Covepointcruiser

I am happy that Seabourn has put safety first as the Encore is not the QM2 and would not easily weather this storm.    Weather events have often totally redirected cruises.   Do you remember when there were several hurricanes in the Caribbean and ships ended up cruising to New England and Canada?   At least your packed clothing is still appropriate.

It rains pretty much every day on the Hilo side of Hawaii.   Be sure to bring a light poncho as umbrellas are awkward when you are touring.   The paths can be slippery so bring good walking shoes.   Wouldn’t plan a beach day in that area.

Some cruise lines are still not accepting non vaccinated passengers, so check before booking.

Don’t know why someone would want to lie about a cough on the health form.   If it’s an allergy or something that is not contagious, fill out the form truthfully and have a quick free meeting with the medical staff.    They will confirm your cough is not contagious and you will be on your way.

Buy your husband a sleep mask so you won’t need to stumble in the dark.   It will be much safer for  you and make it easier to live with a late sleeper.

Celebrity is still using the “empty” cabins to quarantine crew members.   New crew members are quarantined before starting work.   Some cabins, outside or balcony, are vacant for the purpose of quarantining positive passengers and crew members.   

At least you had a port hole room!   Celebrity could have housed you in an inside stateroom so you must have had some status.   Testing positive for COVID on a cruise will never be a pleasant or good experience.   It is essential you are kept isolated away from other passengers for their safety.

Its a definite risk you take when cruising during a pandemic.

Seabourn offers many music options on your cabin TV.   If you are especially particular about your pre dinner music bring a blue tooth speaker, then you can have your own playlist.

Some passengers may be unable to get a credit card for whatever reason.   I would never want any entity to have access to my bank account via a debit card, but then, I have a choice.   Others may not have a choice.

There are certainly more geosynchronous satellites over continental areas, so there could be spotty areas in the mid Atlantic and Pacific.    Certainly not the same requirement for internet when only a few passenger vessels require it and for only one or two voyages a year.   

I was wondering where all those scratches on the ceiling came from, now I understand.

Luxury brands do have self service laundries.   It is certainly up to you whether you utilize them.

The machines and soap are provided without extra cost.   Seabourn, in addition to irons, also has a professional steamer you can use on your wrinkled clothes.   Of course if you have any status on the line you get a free laundry bag each week per person.   The laundry is returned folded in a basket or pressed on hangers.

Not usually provided on non UK sailings.    If you are in a regular cabin the kettle will take up valuable space.   With a drink package, Cafe Al Bacio, has a wonderful selection of teas and would be my choice for tea.    I am not sure of the cost if you don’t have a drink package.   The Oceanview also has a selection of more basic teas.   The selection is much better earlier in your voyage.   They seem to run low on the favorites later in the voyage.

Celebrity has devalued their loyalty program as have all the airlines and other cruise lines.   Zeniths, with their status, already receive premium drinks anywhere on the ship.   They also receive internet and laundry regardless of the cabins they are in.    It’s still a wonderful loyalty program regardless of their ability to access the Retreat areas.   It also seems that the Suite cabins are always full so there is definitely a chance for overcrowding.

Don’t believe there is much, if any, availability this year.   The Venture cruisers who had their voyages cancelled have moved to later voyages or to identical ones next year.

If you decide to sail on her, you may not get much of a choice in the sailings.   Some of the future cruises look very interesting, but expensive.

Be aware the transfer to the airport from the ship is by bus and not a small one.   We had a bad experience with this in Greece.   The bus was crowded and we had to wait until it was full before we went to the airport.   Once there, we had one stop at the Athens airport.   It was then up to you to collect your bags and get them to your particular airline.   We now book a private transfer.   This makes our last day a little more pleasant.

We found the experience in the TK Grill on the Sojourn to be unsatisfactory.   It is too crowded with no real bar,    On the Ovation there is a much larger restaurant and a wonderful bar.   We were never pushed on the Ovation to order extra cost wines.    We always had a bottle of good wine or champagne sent from the Retreat.

The TK Grill is fine dining on Seabourn.   There is table side preparation of many dishes.   The dishes, for the most part, are wonderful and the service is impeccable.    

So the OP spent a day in the Retreat and drank the champagne and the great Chardonnay but didn’t pay for it?    Did they notify Mariska in  Seabourn Square of the missing charge?   I am guessing not.    The charge for Cabanas when not in a port is $250 or higher,  why shouldn’t they pay for what they received?

Guess everyone must be happy that the U.S. taxpayers are paying for your cruise required testing.

Great advice on answering the first two questions “yes”, that way you can be sure the taxpayers will help finance your cruise.

There is a new COVID Omicron variant just out.   It is more transmissible than the older Omnicron  variant.   Things look good right now but we still need to get through Spring Break and Easter/Passover travel spread.    You will need to keep checking to see the results requirements as they may change.    If your last vaccination was more than six months before your entry to a country it may also be considered too old for entry.

I thought Zenith Level passengers had their own help line.    I think their loyalty status would provide even better access for help than suite passengers.

That’s funny, we have never had a problem getting shareholder credit for either Celebrity or Azamara.    We send the request via U.S. Mail although you can also do it via email.   We always request it right after we make final payment on the cruise.

Miami airport can be a nightmare.   I would not book a flight before 12pm even with CLEAR.    If you don’t have bags to check and already have a boarding pass you could make an earlier flight.

If your ship is not the only one in the port you will have lots of company at the airport.

Don’t they still do a COVID test on B2B passengers?   If positive, you will be debarked.