Stem to Stern

We just checked both our Celebrity and Azamara accounts. Another 5 points across the board. I guess Celebrity didn't see me doze off during that webinar last month. I presume when the reciprocity ends we won't see any more Power Up Points going on our Azamara account. Can someone post the Go Green link again or tell me where to go find it? I assume one must sign up for this prior to every cruise? Definitely want that extra night's points since we are in The Retreat next cruise.

Rise and Shine and Bon Voyage, Charla. Have a royal good time. I will be curious to read your take on the rumored, newly abbreviated evening buffet in Oceanview Cafe (if you happen to make a swoop through there during your time on board.) I saw the horrific photos on a social media site showing empty counters for miles. Curious what any officers' answers to this might include. Supply issues??? 😄

This one is beautiful.

Sounds like a great idea, Charla. I am looking forward to the comparison on one continuous thread on the Celebrity board. I think it will be much easier on yourself. What theme nights are you organizing? 😂 You know I loved your emerald green Gatsby frock. Many of us loyalists on the Celebrity board are curious about alternative lines that offer more overall value. We just came off our first Azamara. We had not strayed from X since 2017. We have two more cruises booked on Celebrity. But we count our sole Crystal Cruise as one of our most memorable. Sadly we fear our next cruise on Summit will be our last experience in The Retreat as prices soar. 😭 We love Luminae, The Retreat Lounge, and The Retreat Sundeck. Like yourself we are giving MSC Yacht Club and Silversea serious consideration along with Explora Journeys, Viking, and Windstar. And for port intensive sailings we are not ruling out Holland America. Bon voyage! 🥂

Schweppes spotted being poured in Spirits bar onboard Onward this evening. Not sure how long it has been onboard. Up until now I had only witnessed Royal Club on board, but I may have not been paying too close attention.

Fearful of commenting further on Pinot Noir Aza-Drama because I believe management on board are reading along. Ordered Meiomi last night at dinner in Discoveries and I was bruskly informed by the the young sommelier that the previous night’s serving of Meiomi was “a mistake.” Totally awkward and embarrassing in the presence of new friends at the start of dinner. I did not make a fuss and settled for the Estancia which I was informed was the Ultimate Package Pinot Noir. A little training in customer service would go a long way here.

Meiomi is a go-to wine at home. So when I saw that Meiomi bottle it was like I saw a long lost friend. LOL. Throughly enjoyed it throughout the evening. Learning of and trying out some new cocktail concoctions suggested by new friends on board who are seasoned cruisers and consumers.😳🤩

Pinot noir update: Tonight upon being seated for dinner in Discoveries I inquired about a super Tuscan I sampled the previous night while waiting in the Prime C bar to be seated. I was presented with this menu again. I chose the Estancia pinot noir. I was presented with Meiomi Pinot noir.

Enjoyed WA at lunch on Sunset Verandah first two days. Saw it served in Discoveries last night as well. So delicious. Still need to discover good reds.

When asking about Ultimate Package inclusions in Discoveries last night on board Onward I was presented with this menu…. (Hopefully photo loads.) Any recommendations for the reds?

Does one earn club points on one of these free verandahs?

We always have smooth arrivals at Port Everglades via Park N Go. We book in advance on their website and spend less money and avoid the stress. We let them do the driving while we celebrate arriving at the ship. Their shuttle drivers put your bags on and take them off the bus for you. No schlepping bags from the garage. They drop you at the terminal entrance minutes after arriving at their lot. After the cruise if their bus is not outside call their phone number and they arrive immediately. Give them a try next time.

Last night on my iPad I found the site to be in the state I described above. But now it appears to be back to the old way on all my devices and desktop. I wonder if It was some glitch that took me to a different version of the booking engine. If it was some prototype of the new booking engine I found, then I would suggest further fine tuning. It was weird. I wonder if I found myself where @combineis describing. So sorry to lead you all down a rabbit hole.

Maybe this is old news, but I was having a browse on the Azamara website this evening and discovered that the booking engine has changed. We no longer have a simple and easy check of what staterooms might be available on a particular sailing on Azamara’s site. The new version is a multi-step process requiring personal details before looking at available staterooms. I find it cumbersome. Fortunately there are other websites that make dummy bookings far less complicated. Thoughts?

I just checked. No sales to be found on my upcoming excursions.

Our boarding time slot is 2:00pm. So we arrive at 2:00 and expect to wait to board. I know you don’t have a crystal ball. Used to boarding at 11:00-11:30 on other lines, but going with the flow. Excited. 6 days and counting.😎

Okay. I will bite. What did the chef shrink may I ask?

Also some people are not allergic, but they do not like having nut pieces stuck in their teeth throughout the meal.

We flew into Venice pre-cruise. We stayed there five nights and still did not see and do everything we wanted to. It is a magical city. The morning of embarkation we took a private transfer from Venice to Porto Corsini where the ship docks near Ravenna. We booked this through TA recommended Airports Shuttle Express. The website is: www.airports-shuttle-express.com The driver collected us at 9:00am at the parking lot of Piazzale Roma in a full-size Mercedes sedan which was able to pass the many slow-moving vehicles on that two-lane road mentioned above. The trip was two hours for us. It was fun watching the GPS screen on the dashboard of the car as we made our way down the coast through this rural part of the region. Once on board we heard a couple of horror stories from fellow passengers about less than ideal circumstances on the Celebrity transfer buses. We were told when they arrived they were asked to stay on the bus until the line inside the terminal subsided. Our friends’ bus left Tronchetto at 10:30 and the ride was three hours, so they did not get on board until much later than we did. They arrived with quite a large group of passengers from several buses versus us arriving when the crowd wasn’t too stacked up. We paid dearly for the private transfer, but we arrived at the port promptly for our 11:00am boarding time. Payment was by credit card to the driver upon arrival at the port. For us it was worth it to spend more and spare ourselves the potential aggravation which we do not always manage gracefully.😬😉 After the cruise we spent two nights n Bologna and flew out of there. Coincidentally, we shared a six-passenger van to Bologna booked through the same company by another roll call member and that worked out to 75 euros per couple which we thought was a bargain. The driver dropped off each couple at their hotels in Bologna. This driver only accepted cash in euros not US dollars. We would not hesitate to use this company again.

@GenerationXI am very sorry for your loss. Please accept my deepest sympathies. On a higher note…your food porn is Triple XXX Rated. Can’t stop watching. Those desserts…😳🤤

Lame with a capital L.