Denny01

You are soooo brilliant!! den

We will be in Civitevecchia for 3 days. On a TA so a supervised test is required. Will bring the Binax supervised self-test and do it on line at the hotel. I’ll bring 2 as back up and will self-test prior. Celebrity has been Very proactive informing all what is required so the ‘I forgot’ wont work. And there are so many options. This is very easy to take care of and most of us have done this for other cruises and other situations, so shouldn’t be an issue except your dont want to do it which is understandable, but not in play. Den

I dont ask people what the get paid; I dont ask people what other compensation their company provides them…..its None of My Business. And has No impact on whether I think of some raise in gratuities or my extra tipping. Would you actually not tip or provide a staff person less because they make more than another staff person because of their seniority or such? Whats the point of this discussion on how much the staff gets. Its so general, it isnt of any worth. One one cruise, we had a waiter who had been a lead Matre de but came on this ship as a waiter because he had more flexibility of which which ship he could contract on and therefore which itinerary (this was on a ship working the Med and the Black Sea and he was from Turkey). His choice, but you’d assume he made less than what he did prior, but with his experience, more than the other waiters. Should I have given him a less extra tip because I Assume he made more than the others?? Or more because he wasnt making as much as he did prior? None Of My Business. If someone agrees to a contract, they so it because I assume it meets what they and their family need. Again, None of My Business. I will continue to tip extra as I think best; I will respect those that provide me personal services and treat them as the professional they are…..which has Nothing to do with what they are paid and I would Never ask or try to Google or whatever. Just me a guess. Enough. Den

Wow, great advice: Sell!!!; Hold!; Buy More!. That is all great advice, and all based on ‘expert’ advice from posters I assume since they are giving others financial advice have in-depth knowledge of the Travel Business and Cruise Lines in particular. But I do wonder….just a bit after reading such posts such as “Edge class ships really have nothing new compared to the others in the fleet. Different decor, yes. New, no.”…yeah right. I do wonder if those with that very strange view actually have cruised on E-Class. Have cruised 3 times on Edge and Apex and I’ll be very clear….it is Very Different well beyond decor than M- and S-Class ships. Yeah all 3 have a pointy end and a blunt end and they float in the water, and……well I guess thats about it on commonality. I have stock in RCL, and CCL, not as a business decision, but for OBC. No matter how the stock goes, It would have to completely tank to make up for the OBC’s. I just got $250 for the upcoming cruise and $100 each for the following 4 upcoming. I was surprised I got documentation on the other 4 since they are many months ahead, and 2 are ~18mo ahead. No matter what some say, think or guess at, the ships appear, again Appear, to be filling up and filling quickly. Many of the Retreats are not available for cruises over a year from now, and standard SRs are doing just fine. That’s is based on a very limited look at SR availablily of the 5 Celebrity cruises I have booked. And I would Not base any financial decisions on any of what I posted…..I have No Idea, and I would not base Any Financial decision on Any of the posts here…..even ones I think made some sense. And yes, before anyone who posted their ‘opinion’ come back and insists they just posted what They would do and it isnt advice for others, that’s not how it is coming across. Den

We who live on the Gulf know that when a hurricane enters the Gulf, Someone is going to suffer. We were lucky up on the Fla Panhandle, and are looking at ways to send help, probably Red Cross support. Glad tho OP wasnt hurt badly, but we know there are regular posters on CC further south in the hit area who cant get on line to share who were badly damaged. The OP has a very strong positive view of it all, realizing how lucky they were. This is a disaster for so very many. Den

Solstice is in fine shape. Just got off it in July. Our personal opinions and our personal biases all show up on these forums…..including discussions on finance (which I look to a professional financial manager for, not posts here), medical advice (which I look to my DR for, not posts here) and quality of dining, SRs and ships (which I may….May…look to posts here for info). I look at these forums to get good advice on itineraries which I then get another professional, my TA to confirm and on tours and so on. Den

For the OP, 2 of the Apex July ‘23 cruises show ‘Sold out’ SR types, one the Aqua Class and the other Retreat SRs. When you select ‘View Categories’ on the initial cruise page before you select ‘Book Now’, they show ‘Sold Out’. When you select ‘Book Now’ for those cruises, it uses the phrase ‘No Longer Available’ for those class SRs. No special meaning for either term except they are booked up either by us customers or a TA organization. And so many of us are booking cruises now, the popular times and itineraries, and ships such as the Apex, are filling up quickly. As you can see from my signature, weve booked more than a few!! Den

A ‘critique’ that describes why a poster likes the HAL Rotterdam more than the Celebrity Solstice is of little use to those on the Celebrity forum. and it kind of lost it when complaining about the limited outside smoking areas on Solstice and loving a ship that not only has the same, but also allows smoking in the casino. A reason many here don’t cruise HAL, no matter how much ‘better’ the Rotterdam is. Den

