happyyaya

Thanks so much for posting photos. Love the pop of red in your cabin. Looks bright and cheerful and deck looks good as well. We’re looking forward to a cross Atlantic on the Connie in suite class. Looks like the ship’s common areas are beautiful. Can’t believe a shower curtain can bring so many complaints - they do give new ones for every sail. Some of us have shower curtains at home and do just fine with them … and a minor part of the cruise in terms of where your time is spent. Continue to enjoy!

Much of what others have said. Priority embarkation and disembarkation; priority to tenders if you're doing a private excursion; when booked in a Sky Suite we LOVE the Luminae and the ability to also eat in Blu; of course the larger room is a huge plus. Sky Suite comes with premium beverage package and wifi. Both very nice. Retreat lounge is fantastic: love their small bites for breakfast and going later, after dinner, to an almost empty lounge for a pre-bed small drink. Retreat pool area is also very nice. And I must also add, once, we came down with Covid and had to spend 5 days in quarantine....our larger room was FANTASTIC and the ability to have room service from the Luminae menu made all the difference in the world!

Just booked a Sky suite for back-to-backs on the Infinity in November 2025 in their Black Friday deal. It still includes premium drinks, premium wifi, and access to Luminae and the Retreat but does NOT include On Board Credit and does NOT include prepaid gratuities. That's quite a change.

We’ve always given end-of-cruise tips to our wait-staff including sommelier, butler and room attendant - and participated in the all-included fares. My understanding is the included gratuities went to these individuals and more crew. I fear eliminating the all included gratuities piece will hurt the crew and staff.

We've booked a Celebrity Suite on the Constellation. I know perks on various levels of suites can be different - and sometimes across the different classes of ships. Is one of the perks on the Constellation, for a Celebrity Suite, 1 or 2 nights complimentary in a specialty restaurant? Anyone know?

Oops...meant to say the Summit. Not the Constellation. See above.

Wait. We're in Aqua Sky Suite 6129 on the Constellation in October. First time in 21 Celebrity cruises we'll be in the Aqua class. I thought the deal was we could eat in Blu and if we wanted to, also eat in Luminae? We planned to eat in Blu the entire time. We're supposed to eat in Luminae? We love Luminae but wanted to do Blu this time.

....and last thing I'll write on this....why is it rated with a #4 advisory? Let me add....we are loyal Celebrity fans....have done 21 cruises with them and have 4 booked in 2024. We have only been disappointed, in all that time, with 1 meal and even then, wait staff quickly took it away and I had a different dish. We've enjoyed sailing on all class ships, most recently back-to-back-to-backs on the Beyond. So -- we'll just choose not to take a cruise with them that stops in a #4 rated travel advisory port. There are plenty of other choices.

Okay. Just looked it up. Royal Caribbean leases Labadee from Haiti. They do not own it. Another post clarifies further: "Labadee, Haiti is Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines private peninsula on the north tip of Haiti. It's separated from the rest of Haiti by very high fenced barriers and armed guards." No thank you. Still very glad we shifted to Connie's Transatlantic and her follow-up.

Why is it rated as a #4 in terms of safety to travel to then?

Our Apex November 2024 Transatlantic cruise was recently cancelled. We'd planned to do a back-to-back with it for an additional 7 days. The new Apex schedule is now posted. The Apex Transatlantic now sails on October 23 and ends in Orlando. It continues on for 6 nights and includes a stop in Labadee, Haiti. Labadee, Haiti is on the U.S. Department of State site with a #4 level warning! #4 is a Do Not Travel warning; the highest advisory level of likelihood of life threatening risk. It was most recently updated in May 2023. All one has to do is read the very sad and frightening news about problems in Haiti. I am very happy I already booked the Connie's Transatlantic and add-on leg for November 2024. I know changes in butlers, cost for lobster, etc have been topics of interest here....but adding Labadee, Haiti as a port???? Hoping anyone who books this cruise understands it is under a #4 travel advisory.

