SRQbeachgirl

Of course, they should use those if they have them. But if someone has dishes from food they brought to their cabin from OVC they wouldn't have covers.

Fins up forever. Sail on, Jimmy.

Since Covid many hotels and even some cruise lines ask that room service dishes be placed in the hallway outside the door. So maybe people think it's acceptable because that's what they've been told to do by the management, and is no reflection on their cleaning habits at home. I will say though, that people should at least cover the dishes with a napkin so others don't have to see congealed and half-eaten food.

What you saw was very likely the line of people who did NOT check in on the Hub app and were just lining up to wait. That is what we've seen every time. Meanwhile, the people (like us) who checked in on the Hub app would get the notification that our table is ready and would walk right passed all the people standing in line.

The larger ships have many more venues - pools, hot tubs, restaurants, cafes, bars, shows, entertainment, etc. Pretty much more of everything. As to the number of people, our experience is that a smaller ship can feel just as crowded - or uncrowded - as a bigger ship and vice versa. It just depends on whether the venue you want to enjoy at any given time is also the place where everyone else wants to be at the exact same time.

Carnival has actually been expanding no-charge, sit-down dining venues on their new ships, not eliminating them. And you can still get a second and third lobster tail for free on Carnival, with only a $5 charge per tail for the fourth or more. Weird that Carnival can find a way to do this, but Celebrity can't. 🤔 Maybe the next X cut should be Laura's position. They'd save a boatload of money. 😏

My perfect sea day starts with breakfast on the balcony, followed by a couple of hours still sitting on the balcony reading and watching the ocean slide by. Then change into swimsuit and cover-up, go to OVC for a lunchtime nibble. After that find a spot in the shade at one pools, read and lounge in the pool. Then back to the cabin to clean up. Head to dinner, then casino, shops, maybe a show, walk around the outside decks, then back to the cabin for another short lounge on the balcony before bed.

Final answer - you can use a maximum of 2 AARP $500 gift cards to make final payment.

We're some of the "new" Celebrity cruisers. We've sailed mostly on Carnival, a couple times on RC, but were looking for a different experience without all the kids, massive family groups, and noise. Our first X cruise was in January and we loved it. I just made final payment today for an 8-day in November, and I'm eying a couple of options for February. We've reached a point in our lives where we will probably take three to four cruises per year and based on our recent experience, those cruises will likely be on X. There are probably a lot more like us who are moving up from other lines and are ready to take the place of some who are no longer happy with X. Time will tell as to whether it all balances out.

It really is a beautiful resort. Good luck in your search!

Honestly, it doesn't really matter. We typically do specialty dining the first night due to the discounts, but we also do specialty dining several nights on every cruise. We have Lawn Club Grill booked for the first night of our upcoming Reflection cruise because we can't wait longer than that to dig in to their chocolate chip cookie skillet. Trust me on this--get the chocolate chip cookie! As for timing, if we have an active port day planned we tend to go with the later reservations so we have time to shower, change, and relax a bit before dinner.

We usually stay at the Diplomat Hollywood Beach Resort (Hilton brand). It's right on the beach, great pools, restaurants, and only about 30 minutes to the Miami cruise terminal or 20 minutes to Port Everglades terminal.

I just called and successfully applied both AARP gift cards to my balance due. The whole process was super easy and the call took less than five minutes. No hold time at all, either. Not bad for $100 in savings (two $500 cards). Definitely important to read that fine print so people don't mistakenly think they can use these for shore excursions, onboard purchases, etc., but for paying a balance due it can be a good deal--just know the limitations and refund policy. Maybe someday they will go to a gift card process more like Carnival Corp. so you can use them for everything and apply them yourself online rather than making a phone call.

Thank you! I will call tomorrow to get the official word (and report back here so others will know).

I think I just made a mistake. The final balance for our November Reflection cruise is due at the end of this month and I just bought two AARP gift cards thinking I could use them toward that final balance. But does a NEW booking mean I can't use them for final balance? If I can't, I guess I'll just use them when we get ready to book another cruise, but...dang.

We sailed on Celebrity Reflection in January to the Caribbean and there were only about 9 kids onboard. It was fabulous!

We were at Magens Bay in January and saw a bunch of sea turtles. I was surprised at how many there were swimming near the beach. Magens is a great beach for kids as well, since the water is so calm. It's not great for snorkeling because it's mostly a sandy bottom, but there is some snorkeling on the far right (if you're facing the water) along the rocks.

We sailed on Reflection in January and thought it was in great shape. Loved it so much we booked an 8-day for January.

