MamaFej

@Miaminice, how do you feel about your experience with Ann Tours? We will have nearly 3 months in Asia starting next month, and still have several places for which we need to plan. I see that Ann Tours is in many of the countries we will visit. I was also found reading about Ann and her family's history fascinating. Wow! Many thanks, and I hope you fully enjoy your sea day.

It may be a poor substitute, but I'll happily wave in the direction of oncoming passengers as I disembark the Journey on 22 December, 2024. 👋

On another line, we met a couple on Evening Chic night who looked like they'd just stepped out of the late 1940's. Fabulous hair, makeup, and clothes. We were a bit surprised to see them similarly attired on other nights, then back up to top notch on the next Evening Chic night. They were definitely well above the minumum every night, and having a lovely time. They seemed more than happy to enjoy conversation with folks like us, complying with the stated dress code, but certainly not attired as nicely as they were.

This is a fantastic attitude. Do your thing. Enjoy doing your thing, and be just fine with others. There is no maximum, only minimums. If you want to dress like Grant and Kerr, by all means, go for it. If I happen to see you dressed that way, I'll very likely smile.

We tried the Conundrum for the first time on the Summit in October. We enjoyed it, and it is one of the reasons we upgraded to PBP during the Black Friday sale for our upcoming cruises. Disappointing.

I'm wondering if this happened, in part, because their suite included specialty dining. I'm not saying it's right, only possible. It seems that it would have been polite for them to let the Luminae manager know when they would not be using the table, so that others could. Maybe "polite" was not a concern for them. I'm guessing that insisting on the same table each night, when it is not part of the deal paid for could be indicative of folks who don't spend much time concerning themselves with what is polite. I could definitely be wrong.

I do not claim to know for sure, but my gut feeling is that this is the goal. Suck up the concerns/complaints by past cruisers about no longer getting what they paid for, and gradually replace them with new customers who don't know the difference. Of course, in future years, those new folks will be complaining that they no longer get _______, and they will be replaced as well. I am not in any way saying this is okay, it's just what I perceive.

Unless your behavior is affecting others (like loudly streaming or video calling) it's no one else's business how much or how little time you spend online.

We were on the Eclipse for 5 cruises earlier this year. Samantha was in Blu. She is an absolute delight! Two of those cruises were in suites, and our waiter was Nitin, who was also wonderful. Our sommelier there was Bonny, who also says, "Oo la la!"

Hence the need for all the trees and plants to clean the air. 😉

We have been quite impressed with the Starlink Internet. We tend to use it to plan and book future travel on sea days. The new muster procedure is quick and easy, though I do wish they would program the bar registers not to allow drinks to be ordered until people have checked into their muster stations. That would prevent the every 45 minute announcements that get increasingly stern that people need to check in befoe we can sail. The check-in process is also smoother and more efficient in our experience (9 X cruises since the re-start, and several other cruises on other lines).

"The Boss title got downgraded, so I'm going to downgrade almost everyone's onboard experience! Muahahahaha!" -LHB, probably

Background checks are effective after someone has been caught. Before that: not so much.

Great minds think alike, and so do ours.

"I'd like a rum and Coke, hold the rum, please." 🙄 Is this a further example of X going out of its way to alienate customers, or is it a further example of incompetence? I'm hoping it's the latter. The awesome staff onboard will be the ones taking any heat generated. That's not directed at Cruisestitch, who will undoubtedly be polite and kind.

We were booked with Viking for January 2025 with our very dear friends (including our travel agent). When others wanted to join the group, but the Viking sailing was sold out, Ama had just released a sailing, so we all moved to that one. Here's hoping that the situation becomes more teneble and it is both safe to live in and visit the region (mostly safe to live in).

This experience sound like the love child of Le Petite Chef and Disneyland's Circle-Vision 360*. I've just signed up as part of a group on the Total Solar Eclipse cruise next year. Thanks for this thread! I've also had trouble loosening the pursestrings. I have a thread over in the 55+ cruisers forum essentially about that, and someone in it recommended a book called Die With Zero by Bill Perkins. No one here will actually 'die with zero," and the author does exhibit more than a wee bit of privilege, but he also makes some excellent* points. The book is largely geared toward folks younger than I am (56) but Hubby and I have found it helpful, and I've gifted it to my brother (54). I'm considering sending excepts to my dad (82). *Full disclosure: I may think his points are excellent because they largely align with our philosophy that we've worked hard to have what we do in savings and investments, and it's time to enjoy it.

@The Fun Researcher, it's not that I want to make things more complicated, it's just that I might do it anyway. Sorry???? I have no helpful knowledge to advise you on the legal travel requirements, but the mention of medical care got me thinking. It might be a good idea for the BF to have a temporary Medical Power of Attorney for the trip, and maybe longer, while he is residing in the US. If he becomes sick or injured and cannot communicate his desires, it might be very helpful if your daughter, you, and/or your spouse can direct his care the way he would want it directed. Much like insurance, one hopes it isn't needed, but it sure is good to have when one does need it.

You can always rent if you want to RV once in a while. I hope yours was purchased by someone who will create wonderful memories in it!

Log in. Click on your name in the upper right corner. Click on "My Tier and Points" Scroll down to "My Cruises and Points." Click on "Points History."

I feel like I need to figure out a way to watch. I started the webinar, then my dad and hubby arrived (Dad was dropping Hubby off after a golf-buddy's funeral). I stepped outside to say "I love you," but Dad was unusually chatty. With us traveling more than we are home, I don't miss opportunities to chat with my 82 year-old dad. The webinar was over by the time I got back to the computer. I didn't worry about it, as they usually are nothing to write home about, but I'm intrigued by what the folks who watched have to say about it.

I'm very intrigued by the idea of extending CC benefits to SilverSea. We did a last-minute discounted Antarctica expedition with our dear friends (one of which is also our TA) on SilverSea last year which we really loved. Most of our crusing has been on Celebrity, and we've never tried RC. Unless we have grandkids someday, we probably won't. We've definitely discovered since the restart that we enjoy the smaller ships and their ability to get into closer to the action smaller ports. We are very seriously considering an Arctic expedition on SS to celebrate PapaFej's 60th birthday next year. A little sweetening of the pot might just be enough to push us into booking. I've also read that SS is relaxing the formality on their newest non-expedition ship (Nova). If that spreads fleet-wide, we'd likely consider SS for "regular" cruises, as well.

That would probably be helpful. I have two rather conservative friends in their 50s who had a great time on VV earlier this year, but I don't remember which ship. On another note, both electrophysiologists who implanted my ICD in July, one of the anesthetists, and a couple of the other myriad medical professionals had visible tats. I'm still alive.

They will show up in your Celebrity account right around the 14th of next month (the 15th for you).

That's how it was when we started sailing: simple, logical, flexible, customer friendly. No wonder they got rid of it. 😜