bEwAbG

^ ETA: there is no Tuscan Grill on E-Class. Not sure why I typed that.

What ship? M-Class & E-Class have a little more flexibility with the layout than S-Class. You can Google around for photos of each to find video walkthroughs and photo layouts. Most will advise to arrange for two tables back to back as an alternative.

The real takeaway is that the experience on a given ship isn't always going to be consistent trip to trip.

It's unfortunate that X is acting this way but this situation is like a commercial for cancel for any reason insurance. If you don't take advantage of it, you're self-insuring losses like $6,000 in non-refundable airfare. Particularly in this era where you're at risk of getting COVID and having to cancel at the last minute, you need extra protection (or be willing to eat the loss).

I think you've conveyed your thoughts just fine. Most everyone just disagrees with the premise that there wouldn't be the same number of people lining up even if they opened at the stated hour.

They probably haven't decided what they're going to do yet since the current cruise is a different itinerary. I would check once that May 21st cruise departs. Just keep in mind that the menu rotation on your cruise may or may not be the same, and you won't really know until your cruise sails.

HAL gets a bum wrap for age, too, but that is often just a function of itinerary. Older people have the time and money to sail longer itineraries or during non-holiday periods (when I prefer to sail, too). I'm sure there are plenty of NCL sailings where the average age creeps up. A HAL 7-day Caribbean has a younger average age and plenty of family groups. Lines like X, Princess, and HAL offer a different experience from Royal or NCL, so that is also a big factor. That said, I've never minded being with older travelers. People have their stories and are usually a delight to get to know, even within the confines of a vacation setting. One of the fuddiest duddies I ran across was a newlywed couple in their late 20s who pre-judged everything and talked themselves out of even trying to have fun. At one point they said that they never went anywhere twice because they'd never been satisfied with anywhere enough to want to return. I felt a bit sorry for them.

Isn't there an insurance consideration as well? You have so much time to get a pre-existing conditions waiver from deposit date.

I was always under the impression that Caribbean in the summer wasn't a desirable time to travel due to the heat + you start running into hurricane season. It was a necessity the last few years because a lot of the world was closed (also why there were Mexican Riviera cruises this year when X had seemed to abandon Mexico a few years ago). I would like to see them invest in different itineraries, both in ports visited and length of cruises (even if it was just segmented cruises strung together). This is one of those areas where HAL has pretty much cornered the market and X could make inroads, I think.

If people have a year, then they shouldn't be sending them notices that the expiration is approaching (with a date attached). Even if it's an error, it's wrong for the company to operate that way.

Check out Reddit. Lots of reports there from all over. https://www.reddit.com/r/Passports/

Usually Arizona brand. Reports over the past year are that availability can be very hit or miss (such as in the thread below). She could always bring a supply with her just in case (and restock in ports if it's an issue on your sailing).

Talk to the staff at Luminae on the first night and tell them your predicament with the menu for the second night. They usually can come up with anything with advance notice. Or course the menus could change between now and then, too.

But who defines reasonable amount? A smooth sailing with no weather is going to be different than a ship trying to sail around a hurricane in very rocky seas.

But how do they plan for that? It's easier for them to keep a supply on hand no matter the reason. It would be silly to have a ship full of sick people when there is a med that can help. No different than airsickness bags. If you suddenly need it, then it benefits everyone to have it on hand. As noted, some people may be flying in from someplace where they cannot get it in advance. I personally start taking it a day or two before sailing so it's already in my system. However, one time I somehow lost an envelope of pills from the box between my hotel and the ship, so I was certainly glad they had some for me to supplement until I could buy more. I do ok on ships but have had issues with smaller boats. It's the reason why I didn't cruise for a long time until a friend convinced me that I would be ok with the combo of medication and the size of a cruise ship.

I bet that the ability to do this on the ship is severely curtailed by corporate. It's a strategy they introduced a year or two before the pandemic to not offer rooms at fire sale prices and try to force people into paying for upgrades through a dedicated program. Knowing that the front desk person could bump you up for little or no cost would eventually decrease demand for the move-up revenue stream. They send you to future cruise sales so that person can give you the going rate as if you had tried to do it before getting on the ship. Also why you don't hear much about the "upgrade fairy" anymore, unless they really need the specific room you're already booked in. In short, they make more money by not having many exceptions and would rather sail with an empty room than devalue (according to them) its worth.

