Random Cruizer

But you don't pay $50--you pay whatever your "already included in the MDR" price PLUS the $50. You already paid for dinner--so it's an extra $50, not just $50. That probably under $140, but it's not just $50, either.

wow!

The last one was semi-interesting, this one was dead boring.

Thanks, you are correct! But with my luck I'd end up on 12 with noise overhead. I also have family staying in suite with a sunset verandah where I can visit for good views when we are going through scenic places. I'll also be off the boat most afternoons, so the afternoon snacks would not be useful. I really only sleep in my cabin. It makes a difference that's it's just for another IV--if it was for a real one (like the deluxe porthole, which I loved on Apex), I would definitely bid.

Very detailed, thank you very much! Will not make bid-- Happy cruising!

I agree it wouldn't be worth if I was in a regular 2-person IV, but I'm in one of the tiny solo IVs on deck six right on top of the lifeboats. So the move might be worth it...

I got my move up bid email today for a 10 night cruise this July on Beyond. Last summer on Apex, I moved up from Inside Stateroom to Deluxe Porthole--I was alone, and the bid I put in was doubled for two people, as I expected. This summer there doesn't seem to be deluxe porthole available which is fine. I'm a bit tempted by the making a bid on Concierge, it starts at $200, which I'm assuming means $400. But the kicker is that I'm in one of the solo person IVs next to the elevators. It seems like that bid would mean a significant step to to a regular 2-person IV. That would be quite a deal! But I'm wondering if that really means I get the Concierge perks in the cabin I have? The solo IV costs less than the Inside Room for 2 (single supplement), so this Concierge move up seems like a big step from the solo IV. Any advice? Perhaps I should just call Celebrity? But they don't do the move ups, it's an outside company right? Thoughts? ETA: actually last summer's move up was something else on a Solstice class--the deluxe porthole move up came over the phone from Celebrity when I called about something else, so the Deluxe Porthole was not in my move up email for Apex last year, either.

I took my first cruise ever last summer on the Equinox, and I didn't gain any weight at all. I took the stairs, never the elevator. I didn't eat any bread. I only had alcohol a few times on the whole trip, I would eat a couple bits of my desert. I had a treat from al brachhio (or however you spell it) a few times. I didn't eat between meals. I also walked up on the top deck every morning at dawn for 30 minutes to an hour. Oh, and I ate almost exclusively in the MDR or had Raw on 5 for an ala carte lunch.

The animation was fine, and it was actually one of my best meals on Apex, with a really excellent 4-course wine pairing for $20 extra--I thought that was a great value. I thought it was different and worth the price, even if it is a one-and-done kind of thing. I say go for it.

You are absolutely right! What I wrote was foolish. What I would do instead would be find a staff member to do it for me. And if nobody in the pool area would, I would walk the ship all the way to the captain until I found someone who would enforce the rules.

You can have steak at home, choose Eden and have something different.

I'm kind of surprised everyone respects the towels, etc. I don't sit out in the sun, but if I did and get there at 8 am, I'd sit somewhere quietly for 10 or fifteen minutes, then take my pick of whatever wasn't claimed. I'd lay their towel or whatever on the deck beside the lounger, and move and let them have it if they ever show up.

The first cruise I ever took in my life was the on the Equinox last summer, I really enjoyed the traditional dining. On my Apex cruise later in the summer, I really didn't enjoy the 4 MDR concept. I understand folks liking the flexibility, the new concept is more like a restaurant--but in a land-based restaurant the tables are far enough apart to enjoy your meal no matter what time you arrive. On the Apex, the tables being so close together (making it easy to chat with others if you are all arriving at the same time) didn't work for having a table of 8 behind me one course behind, and tables on either side of me one course ahead. I might not have minded so much if I had had a dinner partner, but traveling solo and squeezed in there with everyone having a different talk with their waiter made it hard to enjoy my meal. Just my two cents--I'd enjoy the "any time" concept a lot more if the tables were the same distance apart they'd be on land. That said--I never went to the "any time" dining room on a separate deck on the Equinox--on those ships does the "any time" dining room have the tables farther apart?

