JJRP

Thank you for the detailed write up! Excited for the Cloud’s February 25th sailing, and enjoy learning what to expect.

Pacer Poles for sure! Walking pokes aren’t crutches for the old and infirm - youngsters all over the AT swear by them. They get your upper body in the game, take load off knees downhill, help with balance in the slippery stuff. You can move quicker and with less risk of injury.

I’ll be on SS for the first time next February. What are items you like to have stocked in your stateroom? What other personalizations do you request on your cruises? I don’t really mean specialized, ahead-of-time requests, but rather from SS typical offerings, what do you particularly enjoy? What might I not think to request?

I'll be on the Cloud next February, and had the exact same question. I found a thread here on CC that directly addressed dressing in the main dinner room on SS expedition cruises. They said the reality is that jackets are not required any evening, although a fair number of people wear them. Doesn't sound like much of anyone wears a tie. I also like dressing for dinner. So sounds like you'll fit in if you like want to wear a jacket to dinner, but don't have to. Probably leave the tux at home ;-> I would appreciate anyone's answer if they have first-hand experience on Cloud or Wind.

Completely agree - I wanted to write this exactly post, but glad I didn't have to. I just booked an expedition trip Feb 2023, and had to hunt around CC for a while to figure out what the dress was (which apparently is different from standard SS ships). Ugh.

My understanding is that SS does provide a manservant (indeed, a butler), so that is no excuse for dressing down.

Exactly, thank you. When in doubt, you can never go far wrong with a blue blazer. And throw a tie or two in the suitcase, just in case.

Good suggestion, and yes I did actually. Maybe someone will respond, got a couple weeks left.

I’d bring my own on Infinity leaving Aug 13th if there were players. Good luck!

People of all economic levels have events where they dress to a certain standard. In the MDR, wearing blue jeans, a golf shirt from JC Penny’s, and simple leather loathers would satisfy the dress code and be entirely appropriate. That is hardly pretending to be the 1%. (Again, thank you for following the dress code, especially when you don’t like it)

I very much enjoy the experience of dining in the MDR. It is not just about getting dinner; they will deliver the MDR menu to my room if I only want the food. There are many elements to the experience; decor, attentive service, china, flat ware, food, wine, coffee, conversation, how the staff dress, and even the design of the room itself. Another part of the experience of dining, for me, is how the other guests dress and their behavior. Kinda like Rockey Horor Picture Show, or Japanese Kabuki theater, audience participation is part of the experience. It has nothing to do with judging someone else about how they like to dress or what they like to do on their vacation. By all means, you do you. But when someone else decides to ignore the clearly written direction on how to dress, you deny me my experience. Please let me be me. I will be taking my first Celebrity cruise this August. I changed from NCL specifically because I hoped Celebrity would be somewhat more traditional and calmer. One of my top hopes for Celebrity specifically was that the MDR dining would a more traditional, full dining experience. I think it is great that people want to have a crazy silly time with their kids on vacation, or that 20-somethings want to be up drinking and dancing until 2am. I think it is great that people want to wear flip-flops and shorts to their dinner (on NCL anywhere or Celebrity at the buffet dinner). I chose Celebrity because I am looking for a somewhat different experience. It is discouraging to see I may not find it because someone else has decided that because dressing "to code" does not matter to them, and they are going to make that decision for me. Finally, I see lots of people on this thread who say they like to wear shorts and flip-flops on their vacation dinner, but that they either eat at the buffet or put on pants and shoes anyway for the MDR. Thank you for your consideration, and there will be at least one passenger in August who appreciates it.

I believe the staff in the MDR works hard to create a specific experience. They appear to have pride in their work. I hear you that how you dress in your daily culture may not be considered part of good manners. But for much of the world (especially outside the U.S., from where the vast majority of the staff hail), how you dress for dinner at night in a formal dining room is part of good manners; the same as saying "please" and "thank you." It is not about you - it is not a judgment on your clothing preferences or anything else to do with you personally. I suspect when you dine in the MDR, you don't refuse to say "please" and "thank you" because you are on vacation. If you don't use such words of courtesy, I believe the staff would care and find it mildly disrespectful and not appreciating the work they are going for you. So too, if you dress in shorts and flip-flops, they find it disrespectful of their work, of the experience they are trying to create with their effort.

Thank you!

You would miss out on discounts for second passenger, e.g. second person 60% off, if you had such an offer.

I’m booked for 8/13/22 sailing and elected the Elevate package, apparently shortly before they ended it. I like the premium beverages mostly for more wine selection. I went to try to find the wine menus yesterday for MDR and Cellar Masters, which showed the wines available for premium drinks versus normal all included, and the bottles available, etc. But the wine menus are gone! Perhaps they are revisiting the whole premium beverage upgrade program? I saw some posts from last spring saying Celebrity did not have many of the premium wines in stock, disappointing. Any experience or thoughts on this?