Jim_Iain

Thanks - Good to hear what the price is. We stopped using their shuttles about 10 years ago when we learned that the price was about the same as Ride Share. LAX does throw a wrench in the Cog and can see where it might have the benefit of not having to haul you luggage to the ride share lot. Let us all know how it goes.

I've used VPN on all of the ship and works pretty well even with Zoom calls. Of course I have also had some dead zones where we have lost Internet for up to 1 1/2 days. Make sure you already have VPN installed because my experience has been that they block internet browser connections to all of the Major VPN providers and may be the *VPN word. I needed to adjust my Credit Card and couldn't reach ExpressVPN Account without using a VPN.

The policy has been that the Chic night dress code is for MDR only and officially does not apply to Specialty Dining, Blu or Luminae. Saying that usually Chic night people throughout the ship dress a little to a lot better on that night. Even the MDR Chic is so encompassing that it would include what most people consider casual -

Wow... sounds rather disorganized. Hopefully the Documentation Officer gets his act together. Our last B2B's on Summit were the best we had ever had. Similar to yours except the had the Retreat Guests meet in Retreat and when the ship was close to zeroed out and all the other B2B's had been processed they escorted us up and handed us our new card as we entered the room as we were tagged on and off at the same time The whole B2B including on-board customs took less than 20 minutes and we were released and off the ship by 10:00. The Reteat Host was really organized and on the ball. The CC Manager shall I say was rather disorganized.

Yes to both. I've done a number of Zoom Calls as well as Facetime calls. Browsing is ok the only really noticeable is uploading larger files. Kinda like at home Upload is usually capped much lower than Download speeds.

Yes - Celebrity is for day of departure only and generally only to the ship unless you book a per-cruise hotel package (very expensive). You might look into downloading an App Blacklane - They are a worldwide limo booking service. You can book for a future pickup. I've used it both overseas and in the U.S. You an also just Google on Limousine Service Los Angeles will pull up lots of choices including BlackLane

LOL - I would hate to show a picture of our Chocolate stash. On our B3B and our attendant would always leave at least 4 each night. One night he made a smiley face with about a dozen of them. Maybe ask for the Dark and see if he's holding them back.

Just for number percentages - Silhouette from the Fleet Guide - After Revolution Full Capacity 2 PAX (less singles) 2,914 Full Max Capacity (3 and 4 to a room) 3,182

I'm not sure if it is consistent but all of the ones we have received are a mixture of Dark and Milk. Some nights milk some nights dark. My preference is the dark. I keep them around for the Grandkids. They love them and not enough to give them a sugar high before I send them home.

I've had that happen also in the past year. On my last cruise I had a tour booked 6 months ago with Cruise by Locals. About 2 weeks prior to the tour they advised me something came up and my tour guide had to cancel. They offered me a full refund or they would try to find another guide. As there were 2 ships in port and a holiday none were available. My guide finally offered me a Guide friend (who was not a Cruise by Local Guide) as a substitute. I accepted and I guess Cruise by Locals paid him and he paid the other guide. The guide turned out to be exceptional. He normally works for the film studios and entertainment venues shuttling entertainers. He actually extended the tour by 1 1/2 hours because there was so much in Quebec city he wanted us to see. Other cancellation's I had to scramble at last minute. By the way I even had a very expensive Celebrity Food tour with the Chief cancelled just days before the tour leaving me with about $600 OBC to work off with few days to do it.

Yes.

You will find the answers to most of your questions here https://secure.viewer.zmags.com/publication/ccf9deeb#/ccf9deeb/1 Elite and above members will continue to enjoy complimentary drinks from the Captain's Club menu daily from 5pm – 7pm Featured benefits are listed but if you look at all benefits there is a chart that specifies. They do have free drinks from a small menu that you can order between Elite Featured Benefits Access to exclusive daily coffee house-style breakfast and Evening Cocktail Hour 30% off Wi-Fi package or Wi-Fi upgrade 15% off Drink Package or upgrade to Premium pre-cruise Complimentary access to Persian Garden (on one port day) One complimentary bag of laundry (wash, dry, fold) on every sailing

