Georgia_Peaches

Love to see that MSC are expanding their fleet in the US. However, I would have loved it even more if one of those ships was earmarked for Alaska. Hopefully soon.

Do you know if the YC restaurant is closed as well?

Got it. So then it's not as much the law or jurisdiction as it is the cruise line policy. Not trying to be argumentative, just trying to understand. Were I a parent of a 18-20 y/o who wanted to enjoy a beer or wine while in my company on a cruise and I couldn't sign a waiver on Celebrity due to their policy, then I might be inclined to find a line like NCL or MSC who does have such a waiver.

huh...interesting. We met a family on MSC who were traveling with their 19 y/o daughter. She was allowed wine when with her parents because they signed a waiver. We sailed from MIA.

https://www.hangoutbeachbar.com/ wonderful open air beach bar. We ordered some burgers to go and sat at the bar to watch the view while we waited. This bar is on the golf cart path. Highly recommend both if you go there!

I took the op to mean children, ie 15-17 y/o. Something my teen girls would have attempted. The 18-20 crowd are not kids in my book. They are young adults and I believe a waiver can be signed allowing them to beer and wine.

The big one at the shopping center down town. Can’t remember the name.

I agree but the self serve is very convenient if you’re looking to grab and go. DH and I helped ourselves to a few waters and beers to take with us when we stopped in Bonaire. Our butler gave us some ice. We put all this in a backpack and had a picnic on big rock overlooking the water.

Oops. I missed that. Thanks!

May I ask how long ago this was? Just wondering how their protocols have evolved since your experience.

We loved our YC experience On Seashore. As a matter of fact, we’ve booked another experience for Meraviglia for November. It was really, really nice being escorted on board on embarkation day. We were taken to the YC lounge and greeted with a ready made cocktail. We then proceeded upstairs to the restaurant for lunch. Such an awesome way to start to the vacation. Our bar tenders in the YC lounge learned our likes very quickly. After only a day they knew I liked to start with really cold sparkling wine followed by an espresso martini after dinner. We also enjoyed the live music in the YC lounge. DH and I had the dance floor to ourselves every night. I’m not sure why others didn’t dance but we had a blast. On our last night, some of the wait staff from the restaurant came down after dinner service and danced with us. DH and I have been taking dance lessons for a while so it was fun to put our new skills to work. However, many of the waiters had amazing dance moves. It was a blast. In all, we were totally spoiled. They took excellent care of us all week. We are pretty low maintenance but from the butler to the concierge, I felt like everyone went out of their way to make sure we had a great vacation. You are right to be excited! Enjoy!

We took several self tests with us on our seashore cruise. Our plan was to self test in the event that we started feeling ill. Fortunately we didn’t need the tests. But in the event that we were Covid positive, our plan was to self isolate in our cabin. We had no intention of being tested by the ship’s doctor. I guess that’s a personal call for each individual. My understanding is that if you test positive through official channels, you are required to isolate within your cabin.

If true, another example of punishing the masses for the misdeeds of a few. If minors getting their hands on alcohol in the Retreat lounge was an issue , then it was incumbent upon the parents to do a better job at parenting and Retreat lounge personnel doing a better job of monitoring who was helping themselves. No different than a bar tender having the responsibility of carding individuals who appear to be under age. Having said all that, on Silhouette there was self serve beer and soft drinks in the lounge. But that was in 2019.

Is this ship the sister of the Meraviglia? I’m definitely intrigued by the animated ceiling. We are on Mera in November. Looking forward to seeing for myself.

I never cease to be intrigued by this question. In all my cruises over the last 20 years, I’ve never once wondered who the cruise director was on a particular sailing. What in the world am I missing?

When we booked prior to receiving our status match, they gave us our 5% discount in the form of OBC. Worth asking about. Shows in the main theater are complimentary. I understand they are some pay-per-view shows but we haven't seen them. As for accommodations, we feel Yacht Club is the best fit for us so I can't comment on your cabin questions. I will say, MSC is our new go-to cruise line.

Another question if I may, I know you were on a b2b so maybe you don't know but was wondering if Solstice docked in Long Beach or San Pedro and will this docking location be the norm? We are trying to determine if it's better to fly into Long Beach or LAX.

Regarding the expiration date, if I may interject with a few questions: How long does the status typically last before it expires? And does booking a new cruise before the expiration date equate to a new expiration date?

Really appreciate your thorough review. We will sail Solstice in March and I’m eating up every review between now and then. A few questions: 1. What’s with the yellow flag? 2. Did you take any stand out excursions in Mexico? thank you!

What/who is FBC? Exactly the kind of info I was looking for in making a decision to book flights this way. Thank you. Still not sure what we are going to do. Sometimes saving a little money isn't worth the hassle in the end.

Hmm...we book first or business class. I wouldn't be happy if I couldn't preselect our seats...

Thank you! I didn't know about the final payment thing. So if I have used a TA for the cruise but Celebrity Cruise planner for the flights, do I pay for the air on the Celebrity site or through my TA?

Although I have been aware of Celebrity Air for a while, I've never used/considered this service before now. I am looking a flights to LAX for a cruise in March and find that the Celebrity Air platform is currently offering the best price, albeit by using a combination of airlines for each leg of the trip. Mock bookings for the exact legs directly on each airline's website comes out to more money. I haven't booked anything yet and wanted to get input from fellow CC friends who have used the Celebrity Air service. Are there other benefits besides possibly a better rate? Please chime in with your experience.

Probably so although I am old school and prefer the paper version. I save these as part of my trip souvenir. It’s just one more thing to keep me plugged in when all I want to do is unplug. Celebrity can’t be far behind.

I asked this very question here before our cruise on Seashore at the end of August. Hair irons are on the prohibited items list but I brought mine anyway....just in case. It was packed in my luggage and ended up in my room along with all of my other belongings. Many fellow cruise critic members commented to say it wouldn't be a problem...and it wasn't....at least on Seashore.