bEwAbG

There was a pretty major overhaul about 5 years ago.  I think this version works just fine & added functionality that I would miss were it to go away.  The software is on an established platform used by many companies.

The search issues are often user error.  The search function is pretty robust.  There's a lot of content, though, and lots of duplicate topics, even if you're limiting your search to the recent past.  Many people don't seem to want to read the first few pages as they'll start a new topic for something that is asked and answered just a few posts below. 

Second the Mayfair area.  Stay as close to a Tube stop as you can.  I was just there in early December and our walk to the Tube stop was "only" 10 minutes but that adds up the more you have to do it. 

8 hours ago, joedel said:

We have a aqua suite for this Sunday on the ascent , we are traveling with 2 other couples that do not have suites  - can they board along with us?

Assuming you mean Aqua Sky Suite, no, there's a separate boarding process for suite class passengers.  They'll have their own check-in and boarding process.  If it's not busy you might could hang back until they're done checking in and then all board together.  I'd just arrange to meet somewhere on the ship, personally.

@miched check with your local churches.  They may have a quilting group that works on projects and would take what you have to use, either for the fabric or to pass them on for projects they're already undertaking.

And what if Martinique or Celebrity decides to change their mind about allowing that?  I'd never chance it, myself.  As mentioned, your insurance wouldn't pay out if you don't have the correct documentation and get denied boarding.

I think one of the reasons CC prevents TA mentions is because you'd otherwise have most of the posts be ads for people trying to get you to book with them.   As already mentioned, a lot of those FB ones are moderated by individual TAs who are controlling what you see and who is allowed to post in addition to building client leads.

Are you my mother?  She's obsessed with this stuff, too, to the point that we end up going to fabric stores wherever we go.  I still love her.

I'd also look at pictures and videos of the cabins on whatever ship you're going on so you get an idea of the type of space that is available.  Those desks are not very deep and the chairs in some (depending on the room & decor) are not real functional.

Time slots only matter if the port personnel are enforcing them.  Pre-pandemic they were always just a suggestion.  When cruising resumed, they were pretty strict about enforcing times and would make people wait outside the terminal.  This was to prevent crowding.  Now they're back to it more or less being a suggestion.  As long as you understand that they might make you wait and you don't throw a big fit about it, get there when you get there.

A lot of people are upset at how far the Celebrity product has fallen in the last year.  If you haven't experienced it, then you really won't have that as a comparison.  I think it comes down to pricing these days.  Will you be ok if you pay a premium price but get a similar or lesser experience versus a cheaper ship?  Are you ok with Celebrity advertising something today that they might take away tomorrow?

I think they have beautiful newer ships but the product no longer matches the price they're charging. 

Infini. Reffie.  Edgie.  Ascenti.  And Bey Bey.

55 minutes ago, LA24 said:

Yes i know as i wrote “select”. 😉

Except Celebrity Select Dining is a specific reference to dining in the main dining room in Celebrity-speak, so not exactly clear what you meant when being read by regular Celebrity cruisers, especially when you reference "select dining" but post a video about specialty dining.

And the topic of that video is also another long-standing issue, so it's nothing new or specific to Ascent.

On some trips the future cruise desk doesn't get busy until the last day or two.  Can be random, in my experience.

8 hours ago, CruisingGator96 said:

We are going on our first Celebrity Cruise in March. Question: In the MDR can you wear shorts at breakfast and lunch or are slacks required for all meals?

The Smart Casual dress code for MDR and other restaurants only applies in the evening.  Shorts are ok during the day. 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/onboard-dress-code

2 minutes ago, C-Dragons said:

X is not the only company to use the name Luminae.
And they weren’t the first, or only company to use Xcel either..

Google is your friend. 😉

What does that have to do with choosing things that are hard to spell?  You see the mangling of the restaurant name on these boards almost every day.  Never mind that Silhouette and Millennium are hard to spell because of the double letters, as other examples (and a big reason why you see nicknames instead). 

Xcel is easy to spell but doesn't make brand sense.  Points to an identity crises, which of course we're seeing daily.  And of course a good deal of the North American market already associate that spelling with the energy company while a bigger chunk are going to immediately think of Microsoft products instead, regardless of spelling. 

As someone already mentioned, a big problem with Celebrity is that they choose things that are hard to spell.  Poor Luminaire.  Luminay?  Lumenaynay?

And now they're just making up words like Xcel.

On 1/5/2024 at 2:27 AM, Travelling2Some said:

I have a friend who only learned to speak English a few years ago and the proper use of the word "the" trips her up frequently.  She always refers to her husband as "the Michael" 

Thankfully she didn't marry a Peter.

13 hours ago, calicakes said:

I cringe when I hear people say " Where is it at".  You don't end a sentence with a preposition and yet EVERYONE( except me) does it.   Newscasters do it, actors do it.  It seems no one knows this grammar rule. 

"Between the A and the T!" is the standard response.  Many of us were taught the rule but many rules go out the door depending on the audience. 

I get the point re: the link, but having a specific cruise booked is a bit of specific knowledge that only you know.  My dentist and doctor texts come from a third party platform, too, and not their regular website address. 

Move-Up is run by a third party company and needs to be closed out so Celebrity knows the final room count available?

There is a forum dedicated to how to use the other forums as well as troubleshooting.

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/859-need-help-using-the-forums-check-here/

If not overtly racially motivated, it's a textbook example of unconscious bias at the very least.

Celebrity experience will be very similar to Princess experience for adults and kids.  They are similar product offerings.

But you still have to buy them and then remember to take them with you.  Again, they never used to have to tell people on flights to be sure and use headphones.  And in the past they could give people a cheap pair with the standard jack, but that is no longer an option if someone is using a proprietary jack.  If you forget the headphones or the adapter, you're now SOL until you can get to some place that sells them.

Apple has caused this problem to become more widespread because they took away the standard headphone jack a few years ago and then in 2020 stopped providing a pair of headphones with new phones.  I never really use headphones at all until I go on vacation and usually end up doing without on the plane because I inevitably forget the pair I finally bought.  So, my theory is that a lot of people simply don't have headphones that will work with their devices.  Doesn't excuse the obliviousness, but I think it helps explain why it's more noticeable in the past few years.  This is also why you now are hearing that announcement on planes that they didn't have to make before.

Thanks for taking us along.  Incredible that they're now making people in the top suites pay for all these extras.  And seemingly just another thing they have sprung on guests without warning.  They used to try to impress those paying a lot of money.  Why would anyone want to shell out that kind of money only to be subject to the whims of what X wants to take away this week?