prbffd28

In my humble opinion this is just another decision by the new president/admin's to turn what a lot of us love about Celebrity into a more Royal Caribbean style line.

If I wanted to sail Royal I would but I choose Celebrity (or at least I did).

We love going to this area when most others are at dinner since this is about the only time it's quiet and the hot tubs are not full of people.

On 1/21/2024 at 9:20 AM, sid_9169 said:

And, just like that, it was over...

 

 

Way late to the party but I got through the review finally! As always, thanks for another great review! I know you said a few times it will be your last but I'm hoping that feeling doesn't hold true, totally understand if it does though! Safe travels home Sid!!

On 12/8/2023 at 5:38 PM, Cruise till you drop said:

We received a very odd letter by email from Celebrity about a seemingly new 48 hour rule prior to port arrival to cancel shore excursions 

 

Did anyone else get this?  Does anyone know if this is new or important?

 

 

We received the same email regarding our January trip

I was away for a few days and just got caught up again and poof, it's over ! Sorry this turned into a "not so enjoyable" cruise but we definitely appreciate your dedication in taking us along ALL THE WAY!!

Glad you made it home safe and sound. Can't wait until the next one. Thanks again Sid, be well always!!

1 minute ago, sid_9169 said:

Finally about to start heading out to Key West. I'm only bringing my WiFi phone, so nothing else till later.

Enjoy your day !!

Whew, finally got caught up. Haven't been on here in a while so glad to have another Sid review to return too. Have a great trip and thanks for taking us along! Cheers!

Whew, I FINALLY got caught up, work got in the way these last few days. I will say thank you again for taking us along with you. You definitely have a writing and photography style that keeps everything interesting and makes us want MORE!!! 

We're looking forward to following your adventures on Celebrity. I followed your Virgin trips and I must say, I was impressed, you're like the energizer Bunny !!! If you are looking for a great bartender who will take great care of you, look for Beatriz, I believe she works the Sunset Bar. We spent our honeymoon cruise with her on Summit in August of 2021 out of St Maarten, it was our first Celebrity cruise. All I can say is, we loved it so much we decided to surprise her and went back in December. She is a wonderful person. I will warn you though, if you like night caps, based on your Virgin reviews I think you do, she serves a mean Cognac for a last hoorah !! Please tell her Perry and Joanne from Maine say hi and we miss her!

Happy Easter, we'll be following also, We have 2 crew friends on board, bartenders we met on Bliss in 2019 and have stayed in touch with since. Danny and Satya from India, please say hello to them from Perry and Joanne if your paths happen to cross during the trip. Have a great cruise!

Sid, I just got caught up from a couple days being AWOL. Yo definitely out did yourself this time and I can't thank you enough for taking us along with you. I'm glad you actually took time this trip to enjoy yourself and apparently it paid off !!!!

With all the photos and your feedback on the food and service, I feel that this ship is another one I need to add to the bucket list. Maybe 2024, who knows, one can hope!

Thanks again and best of luck with your future endeavors 🙂

2 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

I've had four now since I posted that picture... Rommel makes another one every time my cup gets 2/3 empty...

Rommel is the best!

1 minute ago, sid_9169 said:

You are definitely in your groove right now Sid!! Awesome pics

We sail April 16th so will be closely following along as well. Thanks for taking us along!

19 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

Been down at the bar "on vacation" for awhile. Johnny Walker Blue Label and some Veuve champagne. She's gone to dinner now, and I came back to the cabin to unwind from the day. Big day in Cozumel tomorrow, but wayyy too short. I'm going to have to edit my plans, as four and a half hours is much too little for my all time favorite island. I'm definitely hitting the East side bars, and hopefully a couple of places in town. At least we'll be parked right there in San Miguel, so I can make it back to the ship on time. 

 

I remember a few years ago, I was doing the Cozumel Bar Hop, and we got back to the drop off point. I wanted a bacon and lobster sandwich from Le Chef, but there was very little time. The girl Colleen from the bar hop called my order in and I ran over to the restaurant to pick it up. When I made it back to the pier I was about ten minutes till "all aboard". I sat there and finished my sandwich and ended up being the fourth to last person back on the ship. At least there were others who were later than I was...

Great to read you finally took some time to enjoy YOUR vacation (and some top shelf too) !! Thank you again for taking us along!

