kearney

Thanks for the information...it is helpful. The last several Celebrity cruises on S class we were able to find out of the way places to park overnight. Before that we parked in the cabin... but the problem was positioning the scooter so we still had easy access to the bathroom. Looks like we could make it work if the bed is moved a bit... So this might work.

We have rented scooters on S class and E class and have been able ... with some challenge... to park them in the cabin. Since the M class is older and it appears all beds are by the bathroom..vs the veranda... I am wondering if that will be possible..without losing easy access to the bathroom. And if you can't do that... are there any out of the way places to park and recharge outside the cabin. I know you can't block the hallway..but on other classes we have found areas that keep hallways clear..but still allow us to park outside the cabin. I can't find accessible cabins and hate to use one when DH can stand.. with difficulty..but can do so. Thanks in advance

If they have travel insurance...they will need documentation from the cruise line... assuming they have insurance and that it would cover this type of charge.

perhaps email contact info would save a very expensive call...?

I have often brought a small battery operated votive candle to add a bit more light.. not too large

I kinda wonder what happens to the millions of luxury goods stolen during mass shoplifting mobs we have been experiencing... so with that in mind.. I wonder the source of these items.. as well as the source for those websites selling preowned items....

My issue was losing the sea passes.... I expected to pay duty. As it happened ...it was the first day of the government shut down and the agent was more concerned with getting passengers processed.. But I did want to keep the sea pass from the inaugural sailing

I have to point out that if you purchase a high ticket item... eg jewelry or a watch. The cruise line will send that information on to customs. Not sure how they do this now, but on Edge inaugural cruise... as we left the ship we were met by a member of the crew who took our sea passes and passports and took us down to customs so that we could pay any required duty. In this particular instance..we did not get our sea passes back. Hopefully they don't hold onto them anymore.

One reason I cancelled a tour was that it was a 6 hour tour... if anything went wrong.. it was a long way (long time) back.. your point about roads is well taken... especially if you want to see the Pitons by land.

A few years ago we went on a tour in St Lucia.. when we got back to the ship we learned that another tour had been in an accident and that the driver and guide were taken to the hospital..but passengers were treated on the ship. Later I did see a passenger with a brace on their arm. Ironically... I have twice scheduled tours on this island on subsequent trips... but cancelled both times.. I just had a feeling and was concerned about the level of care I might get there...should I be in an accident. On an earlier trip the US Comfort was in port doing surgeries which contributed to my concern.

The mirror at the vanity lights up but no magnification, I usually bring a small magnifying mirror that can slip into a suitcase.

I like both ships... and wouldn't hesitate to go on either... that said I prefer Silhouette ... I like the larger Sky Lounge with its expansive view. On Reflection a chunk of it was turned into suites so the view is reduced... I love going there in the afternoons ..especially when departing various ports. Reflection has a few more cabins so its capacity is about 175 additional passengers. These cabins are on deck 12... which is the pool deck on Silhouette. On Silhouette they have put some cabins where the ilounge was on deck 6... still they're on Reflection... and the card room is still on Reflection..but cabins have replaced that on Silhouette. some of the 'upgrades' on Silhouette are increasing the number of cabins... but still a bit fewer than on Reflection. The differences are relatively minor.

I use the plastic holders as well... then at the end of the cruise.. I place the baggage tags in them. One cruise our bag was not where it should have been .. can't recall if the tag had ..some how.. come off. But with the plastic tags that hasn't happened again

As a side note, if you like to use the fitness tracker when walking on deck.... set it to indoor walk... unless you want to get a crazy map and get a reading of about 11 miles for a 30 minute walk. I did not realize this the first time I tried walking with my Apple Watch. The map looked like I was drunk walking and every few laps I got an alert that I had done another mile.... looked like I was breaking some kind of speed walking record. 🙂

They don't punch holes... I think there is an issue with the risk of hitting a chip in the card. I usually give my card to my husband to carry when I don't have a purse.

Not sure of a European trip...but for the Caribbean... few wear jackets, fewer suits and even fewer formal wear ...although we have seen a few. Frankly Covid changed the way I pack. It used to be that Day 1 'formal' night, DH would wear. jacket, tie, dress shirt, tie, nice pants and nice shoes... by the second one we were down to dress shirt, tie, nice pants and comfy shoes. With Covid and all the distancing... we dropped the jacket and nice shoes. The way I figure it... what are the odds of ever seeing these people again..and if you do.. are they really going to say... 'oh there goes the guy who didn't wear a jacket'.

you might check on of those online cruise sellers... there is one begins with "cruise"..... on this site you can select time frame, itineraries and cruise lines... and they will give you a list of options. That might be a good way to start... sorting through options... from there you can use your TA or go direct and see the best deal you can get. Note the cheapest times for Caribbean are during hurricane season also about a week after US Thanksgiving (but schools are in session), Alaska is always a bit pricier than Caribbean, but perhaps airfare between Toronto and Victoria might offset cost of flights to Florida or NY. I think New England cruises may be in the fall during school session. I have used this to pick a few cruises..then I do a spreadsheet to track pricing on my preferred trip. Note... port fees in Alaska are much higher than in Caribbean... Don't forget the hidden extras of drink packages, gratuities etc.

