Jim_Iain

You have many good choices - OVC of course, but Eden Cafe (free), Aqua Spa Cafe for light breakfasts, Captain's Club Elite and above breakfast. Al Bacio has pastries and coffee

I have to share the joy of getting back to California. Due to the went winter and spring the wild flowers are in full bloom and much more abundant than normal. Due to our usual drought conditions many homes have natural landscape and are incredible.

Well we are getting back to normal - I had a big surprise in the Mail --- Got summoned for Jury Duty on the week of May 20th... ugh. I had accidentally tossed it in the junk mail stack, luckily Iain went through the stack and said ---you've got mail.

Thanks Mike.... hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise.

Our main decision is related to the food in Luminae. While they have the same menus we get the feeling the meals are being made banquet style and were often over cooked, missing items or cold in the middle of numerous entrees. On the M and S class ships they cook all dishes to order - there may be a slightly longer wait time but was very pleased with all meals I've ever had on M and S Class ships. The other thing we don't like is the sheer number of additional people. While it usually doesn't affect Suite Passengers --- Disembarkation at some ports cold take 2+ hours and even leaving the ship as a Suite Passenger with escorts was delayed and of course the glares you get as you are escorted to the front of the line can be uncomfortable. The other thing we don't like is that all of the specialty restaurants are open air (no walls) and very noisy. Finally there is not Tuscan Specialty or Murano. Final Cut's just doesn't do it for us.

In all my years I have never been contacted for further details. I have however both spoken to Laura and written her. She agreed with my comments and indicated changes were coming and hoped to win us back as dedicated Celebrity Cruisers.

Will be interesting to hear what you find out. I have a similar one I usually carry and left it at home on my last cruise. I was tempted to put it in my shaving kit and see if I could get it aboard. I later figured I wouldn't be able to bring it ashore and back to the ship so ditched the Idea.

We thought it was just us but on Solstice the Ice Cream really wasn't good at all. Tasted like ultra cheap ice milk. The taste on the Vanilla Ice Cream also was just off.

So excited to see and hear of your time in Istanbul. Never been before and will be taking a cruise from there in Nov 2025 I think we will be spending 2-3 days there per-cruise.

Curious what class you were traveling on Cunard and if that may have been the reason for the congestion, crowding and disorganization. This fall we will be sailing Cunard eastbound from New York to Southampton Queen's Grill. Having never sailed Cunard it will indeed be an adventure.

Thanks much. We have to get our Passports Renewed (out of pages) so will have plenty of time to get out new passports as we don't sail until September.

The original looked similar to the present one but iflatter and a bit more whipped cream This was from about 4 years ago (2019) when Chef B created it. We had it at his first Chef Table

That can be a common problem with CC. To fix (pre-post). Open Photo on Edit and click the orientation icon 4 times and save. It has something to do with the way the camera is held when shooting confusing the orientation

Can anyone advise when on-line check-in opens? Do you get an e-mail advising when it opens for selection of check-in times?

Recently in Greenland and USD or Credit Card were the norm.

It was indeed a beautiful day. With all the rain this year I'm blown away that everything is in bloom. The double Kumamoto trees are in full bloom in our front yard. I was half expecting to have missed them this year. I took my full walk today and really enjoyed it. It is nice getting back my regular routines again. There's no place like home ---

Ended up not being too bad ---- except for some reason a yellow spot was showing up on his groin and the inspector had to go into a more intimate feel than normal. Only delayed us about 10 minutes For those that have Chase Sapphire and Priority Pass. They have a nice lounge in the Departure area. Rather busy but when filled they would find open spaces for those waiting. There is a pretty regular flow keeping seating available most of the time.

Yikes ... I feel cheated. The Casino called and said they were sending and offer to our room. It ended out being $100 off a number of select cruises - Caribbean only. No thanks. OK... I'm not a big gambler.

If you have a drink package drinks include gratuities but many tip extra on top for exceptional service. We have gotten to the point in the Specialty when buying a bottle of wine and they add the 20% on top we do not feel compelled to tip extra. After all we generally would not tip beyond 20% in gratuities for dinner or drinks.

You're Mother's Seafood dish looked incredible... Looks like something I would enjoy. Did it taste as good as it looked?

Definitely they will do what you wish. We are not big eaters also and they were very good at giving us 1/2 portions or even appetizer size portions of anything on the menu.

I'm home and enjoying my afternoon catching up on your journey. You are capturing the beauty and energy of Japan.

Tipping above the standard gratuities is an option each passenger makes. While we may differ from others, our practices is that if a crew member just does their job we do not feel compelled to tip extra. For service above and beyond we tip commensurate with the additional service and attentiveness. My norm for Butlers, Room Attendant, Favorite Bar Tender, Waiter and Assistant waiter is $5 - $10 pp per day. We only tip at the end of the cruise and never tip al la carte.

Not sure if BlueChip Status matter -- but I have taken money against my card as a Room Charge and was billed to my Credit Card at the end of the cruise.

It can happen but is a very rare experience these days. Right after cruising resumed after COVID it was done quite frequently with the ships only sailing at 25-30% capacity. I once got a Gratis upgrade to a Penthouse due to the person coming down with Covid the day before the cruise.