No shorts in the main dining room or specialty restaurants at night. Shorts are ok in the buffet. The dress code is on Celebrity's website (excerpt below). Regular T-shirts with sleeves are ok, but if you show up in a wife beater they may ask you to put on something else and come back. You may or may not see or hear stories about people being in shorts in the MDR but those are anecdotal and you don't know the situation (lost luggage, sneaked past staff, etc.). So be prepared to have a pair of jeans or khakis you can put on if you want to go to dinner outside the buffet. Shorter cruises may attract the booze cruise crowd. Probably a little different over Thanksgiving since it's meant to be a family cruise. Depends on how it's selling and whether or not they have to try to attract the partygoers to fill it up. AT NIGHT SMART CASUAL Smart Casual attire is required for entry to main dining, specialty dining, and the Celebrity Theatre. Smart Casual means you look comfortable yet tasteful in a dress, skirt, long pants, or jean, and stylish top or button-down. Shorts and flip flops are not considered Smart Casual.

I don't think July 4 is going to attract any more or less people than any other summer cruise since school is already out. Theoretically there will be more kids when schools aren't in session but hard to say how many your son's age. Maybe check the roll call for the sailing and see if there are families with teens going? Alaska & Med in summer tend to attract lots of family groups so I think Caribbean has a fair shot of doing the same. "Holiday" sailings with increases in kids are more typically considered Thanksgiving, Christmas/New Years and winter or spring school breaks. X has treated Independence Day in the past more or less like any other day with maybe some themed food events or pool party but nothing over the top.

Eventually a bean counter is going to see what is going on and then someone will have to contact you to straighten you out, but that probably will not happen until closer to the cruise. Seems better to be proactive and contact them about the glitch rather than making fake bookings. Isn't this also taking a cabana out of inventory that someone might want to book?

There appear to be some on M-Class for sure. Would have to look at the deck plans for the others.

I would have them contact special needs and see what is possible. Email and phone contact are on their website (link below). In my opinion, it should not be a problem for them to be able to make up a comfortable pallet for whoever ends up on the couch. However, maybe I'm missing what ship that we're talking about, but some classes do have connecting rooms, which might be a possible solution. In any case or configuration, I would just trade who sleeps in the room with him so that everyone is on a real bed. https://www.celebritycruises.com/special-needs

I'm an X client and I like private islands, so I wouldn't state that so definitively. IMO, visits to the Caribbean have diminishing returns the more you do them and plenty of people have bad initial impressions, too. I can see the appeal of including a guaranteed experience in the mix. For whatever reason, X has decided not to do that in the last few years. They did have some stops a few years ago and stopped doing it, so they obviously had data to make that decision. I don't think they have to worry about it unless people stop booking because they don't offer it.

I wouldn't pay a premium for the difference. You are correct that the Persian Garden isn't much to write home about on M-Class. I've stayed in one of those rooms that used to be classed as a regular sky suite, and it looked like a regular sky suite to me. The veranda might have been slightly larger but not by much (if it was at all). Only 2 of the 6 in that 6125-6132 room block have what I would consider larger verandas that would make a difference (the ones on 6131 and 6132) but even that is marginal to me. And of course a move-up isn't going to guarantee one of those. People in other rooms can take whatever is showing open before the move-up assignments happen, so that room being open today doesn't mean you're going to end up in it. I did like the location and the butler was the same who did the penthouses so he was great but YMMV on that aspect.

Ice cream. A lot of the cakes and pastries look great but don't taste like much. Can be very hit or miss. This is very much based on personal preference, too. Some people love chocolate and some love vanilla and there is a range in between. So try what you want as you see it.

Past supposition was also that because it's Royal's island, their ships get priority and X gets the scraps from a scheduling point-of-view. I certainly wouldn't want to go there as a X passenger if I had to share facilities with a megaship from Royal.