LB_NJ

It was January 26. I don't think it is a holiday.

Celebrity just canceled our excursion to the gardens on a Jan 2024 cruise. Not sure why.

There is NO way to predict the weather ANYWHERE more than a week or 2 in advance. You could have great weather or terrible weather. The old expression "You pays yer money and you takes yer chances" applies. I was recently in Portugal on a land trip (mid October) and it was quite warm and dry while we were in Lisbon, we took the train to Portugal and it was rainy and one day there was a terrible storm. Almost hurricane force. I assume cruise ships would have just skipped the port that day. However, this could have happened on any cruise ship anywhere in the world. Actually, some of the roughest seas I have ever been on were cruising out of Miami towards the Caribbean in the winter.

For us the perks are pretty much meaningless. I think that is why regular veranda almost always sell out before concierge.

I thought Royal has a 12 bottle limit per cabin?

You might want to look at the entry requirements for each country you are visiting to see if they have any requirements.

Could be 45 to 60 days. Call at 45 days. I assume that you got a message or some confirmation that the cruise was actually cancelled.

On transAtlantic I did buy Euros in advance and it was useful. Just wondering if for several hours it would make a difference in Cartegena.

Exactly how it works depends on the ship. I think generally they ask if you want to share a table. However, if they don’t ask you can tell them. Sometimes it is quicker to get seated if you are willing to share. Depends on how busy they are.

Actually I was wondering if the maximums go up?

Sounds like standard Celebrity IT quality control.

They did for my cruise but it may depend on the cruise

Do the move-up bid ranges for the various cabin types change as you get closer to the sailing date?

We sailed a B2B on the Constellation last January/February and we had a nice time and we are booked for another cruise this coming January. So my comments are based on that last cruise. I don't know what has happened since. This is a somewhat smaller older ship so it doesn't have all the bells and whistles the newer huge ships have. We like this size ship (we would be even happier with a somewhat smaller ship) however you have to decide for yourself what type of cruise experience you want (big ship vs smaller ship). We are cruising this ship again because we view it as a nice relaxing experience and it gets us out of the cold northeast for a couple of weeks. We would be just as happy staying in Key Largo or Key West and sitting on the beach however when we do a cost comparison a cruise tends to be less expensive overall. As to the ship: The meals in the MDR were OK. Nothing terrible, nothing great. The buffet for breakfast and lunch were fine. They significantly scaled back the buffet at dinner. Not a big problem for us since we like the MDR for dinner. Service all around the ship was excellent. On the first leg of the B2B I was very happy with the entertainment. Unfortunately, on the second leg there was a breakdown of stage equipment so they couldn't do all the shows they normally do. Personally, I detest the coffee on Celebrity in the MDR and buffet, so I spend the few extra dollars for an espresso-based coffee every day. Just an FYI about the Tampa port, there is a tendency for fog which can delay departures and arrivals.

I paid in full before the 90 day mark, Then, for no reason, Celebrity issues a small credit to my credit card. I log in and Celebrity says I now owe the amount they refunded to the credit card.

Many cruise lines preassign dining tables for fixed time diners before you even board the ship. I assumed Celebrity did that.

As was said before, as soon as you board just queue up for the maitre d'. There will be a long line. I have always booked anytime dining on Celebrity so I don't know if they put the table location on the room key. If they do you might be able to find the table yourself and see if it is already a 2-top without waiting in the looong line

On Celebrity I just ignore the dress code stuff.

A lot has been changing lately, especially in food. These days, how is Blu compared to the MDR on M class ships like Constellation?

My solution to fog in Tampa is to book the airline for midday the next day and stay in a local hotel the night we arrive. We got caught in fog last time we did Tampa and not going through that again.

I have a slightly different issue. We are currently booked on Constellation in an Ocean View guarantee sand will bid on the various verandas. So my question is how much above the regular and concierge verandas to bit on Aqua? I was wondering what the food issues were with Blu? On Constellation there really is only the Italian restaurant. Not that into sushi.

How do you have over 100% occupancy?

What if the new cabin has increased gratuities? Do they charge you the difference? I know you get to keep what you had but the AI had gratuity at a lower rate?

Why would you move from Deluxe Balcony (veranda?) to Concierge? I am still trying to figure out the real benefits of Concierge over a veranda especially when you have no choice of cabin.

There are lots of ways . I will use Steep Sacks by the Republic of Tea to hold the grounds. Put into the cup and add hot water. They are made for tea but they work just as well for coffee.