Jim_Iain

About all they can hope for is to go directly to the British Embassy early on Monday. Possibly they will find a sympathetic agent. Address: Ploutarchou 1, Athina 106 75, Greece Hours: Open 24 hours Phone: +30 21 0727 2600 Many Credit Card Companies have helplines for premium cards that may also help. Not to be condescending but I hope they have travel insurance. We were on a cruise a couple years ago and someone who had a booking in the Penthouse had their passport stolen and didn't have time to get an emergency replacement at the embassy. They had to give up their dreamed vacation. On the brighter side - The ship decided to have a raffle to upgrade to the Penthouse. The tickets were relatively expensive at $50 per ticket. There was an elderly couple who were celebrating their 50th anniversary and were in an inside cabin. She bought a ticket and didn't tell her husband. It was so exciting to see her win.

I have to admit that we were on the fist cruises when the change was made to admit Sky Suites. One would have thought the sky was falling (so to speak). Like other changes reality was nothing like predictions.

Not necessarily.... After being pampered on so many cruises we were forced to get a housekeeper. LOL - I have to admit we had to clean house for 3 weeks before she first arrived. Just getting back from a cruise it was so nice to come back to a home without a single fingerprint on anything, linen changed and laundered and bets nicely made.

I think it is a positive move by Celebrity but not sure it will make any difference in our choice to start sailing other lines. While it is a big move on the part of Celebrity, the fact that we have to book with the all inclusive for suites negates any of the benefits of Zenith for us. Currently Zenith has no value to us when traveling in RS's and only free laundry when in a CS.

You hit it on the nail. Even on our strenuous climb to the top of Cup and Saucer most of the group kept up with the guide that was moving a fast past - they did have a guide at the back of the group to move those on that were poking along. I had a tendency to stay in front of the guide. On all of our tours they had headphones with transceivers so all could easily hear the guides. They had both English and French speaking guides and all were able to feel part of the group. Nothing like the Major Cruise lines where you almost always have some that book something well beyond their agility and hold up the whole group. Your trip report of Indonesia has made us want to do a similar itinerary.

The cruise was only 7 days. As many others may suggest it is far too short of a cruise. We really enjoyed it. The majority of the passengers on our cruise were were in the 60+ age group but there were a number of guests in their 30's and 40's. We met a number of guests in their 40's and they very much enjoyed the cruise and said they would do another. On our particular cruise there were a number of families (no children) - One thing I noticed was nearly 100% of the passengers were very fit and mobile. I think I only saw a couple walkers and no wheel chairs. The do offer tours for both those that want something strenuous and ones that are very relaxed and not requiring a lot of stamina.

No - you open the App and search for the airport. You then have to check the terminals. In Atlanta it was only available at one Restaurant and only one place was listed. In December they had a sign posted that Priority Pass was not available for American Express members - not sure what that was about. We had plenty of time so no problem. When in Toronto they had a Lounge Open to Priority Pass Members in the Cross Boarder Terminal

I'll be interested to see how we enjoy Cunard. While many are turned off by the Black Tie requirement in Queen's Grill, we love to dress for dinner. Like our last cruise, It will be different and feel if we open our eyes we will be in for a great time. Iain would love the London Symphony Cruise. He studied music in University and use to play with the BBC.

Thanks for information. We do have Total Wines within a mile of the house. To be honest I like NA wines on a ship as something to have in front of me for toasting and sipping but at home I generally just drink Sparkling Water. While on Apex - they had NA Gin and the bartender fixed me a drink. All I can say was I almost spewed it across the room. It was terrible and left a floral taste on my pallet that took hours to go away. Due to that I've never tried any of the other NA Spirits --

re: Steak -- Did you ask about the Petite Fillet on the Children's Menu? Usually that is available in All Dining Rooms from MDR up to Retreat.

I have to agree with you. We generally skip it - especially with Covid. The room is often so packed you can't find a place to sit down. Since Zenith's generally have more opportunity to meet and get to know the Officers it really isn't important. We also don't clamor to have our picture taken with the Captain.

