONLY received a Cash prize as all 8 possible spots for the counter to land on were $25 to $250. No Free Cruise! The 3rd person in one game got the $25.00. Because the Spin is Virtual and Not a real mechanical device the Casino could manipulate the stopping point? By the way the "Free Cruise" is a 7 Day Caribbean cruise of Celebrities choice in an Inside Cabin and You pay he port fees and taxes. I saw one lady from Australia win it and decided Getting there was not worth taking the "Free Cruise." I have been selected to be the one to Open the cases 3 times and the most I ever got was $132.00 and the top prize of $1000.00 usually disappears Early in the game.

The MoveUp program is run by a company separate from Celebrity. Sometimes the communication between them can be less than Wonderful. Ineligible Offers can be that way because the cruise is sold out or it's too close to the sail date for them to complete the deal.

Spend time with Smokers? their breath and clothes smell to bad to make that an option.

My medallion was supposed to unlock my cabin door but rarely worked unless I waved it around right at the door or slapped it against the wall. Another useless waste of time and I like my Celebrity Seapass card that works ever time.

The Medallion on Princess was one of the things I disliked the most and I was So happy to throw it in the trashcan as I left the ship