tnfcruise

Something to note— Studio Suites have kitchenettes with microwave, fridge, and more. Also, separate seating area divided from bed area by desk/dining table. Regular rooms have none of these features. For us, worth the extra $ for studio, particularly for multi-night stay.

We ❤️🧡[emoji169][emoji172][emoji170][emoji171]❤️🧡[emoji169] this hotel!

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Hotel chains have been doing this for years. It can be a good savings if you’re really locked in to your travel plans.

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I agree with you, Ned11, and would not consider the reassignment an upgrade...please let us know what your TA works out (and if he/she is worth her salt, you won’t be sailing under the casino).

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I just carry a wristlet. Although this is what I carry on a daily basis. I have a nice Over the Shoulder "normal" size purse that I use for my carryon and port days if needed. Just depends what we are doing in port.

I'm with you-- Wristlets rule! My husband gets to lug the water/binoculars/excursion-related-stuff in a "manly" crossbody bag.

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First, let me say, have a great first cruise! Celebrity is a wonderful line and Solstice a beautiful ship.

I didn't see that anyone answered your laptop question...there is an iLounge with a fair number of desktop Macs. If you simply want to check your email or surf the Web a few times during your cruise, buying a small internet package and using the ship's computers should be fine. But if, for example, you're planning to download your hometown newspaper each morning, receive and send emails each day, have FaceTime contact, definitely bring your laptop and/or other devices.

The upgraded Xcelerate system, installed on all Celebrity ships, has definitely improved speed and signal strength, but can still be erratic at times. We've been getting the "Go Best" package, with unlimited internet, so we don't obsess over how many minutes we chew up on a limited-minute package. Outright purchase of Unlimited will be pricey, but worth it, in my opinion, if you plan to be online daily. And, if your usage will be daily (or nearly daily) it's a lot nicer sitting on your veranda or in Cafe Baccio with your laptop rather than in the interior iLounge.

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Nobel Laureate Malala has been announced as Godmother for Celebrity Edge. Wonderful choice!

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M Class aft balconies are HUGE

 

 

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And, they have loungers AND regular deck chairs.

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M Class aft balconies are HUGE

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The lamb looked wonderful!!! :) The price of the wine is crazy!! On our last cruise on Equinox we had such a wonderful Sommelier, we told him what price level we were comfortable with and he was able to find wines that worked, most were wines I had never heard of but were good nonetheless...

Believe me, you were lucky!

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I'll try that and report back.

 

 

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Worked like a charm! I usually follow the path of least resistance, in other words, accessing through app. So glad I was directed this way cuz it made me aware of my dopey photo and signature being out-of-date.

I access C.C via Google. That plays the video, but if I go through the Cruise Critic app, then it shuts it down. I had a message on my iPad to say ,' unexpected close down, send message' but that doesn't work either, as I then get a 'mail delivery subsystem message' to say that the address is unknown.

I use the app for attaching photos, but prefer the format by going through Google.

 

 

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I'll try that and report back.

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Is it Vimeo , Youtube or both ?

Don't know...I hit the play > sign on the video, and it immediately closes the CC app.

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Hello Again,

 

 

 

I am all caught up. You are doing a fantastic job like always on the review along with your great photos and videos. This thread already has a sizeable amount of views but, I don't think too many are clicking over to experience your videos, now that is a shame. I put way more effort into my videos than my photos. Your review kept me busy today while I was waiting for my recent Equinox videos to download into Final Cut Pro X. (Still not finished).

 

 

 

Yes! Donna and I missed this cruise last year for health reason on my part. Thanks to you I get to see what I missed and hope to get this one off our bucket list in the future.

 

 

 

Thanks Again for Great Review. I will keep reading the updates.

 

Kevin Reid

Videos crash each time I try to view. Crash reports sent. I'm going to try watching on desktop.

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...in Victoria "downtown", the government building and Munro Books top my list.

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Lots to see and do at Victoria but the Gardens would top my list as a must see.

I second that! Or maybe third or fourth it, but Butchart is at the top of my list, too. And, in

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As many cruise lines have eliminated the sommelier position, I am thankful for Celebrity retaining staff and continuing the wine tastings experiences. We have not been disappointed in the wine selections on the S class ships.

 

 

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You'll have weeks and weeks to thoroughly test your opinion on that upcoming B-2-B-2-B you're doing on the Eclipse. Have a wonderful time and do come back and let us know if you feel the same way about the wine selection.

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I drink Moscato and could not believe there wasnt one bottle on board. I know its not the connoisseur's wine but I love it. Royal has a great Moscato available....why cant Celebrity? They dont even have a nice German Spatlase either. Yes, I like sweet wine;p I only drink these wines...no liquor and no other wines. My drink package was pretty useless.

I have an old friend who is a Moscato drinker, so I guess there are at least two of you in the world. [emoji13][emoji6] I think that pretty much answers your question.

Seriously, though, the MDR and Oceanview Bar should have several sweet wines that might be to your liking...try asking for a glass of something that's close to those wines. You might have better luck than us wine snobbish types. If that doesn't work, make up for it by drinking about 10 specialty coffees/teas every day from Cafe Bacio, and a lot of Vitamin Water.

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IMHO, and we are wine lovers, and consume a least a bottle a day. Not all my wines are in the upper level, any where from $5 to $20 (on occasion) which usually translates to $30 to $75 on cruise ships. All my wine has been off this year, from undrinkable to just OK and once in a while great. We have been experiment with different labels. Many of our old favorites/daily drinkers and yes highway aged which is true of more and more wines, have been somewhat nasty. I would believe that the same issues with wine would be with the cruise line. Having sailed with X several times the sommelier can make you very happy if he likes you and you treat him with respect.

