prmssk

We bought an annual policy for the first time this year but have not used it so don't know how good it truly is. When you start looking at policies pay attention to what benefits are per trip and what benefits are per year. For example, many of the plans have a fairly small cancellation limit that is a yearly benefit (once you use it on a trip, it is gone for the rest of the year) whereas medical and evacuation coverage may be a per trip limit. I think an annual plan is a great idea for someone mostly concerned about the medical and evacuation coverage. If cancellation coverage is very important to you, than an annual plan probably doesn't provide enough coverage.

I have not used the patch but I have been using the ReliefBand for over two decades (with a few year gap in the middle because of temporary changes with the band). For me, the ReliefBand works really well and I love that it has no side effects since it isn't a medication. I even use it when I travel in cars and other situations where I get motion sickness. I love that the latest version has a rechargeable battery as prior versions took large watch type batteries that would last only a couple days. Other than the ReliefBand, I have tried Sea bands and Psi Bands that only provided a little relief. I have also used Bonine with success.

Martini Bar is a favorite of many (including myself) with skilled bartenders and some of my favorite drinks. The thelasotherapy pool is still in the solarium and is a great place to relax. We love the views of the Reflection Lounge in the front of the ship on one of the highest decks. In the lobby outside the Reflection Lounge is one of my favorite art pieces on a cruise ship, a glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly. Silent Disco is a staple on Celebrity cruises and fun to at least watch even if you don't want to participate. The pool grill makes a great turkey burger that is only made to order so it is always fresh although you usually have to wait a few minutes for it. I don't know if you have ever sailed out of a Tampa but I always love watching us go under the Sunshine Skyway Bridge near St. Petersburg. I always plan dinner plans for embarkation evening to not miss being up on deck for that.

Royal is $16 (standard rooms) / $18.50 (suites). NCL's new rates are the highest gratuities I have seen on any of the major lines. Celebrity is the next highest I am aware of at $17.50 (standard rooms) / $18 (concierge/aqua class) / $21 (suites).

Then you should be grandfathered in (if you pre-pay) to whatever they were before April 1, 2022. (I don't have those rates handy.)

That's usually how we do it as well. And if we forget, the first rate increase is a great reminder to go in and add them right away so we don't have to think about it anymore.

It's just a bit wordy the way they repeated it like that but essentially they are saying anyone who books between April 1, 2022 and December 31, 2022 (before January 1) can pre-pay at those rates. I looked back at when we booked and what we pre-paid already and it appears this will be at least the third gratuities rate hike since we booked. If I understand correctly, anyone who booked before April 1, 2022 that hasn't sailed yet can pre-pay at an even older rate. Those that booked after April 1, 2022 but before January 1, 2023, can pre-pay at the current rate.

This new room service policy seems to be better than Carnival's new policy but worse than a lot of the other lines. Carnival just recently went to a fee per item. RCCL offers a continental breakfast with no additional fee but has a cover charge for all other room service (including hot breakfast items). I believe with MSC it depends on what experience you book as to what, if anything is included. Celebrity's room service is complimentary and includes both cold and hot items at breakfast. The only exception is there is a fee for any room service between certain hours in the middle of the night. Princess offers 24 hour room service including a complimentary continental breakfast and a few hot items. There are some additional items you can order for an additional charge. One huge plus for some with Princess is you can order drinks to your room and your drink package covers them.

I suggest doing the math to see what the increase in cost is for the AI fare and compare that to how much you would drink outside the Elite events. (And remember the AI fare also comes with internet and included gratuities.) In some cases, it will make more sense to just pay the AI fare. In other cases, it will make more sense to pay the cruise only fare and just pay out of pocket for the additional drinks you want. Because of how much more the AI fare was and the fact they were offering OBC with the cruise only fare, we will be doing cruise only for our next one with the expectation I will pay a little out of pocket for some additional drinks.

As many as you can drink from a select menu at most bars from 5-7pm each night except embarkation night.

I think @PineappleTraveler's point in her post was not truly a discussion about whether to tip but more that those that choose to tip (for example bartenders) may have reason to carry a purse around. And many with (or even without) the drink package on boards like this claim they tip bartenders in cash throughout the cruise. I personally refuse to carry cash around the ship. If there is a bartender or two that stand out or that I use a lot, I'll give them a lump sum at some point but I am definitely not tipping extra with every drink. I completely agree there is no reason to carry around your entire wallet, credit cards, etc. But I don't agree with @P&T that there would be no reason to carry a purse around at all. A purse can be convenient to carry your sea pass card, small bills if you want to tip, your phone, hand sanitizer, a book, the daily planner for those that prefer paper, etc.

