Denny01

Yeah, I know we refer to the ‘Martini Bar’ and aren't referring to a Martini served on a stick!! Hehe. But that could be fun to try! den

The Celebrity website pertaining to Bermuda has a selection titled ‘More Details…..’ which gives even more discription on testing prior to arriving in Bermuda: Cruise voyages that take more than 4 days to get to Bermuda from the embarkation port: All passengers regardless of vaccination status must undergo a further supervised antigen or COVID-19 NAAT on-board, by the ships medical team, no more than 2 days before passengers are to come ashore in Bermuda. This means the ship med team will be testing All of us ‘no more than 2 days prior’…no online monitored testing by individuals. Should be fun! Den

They were referring to the service area as the ‘Ice Cream Bar’, not what is served. Den

I just searched Feb ‘23 and it lists Edge cruising 13 Feb ‘23, and Connie is the same date and similar itinerary. The Edge cruise is listed there. When you search, make sure you select ‘Date’ to Sort By and Edge shows just fine. Edit: Your reservation info is your key. No reason to be concerned. Reservation is OK; cruise is listed. All OK. If there were any such changes, your TA or X itself would contact you instead of moving you to another ship/port/itinerary. Edit: Great. Things change on that website…you never know. den

I tested positive within 10 days of my cruise in July. Isolated and kept testing positive. Dr told me I wasnt contagious so flew to Seattle. The day prior I tested negative. Went to terminal and all worked OK. I reported I’d tested positive prior, as the medical form you fill out the day prior. Didn’t cheat. They had a med person check me out and all was just fine. Took less than 10min and got on board. But….I tested positive for almost 8 days straight prior. Its Very Variable! Advice? Too personal. I bet on the come because it was a family cruise that couldn’t be changed for the rest so I just hoped Id test negative prior and not be standing on the pier watching them sail away. Den

I shouldn’t have said ‘them’…..most ships had one, and a 2nd max. Was never in use when I went up. Den

We’ve booked a number of cruises on board and all have been in the pricing I’d seen on the website. Got the lower deposit, the OBC, the wine and transferred it to my TA. All done just fine. My TA in a couple of cases had Group Rates which were better and took them, But you pay the standard deposit then. But well worth it. And just booked a NZ cruise and my TA had a price a bit higher than the website pricing, but then realized it was AI. But the website didnt show how to add AI, so I called my TA just to understand it. She said they can add AI type goodies when the call into the Celebrity booking agents. She also said the onboard Agents are able to do that too. Not done that, but apparently you are working exactly as if you are calling X booking agent and they have a bit more flexibility on such things. Den

Boy, do they! My one post got a few responses ‘body-checking me’….cool! Well, I dont really mean to hurt anyone’s feelings, but sometimes the subject does call out a ‘cheapshot’. Should have stuck with the movies/hotels/airlines references to snack costs. De

It wasn’t ‘aimed’ at the OP……just those that would take offense at an obvious observation. And I posted “cheeky’ comments on threads about the price of wine, why I dont win every time I use the Slots…….. den

Yes, Eclipse does have rowing machines. Used them on it and other Celebrity ships. Been on all, except Beyond, and they all had them when I was aboard. Ive never had any issues with them, but not an expert by any means. I was a coxswain in college - yeah I was that skinny! - and learned to row and always enjoy it. The only negative was the 6+ft rowers would see me eating and try to take my food, saying they didnt want me gaining wt!! I told them I had to have strength to Yell at them!! den

I pay a few thousand and even more for a cruise, then I stuff my suitcase / carry on with snacks because they cost a few bucks more than my local Dollar Store? Then instead of enjoying my vacation or talking about it, I gripe about snack prices?!?! Got it. Notice the price of a glass of wine compared to 2 Buck Chuck’s (yes, I know); the price of a massage compared to local; the price of…… Somehow I’ll survive without the ‘snacks’ by dining the 8 or 9 times a day I can, and somehow survive a tour without eating my way through it. Enough. By the way what the heck has Stock OBC got to do with snacks….except the OBC I’d get would cover two Snickers and 1 Butterfinger? den

Wife and I ran a Wine Tasting class as part of a non-profit group that offered many interesting classes. We are Not experts at all, but had a lot of fun with it. One class I held, I had the same 3 bottles of wine. One I opened right before serving;; the 2nd I opened and used one of those ‘decanting’ stopper spouts that mix air while you pour; the 3rd I decanted using a wine decanter. The class could tell a big difference in the wine between the undecanted and the decanter spout; but little between the spout and the fully decanted. Had them sip water and at cracker between. Fun den

