markeb

Boulud is the Executive Chef. He designed the menu. It’s prepared by the chefs onboard. Which is mostly true of any restaurant.

Did you look in the app? That’s your best source. Per the app, for my Summit sailing next month, Whispering Angel is $17. There’s a Le Bel Olivier, also French, at $10. There may be others.

Where? Generally open all night if docked. I've never done it at a tender port, but pretty sure they run at a reduced frequency all night.

Marriott, United Airlines, Target, REI... Every app in the iOS store that allows in app purchases has had this almost from the beginning of iOS. If that's all the wallet is, then there's no good reason for it to require iOS 7! App development on the cheap? EU requirements? Some other driver of iOS 17? Understand. But every app in the iOS store that allows in app purchases can do this and could do this probably going back to the first version of iOS. I don't expect a cruise company to be a great IT company, but this one should be explained. Or fixed... The major change in their upgrade notes is the wallet. Maybe that's not the driver here. But if there's no real driver...

Do you mean the old Celebrity app? In the other thread people found they could no longer use the previous app. That’s what started that thread. Don’t expect the old app to continue to work fine.

I'm not going to disagree with that. But do you seriously think anyone in Celebrity management understands that? This version says it added a "guest wallet" which must only be available onboard or after check-in; I don't see it in my app. They're probably either leveraging a feature of iOS 17 for their security, or maybe didn't want to validate the security on older versions. The app development was probably outsourced. To a group that doesn't know anyone with an iPhone earlier than iPhone 11, and maybe even 12. They probably all have 15 Pros/Max. Why would being able to run iOS 17 be an issue? This smells of a classic case of requirements creep coupled with continuing beyond the good idea cutoff point. Since probably no one has used the guest wallet yet, I can see a new release on the app shortly that runs on iOS 16. Without the new toy...

Uber is fine in NYC. In fact, many of those private drivers are also Uber drivers. Carmel and Dial7 are the most common private car services mentioned around here. Taxis are a flat rate of I believe $70 plus any tolls and tips to Manhattan, but that's from JFK itself. Test book on Uber and see what you're looking at. It should be a lot better than $330.

Me neither. If that's using an iOS 17 unique feature, that would (like it or not) explain it. Whether a guest wallet is really a necessity is a different question. I guess I'll see next month...

Are you going to skip the wine pairing? I know it gets ridiculous at some point, but I want to believe it's curated for the menu. Which unfortunately the standard wines won't be. But the wine pairing can also be a LOT of wine, and at some point you stop appreciating it. (Years ago on I think Brilliance of the Seas we did a Chef's table that automatically came with the wine pairing. It was a great dinner. I rarely do wine pairings, even though I understand the theoretical benefit.)

Arrived today. Haven't had a chance to use it yet. The infamous FW50 batteries were dead (haven't shot for awhile). Slapped it on the a6500 and just focused across the house. Even that was impressive. I think the longest lens I've owned was a 55-250 "kit lens" for a Canon Rebel. I can already see this will blow that out of the water! Have a road trip next week where it's probably the absolute wrong lens, but I think it's going anyway. Need to play with it and check its limits before trying to turn that brown spot on the spring snow into a bear...

Apple pretty much defines any iPhone model that hasn't been sold in at least 5 but less than 7 years "vintage". They can theoretically be repaired (subject to parts availability) and receive major security upgrades. They're a little unclear on version (whole number, if you will) upgrades, but I don't think they receive them. iPhones become obsolete at 7 years. No official support. The 8+ seems ancient to me, but it was discontinued in 2020. Apparently iOS 17 requires an A12 chip or higher; the 8 has an A11. Odd, because it's not even "vintage" by Apple's own definition. No idea what's different in iOS 17 (probably from a security standpoint) that Celebrity doesn't want to make its app backward compatible.