I've only been able to do it a couple times as usually the prices I book at go up after booking. Iain and I disagree on booking NR and R fares. Since I'm the one booking I usually book non-refundable because the Refundable in Suites is usually $1,500+ more. I rely on the Chase Reserve Insurance Coverage and am willing to pay the change fee if we were needing to change. Actually recently when Celebrity cancelled the South American Season I was stuck with a Non-Refundable first segment of a B2B. Luckily Celebrity allowed me to change it to a different sailing at no cost and I kept the on-board booking perks I had. Example - to me that is Way too high to pay for a Non-Refundable when the deposit is only $1,800 and change fee only $200

Great to hear. You will have to update us on you selection. When I was working on my Cunard reservation I was surprised to find they no longer do Round Trips all of the time. There are actually very few in certain months I was looking for.

I agree. Not the best but better than nothing. Ponant didn't have either N/A Wine or Beer so beggars can't be choosers. My favorite non-alcoholic wine is Ariel Cabernet Sauvignon - not bad at $85 for a 6 pack on Amazon. I don't generally like any of the Sparkling Wines but I do enjoy Tost - about $35 on Amazon.

Thanks Mike... we enjoyed very much - I think I enjoy Cruise Critics as much as a cruise. I get so many good recommendations and suggestions.

Thanks Joanie - I was just thinking of you and all of you Book Collection Lists. I think I've listened to about 1/2 the books on you list. I upgraded my iPhone to the new IOS 17 yesterday. I immediately went to listen to an Audio Book an it either wouldn't play them or would stutter so bad one could not listen. I ended up having to downgrade last night and return to IOS 16. Caution to you and others - hold off until they have a new update. It's really buggy and my phone slowed to a crawl.

I hadn't used it at the restaurants either before. In Denver you show your card at the reception person and she scanned our QR Code and asked what flight number we were on. She then gave us a little receipt that you present to the waiter when you receive your bill. He then told us we didn't owe anything since it was under $56. We gave him a nice tip. In Atlanta there was no reception so I just asked waiter how it worked and said it covers the first $56 dollar (1 member plus 1 guest). When we got the bill he scanned our QR code and said it was fully covered so I personally handed him a tip and thanked him.

In my case I am using Firestick with NordVPN. I select SF Server and it not only blocks we are out of the country but also shows us in SF, allowing us to watch our local stations live instead of just the recordings. On my PC I had to just keep selecting a server until I found one that hasn't been black listed - ST Louis worked for me. As an alternative you can log onto NordVPN site click the Chat ? icon Type access YourTubeTv - use one of the servers it suggests by entering it in the search bar of NordVPN it returns

Good.. When we landed just about sunset you couldn't see the ground from 8,000 feet. At least it is starting to clear.

Fantastic - I was watcher her prior our cruise to figure out where she docked - using Cruise Mapper. Enjoy.

It is situate in between two Suites and I often commented I never heard a squeak. If you haven't sailed Le Bellot yet - one think I liked was next to the door is a panel with two button - Do Not Disturb and Make up Room.

I've always found the best exchange rate at an ATM at a Major Bank using a debit card. I use a debit card that refunds ATM fees. Like you suggested you will probably not require much cash. We just got back from a two week trip to Canada (I know not Japan) we commented on our flight home that even though we had a bunch of change from past trips we didn't spend a single penny in cash. We really didn't find any place that didn't accept credit cards.

With due respect. You can change from a Refundable to a Non-Refundable at no fee. I did it last week just before final payment and saved quite a bit. I also kept all my promotions and OBC

Bonine is the brand name of Meclizine Hydrochloride Dramamine LESS drowsy is also Meclizine Hydrochloride Meclizine Hydrochloride affects stomach directly. Dramamine Regular is dimehdrinate and works on the central nervous system. I personally avoid it because it knocks me out like Benadryl.

I wouldn't expect it to affect cruising. One area it may impact is Passport processing and renewals which could affect some passengers.