HeddaGarbled

I’ve seen it under “manage my reservation” on the website. 

I found a photo. 

*How can they show movies or sports on the screen,  or have a musician play at the same time as PB?*

They don’t. Honestly, stop stressing. It’s a big space and there’s plenty of time to cater for all of us. 

Just off Beyond. It was directly in front of the big screen, when I noticed it, and was not impinging on space nor seating. We were sitting having a drink in the rooftop garden and couldn’t hear it and could barely see it above the planting. You certainly wouldn’t have heard it from the Sunset Bar. The music and chat from the Rooftop Garden Grill and Sunset Bar are both much much more noticeable. It’s all going to be just fine. 

It works fine. On Beyond, you can use it to turn your cabin lights on and off which I found childishly fun.

Women will need a scarf for the mosques. Hats aren’t enough. However, our guide did say that it was symbolic and you don’t need to worry about covering your hair completely. Knees and shoulders should also be covered. 
 

Although, the men’s dress code is far more relaxed, our guide was bothered by one man whose shorts were above his knees and suggested he pull them down a bit and untuck his t-shirt to cover up the low-slungness. 
 

Men and women will need to take their shoes off in the mosques, so I’d advise you to wear socks. The rule is to take your shoes off before you step on the carpet. 
 

I doubt Italian police stations/prisons have the capacity for the thousands of tourists wandering about without their passports. 

Realistically, what are they going to do if you don’t produce your passport?

Yeah, that last line has definitely been added since I booked.

Great topic.

Boring, I know, but I really like the Caesar salad. 

‘Specialty’ coffees means the ones with alcohol in or fancy flavourings and are only on the Premium package.
 

‘Premium’ coffees means the cappucinos, lattes etc and are available on the Standard package. 

Wasn’t the buffet a bit of a ghost town in the evenings anyway prior to this recent change? It doesn’t seem entirely unreasonable to me to try to minimise waste and cut costs in an under-used venue. 

And thanks to everyone else who answered my question. You are all so helpful, and I’m enjoying reading the responses to Stockjock’s original question, too. 

2 hours ago, JBare said:

The Celebrity Ephesus tour that we were on, the carpet saleroom was in Kusadasi and the tour guide said that those who did not wish to do the carpet tour could leave now and head straight back to the ship, surprisingly only a few of us got off the bus.

Thank you 😊 

Has anyone ever managed to find an Ephesus tour that didn’t end with a carpet demonstration?

Sprouts with scallops 😱

There are lots of 2 person tables but they are very close to the other 2 person tables, maybe 6 inch gap between. The ones by the windows and walls are two 2 person tables, so effectively tables for 4, and in the middle of the room there are runs of tables, so you might have close neighbours both sides. 
 

The difference from sitting on a larger table, is that you won’t be seated and served  at the same time, so it’s up to you whether you want to chat to them or pretend they aren’t there. You won’t be able to have a private conversation and you’ll be able to hear their conversation. 
 

If you opt for Select dining, which is where you can just turn up at the dining room at any time during opening hours, the first two nights are busy, especially the first night. The member of staff on the door, will ask you what size table you want. It’s likely that if you agree to share a table you will be able to go in straight away or have a shorter wait than if you ask for a table for 2. You’ll probably be sent away with a buzzer which will buzz when a table comes free.

After the first two nights it settles down and you may not have to wait at all regardless of what size table you choose. 

It does sound lovely but ‘sun-drenched vegetables’ made me roll my eyes just a little bit. 

In the U.K., when we have a bank/public holiday, most shops, tourist attractions, restaurants etc stay open because it’s actually a good trading day for them with others being off work. I can’t speak for Grand Cayman, and this is an unusual circumstance, but I wouldn’t assume anything yet. Thank you for your kind message, by the way. 

My last post from England back in December was a very worried one and we did indeed have a seriously bad few months. However, with a strict lockdown and a fast vaccination programme, things are now looking much better. Schools went back this week; shops, hairdressers, gyms etc scheduled to open early April; pubs and restaurants for May. The government are being cautious this time around (about flipping time!) and this timetable could be delayed if the cases surge again at any point. 
 

Most of my contemporaries (60 ish) and older have had their first vaccination (apart from the refuseniks) and ages 50+ and second vaccinations for the early vaccinees are underway. 
 

I had my vaccination done at a newly set up mass vaccination centre in a local theatre. Obviously the vaccinations are being done by professionals, many of whom have volunteered to do this and are putting in long hours, but there are lots of unpaid volunteers managing the car parking and queues and admin and disinfecting the premises etc. This really feels like a  wonderful mass community effort to get us out of this crisis, and having sometimes felt despairing and ashamed about how the U.K. has handled the pandemic, I’ve sort of had my faith restored a little bit.

There’s some major political stuff kicking off in the EU re vaccine supply, so we need to be a bit sceptical about the motivation behind some of the statements. 

Things feeling quite frightening in the U.K. right now. We have this new strain which we think is causing our big increase in infection rates. 40 countries have blocked travel from us to them. That’s completely understandable but is a bit panic-inducing. As you can imagine, the scenes at the airports and ports are fairly dramatic.

We have localised restrictions, with Scotland, Wales, London and large parts of the South East of England banned from mixing with family at Christmas which is obviously upsetting a lot of people. Those of us in areas who are allowed to see family at Christmas, have been told Christmas Day only with no overnights, which is a problem for people who don’t live near their families. 
 

Half the country has bought too much food expecting to be hosting Christmas, and the other half doesn’t have any food in because they thought they were staying with family. Local Facebook groups are full of posts offering their now unwanted pre-ordered turkeys and seafood platters, or begging someone to deliver a Christmas dinner to their elderly relatives. 

Things getting worse again in the U.K. Having had a really bad time of it in the spring, things were improving over the summer, but now we are on the cusp of the second wave we were all warned about. Infections going up dramatically, but regional rather than national. University cities are hotspots. Lots of controversy about the treatment of university students, some of whom are being forcibly quarantined in their halls of residence. 
 

Deaths still low but increasing and we know from the first time around that there’s a lag between infections and deaths, though maybe if the infections are mostly young people this time around, the death rates won’t be as bad as in the spring. 
 

Current lockdowns aren’t as comprehensive as last time and are regional rather than nationwide like last time, but we’re to expect a new announcement on Monday ☹️
 

I expect your “glares of disdain” sent her home feeling even more miserable and harassed than she already was - a little empathy wouldn’t go amiss. 

If the child was sneezing, it’s a cold, not Covid, and masks aren’t mandatory for young children (because trying to get children to comply with correct and sustained mask wearing is like trying to go on a cruise during a pandemic). Not trying to be argumentative, but caring for children through all this is difficult enough without being judged by random strangers who have no idea what you are dealing with and the daily difficult decisions and difficulties you have to navigate your way through.