ScottC4746

I will just comment this, many cruises and land based hotels are going away from travel size bottles to wall mounted. It is much greener. I did notice the same thing in 2022 with shower gel and shampoo, but it is marine biodegradable stuff to be easier on the ocean. Even the toilet paper is not the quality I would buy but it is septic tank marine quality stuff they use.

We did ours Sept 2022 on the Solstice and just my personal opinion it was kinda meh. Afterwards we strolled through the buffet and would have preferred that. As to your question, no reservations needed but you do check in at the dining room when you are ready to go in. I forgot what time it ended. Back in 2022 and the cruise industry was pulling out of covid you dined the way you booked. We booked our cruise for 2 so we had a two top for every main dining room table including the luncheon. On our cruise there was a couple very upset and vocal that they had to eat just the two of them in the evening and wanted to be put on a larger table with others. Maybe things have changed in 2 years, we will see.

We may be on the same cruise from Seattle on the Edge.

We will have our first on our Alaska cruise end of May. I can see them being useful in very cold or very hot and humid areas. We shall see..

Sadly, formal formal nights are going away. We saw a few tuxes on our last X cruise. I used to love dressing for formal night, but after being an Elks officer for 7 years having to wear a suit for 3 meetings and a tux for 1 meeting a month, I enjoyed being dressed up casual with no tux or suits.

First of all don't be. Tips: I get the included tips. It is automatically distributed. I remember on other lines they give you envelopes and slips of paper. Celebrity did not. I would get the premium wifi, this way they can call back home and it not cost a forturne. Do check with your wireless service for international plans. Dinks packages are a touchy subject on these boards, some love them some hate them. I like being able to try new drinks so I get the premium package. Do note that covers up to $17 drinks and most drinks are north of that around $20, but they will charged the difference to your account. Premium also includes sodas, coffees, and water which I like. Now two years ago was my first cruise on X and was stressed over clothing. Remember, what you see on line and in brochures are advertising. Evening I always wore slacks and button up dress shirt and was fine. Even on evening chic nights men can throw on a jacket if you want. Very few people had tuxedos and gowns. You saw them but far and few in between.

I just made my final payment today for my 30May cruise to Alaska. Excitement is mounting. Lot's of sleepless nights due to the excitement. Anyone else get like this when they do their final payment?

I understood that the one excursion in each port is usually a board a bus while we drive you around.

Not the only thing that has negatively changed. Their premium drinks package covered up to $15 two years ago and many drinks were covered by that. Now they raised it to $17 or less and raised a majority of what used to be covered to north of that amount. I am looking for another line as I don't like being gouged on things.

That is about £2.71 a bottle. Not sure if it is worth it. Full price would have been £3.39 I would say a bit overpriced.

I have fallen in love two years ago with Celebrity and we will be doing our second cruise in May and from the posts I have been seeing their new CEO doesn't know how to run a cruise line. Some examples are: Premium drink package includes up to $17 but a majority of drinks hover north of that. Captain's Club Power Up offers are non-existent. A cruise for two is one price, but to book the exact same thing as a single reports are that it is 4 times or higher than that. Can anyone suggest another cruise line similar to Celebrity (we considered Celebrity as a entry level luxury cruise line) that is still easy on the budget, about the same size? We left RCCL because they are getting too big ship wise and we don't need a theme park on board. We sailed on HAL once. While they were everything we were looking for, we felt like someone's grandchildren. This was 2015 and we are now 51 and 59 this year. We are both foodies and both love going to the theater in the evenings. We love being able to sit and have a nice drink with nice background music going, not typical bar music thmpa thumpa thumpa. We love being pampered and love being able to take as many meals in the main dining room as possible, breakfast, lunch, and dinner as we hate buffet quality. Any suggestions?

From a seasoned cruiser here are some tips for first time cruisers: If you have a verandah or balcony, do bring the cushions in at night, especially and very humid regions, otherwise you will have wet cushions. The same if it is to rain. In the daytime if in a port with the same as above, bring your cushions in as they often clean the outside of this using lots of water and everything on your balcony is drenched. On port days after removing the cushions, tip your chairs towards the cabin if you can. Alert your steward why the cushions are inside so that don't put them back out. During rainy season, do the above tips to keep everything dry.

