kearney

And when you get the sheet with information... if..so some reason..you are assigned a later time than you want..you can go to guest services to see if they can move you earlier. We generally drive home to GA as well... although we have them take our bags off the night before...so they generally assign us a later time... eg 8:30-9:00...

I have gotten in the habit of photographing my bags. I had a garment bag go missing once when boarding and the photo helped the cruise line quickly locate the bag. I also try to put something on the bag to make it look different from other bags.

I believe that they are trying to validate vaccination information. We are sailing in a few weeks and the app had a place to scan your vaccine card...then there was a notice that said the information was being validated.... later the notice indicated that validation was in process and after several days we were cleared.

They don't offer a full stock of products. So if it is something you need on the trip..I would purchase before hand...

Any of the offerings in Murano, beef Wellington in the MD, and for breakfast in the Oceanview cafe... I like to take an english muffin with cream cheese, capers onions, tomato and salmon..and then have the poached egg server add an egg and hollandaise...  yum.... wonder if I can still do that with all the covid rules. Can't wait

My challenge... not to gain weight... or at least not too much

On 11/16/2021 at 7:33 AM, Guppy99 said:

never saw this be the case in 30 years

I was confusing Royal with Celebrity... found this photo on FB of a Royal menu...recent...showing Maine lobster being available for an extra cost on the main menu... sorry for any confusion concerning X.

51 minutes ago, 39august said:

Thanks. Glad to have that confirmation. 

Not sure if this is of interest... but ironically found a link to a discussion of 6224's location and thought I would provide a link https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/1507239-pics-of-area-below-6224-balcony-of-eclipse/

10 hours ago, hrhdhd said:

I have never managed to lose my husband on a cruise ship. (Not that I'm actively trying.) He's generally in one of a few spots, or he'll wander back to the cabin eventually.

Heck I lose my husband at Costco and Home Depot...only he doesn't know he is lost.

4 minutes ago, sanger727 said:

100% agree. IMO it’s quite rude to imply that $12 pp pd is inconsequential and considering the value of it means you can’t afford celebrity. We also have a reasonably comfortably lifestyle and make a reasonably good income. But I still call billers to inquire about available discounts or ask for a refund if overcharged. I don’t mind paying what something costs for something I enjoy, but see no reason to pay more than something costs. We got the classic package and were able to get all the drinks we enjoyed, except the specialty martinis, on it. And the cost to upgrade a handful of martinis was much less than upgrading to premium. I’m not interested in paying $100+ just to brag that I don’t look at the prices and can get grey goose instead of Smirnoff in my fancy mixed drink.

Thanks. but I probably shouldn't have responded the way I did. In the case of the drink business. I am more curious than anything. My taste is not sophisticated enough to tell a high priced vodka from a cheap one... Now I do appreciate a quality red wine.. I just wonder what cocktails you can actually get with the provided package.  

I do wonder how the cruise lines have been impacted by the supply chain issues. I was at the grocery store the other day and there was only one package of cream cheese on the shelf..with a notice that it would be in short supply until March 22...  So while the cruise lines have agreements with suppliers.. I wonder how those suppliers are able to keep the ships supplied while major grocery chains are having trouble. We sail in a few weeks ..so it will be interesting to see if items are not available..

12 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Some of these bartenders are really skilled mixologists.  I suggest you find a fave bartender, let them know some flavors you like, and let them make different drinks for you and find something new and exciting.  I started drinking "Raspberry Vodka Bay Breeze ( w/ pineapple juice) with a splash of Malibu  (Coconut Rum)" this way. 

Thanks...sounds interesting. It is funny, back in the 70s I was a cocktail waitress one summer at a place called Alexander's Three in Arlington VA... between college and grad school. I vaguely remember serving drinks like Brandy Alexander.. grass hopper and manhattans  which must have been popular back then...but don't recall ever trying them.. 

19 minutes ago, mfs2k said:

Cassis syrup is pretty standard stock on a bar to make a Kir (Cassis and white wine).

A Kir Royale is usually made with Cassis/Creme de Cassis and Champagne. 

 

Variations of Kir Royale are also made with Chambord (Raspberry flavored cordial) or Framboise.

Kirsch is cherry flavored brandy so it would taste different.  Personally I wouldn't like that.

You can also ask if they have strawberry flavored cordial to add to champagne

 

Or.. you could  drink champagne with some fresh raspberries or strawberries in the glass.  Yum

I just want to experiment a bit more.. I usually just drink sparkling wine or white wine... and thought I would try other things..

11 hours ago, SNJCruisers said:

Is that extra 12.00 per day to upgrade going to blow your vacation budget?  If so, maybe a different cruise line than Celebrity would fit your budget a little better.

Sure I could do that..or spend the $ on a hotel room on the way down. We are living a reasonably comfortable retirement due to my penny pinching... 🙂  

14 hours ago, markeb said:

 

That would appear to be "no". 

 

This is what's listed as of today, 11/15/21 (because it might change tomorrow and the format has changed) for the classic package liqueurs. 

 

• Campari
• Galliano
• Hennessy VS
• Kahlua
• Kirsch
• Licor 43
• Ouzo
• Romana Sambuca
• Southern Comfort
• Tia Maria

 

Nothing there I'd consider a substitute for either. 

