Galaxy2004

Also, Celebrity has been offering more food tours/excursions the last couple of years. We've done a couple with them and both were ok. A bit too structured and rushed for me and some sales pitches in between. But food tours seem to be more plentiful on the islands the last couple of years and are a good way to learn about local food and history.

Ah, you're like me and your DW is like my DH. We've done 15 Caribbean cruises so spend more time on the ship now, but IMO, Barbados (beautiful beaches, good food, and really easy to get around), St. Thomas but take the ferry from there to St. John for beautiful, clean, and much quieter beaches (compared to Magen's Bay on St. Thomas), St. Lucia is beautiful with the Pitons, though it's a drive to get there or a catamaran trip to see them. Not a fan of Aruba - too sandy and flat - but they have beautiful beaches and very easy to get around. Try to look for small, local food stalls/restaurants for food and also ask them what they recommend you go see. We've found some nice of the beaten track beaches and nature walks that way. 

@Tauntony Give us some ideas of what you like and don't like so we know what to recommend. 

This is how it showed in the booking confirmation from an earlier cruise this year. TN 

I'm in TN and 55+. I often get quotes back saying "residency rate" or "senior rate" and that shows on the statement. Now, whether they are actually different from what others are getting, I don't know. Same when I enter by captain's club #.

We've gotten the nicer canvas one when in concierge class or aqua class and once on a special captain's club members cruise. 

@zitskyOh goodness, on Ascent I lived there!! I would sit in one of those cushy chairs on the starboard side and read for hours while the amazing bar staff brought me water, then red bull, then spicy margarita, then, well, you get my drift. It was a winter Caribbean cruise so all about relaxation. 

I like all 3 classes for different reasons. We don't sail in suites so don't have info on that. For S Class we love the library and the amazing atrium setup and just feel that the ship flows better than E. On E class though you can't beat their jogging track, Sunset Bar, and rooftop garden area. We also like the smaller dining rooms over the large main dining room. M Class it's all about the aft balcony rooms.  

Agree that Celebrity doesn't seem interested in solo cruisers. As far as whether it's a legal issue, single cruisers are not a protected class as far as discrimination is concerned. Definitely spend your money with companies that appreciate and want to serve you!

Here's some news on Port Everglades -https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/news/state/2024/06/13/rain-flooding-not-impeding-key-port-everglades-gas-deliveries/74089330007/

The only area you can't access is the Retreat area - lounge, sundeck, and restaurant. It's by room key access so you will know when yours doesn't work😁.

Blue Restaurant is for Aqua Class so you can't dine there.

Otherwise, the ship is yours. 

Our last few cruises, there were groups getting off as late as your driver time. You need everything out of your room at 7.30 or so. Buffet closes at 8. Grab a plate and relax and walk off at 8.30 to catch your ride.

Earlier this year, they changed the time of one of our excursions from 1pm to 8am. No notice but thank goodness we actually looked at the tickets as @Liao said above or we would have shown up at 1pm. We actually cancelled as we don't like having to be anywhere at 8am while on vacation in the Caribbean.😁

On 2 Ascent sailings I spent soooo much time in the comfy chairs on the stern side of the Sunset Bar. Super attentive bar staff. Loved the entire area.

@WrittenOnYourHeart DITTO!!

When you book the excursion it will have the refund policy as it may vary depending on who the tour operator is. Any that we've ever cancelled have been refunded in the same form as we paid. So if we paid via CC, they refunded to our CC.

We were on Ascent earlier this year and didn't care for them. 

Did 2 cruises on her in 2022 after the restart and loved it. Did 2 on Ascent in 2023 / 2024 and loved it more. Tons of live reports and reviews on Apex so I would search for some of those. Or ask specific questions as to what you want to know about her.

Celebrity does not have much night life after 11 and certainly not late into the morning. Edge series are becoming a bit more active later in the evening, but by midnight almost everyone is all tucked in.

Not much to do in the immediate port area. We did this ship excursion in 2023 and enjoyed it. https://www.celebritycruises.com/shore-excursions/skb/basseterre-st-kitts-nevis/small-group-st-kitts-culinary-experience-and-rum-tasting/kti9

My goodness that's a heck of a suite for 140EUR!!

Great picture. This view is why I have always loved the aft cabins on the Millennium class ships. 

@Moonarino On our last Ascent cruise the hostess in Normandie learned by the 2nd night that we like some space and she suggested that we come at certain times to avoid the crowd, which resulted in us getting the separation we wanted. Certainly happy that Celebrity has that personal touch and doesn't make you reserve a specific table through the app.

@MoonarinoNot had problems with app use on Celebrity, but many of their 2 toppers are the same as you describe on Carnival - maybe 1 foot from the next table and 6+ of them in a row. Met some really nice couples that way, and have also witnessed some rude and odd ones too. We cruise to relax and reconnect with each other and it's hard to do that when seated the way most 2 toppers are situated now. 

@JackE Not only not copyrightable, but also have to worry about whether content you use from it infringes on someone else's copyright as it's just grabbing and aggregating information. Lots of interesting issues to be worked out in AI. 

@mahdnc ChatGPT is great for first drafts of marketing language, emails, procedures, briefs, etc. Use it regularly as a starting point. Does collect some bad data from time to time, so not perfect.