kwokpot

Unless they're directly offered from BCC, which the Ascent is being. BCC has Aquaclass comped rooms the whole 1st qtr of '24. We're going on the 1/7/24 Ascent fully comped in Aquaclass. Even sailings in December, 12/10 and 12/17 in concierge being on offered fully comped.

I'll have to respectfully disagree. That's when a good buffet like what Celebrity offers is quite important. You can choose all the healthier choices. Of course one doesn't have self control then it can be a disaster. That's why it's also helpful when the MDR has a broader array of choices so you can make those healthier choices.

This. I don't have to have eggs but enjoy a bowl of oatmeal. No go on that at the Elite breakfast. Not the best selection for those looking to eat healthier.

Hey, great post!

A beach club. That's it. Bimini Island is literally a spit of sand. With a casino resort, timeshares, Marina and a beach club. Beach is nice though.

You're correct, No Diamond indicators stamped anywhere. They really cheaped out on sourcing these gifts. They have done much better in the past with Logo gifts. Prepandemic for a Carnival Players Club Premier Cruise we received a luggage tag and passport case but a much better quality leather. The passport case is designed such that we use one case for two passports. It's actually quite nice.

Any specialty restaurant on any cruise. If using it for a future cruise make an advanced reservation so you're guaranteed the day and time , pay in advance. Bring letter to the dining room when you check in for your dinner reservation and they will refund the prepayment. Of course you don't have to make an advanced reservation, but if you know there's a specific night and time when you want to dine best to make an advanced reservation.

You're not going to Israel next month.

Eden is the best place to find a quiet spot to read and relax. What you have to do is start from the beginning of the curving walkway ramp and check out all the spots along the way. There are places with direct views of the huge aft windows but there are also other very secluded nooks to be away from everything. Eden is more than just the bar in the main aft atrium. There's also seating along the corridor leading to Eden. For outdoor spaces lots of places on Deck 15 with both sunny and shaded areas. For a good area in FLL to stay check out the Dania Beach and Dania Place neighborhoods. There are a multitude of hotels of all ranges. It a perfect location near both the port and airport and restaurants and shops. Please don't get hung up with only choosing a hotel with shuttle services. Taxis and Uber/Lyft are quite honestly a better option for transfers than a hotel shuttle.

Day 24 Bitung, Indonesia Port stop Day 2 Since the ship docked yesterday afternoon at 5:00pm and there were no restrictions on coming and going there wasn't the normal rushes or crowds at breakfast or anywhere else on the ship for that matter. Although we had considered taking a taxi for the over 60 minutes ride to the adjacent and larger town of Manado after much thought we decided not to do that and just do a small walk around Bitung. Booking this cruise we were well aware that Bitung is a minor city with little attractions other than the nature preserve an hour away and the mountains and some beaches. We knew this wasn't going to be Bali or Jakarta and we're fine with that. We went out around 10:30am and spent around an hour walking the streets near the port. Bitung is very rural and the buildings and infrastructure are in poor condition. The local people are extremely friendly and everyone, literally everyone says hello and wants to take photos with you. The children are all beautiful and adorable. Having said all this it's a bit jarring when everyone is asking for money from you, especially children of all ages. There's an unspoken expectation that when a parent offers their children for a photograph that it comes along with a donation. The requests for money were never aggressive but still jarring especially when it comes from a 3yr old. We smiled and never took any photos nor gave out any money. There were a handful of eateries that were operated out of tin shacks. There were many ship passengers that were eating and drinking at the limited places. I suppose if you didn't have a drink package the alcohol would be dirt cheap compared to the ship (I never looked closely at local prices) but Robert and I have sensitive GI systems so eating local food in these conditions didn't seem like a good idea. The surroundings were quite rural and poor. What was most jarring was a brand new STARBUCKS several blocks away from the cruise port. It was the nicest building and storefront in the surrounding area and obviously not meant for locals but for tourists. We heard the prayer call from the nearby mosque and we felt we had walked and seen enough. We were out about an hour. Sail away was at 5:30 and at around 4:00 it seemed that the entire local population came to the Port to say goodbye to the Luminosa. There was entertainment to see us off and with dusk approaching the crowds grew in huge proportions. It was a sight to see all the locals in one place! We had a nice dinner in the MDR and went to the show which was the Playlist production of 80's to the Max. This wasn't the full blown production show with a full cast of singers and dancers and scenery, but an abridged version with only the singers and no scenery. This is the second show done this way, the previous on being the disco music reveue called Club VIP. Photos of Bitung, the locals saying farewell, dinner and show.

