Jim_Iain

Sure someone will correct me if wrong but Celebrity recently changed the policy that if you have a drink package you are no longer charged corkage fee in MDR or other restaurants. To me that makes a lot of sense.

I was also going to say the Lawn Club. Recently on Solstice during the World Cup and they had constant coverage day and night. If the weather is agreeable this might be a relaxed location. They had lawn chairs., bar serve and blankets available.

They add the Retreat Sun Deck lounge and Bar as well as totally remodeled the Retreat Lounge. Also all of the rooms (others will correct me if incorrect I know Suites were) are renovated with all new furniture, driftwood colored walls, new beds and new softgoods with a different theme. This = vs the Original

I've been moved up a number of times. You are upgraded to whatever is open but I suggest set your mind to getting the worst room in the category and be elated if you get a good one. A couple times I've received accessible Sky Suites which aren't my favorite but was happy to get a Suite on a long sold out cruise.

I have seen some "Theme" nights but not really a big thing. The ones I recall were the Neptune Party when crossing the Equator, Full Moon Parties and on one time a Solar Eclipse Party. They do often have a sing along party with Abba or other soundtrack. I've also seen them do a 50's Sock Hop.

While I have no insider knowledge. In the past when a number of cruises disappear it is an indication of whole ship charters are being negotiated. They often pull the sailing and don't actually cancel it until the final contracts are signed. Asia is a big market for full ship charters.

While the deposit is $100 per person for most rooms. RS and above require $900 pp deposit. If you book a RS with your $100 deposit you will be required to pay the additional amount on booking.

Elite get 1 bag of was and fold laundry per person and Elite Plus get 2 bags per person.

Congratulations and Happy Birthday. I have to say that while we mostly travel in Suites we have sailed in Aqua and enjoy the choices in Blu. On most of the non-E class ships we have sailed they also allow you to order off the MDR Menu.

I have to agree. Last cruise I had the beef and I think the sole of shoe would have been more tender. I gave up on it and got something else.

Suite guests are permitted to dine in Blu on a space available basis and there is no fee for doing so. We are late diners and never had a problem as Blu is usually at least 1/2 empty when we arrive. You are correct they do not allow passengers in other classes than Suites to dine in Blu. Similar for you in Blu you can eat in the MDR on a space available basis.

I was recently on a Solstice B2B in early December so this is only my perspective of this cruise. On our first cruise only about 5% of the guests were wearing masks but on the second one (possibly because cases on land were surging and LA County had suggested mask wearing inside) the percentage rose to about 15% Some crew are wearing masks but usually being due to protocol that all new staff must wear masks for 5 days after joining the ship. After the first 5 days I believe it is a choice. I've not heard that crew were prohibited from wearing masks if they chose to. I know that there were cases on the ship but there were no announcements about cases an people who tested were isolated in their original cabin. I recall a couple months ago a ship did have announcement recommending people wear masks in the Casino and Theater.

I'm a bit unclear if you are talking of purchasing the Specialty Dining Package or just book an individual night or two. There are some discounts offered by booking in advance online prior to sailing. One that comes to mind is the first night discount. My understanding is that if you buy it online your CC discount is not applied. The packages for multiple nights is often discounted in advance. If you make your reservation in advance it will be immediately charged to either your OBC or to a Credit Card. You can cancel your reservation anytime up to 24 hours prior to dining for a refund to original form of payment. They have multiple reservation stations set up around the ship and one full time outside OVC. You can also stop at any of the Specialties and they will make reservations for you as well as the front desk Customer Service and the Retreat Concierge.

I chuckled when you mentioned fireflies. We don't have them in Northern California. When my kids saw them the first time at my Mother's in Alabama they were mesmerized.

The most amazing star gazing we ever had was on a cruise. We were in the Pirate's Area in the Indian Ocean. The ship had to turn off all lights and all windows were required to be covered. We were sitting in the center of the ship near the pool at night and absolutely no light - was incredible.

In lieu of tape I purchased some reusable plastic luggage tag holders on Amazon and have been using them with out problems for many years. I just print and before leaving the hotel just slide them in. I also once had a last minute Gratis Upgrade - the night before the cruise. They told me just to strike out the room number and write the new one on the tag or ask the porter to tag.

My understanding is it depends on what you define as premium Coffee and Teas. The Cappuccinos, Late's etc as well as teas are included in both packages (defined as premium as oppose to the swill in the OVC). What is not covered in the Classic Package is drinks with booze. Unless something has changed as of late.

Reflection has not gone through Revolution and does look dated. Reflection also is a larger ship - 126,000 Tons vs 122,000. She has on additional deck and I walk instead of elevators and you feel the extra floor. Personally I'm not a fan of Reflection and would be reluctant to sail her again. The passenger load is higher but Luminae, MDR and Blue are the same size. Suites - Equinox 72 Reflections 111 Aqua - Equinox 130 Reflections 150 Concierge - Equinox 277 Reflections 291 Veranda - Equinox 743 Reflections 749 Ocean View - Equinox 70 Reflection 70 Interior - Equinox 148 Reflections 154 Total Equinox 1,440 Reflections 1,523 Max Passenger Equinox 3,148 Reflection 3,480

Yes --- You can also just drop off bag and tell porter your room and he will write it on a blank tag.

Thinking back about the cruise I took that screen shot was a 15 day cruise. The prices may vary according to up to x number of days and above certain number of days eg 11 days or less and 12 days or more My 12 night Greenland Cruise my discounted rate (Zenith) was 49.95 not sure what percentage. Of course we already had free internet but it's still listed in our app as a choice. Hmm - Just checked my 8 day Cruise in December and shows the same - how long was your cruise.

Give this a read - https://www.jrailpass.com/blog/kansai-airport-to-kyoto I used it on our Japan trip and was very accurate and gives you your options. In our case we used the Limousine Bus. They have a separate area in the Airport. You check in and when your Luxury Bus with Wifi arrives you board and luggage is loaded into the bus for you. At the other end your bus is met by about 6 luggage handlers who bow to the bus and then unloads luggage and hands to you. Taxi to the terminal or hotel are plentiful and reasonable. Drivers are very polite and usually wear white gloves. Also while not very visible they offer a Senior Rate which is a good discount.

About what you use to get on dial up. If the basic more like the old 300-600 baud The new Starlink was running at about 4 to 5 times faster from me while on Solstice.

I've done many times. I usually just leave them with my laundry in the room by the front door and they Butler returns them shined. Maybe I'm showing my age but it use to be common to leave you shoes in a bag from the door knob at most hotels and they were returned shined. I did that for many years and never had a problem with shoes going missing.

I can understand your point and being upset with no advance notice and agree that Celebrity and other Cruise Lines could have handled the changes better. I'm sure that the Marketing Department had many discussions on how to minimize the customer response. They have however been updating their FAQ's on the main celebrity site. I would believe they felt that instead of drawing attention to 100% of their customers they chose to make the changes and update the information in that way. I'm not sure how I feel about some of the changes. Out of reading all the outrage of the changes in menus - I personally feel they were in need of change. I've been looking at the new menus that Royal released this week for the MDR and can honestly say I don't see much difference... maybe fewer anytime items. While we sail is suites we usually rely upon the MDR Menus as they offer about 3x the number of choices as Luminae. Personally I will see how things have changed on my next cruise and make my decisions on future cruises based on both Celebrity's offering and my new desire to finally straying from Celebrity after 22 years.