markeb

How was the Carmenere? James Suckling gave it 93 points.

I'm going to confess that my first thought on this thread was yeah, they're high, but so's everything else. But you got my attention as a direct frame of reference. We ate at a Michelin starred restaurant in Mayfair over the summer. Lunch, because we couldn't get in for dinner. They're currently showing £48 for a lunchtime tasting menu and £110 for an dinner tasting menu (without drinks). At £75 per person Eden's only £35 less than a Michelin restaurant. That's insane. And obviously that's an additional fee above what you've already paid for room and board... My favorite restaurant in NYC has increased it's prices by 10% since 2019. They're starting at a higher point, so the absolute dollar value is quite a bit higher, but with everything that's happened in the industry in the last 4+ years the percentage change is actually realistic. We used to eat in specialties on HAL and RCI but this past fall was the first time we had bothered on Celebrity. We've always eaten at Blu or Luminae and were happy. We went his time largely because we had a lot of unspent OBC. But memory is more $35-45 for Tuscan (memory could be wrong). For £75 I'd go someplace on land before or after the cruise...

Lot of questions there and they're going to get buried in this thread. I'd create a new thread if I were you. It'll be easier for people to find and give you feedback.

This is what makes wine threads funny... I'm pretty sure I'd dislike the Mondavi Pinot Noir as well. I'd probably taste it if it was handed to me as a free sample, but no way I'd ever buy it. What was the issue with Mouton Cadet? Just curious as I don't believe I've ever had it. It's an entry level from the region and I wouldn't expect anything spectacular, but it should be a nice wine. Definitely shouldn't taste like a California cab. That's the sort of wine you get for €10 or so (probably €12-15 today!)at a nice bistro and they're usually nice. Ah, Sauvignon Blanc. This is where we would differ and knowing why someone likes or dislikes a wine becomes important. I loathe, despise, dislike strongly, bordering on hate Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. I do not like grapefruit on it's own, and there is no way I'll knowingly pick a wine that I know will reek of it. But it's probably the most popular style of SB in the world today. I've never had the Emmolo but reading reviews and descriptions it sounds like exactly the type of SB I love, unless I can get my hands on a nice, reasonably priced white Bordeaux. When we were on Equinox in November the Primitivo was probably the best red by the glass we had.

This used to be more readily available. Not sure if people appreciated the explanation when it was easily found online, or it just confused them. And I find Americans who live in a tipping culture can be just as easily confused as Brits, Aussies, etc., who don't. The part that probably needs to be bolded is that you can't simply remove or reduce gratuities for an individual or class of individual. And if you try, the remaining gratuity is just going to be spread thinner. And that almost certainly is also true for cash tips if gratuities have been reduced or removed.

Decoy is a better than average entry level brand from a company called Duckhorn. All of their brands have a duck theme. It's their schtick. The Decoy bottles have a painting of a Pintail duck decoy.

If you're taking the cruise to cruise, it's fine. If you're taking 12 (or so) days to see Hawaii, I'd get on a plane to Oahu for a few days and plan to fly to Maui and maybe one other island (big island or Kauai probably). You'll see much more of Hawaii. If you've visited Oahu, look at flying directly to Maui.

Assuming Fort Lauderdale, they'll usually let suite guests onboard at 11:00. You can arrive earlier than that, but recognize there will be traffic for departing guests. On our last couple of cruises we arrived around 10:30, checked in, had a pastry and a cup of coffee, and were moving to the ship right at 11:00. There should be a separate entrance for Retreat/Zenith guests. At T-25 it's to the far left. As others have said, it's pretty much the same bag drop.

The changes appear to have been sometime after January 14. Presumably Constellation will also be within the premium package, if not now, on her next sailing in a couple of days.

Ahhh, music. The one topic that unites the generations... In hating the next generation's music! Just like our parents hated ours. Everyone does know that the specific music discussed in this thread is almost all over 40 years old? This scene is 39 years old. And ironically Marty is playing the opening riff of "The Power of Love" by Huey Lewis and the news and the guy with the bullhorn is Huey Lewis. I would prefer if they'd match the volume to the venue. Everything doesn't have to be played at 11!

The Deustche Bahn has an app on iOS and probably Google as well. You can do pretty much everything in the app, including downloading your tickets. I'd do a little checking to see if there are any passes available that include public transportation in Berlin. There was a great off peak/weekend day pass in Bavaria that included the Munich public transportation (S-Bahn, U-Bahn, and buses) as well as travel on regional trains. We actually found that on a Google hit/blog page on visiting Salzburg. It was on the DB web page, but you almost had to know it was there to find it. If you're taking the ICE that wouldn't work (and Berlin isn't in Bavaria...). I haven't looked, but odds are that Berlin has an app for public transport as well. In Munich you downloaded the QR code and just needed to pull it up if asked. Most German public transit is gateless and essentially on the honor system. Fines are very high if you try to ride without a ticket, though...

