helenb

Maybe just bring the flavoring? Since you can get club soda, get that from the bar and pour in a bit of the Sodastream flavoring liquid?

I'm sure that can easily be powered by the solar panels on the roofs of the tender boats. 😉

I know you're joking, but I'd love to have a portable desalination machine... 😉

I agree. That's likely what we will do on future cruises. Fortunately, our soda packages are still valid on our cruise next week.

The soda and water packages are gone too. The new package is a huge increase from the soda package we normally get.

Well phew, I just realized that our cruise next week is the last one with the old packages... they don't go into effect until the first week of January.

We have soda packages for our cruise that leaves in a week. So are those being canceled, or upgraded to the new package? I'm going to be angry if they make us each pay an extra $10 per day for a fancier package than the one for which we have already paid.

Sometimes ketchup, but usually just salt. I believe both of those are 'always available'. 😉

DH loves the French onion soup and I love the escargot. Neither of those are easy to get/make at home, so we order them every night on the cruise as a vacation treat. Sometimes DH will order the salmon (just the fish, not the sides) from the Classics menu because he likes salmon on salad. We order most of our meal from the main menu, but the Classics are always a good supplement. Then there's my son. the picky eater, who has grilled chicken with fries most nights... thank goodness for the Classics menu! We will definitely be missing it if this goes away.

Ouch, no more gelato? I think we ate our weight in gelato the last time we were in YC.... 😞 Ah well, thank you for the info! It is appreciated, as it helps with our planning.

We are sailing on Seaside in YC this coming June. It has been some time since we were on MSC, due to having 3 cruises with them canceled during the pandemic (2020-2021). I am hoping that someone can help me with the current inclusions in the YC fare (which I understand have changed since pre-COVID). Are the following things included in the YC fare? - wifi (I believe this is included, which is new for us) - gratuities (I don't think they are included, but just checking) - drinks at bars/buffet/pools onboard (not in YC) - drinks at Venchi (either alcoholic or non-alcoholic) - gelato (at Venchi or elsewhere) - crepes (at Venchi) - ice cream/gelato novelties (pops, sundaes, etc.) at Venchi or elsewhere Other than the discount on the cruise, I believe our diamond (formerly black) status gets us a chocolate ship and one (limited) specialty dining meal. Is this correct? If so, the drinks at the specialty restaurant are included as part of our YC drinks package, right? Thank you in advance for any information you can provide!

Yes, we had 200 shares in a joint account. That worked with both RCCl and CCL stock to give us OBC for 2 cabins, as long as one shareholder was registered as being in each cabin.

We used to do something like this when our kids were younger. We'd have a verandah and they'd be in an inside across the hall. But since they were teenagers, technically, they weren't allowed to be in a cabin on their own. So we'd book 1 adult and 1 teen in each cabin, then switch keys once we got onboard. In addition to the teens having access to a couple of elite benefits, we were also able to use this arrangement to get shareholder OBC for both cabins, instead of just 1.

Thanks for the info!

Jim, how are you getting the stream? Do you have an internet package, or are you able to watch without it?

Ship: Celebrity Solstice Length of Cruise: 7 days Cruise Sail Date: 12/26/2022 Date email offer received: 10/25/2022 Captain’s Club Tier: Elite Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: Direct Current Cabin: Verandah 2C Bid? Yes/No: Yes If YES - Bidding Details: Cabin Category: Concierge Class, Family Verandah Bid Offer: CC - $50pp, FV, $100pp Notification Date: Pending Accepted / Rejected

We are elite on both Princess and Celebrity, and I agree with your assessment. Our general comparison is: Princess is better for entertainment, Celebrity is better for food. This means that we like to take Princess when there are lots of sea days, and Celebrity when there are lots of port days. But we enjoy them both.

However, in the past (pre-COVID) we learned that there are 2 types of OBC: refundable and non-refundable. Promotional OBC is usually non-refundable, but OBC from your TA or credit card may be refundable. Non-refundable OBC is used first, and if there is leftover of refundable OBC, you will get a refund heck from Celebrity in the mail a few weeks after the cruise. Now it's possible that policies may have changed post-COVID... but you could ask at Guest Services whether any of your OB is refundable.

We will be doing this cruise on Solstice at New Year's. Looking forward to reading your observations about the ship, the food and the cruise, as well as anything about how things have changed from 2019.

The email I got was a general 'We're open to all cruisers' type promotional message. It was not related to a specific booking.

I'm excited! I put a hold on a cruise this morning in response to this email.

Thanks! Yeah, he should be fine with a glass of wine at dinner and a cocktail beforehand. It sounds like he can do all of that during the happy hour. He doesn't drink enough to take advantage of an alcoholic beverage package.

Thank you!

What are the free drinks offered to Elites? My husband is considering foregoing the beverage package and just bringing a couple of bottles of wine onboard and partaking of free drinks before dinner.