What interesting speculation, about your personal wine drinking and the possibility of the cruise line being in the same situation. I'd never heard the phrase "highway aged" before, but it kinda makes sense.

I definitely hit it off with our MDR wine steward, Maya, but she had half the Select Dining floor to take care of. So, much of the time she ran around, juggling 3 or 4 bottles of whatever was being pushed that evening with barely time to do much more than pour, pour, pour. Interestingly enough, she was switched into Luminae for three days mid-cruise when that sommelier took sick. She was happy to be back in the MDR, she confided, because she's so busy, the time flies.

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I have to agree with you regarding lousy wines by the glass, even with the premium package. During my last cruise, the wines in Blu with the premium package stunk! They had two that were $1 over the limit, and the Sommelier wanted to charge the buck plus gratuity. I just looked at him as he knew my displeasure with their selections and said "really?" He didn't charge me. :rolleyes:

 

 

 

To answer your question, if you purchase a bottle of "their wine," you can take it with you anywhere on the ship that you desire. It's just the 2 bottles that you bring on during embarkation that must be consumed in your stateroom.

Thanks for the reply and answering the main part of my wine [emoji898]question.

And, another part of Tudorboy's review stated that the head wine-dude on Eclipse claims that -X- is evaluating the entire wine situation fleet-wide. That info is up to individual interpretation, but I'm hoping for the best! ...it certainly can't get much worse.

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PLEASE invite me on your next cruise as I would be HAPPY to share ( and experience) bottles of wine with you....think of me as another "true RED wine buddy" ......

Okay, padgman1, "true RED wine buddy", but you'll have to wait until 2019 [emoji6]. We couldn't find an -X- itinerary, with longer cruise length or even B2B, that we liked or worked for us in 2018.

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Wow, am I glad I started this thread months before my recent sailing...suggestions and strategies allowed me to go with the flow, so to speak, and not spend half my cruise hunting for good wine or complaining to everyone from wine steward to F&B Manager to Guest Relations.

Cruise Critic sent me a request today to post a cruise review, and a few recent reviews were included in the email. Yikes! Tudorboy, who sailed in February on the Eclipse, totally reamed out -X-, mostly because of the poor wine availability and selection. Sounds like much of his time on board was taken up with the quest (and complaining) for a decent glass/bottle. It was his first cruise, too. What a shame.

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The economics of solo bookings vs two per cabin is pretty simple. On average cruise lines get 25% of their revenue from on board sales and 75% from the fares. So if you have a fare of X the for a two person cabin the average numbers work out to be 2X + 2(.33X) = 2.66X. If you put 1 person in that cabin and charge a 100% supplement you get 2X+.33X=2.33X. Basically the cruise line gives up 1/3 of a fare in revenue on average. Certainly individuals vary, but the overall demographics is how the cruise line's revenue models will look at it. So with the new 125% single supplement the numbers 2.25X+.33X= 2.58X. Closer to the 2 person per cabin numbers but still a little less.

 

Also note that the main stream cruise lines need to exceed the 2 person per cabin booking numbers, The cruiselines owned by RCL, including celebrity, run about 105% of two person per cabin capacity.

 

Solo bookings are not money makers for the cruise line in general when a two person cabin is occupied. The 225% fare rate brings them close.

 

Now one can argue that they spend thousands and millions on board for that matter. One high spender is offset by a number of lower spenders.The revenue models are built on averages from demographic classes, not individuals. The output from the financials are easy to find looking in the cruise companies 10k and 10q reports that are filed with the SEC. While those numbers are across the entire company (CCL, RCL, NCLH) they do give good insight into the economics of the industry and what drives some of their decisions.

This was my theory, without knowing the revenue model calculations. The folks chiming in here about how much they spend beyond cruise fare, as single cruisers, are probably not "average".

Maybe the Edge news, as reported by ISABELLA, will entice those singles back to -X-.

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Edge has singles cabins - X charges 180% for half size cabin.

That's good to know.

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I might not book at 225%, but could the logic behind this be that there will be an empty berth, that could have been filled by a passenger buying drinks, specialty restaurants, spending money in the casino, shops, excursions, scam-art, etc.

-X- must factor some calculation/amount that each passenger spends, over and above cruise fare, and nets that against what food and services cost for a body to be on-board. If that net amount favors having a passenger there, the 225% makes sense, at least from -X- perspective.

Too bad Edge doesn't have (at least from what I've seen) smaller, single-based cabins that could be marketed at a reasonable cost.

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If you drink 2 glasses at dinner (as implied in post #254), you could easily do what I did pre-package days: buy a bottle, drink half tonight, have them save it to finish tomorrow. At the non-stratospheric prices I'm willing to pay, wine easily lasts 24 hours.

Didn't think X would still do that...I should have asked! Assuming I could get a nice bottle, at a reasonable price with the 20% bottle-purchase discount, this is a great idea. Four glasses of Foley cost me about $40 over my premium package which could have gone to the bottle price.

I have three questions about this idea, if anyone knows. Could I take remaining wine (bottle) with me, after purchase, to enjoy on my veranda or to another dining venue the next day? Could I buy from Cellar Masters and have it opened and enjoyed in MDR? Is the 18% gratuity added to bottle purchases?

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