cruisestitch

As you can see, the Celebrity website is silent on the matter of water and soft drinks. They are allowed. Liquor is not:

Can I bring alcoholic beverages on board?

No beer or hard liquor may be brought onboard for consumption. If you wish to bring personal wine onboard with you on the day you board your cruise, you may do so, limited to two (2) 750ml bottles per stateroom. When enjoyed in any shipboard restaurant, bar or dining venue, each bottle shall be subject to a corkage fee of $25.

The designated deck 5 smoking side is the port side, HOWEVER, you should know that it might change to the starboard side temporarily if the weather conditions warrant it, or if the ship is taking on fuel in a port, or if there are maintenance issues on the port side.

Look on the coupon sheet that is in your stateroom -- the one with your internet offer, laundry offer, etc.

Here's the earlier thread from today:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2050496

In the Caribbean, sometimes Celebrity even lets employees and their families book at the very last minute (three or four days prior to sailing) to fill the ship.

Have a look here:

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Multi_Dest/Special_Offers/14038839_CEL_123Go_June_Offer.pdf

this offer has 25 - 50 bonus points -- in the fine print at the bottom

Earliest boarding is usually around 11, latest disembark is usually around 9:30. They need some time to do the "turnaround" from one cruise to the next.

Corkage is $25 per bottle

Yes you can join ahead if the first cruise.

You will get your first points after your first cruise.

There aren't many perks until you have cruised a couple of times.

There is no pool in the fun factory. The outside pools are open to kids, the one in the Solarium is not.

I believe that there is a sign at the entrance to the Sky Lounge limiting access there after a certain time at night (maybe 10 pm?). I'll check my photos to see if I took a picture of it.

Since many celebrate special anniversaries, birthdays, retirements, etc. in Murano, it does tend to feel dressier and more formal, even on non-formal nights. I think most who dine there consider it an occasion for nicer dress than the dining room.

I have had the extra "bonus if you book the first day" minutes added on top of the Elite Plus minutes, two cruises on Eclipse in February.

On Solstice in March and April there were no "first day bonus minutes" at all.

This is a very unpredictable bonus, great when you can get it, but you may not see any bonus on your particular cruise.

If something was caught "embarking in FLL" that probably was not Celebrity security, but the port security. If something is caught on entering the ship, those staff are Celebrity, but most of the shore security staff belongs to the terminal/port/country.

Our last Alaska cruise had the same dress code as all other Celebrity cruises and we saw men and women dressing accordingly. Tuxedos, business suits, a few in sports jackets w/button down shirts and ties, women in dressy outfits.

The entire situation with the drinks packages seems to be in flux.

My advice to you is to wait until you are on board and can see the prices in the bars of the drinks you would be likely to order, then do the calculation to see if purchasing the package makes sense.

Keep in mind that the alcohol packages also include bottled water, fresh squeezed juices, espresso-based beverages, carbonated soft drinks, in addition to beer, wine, liquor. You may find that with all of those, the package makes sense. On the other hand, if you plan to only drink the ship's water (potable), you don't drink cappuccino, you would only be buying a drink or two each night, and maybe a bottle of wine (not covered in the package) then maybe pay-as-you-go makes sense.

You do not need to pre-purchase the package. You could even wait a day or two to see what you are buying, and then purchase the package for the remaining days of the cruise.

It might take two weeks after you complete your cruise for the points to appear in your Captain's Club history. If you haven't seen them show up by then, do call Captain's Club so everything will be set for whatever cruise you take in the coming months and years.

A piece of advice....don't put your email address out where all can see it. Maybe you can ask a moderator to take it off.

Will we have any problems getting into the MDR (we will be nicely dressed) or do we need to plan those nights for alternate dining rooms?

Will you have problems? You might, as noted above. So why not start off with a plan for alternate eating those nights, just so you don't have to worry. Try Bistro on 5, (for $7 per person) or one of the more pricey specialty restaurants. Plan a pizza night, order room service and have the MDR food delivered there.

The three-category upgrade has been discontinued but some are still seeing it when moving old bookings as it was "attached" to the previous booking. That recently happened for me. I had a booking made about a year ago with the three-category upgrade. I moved it to a new booking when the new itineraries were released, the three-category deal was honored in the pricing of the new booking.

Four in a room means four beds to make -- doesn't matter if they are adults or children -- extra towels, extra glassware, extra trash to empty, extra plates to clear if there has been room service, it isn't rocket science. Four in a room means four are dining and the tips must be paid for the servers in the dining room and buffet. Celebrity wisely realized that children create just as much work as adults, and the tips are all the same for all ages.

In my opinion, it hasn't been solved, but it has been improved.

On Solstice in March and April, the music in the atrium was played so loudly that the bridge players in the card room several floor up had to ask that tables be set up in one of the empty conference rooms because they couldn't hear each others bids.

One morning there were two of us sitting, reading, in an otherwise empty Sky Lounge. A member of the staff came in and put music on, loud, jarring, "energetic" music. We asked if it couldn't be turned down, and replaced with something more conducive to reading. Were told that it had to be that way and could not be adjusted and to try the Ensemble Lounge if we wanted a quiet place to read. We moved there, and about a half an hour later the same person showed up there and put the same loud music on!

Loudspeakers were set up outside the shops each afternoon, and into the evening, with the same mix tape. The beat was unmistakable. Must be the new Celebrity theme music.

But, poolside, the band was never intolerable. The live music in the atrium area was fine, as was the live music in Ensemble. So, there is some improvement.

ScarlettMLB, yes, consider it a fluke. They are more likely to take it on cruises that take place during spring break, less likely to take it if you are boarding at busy times and they are trying to move people through quickly.

Yes, having a huge OBC on the current cruise doesn't do me much good, if it is somehow restricted that it can't be withdrawn from the casino. I'm in the same boat as Cruisenut -- multiple bookings, B2B2B, would be a real problem under this pilot system.

I still want to know what has happened with the category upgrades.

And also what happens if you re-book the cruise at a new cabin category.

I think that is cutting it very close. You can usually self-disembark starting at 7 a.m. To do this, you must be able to move all your luggage by yourself (so not suitable for anyone with any mobility problems). Highly recommend you pre-book a taxi. Not sure how far in advance you need to be at the airport for these flights, but take into consideration time to go through security, etc.