markeb

I take it you're in the UK? (Just looked to see where you were sailing and they're all Southampton.) Just grab a jumper and cardigan at M&S when they close them out in a month and wear those instead of the hoodie. You'll be fine.

This isn't new. The classic package never included "premium" bottled water. Even premium bottled water less than $10, which I think it all is. It also doesn't include Red Bull, which is also under $10. There have always been specific exclusions for some items. We can argue about whether mineral water is a premium bottled water, but Acqua Panna, which is the only one I recognize as a mineral water, is listed in the premium package. You also can't pay the difference because there is no difference; they're all under $10. Enjoy the drinks you want, when you want them, morning, noon and night from bottled water, premium coffees and teas, plus an incredible array of beers, spirits, cocktails, liqueurs, frozen drinks and wines by the glass for up to $10 per serving. Wines by the bottle are discounted by 15%. Note the placement of the "plus". It never says "all beverages less than $10". It says "beers, spirits, cocktails, liqueurs, frozen drinks and wines by the glass up to $10...". Sneaky use of punctuation and grammar, but if you read the documents on Celebrity's web page comparing the package, it's pretty obvious.

You can definitely get there by Tube. The trick that I'm not an expert at is finding transfer points with lifts or escalators, or cross platform transfers. I'm not sure that's Bond Street. The Elizabeth line has escalators and lifts everywhere. Along with AC, that's one of the best things about it. But if you're traveling onward, you have to connect to other Tube lines. Google Maps, for instance, suggests Elizabeth Line to Bond Street and transfer to the Jubilee Line. There are also options on the Piccadilly Line. If the time is about the same, the Piccadilly line is half the cost of the Elizabeth line. Where you really need the local knowledge is where to transfer with minimal steps and ideally no stairs. A car service will be the simplest but likely most expensive. They'll pick you up at the airport and drop you at your hotel. A cab on the meter will do the same, but if you're stuck in traffic, you're paying to sit. I love the Heathrow Express, but I wouldn't recommend it for your trip. You'd have to transfer to the Underground at Paddington, or pay for a cab the rest of the way. Unfortunately the cab would go through the congestion zone. That's going to be the same from Bond Street; the cab to Waterloo on a bad day could be as expensive as a car service all the way from Heathrow. (I'm hoping that's an exaggeration, but that was close to my experience the one time I did that...) Have you looked at the London Toolkit? https://www.londontoolkit.com/ ? Great source of information. In 2024 you can also find a lot of videos on YouTube on getting to and from Heathrow (try Love and London). It's obviously a pretty common question.

Thanks. I saw the two stations, but I've only been by the Windsor and Eton station (I think) and wasn't sure where Riverside was. But if they're staying near Waterloo and can get direct service to Windsor, that's even better.

Labadee is essentially a peninsula in Haiti. It's not an island. It's only separated from by fencing. You actually leave the leased "compound" when you go to the top of the zipline. You are definitely in Haiti at Labadee.

First of all, take some deep breaths and calm down. You're way out from the cruise and have all kinds of time! The only time I've been to Windsor I did it from a Heathrow airport, but Google Maps and the British National Railway web page can be your friend. The Waterloo hotel is fine. I'm a little iffy on the Elizabeth line to Bond Street as you'll be transferring anyway, but it is airconditioned. You're paying a premium to leave Heathrow and in some ways that's probably most valuable if you're staying along the Elizabeth line. The last time we took the Elizabeth Line to Bond Street we were staying in Grosvenor Square (easy walk). I don't know about taxi ranks at Bond Street. What hotel have you booked? If you're eventually going to be in a cab anyway, you probably need to open the aperture to all options. It may be just as easy to stay elsewhere and take the cab to Waterloo on Saturday. How long are you in London? What else do you want to do? The timeline you're giving is going to be a rapid tour of Windsor. Does it include the Castle? Depending on your level of interest, you can spend hours at the castle, and that doesn't include walking through Windsor itself or over to Eton. So, yes, that sounds a bit rushed to me. Unfortunately, that becomes the "take them to Windsor because they want to go to Windsor" tour, which International Friends isn't really known for. Others may disagree. You can get to Windsor by train during your stay. National Rail's web page suggests Paddington to Slough to Windsor/Eton. But yet it's probably a day of your visit. Again, how long are you there and what are your priorities? If you don't mind, list out your overall plans. I hate to say it, but odds are you have too much scheduled already. That's fine. It's eight months from now. Windsor is a fun visit. It was also a great place to sit and have a pint. That trip probably won't afford you that option... Again, relax. You're visiting one of the greatest cities in the world. Allow some time to just enjoy being there!