Tuscan grill for the view, more of a steak house type menu with generous portions. Murano is more of a foodie experience..with table side cooking of some items..only place with real lit candles. I like both.. have not been to Le Petit Chef... seems even more of an entertainment focus.

For some reason this situation reminds me of when we built our house... My husband and I had totally different ideas and we had trouble coming to a consensus ... the builder's decorator seemed experienced at this problem... so she would select a few options based on colors I liked and then presented those options to my husband to chose. Come up with options based upon parent's preferences for itinerary and type of cruise experience they would like and then present options based on other family members timeframe needs. Alaska on Celebrity might overcome lack of zip lines etc. Another thought is a Royal ship... for a Caribbean itinerary... The Freedom and smaller ships would have some of the zip line frills but not as much of the pizzaz and might be both less expensive and less kid filled....than the mega Royal ships. But focus on what parents want.

They usually have a deal for specialty restaurants on reservations on the first night.. consider sunset dinner at Tuscan grill....nice view out of the back while sailing down the Florida coast. Also the first night can be hectic in the main dining room as everyone gets into the swing of things. Try the Sky lounge when departing various ports for a nice view out the front. I am not a big sun person, so I prefer this to the sunset bar. For a quiet drink try the Ensemble Lounge outside Murano Restaurant they usually have a trio playing. Martini bar can get crazy but fun.. if too loud... try the Passport bar on deck 3... still get the grand foyer entertainment..but just a bit less noisy. We love the S class ship... many nice spots to sit and read if you want to do so outside your cabin and the sun... the library is a nice spot. If you like to walk the track.. try doing so at around 7 am before it gets busy...

We were also on that Reflection sailing that returned on March 13 2020. I do recall someone during the CC cocktail hour commenting that we would know we were in good shape..healthwise..if Grand Cayman allowed us in. I recall how crowded it was. This was one of our first cruises with wifi..and I kept checking Covid status.. recall hearing how there were three port workers who came down with it... sometime around the time we boarded .... on the drive home we learned that the cruise lines were cancelling all sailings after Mar 15.. the Reflection sailing that left the day we returned..ended up turning around a day or so later... as I recall ports were closing... we really dodged a bullet as they say. We did sail again in the fall of '21 and twice in '22... getting Covid on our last cruise.. last day... so no real hassle.. actually it made departure especially easy..and the Covid we had lasted a few days.. very mild vs the early versions.

The ultimate Southern Caribbean cruises are longer than 7 day cruises.. not really an issue for spring break.. A few years ago we went on an Easter timed cruise, it was a two week cruise.. we had perhaps 100 kids... vs passenger load of about 3000. Most of the kids were younger and British..I assume their break was longer than US breaks. Hardly noticed them... but our typical 10-12 night cruise has a dozen or so kids. We like the S class ships over the E class. The E class noise issues are mostly structural.. and there are a few cabins over the Club area that are impacted by heavy bass sound..or at least that was the issue on Early Edge ships. I suspect the entertainment is better on E class... the theater is spectacular.. We love the Sky lounge on S class with great views out front with large windows.. especially Equinox..since the view has not been impacted by the planned redesign which took some of that space for suites. Lots of nice quiet spots on S class ships.. they are very much alike..but Reflection has and extra deck with more cabins.. can't recall the difference between Silhouette and Equinox..except Equinox has the glass blowing where the Lawn Club is. and a few other differences.

I thought the complaint was about E class ships... the S class has the Sky lounge and a number of other spots... E..not so much

Interesting post. We were on one of the maiden voyages for Edge and found the theater sound mixing was off... the vocals were impossible to hear and were drowned out by the instruments... overall impression was that it was too loud to be enjoyed. I thought that perhaps this was just because the ship and all the theater crew was new... The other issue was the loudness in the Martini bar. With all the specialty restaurants opening up to the atrium.. there were lots of complaints about sound disturbing diners. I find the S class less noisy although the atrium.. especially around the Martini Bar can be very loud after dinner...in particular... But they do have quiet options...like the Ensemble lounge or Sky Lounge

Oh no!! I only drink unsweetened iced tea for lunch..