leaveitallbehind

...and to be fair with my first response I initially interpreted the e-scooter to be the small sit down riding version - not the stand up powered ones. So this is why I suggested they contact Celebrity to confirm.

I wouldn't think so as it most likely would be turned off while in the stateroom. My interpretation is that the OP is only intending to use it while in port, so it would only be stored in their stateroom until they arrive and inoperative on board. Probably the best suggestion IMO is for the OP to talk with his travel agent, if they used one, or talk with Celebrity directly and find out about both items they have in question for sure.

Yes to the e scooter, but it must be kept and recharged in your stateroom and cannot be left outside your room in the hallways, etc. Don't know about the one wheel. Hopefully someone else will.

Agree that it may be difficult to include that geographically wide range of ports in a single short cruise. Those that include Barcelona and Marseilles likely won't include Venice and Dubrovnik, and visa versa. Typically the Western Mediterranean cruises with Barcelona and Marseilles in the itinerary would also include Western Italy with Naples and Rome, as example. Those that include the Eastern Mediterranean with Venice and Dubrovnik typically include the Greek Isles, as example, as well. I would also suggest talking with a travel agent to see what your options may be, but likely a longer cruise (10 - 14 days?) would be necessary to include ports of call from both regions.

Edge class compares very similarly physically to Solstice class ships as follows: Solstice: Gross tonnage - 129,000; Length - 1,033 ft; Passengers - 2,850 Edge: Gross tonnage - 131,000; Length - 1,004 ft.; Passengers - 2,900 They are the largest ship classes in Celebrity's fleet, but both mid-sized ships compared to the RCCL Quantum, Oasis, and Icon class mega ships, as you suggest. Edge class ships are more cutting edge, upscale designs compared to Solstice, with Edge offering Eden as their upscale high tech entertainment venue, which is very similar to Two70 on RCCL's Quantum class ships. They also introduced the "Magic Carpet", which is a multi-purpose venue that is physically cantilevered on the starboard side of the ship and traverses through 13 decks. Quite unique! IMO I liken the difference between Celebrity Edge and Solstice to that as between Solstice and Millennium class ships.

Only suggested Condado as one consideration between the airport and Old San Juan / Pan American pier. Nice area with good hotels and just another option. Somewhat driven, I guess, resulting from many years of frequent business travel to PR where, when my plans had me primarily on that side of the island, the Condado was one of the areas I used as a "home base". But certainly Old San Juan would probably be the most interesting place to stay and the Sheraton is a good recommendation. We enjoy OSJ quite a bit!

To add, there are also several hotels around the airport (Hampton / Fairmont / Courtyard) that are also convenient that would also have easy transportation to the pier about 15 minutes away, depending on traffic. We have stayed at the Courtyard before and it was nice and reasonably priced.

I would suggest doing an internet search of the Condado section adjacent to Old San Juan, which as you know, is where the departure pier is located. This area has many nice hotels, a number near the beach, with good restaurants available in the area. (a couple of Marriotts / Hilton / Doubletree, etc.). Transportation from the airport to the hotel and then to the pier is easy by way of cab, Uber, or possibly hotel shuttle. There are also several hotels in and around Old San Juan near the pier to consider. (Hyatt Place / Sheraton / Sheraton Old San Juan). I would just google San Juan / Condado / Hotels to see what is in the area that would best fit your preferences and budget to start to narrow your search.

I think the older demographics may likely relate to the cruise length as TA's and 10 day+ typically attracts older, retired people without kids to worry about as they are more likely to have the time and $ to take these cruises. And IMO many cruise lines with these itineraries would likely start to approach HAL as a result. (No disrespect intended for HAL cruisers). We did an 11 day partial transpacific repositioning cruise in 2019 (Hawaii - Vancouver) with RCCL that fit those demographics v the typical RCCL family cruises. There were also 600+ higher tier loyalty members on board as well for the same reasons. Talk about drinkers.....LOL. Again, good feedback!

Just to add from my first response. We too have done this several times on RCCL / Celebrity, but not with any casino promos and didn't know if that would add any restrictions.

