markeb

Although everyone’s having fun with this, it would help to know what the award is and what it recognizes. It’s a very real award, from Wine Spectator. If memory serves, Celebrity was the first cruise line to be rated. It’s by “restaurant”. They treat each venue/ship combination separately. For instance, Le Voyage and Tuscan on Beyond are both individually rated. The awards revolve largely around the variety and strength of the wine list. The by the glass offerings don’t appear to have any impact. Wine Spectators last awards were in August of 2023 and Celebrity received 18. And quite frankly their wine lists are pretty amazing. I suspect availability of the high end wines is good. There won’t be as many of them, and there likely won’t be as much demand. Wine Spectator doesn’t visit every restaurant it reviews and I suspect there’s an assumption that if you’re listing a 2005 Chateau Lafite Rothschild you can actually source it. Having a 20,000 case (or more) a year production wine available in a drink package isn’t a criteria. You can have an amazing wine list and still not have decent wines by the glass at a reasonable markup…

This thread has diverged dramatically from the original question. CBD derived from hemp, not marijuana, is legal under federal law. There is an extremely low tolerance for THC in both the hemp and the finished product. CBD derived from marijuana is illegal. Synthetic cannabinoids are complicated. FDA approved versions are legal in the US and because of that they theoretically can’t be used in unregulated supplements. State laws apparently still varied. For international travel, (not an area of significant interest so I didn’t research in the past) many if not most nations still consider anything derived from cannabis illegal. Probably hemp as well. Federal law was changed in a farm bill in 2018. My interest was a combination of a local sheriff in my home state of Oklahoma busting a shipment of hemp from Kentucky (figure the politics of that on your own) using a qualitative test that showed presence or absence of THC when federal law allowed trace amounts in the hemp. All the cruise ship language reflects marijuana and is antiquated in 2024. CBD Gummies derived from hemp or synthetically in a lab are by definition not marijuana. They may or may not have language on cannabinoids. The Carnival passenger could have been perfectly legal. Or not, depending on the source of the CBD. I’ll look at the original story later. I don’t know what molecule the dogs hit on. If it’s not present in a synthetic they shouldn’t alert. More correctly, they shouldn’t remain certified if they alert in the absence of their target. There’s probably ultimately a serious probable cause debate there in the future… Too long. Probably bored tonight.

Thanks. That's an interesting piece of history not mentioned in the articles I found. I suspect there are other little details that will come up for the first time in 70 years as time goes on.

Absolutely. Actual medical marijuana is a clear no. Hemp derived cannabinoids are almost certainly no. Those are largely supplements, not FDA regulated, and may contain traces of THC. One of the FDA approved synthetic cannabinoids mentioned earlier is likely fine. “Marijuana-based” is unfortunately a meaningless term.

Just put in your home address. Don’t use 911 on the ship though. It will probably ring your local dispatch at home…

Are they the current plasticized notes? If so, there's no phase out date announced. If they're the older paper notes, they're not valid now, but can be traded. There was a lot written about this with the ascent of Charles. Had to look it up, but apparently coins with Charles on them are already in circulation and bills are due to be released this year (2024). Those will coexist with Elizabeth. One interesting article pointed out that having multiple monarchs in circulation at the same time was the norm historically; Elizabeth II's reign was so long that her predecessor's currency "wore out" and only currency with her image remained. It's entirely possible you'll see Elizabeth, Charles, and (one day) William all in circulation together.

Not sure why that matters. We went from an RCG product that we enjoyed to another RCG product that we believed we'd enjoy, and have. Not because we had a problem with the Royal Caribbean product, but we were older and had changed. We've slowed down cruising and don't cruise twice a year or more, so we've stuck with something we enjoyed. There hasn't been a reason to look at another line. Going forward probably, and that would include RCI.

Did you read the thread? Yes and yes.

Never had the pleasure of meeting her. Miss her around here. Her love and excitement for Edge when so many bemoaned it was amazing.

Looks like we just have to laugh at each other. I missed the sarcasm and so did at least one other person…

That’s one of those things I suppose. If it’s been open for a couple of days, it’s probably past its prime. But I’d generally prefer a good red be opened and maybe decanted. But we’re into advanced sommelier and that’s not a ship thing… I’ve found the sommeliers to be hesitant to offer a bottle, or even a glass over the package limit. Even the ones who clearly know their stuff. Thats equally unfortunate. NYC on Wednesday at a real restaurant with real sommeliers…

I think a better response to the executive offices, from the 17 year old, is “Soon I’ll be 18 years old and able to make my own travel plans. I’ll never forget how Celebrity and Port Everglades treated me and my family nor will I hesitate to tell my friends.”

Airplane mode. Wi-Fi on. That lets you use the Celebrity app if you choose to, even without a Wi-Fi package and avoids any cellular use. Posting pictures is either going to require using data minutes from E/E+ or a Wi-Fi package.

