mahdnc

Wow. A basic and premium laundry package cannot be too far behind.

You can keep in touch with others on board with you by using the messaging feature of the Celebrity app. The good news is that it does not require for you to purchase an internet plan to use it. The bad news is that when you receive a message thru the app, there is audible or haptic notification. You just have to check the app once in a while to see if you got a message.

They are. You cannot buy the flights if you only booked the 7 night sailing (as you were thinking).

Ah, yes, the spa. You could make a big dent in the $1600 OBC with that. I didn't know about the laundry on Flora. Thanks for pointing that out.

Wait, doesn't he have a camera man and producer that travels with him?

That explains the lack of activities.

The Pantheon Iconic Rome Hotel is a good candidate, location-wise. It is located right behind the Pantheon.

Because it would be a drag.

I meant to say that there is nothing wrong with hanging out at a lounge, talking to friends/passengers, without a drink in your hand.

Laundry and sundries are things that you have to pay extra for. So there's not much you can do with a whopping $1600 OBC. I believe that gratuities are technically covered in the cruise fare although you may give more.

I think your talking about @Bimmer09

A Saturday Night Live classic. When I read a post asking about Coke or Pepsi, that's what I think of.

I always go straight to one of the specialty restaurants as soon as I board to nail down my reservation times. For me there may be 3-4 people ahead of me. You can make your reservation for any restaurant from there. I believe there are other stations set up to do reservations but I don't want to wander around and waste time looking for them. I don't know if you can make the reservation through the app when you get on board but that would be a cool idea. I would pick Murano for your special anniversary dinner. It is the nicest of the restaurants menu-wise (french cuisine) and has stellar service.

Normally the Exciting Deals link is updated every week on Monday for a sale that goes into effect on Tuesday for seven days. It’s been like that for years before COVID and it was restarted during the past year. Although I find it less helpful, I have been receiving weekly Exciting Deals email from Celebrity (partial screenshot below). It is less helpful than the table because when you click on the orange button, you are taken to the Celebrity reservation website and you have to click on each sailing and do a mock booking for each cabin category of interest to see if the deal is any good. Here is the link from orange button in the e-mail. I have no idea if this same URL works every week or whether a new URL is supplied with each weekly email. https://click.na.celebritycruises.com/?qs=33f707819ed495299cd44c92163b677c273a6155883adb1918a890fdea471e5b15fd5c0f2bd78b1cb2f4b1f23ce3de12384be8ded62d3f848adef8cd18e98ab4

You’re welcome. There answer by wrk2cruise is my understanding as well. It is an acronym used also by Royal Caribbean. Here’s more information: https://www.sophisticatedtravel.com/what-are-non-comm-or-non-commissionalbe-ncf-or-nccf-fees/amp/

One awful thing is that there is no perfect camera bag. I have different size bags depending on the amount of equipment I bring and whether I need it as a carry-on that fits under the airplane seat or as my carry-on that I am going to put in the overhead bin. Fortunately both bags have a sleeve to put my 14 inch laptop in. We are also divers and so that means we bring our special masks with prescription lenses built in and our camera with a custom underwater housing--things that we do not want to lose and thus we put in our carry-on.

Thank you. I just read your write up and I like it. Plus you have been on a TA aboard Silhouette just a couple of months ago. Makes you the better subject matter expert! Comments about the new Star Link Wi-Fi?

Silhouette is a ship we have not been on yet, but I really want to try some day. However we have sailed on her sister ships quite a bit. And we just did our first westward transatlantic last Oct (Constellation). It was fantastic. Answers to some of your questions: 1. balcony near the center of the ship is recommended to minimize the ship's motion. That is the simple answer to your question but there are a lot of other factors to consider. For example, Deck 6 is the lowest deck with balconies, but many of the balconies have somewhat obstructed views from the life boats. Your big decision will be to decide on regular balcony vs Concierge Class (more expensive and you get a couple of perks and likely a better cabin location) vs AquaClass (usually much more popular and expensive and it gets you spa access as well as dining at the restaurant, Blu, dedicated to only AquaClass passengers)--if you are not going to do a suite. There is a large "hump" in the center of the ship (shown in the diagram below). The cabins on the four slants have a deeper (larger) than normal balconies that are not evident in the deck plan. 2. coke, coke! No pepsi! 3. Cruise fare includes dining at the main dining room and at the Oceanview Cafe (buffet). If you book AquaClass, then you will be dining at Blu. The Spa Cafe as well as the Mast Grill are also free. Upcharge restaurants include Murano (very fine dining and definitely worth the $$ and most people agree), Tuscan Grille (fine dining and also worth it in my opinion although some disagree), Le Petit Chef (worth doing once, but some disagree), The Lawn Club Grill (a more informal venue but very much worth it), The Porch (worth trying for lunch), and finally Sushi on Five (good if you like Sushi). Room service is free for continental breakfast, but hot breakfast and any lunch/dinner has a service charge (unless you are in a suite) which is a new (and irritating) change. 4. We don't drink much alcohol. There is nothing wrong with hanging out at a lounge with a drink to enjoy the music and a conversation. 5. Silhouette does have a library. It is located at the center atrium on Deck 10. I cannot comment much about how good the books are. The library is out in the open facing the atrium. Silhouette, Port Everglades, Jan 18 2019 (really early in the morning). Silhouette now sports a blue colored hull.

Thank you for your well written review. I liked reading your perspective on things. Your exercising discipline is something to be admired. You mentioned that that you had done this itinerary several times before. So what does an Alaskan cruise veteran do during the port stops? Our first Alaska cruise was aboard Galaxy (Inside Passage out of Vancouver) and that is the only one we have been on so far. I am at the point now where I want our next trip to Alaska to be a long land tour where we visit the national parks (not just Denali, but Katmai, Wrangell-St. Elias, Kenai Fjords, and Lake Clark, too) for several days at each one. $$$$ I am curious as to what art your two sons decided to buy. Our first Celebrity cruise was aboard Century, too (back in 1996, her inaugural year) and the food and service were both amazing. Thanks again for taking the time to write your review.

No need for an article, here is a thread that was posted earlier that has the Apex cancellation letter:

Nice. Did you notice the people like me looking down at you from above so enviously? It seems that more people like the Penthouse Suites on the Millennium class ships better than Solstice class.

I have yet to experience or read anything like that before. Sure sounds crazy. You may want to call the Captains Club desk to purchase the Wi-Fi. This also allows you to ask for the Captains Club loyalty discount to be added to it. You cannot get the CC discount when purchasing online.

It's nice when things straighten out by themselves.

Log into the Celebrity website and go to My Tier and Points page. Then tap or click on Points History

Thank you for posting your first Celebrity experience. I'm glad you enjoyed it. Celebrity's early seating time for the main dining room is always around 6pm. I think I've seen 5:45p and 6:15p on occasion though.