Just got the new booster prior to our TA. Asked the pharmacist of any issues w tests. Response was None. Going to mask up in crowds till cruise den

I would assume if the OP asked the question Prior to cruising, they May be concerned Prior to cruising. My wife brings the wrist bands. I never understood how that works, but it does for her. Den

Here’s the perfect example…..I hate Baked Alaska. den

I’ll agree w the posts questioning less portions. Just ask for another serving and all is well. and quality? I start to tell friends about my favorite local restrauant and they interrupt telling me how terrible it is. Life. I love trying different foods on cruise. If I don’t like it, I can either order something else or dine later at the dozen or so options! everything was sooo much better back in the good ole days! Yeah right. den

Always good to see posts on issues, but after 3 days of many many negatives with one or two positives, it reminds me of an article I just read “If you Focus on Problems, You’ll find More Problems”. I remember one poster who took photos of worn carpets and rust stains…..got it. Personally, Ive enjoyed all cruises Ive been on, maybe not the 2N Carnival!, and identified some issues, but I don’t ever plan on spending days posting while on cruise what I find negative and how much more I like another ship. Kind of sets me up especially when comparing to another ship, isnt really of much help to others. And before someone posts, yes, I dont have to read this thread. But just call me MothMan….I get drawn to the flames, well flamings! Was on Solstice early July. The ship is in good shape, but Im not someone who looks for or even ‘sees’ worn carpets, furniture and the like. Excellent service; great dining. But Solstice is doing Alaska which is very port-intensive and not sure I focus too much on the ship being perfect. den

Why not just get your own and bring it. Den

Oh Noooooo, I’m judgmental, snobby and stuffy And sloppy, lazy along with being disrespectful!!!! One evening I wear slacks, a sports jacket and bow tie, and the next night I wear a Hawaiian Shirt….Oh Noooooo. den

In London a while ago, I asked for ice and the waiter promptly came back with one-1-One ice cube and dropped it into my glass and gave me a nice smile indicating he was proud of meeting my request…..I of course thanked him. Decided it was best to quit that habit! Got to keep my liver from being damaged from that ice stuff and drink my Gin and Tonic properly!! Den

Edit: already answered a few times. Enjoy a nice glass on your SR. Just what we do. den

I love to wear a bow tie so I can saunter up to the bar, and as I order my Martini, shaken not stirred, I pull my bow tie loose. And as I give it my Best British I’m-so-cool look, my wife looks over rolls her eyes and says, ‘No You are Not James Bond!’. I’m afraid I have more in common with Peter Sellers…oh well. I once bought a Filipino Wedding shirt to wear more formally…..loved it. Den

You have to wear a helmet with horns for that Cruise Line!….and yes, I know actual Vikings didn’t wear horned helmets. But so what den

I’m taking my ‘regular’ non-proctored tests and the eMed proctored to Rome/Civitavecchia. Plus a few backups. And will test at the hotel. Did this for Seattle. I know this is a hassle, but many of us, especially on TA’s that many times have a bit more of us with experience cruising, have done this not only for cruising. I watch the Celebrity website as @canderson listed. I dont go looking at Facebook, or the Italy ‘rules’ or even here for what should be done. Too many bad gouges put out. I joked on one thread that Celebrity makes changes to that just to get us going to the cruise website and then looking at cruises…..and signing up for more! Den

So its OK to make stops in another country’s ports, but not locally……why cruise if someone thinks port calls ‘ruin’ where they call. And yes, well aware of the ‘size’ of Vineyard area which I think is visited just a bit already. I guess we all just need to cruise back and forth to Cozumel. Den

I guess that’s where we will disagree. We set ours nice and cool and it’s pretty much that temp when we wake up. And that’s pretty much on all the ships We’ve been on. den

All the above posts are Wrong!! Celebrity Does deliver water to the SR....you go into the BR, turn on the faucet and Celebrity 'delivers' water to the SR! The ship water is just fine. We bring our bottles and fill them there. We have the Steward bring a pitcher of ice and water, another 'water delivery to the SR'! I remember posts saying how they felt the ship water had salt in it and made them gain weight......I'm afraid the weight gain had nothing to do with ship water, and was due to the 7-8 meals a day and the 3-4 drinks a day! But who knows. Ship water is purer than many bottled. den

OP, none of what you were told is true. No idea who on your Roll Call is posting that. eMed is alive and well. There is No info on it shutting down. And as stated, there are many itineraries and other Cruise Line itineraries requiring proctored testing. Here is the Celebrity tab that shows you want is required for TA's and TP's, and your specific cruise is listed: Transatlantic Travel Requirements (celebritycruises.com) Keep an eye on This tab and ignore the "I just read on the internet that Sydney has collapsed into the Sea and our cruise is now going to Midway Island!!" Den

Be nice!! I wonder sometimes if my pair of pants counts as one or two!! Den