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At least you are making the effort by swapping out your bread roll for a green salad… One criticism I would make about the Luminae menu is the lack of side salads and vegetables generally. Many dishes which are served with named vegetables lead you to expect a portion only to receive a garnish! Like yourself I have found ways of ‘customising’ their offerings. I often will ask for a starter as a mains… I think parts of this post could be merged with those who complain the laundry shrinks their clothes as “They fitted when I boarded”…

Never fails to amaze me how I am the only member of the family who gets bitten and I am the one who is the most careful about putting on the repellent. As you say, we must have sweet blood… Sincere best wishes to you all for a safe flight home and thank you for a wonderful vicarious holiday! Interesting re the negative comments you have heard. I don’t think that Celebrity helps by mixing and matching information and pictures on its website. Unless you read the captions under pictures it is easy to think that all ships have a Retreat Deck and that all ships have lots of speciality restaurants. Add in a good dose of ‘lazy bookers’ who do no research about the ship and then are shocked that despite M class being in good condition and clean it is dated and they are disappointed. Indeed this can happen on the new ships too. We met a couple who were horrified by the size of the RS balcony on Edge. Typically on the generic RS photos it shows the S class RS balcony. Like you, I wouldn’t cross out an itinerary because it is M class but I prefer the extra restaurants and flow of S class! I also think others may have found aspects of your cruise difficult too. The heat, the crowds, perhaps a lot of getting on/off coaches (if they had booked generic tours) or perhaps expecting they could just ‘get off the ship and see Japan’ at each port and just walk back on the ship again. Part of any experience is in the ‘eye of the beholder’…You knew what Millie was like, you were prepared and super well planned for long hard touring days…Perhaps others less so. Then there are always those whose glass is ‘half empty’ on a cruise… too hot/too cold, too busy/too quiet…I am sure all of us who have cruised world wide have a plethora of stories where they have heard declarations like “No one spoke English” “We were going to lunch out but all the food was foreign” and my favourite ever overheard on a Norwegian cruise “It’s just all mountains and water”…. Once again, safe onward journey and sincere thanks for letting me enjoy Japan from my comfortable armchair…

Now why didn’t I think of that? Seriously, one M’D in Murano (Equinox), after seeing me struggling to decide but finally settle on the Ballon Rouge, sent a cheese selection to the suite for me. It wasn’t wasted, my husband and son enjoyed…

One of the times none of our information went through was when we were contacted nearly three months out…Come to think of it we were asked early on our Eclipse cruise where the only information our butler had received was the spirits request… Take a copy of your email on board just in case. Following my theory, if you take a printed email copy on board then you won’t need it…

I was just going to suggest checking the Spam, Spam, Spam, Spam….

Yes, one needs food priorities on a cruise… My biggest ‘dither’ on a cruise is deciding between dessert or cheese plate in Murano’s. I know I can’t do both but which to have?

Will you previously have eaten first and second breakfast in your hotel?!?

Totally understand…We all have our own favourite spots. As you say, there is a knock on re other venues like the Ensemble has had to change its usual ambiance for parts of the day. You can’t close off spaces to guests without there being an impact on other places and the number of activities being offered. On a warm weather cruise perhaps it would be less noticeable but on a cold weather cruise on sea days… So pleased your usual positive attitude remains and you are making the most of your cruise. As you say, better than being at home!

Sincere best wishes for the next leg of your cruise! I do hope you are having an enjoyable time. Is the Sky Lounge closure you have been kind enough to report on affected you much or isn’t it a preferred venue of yours? I guess lounges are like all spaces, everyone has a preferred…

So pleased you have had a positive start! Can I suggest you do as some of us have suggested earlier in the post and take a copy of the mail with you ‘just in case’. If you take a copy you won’t need it! Re Speciality Dining on a TP. In our experience Murano really booked up towards the end of the cruise. We had pre booked, fortunately, but some suite guests, even in higher suites were struggling to get bookings at the times they wanted. They will invariably try their best to get higher suite guests in without a booking but may only be able to offer very early or very late. If you have only booked a few evenings for now with the intention of deciding later can I suggest you ask the butler on boarding to book a few more? You can always change or cancel if you decide you prefer other venues. Our TP cruise on Solstice was our favourite cruise ever, Enjoy!

