the penguins

look at the original post and you will see they had other questions and later about ship time v land time. I should have added the smiley face to my original post 🤣

Are you sure you are not “over thinking” this. Put Phone on airplane mode, times will be confirmed every day and on boards as you leave the ship. Most times we cruise we are 4, 5, 6 or more hours time difference from our home and the world has never come to an end. You are on vacation relax and enjoy you can catch up with the digital world when you get home.

Just checked and it still shows as Premium on Celebrity’s own site.

check your Roll Call for private excursions

By checking once every day.

We do the same with $ but not everyone comes more than once and a lot don't realise that they can tip in any currency.

how much cash do you expect to need? Credit Cards are accepted just about everywhere so the amount of cash you will need is minimal. Just make sure you have a Credit Card that doesn't charge a currency fee and that all your transactions are in Euro - don't let any store do the conversion for you. If you do have Euro left don't change it back use it for any extra tips on the ship - the crew will happily take any currency and X handles any conversions for them at preferential rates.

Join the Roll Call for your specific sailing and you will probably find private excursions either at a fraction of X's prices or at similar prices for a much better experience (smaller groups, slower pace, less shopping, relaxing coffee breaks).

wow - for us one of the joys of cruising is to get away from the ever increasing intrusion of smart phones and other devices. We are on vacation - one lot of 240 minutes using one shared device (check emails twice a day - sign in and sign out) is more than enough.

the CC Host often checks Sea Passes especially on the first few days. Passes also likely to be checked if passengers "wander in and appear not to know what is happening".

All beyond me - I was commenting on Virgin's claims which as everyone living the UK knows are often wildly different to the reality

precisely - in the real world they may both be the same speeds. We had no issues video calling from Reflection during our October TA but had several days with no connection on our Princess TA in March both ships use Starlink

as always with Virgin (and not just Virgin Cruises) the devil is in the detail: 1) The speed you have highlighted includes the vital words ( up to). 2) Most Virgin cruises are currently in well populated areas and close to land (Caribbean, Med, around the UK) i.e. areas with the most satellite coverage.

Another good idea is to never book " flights only" but always to book them as "a package". You get all the ATOL protection plus: lower airfares (same flights/seats), and only a deposit when you book. To qualify as a package you need to book the flight plus one other service e.g. one night hotel, or one days car rental (book the very cheapest and don't pick it up). Can work out quiet a bit cheaper.

as you live in the UK the booking can easily be covered by the ATOL regulations. Just book the cruise and the flights as a package either with X or a UK Tour Operator. Under ATOL regulations if one part of the package fails you get a refund for the whole lot. As there are no flight restrictions now the debate is purely theoretical. If the worst was to happen contact the Tour Operator and claim your refund giving them 30 days to refund in full telling them if they don't you will go direct to your Credit Card Company and claim the money from them - confirm this by email. As 30 days is more than the legal requirement if you do have to claim from the CC Company the fact that you have been "reasonable" in your request will count in your favour. Your UK Travel Insurance should also cover you for the flight but if X still operated the cruise it wouldn't refund that element.

every likely on the first one and on the last depending on where the ship is coming from/going to.

We always have the fridge emptied as soon as we see our Cabin Steward on Boarding Day - if we don't see him/her we leave a note. We check our OBC every day (takes around a minute) usually whoever is ready for dinner first does it. If you have a non $ Credit Card make sure it's one with no charges for Foreign Currency and it's that the card does the conversion not Celebrity.

Great summary. Coffee cards are a discount if you order a small coffee. Go large and they take 2 of the "coupons" instead of 1 making it more expensive to use the card.

never had a single request refused - just make sure the paperwork clearly shows your name as well as the number of shares etc.

clearly works for you and as I said choice is good. Contrary to what many believe X does not guarantee to wait if you are on one of their excursions. In the small print it says that in the unlikely event that they don't wait they will get you to the next port.

I get that. However, unless I have totally misunderstood Private Journeys, you do the basic work by telling Private Journeys what you want/don't want etc. PJ then contacts a local supplier and comes back to you with a suggested programme which you accept/amend etc. At each stage PJ is acting as a "middle man" and you are never dealing with the Guide who will be providing the service. With a company like TBL from day one you deal direct with your chosen guide making it very simple to get exactly what you want. Everything is confirmed and you have the full confirmation/paperwork before you leave home. Full refund if the ship doesn't dock/you are refused disembarkation (or cancel for any reason insurance at an extra cost), guarantee to get you to the next port should you miss the ship. Choice is good

never done it and, apart from the cost, dealing through third parties has no appeal. On other similar threads passenger have reported that you can get a very similar experience by booking through companies like Toursbylocals (you deal direct with the guide) at a fraction of the cost. One advantage Private Journeys does have is that you can pay using OBC

We rented a car and drove the "Golden Circle". The nice lady at the checkin desk put all the main stopping points into the car SatNav because as she said "all the names sound and look almost identical even though they maybe on opposite sides of the country.

depends on the length of the 11 cruises - could be 5% or even less. Also depends on the time of arrival at the restaurant as with any restaurant if lots of people arrive at the same time there will be delays.

your original post said "no gratuities charge on our classic drinks package" but in reality you did paid the 20% grats.