Oops. Thought it was 2 days. Oh well. Bad Gouge Again!! den

Yes, refunds are pretty straight forward. On one canceled cruise that I moved over to another, I got reimbursed for the excursions. Recently, I made a mistake and paid for excursions on line using my cc. Then went back and canceled all of them and booked them using the OBC, I was reimbursed in a day or so. On board, it is 48hrs. I canceled one tour on board and it was moved to my OBC and it was a refundable OBC; when I canceled a tour the day prior, the Excursion Desk said they’d see if they could use mine if another person signed up….no one did and I lost that tour cost. Den

I get the feeling some of these people are Looking for a reason to reduce their auto-gratuity. Kind of what you see when someone reports the ship is in poor shape because they spotted a worn bit of carpeting. And I Did say Some, so please dont come on to defend yourself…..I obviously didnt mean You!….hehe. Den

Yup, retirement is great and early on is The Time to take full advantage, as we all well know……sometime within a finite time I’ll be sitting on my porch yelling: “Get Off my grass you Rotten Kids!!….and the ‘kids’ will be a neighbor walking their dog…..oh well. But until then……Cruising! den

Realizing tipping and not is Very personal, I’ll disagree with one option of removing the gratuity or part of it if service is not satisfactory. Gratuities for the waitstaff and for the stewards is not for one person, but for that person plus those that support them. Reducing the gratuity (not the same as Not adding additional ‘tip’) impacts others who may well have done the job right. If I have an issue, I’ll contact the supervisor of that venue and work it from there. Den

Retirement Plus Cruising is Very dangerous! We started cruising prior to retirement, but now my wife thinks Ive gone crazy! I just keep checking and finding itineraries and ships I just have to be on! My signature shows more than a few Ive booked, and now I’m looking at early ‘24 for a New Zealand and add an Australian land tour….I just cant stop myself! Welcome and stand by for booking more and more. Even made a recent on a family cruse with all the kids and grandkids….its a disease….but one I dont want a vaccination for!! den

We loved the South America run, Argentina to Chile. Longer flight but not nearly as one going to/fm Australia. And the OP might consider the New England/Canada cruises. Loved it and the overnight in Quebec City. But agree with the kind of funny post, it seems the ‘DH’ has a number of limitations, so just start with him going through the options of what he’d want and go from there, instead of the OP listing them out. There are ways around long flights to Australia if that is the stopper….more costly but may be fun. Try a flight to an interim location such as Hawaii and spend a few days, then on over. Or as suggested, a cruise To or from Australia then a flight with a stopover for a few days. We’d like to do a New Zealand cruise, Then do a land tour of Australia. I’ve flown to Australia for business and yup, long long, but once you go over 5hrs+ or so, to me it gets all the same. Not that much of a killer (for me) as it sounds and Im not an airplane sleeper….did on that one for a bit and did fine. den

And remember, the excellent service provided by the staff will Not be impacted + or - by tipping. We do, but thats our option. Den

In almost any situation, no. den

Tried the ship scale in the Gym and was OK. Unless you are in Very Heavy Seas and the ship is pitching and rolling, the scale shouldn’t that off. And of course in port, no issue. And for the ship movement to be an issue I’d think you wouldn’t be up there weighing yourself! Wife and I were on a diet and continued to watch what we dined on, but stayed away from checking weight….turned out we gain 1 or 2 lbs max. And it came off in a day or so. I guess the need to weigh daily is something beyond diet….I would hope. Diets strongly recommend Not tracking Every Day. Den

There has been so many threads on this subject I forget where I’ve posted various info, but think this is new: We cruise after 5 Sep, 24 Oct, but will take monitored test kits with us. Our TA out of Rome stops in Bermuda, and that requires one. And even if that changes, I’ll carry one ‘just in case’. Not a big deal. den

Ha! When I saw there was an ‘International World Wings’ org that is the PanAm Flight Attendants, I though Wow, Flight Attendants Can Be Fun!!….then I realized being PanAm, they are probably more my ‘generation’….still fun, but the ‘fun’ ends closer to 9pm…. Den

Sounds as if World Wings is a group that has booked that cruise. Did a quick check, and there are a number of “world wings” such as former PanAm stewardesses, a travel organization, and a financial group. those tours are for their group only….apparently. Den