leaveitallbehind

Ship time, which is the only time you need to be certain of in any port, will be well publicized on board. Should it differ from port time there will be notifications made as well as posted at the boarding areas along with announcements made. This is the only time you need to have your watches set for as the ship will arrive, and more importantly, depart from each port based on this. If there is a difference in any port of call just note it in relation to the ship time. But be back at the ship typically 30 minutes latest before departure based on ship time.

Yes they will work as the doors are metallic. They are on all RCI ships.

You can ask the attendant to empty the fridge and you can place your own water, soda, etc., as you get it on board. But as mentioned previously you are responsible for paying for anything consumed from the fridge. They will not stock anything for you as since they are not part of the bartending staff they cannot get it for you.

We have been there several times as the only ship in port and docked at Truman Annex - Pier B. Guess it just depends.

Port of departure time zone.

Typically Pier B, which lets out onto front street around the shops.

Spa cafe may be open as well, but Blu is not.

There will be one or two "chic" nights, which is really nothing more than "dress nicely the way you want". Much like RCI, there are no enforced formal nights on Celebrity. Whatever you are normally comfortable wearing on your other cruises is fine with Celebrity as well.

@kimlet is from Canada and the $126.20 being referred to likely is in Canadian dollars which would equate to $92.58 US. Still very high but more in line.

No. But that is not the point. You seem to want to convince me that one is better than the other. I have said - an will say again - that we are not big wine drinkers and very infrequently bring wine on board. So the fact that in the rare instances that we do, we can only bring two bottles on board is fine with us. We also don't pay any corkage fees for that privilege. And since we don't typically bring it to venues where a fee could be imposed, we aren't charged a fee on board. So for us the two bottles of wine we can bring on board is usually totally without fee for us to enjoy on board. (And BTW, the corkage fees are not always enforced anyway in our experience). That is why I say what works for you is fine. Allow what works for me to be equally as fine without challenge. Whether or not one is argued to be better than another is irrelevant to me as the policies in place, as said before, with our preferred cruise line is what works for us. Enjoy your cruises.

Absolutely - the goal of the corkage fee is to recoup the loss in revenue from alcohol not being served in that venue. But the service portion included in the service charge as I understand it is to open, serve, and store said bottle as required in that venue. At least that is what we have been told in those venues. Either way I would not like to be charged that fee upon boarding as when we have brought wine on board (which not being big wine drinkers as mentioned, does not happen with regularity) we typically would usually consume it with friends on our balcony or anywhere except the dining venues as we prefer other cocktails with dinner. It might be something that works with you or others and that's fine. But it doesn't work for me and is just a policy I don't agree with. JMO. Fortunately prepayment of corkage fees is not a policy on our preferred cruise lines.

Yeah I see that, but I was including a response to the comments made by others that alcohol was no longer served at these events in their experience. Shortcut on my part but same net response. The OP seemed upset by the timing change even if alcohol was still served and IMO I didn't see the change as being as significant an impact to the C&A program benefits as they felt it was. Again, JMO.

The only member benefit that apparently is in question is whether or not alcohol is being consistently served at top tier events, an event that is a rather brief singular occurrence on any given cruise. This somehow translates to a cost cutting lack of caring for their loyal members? What about all of the other tier level benefits associated with the C&A program? The potential lack of a couple of free drinks overshadows all of that, I guess. Possibly missing a free drink or two just doesn't seem to rank that high with me in terms importance with the program. JMO.

Good advice to which I will add that it is up to the person who booked the cruise to check as with thousands of bookings the cruise line will not notify you of a change nor proactively reprice it for you. You need to check and contact whomever you booked through to request a reprice. (Some TA's will monitor pricing for their clients but this is not typical and difficult to manage similarly for them with numerous reservations on the books).

Sorry. I didn't see that in your post to which I was responding. But either way I wouldn't like having to pay a corkage fee upfront. IMO what would be the point of being able to bring wine on board that perhaps you would consume in your stateroom to pay a corkage fee where it is not being opened, served, or stored for you? That is, after all the point of a corkage fee. But different lines have differing policies. Fortunately we are not big wine drinkers to have that matter.

Or just pay as you go and settle your bill at the end of the week as usual. IMO that would be easiest. I don't see any reason to put money in advance on your stateroom account. Again, JMO.

Except that they came back with qualifying information that made it even more laughable. And if they didn't have faith in the story then why repeat it with the updated crisp $20 qualifier? I just maybe am guilty of buying into their tale of nonsense by responding to them.

Would have the same affect - zilch! LOL.

That may be the case with some cruise lines but that has never been the case with RCL or Celebrity. We have never been charged a fee prior to boarding. If it is enforced (which varies) a corkage fee is only charged if you bring a bottle to a dining or other venue that also serves alcohol. It also does not apply to wine provided in your stateroom by the cruise line. You can bring a glass to those venues without a charge. You can also drink it anywhere else on the ship and not just your stateroom without a charge. This is based on many cruises experience with the above referenced cruise lines since the wine policy has been in place.

Still wouldn't have worked then either, $10, $20, or $100, and my comments remain unchanged. Laughable and classless. JMO. It's not a strategy, it's a ridiculous notion. You don't bribe GS reps for upgrades. And certainly not for $20! It's offensive and also not within their authority to upgrade with a wink an a nod. Upgraded staterooms are rarely available, but If one ever is, they are paid for. But I guess because your friends tell you so, it must be..... Nothing more to be said.

Let's hope so. Would be pretty embarrassing otherwise.

Agree. Just after the restart there often would be available staterooms. Your casino situation would have influenced your upgrade, but otherwise depending on the time and ship you may pay a relatively nominal amount. We, too, had benefited from that at the time. It was all part of the restart when ships were sailing very light. Those days of course are past. My reaction was to the comment of handing a crisp $10 to the guest services rep as a way to influence getting an upgrade, which is, IMO, ridiculous. The only thing that would influence an upgrade is the rare instance of stateroom availability and the passenger's willingness to pay the difference for it.

What they are asking is not for royal up as that is typically advised prior to boarding. They are seeing if there are any available staterooms in a higher category that were either unsold or based on no shows at boarding. Both of which have slim to none chances. The guest services reps on board will only be able to move someone if a stateroom is available and it will be by way of the guest paying the difference between their stateroom fare and the available stateroom fare as last offered. It will not be for free and the $10 scenario you describe, no offense intended to you, would be offensive to the guest services rep, and IMO is laughable and classless of your friends. I've cruised with RCL / Celebrity for 32 years with 50+ cruises and it doesn't work that way.

If you booked through the website just call Celebrity and they will move to any available stateroom within the same category as booked without an issue. But you have to call to have it done. If you booked through a TA contact them and they will do it for you.

It is the venue formally known as the cigar lounge. No real ocean views, just a couple of large portholes as mentioned by others.