ipeeinthepool

I'm not sure that the person get's appropriate compensation for delivering the room service orders from the automatic tips. Don't worry, I will continue to tip a couple of dollars for room service orders and I'll thrown in a another buck or two to cover for those who don't tip.

That would have been my guess, sounds like the Edge to me. Whatever makes her feel special.

This is an easy one, the bride gets to make the decision. Yes, she is still the bride on an anniversary cruise.

If the OP can find a Veranda price on Viking for the same cost as a Veranda on Celebrity, for a similar cruise I would go for it. However, since there is nothing of value for most people for Concierge over Veranda on Celebrity, I think that a Veranda should be the basis of comparison. Perhaps the OP finds value in Concierge class. However I do know that Viking would be a lot cheaper if they did not send me a color brochure every week. As I look at my latest brochure, the Viking prices seem a lot higher. For 22 days Rome to Istanbul the cheapest price in my booklet is $9297. I think I could do 3 weeks on Celebrity for less than $9k before fees and taxes. The cheapest I see on Viking is 8 days from Barcelona to Rome for $2999. This would be in November to December. Again, not exhaustive research on my part but I think the Viking prices are a lot higher, at least based on my current brochure. However if the OP really finds something comparable, I think he/she should give it a try to experience something different.

I didn't know that tipping for room service was an issue. From my perspective, it's expected. Based on this thread I think I'll start adding an extra buck or two to cover those that don't tip.

Have you ever seen the big open bucket the bartenders use behind the bar? The open buckets they use to transport the ice from some ice machine to the bar? Or maybe every bartender putting his hand into the ice to fill your glass? This just doesn't look as sanitary as I would like. If the ice dispenser actually generates it's own ice, the risk is minimized. If the Ice dispenser needs to be filled with ice, then I'll pass.

I'm not sure where your flight to Barcelona originates, but if it's in the US I would be too tired from the time zone change to enjoy a tour as soon as I got off the airplane. I'm also not a fan of flying in the same day as the cruise, especially a transcontinental flight, but that's a topic for another thread.

Ice machines, buckets of ice, water pitcher and anything else that is an intermediate stop between the water line and your water bottle is a potential source of contamination. I would fill clean glasses to get water from the water machine in the buffet to fill my water bottle if I had any concerns. FWIW I never use ice in any drinks to minimize the risk of contamination.

😉

We always stay away from dead fish on any ship.

Never take the shuttle from any hotel along 17th Street hotels probably other areas as well. Ubers or even taxis will always be cheaper and you are traveling on your schedule and not stopping at other cruise ships. We always stay at the Renaissance and always take an Uber. Because it is so close I usually tip a few dollars. It's not really a problem for the Uber drivers because there are plenty of fares waiting to be picked up. We never had a complaint. It's such a scam with the hotels and shuttles services because the hotels get a kick-back. Before Uber I had problems getting some hotels to call a taxi because they wanted the kick-back from me being on the shuttle.

This may not be the best approach in some parts of the world. I used to travel to San Paulo a lot for business and the taxi drivers always wanted to put my briefcase and carry-on (my only suitcase) in the trunk. I always refused because I also felt safer having them with me. Sometimes it almost became an argument because the drivers were very persistent. Then I found out that it is common to get stuck in grid lock traffic where the car can't move. Thieves on motorcycles would zip between the lanes of cars and steal things from the occupants in the car. There are times where your stuff is safer in the trunk.

Maybe those small balconies were the example someone used to justify the small balconies on the Edge/Apex

It's not just you I agree 100%. The lunch selections for this embarkation lunch are very limited and don't agree with my tastes. We usually board early and have lunch before the OV gets very crowded. You are also correct that the food selections are much better in the OV on embarkation day, this has become one of our favorite meals during the cruise.

I don't think so, CruiseMapper shows it has left the Galapagos Islands and sailed back to the mainland.