canderson

You might want to check with the OP of this thread:

Have never seen it 'listed' at all, but requested for our RS on Constellation and the Lavazza was there when we arrived.

Those toilets that require hearing protection? 🤪

Not at all unusual to see data from a prior cruise until close to sail date. For our last Caribbean cruise, the app had ever so useful tips regarding our perfect day in Dubai, and how to navigate customs in Singapore at disembarkation.

Meant to ask, if it's OK, but what the heck is he doing up at 3:15? My policy is that if you're getting up so early that you have to turn on a light to be sure you have a matched pair of socks, you're getting up too early!

I should add that this is one of the reasons we booked a Sky Suite for our daughter/SIL for this next October. While they'd have been happy as clams in a C1, we'll be in a RS, and anything less than a SS would have split us up significantly at one of our 'prime times' together.

Disagree. There are all kinds of respiratory ailments that stand solo, do not require any regular blood work to be done, and yet can move a person right into higher risk.

Ah, you really did get caught in the middle on this one! If #2 didn't know what they were getting into re cabin class, that's an oops, but if they did, all you can do is roll with it. #3 seems to have walked in a bit blindly. Surely not your problem to sort out. Unlike some of the comments here, even when traveling with family, we don't all favor the same excursions, so dinner is actually one of our main times to get together and review the day, so it would be a bigger hit for us than it might be for you.

Ouch. Yes, you've got yourself a bit of an awkward situation. It appears that you understand the options well enough, so it's going to be a matter of just deciding how you want to manage it. Given the parameters you've set out, there's simply no easy solution, as I think you know. You don't say how long the cruise will last (i.e., how many meals we're talking about), but depending upon how friendly these friends are, you might offer to split the $30 or whatever it is now per person in Luminae a couple of times out of OBC. That would perhaps reduce the aversion to the upcharge for them, and get your friends a nice dinner or two with you. If these reservations were made with the understanding that friends were 'traveling together', in all honestly, you share the responsibility for the conundrum, so perhaps sharing some of the expense would be fair as well? Just thinking out loud here. If the reservations were made entirely independently, then I wouldn't feel any obligation.

While for good reason you have regular blood work taken, most do not. That throws a wrinkle into the time equation.

Don't feel bad. When we first encountered them in a shipboard 'daily' we thought that Friends of Bill and Friends of Dorothy were similar but gender specific meetings!

Perfect. You've already got a group with something in common, and some of you can agree to hit the theater or one of the bars after dinner as a group. It works out especially well if you make friends early on in the cruise as such groups often form then. When we don't sail with family, friends or others we've sailed with before, my wife and I often find ourselves doing this. Back before we started booking suites, we'd request an 8 top for dinner, and it was easier since there was often at least one couple at the table that made for interesting company. We'd carry on the conversation after dinner, etc. We manage that in Luminae as well, though as their current standard there are 2 tops, this more often than not happens in Michael's/Retreat Lounge.

As noted above, it's not just the pharmacists, it's the companies for whom they work. I would expect any number of them to opt out for a variety of reasons, especially staffing.

Befriend someone(s) in the evenings. I see from your signature line that you have quite a few cruises under your belt. Don't be timid. Unless seriously COVID averse, sit with other folks and have a chat. I've met all kinds of interesting people aboard our many cruises that way.

Yes, the Spa Cafe is definitely still there and serves fruit drinks and 'healthy' munchies. Easy to walk right past it in its little corridor as you move through the doors to the Solarium.

Since the service is available again on some other lines and some U.S. ports, it would seem that all of that is already in place.

Yeah .. maybe. Like Cruise Critic gatherings, was this service perhaps halted at Celebrity's insistence?

Flying is such a hassle anyway these days, but yes, we would also very much like to see a return of this useful service! Since early questions about contact spread of COVID have been resolved, one wonders why this likely lucrative business hasn't restarted.

Don't be surprised if your pharmacist's business isn't participating in this program and will continue to fill by prescription only. It may be hit or miss for a while.

At this time, Paxlovid is not being administered on any Celebrity ship. Some higher risk passengers are procuring a supply to take with them 'just in case', but not all physicians will prescribe for 'just in case'.

One of the things that has caused shorter Celebrity cruises to be a bit different was the advent of the "Always Included" fare where most of the passengers have an unlimited classic or premium beverage package (not even the 15 Carnival limit!), and have no fear of a stiff bar bill waiting for them at the end of the cruise. While passengers often have a tendency to party more on these shorter itineraries, Always Included certainly encourages it further.

It is certainly more likely than on a longer cruise. How any particular cruise works out demographically is always a bit of a crap shoot, but yes, odds are higher on a 4 night.

Iain must be the "silent partner". Or are you the only one that knows how to type??? 😁 Seriously. Twist his arm so we can say hello sometime.

If the participants are willing to forego video, which is the real bandwidth hog with these apps, and if you don't mind identifying the moment when you've completed a thought if necessary (ever notice how network news folks in the field end each communication with the other's name?), it's just doable. Be sure you're near a router for good signal (the iJoint can advise best locations, or you can stay near their space). Haven't seen any port blocking on Teams, but that data point only applies to Constellation. There have been reports of variations in how shipboard IT is managed.

IIRC, disembarkation was the next day in that particular case.