Ken the cruiser

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We agree totally!! We won't book any cabin that does not include Reserve Dining.

The simple answer is no. You have to be booked in at least a Reserve Collection mini-suite in order to dine in the Reserve Dining Room.

I am sorry your expectations weren't exceeded on your recent cruise, whereas for us they have continually been on the various PCL cruises we've been on since cruising started back up. All I can say is that it is amazing the difference in experiences one encounters on one of their longer 14+ day itineraries versus one of their shorter 4-7 day ones, especially if they are conducted during school breaks or over the Holiday season.

I see you just got finished cursing near Elephant Island and are heading towards the Antarctica Peninsula. That's great news about the Starlink service cruising around the Peninsula, as I plan on posting to a Live From thread on our 30-day B2B that we will be embarking in San Antonio on Jan 20.

Have you checked out the additional perks provided with their new FAS Plus package for an additional $49 pp/day, if you booked your cruise with the FAS option and there are 2 people in your cabin?

We are in our 70s and Elite+ with Celebrity and have moved on from them as well due to their latest price increases, to include the 20% upcharge for booking a refundable deposit and ridiculous All Included costs. As far as NCL goes, we went on an awesome 38-day Middle East/Africa B2B on the Jade last year (see Live From in my below signature area) in an aft-facing Club Balcony (mini-suite) where we got a free bag of laundry on each leg. However, we also learned early on that NCL and Celebrity do things differently with regards to booking options. When it comes to NCL, here are some comments. - You cannot pay your Daily Service Charge (gratuities) with nonrefundable OBC. When we found out the DSC could not be paid using nonrefundable OBC, our TA instead gave us a rebate check (cash) for booking the cruise through them. - Do not assume because you get free "beverages" with their Free AT Sea (FAS) beverage package (as long as you pay the FAS beverage gratuities charge when booking the cruise) that you get unlimited bottled (boxed) water and Starbucks specialty coffees/hot chocolate for free. - The "free wi-fi minutes" are just that, by the minute. If you want to upgrade to unlimited minutes, there is a significant upcharge, especially for the second person in the cabin. HOWEVER, they recently came out with their "Free At Sea Plus" package for an additional $49 pp/day, which for us checked all of the boxes we previously had issues with, and then some. Norwegian's Free at Sea Cruise Deals: Free Open Bar & More (ncl.com) The bottom line when booking with NCL, as their cabins are very reasonably priced when compared to other lines, you need to take the time to do the math. In our case we cruise now mostly with PCL. But if the itinerary is just right, we have no issues with booking with NCL with their FAS Plus package.

We have never been successful using our Princess Personalizer login credentials when logging into Ocean Ready. As @mtnesterz mentioned, we always have to scroll down and login with our Booking Number along with the name listed on the account and the applicable birthdate. When we use that option, it works every time. And once logged onto the App, we can see all of our other bookings listed under the Profile section.

Thanks! Unfortunately, I have nothing to add regarding the wine list options, other than to note that all I drank on the cruise was Italian Moscato, which BTW was quite tasty and in abundance. In addition, the Celebrity app doesn't work on Galapagos cruises, so you won't be able to find the list there either.

If I might ask, as I can't seem to find it anywhere on the Crystal website. What perks do you get at each Crystal Society level? Right now, we have 5 cruise points with a future cruise booked worth 2 points. I know, we're just minions at this point, but it would be nice to know what we can look forward to once we reach the next level, which I'm guessing is 10.

Well, we're back home and just for the record with all the long walking excursions we went on, neither of us gained any weight! 😂 I would also like to add, if you couldn't tell, we had an awesome time on the Flora, and IMHO there really is no comparison between the Flora and the Xpedition, other than they do similar itineraries. The Flora has higher quality (and much newer) zodiacs, larger public areas, and nicer cabins. But then the Flora is 17 years newer than the Xpedition and there is a healthy price difference when comparing similar cabins on the two ships. So there is that. But if anyone has any questions about the Flora or cruising the Galapagos, please feel free to ask.

Thanks Keith! We just booked the cruise and on our confirmation there is an entry entitled "CS CODE" with a value next to it. Am I guessing correctly that is the Crystal Society number?

We're thinking about booking a Panama Canal cruise sailing in Dec 2025. But with no "Crystal Society" number, as is the case with other cruise lines, we were just curious if we will get the 2.5% discount that would have come with our "old" Loyalty level with the 5 cruise points we had accrued?