It's considered a cocktail, not a dessert cocktail, which are the espressotini and chocolate martini. It's listed after the beverages in the MDR menu as part of the MDR cocktails. It's OK. It's in a tall glass with lots of ice. I thought it was going to be more like an Aperol Spritz which I love, but it's nothing like that drink at all. You can barely taste the Aperol. I liked the Carnival Cosmo better.

You wear shorts to the MDR for dinner on a Celebrity cruise?

You have no choice, Celebrity never had the ability to prebook nightly entertainment.

I've been traveling around the World since the early '80s and extensively in Europe. Before globalization footwear was quite country/region based. Spain, with it's history in leather goods, had very Spanish looking looking footwear all high quality in construction. Globalization has eradicated those footwear and clothing boundaries. Not only athletic wear companies such as Nike but with H&M, Zara, Uniqlo, etc fashion from global companies, accelerated by social media which is also global, has made consumerism flourish without boundaries.

Do Dress Sneakers Belong in the Oval Office? https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/19/style/do-dress-sneakers-belong-in-the-oval-office.html?smid=nytcore-android-share

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/sneakers-workplace-fashion-phenomenon-in-congress/

I didn't watch the video but MSC cruises loyalty program status requires a cruise every 3 years or your loyalty tier lapses. This is the only way to manage ever increasing membership in higher level status tiers.

Sneakers or dress shoes?

If you made that statement 20 years ago I would have agreed with you, but not any longer. Sneakers are acceptable footwear the world over.

And now men have hybrid shoes with 'sneaker-type' soles that even Congressman wear to work. Are these dress shoes or sneakers?

Depends on your definition of sneakers. A nice black leather sneaker is a classic look with casual or dressy pants and button shirt or Polo type short sleeve.

No need to bring dress shoes. What you're proposing is fine for dinnertime on all nights of the cruise.

What you described is fine for dinnertime on all nights.

Day 23 Bitung,Indonesia Port stop early arrival. We were notified yesterday that the cancellation of our Puerto Princesa, The Philippines Port stop in order to avoid typhoon Koinu will allow us to arrive at our last Port stop, Bitung, Indonesia, a full day earlier. The estimated arrival time would be 4:30pm today and we would be able to come and go as we please with all aboard at 5:30pm tomorrow. In anticipation of additional questions the captain also noted that timing and logistics didn't allow visiting any other Port of call. We had previously arranged a fancy brunch at the steakhouse (compliments of the casino) and we looked forward to attending and didn't have any food before our 11:30am reservation. The brunch didn't disappoint. I had steak and eggs and Robert had pasta carbonara. The food was excellent as was the service. We sailed into Bitung into an industrial port which did have a cruiseship terminal building. It seemed like the whole town was there to greet us and there were people everywhere, and they even had music and entertainment welcoming us. I understand that many crew members will have family members traveling from far away to see their loved ones from the ship. It doesn't seem there's much to see in Bitung itself but the nearby town of Manado, which is about an hour away by car, is a much larger and built up town. The other tourist sights are the nature that surrounds us. The ship has only three sold out tours for tomorrow that are quite pricey but they added a few shuttle buses(which quickly sold out) that was going tonight to a mall in Manado that would leave around 5:30pm and leave around 11:00-11:30 for the 1 hour/each way trip from Bitung. I think we will take a private taxi tomorrow morning to and from Manado for some sightseeing. Photos of our Steakhouse brunch and our Bitung arrival.