Would love to hear the price that Celebrity charges for the shuttle. While I have not taken the shuttle in LAX the process is the same system wide. In the baggage pickup area you will see agents holding Celebrity Signs - Once you have your luggage you go up to them and check in. They will have a list of all pre-booked and will give you a sticker like an excursion. They will also have a porter with them or direct you to the porter where you drop your bags. You will not see your bags again until they are in your room. Depending on passenger load they call the numbers in order and you board a bus near the terminal and when the bus is filled or when all from your terminal are loaded the bus takes off. The bus may stop at different terminals and when done will take you to the ship. I have had to wait up to an hour to board a bus. As others have suggested the price is per person and the value proposition may be that taking a taxi or Uber may be more cost and time effective

Really appreciate all the information. I hadn't started even looking yet and prompted me to look at it. We do not sail until December so have plenty of time. We will be flying down Alaska Air and arriving Terminal 6. Google maps shows the walk to the LAX-IT lot is 1/2 mile and about 12 minute walk. The shuttle runs approximately every 5-7 minutes and you catch it on Level outside of baggage area at each terminal. Typical transit time is 15 minutes (guess it depends on which terminal you catch the shuttle. You can choose the Uber Black or Lyft LUX Black and have curbside pickup at your arrival terminal. In my mock booking Lyft Regular to World Cruise Center is $67.71 and Lyft Lux Black $104.65 and Uber was $50.97 for Regular and Black $113.38 Of course these prices vary with surge pricing. We each have our own priorities but this will help me make a time vs cost decision when we need to make the decision. Thought i would share.

While haven't been on Solstice the other S-Class ships the premium is at best about old dial up speeds. You can stream Netflix as it buffers pretty well but uploading of photos can be a bit sluggish. There is at least one passenger @Northern Aurora currently onboard Solstice and is posting on the thread - Condition of Solstice I'm sure Gerry will be happy to give you an honest assessment.

You are invited to go to your room immediately and drop things off. They ask you to allow the room attendant complete setting up you room by remaining in the public area after picking up your seapass. BTW if you don't want to wait to go to your room before you order a drink you can just show your express pass until you have your card.

Good to hear. I will be watching closely. I saw a post of the Eden Dinner and the New England Lobster kicked me into gear and I booked for the first night.

Hope you come back and explain your experience. We are on a B2B 12/3 and 12/11 would love to hear how they handle B2B processing. Maybe they will have it down by the time we sail.

Took a look at the article and it seems to infer that they can handle a wheelchair but don't see anything about a scooter. When I've been on the Edge Class they have allowed wheel chairs because they can be folded so as not to block the entrance. I have seen them actually use 4 agents to lift someone aboard on one. Would really be interested to hear if they would actually allow a scooter as there would be limited places to put it on the tender and not block the entry/exit.

My experience (Edge Only) is that it is parked on 14 most of the time adjacent to where the cabana's are. It was original envisioned that they would have dinner on it but due to aerodynamics the winds were too high and they usually only serve drinks there. This of course could have changed. I have seen them bring it down to Deck 5 on a port day or late departure and have a special seafood dinner with an entrance to it from Raw on 5. On tender days they brought it down to Deck 2 and used the Destination Gateway to facilitate tendering.

Excited to follow along. We have not yet sailed Apex but will be on her in April. Looking forward to all of your wonderful picture. You are off to a great start and hope you have a wonderful cruise. I chuckled when you said Luminae was packed at 8:40. The Southern European's are really late dinner and if they had their way would not show up until 10:00. Also the first night on all ships in the dining rooms is usually a real mess. It usually calms down and many start eating at the Specialties. Speaking of Specialties - Are you going to Eden. Looks like they have a new menu and have booked it for our first night on Apex.

I find it best to book immediately when cruises are released and use a refundable fare. If prices drop prior to final payment you can call in and get a price adjustment. You can maximize that by buying a Future Cruise Booking on a current cruise and get the extra OBC. Usually Alaska cruises are released in November

That's how you have to do it unless you are a Celebrity Agent. I do it using and airline site you only have to do one search and when you select a class and then a sub-class it shows all cabins available.

It may not be sold out. With the outage this weekend many of the sailings are messed up. I'm looking at one and it disappeared but can find it on other sites e.g. American airlines under cruises. It has been like that all weekend. Check later or try another site to check availability. Just checked and all 3 showing availability in Retreat -- Albeit the July 31 only has a Edge Villa at $13,000 pp