Was there any evidence StarLink had been activated yet? Original timelines I saw for StarLink showed Eclipse early on the schedule.

Isn't that just Elite Plus and above? I don't think Elite gets you free Al Bacio.

I react to lactose free dairy milk the same as regular dairy milk. I think it is actually the casein that I'm intolerant to. I always get a bit nervous with how often the crew refer to me as lactose free or offer me something that is lactose free. I'm glad to hear it sounds like they do have some options.

I believe Celebrity occasionally stops at Labadee, Haiti (a regular stop for Royal Caribbean).

To add to a lot of the great suggestions for while in port, I really think it is important to make use of layers of protections. A number of years ago in Barcelona (not while on a cruise), I fell for a distraction scam (one half a couple asked me for directions while the other grabbed my purse once I turned). It really can happen to anyone even if you are trying to be mindful. But because my credit cards, passport, and important stuff was on me (in a money belt), they got nothing of value to them (a train ticket, a cheap point and shoot camera that needed replacing, and sadly a notebook of my own poetry). It was sad to lose my poetry (which I'm sure was dumped in a garbage can) but it was very easy to just buy another (inexpensive) train ticket and continue on my trip.

Does anyone know if they have non-dairy milk (almond, coconut, oat, or soy) available to make lattes for the elite breakfast?

I honestly haven't ever thought about which way the bed is facing when we book inside cabins. Thinking back to our last two inside cabins (on different cruise lines), we had one each direction. I don't remember a lot of motion on either of those cruises so I don't think it would have mattered. Our next Celebrity inside cabin (on the Eclipse) will be the normal (most common) layout which should have the bed facing forward/aft. My favorite inside rooms have been the ones that are very close to open deck (without being under or above noisy areas). I'm usually focused more on how convenient the room is to the areas I will spend the most time.

Thanks for the reminder. I know I could but I probably won't go to the trouble. We will already have a lot to handle with carryons for this next cruise and limited space in checked luggage since we are flying.

This thread has been very interesting. We are very newly elite and when I was checking prices for our May cruise during the Black Friday sales, I re-did the math to make sure it still made sense to do AI. Ultimately, I had the cruise re-priced to cruise only. Even after budgeting for a few extra drinks outside the elite benefits and after purchasing a 1 device internet plan to share with my husband, we come out ahead about $60 a day. In this case, it helped that they were offering $400 OBC which basically equalled the gratuities we would have to pay by switching to cruise only. We shall see how it goes. The one thing I will miss is Perrier/San Pellegrino. When I have the premium drink package, I drink a lot of those premium waters but it is not something I will pay out of pocket for.

Although I generally try to put valuables away and do store our passports/wallets in the safe, I don't worry too much in the stateroom. I have left my laptop on the desk or forgotten to put away jewelry. I think stateroom attendants are trustworthy because their job depends on it. Out on the pool deck, I don't leave anything in sight that can easily be picked up. I also don't bring valuables with me aside from my phone. There are cameras everywhere so I think it would be harder to get away with than in most places on land but there are dishonest people everywhere. Edited to add: The most common crimes on cruise ships (and I don't think they are that common) I understand are sexual assaults although not always involving passengers. Usually too much alcohol is involved.

Anyone have experience with food allergies in the food hall? Any tips? Do the tablets list allergens or ingredients or anything?

FYI - Just today Princess announced an increase in the prices of their bundled fares plus increases in gratuities, internet, and a few other things. So I’m not sure we can truly escape these increases no matter what line we cruise, unless we stop cruising.

In our case, it was a Tuscan Grill reservation we wanted to change on the Constellation. Even though we were trying to make the change with one of the Retreat Concierges immediately upon boarding, there was very limited availability and it didn't seem to matter that we were in the penthouse. We ultimately ended up eating much later than we wanted. Like I said, based on others reports, I don't think this is normal for those sailing in upper suites. My point is that if it happened to us, it could happen to others so if there are reservations you really want, I recommend making them pre-cruise.

When I just called to book the internet package with loyalty status, the price quoted was almost the loyalty discount on top of the cruise planner sale price. I'm not exactly sure how it was calculated since it didn't match my math but since it was close enough to what I was hoping for, I just booked it. I would assume the same would be true for the beverage package.