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They have some significant hurdles before they could allow pot smoking on ships (US federal laws and the laws of the countries they visit)

Although I am an advocate for never traveling internationally without a passport, the cruise exception is in place because of agreements made between the US and Mexico, Canada and certain Caribbean countries. So I don't see Ensenada just randomly starting to deny cruisers without a passport entry. (They also greatly depend on the tourism.) That said, there are closed loop cruises that go to countries that are not part of those official agreements. So you have to know your itinerary.

Are you sure they are doing it on the Silhouette now? It was a trial last month on the Equinox and I understand that trial is over.

A passport (or the alternative documents posted by @CulverCityCruisers above) is required to board the ship for this cruise. But generally, you are not required to carry your passport with you in Ensenada. Some choose to leave it in the safe and carry other photo ID with them. Others feel more comfortable always having their passport on them when in a foreign country.

When we had the penthouse and adjoining sky suite on the Constellation last fall, the penthouse got champagne (they didn’t have Veuve Clicquot at the time but it was a good French champagne) and the sky suite got the Celebrity vintages sparkling wine. So I think the answer to your question varies whether you are in an upper or lower suite.

Which will upset those currently booked on the next cruises and even loyal Celebrity customers. But that doesn't mean it is going to have that big of an affect on bookings, especially when there are a lot of other options. I wasn't trying to dismiss what Celebrity is doing. I'm just pointing out that the financial aspect really relates to whether or not people will gamble. And so those of us that don't spend time in the casino (I count myself in that group) are likely not the customers Celebrity will truly listen to. They are going to follow the money. I had forgotten about Disney. That definitely is an option but I'm not sure how many will switch to Disney over this issue.

Unfortunately, Celebrity has the upper hand here. All of the other mainstream cruise lines allow smoking to a certain extent indoors. I believe Virgin Voyages' only indoor space is a completely enclosed section of the casino which probably comes the closes to Celebrity's policy. So without stepping up to the next level of cruise lines (which likely isn't realistic for anyone not regularly sailing in Aqua class or the Retreat), you don't have a lot of options. So I suspect the final policy will come down to what casino players cruising Celebrity are willing to put up with.

Sometimes that first cruise or two after dry dock has a lot of maintenance things going on as dry dock is often too short to fully finish everything. I'm assuming that is what OP's hesitation is about. (The week before dry dock can also have a lot of maintenance things going on as they try to get a head start.) None of what is described though seems all that extensive and the Constellation was in pretty good shape when I was on her in November. If I were in this situation, I wouldn't cancel. I'm sure it will still be a great cruise.

If you log into your account on the Celebrity website. Under "Manage Trip", click "Manage Reservation", then for the cruise you want to pre-pay, click "Manage Reservation". You might have to click "Reservation Details" to see more options. Under the dining time, there should be "Gratuities" where you can pre-pay. The amount you see, is the amount gratuities were at the time of booking. In my experience, they generally don't adjust to current rates until you board. Note - if you booked through a TA, you will not see this option. You will need to contact your TA who can easily make the change to prepay for you. I also am not aware of any way you can pre-pay gratuities with OBC. If you want to use OBC, you need to wait until you board and pay current rates.

Yes, in the grand scheme of things though, it is a very small percentage. My gut says it doesn't come into play very often and was more a way to say "here we are giving loyal customers another benefit."

According to other reports, it is the Eclipse.

This is true if you wait until gratuities are added to your on board account. I don't think it has ever been true if you pre-pay gratuities before you board. When you pre-pay, it gets added as a line item on your invoice that itemizes your cruise fare. We usually pre-pay (or have AI) but there have been a couple times where we had a lot of OBC and so waited until we boarded.

Because you booked through a travel agent like I said in my original post. Your travel agent can very easily take care of it for you.

If you booked your cruise through a travel agent, the travel agent has to add the gratuities to your account. If you booked the cruise on your own (through the website for example), you should see an option under Manage My Reservation when you log into Celebrity's website. It's in the same place where you can select beds together or separate and shows your dining time. Edit to add: I do not believe you can use OBC to prepay gratuities.

Do I wish we could do a way with the current tipping structure? Absolutely! It would be so much easier to compare apples to apples if published prices included all fees, taxes, and tips. But I'm not sure I understand the arguments against increases in tipping especially as it relates to expecting companies to pay their employees salaries. Whether the crew of have a salary only contract or a salary plus tipping contract, all of their income from Celebrity is paid by passengers. There isn't some exec paying employees out of the goodness of their heart. They are setting prices (including these gratuity rates) with the expectation they will receive enough money from passengers to pay for the crew, supplies, insurance, debt they carry, etc. with money left over for a profit. To me, these gratuities are just part of the price of cruising. And I don't see this structure changing (at least in certain markets like the US) because the average consumer isn't taking the time to compare the all in price when they compare cruises. So to stay competitive, Celebrity needs to keep their published price as low as they can.

Which ship were you on? Which ship was your kid on

Did you check out the spreadsheet in this post? There are a number of reports from people who stayed in those cabins on the Eclipse and her sisters.

Personally, I find it very strange that Celebrity would build a ship with connecting non-suites to a suite without an option to get access to the Retreat if all booked together. I've been following this thread because if it is possible, then the Beyond might be a possibility for a family cruise we are planning. But if not, we will be looking at another line as two suites for one of the families traveling with us is out of the budget (but one plus a non-suite is not). Please let us know how it all ends.

That's just Celebrity's definition of a "mild" excursion. You will note it is an "or" statement.

Thanks! I've been very happy with the purchase. I bought it a couple years ago to replace a D90. Wildlife (especially birds) is my focus which is one of the reasons I chose this model. I currently use it with a Nikon 80-400mm lens and can't wait to see the photos I get in the Galapagos in November (we will be on the Xpedition the week before you). We also have an Ecuador birding excursion booked from Quito the day after Galapagos cruise.

Unfortunately, the Martini Bar doesn't open early enough for lunch.

The classic package absolutely includes espresso based drinks at Cafe al Bacio (lattes, cappuccinos, mochas, etc.). In addition to the menus @Bo1953 linked to, this page on Celebrity's website might be helpful, if you haven't already found it. https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/onboard-packages/beverage-packages/compare-packages

I've seen you post this comment over the last couple months. Which ship has reduced the housekeeping service? We had twice a day service that was excellent on the Eclipse in May.

I enjoy so many of the different flavors offered on the Martini menu (at least the M and S class martini menus - I haven't had a chance to try the Edge class ones) so I don't recall leaving many, if any behind. As to quality, in my experience the best bartenders on any ship are usually placed at the martini bar so that is one bar that I don't usually have an issue with quality at that particular bar. I do agree that not all drinks are created equal. We cruise quite a few lines and generally I know which bars tend to have the best bartenders and gravitate to them (especially since I don't always have a drink package these days). On Celebrity it usually is the Martini Bar and the World Class Bar.

I believe it was $17.50, $18.00, and $21.00. I know I recently pre-paid for an upcoming concierge class cabin at $18 pp/pd. I tried to go back to my invoice for my cruise last month on the Eclipse in an interior cabin but it looks like I had pre-paid those before the last increase or two as I only paid $15.50 pp/pd. When we were in the Retreat last November, we had AI as most people in the Retreat have.