chemmo

If age matters so much for your friends I wouldn’t try to convince them of anything… However, if you really want to do Celebrity again try to explain to your friends why you want them to choose Celebrity…Ambiance? Dining? There must be some features that really appealed to you. You always have the option of deciding that what your friends want and what you want may not be the same.

Agree…In our experience this is what we have noticed. Just as there are only children on board during school vacations.

Brilliant! Our first visit to Cape Sounion was way back in 1982! We booked two weeks in the outskirts of Athens and visited sooooo many places using public transport where possible. We found a local bus to Cape Sounion literally for pennies…At the first stop after us a lady got on with a crate of live chickens, a couple of stops later another woman got on with a goat. By the stop after that there was no more room on the bus but passengers and animals continued to pile in…You know sometimes you remember the aroma of an experience more than the sight?

We have also frequently had requests for a 10 from wait staff, M’D and butlers… I think your suggested comment is far more appropriate. We have rarely had cause for complaints on cruises but occasionally there have been issues… This is the issue…Some staff don’t up their efforts when mistakes are pointed out but still expect a 10! I have no issues giving a ten after a mistake/poor service if it is then rectified.

Just looked, what excellent value for money! I love tours like this which take you to venues you would probably otherwise miss and ensure you don’t stray into areas you are best avoiding…

Renovations look lovely, so nice to leave for a holiday knowing you are returning to sanctuary rather than chaos. Please send best wishes to your nephew for a fantastic cruise! Enjoy!

I guess the art is only to bid what you are comfortable with… To quote a friend of mine. “Before I put a bid in I think what else I could use the money for on board…” (speciality dining, excursions, drinks package upgrade…)

Thanks for that we were last on Reflection in 2016 and loved it then. Really looking forward to it!

I can now make my own version of this…not perfect but yummy! Now my attempt at the Grand Marnier was a sad story!

Every meal in Murano I have the dilemma dessert or cheese….Both are impossible! As we generally dine in Murano’s a couple of times a cruise I always decide to alternate but then still dither as I remember ‘you can buy a great selection of cheese from your local deli but you can’t cook a Grand Marnier soufflé’….

Sincere thanks for your review! We are on Reflection next year. How fresh are the general bar areas? I am aware Reflection hasn’t recently had an upgrade.

You can ask your room attendant to deliver ice to your room twice daily which would give you chilled water in your room. I assume you could board with your favourite fruit concentrate and then mix yourself with free iced water from the bar? Much as I know you aren’t a drinker some of the nonalcoholic cocktails are really nice, I particularly enjoyed an elderflower one. You may find that there are a few drinks you may want to enjoy in between….

When cruising from foreign ports at present we are sticking with Celebrity. Quite simply we love the S class ships and our preferred rooms in them. However, as prices from Southampton (usually our second cruise of the year) are prohibitive (and E class) we have booked alternatives. AI in Turkey, chalet breaks in our own beautiful country and something later this year to be decided… We have been following reviews on other cruise lines with interest. Sincere thanks to those of you who have posted them. MSC doesn’t appeal as we enjoy a full ship experience, Princess, their suite options are limited….I would never say never but at present whilst ‘loyal’ to Celebrity when cruising we are definitely enjoying far more none cruise holidays…

So pleased the agent was able to sort you out so satisfactorily! Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise!

Totally agree…

Agree…Do you remember the champagne afternoon tea the Ocean Liner restaurants used to do once per cruise? String trio performed as well…a little bit of real luxury…

With the situation at present I think you would need to book a cruise knowing that there is a good likelihood of it not happening…Personally I wouldn’t book at the moment. Re the pyramids…Personally I don’t think what amounts to a ‘day trip’ can do justice to the pyramids or Cairo…We spent four days in Cairo before joining a Nile river cruise. We saw the pyramids at dawn, dusk and the sound and light at night. Mesmerising, time to soak in the ambiance, enrich the history by museum visits and enjoy the city itself. Never done a day trip there so others may come back and say I am wrong…I could be. I just managed to soak in so much in those four days…. However, with the Israel part risky to happen and the pyramids obviously important to you why not look at Egyptian options? Three place stays in Cairo, Luxor, Red Sea or a Cairo stay and a Nile cruise? Visiting Karnak and the Valley of the Kings are for many a bigger draw to Egypt than the pyramids… Not like me not to recommend a sea cruise! Just a thought…

Definitely one of the most amazing places I have ever visited….

Yes, to us the first and best cruise when I retired was to be able to do a TP. Also not to be ‘stuck’ with set dates and be able to extend your cruise with time before and after. So pleased my husband and I were able to enjoy 10 years of this flexibility before I sadly lost him last year. Now, cruising with family members with holiday times becoming restricted again…C’est la vie! Strongly suggest you do get used to enjoying non term time holidays! Siege the moment, make it count!