We recently returned from three back-to-back cruises on the Beyond: June 26 to July 28. Fabulous and beautiful ship. Incredible production shows in theater - most especially the one entitled “Stage Door” which has won awards. We saw it 3 times, once on each cruise, and would go 10 more times. Incredible! Eden doe have shows also; not just music. Theater shows are at 7:30 and repeated at 9:30. Eden shows (a different group of artists) were at 10:45. We had one dinner at Le Voyage (specialty restaurant unique to Beyond). Presentation of food, ambience, service, were all outstanding and it was absolutely delicious!! Definitely exceeded our expectations. Eden’s dinner restaurant is excellent; Le Voyage far surpasses it. We especially enjoy an occasional lunch at Raw on Five and it’s reasonably priced alacarte. We walked through Ocean View Cafe several times and were amazed at the diverse selections available at lunch and dinner. The Mast Grill hotdogs are great!!! The Aqua Spa Cafe by the Solarium has a coffee machine which has decaf beans on top in one container and regular beans in another container. You push a button for what you want and it gives you a fabulous cup of coffee - a hundred times better than what’s standing in the large urns in Ocean View. The Eden Cafe breakfast options are outstanding and very few people discover this option: amazing oatmeal done your way: toppings can include strawberries, blueberries, walnuts, brown sugar, cinnamon etc. Also have amazing cinnamon buns, various egg sandwiches, small bowls of muesli etc. Their lunch options are also excellent. You’ll have to check the daily planner though, as Eden Cafe is not always open. We were in a Sky Suite. But all of the things I’ve mentioned are available to any class of cabin. We’ve also done 4 different cruises on the Apex: also beautiful but does not have Le Voyage.

As someone else mentioned, we are on the Beyond in July and will now stop at Polermo instead of Messina. Is anyone familiar with the terminal in Polermo? Will we be able to walk off the ship and walk in to Polermo to explore the city? What would you suggest we see in Polermo if we are walking and not doing an excursion?

Mark.Jules Where can you find your bid and where it says pending?

Richard: Curious....when you looked at the Beyond for the sailing you were doing, as if you were looking for a new cruise, was the Villa available to book? I bid for an upgrade from Sky Suite to a Villa....and now when I look as if trying to get a new cruise, the Villa is not available at all. Does that mean the Villas are all full? So my move-up bit will be moot?

deec: we had cruise voucher credit from a cancelled cruise and it was more than this cruise. The voucher $ had to be spent at least 2 weeks before the cruise. Rather than Silver Spirits beverage package, we used it for optional excursions. Right decision. Included wines are a-okay with lunches and dinners. Since I don’t care for savingon blanc, I just asked for the house Chardonnay with dinners and it’s very good. We upgraded to premium wines with chefs table and still are no where near total of Silver spirits package. This Wicklow excursion was a bit pricey but it’s 9 hours total and therefore included lunch. You’re not just paying for lunch….incredible stops (estate and gardens and distillery; beautiful 6th century monastic ruins in national park; and beautiful drive through Ireland countryside.

We are currently on British Isles cruise, Tilbury to Bergen, on Venus. Excellent ship’s excursion yesterday, County Wicklow, out of (Dublin) - in parentheses because we were not docked in Dublin. A 9 hour excursion that took us into the beautiful countryside of Wicklow, the garden county of Ireland. Stopped at an amazing estate with sprawling gardens and lawn, 200+ varieties of trees. Also a whiskey distillery tour with tasting on same estate. AMAZING lunch stop with delicious homemade breads, squash leek soup, turkey/Garvey/potatoes entree, perfectly cooked carrots and turnips to pass, and Baileys cheesecake for dessert. Exceptional meal for an excursion - in Wicklow Heather Restaurant’sWriters Function room which was a museum in and of itself. Displays of first and signed editions of incredible books etc displayed in locked lit cabinets: IE Samuel Beckett, Gullivers Travels, James Joyce Ulysses. I spent more time looking and reading with mouth agape than eating! Final stop a national park that includes ruins of 6th century St Kevin’s Monastic community. Serenity in the site - in the country side. If you want an alternative to touring busy city of Dublin and seeing the truly beautiful country side do Ireland, this is it!

We’ll be doing British Isles very soon. Anyone know if an umbrella is provided in PV1 cabins on the Venus?

Does PV1 get free laundry?