Thanks! We are looking at the Dec 2025 Panama Canal cruise on the Serenity and this review was very helpful! 😀

Just thought I would pass this little tidbit along that I picked up from someone on our cruise that also is flying round trip using Delta. Once your flight takes off you can use your Skymiles number and password to log onto their inflight WiFi service, and get free access to the internet while in flight. For example we’ve been flying for about 2 hours on our 5 hour flight to Atlanta and I’m currently posting this. I also just did an Ookla Speedtest and here are the results! I don’t know how long they have offered this additional capability, but it’s pretty cool! 😁

They did. We are both military veterans and used Stockperks last month to get the SOBC placed back on two cruises we refared after Jun 29, but before October when they rescinded the rule where a guest could not have both MOBC and SOBC.

TBL Tour - Part 2 After seeing the Andean Condors, we headed to our lunch at a very nice resort and then afterwards, headed to the Cloud Forest to see some hummingbirds, before heading back to the hotel. I took this photo because of the view of the lake. Afterwards, I then realized there was a brown llama also in the picture! 😂 A couple more llamas hanging out along the roadside. And a big sheep strolling back home! I love this double-winged black butterfly! The humming bird sanctuary was in the Amazon Basin, and this river was one of the beginning tributaries that feed the Amazon River. Downstream Upstream The path through the Cloud Forest we took to get to the river. Some of the various hummingbirds we saw while at the sanctuary. This was the terrain at 13,000 feet. And last but definitely not least, I finally was able to take a photo of the elusive Quito Dove! 😂

Our TBL private tour to the Antisana Ecological Reserve was definitely different than cruising around the Galapagos. But at the same time it was just as unique. Because of the number of photos I took, there will be two parts. The first part includes the drive to and around the Antisana Ecological Reserve and then stopping at the Chakana Reserve to catch a glimpse of two Andian Condors flying high in the sky! 😁 A view of Cotopaxi Volcano along the way The cows obviously have the right-of-way on this street! 😂 Our drive included a variety of paved, dirt, and a combination of both types of roads! And some beautiful scenery along the way. Of course, we had our greeting committee to deal with! 😂 Ruminahui Volcano Whitetail Deer Antisana Volcano Cayambe Volcano Lone whitetail deer Plumbeous Sierra Finch Andean Gull Ecuador Rabbit and a Bar-winged Cinclode Our tour guide thought this was a cross between a llama and an alpaca, as she thought they were too fury to be llamas. A few pictures of some Cara Caras A couple of Ibis, rarely seen in this area! Then we stopped by here to see a couple of Andean Condors flying high in the sky! 😁

Day 10 - Dec 18 (Monday) - Private TBL tour and flight back home Here’s the description of our private tour today.

It better be one awesome viewing if we’re going to get up at 5 am! 😂

Thanks! Our next cruise will be in January on a 30-day South America cruise to include 4 days cruising around the Antarctica Peninsula on the Sapphire Princess in an aft-facing cabin! At least on that cruise we’ll be able to sleep in more days! 😂

Thanks! I would highly recommend doing all of the long walks, both morning and afternoon if you are healthy enough to do both, as there was no repetition and each walk was very unique in their own way as you might be able to tell from my photos. 😁

If you start on page 4 at post 93 on my below thread, I think you will find the ensuing pages and photos might be an additional motivator as to what you might be in for, especially if you book your Galapagos cruise on the Flora. My only recommendation is to book the Sky Suite with Veranda as soon as they come out, usually 2+ years in advance, to get the best rate. It is truly a once in a lifetime awesome cruise and ship!! 😁 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2977333-live-from-the-flora-10-night-ecuador-and-galapagos-adventure-dec-8-18/page/4/

All went smoothly on our last zodiac ride to the Baltra pier. Of course, we had a greeting committee at each stop along the way. First at the pier, Then in the VIP area at the airport while we waited to board the plane. I had a brownie and this little Finch took care of the smaller pieces left in the bowl. 😁 A Finch had “tossed” a couple of rolls from a plate left behind on a table onto the floor so everyone could join in the feast! That is until someone came and picked them up! 😂 I guess this Galapagos Land Lizard that first greeted us when we arrived at the airport terminal 8-days ago was resting up from the next group arriving later today! Obviously, it’s not easy being the only member of the Galapagos greeting committee! 😂 We left around Noon and had a peaceful flight to Quito and bus ride back to the JW Marriott Hotel. Now it’s time to chill and plan for our long day tomorrow, which includes a private tour to see some more wildlife in the Andes before flying back home around midnight.

Sorry for not getting back with you yesterday as we were on another intense Galapagos excursion on the Celebrity Flora. Yes, that makes sense to book a balcony on either the port or starboard side rather than the aft. We were booked in a mini-suite on the port side on the Diamond and were quite comfortable, even without a covered balcony like most of the M and S class Celebrity ships have.