Yes! When I was teaching we used to always head for the Med last week Oct/start Nov (half term break). Our weather was anything from the sublime to the ridiculous! Some holiday weeks at this time of the year we would have perfect sunny days but unfortunately we also had the odd week where the sun was rarely to be seen. The beauty of a best of Greece cruise is even out of season and with less than perfect weather there is always something to enjoy doing…

Different people do have different perceptions…Having told a friend that Santorini was the highlight of a cruise she was going on I was dismayed when she returned that she had been, seen and much preferred other places as Santorini was just too crowded. There is even a danger in returning to places you love…Even when there is historical protection they can change so much. We very much felt this on our second visits to Thailand and Crete. Quite simply the first times we visited we were there before mass tourism had really taken off. We enjoyed our second visits to both but they were not the same… When we returned to the Plaka area of Athens shortly before covid we were concerned as it had special and romantic memories for us from nearly thirty years before. The day coach dropped us off and we looked with dismay at the initial shop frontages…However a winding walk soon took us back to a place and time long ago. We even found a lovely little bar whose only lunchtime offerings were an unspecified ‘fish’ and a pasta dish which we didn’t recognise containing a multitude of fresh herbs and vegetables in a meaty sauce…Back in time we went… Miaminice, sincere thanks for your continuing saga…I am enjoying with my coffee now. dock, sincere best wishes for a wonderful return to Capri! Perhaps if it is busy you could try a little street meandering…..

Following your post as next cruise I will be ‘semi solo’, for the first time as I will be cruising with my son and his fiancée but I have no intention of spending all my time with them. Interested in seeing what other suggestions come up. One thing I intend to do is join the roll call for my cruise. Not only pre cruise will I hopefully get to know some names I am hoping to find some activities/excursions I may want to join in either with couples, groups or solos. One specialty dining experience I have done and you may want to try is the Chefs table. This is where a group of about twelve have a galley tour then a meal together. Very social. I would add, however, that much as most people on a cruise are lovely you can end up with a Mr Know it All or Mrs Drink it All. Having enjoyed a few really nice tables we did have one like this…It wouldn’t put me off doing another one though. An excursion I am planning on trying is called a Chefs Market tour. This includes a visit to a local market with the chef talking about local produce. This is followed by a group lunch then a special group meal back on the ship in the evening. I have read several reports on this excursion but never done it myself. The best reviews have stated a knowledgeable and interesting chef, group size of about 12, an authentic taste of the port at lunch and then a fabulous social dinner in the evening using some of the produce the chef has bought at the market. Worse reviews have stated uninteresting chefs, larger group, insipid meal at lunch and an indifferent evening meal… The reason I mention the chefs table and chefs market are that they are, by their nature, social events. They are designed to get a group of people who don’t know each other together…I don’t think it matters if you are solo. My feeling is if I pre book these I have two ‘organised’ social meals during my cruise then if I meet up with others during the cruise I wish to dine with then all well and good.

Never had a problem using it in Florida, our Uber driver had seen the sign before and knew exactly what it meant and where to go…now Barcelona was a different experience…

Just spent a lovely day in our sunny garden! What a disappointing May/early June we have had. Just to keep things in perspective just received a message from my son in Mexico where they have had very mixed weather…Certainly today here was better than there! As you say in the UK you simply need to bring lightweight waterproofs and then hope you don’t need them!

As an older traveler I can remember many holidays as well as cruises that have been cancelled or severely altered clearly compromising what we had booked. Much as these changes have caused us disappointment, inconvenience and at the time upset I have always been grateful that the tour companies did the ‘right thing’ by putting our safety first. Our disappointments have included cruise cancellations, cruise itinerary significant changes AI cancellations. Causes have included war, terrorist attacks and risks and failure of AI accommodation to meet health and safety standards…. Our philosophy has always been that if situations change you simply need to accept that ‘stuff happens that is often beyond the control of tour companies and cruise lines’. Personally, whilst I sympathise with you and hope in years to come you will enjoy the cruise you planned I can’t feel that cross with Celebrity. At the end of the day they kept you out of harms way… Nice to hear your credit card company were able to get your cash back when you booked independent tours. I think one of the reasons people often choose cruise excursions is because of the fear of loosing $ if ports change as a consequence of weather etc. Much as I understand you saying ‘The moral is be very careful what and who you book travel with’ I would say if you are keen to visit areas of the world that are ‘volatile’ or subject to severe weather or have other issues then you have to accept that what you initially book does have a greater degree of uncertainty.