Here's the main difference: RCCL's primary target demographics is families with children. As you are aware, in particular with their mega ships, they are like floating amusement parks with the different activities an venues. They have excellent entertainment as a result with the Aqua Theater, Ice Show, and (on many ships) the Broadway shows. Celebrity's primary target demographics is adults 50+. As such they have none of the amusement park activities and venues and their entertainment is primarily ship staff shows, headliners, and different musicians around the ship. A much more adult focused, pure cruise atmosphere. But they do not roll up the sidewalks early. Basically polar opposites cruise lines. IMO the food (which I realize is very subjective) is a little better on Celebrity and they have several very good specialty restaurants. When our family was young we cruised with RCCL for all of the above reasons. Now that they are all adults, we typically prefer Celebrity for the opposite reasons. Their Solstice and Edge class ships are our choice of preference, with Edge having Eden, which is very similar to Two70 on RCCL Quantum class ships.

I've not had any direct experience with this, but IMO, in general normally you would just move them into one stateroom together. Just notify the stateroom attendant for each stateroom so they are aware of the changes and also have guest services issue the correct stateroom keys for each. This is also to assure the correct stateroom billing accounts for each. This would also apply to whomever (your sister and you) is together in the other stateroom. The only concern might be if the fares (based on two casino promos + two individual fares) are based on the current stateroom assignments and there would be restrictions, or fare changes, based on that. But as long as the net fares paid to the cruise line would be the same, and the casino promo doesn't restrict anything regarding changing staterooms or individual billings, etc., then I would think you would be ok. You don't mention which casino promo or cruise line, so I don't know if that would make a difference either. Maybe others with direct experience can comment.

Rather than base your decision on others' comments, my honest answer would be to see what your experience is in May and judge for yourself and then decide. But you've pretty much eliminated all but the premium lines in your consideration, so you either have to continue with Celebrity or likely add a premium to your budget and look at Viking Ocean, Regent Seven Seas, Oceana, and Silver Sea, as examples. To your other possible options, Virgin is upscale all adults (18+), and Princess would IMO be more similar to Celebrity.

At which you would pay the a la carte item prices as ordered. They should not have a separate fee or cover charge. If you are thinking in terms of including an a la carte restaurant as part of a specialty dining package, I believe the consensus would be to not do that as the fixed fee covers the normal specialty restaurants regardless of what you order and is typically higher than what you would spend at the a la carte venues - especially as that is directly dependent on what you order a la carte, which is in your control. It's pretty basic: the base cruise fare you pay includes meals at the MDR and any other included venue. If you want to eat at a non included specialty restaurant, you pay a separate fee for that venue, which typically includes all items on the menu with no additional charge. (other than perhaps gratuities). If you eat at an a la carte venue, there is no separate fee to do so as you pay as you go for items ordered at their individual pricing on the a la carte menu. Because of the pay as you go nature of the a la carte venues, you would not typically include them as part of any specialty dining package as the fixed fee would typically exceed the pay as you go total. This is most common with (a la carte) sushi restaurants.

Not to keep bouncing you around to different forums, but I just checked and saw the the NCL board has a thread describing the different staterooms on board the various NCL ships. Here's that link as well if you want to search for information on your (or similar) stateroom: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1981007-ncl-cabin-information-compilation-no-cabin-questions-posted-here-please/page/17/#comment-56024247 Here is the NCL board as well: https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/64-norwegian-cruise-line/

Welcome back - LOL. As far as location I will include the response I provided with your original thread. This stateroom is the furthest forward on that deck, which will subject you to feeling the up and down motion of the ship the most as it moves forward through the waves. The higher your deck the more this will be felt. Also, the more central on the ship your stateroom is the less this motion will be felt. This could be a concern if you are sensitive to this type of motion. Your deck is relatively low in terms of the stateroom decks, so this will help reduce this. You have staterooms above, below, and around you, which is always best for quiet staterooms, so noise from any public venue would not be a concern. Just to note, the rolling motion that results from waves hitting the sides of the ship will be felt similarly anywhere on the ship, but is mitigated by the ships stabilizers. All of this category's staterooms have similar balconies and there is not any obstructions with your view, so I don't think any one stateroom's view would be better than the other and would expect you will have a great view of the starboard side of the ship, as well as forward and aft. I will add that we have never sailed on this ship or stateroom category, so my information is not from direct experience, but from 32 years and 50+ cruises, and I believe it will accurately apply. Maybe someone else with direct experience with this - or similar - stateroom will confirm. If you google your ship and stateroom number you will likely find more information and possibly some pictures of your stateroom and its view. This may help provide a preview of the stateroom's layout, size, and furnishings to help you determine if it best fits your expectations. Hope this helps! Enjoy your cruise.

