LB_NJ

FYI, I assume you are asking because Face Recognition might speed disembark time. The real problem with Tampa is occasionally they shut the port due to fog so your disembark might be delayed 4 to 6 hours or more. Make sure you have flexibility in your disembark time.

Can you eat in the MDR if you are in Aqua?

I moved from OV to Family Veranda and was very happy with that.

You can always pay to upgrade him to Aqua by calling Celebrity or the TA if that is how you booked. There is absolutely zero guarantee that you will get anything with move-up. Plus if you move him you can also move your cabin. If he stays in a veranda who will he eat dinner with?

To some extent the delay through customs will depend on the size of the ship and the number of non-US citizens. If the flight is latter in the day it should be OK. The cruise terminal is only about 25 minutes from the airport. As was previously stated the recommendation is to arrive at the airport 3 hrs before flight time.

If you are referring to EWR's P6 lot I didn't there was a price drop after the first day. I thought the rate was $21/day. This is the lot I usually use for about 15 day or less travel. More than that I do limo service.

As others have said Bayonne/Cape Liberty is almost exclusively Royal territory. However, if your ship is really docking there then Newark is the better choice and staying near the port makes sense. There is a lot of public transportation that goes into Manhattan from that area in NJ if you want to go in for a couple of hours. The area's public transportation can be daunting for the uninitiated. However, assuming that the ship leaves from Manhattan (the most likely scenario) then even if it is a few dollars more you are better off staying in Manhattan especially if the embarkation day is a business day (ie, normal weekday). Manhattan is an Island (yes, I am stating the obvious), and on business days the commuter traffic can be grueling (limited routes into Manhattan), and you may not want to stress out on your departure day.

Total Wine is widespread in the country and they generally have an excellent collection of wines from $10 to $500+ per bottle. I think for what you get they have reasonable prices.

In Tampa on a Celebrity cruise they asked to look at the passport and then had us look into a camera.

It has definitely gone down hill since the restart. It seems Royal is trying to get back to profitability. On the sister cruise line I heard offices mention that they have not been able to do things they would like to do because of funding issues. On Royal at least this has resulted in lower quality food. I would expect more nickel and diming.

Based on the specific question you asked this answer is currently correct. However, for completeness, if you booked flexible dining then the same table is not guaranteed.

Trying to decide if the soda package makes sense. What are the current soda prices on-board?

I didn't think Al Bacio had a fountain since it is a coffee shop.

There definitely was a vegetarian menu on Summit when I sailed her last summer. Again, if it isn't on the app ask for a copy at dinner.

FYI, Royal has recently made changes that degrade the experience. Just something to consider in booking.

That has happened to us. Also, I have heard of people buying duty free liquor in a port and bringing on a 1 liter bottle through ship security without being stopped.

I do not know about Luminae however in the MDR you have to specifically ask for the vegetarian menu. It is no longer on the app.

At this point I won't be booking any more Royal cruises unless they are screaming deals. The drop in food quality is a killer for us.

It seems the basic soft drink option has very limited choices.

When I originally called Celebrity I got an agent that didn't understand B2B bookings. When I called back I got an agent who knew what she was doing and linked the 2 cruises and gave me a discount on both cruises.

Which airport?

This means it is risky to book a flight back home the same day as the cruise day ends.

Thinking of the soft drinks option on the QE. It states that draught soft drinks are included. I was looking for the complete list of soft drinks included, specifically the complete list of sodas. E.g., is ginger ale one of the options?

We are thinking of taking our grandchildren on a cruise. I know Disney is supposed to be a good cruise line for children. We just got off a Celebrity cruise and there were only a few children on-board (around 7-8 children). I talked to the parents and they all said the children were happy. For those of you who have sailed with children on both cruise lines I would like to hear what people think. We would book a regular veranda on either cruise line. As far as I can tell Disney would definitely be more expensive.

This is the second time in 30 day that the ship was delayed due to fog. The port authority closed the port so it was not Celebrity's fault. However, it makes me start to wonder if Tampa is a viable cruise port.