Mark_T

We have a similar policy through our bank and these are always limited to UK residents and travel must begin and end in the UK.

The weakness is usually the housekeeping keys and access to them isn't hard to achieve. The system should log the keys used to access the room and the time, so it is not hard to track down and invalidate the cloned keys, but that requires action on the part of the hotel operator and that can be sadly lacking...

That is sad, but having looked at our own insurance I am not surprised. It certainly re-enforces the importance of keeping travel documents safe at all times. I hope Celebrity decides to help them out.

We had a similar experience on Celebrity Eclipse, there is sometimes no magic solution other than to queue and smile. I would echo the start early comment though, it is sometimes the only way to avoid being those on the last tender off the ship in the morning when it is a short port call. I wonder if the use of local transport was a port condition?

It was good damage control, but highly disingenuous, so many examples of pushing a good aspect and sliding around the awkward truth of the downside... 'Butlers have not been removed from Sky Suites...' ... they have just been replaced with a team of room service staff and cabin attendants. 'Paid for options added to MDR to allow people to order a steak without going to speciality dining...' ... but not mentioning the gutting of the appetizers and the reduced poorer quality main selections... So many examples implying the problems were merely delivery onboard, not management intent... I hope the senior staff on the ships are listening as it sounds like they are going to be carrying the can for any centrally imposed changes that don't go down well...

I just reviewed our UK based travel insurance, and as far as I can see the cruise costs would not be covered as loss of documents is not a covered reason for cancellation and not having the right documents is a specifically excluded reason. Cost of getting emergency replacements is covered (up to a limit). I would suggest making sure that the insurance is going to pay out on the cruise before making rushed alternative plans to get them back on board... If Celebrity decide to step-up and help out then that would of course be an ideal solution, but they certainly have no obligation to do so unfortunately.

2023 certainly isn't happening. This is as of 3 weeks ago...

That's not a recent change though, been that way for a while. Not even enough to assemble one snail from the pieces, but still makes a good excuse to get the garlic butter 🙂

It is not unusual, nor does it mean there are actually any empty cabins, they do it to be prepared in case of late cancellations or TA's returning inventory.

... and just to be clear, it is the signature venues that were being referred to, not the speciality venues, and where those involve a brand name, there will be a license to be paid, and the terms of that license may for example include a percentage of sales which is why there may be limitations on the use of drink packages... ... but this is just theory and I've not yet seen any evidence of 'inflated prices', just that the venue is excluded from the packages and as a result there seems to be resistance to bringing in your drinks with you , but even that is patchy and inconsistent. It isn't even easy to get a precise list or exactly which are considered 'Signature' venues...

If not owned and operated by, they are probably licensing the brand. On Celebrity for example, 'Le Petit Chef' & 'World Class Bar' are both licensed under contract.

You should have this somewhere in the details of your booking: "20% discount on a dedicated speciality restaurant prepaid package" The dining packages should be available online when you get closer to sailing, if they are not currently showing.

I'm sure we will see you there... we also enjoy sushi. We tried both of restaurants in June, and decided we would happily return to Galaxy again. Butcher's Cut was perfectly OK, but not really better than the YC restaurant, so unless there is something very specific on the menu that you want to try, it is not one we would go back to ...

Keep in mind that MSC set the expectation at $0, they do not officially recommend additional tipping... That said, of course many people do tip anyway, so do as you see fit according to the service you have received...

On Divina it is not a problem as Butcher's Cut and Galaxy Sushi are not classed as signature restaurants.

No, your ability to walk in carrying a glass will vary but you are least likely to be able to do this at the signature restaurants as no packages are permitted to be used there and they expect to make drink sales in the restaurant. You can use your drink package in the speciality restaurants as long as it is not the basic 'Easy' package, and you may have more luck trying to walk in with drinks in hand.. However none of the drink packages can be used in the Signature restaurants hence their increased sensitivity.

I've flown out of Westchester (HPN) a lot and it is the little things like this you just don't even think about at larger airports, that along with the cascading delays once things go wrong about 4 steps back in the flight plan for the day as they really do make those crews work hard on the regional jets. Happy to hear you got there in the end though and once again it proves the wisdom in planning to be there at least a day early.

Nobody needs that right before a cruise, but I guess on balance, the day before is a lot better than the day after you leave... Glad you got it all sorted and behind you, time for the fun to begin...

Depends mostly on where you are sailing, if it is a US port where there is a requirement to zero out the ship before boarding can commence then late disembark isn't going to happen.

I was hoping so as well, but if the update on his page is correct (attributed to a crew member) then a life was sadly lost.

Soft serve is included in the non-alcoholic package for adults and in the minors package, it is not included in the Easy and above packages. Depending on the ship, there may be free soft serve available at certain times of the day in limited locations (typically just vanilla or chocolate) , and of course it is available with meals.

She sailed out of Miami last night...

Just make sure it doesn't have 'surge protection', the way they work is not compatible with the way power is supplied on cruise ships.

Sounds like it hasn't changed since we booked onboard in June...

Wonderfully inconsistent 🙂 Ask first is always good advice though. The YC booking confirmation says this, which isn't correct either... "Premium Extra Drink Package (includes all drinks up to 13€ in all ship areas)"