 

The most frequently listed substitute for Bailey's is St Germain, and it's in the Premium Package as well.

 

Nothing really for Chambord. Maybe something raspberry "ish" in the well, but nothing named. I've seen raspberry syrup listed, probably with vodka for the alcohol. Maybe in a pinch with something else you could get away with Kirsch, but that's a cherry flavored brandy, not raspberry. I don't know what that would do for a Kir Royale! And if you want to be pedantic about it, Chambord isn't the right ingredient for a Kir Royale; it should theoretically be Crème de cassis, which is a black currant liqueur. A little curious as I don't know that I've ever had a Kir Royale; tend more to brown liquor (whisk(e)y/rum) cocktails. Or gin.

As I noted I am not a real cocktail drinker..but I was introduced to Kir Royale during a business trip to Europe. I did see a Kirsch Royale.. so I may try that. But other than black or white Russian...not sure what else they could make with Tia Maria or Kalhua. We will see.. I may ask the bar tender. I wonder if the carry Crème de cassis..

3 hours ago, Guppy99 said:

never saw this be the case in 30 years

Maybe I am confusing this with Royal.... I never ordered it...but which ever line is it was... in the corner of the menu was the opportunity to order lobster for an additional charge.. as I recall it was around $30 or so. I never did that ... but wondered what type was offered.  To be honest we have been cruising for decades..so this may go back a ways...

Speaking of Baileys..does anyone know if they have an off brand substitute that could be used in cocktails covered under the classic package? Same for Chambord..do they have a substitute option for Kir Royale? The only time we have used a beverage package was when they had the old 4 perks promo with premium package... TIA

Out of curiosity...as I recall they offer lobster on the nightly main menu with a separate charge... does anyone know if this lobster is warm or cold water?

All this reminds me of an ordeal I went through... about 15 years ago. We had gotten back from a trip, as I recall, and I still had my passport in my purse..over lunch someone came into my office and stole my purse...which had the passport, drivers license and I believe a work ID. Do you know how hard it is to get passport and drivers license without the other? I did have my birth certificate.. but as I recall the DMV required the drivers license and the passport office required Drivers license as part of the process.  I can not recall how I got through this..but I think I may have talked the DMV into accepting an old passport with the holes punched... and that got me what I needed for the passport. Anyway it has been a while... but when I renewed my drivers license...you are supposed to destroy the old...but I kept it... just in case. The lesson is not to keep them both in the same place...which as a woman..is a bit hard to do...when traveling.

Just make sure the price drop fare includes whatever benefits ie AI, that you expect. I tried to do this earlier and discovered that the residents and loyalty fare excluded gratuities, beverage package and wifi. Honestly it was almost breakeven... since I don't. usually drink that much..but decided not to move forward

I cancelled out Nov 22 cruise back in August when it was pretty clear these two ports would not be on the final itinerary. I am a bit surprised that it took this long to make it official...but perhaps they needed to wait to confirm KW was not going to happen so that they could decide at that point...what the schedule would be. Nassau is okay...but I would have preferred the KW stop

Sorry I overlooked this on the Dec cruise

I have a cruise in December and another in February... there appear to be differences in the pages for each. The December cruise has the "internet and more" button that you refer to but my Feb cruise has "Wifi" button instead. The December page is confusing... mostly refers to something other than internet.. the Feb page is clearer as it relates to internet. I am attaching screen shots... the one referencing perks is for my Dec cruise and the other...the Feb one. Not sure helps

One reason we started cruising... back in the early 90's is that I had an employer at one time who seemed to like to take delight at calling people back from their vacations.... happened to my boss once... called back from the ski slopes to an emergency that was over by the time he returned. Back in the day.. if you went cruising there was no practical way people could get a hold of you without spending a lot of money to reach you. Anyway for decades we were perfectly happy not being in contact. Once there was a wifi benefit for loyalty members of Diamond or Elite status... we used that just check emails and give family a way to reach us. Our last cruise in Feb '20 we had the 4 perks promotion... our first time with more internet. I ended up spending more time checking out covid impact on cruising than I would have liked.... so I am hoping that with the AI benefits I will be able to get back to only checking email on occasion.... very addictive. 🙂 

15 hours ago, Dancing Shoes said:

Yes.

Not necessarily... the recent Residents promotion excluded the Always Included perks... also if you took advantage of it as a Captains Club member.. you too did not get these perks. I wish they would come up with another advertising slogan... I assume the plan was to just offer the Always Included...but I think they adjusted based on consumer push back.

5 minutes ago, PSR said:

We have not been on Celebrity in a while, never had a drink package. What is the daily limit on drinks, and are non-alcoholic counted, such as coffee?

They don't limit you ... might be different if you are falling down drunk...not sure... We have only had a drink package once before. We are Elite..so we used to just rely on the captains cocktail hour from 5-7 and then had perhaps some wine with dinner. I am not a soft drink user...mostly unsweet iced tea and coffee. But with the classic drink package... you can get things like pina colada. I am disappointed that Baileys and Chambord are not on the list... I like Kir Royal (Champagne and Chambord). Now there is some discussion about martinis in the martini bar...they have some pretty pricy options...but if you ask for a martini that is covered by the classic package..you should be able to get one...might not be as large as others...but you can always get a second.