Happy Cruiser 6143

So procure them in individual-size packages. Problem solved. I too love a good potato chip.

If, for some ungodly reason, you run into any snags on your specialty dining reservations, know that the maitre d' in Luminae is in touch with all the restaurants and can basically work wonders. But I predict you will have a fabulous cruise. What ship are you sailing on?

Dunno what Celebrity has against potato chips. You used to be able to find them in the buffet at lunch by the sandwich bar. I would suggest you bring your own if this is essential to your enjoyment of your cruise.

Thanks for the kind words. I do try to only post accurate info as many seem to rush in with guesses or inaccurate assumptions. I've learned lots from other posters over the years and believe in paying it forward. And, yes, Jelayne is also a good source of information. So, relax and wait for the shoreside concierge to contact you. You will have a wonderful cruise in your royal suite!

Celebrity phone reps are basically clueless. Don't waste your time. A couple of weeks prior to your cruise, a shoreside concierge will reach out to you. You can deal with these issues at that time. Or you can book your specialty restaurants on board. I've never had a problem with that on board when in a royal suite or penthouse. Yes, specialty restaurants are included for royal suite guests.

Don't know about Equinox. Summit had iPad Pros in the spring. So it will depend on how successful Celebrity has been in liquidating its existing inventory. Good luck!

We walked to the totem park.

Sitka is a lovely little town, but not with 5000 other pax in addition to the pax from your ship wandering around! There's a lovely national historic park with lots of wonderful totems and an interesting raptor center.

When you purchase (independently) your ferry ticket to Capri, purchase your return ticket at the same time. Just don't pick the last ferry of the day for the return.

"the retreat lounge on the Equinox reminds me of an airport lounge snack area" I thought I was the only one who felt that way! Hope you have a great cruise!

It sounds as if Friends #2 knew the deal. Friends #3 should perhaps have asked a few questions before booking. If they still have time to change their booking, you might advise them of the dinner situation. Then they can change or not, but they will know what the deal is (just as Friends #2 did and chose not to book a suite). Since you didn't organize this, I don't see that you have any responsibility. You will have plenty of opportunities to be together. This is why, when traveling with friends, I make sure we are all in the same cabin class.

But the single staterooms have no storage space. My view is that Celebrity really doesn't want single passengers.

I agree. Do it on your own. You may not want to spend five hours on Capri with a large group. We took the ferry over and then purchased a boat trip around Capri from the locals.

It's worse if it's school vacation time. I tacked on a short cruise once to an existing one and it was not a pleasant experience. I've added a short cruise to my fall repo, but I'm in a suite, so don't expect to have drunks & kids roaming the halls late at night.

and it needs to be cleared with the Maitre d'.

Because folks post unsubstantiated drivel and then others take it as gospel. There's enough misinformation floating around on the internet. No need to add to it here.

What's a V2? Never heard of that.

There is no standard B2B letter. The mechanics of B2B vary by cruise and by port. My last B2B on the Summit this spring had the customs & immigration people deciding to meet us on the ship. We simply met in a lounge with them, got inspected, got our new cards, and were free to go--wherever. If you're moving to a cabin in close proximity to the one you're currently occupying you can work with your stateroom attendant to make it very easy. I moved two doors down the hall on the last one. Took some of those collapsible bins with me, & put all my toiletries in them. Everything else went on hangers. Shoes in suitcases.

OBC can be used for any onboard expense you may incur.

Guess I won't be returning to Istanbul via ship any time soon then. Why do they make it so difficult?

I would definitely not recommend wearing those slippers to the pool or hot tub. A cheap pair of flipflops from the dollar store will take up virtually no room in your luggage. As for packing, no formal wear required. The key to Alaska is LAYERS. The first time I went to Alaska, I took tons of sweaters, many of which I never wore.

Yes, I let them know the amount to expect to see in their next paycheck in my thank you note to them. Jim_Iain has previously posted that he verified all this with the HR officer.

The Maitre d' on Summit in the spring told me he was included in the Luminae tip pool. The sommelier is not included in the tip pool, and should be tipped separately.

Guess that room steward wasn't interested in extra tips!

Here's my take on extra tipping for whatever it's worth. These people really work hard to make your cruise a wonderful experience. They were out of work for a long time. So if I can afford to cruise, I can afford to tip some extra money to them. I think your plan of $40 to the cabin attendant and $40 to the waiter sounds reasonable and will surely be appreciated. I don't know if you know this or not, but if you have OBC from Celebrity that you're not using for something else, it can be assigned to your cabin attendant. I'm not sure about the waiter, that might go to the pool which you don't want to happen. You can get the form for this from Guest Relations. Have a great cruise!