@mcatmcat Why did you book Aqua? Many if not most people on the board actually think the Aqua cabins are an upsell for less desirable cabin locations (not sure about that on E Class). Arguably the only benefit to Aqua you couldn't otherwise buy is Blu; you can pay for a spa package and fitness classes (if you even plan to do them). The charge for those is often less than the upcharge to Aqua. So again, you're left with Blu as the reason to upgrade. Blu was originally set up as a "healthier" cuisine restaurant. It's arguable on that now, but the menu is probably the most adventurous on the ship. My wife and I did our first Celebrity cruise in Aqua, then got hooked on the Retreat and Luminae (before the fares went through the roof). When we took that cruise, Blu seemed to be in a state of flux and that "Clean Cuisine" wasn't really there. But the food was excellent and the service was great. It's tight (I'm sure they'd market it as "intimate"). But as a general rule you're not going to find typical MDR dishes in Blu. Looking at the app, I don't see shrimp cocktails or French onion soups or prime rib. If that's what you're looking at on the MDR menu, you probably should price a standard IV or maybe Concierge cabin and add on the thermal spa. For the record, on that first Celebrity cruise after years on Royal, the last several in Junior Suites, we didn't know exactly why we booked Aqua either. It seemed more "special" without the upcharge of a suite. It was only well after booking and maybe even after boarding that we appreciated Blu. But not everyone appreciates Blu. We're all different...

Yes. With two logons you can both be online at the same time. That's what you're paying for (even if it was included in the Retreat package). To be clear, you CANNOT both be online at the same time sharing a logon.

Thank you! (No sarcasm.)

When you check in, you’ll have instructions to create an account for each passenger. You can do both from one account, but that defeats the purpose of having two logons. Very simple and straightforward.

It should be one logon per person. Two total logons. Each logon can support one device at a time, but there's no limit on how many devices can be used. What level of suite are you in? At one time I vaguely believe I recall some of the higher suites having two devices per logon. Not true in a Sky Suite, for instance. There are levels, even in the Retreat...

That's one of the oddities. It wouldn't let me sign in and I had to use the "Forgot Password" link. No prompt to change my password. My wife hasn't tried her account.

OK, JB, I've spent a lot of time in Brussels! It's not THAT bad... But for a day excursion, I'd definitely go to Bruges. Too much lost time traveling, and Brussels is a big place with very different neighborhoods/areas scattered over a fairly large area. And how many times can you see Mannekin Pis... 😃 I'm sure you can get great stoofvlees and stoemp in Bruges!

With the way folks are talking about reusing their old password, they’d get your password from a relatively soft target (Celebrity), then try it on banks and credit cards. Probably successful 50% of the time…

Thanks. It's still bad internet security to change back to your existing password, and even worse on their end to allow it.

Two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to one oxygen atom with trace elements in solution in a generic plastic bottle is included. Two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to one oxygen atom with trace elements in solution in a bottle with a designer name is not included.

Just had to change my password as well. As an FYI... Celebrity (or RCG if this also includes Royal) hasn't given any indication that I've seen as to why they're requiring people to change their password. One reason could simply be that they've changing their authentication system on the back end. The other reason could be concern of compromise. If you're "changing" your password to your old password and there's been a security compromise, you're changing your password back to the compromised password. Choose a different password. If you used your old Celebrity password on other sites, change your password on those sites. Especially if it was a bank or credit card site. It's really poor internet security to reuse passwords, and it's pretty bad on Celebrity to let you use your old password on a forgot my password link. Don't reuse your new Celebrity password on other sites or reuse your password from another site on Celebrity. And yes, I have a bunch of rarely used sites that need a cleanup as well. Edit: Requiring password changes also effectively freezes old, unused accounts. Another good security idea.

And pay for international roaming if not included for when off the ship. It may not be cheap, but if it’s important it’s worth it.

Thanks! Probably sticking with the APS-C body for now. The 70-350 is almost 3/4 of a pound lighter, so that may be a factor as well. It’s in the B&H cart…

Yes. Probably every night. Some of them are meatless, some of them aren't. They've all been very good in our experience. Can't imagine that you could order from Tuscan, regardless of proximity. That would be like going into Capital Grill on 51st and asking for the tuna carpaccio from Le Bernadin. They're across the street from each other... 🙂