LizzGo

The closet airports would be Saskatoon or Regina- neither of which is International, so Calgary is next best option. I agree it makes the most sense to book all in one in case there is an issue, but flight options are so darn limited. Even Calgary- for example Air Canada and Singapore Air are Star Alliance airlines. So you'd think we could fly Air Canada to Vancouver and get the 17 hr direct to Singapore but not an option. I don't understand. And If I start with Air Singapore - even Calgary is not an option. I asked about flying v Europe out of curiosity. Its not that much longer. Wondering if there is an advantage. (But it feels wrong!)

Our first time flying to Asia (Singapore) and we live in Canada- the prairies - so sort of west central. I have been researching flight options. It would appear we could travel in either direction for about the same amount of flying time and connections. Either way Singapore is halfway around the world. My questions: We feel the safest in terms of not losing luggage and encountering delays would be to take the 17 hr direct from San Fran with United or Vancouver with Singapore Air. Have you done this? Thoughts? Draw back is getting to SF or VQR to catch that direct flight- - we would have to take a separate flight - no big deal but risky in Jan when weather could cause flight interruptions. So we are thinking best to try to get a flight that originates closest to us but flights options are not great. What about flying through Europe connecting in Frankfurt or Amsterdam? Is this awful? In short I'd love hear from anyone who has flown NA to Singapore and will share their best flight experience in terms of carrier and itinerary. Thanks!

That is funny! I’ll be there are are quite a few nicknames for other things around the ship but I’m not sure I want to know them!

https://www.frommers.com

Some great advice here. I would just like to underscore what has been said multiple times: It's a sample, not a full meal. It is by far not the best way to see Europe but it is a great way to get a feel for what you may want to visit in the future. But more importantly, research your ports and see how far the place you want to visit is from your port. Some friends went to Florence from Civitavecchia and it was over two hours by bus one way! They were disappointed but they could have found that out themselves before booking. Another thing about European ports- not so nice. They are shipping ports, many quite old and industrial. La Spezia (Cinque de Terre) is quite nice; as is Cannes. You could spring for a private guide to meet you a port, which would be money well spent. Or the HOHO bus is a great option. All have been very good in our experience.

From the looks of the wine selection we will definitely be upgrading. Previous experience was that the Sommelier in the MDR often offered wines not on the menu; and, previous experience was that wines varied from venue to venue, ship to ship. But with just a glance at the offerings so kindly posted here (thank you!) I’d rather just upgrade because we’ll never be ordering the classic wines. I assume the premium package includes specialty coffees as well? in the Murano once we had the Five Senses menu - it was spectacular. The food, the wine….We are already booking that and we don’t sail until Jan!

As a sidebar here: was listening to Patricia Frommer ( yes, THAT Frommer) on the radio. She said the best use of a TA is when booking a cruise, if your TA is a cruise specialist, and if your TA is affiliated with your preferred cruise line. She said the TA can often get you special perks like upgrades, OBC etc not available to mere mortals booking on their own. That has certainly been our experience.

Very interested in this topic. In the past we have upgraded solely for the better wine selection, that was before when you were not charged the difference in price if you selected a wine above your price allowance, but the entire cost. Now I believe X has changed the policy. It looks like the difference is $20/ per day/pp so $40 a day. So if we drink just four glasses each at a $5 up cost pp, it makes the upgrade worth it. But I’m wondering how the post- Covid wine selection is these days on X? We were on a HAL cruise in Jan and we upgraded. What a complete waste of money. Even with the premium package there was one red, one rose, and one sparkling we liked. The white I liked was a further $4 per glass on top of the premium upgrade. We would have been ahead of the game by just paying the difference. HAL cruisers told us the wine selection was much better before Covid. Also, not a Somm in site. We hear X still has Sommeliers in the dining rooms.

I gather you can go looking for it though? Not as nice as being greeted with a glass of bubbly- for sure- but I'll take it! Maybe by the time we sail in Jan 2024 they will have brought it back. 🤞

Nice! 💃💃💃💃💃

Are guests still greeted with a glass of sparkling wine upon embarkation?

I’d guess 2017. And if it was a mistake on their part at that time to ask DH to change, that’s fine. No harm, no foul.

My husband was turned away at the MDR wearing a button shirt and fairly expensive pair of dark blue jeans. (I secretly applauded while he grumbled his way back to change.) Honestly- love the comments: Eat at the buffet; Pick a different cruise line; and, Really? How hard to wear a collared shirt and long pants?

