cruisestitch

That's right, there won't be Customs/Immigration,

But allow plenty of time (2+ hours) for Rome airport.

I'll quote myself from an earlier thread:

"How is the coffe? Here's an anecdote. Was sitting yesterday at a luncheon with five other people. Everyone had coffee. The waiter poured all from the same carafe. The woman on my right said, oh that's good coffee. The man on my left said, that coffee is way too strong, and poured some water into his cup. The woman across from me said, this coffee is really bitter. Her husband asked, why can't you make coffee this good. The woman next to him made a face and said that it tasted stale to her. I thought it was too weak.

So how's the coffee on board? Probably too strong, too weak, too bitter, too stale, too hot and too cold.'

There is another aspect to the discussion about why Celebrity doesn't do more to advertise the brunch, apologize if this has already been mentioned, but they don't make a big deal about it because the MDR does not have the capacity to hold all of the passengers. They rely on some people never finding out about it, just as they rely on some passengers choosing to eat at the Aqua Spa, the hamburger grill, and the buffet.

Get an invoice printout -- you should see it on the Celebrity invoice (since you booked with Celebrity). If you booked with a travel agent, they can get these invoices for you, but by booking direct with the cruise line you have to ask for a printout from them.

Those late night buffets were a huge amount of work for the staff, and were always pretty to look at and popular with photographers, but most of the food was wasted, so they have been eliminated except for the occasional "pool party" or "deck party" with some food offerings but not nearly the scope of the old late night buffets.

If I remember right, the duck was slices of breast meat, with a side dish made up of minced dark meat, I think they called it a "confit"

But my favorite is the venison!

Rosalba was on Eclipse in April and May 2013

Latest you can leave is around 9:30 - 10:00 a.m. They need about an hour in order to re-set all systems to allow the new passengers to board around 10:30 to 11:00 a.m.

Don't take it too much to heart. One of the characteristics of boards like these is that threads take off on tangential directions -- it's hard to remember to stay on topic.

We see a thread that asks something like, how many outlets are in the bathroom, and an answer comes back, there are three in the bedroom, and then someone asks are they at the desk or by the bed, and someone answers, I just bought a surge protector for my various chargers, and we completely lose track of the original question. It's the nature of these boards.

You'll get the hang of it when you read more posts here --

And a phone call costs around $2.50 a minute!

This might be a good time to make sure that you set up his room key so he can't charge things -- or set up a dollar limit on his card, which I think you can do -- so he doesn't go to the computer center and set up an account and before you know it, you have a huge SeaPass bill on your hands.

Texting isn't free, either.

If a person is a new passenger, having not sailed on either line, then they cannot sign up for C&A until during or after the first cruise.

But if they person has already sailed on Celebrity, they do not have to wait until after their first Royal cruise to sign up. They can enroll prior to sailing on Royal.

And if they are Elite on Celebrity, and they sign up for Royal's C&A, they will receive Diamond privileges on their very first Royal cruise, not on their second Royal cruise.

The C&A benefit page is correct as far as a new cruiser goes, but does not address the issue of the cruiser with the reciprocal benefit.

I think there is a confusion here --

If you have never sailed on either line, and are trying to sign up for C&A you must wait until after you cruise with Royal

But if you are already Elite on Celebrity, you can call to get a C&A membership number prior to your first Royal cruise, and will be recognized as Diamond on that cruise, and will get all the Diamond benefits

And it is correct to say that while you are recognized as Diamond, you will not be moving toward Diamond+ with that cruise, you will be starting your C&A count from zero and will need to work up from there, all the while being Diamond by virtue of your Celebrity Elite status.

Does anyone know who the Captains Club host/hostess is on Connie right now?

There may not be the same rules for the OP, being from Spain, as there are for US/Canadians. But it is worth checking every so often anyway, and if a different suite becomes available, you can always ask again.

Yes, sushi. Watch the Daily for exact times on your ship and sailing.

Breakfast buffet -- made to order omelettes, waffles, pancakes, french toast, sometimes blintzes, cereals (hot and cold), pastries, meat, grilled tomatoes or mushrooms, cheese, fruit, fish, yogurt, sometimes Asian offerings, sometimes corned beef hash, it's probably easier to ask if there's anything that isn't on the breakfast buffet.

"Also how are suite guest treated on the land part of cruisetours? Do they get special treatment or perks?"

Remember that your suite booking is for the cruise portion of the trip only, not for the whole trip, and also that the land portion is operated by a contractor, not by Celebrity. Don't look for any kind of special treatment on the land portion of the trip.

To continue, yes, there's pretty much something all day. In the afternoon, usually around 4, afternoon tea foods are put out -- little sandwiches, cakes, etc. Then around 5 there's sushi.

If you don't see mini-sandwiches in Cafe al Bacio, look for them in the buffet in the afternoon after the lunch service is over.

To answer the second question, seating for suite passengers is by availability only, and there have been some cruises where those in suites were turned away from Blu.

"I just remember that there was a Bruce on an earlier list.

Did you meet Bruce? Remco is going to be tough to replace."

Yes we met. Bruce and Remco shared the Captain's Club duties on the April TA. There were over 900 Elites, so two Captain's Club Hosts were warranted. About halfway through, however, Remco was told that he would move to his new position and began the training to be able to do bookings, and by the end of the crossing Bruce was more-or-less on his own. During the first European cruise (Norway) Bruce was told that there would be two new booking agents coming aboard, and that there wouldn't be room in the back office of Destinations for four people, so the Captain's Club Host would be moving, but when I left on Saturday, no new location had been determined. One under discussion was the Alcove just aft and starboard of the Art Auction -- a little dead-end spot not at that time used. Another was to have him at a desk in the Guest Relations area. But no decision had been finalized.

My apologies to both of these men for mis-spelling their names.

Remco Hendricks is Future Cruise Sales

Bruce Van Der Boon is Captain's Club

All I can say is that severe jet lag is in play....

Captain Manetas is back after an 8 day absence for personal reasons.

Sue Denning is Cruise Director, for approximately one more month, then she goes on vacation.

Eclipse Captains Club host is now Bruce Van Doorn. Remko has moved to Future Cruise Sales

Can't really answer about Sue's schedule. Capt Manetas should be on for a few sailings at least