I'd qualify that buying a bottle of a wine that's available by the glass only makes sense if you do not have a drink package. With a premium drink package and the 20% bottle discount, there are wines on the wine list that can be had close to retail. You're going to have to go to $75-80 and up a bottle for that to work, but you may get a much better wine than is available by the glass. That's not a change. The better wines were always by the bottle. And that's pretty much the case in any restaurant around the world. What is a change is that in the past Celebrity had a nice selection of "other" wines that were in the package. You could have for instance a nice Spanish Tempranillo that paired well with food instead of an OK at best California cab. A lot of those don't seem to be there today. Our last three cruises came with a PDP. I'd watch the math a lot closer today on whether soda, water, coffee, cocktails, etc. came close to paying for the package. But in November I would have been hard pressed to justify the package for better wine. EDITED: Oops. These threads are running together. This one was at least originally specifically about the Retreat Lounge. Not sure that bottle pricing really applies there...

With their pricing system, and frankly the quality of current offerings, it would be crazy to buy a bottle of anything available by the glass. On the other hand, buying a bottle opens up an entire range of wine. We would definitely be buying bottles.

I suspected that, but it’s irrelevant. It could happen to many combinations. Too many blended families out there today. At one time, it was very common for US Servicemembers, regardless of their own race or ethnicity, to adopt children while stationed in Korea. You see a lot of blended families on and around military installations. It probably doesn’t help that much of the trafficking training uses young Asian women as the victims. It’s supposed to emphasize behavioral indicators, but the visual is what implants.

I've followed this for the last day and a half. One thing I'm finding fascinating in the responses is the assumption that the OP is white and the daughter black. Nowhere in his posts does the OP say that. There was one place where he replied and could have corrected the assumption and didn't, so maybe that's true. He only stated in the original post that they were of different races. What if the OP is black and the daughter Asian? Or the OP is Asian and the daughter is white (or black)? Would people recognize that as racist in this case? Just an overall bad situation and a bad look on Celebrity. The employee/contractor needs some serious training. The OP met all of Celebrity's requirements for boarding. Making up new ones is insane. And other than the racial difference nothing in this situation would suggest trafficking and in 2023 that should hardly be sufficient. Hope they get some resolution.

And I've commented on this on many posts and will once again. If Celebrity was on the market in 1997, even quietly, and hadn't been bought by RCCL, would you have preferred Carnival had bought them?

This is another one where you can't find a good list online easily. It's on older lists, and is common enough I'd expect it on all ships. It's going to be at or above the Premium package limit. It was in the premium package in the past.

We've only cruised Oasis once, and it was her inaugural season, so 15 years ago. Other than the whole aerator thing, we had none of that. The neighborhood concept on Oasis split people up and at the time the ship never felt crowded. Maybe it's changed; it's been a long time. RCG, the holding company that owns Royal Caribbean International, Celebrity Cruises, and Silversea Cruises, bought Celebrity in 1997...

Yes. You can disable roaming as well, which should prevent the phone from roaming and accumulating any charges, but airplane mode shuts off the cellular service and is the preferred method. Before the thousand "I just turn it off and put it in my safe" replies, I assume when someone asks this question they actually want to use their phone, but don't want roaming charges!

I still can't tell if there's anyone on this thread who's actually encountered this yet to know. I believe way back when there was a second hand story off of a social media post. There appears to be a lot of assuming the worst... Although the non-answers from X make that easier.

I'd agree with Globalizer, but if you're specifically going to the War Rooms, you may have more than a passing interest, so I'd allow a little more time just in case. Are you planning to visit any other IWM sites while in London? Specifically the HMS Belfast? I see the USNA in your signature. It's a fascinating floating museum, even for an old ground pounder. If so, price out an IWM membership for two. It will get you into both attractions with front of line privileges (for a year). Back in 2019 we decided kind of late to go to the War Rooms, but couldn't get a reservation. But we were able to get a membership online and used the confirmation number on our phones for admission. Something to research.

Music to my ears... Another hotel to consider, especially if you do chose Le Bernardin, is the Michelangelo. It is literally across the street from Le Bernardin. It's a somewhat old school "Italianate" hotel, but it's very nice and rooms are typically larger than most in Manhattan. Le Bernardin opens reservations at 7:00 am Eastern time on the first day of the month for the following month online and through the Resy app. So for instance, on Monday at 7:00 am, they'll open reservations for the month of February. Reservations for weekend dinners will probably be gone by 9:00 am. Keep that in mind if you seriously want to book it. Dinner reservations in Manhattan are a competitive sport for the better known locations. And, yes, I absolutely love Le Bernardin. You pay for the experience, but it's an amazing experience. Aldo Sohm's wine bar next door is also very nice. The only time we've been there, we were sort of shocked to see Eric Ripert (chef at Le Bernardin) and Aldo both walk by. I've not eaten at the other two, but they have great reputations. H&H Bagel in Moynihan Train hall is surprisingly good for bagels (OK, I'm not a native New Yorker, but I really like them) and they're accessible.

Troll on a hacked account? Last post before Tuesday was in 2018 on Disney. Just saying...