Not necessarily so with many cruise line's sponsored insurance where it cannot be purchased post final payment. See the last comments made by sparks1093. Some of the various levels of coverage as you refer also may have time restrictions relative to booking dates, as I previously mentioned, for purchase.

Our only issue with RCCL is the number of children and the amusement park atmosphere of, in particular, the Quantum, Oasis, and Icon class ships. That was fine when our children were young, but 35+ cruises later, not so much. Celebrity having none of that is more appealing in that regard. I am interpreting that your cruises were single itineraries each, which would definitely mitigate that issue with RCCL! Agree the shows are better with RCCL, although with the Apex class ships, Eden being very similar to Two70 on RCCL Quantum class ships brings that entertainment up quite a bit. Disagree in general with the food quality comment, but that is always subjective so it is what it is. Although the older Summit is lacking somewhat, in particular with limited specialty restaurant options, so with that ship I would tend to agree. But I agree that the older ships you mention would likely provide me with the same result you had as well. Most of our Celebrity experience is on Solstice class ships which are IMO a significant step up from the older Celebrity Millennium class, of which Summit is one. Appreciate your perspective.

You could always ask your stateroom attendant but my guess would be no.

Your question is a bit confusing. Typically with most cruise lines, the fee you pay for dining at specialty restaurant is simply that - the fee you pay to eat there and that is the cost for whatever you have from the menu. It is not in addition to any other charge. (Although gratuities may be separate). There may be unusual and specific items on some menus that are "premium" in nature that may carry an additional charge, but that is not typical. A la carte charges are also what you pay for the individual items that you order those restaurants that have that menu structure. There is no separate fee as the a la carte item charges are the fees you pay. I believe that is the program with NCL's specialty restaurants.

I am not questioning your experience on this one Celebrity cruise but only want to point out a different perspective based on a much broader sample size. You are a frequent poster with, IMO, valuable contributions to CC. We have been on about 15 Celebrity cruises, and while there has been a broad range of ages on board from families with children (though not their primary demographics, Celebrity does offer a children's program for the small percentage of children who are on board) to the older HAL demographics you point out, that demographic is not the typical or primary demographic on board. In our experience, the more typical ages are the 50+ as is their target demographics. The older set that you experienced is more typically the lesser group within that 50+ age group. There have been many younger couples as well. Any ship can have any age group on board and I am certainly not disputing your experience. We have seen your description in a fairly large scale on RCCL as well even though their target demographics are families with children. I am just suggesting that it is not typical in our experience with Celebrity, and that your sample size of one cruise out of two total may not be representative of the typical demographics. It is also a shame that your experience with that cruise was not favorable as that, in our experience, has also not been the normal case. Again, not challenging your experience, just suggesting an alternate view based on a larger sample size.

You and I have been down this road in what I felt was fair and honest discussion with both of us and in an effort to find objectivity in the discussion. I agree there has been bad press on solo pricing with Celebrity, but I also think the best advice is that which you just gave in that the OP should - either through a travel agent, Celebrity directly, or via the Celebrity website - check the specific itinerary(s) that they are interested in and secure solo pricing mixes for their own direct comparison. That will provide the reality of what they would actually pay as a solo and they can then decide if it is at an acceptable budget for them.

Per their initial question, the OP is not talking about Guarantees. They are talking about upgrades through a bid program. Not sure which cruise line they are booked with so it may not be through Royal Up, but a different program.

As long as we've deviated completely of the OP's topic, the PR dish that is a favorite of ours is mofongo.

Well that certainly just reduced my odds, at least - LOL.