Cirdan

Which ship?

Because of recent new,s what it is the policy about drinking wine in hotels (before a cruise) and during a cruise, e.g. before a ports of call?

Yes, it is possible. It takes some time to pass the custom, but if you do not have packages, it would be quicker. You can ask not to have a stamps on passport, it is not a problem, they will just ask the reason, but being in a cruise it is a good answer (liking cruises and so visiting a lot of countries in a single travel). In past I did Egypt to Aqaba to Petra passing via Elait.Slow, but not particularly slow.

Better not to do it with cars, so you should contact taxis to wait for you on both sides, on right time.

I am doing the same thing in Abu Dhabi. I called Celebrity and was told that all I need to do is advise them when we board that we are leaving early. Are you on the Holiday cruise?

Fantastic, thank for the information. No, I'm on the previous cruise (8 December). I'll keep the ship in good condition for you :D

Is it possible to debark on Abu Dhabi very very early on last day? Constellation arrives on Abu Dhabi on previous day at 15:00.

I find that flights departing from Dubai and Abu Dhabi are not so convenient in departing times, so I would really like to debark very early, to catch a better flight. I think nothing is really lost on cruise experience by missing the last breakfast and meet-points crowd.

That sentence means "Evolution instead of Revolution" (small changes everywhere, not big changes which changes the experience). But so why calling "Celebrity revolution" the retrofit program?

No really new things, but I learned what they mean with "modern luxury", or better, that this is contrary to "real" luxury (posh side).

Vegan also works for those with dairy allergies so I hope that thie Vegan station quickly becomes standard across the fleet! Those who cannot eat dairy will tell you how difficult it can be as there is often hidden dairy in foods. It isn’t just a case of eliminating the obvious dairy items.

Right. I'm curios to see what kind of food will be provided. Vegan on airlines is often also an "alias" for Asian vegetarian (which is delicious as alternative) and religious meal limitations.

Salad is often not vegan (mayonnaise, dressings, eggs). There is the misconception that vegan is healthy or light. French fries with ketchup are my preferred vegan meal. I like also hot vegetables (and also deep fry vegetables). Pesto pasta, bruschette, most of the pizzas (Italian), moussaka (Greek), ratatouille (France), gazpacho (Spain), ...

We also dislike the LaVazza coffee brand...others love it. We find it quite bitter. There is usualy good coffee in Tuscan at the Elite breakfast and dinner,

I do not remember on Celebrity, but usually on Italian bar with similar coffee machine, there are two types of coffee. Just ask and try the other kind. (Often there is a default type depending of the type of coffee). But if someone is on a Celebrity ships, maybe she could confirm and tell us which kind of coffee (as coffee grains) they provide.

Where did you look? On 8 December cruise (also Arabic Sea and India), I still see Q-sine on the Cruise Planer (for booking specialty restaurant).

About having priorities, it depends on the terminal. The ad-hoc terminal do not have much place to split groups.

If I remember correctly the website tell you that "priority" is the normal status, but not available on all ports.

I was on a Celebrity cruise on Christmas.

There were seasonal decorations around the ship (red stripes, few plastic Christmas trees, holly stripes (also on plastic), etc. The 24 December was decided to be formal night, so also more festive attire. If I remember correctly, also the menu was slightly changed, adding some traditional Christmas menus.

There were a holiday special show. This point was somehow annoying because for rehearsal one venue were often closed (the other shows were prepared on home port, and done frequently, so rehearsal is done just before show and on theater).

Additionally there were a ecumenical mass, also on main theater.

On same cruise I had also the new year eve. On 31 December it was standard port of call, and just on evening there were a long pool side party, and the only midnight buffet I ever had in a cruise.

So in general, you will see some decorations (and also on port-of-call, maybe with less open shops), and few extras, but most of daily activities are done normally.