WrittenOnYourHeart

Yes, great review. I sadly probably won't be returning with this new menu. I love the one in Feb 2020 (I don't think it was 100% the OG one, but maybe?) but this one has fewer choices of things I'd eat. Pretty much none of the appetizers and *maybe* the filet main dish. I don't do seafood cooked or raw.

Not absolutely. If the ship HAS to leave but there was too much of a delay getting the tour back to the ship, Celebrity will make arrangements to get the group back to the ship as soon as possible.

If you ever return and want to do it, Iain could stay on the ground and they'd drive him out to the landing zone in a cart to watch you. 🙂 There were some doing that when I was waiting for my flight - Dad and Son jumped, Mom and Daughter went out to watch.

Understood. It was one of my best days ever.

If you're up for adventure, SkyDive Key West is a lot of fun!!

Thanks for a great report!

Agreed!! Well, a combo of dirt and metal.

Agreed!! When I sailed on the Edge in Feb 2020, at least 2 of us went sky diving in Key West after seeing her post her adventure doing it. (For me at least, I'd always been intrigued but wasn't sure how to go about finding a good place, etc. I figured (accurately as I did do additional research into safety records, etc.) the captain of a major cruise line was not going to go to some place that had a crap record.) We happened to be in line right next to each other at the cocktail party and both mentioned that we were doing it. After we'd been in Key West, I ran into Captain Kate at Cafe al Baccio and she asked how it was and then she said "You should come to the photo op later and we'll 'recreate' the jumping face!" It remains one of my favorite cruise pics ever! (Sadly I can't find it in my FB photos, or I'd post it.)

I did that tour on the Edge in Feb 2020. I loved the snorkel pool and spent most of my free time there. I love sea turtles of all kinds, so that tour was a no-brainer for me. When we got back on the bus after going to Hell, one of the 2 kids on the tour (with mom and grandma - the girls were well-behaved) said "Hell was boring!" Grandma said "Remember that when you're a teenager." And we all cracked up.

My first HAL cruise - only because I was with a running group and that's what they used in AK at the time - was on the Westerdam and it was enough to make me NEVER go on HAL again. I'm glad you found service and attention to detail excellent - I didn't. Our dining room servers were barely competent (orders consistently put at the wrong table - within our group, but still); any time I encountered a crew member while walking around they barely acknowledged me (as in not even a hello or in most cases even eye contact - and they weren't rushing somewhere); and the kicker was when I went to close my account the night before, the guest services girl screwed that one up so that it wasn't closed and I had to go and wait in a line debarkation morning when I got a BUZZ rather than a DING when trying to leave the ship (and the only reason I made my post-cruise excursion was the crew member in charge of us finally came looking for me when I wasn't back after half an hour and got me to the front of the line - the one competent and helpful crew member I encountered). Honestly I'd not even get back on HAL if someone gave me a free cruise with beverage package and a huge OBC included. It was that bad.

It's raining again now - or was an hour ago. A friend posted a video of it raining.

Ok, everyone! I LOVE MY TA! I have ZERO issues with her getting the booking. That is NOT what I was asking about. I said she applied it to my upcoming booking without asking as a good thing! I had given her aft-facing Aqua veranda numbers (under Prime Aqua) and she booked it at the regular Aqua rate with my Captain's Club upgrade - I'd forgotten to ask if that was possible. So that was a GOOD thing!

Thanks. I actually love my TA - like I said, when I booked my Summit cruise for this summer in Aqua, she applied it without my even asking and got me one of the aft-facing Aqua cabins! I have no desire to change her.

Thanks! I knew that about assigning to my TA which is fine. She's great.

Can I use that with an onboard booking? Would I just ask? (My TA automatically applied it to my Summit booking without my asking her, so I'm not sure how to approach it if I rebook onboard.) TIA!

Which is why painting lines makes zero sense to me.

Especially painting lines on for something that is not offered every day! Don't ruin the beauty of the rooftop garden!!

Ah. Sorry I've never seen it abbreviated.

?? What is *that* acronym?

So cool! I have a cuff bracelet made from the first cut of the Edge's steel! It's such a unique souvenir and piece of jewelry.

Don't count on it being grey and cool. While it might be, the two times I've sailed to Alaska it was sunny and warm most of the time. Like, eating lunch out on the outdoor pool deck while a band played level warm. A few Alaska seasons ago it was so warm the Disney Wonder ran out of swimsuits - and things that could pass as swim suits - t-shirts, and other warm-weather clothing in their on board stores it was so warm. I'm enjoying your review!! 🙂

Maybe to you, but you might as well have been speaking Greek up there...

Very weird. It was just automatically on when we put the cards in the slots on the Dream.

It takes crew members away from their normal jobs for much longer as they have to be there from the time boarding starts until the time for muster is over. When we were going in person, it was a limited time that crew was there - not hours on end. That said, I'll not miss having to check my chair in a location where muster was held to make sure someone didn't come straight from the pool to their station and plop their wet butt on a cloth seat. THAT is not a fun thing to find later when you're dressed for dinner and a show.

Bingo. Our muster drills are absolutely NOT the only training the crew receives. Crew have their own drills for mustering and their duties and have to pass a water test - involving turning over a raft, getting into the raft from the water, and pulling others into the raft - every 5 years. If they don't pass, they are relieved of their duties on the ship and sent home (iow - terminated).