markeb

Question for you and others on this thread. We're seriously interested in Oceania and similar lines. We never sailed them in the past because they weren't necessarily convenient, and we didn't have time for their longer cruises. But I'd like to understand the food comments. And I'm not saying Celebrity is perfect; that's not the question. What is better about the food? I keep reading that, but there's never any context. There are foods on Celebrity that are very important to other people that are "meh" to me. Is the food on O more adventurous, more variety, or is it something else that makes it better? Thanks!

With very few exceptions (recalling a thread on this a few years back) US credit cards are coded as chip and signature. The various European (and other places internationally) credit card systems recognize this and you'll get a printout to sign. Which I hate because it identifies you as American no matter what else you're doing. Contactless cards are contactless, without a PIN or signature requirement up to the limit. Apple Pay and Google Pay are also contactless up the the local limit without a signature or PIN requirement. I'd look a little closer at Norway as I suspect you can use a contactless card without needing a PIN (or again, Apple Pay/Google Pay on your phone). Unfortunately, even if you set a PIN on your US issued card (with rare exceptions), you'll still have a signature requirement if you don't simply use a contactless card. Just saw that Post Captain did an excellent explanation of this earlier in the thread!

Have you been to London before? There’s a lot to see and do at a reasonable, jet lagged pace near your hotel. The Changing of the Guard should be at 11:00 (check that). The Mall, Horseguards Parade, St James Park, Green Park, Piccadilly, Hyde Park, etc. are within reasonable walking distance. Plenty of places to sit and take a break. Then get a good night’s sleep and head to the Tower first thing the second day. And maybe beat some of the tour buses to the Crown Jewels! I’d at least look at those options.

Is this your only night in London, or are you staying a few days? I'd agree with the previous poster that arriving early is best. You're probably not in the early window... If might be better to do other exploring on the first day, and get to the Tower early on your second day. You might couple that with a Thames Cruise back to Westminster.

Check here. You can book on your phone while everyone stands in line… https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/visit/tickets-and-prices/#gs.t3uyjr

OK, but that's a separate question. The menu option was fine. The execution wasn't. Same end result, but not the same issue. Hopefully you sent it back...

I'm honestly trying to understand. I'm looking at the day 6 Equinox menu in the app right now. The Grilled Asparagus salad is not something I would do at home, or have seen locally. It looks interesting. The wedge salad is pretty standard, and I'm hit or miss on the butternut squash soup. The Pasta Fagioli soup looks very good. It might not be, but there's nothing about it that's inherently bad. Tonight's entrees are Seared Branzino, which I'm a little cautious of because cruise ships tend to overcook fish, turkey parmesan that sounds cautiously interesting, Rigatoni Boscaiola that I'd probably order, if not for the Braised Lamb in phyllo that would be my first choice. Even the vegetarian couscous cake has my attention. None of them are things I'd have at home, and all could be very good. I see nothing on the day 6 MDR menu that is pitiful. In fact I see several things that are intriguing because they're not something I've had before. And I find that interesting. Not pitiful.

I guess I'm the only person on the board who looked at that and thought they all looked interesting...

That’s interesting. Some of their public materials haven’t really been age focused, but I don’t see what you see. And some of that was probably when Edge first came online and before the pandemic. Thanks.

Honestly, I don't think they're segmenting or targeting on age at all. Everyone laughed a few years back when their marketing material got out and they described their target cruiser. It wasn't based on age at all. It was behavior and obviously a level of affluence. The level of affluence coupled with an interest in cruising probably does raise the age a bit, but I'd consider that incidental. And I also thought it was a "to be" look, not an "as is." There's a much more interesting question in whether their customer retention program (Captain's Club) is over rewarding past purchases with benefits that actually discourage future spending on high profit additions (drink packages, Wi-Fi, suites). Not to mention less likely to buy other high profit items like ship's excursions, photo packages, etc. (Ducks the incoming artillery.)

Just looked up the pictures, and it looks like the same M Lounge they had in 2019. Very nice space. Hot breakfast. Evening fairly heavy snacks, with beer and wine. The hotel had a nice bar with a great selection of Genever, which I'd never really had before. I hit lifetime with Bonvoy which solves a lot of problems... It's an easy walk to the Museumplein, and the tram stop is right across the street. You'd want a cab to get to the cruise port. Centraal is the main transportation hub in Amsterdam. It's the main train station. Pretty much all the public transportation is accessible from there, including ferries. Transportation is very good. As Ine has stated (on your other thread), Amsterdam is not that big, and public transportation is very convenient. But the sights are scattered. Pull up a map, or go to iamsterdam.com (highly recommended!). I've never completely understood I Amsterdam; they do sell product, but they also seem to act as a tourist bureau. Lots of good information, including public transportation, attractions, etc. The I Amsterdam city card may or may not be worth it to you, but look at what it offers. It includes a pass to much of the public transportation, and museum and attraction admissions. The web page has links to everything!