I have fallen in love two years ago with Celebrity and from the posts I have been seeing their new CEO doesn't know how to run a cruise line. Some examples are: Premium drink package includes up to $17 but a majority of drinks hover north of that. Captain's Club Power Up offers are non-existent. A cruise for two is one price, but to book the exact same thing as a single reports are that it is 4 times or higher than that. Can anyone suggest another cruise line similar to Celebrity (we considered Celebrity as a entry level luxury cruise line) that is still easy on the budget, about the same size, and LGBT+ friendly? We left RCCL because they are getting too big ship wise and we don't need a theme park on board. We sailed on HAL once. While they were everything we were looking for, we felt like someone's grandchildren. This was 2015 and we are now 51 and 59 this year. We are both foodies and both love going to the theater in the evenings. We love being able to sit and have a nice drink with nice background music going, not typical bar music thmpa thumpa thumpa. We love being pampered and love being able to take as many meals in the main dining room as possible, breakfast, lunch, and dinner as we hate buffet quality. Any suggestions?

Well, there is that. It is like my friends getting excited at the casino that they won $200. And how much did they spend to get that $200?

Our first cruise on X was Solstice in 2022. We were appalled at the quality of the photos done by the photographers. We took every photo they wanted to take because it had been some time since DH and I have had cruise photos done. Just about every photo had "cute" accents added to them such as streamers, they were grainy, and worse that took every photo where it looked like they were trying to get the stomachs just slightly higher than the lens which accentuated our already accentuated and very round stomachs. We ended up buying nothing. Have they improved? Is this the norm? Did we just have bad photographers? We are on the Edge in May and hope they have improved.

Even with the upcharge, it is still cheaper than on land. As an Elk member, even the upcharge is cheaper than my cheap drinks at the lodge.

On Solstice in Seattle Sept 2022, we had a 11:30 AM board time as a Concierge guest. We arrived 10 AM and had no problem boarding.

Thank you all for the responses. Let me throw this scenario out there: We book for Australia, Edge, February 2026 at the Next Cruise Desk with no insurance. We get home and speak with our TA who picks up the booking and she gets the commission, all happy now. Just to put numbers out there, let's say it is $500 OBC. One can dream right? She adds Aliante Insurance, finds a lower rate in her group booking, but her group rate is only $250 OBC. Would I then lose the additional $250 OBC I had? Speaking of commissions, I don't want to screw my TA out of a commission. Does she still get it?

I believe you are correct on this.

So I wonder why my former TA told me otherwise other one of the many reasons he is former. Cool beans sounds like Jamie Oliver would say, "easy peasy"

My last cruise in 2022 on Solstice they added per drink. I will look and monitor when I go on Edge in May.

No, gratuities are always on the full amount so $20+$4 = $24 - $17 = $7.

From the CDC Website on protecting yourselves: If you’re sick, report your illness. Before your voyage: – Ask your cruise line if there are alternative cruising options. – Consult a doctor to find out whether it is safe for you to sail. During your voyage, call the ship’s medical facility and follow the medical staff’s recommendations. Wash your hands often! Why: Avoid exposing yourself and others to anything that may cause illnesses and spread germs. When: Wash your hands often but especially after using the toilet and before eating or smoking. Take care of yourself. Get plenty of rest and drink plenty of water. Why: Resting helps rebuild your immune system. Drinking water helps prevent dehydration. Leave the area if you see someone get sick (vomiting or diarrhea). Report it to cruise staff if they are not already aware. I've seen other sites say to avoid the buffet and after ordering in a restaurant, wash your hands. I never thought about the last item. The menu cover may look clean, but as a former waiter, I know they are not sanitized between diners, they only wipe them clean.

Yes, the standard per drink gratuity is added on the full price of the drink per drink for example on a premium package: Drink $20 Gratuity 20% $4 Subtotal $24 Less Premium Package - $17 (Max per drink) Final Cost $7.00 Unless they went way above and beyond in the serving of said beverage, which I have never seen, no need to add additional.

That is typical of most cruise lines I have found. Some cruise lines have single only cabins including X on some ships, but haven't really seen much savings. There is a 3rd party website I check occasionally which I cannot mention by name that I can navigate to single pricing and it shows what percentage surcharge they charge. Most are 100% on there but some are 0% or just above.