Ok so this is my first post on here in nearly 2 years
We were booked on Solstice to cruise from NZ to Fiji, Samoa, US Samoa, Tonga back to NZ on 1 April 2020 - but alas it was not to be......
It took us nearly 7 months to get a refund - I made several posts on here about the 'refund saga'....
We've not really been interested in looking at any cruises until recently.... now we've found one we like the look of in February 2023 on Eclipse
the price is very good, but only they have limited cabins available (Verandah)
now for a couple of questions
1) I'm sure last year? in an e-mail from celebrity they said that cruises were now all inclusive of (standard?) Alcohol.... but when I did a dummy booking last night it came up with a price for 'cruise only' and another price for 'all inclusive' (alcohol / wifi) the all inclusive price was about $1200 more than the 'cruise only price'
We're not really interested in free wifi... can you just pay for the 'cruise only' then add just a classic alcohol package each? I didn't see an option to do that, but then again we didn't go right through with the booking to the payment side.
The cruise is 9 nights, so I was wondering how much a classic beverage package each would be for 9 nights?
2) on our last cruise on Solstice in April 2018 we were midship on the 'hump' - the bit that juts out if that makes sense (room 9221) all the rooms on Eclipse seem to be differently numbered and the only verandah rooms available were nearer the front of the ship or near the back of the ship.
My wife has some walking difficulties (Arthritis in her knees) so would it be better to be near the back of the ship closer to the lifts to go to the oceanview cafe or nearer the front of the ship closer to the main dining room?
also I assume Eclipse is pretty much a 'mirror image' of Solstice?
if there are any noticable differences can someone please let me know what they are, and if there have been any other significant changes to cruising since the pandemic? (e.g. wearing masks on board, no self service at the buffet)
thanks in advance