Stem to Stern

Sorry you missed private island mayhem today, but glad you were able to enjoy your favorite ramen. Thanks for the reminder. I already have that one noted on my cruise goals list.😎 Nice to see the pic of the Michael’s Club coolers fully stocked. Evidently there is no shortage of beer on board…yet. That was a clever and convenient work-around during the unfortunate bar closures. Did you see anything nosh-able while you were in there? The spread in The Retreat Lounge on board Summit was downright Instagram-worthy and delectable.😋 I wonder if the towel death grip was activated at the pool, so armloads of pool towels weren’t carried off the ship while docked at Perfect Day. OMG did I just call it that? Not everyone grasps the concept that the two faded yellow towels in your cabin are for you to take off the ship with you.😆

Happy Saturday, Charla!! Can you dispel any notion that booking a cabin directly under the pool deck is asking for unwanted noise? I am preparing for a future booking under the Oceanview Cafe that sadly was the last remaining Sky Suite at the time of booking. But the price was palatable and I’m down with the shady breezes on the overhung verandah. Oh, and great news about the furnishings out there.👍 A quick browse of social media this morning indicates Captain Kirk was mingling with the party revelers last night including a few of them dressed up like pirates! Did they loose track of the actually dates for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan cruises?😂 Also, quick question: Is “cruise nails” a thing now? Or is this just a 3-night weekend getaway thing? Just curious because I do not ever recall such a brigade of proud passengers showing off their pre-cruise manicures on social media. Appreciate you indulging us with your usual mouth-watering specialty restaurant food porn. Well played attempt to win the girls’ future cruising plans over with a visit to Murano. Yum!!😋 Enjoy your day!😎

Since this was in 2018 I can’t recall that I even inquired about the pricing, but I am sure there was enough of a mark up on the unveiled jewelry line to allow for the “sale” pricing. Just like our shore excursions and other planner items.😉 In contrast Dune is offering a modest 10% off on the collab. Of course, the prices top out in the hundreds rather than the thousands that the exclusive 2018 line rang up for on board. The shoe and cat charms and some of the nautical and travel-inspired items are clever, but most of them are really not my jam. Although, I have been known to burn OBC on a modest John Hardy mens piece or two. Cue the vile replies. I am getting used to it.🙄 On our December cruise we were snapped with Captain Chris at an officers’ soirée in The Retreat Lounge. The photos taken by the ship’s photographer turned out absolutely awful, but they were delivered to our cabin and were complimentary. Fortunately a fellow passenger snapped far better photos of all of us with her iPhone and shared them.

What a sweetheart!!! @DaKahuna Just look into those innocent eyes, John!! I was once the proud parent of Little Lucy II who had Mara’s exquisite coloring and weighed in at just five pounds throughout her adulthood. She was as skittish as they come. You have to watch out for little ones like that. She would unintentionally scurry around moving ankles and would trip humans up.

Go for it. I would welcome milder temperatures and fewer crowds while touring the Greek islands. We were there first week of October 2022. Shorts and t-shirts were appropriate attire for the balmy weather. We were not interested in swimming and hanging at the beach. We toured and immersed ourselves in the food, history, and culture of the nation. Enjoy!!😉

But be careful because you might accidentally delete a Power Up Points opportunity.😂🤣😂 I am getting about 2-3 per day from X and 1-2 per day from Royal. Royal’s get deleted instantly along with Harbor Freight. Harbor Freight is relentless. Definitely need to unsubscribe. Never received 7 emails in one day from Celebrity.

Thanks. I was inspired by you, sweet Peaches.😘 Poor ole Ziggy is left in very good, capable hands when we cruise. But our baby is never forgotten and thought of often while we are on board. He’s a good kitty.

I remain completely impartial during this dog fight. However, I must confess I witnessed Captain Kate (I will always refer to her as Captain Kate because that is her title that she has earned and she deserves the respect to be addressed properly just like all captains, queens, sirs, presidents, and whoever else.) on our 2018 Equinox sailing unveiling/introducing a new line of jewelry in the shop on board. The event was advertised in the Celebrity Today as pictured below. She also cleared off tables in Cafe Al Bacio and gave a very engaging presentation at our Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle gathering. I don’t know that hawking would be the appropriate choice of words. Does a “Photos with the Captain” event also make the master of the vessel a hawker? I can’t confirm if those photos are sold since I have never posed for one. These seem more like acts of cruise line goodwill like the captains’ participation in Liars’ Club. The Dune collaboration just seems different to me than the on board activities that captains participate in when they are not driving the ship. What Captain Kate, or any other captain for that matter, does on her vacation is her business.

