The_Big_M

As long as the test meets the requirements I can't see it matters who did it. (And no, it just has to meet the requirements, there aren't exclusions based on provider). As for another cruise, people do B2B on the same line so again, as long as you meet testing requirements is the issue. Being on a previous cruise doesn't come into it.

The above is true, but it also needs to be changed as it doesn't actually have the same inclusions as when operating elsewhere. When they didn't have the name separation it created confusion as the benefits and hence expectations were different on the different sailings, so people would get annoyed. Having them separated like this helps with branding and also means people don't argue that x should be included because they got it on a different ship.

As you see, this law causes complications for the cruise line too, so it's one they would prefer wasn't there. Just a law they have to comply with, though.

Same - I didn't get one for my January cruise either. Always been reliable before then (pre covid).

Unless the performance was something special, it's almost certainly going to be 'smart casual'.

This whole offer is just a farce. I selected juices from this list. I called C&A. They told me they couldn't take the request and I had to email it. I sent an email, and heard nothing after a couple of weeks. I sent a follow up, and heard nothing again for another couple of weeks. Now they've just come back and said juices are not an option. They only have Sprite and Coke. Plain ridiculous.

Probably some gift from a musician who performed for Celebrity.

Due to Sydney being a working harbour, with heavy commuter traffic, cruise ships can't move at peak times, including 4 p.m. -6:45p.m., hence Celebrity takes that later slot for a full, relaxed day in Sydney. Pre-covid, boarding would commence for these departures from 11 a.m. However, with the extra procedures since covid for cleaning and occasional delays during morning clearance, boarding is now scheduled to start between 12 and 1. However, if everything is running smoothly, people waiting at 11 will be boarded based on priority and availability. Luggage can be dropped off from around 10 a.m.

She still seems to be confused. She said she had to fight for 5 days to get... Luminae and the Retreat. But as amenities they come with the suite. So it doesn't seem like she actually had to fight for anything, just she misunderstood twice.

Ime they've been done only 1-2 weeks out. I suspect they want to sell at higher price those who book specific cabins, so leave guarantee allocation to the end.

Not sure how much you've read about the kids club, but good advice is to introduce him first day. It doesn't guarantee anything, but it's a better chance when everyone is new and in the same boat, rather than going later when people have already started hanging out with each other so it's harder being the new one joining an established group. Also, the kids club does have their own sessions on different activities e.g. wave rider, bumper cars, so can be useful to get a quicker/more fun with your own group go then just joining the public sessions which often have long queues.

Given the reports from others on price _rises_ there's a reasonable basis to say they would have been crazy to have underpriced earlier, since prices in many cases are still rising. There appear to be fewer reports of last minute price falls, which suggests that prices were not too high to begin with, so their approach is financially sensible and correct.

That's not the way it is. Due to early concerns about their safety, any ecigarette containing nicotine was moved to prescription only status, so it no longer could be legally sold in shops and other retailers. This change wasn't anything to do with a "commitment to become a tobacco free country" but to restrict access to them. So yes, legally, that is now the only way it can be acquired, but that's to give a remnant of justification to use one, given uncertainty on safety, not that it's recommended or approved. In fact, not a single e-cigarette has been medically approved by our regulator, again due to the same safety concerns. The regulator is explicit that all e-cigarettes are "unapproved" as they have have not been assessed by the TGA for safety, quality and efficacy. They also explicitly state: "The long-term health risks of unapproved nicotine vaping products, even those that comply with TGO 110, are still unclear and the evidence of their potential efficacy for smoking cessation is currently mixed." OTOH, other smoking cessation aids such as patches and gums have been assessed for the above, and are Approved. Thus, for those that want them the only way they can get them is to plead a case from a friendly doctor for a prescription, in spite of the lack of medical evidence, approval or support of them.

Compared to older ships, the lifts in these ships face their own lobby, so any possible noise is contained. Even those rooms beside the lift face the hallway rather than the lifts so you're pretty much only exposed to the same noise anyone in the hallway is. That said, I find the rooms quiet in any case so I think the insulation is also done well.

Not sure Celebrity's demise can be assessed by the best cabin on the ship, combined with copious spending, which probably represents about 1% of onboard revenue, and <1% of shipboard experience.

Sure - and at the same time will have a minimum of 172, but typically more around 250 people in the junior suites, so as you see even in those cases only half as many Pinnacles. Hence, why it's easier to squeeze in the Pinnacles, disregarding the status priority and even that the wording indicates they have priority.

Based on their wording that seems to be the case. Plus I'd expect generally fewer pinnacles than JS, so likely easier to squeeze them in.

Or it's a mistake from customer services/shoreside. Would be far from the first time.

Sorry, not this time.

Sailed RCL this year (Ovation) and hadn't been cut like Celebrity. Buffet wasn't as good as last sailing a few years back, and noticed they'd now oddly have the exact same offering as at lunch. However, it still had most stations open and most choices that they used to have.

Wrong, quite a few actually. Even just focusing only on Celebrity, and food, there was the extremely short lived change to charge for burgers at the Mast Grill. It was cancelled after a bunch of negative feedback, nothing to do with bookings being cancelled. And it similarly had a lot of negative feedback here. Re: Mast Grill - Page 3 - Celebrity Cruises - Cruise Critic Community

More likely the same thing that has seen a record upsurgence in flight bookings. People are both cashed up after covid lockdowns, and keen to travel to make up for the lost opportunities. Unless you really think people are happy with the flight product?

Sailed this week with them, and it's not as good as it used to be - it's now exactly the same as the lunch menu. But you can see from that that it's still better than this new Celebrity version.

Silly - why? And I don't agree with the other claims. Say there are 500 room service orders a day/ship outside overnight (which seems reasonable given number of cabins, plus some may also order multiple times). That's $5000/day on the bottom line, or $1.8m/year per ship - approx $20m for the fleet. I wouldn't call that "a drop in the bucket". And, if it does cause a reduction in usage by customers, that enables staffing for that area to be reduced, meaning they can either support other areas that may need it, or ultimately reduce headcount by those extra numbers. Either way improving business operations, and/or finances. As for covid, restrictions have virtually gone for that, but this isn't fully removing room service, so it doesn't alter the ability to support that, so has no relevance.

A newly promoted CD (ex-Activities staff) is on Ovation now - Fernanda.