Denominator? Not disagreeing, but the population of Chicago is 10 times that of Nassau. 18/month for 12 months times 10 would be 2160. Much higher than Chicago. For the record, I think you’re more likely to wander into a dangerous setting somewhere you feel comfortable, but adjusted for population Nassau is having real issues. At a rate higher than Chicago. If it starts impacting day tourists (cruisers) it would be really bad.

Not good numbers, obviously, but the population of Chicago is over 2.5 million and the population of Philly is over 1.5 million. The population of Nassau is somewhere around 260,000. So roughly that's roughly 10X the rate of Chicago... Not a fan of Nassau as a port stop either. It never felt like a great place to walk around. Last time we stayed onboard for a nice, relaxing day.

You should be good then. You'd have gratuities on any drinks over the package limit (pay the difference and 20% gratuity on the difference), bottles of wine, spa treatments, etc. But you've got the basic daily gratuities covered.

When did you book the cruise? There was a cutoff that didn't impact me. so I've forgotten it, for gratuities to be included in the "Retreat Package". So if you have an older booking, your daily gratuities may be included. If not, as stated, they're $23/pp/day that you can either prepay or pay when you close out your onboard account. If they're not included, keep an eye out for any changes (increases) and opportunities to prepay at the current rates. And no, I don't recall them showing up as Prepaid Gratuities if they're in the Retreat package.

Thanks. I’ll give them a look. Only have a 359. We’re trying the retirement thing, so no new watches for awhile. Too many due for service… Yeah. If you send one of those Roleses to New York or Dallas, or even to your good AD with an in house service, you could be in for a shock!

We haven't noticed them on Celebrity at all. They were common on Royal. Our first couple of "real" cruises were on HAL, and HAL did port talks. They handed out port maps. With tourist attractions (and shopping...). Yes, they had the tanzanite lectures as well. They weren't totally innocent of the racket. Our first Royal cruise was notable for a couple of things. One, the port map was a shopping map. If it had attractions listed, they were pretty much as landmarks for shopping on the map. But the interesting thing on that cruise was on Liberty of the Seas (which at the time normally cruised in the UK) the onboard "port ambassador" (I think that was the title) was something of a rarity. She was an American woman watch geek. On that cruise they had a watch seminar (not really a watch buying seminar; she actually talked about watches) that was a blast. She had her Maurice-Lacroix which was NOT sold on the ship, and a lot of the people in attendance had some significant wrist candy (plenty of non-Rolex). It was actually a lot of fun. Yes, she mentioned shops on the islands, but the overall tone of the event made that feel like an afterthought (which I'm sure it wasn't). Our next Royal cruise had something similar, but it was hosted by the onboard shops. The next one was in the shop, and then downhill from there. Celebrity just does the overpriced pre-owned Rolex thing. Although Equinox had Norqain and Meistersinger in November, which was surprising. As you say, there are a number of shops in the Caribbean that are typically much better than the ones on the flyer. I actually picked up a Panerai strap in St Maarten in 2022 when I looked down and realized one of mine was in much worse condition than I thought. I don't think they were on the list. And far too many people don't realize that it's only duty free because it hasn't been imported into the US yet. You're the importer. If you're over your exemption, duty can bite. Such as that pre-owned gold Rolex that will likely be reported as an onboard sale to CBP and you'll get that wonderful buzz instead of a ding when you leave the ship. Rushing to your 9:00 departure at FLL...

It must just seem big when I’m wandering lost. But yes, Westminster is much larger!