Those pics of you guys in the hanging seats in Eden bring back so many memories! When I was on Apex for a Norway cruise last summer, I spend time in them reading--one of my favorite places to really relax on the ship! Have a great time, love following your live reviews!

I did this on Apex last August on a Norway cruise. I did 2 cruises last summer--and I think it was the tastiest meal, and the walnut cake desert was the best desert I had on either ship. I had the wine with each course for $20, too, and those were also excellent--better than the wines I had in the MDR. I'm tempted to do it on Beyond on my cruise this coming summer. It was a truly great meal. The show was a bit dull, but what a meal!

Just pay for them individually--it will probably less than the package. You can drink them without a package--you just have to pay for each one.

Much prefer the traditional dining room on S class, and stairways that go all the way up and down at either end instead of having to use more than one to navigate on the E class. Did love Eden on the E-class.

Susie, I guess I'm not saying what I did was "acceptable," I"m saying it was an accident. It was also the first cruise I had ever taken in my life, so when my "professional cruise transportion company" who has been doing this for years told me to come on down, well...I did. Won't do it again, never fear.

People can arrive early by accident, they might not be queue jumping. This summer I got a phone call from my transport service telling me that they were letting people board early, did I want to go early? I said sure. When I got there, I did get into the terminal early, but the gangplank wasn't down for an hour! I later realized that the transport person probably had one open seat in an earlier slot and wanted me to go then to make it easier for her later. I think she essentially lied to me so that she'd have a full load at the earlier time.

I was in one of these cabins in Norway in August, and I loved it. Definitely smaller than the verandah room I had on the Eclipse in June, but it's a true verandah with sliding glass door, etc. I thought it was quite cozy.

I had my first cruises this summer--Equinox (verandah) and Apex (deluxe porthole). I wasn't in a suite on either. I had a wonderful time! Loved the older Equinox and the beautiful new Apex--different, but both enjoyable for different reasons. I'm hooked--I'll be cruising again!

That said--showing up right when the dining room opens made it calmer--but I still felt isolated from everyone. Now I was traveling solo--perhaps if I was in a party of 2 or larger, I wouldn't care that they turned it into a restaurant instead of a dining room. And as you say--there are quiet sections, and I took to eating against the back wall. But that's hardly the same as the traditional MDR experience.

That's not really how it works. I was on the Apex. Dining meant having to watch large parties coming in and out during your entire meal, walking behind your chair, etc. It meant listening to wait staff explain deserts on one side of you, appetizers on the other, and main courses to the big table of 8 behind you. Yes--you can have your set time/set table--but since most of the rest of the diners aren't doing that--your meal is ruined. It was NOTHING like the MDR on Equinox where you not only meet people all eating all the courses at the same time you are, but can watch the well-oiled machine that is the wait staff make it all work. I was fascinated by how that wait staff worked in the traditional MDR. The 4 split MDRs on Edge class was NOTHING like that. I had the 2 experiences about 7 weeks apart.

I was on both this summer, well the Apex. The Apex was truly gorgeous, but I really missed the main dining room experience. I didn't realize that splitting it up into 4 meant anytime dining in each, not 4 traditional main dining rooms. That made the dining rooms more like busy restaurants with the tables too close together instead of a cruise ship dinner experience. Also--on the Equinox, even though it's been fitted out with the retreat, you can still walk all the way around the ship on the Equinox unlike some refurbished ones that block off the front like the new edge class does if you aren't in a suite. I loved both, and I would take a cruise again on either--but if you love the MDR and being able to walk to the front of the ship coming into port, stick with Equinox unless you will in the retreat. Also--Eden on the Apex was one of my favorite spaces with the ramp up the back of the ship--such a great place to sit and read.

Thanks so much!