TMLAalum

We even did carryon only + backpack for a November Europe Danube River cruise preceeded by 7 nights in Germany, 3 in France, 3 in Switzerland and followed by 3 nights in Munich! We did wash clothes in a timeshare laundry in Germany, hand-washed as needed after and used Avalon's service for a few items. For that trip only a pair of Adidas and a pair of flats came with me, winter jacket was compressible, and several jeans and black slacks sufficed. I've learned that even heavy items such as men's golf shirts and jeans can be hand-laundered and hung to dry in the shower, though they won't be ready to wear the next day. Most recent carryon/backpack cruse/land was last September on the Millennium Alaska and on return a visit to family in Oregon for another week. We did have laundry available on all parts of that trip. Biggest mistake ever was deciding to check our carryons when we were routed CLE-JFK-BER at the counter vs. our original booking CLE-LGA-BER. Thought it would be more convenient since we no longer had to schlep across Queens from one airport to the other. HA HA HA. No bags for our entire 3 week trip that included a 2-week British Isles cruise on the Silhouette.

I sent a letter to celebrityengagementcenter@celebrity.com regarding possible FCC and received a nice written reply after awhile and learned we do have $100@ credit. We were provided with confirmation #s and expiration dates of 2049. Incuded in the letter is this information: I hope this helps. If you have any other questions or concerns, feel free to contact our Engagement Center at 844-418-6824 from North America, 0344 493 2033 from the UK, or 1-316-554-5961 worldwide.

Sunset from Tuscan Grille would be my choice! No sea views from the other specialty restaurants as I recall, except Sushi on 5, but that doesn't compare to the aft views from Tuscan!

We had a blast in our Twizy in Bermuda! In fall 2017, we needed to pick it up at the Hamilton Princess Hotel, which was a bit of a hassle and extra expense, but we shared the cab with a fun couple from our roll call who had discovered Twizy. DH and I are septuagenerians and laughed aloud at my gyrations getting in the back of the vehicle. Drove all the way to St. George and back, charging it while at lunch. Caught the last ferry back to King's Wharf.

We nearly fainted from hunger when we shared a table with a slow eating, nonstop talker who ordered at least 3 apps. Our beleaguered waiter was following protocol by not serving our dinners until this woman had finished the apps. He was relieved when I asked him to please proceed with the rest of the meal for the rest of us!

Here are options from the Rome2Rio website from Zurich to Basel, with the train probably the best choice followed by taxi to where your river boat docks. Flying into Basel with an extra connection gives more opportunity for things to go wrong! We plan on flying out of Zurich when we leave Switzerland post our Rhine River cruise next year! Zürich to Basel (rome2rio.com)

One bedbug experience for me in 2016. Bites emerged about a week later. This was in 2016 and was the 3rd travel fiasco that year: lost luggage for 3 weeks in Europe that included the British Isles cruise on the Silhouette, no water when we arrived home because credit card payment did not register, and finally bedbugs at Breaks Interstate Park between KY and VA.

Ditto @Turtles06 recommendation of train from Paris to Amsterdam. To visit the D-day area you could book a long day trip from Paris or even an overnight. Bruges is well worth a visit. How much time do you have? IMHO it might be better to follow the adage less is more. What you don't see on your first trip to Europe gives you all the more reason to return! Also, do check out the Ports of Call Europe forum where you will get even more help from your Cruise Critic friends! Europe Cruises Q&A: Find Tips & Recommendations - Cruise Critic Message Board Forums

Those cabins look to be fabulous for a forward view over the bow. I would chose one of those over an Infinite veranda when we next sail an E-class ship. We did sail in 7003, which is a supersize OV with a large porthole window, on the Millennium and had no issues being that far forward.

Despite my pointing out the drawbacks of Viking vs. Avalon, friends booked Viking Rhone. I hope they have a wonderful cruise, but worry that they are what I consider "frail" elderly. They are also spending time in Paris as well as Scotland and will be gone 3 weeks.

Can’t hurt to attempt potty training before the cruise to give your family more options. Typically, crew love seeing and interacting with wee ones since theirs are far away.

Would Avalon be willing to contact your TA and insist they contact you? In our case, same thing in that Celebrity wouldn't touch our booking with that dishonest TA- except that Celebrity referenced the agency that had our booking and it was not the same one we booked with! It was an actual brick/mortar agency that the online fraudulent agency had channeled our booking through! Hope you get things unraveled Sanger727!

Gracias, Roked!

Major Red Flag about your TA, Sanger! We got screwed by a TA found via that compare website when booking our first Celebrity cruise. It was a nightmare due to an error on my part in paying in full at the time of booking and the fact that this TA used all the $ save for the deposit to float their business. Agency went belly-up before our cruise. Long story but both our cruise and our monies were salvaged.

If you are driving to the port, why not bring wine aboard? If you don't drink it, just bring it home! If flying, it may be more difficult to locate a beverage store and purchase wine before sailing, but if you do this, be sure to drink up before your return flight home!

That can be quite off-putting on a roll call. Now if cabin categories are requested on a roll call for the purpose of a “crawl” so that all categories can be visited, that is a different story!

Their laundry prices are reasonable.

Wish Cruise Critic could add NO SELF-SERVICE LAUNDRY to a prominent position on this forum!

Never felt like a less than worthy cruiser for not booking a suite on any of the 14 Celebrity cruises we’ve not sailed in one!

Now this is a very helpful post! Sent the link to my friend who is sailing on the Millennium in September.

Hope to be Elite + for our next cruise thanks to PUPs. Thinking of the no-perks option but will miss Cafe al Bacio's coffees. I see on the Celebrity list of bennis for that tier we get complimentary cappucino, latte, espresso and tea throughout the voyage. Does this mean at Cafe al Bacio? And would Americano (my choice) and Cafe Mocha (DH's choice) be gratis? Thanks!

IDK if river cruise cabin walls are magnetic, but on our ocean cruises i mount maps of our itinerary and follow along the route as we sail!

@Flyonby Good Luck! DD came down with Covid at home on 5/24. She had signed on to be part of the crowd being filmed earlier this week for the Loaves/Fishes episode of the Chosen. A negative PCR test was mandated and she was + on 6/4, 6/5 and luckily negative on 6/6 just in time to be among the multitude. So there is hope for you all!

If you are in adjacent verandas, will they let you all open the divider between them?

My DH is like "Ipee". He brings me my coffee from Cafe al Bacio every morning! although on last September's Alaska cruise, I was up so early I joined him there. This thread has me musing about a disadvantage of taking the no-perks option- we'd have to add the cost of our morning coffees into the equation. We could consider requesting a kettle and if so, would bring Starbucks Via; when staying in European timeshares which do not provide a US-type coffeemaker, we've found this to be a better option than instant Nescafe.