At the time, Coors controlled distribution east of the Mississippi. So the concept was to bootleg a truckload of Coors from Texarkana and bring it to Georgia for a multimillionaire who wanted Coors. Of course then you throw in a crooked smalltown sheriff, Sally Fields running away from her wedding, a Trans Am running interference for the big rig, etc. But it all goes back to bootlegging Coors...

The entire actual plot of Smokey and the Bandit...

It's actually one of the better boards. What do you want to do and how long are you there? How do you plan on getting into London? How do you plan on getting to Southampton (I assume)? There are areas that are easy to reach from Heathrow without too much effort. There are areas that are easy to get to the train or National Express to go on to Southampton. They're not always the same! Mayfair is a pretty large area. I know Marriott a lot better than Hilton, so not much help there. The Trafalgar Square location is pretty good, but you may be stuck with a car service or cab into there. The closest Tube at Charing Cross is going to require transfers if memory serves from Heathrow or a direct shot on the Piccadilly line with a longer walk. The Elizabeth line costs more, still requires a transfer, and takes almost as long (probably because of the transfer). Same getting to Waterloo, for instance, for the train. But it's within easy walking of a ton of attractions. The area near Waterloo station is actually a really nice area to stay. You can have some of the same issues getting there, but the hotels have historically been priced better (not as big a deal on points) and it's really convenient to onward travel. Just a couple of thoughts. QUICK EDIT: Trafalgar Square is in Westminster. I mentioned Mayfair because a number of people recommended it. We stay in Mayfair all the time, close to Hyde Park.

Wasn't me posting the list! The $11 beers generally aren't anything special, and hardly worth an upcharge. The $15 beers are generally pretty good and as you say there are better offerings in Craft Social when it's available. Beer has never been a strong suite of RCG. We sailed Royal a couple of times from England and even though they had a bar with a pub style counter, the only English beers I remember were Newcastle and maybe Old Speckled Hen. In cans. We've been on the premium package so I've usually had a couple of the better IPAs. And I usually do water and soda at the pool anyway.

I just drink water in those cases. Pretty much the same.

We've only done specialties on our most recent Equinox cruise. Sushi on 5 for one dinner and a lunch which we both enjoyed. I do think the concept is difficult for two people. It's a lot easier to enjoy different sushi with a larger group where you can share multiple dishes. But the sushi was excellent. I hadn't realized until recently that Murano wasn't on the M Class. We went to Tuscan Grill for our specialty in November. If I'd realized there was no Murano on Summit I might have tended to Murano. Not a big deal. We enjoyed Tuscan but didn't love it. The concept of a multi-course Italian meal is just lost on Celebrity (and Royal). The service is too fast and the servings are too large. We actually asked about that when ordering and trying to figure out what to order, but it's definitely not a "Tuscan" grill! It's sort of an antipasto, primo, secondo format, but everything was meal sized, and served too close together. I think I had the ribeye, which was good, but I honestly didn't finish it. We may well have been out in an hour for a meal I'd expect to take at least two, if not more. I doubt we'll do it again!

You’re good. You should like it.

Sorry, Jim. Those aren't upscale beers. Most of them are pretty pedestrian. Yeah, you can get a college dorm suitcase beer in the classic package, but even cheap 12-pack beers are $11. And then there's insanity like Salvator for the same price as Blue Moon! I haven't bought a Coors since I graduated from college. And that was decades ago...

Assuming that’s the Anderson Valley? IMHO, it’s very good. Fairly dry, a little fruit but not fruit forward. A very nice representation of Sonoma County. I don’t know what you normally drink. If it’s Meomi, for instance, Goldeneye is going to be very different.

Ancient news…

They're both Pinot Noir. They're just "California" and not any specific AVA. So the fruit can be sourced anywhere in California. The requirement is 75% of the varietal to call it that varietal. They're certainly not among the better Pinot Noirs!

That sounds like a Carmenere. Historically it was used much like Petite Verdot in Bordeaux as the 1% or so portion of the blend. Then you get into a whole bunch of wine history and probably some exaggeration. It largely disappears from France, goes to Chile and is thought to be Merlot (for a long time), and ultimately becomes one of the primary grapes of Chile. That would be one of the "interesting other reds" that I've historically found instead of the California cabernets they've always had. A good Carmenere would be nice on my next cruise...