Now this one could convince to open my wallet for just about anything. Just look into those piercing blue eyes. Meow.😻😻😻

Removed cookies and logged back in. Evidently various issues persist…. ”We can’t find the page you are looking for either.” At least they are being transparent about said issues.😂

Tried Edge on Windows-based desktop at work. Now the shore excursions won’t even come up in my planner. Logged off Celebrity, closed Edge, and tried Chrome. Banner at top of my planner reads, “Hang tight, lots of guests are sailing through our site. Don’t pick up the phone just yet, we’ll load all the fun stuff soon.” Again, with the punctuation failures.😂 I closed the banner, clicked on Shore Excursions and they came up. Looks just like it did on my iPad with the old format.

And despite all the naysayers the line will likely sell out online before it makes it onto the ships. The Captain’s collaboration appears to be and may be completely independent of Celebrity Cruises. On Dune’s website there is only a very brief “About Captain Kate” paragraph with zero mention of Celebrity.

Wow. I haven’t seen this before!😁 Is moving the slide bar the only option? Or can you just tap on the desired port?

I’m not app-centric to say the least, but in the app on my iPhone when I click on Excursions at the bottom of the opening screen, it takes me here. You can scroll over and see all of the days of the cruise. I clicked on Oranjestad and these dropped down. It is not showing the two excursions for Aruba that I already have reserved, so possibly it is only showing the ones with remaining availability? Just my guess. So, the app might possibly be another avenue for you?

Sorry I am no help. Same old layout on my planner in Safari on iPad. Clicked on See all excursions and it looks like this. That is as far as I have gotten on this first cuppa. I can check Chrome and Edge once I get to the office and brew another cuppa. ☕️ 😆

She is not at the helm currently. She is on vacation.

Where are the quiet spaces on Beyond? I don’t do well with crowded, loud, and shouty.😩

It was six years ago, but when we tried Crystal we found it to be ahhh-mazing!!

I googled Of Tide and Thyme this morning and ended up at eBay. I saw two pre-loved copies on eBay for under five bucks each. I ordered one and left the other for you.🤗 Crab cakes and pumpkin soup sounds like a nice pairing, maybe?🤔

I sent my DH a screen shot of post #239 this morning. Minutes later he was printing out the recipe. He is the cook in our household. He has been on a soup kick. Last night was onion. Thank you for a wonderful review.🤗

Again, these interactions with Captain’s Club (It is still a loyalty program, is it not?) that I am reading about are further reinforcement of my belief that the PUP program is dismantling customer loyalty rather than reinforcing it. It is so easy for a business to turn off ten loyal customers and lose their business. But it is not as easy to rebuild that lost customer base and replace just one of those lost customers. But Celebrity does not seem to see it that way. Reinstatement of previously revoked on board loyalty perks are being perceived as more of a backpedaling exercise rather than genuine customer retention.🤔 Maybe I will not bother chasing our missing points. Or maybe I will try an email to Andrea Shea. We shall see. I can be a fickle consumer. Fickle customers can easily abandon their loyalty to a vendor. They can easily find other options to replace a vendor that leaves a bad aftertaste. All but one of my deposits on my upcoming Celebrity bookings are refundable.😉 In contrast over at Azamara, a recent webinar introducing their new CEO at least sounded like Azamara is interested in listening to their client base’s concerns over their troubles since the split from Royal. Key email addresses were offered. Customers were encouraged to email their concerns. I emailed the head of Azamara Loyalty regarding a question about a concern of mine. I received a same-day reply from her with a resounding “absolutely” answer that granted me a substantial loyalty discount on my upcoming booking. This is an example of how a company can easily retain a customer for life. That email interaction took such a modicum of effort on her part, but it made me feel exceptionally valued.😁

Am I recognizing a recurring thread in several of your posts, John ?!?!? 🤔😂