BazingAu

Went through Brooklyn with beverages brought on with us - no problem. Port Canaveral brought back cans of soda - no problem.

If you have the luxury of time, many of the 10+ day sailings not around holidays tend to be less busy. There’s been some repositioning cruises that I would love to take, but would require the kids to be out of school too long. I think these will be your sweet spot.

This particular sailing only has 3 ports: Port Canaveral, Nassau, and Ocean Cay. Yesterday, the ship was 4-5 hours late to Port Canaveral due to winds and people lining up to leave the ship was hours long. Today, the ship was again 4-5 hours late to Nassau due to the ship turning around to meet the medvac. Both these ports were originally scheduled to arrive at noon, so a 4+ hour late arrival means most excursions and activities would be cancelled. I think MSC is trying to be proactive to offer compensation since 2 of the 3 ports were severely disrupted. Also, some of the pools have been closed for extended periods of time as well which also limited activities on the ship for people who decided not to get off. I don't think they would offer compensation if it was just the medvac delay. Hopefully they make it to Ocean Cay without issues tomorrow!

Not sure if you did this, but MSC has a form you have to fill out for any special needs or accommodations and they don't accept email requests without the form: https://www.msccruisesusa.com/manage-booking/special-needs

Thank you for the tip. Do you have a brand that you recommend?

Thanks. That’s a bummer. All the lines I see on YouTube was from security. I will have my parents with me who can’t stand for that long so was hoping. That Diamond can get in quicker (where there’s at least chairs that I can see).

Thanks Jim. Did you see or use a separate check in during embarkation for Diamond/Aurea? I heard the security lines can be loooong if you aren’t in Yacht Club, but there is also a separate line somewhere for Diamond/Aurea. I have never seen any photos or videos of this, so not sure if that’s just an urban legend. 😆

Following along! I'm mostly interested in the food! LOL. Let us know the hits and misses please!

I actually like the flashback to the pandemic webinars that started these. They really have come a long way. I find the videos to be interesting!

Enterprise is also not open on the port days. They are only open for embarkation and Debarkation, so I think OP would be out of luck.

We've been on cruises with cruise directors that we barely noticed. We've also been on cruises with amazing cruise directors who somehow manage to be everywhere and just out there encouraging passengers to have a fabulous time. While the former may not break a cruise, the latter can definitely make one. Giuseppe on Celebrity was one of those amazing cruise directors that we've had the pleasure to cruise with.

Did you end up doing this tour? What was your opinion of it?

I had embarkation lunch (not on edge class though) last month and the time was noon to 1 pm. They closed the doors for entry at 1 pm, but anyone already seated could order past 1 pm.

The Celebrity site doesn't say this explicitly, but you can get the mocktail or non-alcoholic versions of the classic alcohol drinks. I was able to get virgin mojitos, virgin daiquiris, virgin pina coladas, etc. You cannot get virgin versions of premium drinks - nothing made with redbull or whatever else they categorize as a premium drink.

We were on a 9 night cruise and didn't get to try the carpaccio, short rib, or wellington. Was not served at all - even our Concierge embarkation lunch was a stew instead of short ribs. Grrr. But out of the items we did get, the prime rib was great! We did not love the lobster tail in the MDR. It was very small and rubbery. The lobster tail in Qsine/Le Petit Chef was much better!

I was in Concierge Class on the Reflection a few weeks ago. The Concierge desk was only open very limited hours of the day, so I actually found myself having to go to to Guest Relations directly. I also had to go to the Shore Excursion desk directly because the one time I went to the Concierge desk when it was open, they couldn't answer any of my questions. And when I had to print tickets, the desk was closed again, so I went to the iLounge and did it myself (I had a wifi plan).

We did June 1 on the Reflection in Concierge class. It was lovely! Try to get seated in the MDR with Orly and his team. They're wonderful!

My parents' Princess cruise to Alaska has been their favorite. It is the cruise which they compare all other cruises to.

Oh, sorry, I misunderstood your initial comment. Yes, you are correct. Many different cabin clothes are washed together, then they sort the clothes by the little tags they glue onto each piece of clothing. I don't think I'll be doing it again.

I don't disagree with you. This was pretty gross, and I will likely just bring my Tide fabric sanitizer spray for longer trips instead. (I usually bring it with me on shorter trips, but like using laundry for longer ones.)

They glue little tags on them. Every single piece of laundry came back with a tiny tag glued on them.

I wanted to confirm that the 3 bag "Take Home Laundry" comes with 3 coupons that you attach to your laundry when you send it in. We did one bag every 2-3 days. One of the bags did take longer to come back and the clothes smelled faintly like vomit. It was the last bag of the lot and we didn't have time for them to redo it since it came back on our last day. I brought along some Febreze and used that to cover up the smell. It was faint, but you could smell it since you're wearing it. I was continuing onto a work trip immediately after the cruise, so these were the clothes I had. At least the first 2 bags came back fine, so 2/3 of my clothes were ok.

I don’t have an exact number of total pax, but was told between 2600-2700 from our waiter in MDR.

I’m currently on the Celebrity Reflection sailing in Europe. We just finished up Day 4 in Ajaccio Corsica. Next is Genoa Italy. We booked 2 rooms in Concierge Class and did not bid on Move Up. I think there’s been some confusion of what’s included in Concierge Class after the “Changes of 2023” took effect. Here’s what we have received or observed so far: Embarkation lunch - no short rib. They replaced it with Beef Bourguignon instead. It was nice because the buffet was crazy packed, but would have definitely preferred the short rib instead. Celebrity tote bag (can take home) - one in each room. I was very happy to see this! It’s my first X cruise, so I’m happy to add this to my collection. Celebrity card case (can take home) - one in each room. Again, very happy to receive this. Umbrellas - a small and large umbrella is provided for use (cannot take home). Binoculars - a set of binoculars are provided for use, but ours was kind of broken (cannot take home). Lounger chairs, ottomans, and table for use on balcony. Massaging shower head in shower. Upgraded bath products to use from CO Bigelow. Plush robes for use (cannot take home), but no slippers. Cloth laundry bag for use (cannot take home). We have not asked for our bottle of wine - we don’t drink, but the insert card describing the concierge benefits says no substitutes. I find the daily canapés kinda neat and is nice to get something everyday, but I guess maybe they’re not for everyone. I think those were all the things people ask about, but feel free to ask me anything (AMA). Will reply when I get a chance.

Spa Cafe on the Reflection was closed during embarkation day.