Well, we made it home. And ya'll, it's hot. We've got every fan in the house blowing at full speed, but it still basically feels like I'm standing on the dock in Cozumel. So, final thoughts. The ship felt much more crowded this time, but it was sold out so we expected that going in. Places to sit around the open decks were hard to come by, especially in the shade, so we didn't spend much time in Serenity or the other pool areas. They were pretty much overrun most of the time. We didn't really mind this because we intended to spend a lot of time on our balcony, and we did. This may very well have been our last cruise during the May - August months, at least on Carnival. Just too many kids, teenagers, and large groups. Food was really good, with Fahrenheit 555 being our favorite meal. We also really enjoyed Chi-Bang and would be willing to pay $8 for a second visit. Once again we did not eat in the MDR at all. There are just too many other good options on the MG. We were disappointed (okay, I was disappointed - Mr. SRQ not so much) that we didn't get to ride Bolt. After our reservation was canceled because of rain and residual moisture in the brake system we didn't get another opportunity. When we sailed MG last year there were significant staff shortages that were obvious all over the ship. They seem to have that issue resolved and it was noticeably better this time. Overall, we got what we wanted out of this cruise. Lots of time to relax on an oversized and shady balcony. Good food. And I GOT TO SWIM WITH DOLPHIN!!!!!! Yeah, it's gonna take a while to come down from that. Mr. SRQ is going to happily tell everyone that I was giddier than he's ever seen me, and trust me, after 34 years that man has seen a lot! 😆 Thanks to everyone for coming along for the ride!

You were on our sailing? What did you experience that made it so disappointing?

Getting off the ship this morning was a breeze...for people with passports. Thank goodness we have passports! 😎 From the time we stepped off the ship till we pulled out of the parking garage was about 10 minutes. It looked like about 80% of everyone on our cruise had birth certificates and that line was truly AWFUL! For anyone getting on the MG today, you should probably expect a long wait in the terminal before you can board. Once we got on the road I called home and found out our air conditioner went out yesterday. Now y'all, our AC went out last time we cruised the MG, so I'm starting to think there's a connection. Our home warranty company has been called, but it's gonna be a least Monday before we hear from anyone, which means we will be sweltering in the south Florida heat. 🥵 Awesome. 😖 Nothin' like coming back to reality. 🤦🏼‍♀️

Our last dinner of the cruise was at Bonsai Teppanyaki tonight, where we celebrated our anniversary (AGAIN!). 😉🤪 The food was good, but it felt much more rushed than it did last time we had dinner here. The food delivery was disjointed with our entrees being ready before we had been served all the appetizers. If this was our only experience here, it would likely be our last. Hopefully it was just an off night and isn't representative of the new normal. And y'all, I am officially "desserted" out. Seriously, I'm gonna be in a sugar coma for the next month. I ate everything in the dessert bento box except the grass ice cream. Okay yeah, I know it's actually called "matcha," but it tastes like grass to me. Grass is for cows and goats and I'm not either one of those. After dinner I went to the casino to spend my $30 casino credit from Deal or No Deal. I was down to my very last spin when the Rich Little Piggies squealed and gave me 17 free spins, so I walked away with $56. I'll take it! Now I'm back on the balcony enjoying the last couple of hours, and watching the planet Venus shine over the lights of the south Florida coastline. I know soon Mr. SRQ is going to tell me it's time to pack, but I figure I can hold him off till about 11pm. He's gonna do most of the work anyway--and we both already know it. 😏😉

You could always call Carnival's number for dietary assistance to see if you could make special arrangements for something specific for her. That way you don't have to worry about whether there will be something she can eat.

I just looked on the Hub app (currently on the MG) and they don't show the kids menu, but I know they have one because I saw some kids ordering from one the other night. I don't know everything that was on it, but I remember one of the kids ordered chicken tenders and another ordered a hamburger.

Did I mention we're having a lazy day today? My view this afternoon hasn't changed much from this morning, except I've replaced the coffee with a chocolate chunk cookie the size of my head. Now lest you think my butt has been planted so long in this chair that it's growing roots here, I'll add in my defense that Mr. SRQ and I did go forage for sustenance (Shaq's) and played bingo. We didn't win, so our losing streak is still intact. The shade and breeze on our balcony is just too enticing to stay away long, though. The water is so smooth today and the temperature is perfect in the shade. I'm currently watching flying fish and I even saw a shark swimming at the surface a few minutes ago! This is my happy place and I'm going to enjoy every minute I can until they throw me off the ship tomorrow.