I've stayed at both the Renaissance and the Marriott. Different hotels, different locations, different vibe. Pre-pandemic, so things can change. I like the vibe of the Renaissance better. I like the location of the Marriott better. The Marriott is near the museums; the Renaissance is closer to Centraal, but there were some nice local restaurants nearby. I have elite status and lounge access, and they both had good lounges. The Doubletree is a great location for pre-cruise, but I'm pretty much a Marriott guy at this point. I have no first hand experience with the Doubletree.

It looks familiar, but it’s not in my cellar tracker. Good user reviews. Sounds like a nice wine. It qualifies as a cab, but it’s really a California Bordeaux blend. A couple of reviews suggest it fades fast once opened. If you’re not going to finish it in on sitting, check the next night…

@DaKahuna We can get inside baseball and bore people to tears here! The Cab Francs are much better these days! Doukenie makes one of the best Chardonnays in Virginia (IMHO); it's actually why we joined. If you're near Hillsboro, definitely worth a stop. More of a winery than an event center (Breaux these days...). Like most of the wineries in Virginia, they're really a membership winery. Willamette is actually Oregon, but that's OK. Some of my favorite Pinot Noirs. Washington just does amazing wines, and they're still better priced than California. The vineyards are in Eastern Washington, and we've been treated like kings over there. Most people go to the tasting rooms in Woodinville and never venture over the mountain to see the actual grapes...

Honestly, that may be as easy as anything else. Leave the bags at Moynihan, plan on the train to EWR, and explore. They're going to have a decent amount of time. Penn Station is close to the Empire State Building, Macy's, the Flatiron Building, Time Square, and Rockefeller Center. They'll be beat, but it's doable! Although I'm taking notes on princeton123211's recommendations for the future!

Vint Hill is a lot of fun! Wish VABC would let them and Old Busthead (brewery) comingle. We're 15 minutes from their sister vineyard, Effingham. Have a barrel tasting there on Sunday. Our other favorite Virginia winery is Doukenie, also in Hillsboro. Virginia is getting interesting in wines. Way beyond the green pepper Cab Francs and Viogniers of old. Petite Verdot can be amazing here, and not just as a 1-2% filler in a Bordeaux blend. Our other memberships are in Washington. Just find them more approachable than Napa/Sonoma, which I do love. Used to live near Livermore and went to Wente occasionally. Usually visited Lodi instead...

The only time we've done it we were driving and brought something out of the cellar. I don't think we've ever gotten to the port city early enough to track down a good wine shop, although there is a Total Wine near most of the hotels in Fort Lauderdale. I'm probably guessing anything I'd like would be current vintage and not ready to drink...

Old Montreal is the classic area. It's been a long time since I've been there, so no hotel recommendations. Last time we were in Montreal we stayed at the Renaissance. Nice hotel and neighborhood, near the art museum, but a decent walk to Old Montreal.

Yeah. I've actually been known to take a connecting flight through Frankfurt to Munich instead of flying direct. The Lufthansa Senator lounge in Frankfurt is airside, has showers, and a hot breakfast in the morning. And I knew I'd be homeless in Munich once I got there...

The lounges are on the airside at FLL (only land side lounges I've seen are arrivals lounges in Europe), and they're likely to require an outbound ticket. Delta "might" allow you into the SkyLounge, for a fee, since they partner with Alaska. But your luggage will be delivered outside security...

Just looking at the app (which is organized by venue, not by type of wine), it looks like Cattier is the highest end by the glass champagne available. There's their co-branded Celebrity Vintages (which is from Loire not Champagne) and Chandon from California. And I think I saw a prosecco. And an Italian Brut rose that's apparently also a prosecco.

Which airport are you flying into? Getting a car to stop for wine, especially Manhattan, could be difficult.

Probably not. Someone will have the exact language, but it's something along the line of ports and itinerary subject to change. At least for US purchased cruises. EU rules are apparently tighter, but largely as long as they leave and return to Fort Lauderdale (assuming FLL here) and provide a cabin, it's the cruise you paid for. Even if it's not...

I'm not a fan of the tasting, but at least you can do a side by side. If you're cruising with your 4-5 good friends, all on a package, and can share, you can definitely build the tasting. But a series of full, neat pours is going to dull the senses (and the brain!). If they offered a flight (don't think they do), then I'm there with you for most onboard staff. Or just enjoy them one at a time. Still not my favorite whisky, but...

If you can pay for it with OBC, and aren't sure what to do with you OBC, go ahead. Just go in aware that it may not be a great experience. I guess the one advantage to the tasting versus just getting a whisky on your drink package is you try them together with small pours. If they offered a flight (you'd have to pay probably, even with a package) they'd be tasting sized. Four full pours is a lot of whisky in one sitting, and you'll burn out your taste buds before the last one!