TeeRick

Totally agree about the burgers!

We love the aft sky suites on S-Class ships and have stayed in them a number of times. We had two poles, but for us after day one we hardly noticed them. Also the aft view of the wake is not in any way obstructed. We have stayed twice with the window washing equipment on the side. Not really a big deal either. I would take any of these aft suites without hesitation. But note that it is more walking if you are mobility impaired.

I don't think this was too unusual. Coming on different plates would be expected. But at slightly different times is the norm, but that can be accommodated if possible (but not always).

She has pages on various social media sites - did you check any of these? Sometimes she comments on her schedule.

So what was stupid question number #356? Maybe this is stupid question #358? 😁

Good to know they paid you so quickly! Before traveling outside the US, I go to the GeoBlue website in their health network and find out some basic info on doctors, hospitals or clinics and record contact numbers in each country we are visiting. Just in case. They also issue medical/travel letters for those countries too and we take those along with us. It is a good overall package.

The fee for a second entrée in the MDR on Celebrity is only for the lobster. I don't think there is a fee for anything else but maybe somebody can confirm? Recently dined in Tuscan and Murano. There was no fee for additional entrees and appetizers were unlimited too. Same for Luminae. We typically get our separate entrée and also occasionally order another to share between us on the side. All delivered at the same time.

My son and I would enjoy playing shuffleboard on RCCL cruises when he was younger. I have not seen this on any Celebrity ship.

I have not been able to find a "trip only" policy without medical benefits. That would be nice to complement my GeoBlue plan. Some people do this additional trip coverage by relying on their credit card travel coverage benefit (for free). Can you switch to one of those CC's? I think a trip-only policy would still be quite expensive comparatively if it existed. Because those trip cancellation or interruption benefits are the costly items and most risky to the insurance companies in terms of numbers of possible claims. Yes a Med Evac claim would be expensive but very, very infrequent so low risk to the insurance company.

It is actually two different things. I will speak for us. It is different for everybody. 1) We buy the GeoBlue medical policy (Trekker Essential) which is annual and covers all of your trips and vacations for an entire year. If you travel outside the US it is worth it, whether it is cruising or a land vacation. GeoBlue is a backup to our primary medical insurance. They have a health network in almost every country. It is pretty inexpensive. 2) For cruises, a separate travel policy is needed if you are worried about trip cancellation and disruption, lost luggage, the usual stuff. These do come with some medical coverage benefits too. Maybe for a single trip (cruise) this is all you need but it is generally very expensive. So we personally choose not to buy it. We are more worried about a major medical event and cost of that. The travel cancellation stuff is a risk we choose to take.

Ok no problem at all. I was just reporting on my policy from GeoBlue. There are different ones. I have the Trekker.

I have the annual plan for multiple trips. It covers $500k for Medical Evacuation.

Huge problem since the pandemic. There are a number of reasons. For cruise industry, it is also an issue beyond recruiting. It is also proper training.

Thank You @Georgia_Peaches.

I may be wrong but I do not believe they are purposely and actively cutting staff. It is just hard to recruit them and fill their vacancies. And there is a lot of shifting of experienced staff to a new build (Beyond, and soon Ascent) when it launches. And think about the number of huge new ships from all lines being built and launching. There is just not enough staff to recruit across the industry.

I agree that you need extra medical coverage to deal with possible medivac events and major uncovered medical expenses. We use GeoBlue for this and get a 1 year annual policy. Pretty inexpensive. As for trip protection, interruption, lost luggage, etc. the travel insurance for that is pretty expensive in general. Sometimes we do not get that and take the chance and self-insure. But it depends entirely on your own personal financial situation and level of risk.

With StarLink this is much less of an issue these days.

Very interesting! Did they also carry cassette tapes, plastic disposable cameras, laser discs?😀

You can find the payphone in the Sky Lounge on E-Class ships.

Yes this family hours policy is a good example of The Needs of the Few Outweighing the Needs of the Many. Reverse Spock logic!👽

I have not even heard the term walkie-talkie for at least twenty years. 🙂

Thanks for your bar reviews and rankings and providing your reasoning. I agree with the three bars that you list here. Love the World Class Bar. I would add the Martini Bar to my list but only at a time when it is not crowded, busy and noisy - ie, not early evening when everyone is there before dinner.

Dear @Wendylvs2travel there are a few other areas here on Cruise Critic where you can ask this type of question if you do not get the answers you need here. 1) Your Roll Call for your cruise 2) or this link https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/148-british-isleswestern-europe/ 3) or this link https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/544-uk-cruisers/ Enjoy your cruise!

Thanks for your opinions. For specialty dining on Celebrity, the online reservations fill up quickly especially at the better times. Months before the cruise. Even for suite customers. Once we board, we go directly to one of the Specialty Restaurants. There are plenty of open times available. We were recently told by a maitre 'D on Equinox that they hold 40-50% back until people board the ship. Then release them. I think that is a fair policy.

I agree with all of you who support that the Solarium area should be adults only at all times. No Family Time hours. No cold weather exceptions. No kids in hot tubs. There are usually very few kids anyway on the cruise, but they have the whole pool area.