So, a couple of different questions here. Paying as you go on drinks is fine. Do the math and be sure it's the best deal, but it sounds like it probably is for you. The gratuity on drinks will be added automatically. Totally on you if you want to give extra (which you can do directly on the tab, BTW). You certainly can carry cash, but it's unnecessary. As far as daily gratuities go, I assume you plan to pay them? And are asking how best to do that? You can pre-pay before you board or they'll be added on to your shipboard account each day and settled to your account at the end. I really wouldn't try to tip people on a daily basis. The gratuities get pooled and distributed. If you want to give extra, that's fine, but the baseline gratuity gets distributed beyond the person you're tipping and they almost certainly have to pool those baseline cash tips. It may actually be more work for them.

Just re-reading your post. Are you cruising from Manhattan or Cape Liberty? The thread title is Manhattan but you're first post is New Jersey. No reason to go to New Jersey if you're leaving from Manhattan. There won't be any free shuttles in Manhattan.

I'm assuming for whatever reason Newark isn't an option? It's "probably" six of one and half a dozen of the other. That's a holiday weekend (Columbus Day) so there's a risk of surge pricing on Friday night, but you likely won't know that until you get there. Ease is probably the same. If you stay near LGA you may be able to get a hotel shuttle and only have one Uber on Saturday morning. My gut would be to get close to the terminal on Friday, but it "might" be more economical to stay near the airport.

Fortunately you found out early. Still time to adjust, although not by much!

I had to look. We're spending at least one and maybe two nights (two reservations while we make up our mind) in Columbus in April. The Courtyard Downtown is $327 + parking for the Sunday night. In fairness, it's a 1/2 mile from Nationwide Arena and Bruce is playing that night (which is why we're there), but downtown Columbus ain't Midtown Manhattan!

When was your last time in NYC? $400 is kind of the new $250. Not saying you can't get there under $300, but if you're there two nights, have to stay in Queens, spend the time getting into Manhattan, and one of you has never been to New York, I'd probably try to stretch my budget if at all possible. As a for instance, I just checked one of my favorite Midtown properties and it's almost 3X what I paid two weeks ago for your dates. There was a time where I'd expect that to come down as it got closer. Not so much these days. I'd look at Nitemare's suggestions and see if any of them work.

Hoping the OP comes back with more questions. From their other posts (which is how I deduced Equinox and Martinique) I have the impression they DO want to leave the ship in Martinique, and that does require a passport.

I guess I largely have different expectations. We were on Equinox in November. The menu in Luminae was limited, as it was the two previous times we were in a suite. There continue to be too many boring beef options, but there were very nice lamb offerings, the seared tuna was actually rare, and the black bass delicious and not overcooked this time. My wife enjoyed a great vegetarian dish one night. The serving sizes were appropriate instead of huge. We left the dining room comfortable where previously the options were stuffed or leave food on the plate. I will agree that service was quite a bit slower. And the availability of good whisk(e)y at the bars had definitely decreased. Equinox was pretty much all in on the martini bar and there was plenty of gin and vodka and gin and vodka drinks.

I've heard that as well, but can't find it on Celebrity's web page. Deep in their travel confirmation it may well say a passport is required for this cruise. I know they put the responsibility totally on the traveler to know the documentation requirements for the cruise, so if they choose to enforce that and you don't have a passport, your insurance isn't going to pay either. I personally would be on the phone to either Celebrity or my TA (if I had one) on Monday morning and I'd be looking up passport requirements at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports.html this weekend. Current processing for an expedited passport is supposedly 2-3 weeks. And in this case I'd probably be getting a passport application started regardless of what Celebrity says, if you can find anyone who can answer the question authoritatively...

That thread’s one of the primary Google hits on the topic. Martinique was a fun stop. I’d hate to miss it on that itinerary.

Your cruise stops in Martinique. Martinique requires a passport. You can't go on that cruise without a passport. I doubt they'll let you board and stay onboard. We were actually told to carry ours off in port (no one checked). She either gambles on a passport, or makes an appointment for same day service as soon as possible to go in two weeks before the cruise.

What are the stops? Do any of the ports of call require a passport?

This has been the norm in a lot of the restaurant business in the US. The front of the house staff do better because of tips than most of the back of the house staff that are on some version of full pay. There were some changes to the law over the last few years that allows back of the house staff to share in mandatory tip pools, but only if the business doesn't take a "tip credit". The tipped employees themselves frequently don't want the system to change.

Head space timing issue. I was trying to be sure how many ships they had, and pulled up Viking. Stuff happens sometimes... Need to close CC for a week!