If you're booking by yourself on the Vy site, Bergen to Oslo, you first fill out from where to where (Bergen to Oslo on my part), date, approximate time of day (drop box to put in time), how many passengers (senior, adult ect), then apply. Next you get choice of refundable, etc. Next you get choice of Plus....then comes your reservation that includes date, time, seats assigned and there's a SMALL box/rectangle at the bottom of that page that says "change seats" - you can easily miss it. Click on that....then pick your seats from the diagram and what's available. Once you've done that it will confirm all the info and the seats you've chosen and the cost. If you miss that step, when they give you the seats, and go further in the process....it sounds like it's night to impossible to change your seats. Remember that doing this online from the US you'll have to pay with PayPal. If you miss that little box (that says change seats) in the beginning when they assign your seats, and go further than that, then it looks like it's VERY difficult to change seats once they've gone into the system. You can always call the Vy station at Bergen - they all speak excellent English - and ask personally for their help. I don't thing you have any choice on seats if you do it through Viking.

Doing British Isles cruise end of April, early May....London to Bergen, Norway. Stops in Edinburgh, Liverpool, Dublin, Belfast, Dover etc. Am I correct, after looking up some weather info, that we can expect high farenheit temps from 46 to 60 across these cities? Trying to figure out if I shold bring a lightweight winter coat....or just layers with a large zip-up fleece that fits over layers. Of course, a rain coat/hat and may bring rain pants as well. Anyone been in these venues in early May?

Here’s the diagram of Car 1 which is the Plus reservation. You can see direction of the train car going from Bergen to Oslo (read my previous comment), blue lines indicating wall (no blue line means window), direction seats are facing, seat groupings of four (2 facing front, 2 facing back, and table between), and you can see the few that are only 2 seats facing forward. We were advised to reserve seats 29 and 30 which I did. Hope this helps everyone. Again, I did this on our own; not as a Viking extension. Standard car diagrams will look different from this. Also, this is a commuter train - not only catering to Viking. We will stay one night in Bergen after we get off the ship. Explore Bergen more after we disembark. Next morning take train and then spend 3 days in Oslo. Made our own hotel and restaurant reservations after lots of fun research. IE already purchased our funicular tickets for Bergen: only have to pick a date. Tickets are good for the entire day.

I booked our May tickets from Bergen to Oslo on Vy. I heeded the warning not to use a site called Ninja something….which if you Google to get tickets on your own, will pop up. Be sure to go directly to the Vy site. Warning: when booking online, you must pay with PayPal if from US. They do not take US credit cards. I’d sent a very friendly email in advance, to the Bergen station info line, asking about side of train, needing leg room etc. Wonderful personable email back: Bergen to Oslo, left stride of train for better views, and suggesting the seat numbers to reserve with best view in Plus car. The person indicated they’d taken this train very often, and these seats were the best. And yes, on the diagram provided by Vy online, the blue lines beside the seat represent a wall. If there’s no blue line, that’s the window. You can therefore easily see which seats have more and easily accessible windows. I should add, this is in Plus, not standard. Don’t know if seating diagram is similar in standard. Also, you’ll see direction train is going in diagram, and direction seat is facing. I always prefer facing forward so this was important to me. There are a few seats in Plus that do not face seats in pairings of four with table in between. These book quickly. As far as I know, for those on the Viking extension, you’ll be in standard seats. No Plus option. Plus provides coffee and tea and I believe, more comfortable seats. I purchased senior price tickets online.

We will be on a July cruise with Celebrity to Istanbul. I was extremely disappointed to read the details of the Mystic Istanbul excursion I signed up for with Celebrity. It says the tour does not include the "gallery" of St. Sophia. This is the inside and is the main attraction. Does this mean we will only walk around it or drive by it? Has anyone done an excursion in Istanbul to St. Sophia with Celebrity or another cruise line? Any insight here?

I do love cheesey grits! But I do have two questions about breakfast, in-room options etc. We will be on the Viking Venus British Isles cruise in a PV1 cabin. My understanding from all you've written above is there will be a coffee maker in our cabin? Will it have decaf? And if so, will the decaf option be similar to a dark roast? Is it the kind of coffee maker with "pouches" that you put in the maker or does it have the little "cups/containers" like a Nespresso machine? Second question....where would I get the pistachio rolls I've read about in other posts? Anyone had those? I'd get one of those the day before and have in my room for the AM with coffee, if that's possible.