I think I’ve read the Millie has been updated. Can anyone describe the changes - specifically to the stardom’s? Better yet, photos?

We haven't sailed on Celebrity since covid and are wondering how much has changed? Previously we enjoyed the wine selection offered by the glass, especially in the MDR, specialty restaurants and Cellar Masters where there was always a sommelier to offer wine and, once they had a sense of your tastes they would present us with something special not on the usual list. Still the case? Also, are they now allowing guests to simply pay the difference in price if you order something above and beyond your drinks package? As a sidebar, we just finished our first HAL voyage and the wine was a HUGE disappointment; also no sommelier in the dining rooms. Other seasoned HAL cruisers told us pre-Covid the wine selection was much better and there was always a sommelier present in the dining rooms, which is why I am wondering about Celebrity.

Thanks for the replies all. And thanks for clarifying dry dock v revolutionized. I think I had always assumed the two went hand in hand. Glad to hear that although not revolutionized still in good repair. We’ve never sailed on Solstice but I had noticed on other Celebrity ships they did a fantastic job of up keep.

Can anyone tell me if the Solstice has been refurbished or not? I’ve been reading conflicting reports.

Interesting. There appears to be lack of consistency between ships. We had purchased the HIA pre- cruise and we were allowed to upgrade the drinks package on board. I think ( but I’ll have to check) it cost us $200 each/ $400 in total. We did not come even close to getting value out of that, especially when you consider the extra $3 each time for the Sancerre. Even if HAL had not implemented this new policy of simply paying the difference as opposed to full cost when you have a beverage that’s over your price point, it still was not cost effective to upgrade. But with just paying the difference ……it would have been much cheaper to just stick w Sig pkg. Another interesting tidbit I had not thought of until reading previous posts- on the Koningsdam, not only did they allow people to get up to three drinks at a time, they often allowed - even encouraged - my husband and I to put both our drinks on one card, presumably to keep it simple for them, as they had to print and have us sign for every purchase. ( Half the reason we wanted a drinks pkg was to not have to bother with that!) Also - once when having drinks with a couple who had not purchased a drinks pkg, they allowed me to buy a couple of glasses of wine on my card. I recall on Celebrity that was a seriously not permitted!

Just got off the Koningsdam. The first thing we did was up grade to Elite. Big mistake. It was a complete waste of money.for two reasons. The first being that we upgraded primarily to have better wine. They had an abysmal wine selection. There was only one red and one rose we liked that were $14. So we could’ve just stuck with Signature and paid the difference and been way ahead. The only white we liked was $18 so we had to pay $3 every time we ordered it, which was like adding insult to injury. The $15 white I wanted was unavailable. There were two sparkling at $11 we liked and an ok Pinot Noir which was also $11. Most of the cocktails we drank also would have been in the Signature package. We also enjoyed specialty coffee. I’m not sure if that would e been part of the Sig pkg or not but even if not, and we paid each time, we still would have been way ahead of we had not upgraded. I strongly recommend - DO NOT UPGRADE, unless you enjoy wasting money.

You've done this and they accept it?

I read in a thread here that HAL will accept a self-monitored test. The instructions require a photo of results of your negative test, gov't issue ID and something showing the time and date. Has anyone actually done this? If so, can you confirm this is indeed acceptable to HAL, and how exactly did you performed this feat? Thanks!

I see the Dutch Cafe is an up charge. (How much?) if you have a premium drinks package would that include specialty coffee or alcoholic beverages in the cafe?

Just started following this thread. We will be cruising on HAL in January after mostly Celebrity and one MSC. Now I’m a little bit worried about the food! I’ve always heard HAL was a notch up from Celebrity. If it is as good we’ll be fine. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Hi - Hope I’m in the right place. I’m looking for a site that shows on any given date which ships will be in port. I’ve tried googling and so far what I have found is timetables that are specific to my ship. ( I know when my ship is going to be there. I want to know who else is going to be there.) A while back someone posted a simple one - I’d love to find it again and bookmark this time! Thanks for help.

Two questions: What are the hours for the buffet? In one port we are there until 11pm and wondering if we get back late and want to eat if the buffet will be open. Second question: What is this about charging extra in MDR if you order more than 1 starter? We often like a salad and another starter. The cost doesn’t bother me but the cheesiness factor is HUGE! Say it ain’t so!