Jeremiah1212

People are either counting open staterooms or hearing things on board. If a TA has a contact at Celebrity they may be able to get the official count, but anything else I would have no confidence in. There is capacity at 100% then there is max capacity which ranges from 100% to almost 120% depending on the ship. So when people quote ~75% is that at double or max capacity? The difference can be significant. Our last cruise on Beyond we heard people quote numbers that would have equated to at ~350 person difference in the count.

Things get broken during travel. It’s just part of it. Skip the spinner luggage for your checked bags and get the regular two wheel rollaboard type. No broken wheels and more room. Save the spinner models for lightly used carryon.

This is just how ITA does things. You have a ticket. You will be fine. The ITA website explains the fare classes and the checkin-in process.

Celebrity stopped using Labadee because people favored an actual port day over a 'private island' day. It's a given that RCI will always have priority at Coco Cay. If you're searching for your perfect beach on a Celebrity cruise, you will need to get in a cab and find one independently.

There is no hard and fast rule for this nor is it directly a FBC issue. It totally depends on the airline who booked the ticket, the airline operating the flight and the type of ticket you purchased. If you booked something (even without knowing) similar to a US domestic Basic Economy ticket, you aren't going to be able to select seats in advance no matter who you call.

Delta doesn't fly MIA-FCO so the flight has to be on ITA which alone will add some complexity. If you look on the FBC site some of the ITA operated flights do not indicate a pre-reserved seat assignment is included.

I can't say I've ever described either class as 'cozy'. But while E and S class are very different from one another, there are also a lot of familiar elements between the two classes that add some cohesiveness to the overall experience IMO.

Anyone sitting at the tables along the rail outside of the buffet can see right in the deck 12 cabin balconies. It's not bothersome to me, but the lower decks can be noisy. People somewhat of an obsession with them, but the pros and cons of an SV vs. IV almost weight out one another. An SV balcony on a hot sunny day is practically unusable.

You have to have a PCR test from March plus your Certificate of Recovery. Depending on the port rules that may not satisfy their guidelines to let you of the ship. Testing two days prior to the cruise is just not that difficult. Easily done at home or at a pharmacy in Rome.

As long as crew continues to be stretched thin, it's not going away, even if CDC says it's optional.

If there was more stringent testing and protocols I think some people on here and other social media would have simply have a full mental meltdown. Before we left for the Beyond in mid May, I was basically left with the impression we would have to take an impossibly difficult to find COVID test, we would certainly get COVID onboard, tossed in an inside cabin with only crackers to eat, no hot water, insufficient oxygen, then inhumanly imprisoned for 21 days at a TBD location…. Turns out none of that happened! Thet have to try to keep COVID at bay. The idea that because something is imperfect implies it is absolutely ineffective is flawed, but agree to disagree….

Mitigate does not mean eliminate. They had to come up with a solution to make it not terribly difficult for passengers while still being someone effective. Just because they can’t eliminate all COVID from ships doesn’t mean there should make no effort at all.

The pre-embark ban has very little to do with guests and everything to do with the crew. If the crew is sick, can't work or has a big outbreak, cruises get canceled, staffing levels drop, services suffers, people gripe and moan about it taking 30 extra seconds to get coffee, etc and blast the cruise line in reviews. You catch COVID on a ship, you go home, (and now) even if you do have COVID you just hop on a plane and fly home. Their hands are washed. I don't foresee it going away for quite some time given their already stretched crew levels.

It sounds like the TA is adding a second OBC that is tagged for shore excursions. It's the same as if the TA throws in a Special Dining reservation which usually will say something like **will appear as OBC. In that case it shows up as two credits but ultimately it does not matter what you use it towards.

I always book a balcony and probably spend less than 15 minutes a day just sitting out there. After having IV’s a few times it made me realize how little we actually use the balcony.

Pros and cons. We've started to enjoy them quite a bit. I like the extra space and unobstructed view. We will be joining the Viking Octantis later this summer which shares the exact same veranda design, although they call it a Nordic Balcony.

They will pay through at least June 30, 2022. $250 per night for hotel and $100 per person per day for food.

You cannot show up without a negative test. COVID tests in Rome are very easy to find. Google it and you will get many results. There are white tents outside of many pharmacies that will do tests without an appointment.