mfs2k

And this is why slots are so popular.

Celebrity excursion. This is from the celebrity website.

We’re booked on a cruise excursion sunset catamaran cruise which returns to our ship in Curacao just before departure. I read this on the excursion description: ”In the unlikely event that your tour is significantly delayed, we'll make all the arrangements for you to return to the ship at the earliest opportunity with no expense to you.” our next port is in Aruba the following day. What really happens when your excursion gets you back to the ship after it’s departed?

Post Covid, are cabins still cleaned twice a day with turndown while at dinner? Is there a difference whether you’re in a regular cabin vs a suite?

Not to mention their travel authorisation requires pax to have Covid medical insurance.

For our 10/26 Bermuda stop on Beyond, we could give a rat’s ass about the $80. I don’t need the stress for the next 40 days about possibly testing positive and having to cancel our vacation.

We’re sailing on Beyond’s repositioning cruise on 10/26 for 9 nights from Bayonne to Bermuda, Aruba and Curacao and debarking in Fort Lauderdale. We have 6 days at sea. The activities calendar isn’t posted yet for our Caribbean cruise. I looked, however at the activity calendar for the current 9 night Beyond cruise in France, Italy and Spain with a port stop every single day and I realize our cruises couldn’t be more different. Most guests I imagine this week aren’t spending the day lounging at the pool and scrambling to find deck chairs. The weather is totally different and the experience during the day is like comparing apples and oranges. Which type of cruise experience do you prefer, and why ?

This is true! I asked to have my bed configuration changed. I wanted the bed placed into a Penthouse suite instead of a balcony cabin. They said “There’s a charge for this.”

I dont understand the difference. Celebrity says gratuities are included and you don't tip except special circumstances. Mexico All Inclusive resorts say gratuities are included but you tip everyone. I assume crew/staff get their share of gratuities in both places but they also rely on the generosity of their guests for their overall compensation.

Most foodservice workers (servers, bartenders, bussers, barbacks) in the US are paid a “tipped wage” which is below minimum wage. In some states that could be below $5 per hour because most compensation for them come from direct or indirect tips. ( bussers and barbacks are indirect because they are tipped from the bartender and server pools) It is rare to go to a restaurant or bar where gratuities/service charges are included. Non food and beverage service staff (hosts, cooks, dishwashers, managers) generally don’t get any allocation of tips. Some restaurateurs (Danny Meyer for one) are trying to change this and paying higher wages and increased prices and saying gratuities aren’t expected. The idea was to be able to spread the wealth among back of house employees too. FYI. Many of his high earning servers have quit because they’re earning less. Many of us tip on cruise ships and in other situations because it’s an acceptable way to show appreciation to another who is “serving you.” They likely earn far less than we do and tipping on top of included gratuities helps the service worker more than “thank you” does. And you can do both. You can also write a comment card expressing thanks which I’m told helps them too in their job reviews. There are other subtexts about tipping because sometimes giving feels better than receiving. Don’t you feel good when you give someone a gift they appreciate ? I do. Nothing wrong with that. I view included gratuities on a cruise ship as providing a base level of compensation to workers but because of tips these workers can earn more than a base level. It’s good for us too because if a good worker is earning more than they’d make elsewhere they’ll want to renew their contracts on the ship and continue to serve us. Win win.

Understood But Cruise service crew aren’t UK workers and aren’t paid a living wage without tips. They rely on tips as part of their compensation.

I'm packing a pack of 100 singles; 100 fives; and 10 twenties for tips on top of included gratuities. If I run out of cash, I'm done tipping.

I really hope all those test proctors are unemployed soon. Actually, I want them to have employment. Just not that employment.

Thank you. Of course, if they want to move me to a Penthouse suite I wouldn't complain..

Last year we booked a Guarantee Sky Suite on Beyond for 10/26. Our cabin was assigned a great S1 location about 9 months ago. I didn’t bid on Move-up. Now that we’re less than 40 days out, I’m wondering if Celebrity might change our cabin since we didn’t reserve this specific one. What do you think ?

Think I’ll pack 10 pairs of socks.

You don’t stay on cruise critic for 22 years without a sense of humor.

10 people in this thread describe, in elaborate detail, how they fill a bag with dirty clothes and you ask if I’m kidding ? Lol lol lol.

is a pair of socks counted as one item or two?

I feel like you should stick with Alaska and Greenland cruises. Lol

Get a usb recharging battery fan with a squirt water bottle attached. You’ll cool off enough till the AC kicks in

It seems Video poker pay tables matter more for long term players. If you sit down and play for 30 minutes, it doesn't have much of an effect. Either you hit some great hits or you don't and that's what will ultimately determine if you walk away from the machine up or down. If you're paid 9/6 or 8/5 for a Full House/Flush wont make a lot of difference to your win/loss in the short term. If you're a 23 hour a day video poker player, you probably know the odds are going to be worse on a cruise ship. Such is life. Same is true for slot players. I play a lot in land casinos. I know the payoff probabilities are worse on a cruise ship, but that's not going to stop me from playing for an hour hoping for a jackpot. Payoff probabilities are based on infinite numbers of spins and factor in the few who win Grand jackpots and SuperGrands. There are still jackpots and wins to be had on a cruise ship and casual players can win too.

I'm on the same cruise. I suspect we will get emails/texts telling us what to do, after the travel authorization site is available for our trip. I think passengers will know.

Our first Celebrity cruise was in Aqua and it was a fabulous vacation and the cabin was comfortable.

I read the Retreat sundeck can be very croweded on a warm sea day. I'll be on Beyond (Retreat) to Caribbean in Oct/Nov and I wonder how crowded that deck will be. I suspect I'll be up early getting deck lounge chairs for my wife and I.