1 minute ago, sid_9169 said:

And, just like that, I was ON A BOAT!!!

 

 

Yay, and away we go!!!

Whew, finally made it through the ALREADY 9 pages, awesome! Can't wait for and Sid NCL live, the last one on Encore helped immensely as we sailed her in 2020 just prior to the shut down, like 3 weeks prior! Hoping you have a non-eventful last day at work! 

Just now, prbffd28 said:

In case you're on the look out for new places to visit in St Maarten, a good friend that frequents the island recommend we check out Blue ***** Bar, it's near the pier I believe. We were going to visit when we were there last August, the day before our honeymoon cruise on Celebrity Summit, but our hotel was further away than we expected and never made it. An option for you anyway. Have a great trip!

I apologize, forgot the rules for language applied to restaurants too. The ***** in the name is a word for  "female dog".

2 hours ago, sid_9169 said:

On this sailing, I’ll be visiting two “new to me” ports: Amber Cove and St Martin (Maarten)… I was supposed to call on St Martin (Maarten) back in 2017 on the Vista, but hurricane Irma had other plans. The cruise ended up being delayed by four days and sailed out with only 800 passengers on board. Now, a full five years later, I’ll at last get to visit the strange and wonderful island consisting of two different countries. My initial research tells me that they have plenty of great food and beaches. That sounds right up my alley, and even though I’ve been looking for months, I still feel like I’ll just be “wingin’ it” there… I think it’s one of those islands that has SO MUCH stuff to do, that there’s no way to do it all in one day. I’ve got a few places mapped out, but I have to figure out what the transportation situation on the island is before knowing exactly how many places I can hit in a single day. 

 

In case you're on the look out for new places to visit in St Maarten, a good friend that frequents the island recommend we check out Blue ***** Bar, it's near the pier I believe. We were going to visit when we were there last August, the day before our honeymoon cruise on Celebrity Summit, but our hotel was further away than we expected and never made it. An option for you anyway. Have a great trip!

Only 5 hours since the start and you're at 4 + pages already, is that a record? Looking forward to another "Live" and all the great info you provide for us all!! Thanks for doing it, AGAIN!

6 hours ago, marieps said:

Are you on the roll call?  My parents were from Saco/Biddeford area.

Yes, we're on it, prbffd28, Perry and Joanne. I'm not a Maine native, moved over from northern NH when my now DW and I got together and I got a job at Colby College in Waterville. She's a Mainer though 😀

On 11/22/2022 at 10:26 AM, marieps said:

This is all great to hear.  We sail the holiday cruise a month from today.  Equinox was our first S class experience.  Love her.

We'll be on that cruise with you as well, can't wait. This will be our first cruise over Christmas and New Years. See you on board

On 10/27/2022 at 11:35 PM, romalley99 said:

 

No major changes -- actually, no changes to the interior at all. This was an unscheduled and unanticipated dry dock to correct the issue that happened in March when we ran aground in the DR. 

Thank you for the reply, I appreciate it!

On 10/23/2022 at 8:07 AM, mncrusin said:

Is there a question about Spice H2O? Danced there a few times. 

Hello, I appreciate your input and hope you had a great cruise. I'm not sure if you've sailed on Escape prior to the dry dock but if so did you notice any significant changes to the ship spaces or was it mostly mechanical maintenance? We are booked for April and I'm just wondering that's all. Thanks!!

Whew, I finally got caught up on this Sid as I just returned from our Bermuda cruise on NCL Joy. All I can say is AWESOME, again, I think you out did yourself! I still can't get over the amount of turf you can cover walking around. I would be the guy with his photo stapled to the poles with a MISSING headline above it if I attempted to explore like you did!

Thanks again for taking us along.

33 minutes ago, sid_9169 said:

I'm back at the hotel now, and I'm in for the night. I gave it a good run today. Everything didn't turn out exactly the way I'd planned, but I improvised, and it turned out pretty good. I spent about $160 on food and drinks today, and I'm not exactly full and I'm not exactly drunk. Money doesn't go too far down here, but you only live once... 

 

 

 

I would say you gave it one heck of an effort for an afternoon/evening jaunt! I honestly admire your sense of adventure, that's exactly how life should be!! Thanks again for taking us along.