So pleased you have so much information already! The snag is when doing a cruise that is going to be port intensive is that you can end up trying to fit in too much and end up ‘missing’ some of the experience by not building in time to ‘stop and stare’. Unfortunately I never got to Japan but have traveled the Far East extensively and you simply need to accept in one trip you can’t do everything! If I was you I would list some of the things you may have enjoyed/experienced on previous travels (religious buildings, gardens, museums, boat trips, train rides, cultural dining…). You can then decide if there are some things you want to prioritise more (say gardens) and some less (say museums). Then as you go through your masses of screen shots you may find it easier to list things as ‘must do’, ‘would like to do if it fits in’ and ‘would do if it is en route’…Also, when you are in ports where you decide to book a guide you can let them know your ‘must do’s’ then mention some ‘like to do’ things like, perhaps, lunch in a scenic spot… The reason why Miaminice, Monkey@Cruise and Villauk have had such fantastic holidays is they have personalised them to their own and their families interests. Don’t leave yourself out of the planning!

Yes, definitely a highlight of the TP…

It is amazing how much a goodwill gesture is worth. Not only do you please the customer you are dealing with they are likely to refer to friends, family and social media that you are ‘Reasonable and Accommodating’ rather than ‘Ruthless and Penny pinching’!

Thank you for your wonderful review! So sorry you found the food lacking. It is such a pity the M class ships got rid of the Murano ‘Ocean Liners’ equivalent. Much as BA flights often look to be the ‘best option’ for us when travelling worldwide we rarely use them now. We have had issues with them changing our first flight to LHR with a comfortable 3 hour cushion to a 1hr 10mins dash, been in a business lounge that was overcrowded and had plates and glasses uncleared, long waits at security…In addition they have ‘lost’ our baggage twice, once going out and once on return. Quite simply I would rather fly another airline and travel via Amsterdam or Paris. Your tales of being bused is quite simply unacceptable in this day and age. Whilst LHR is an old airport the BA terminal is not and yet it is obvious struggling…In addition communication with BA is almost impossible, even when flying business. Long waits for them to answer the phone then the invariable answer that they ‘can do nothing’ about changes they have made…

Well said, my late husband and I ‘plunged’ for the M PH on three cruises and we had no regrets. We had imagined the beauty of the space for breakfast, sitting out in the afternoon and enjoying the occasional dinner on but it was the beauty of the space at night that stunned us. Lying on the comfortable sun beds, staring at the stars, listening to the sound of the ocean, seeing light reflecting in the wake… 20165, make some wonderful memories, they are priceless…

Thank you for your thoughtful and well organised review.

I cruised some years ago with an orthopaedic boot (none weight bearing) but with the permission of my physio to take off the boot and use the pool. The staff were fantastic. After letting the pool attendant know first day that I would need the ducking stool to get in and out they were always looking out for me. Once they had me in one or other would as they crisscrossed the area doing the rest of their jobs would keep an eye on me and as I was ready to get out they were there! I do understand what you are saying about not wanting to use the chair but there is a point where quite simply limited mobility and trying to use standard entrances and exits to pools is dangerous. My mobility can still a bit suspect and if it is when I cruise I would rather keep to the side of caution and use the stool rather than risk a fracture. For many older guests walking on the straight, dry and flat is fine but the perimeter of a pool offers none of these things, it is, by its nature, a hazard….choosing to use the stool is a positive not a negative choice.

Just do it for the balcony…You won’t regret it.

Did you check at the Solarium Pool?

Whilst we dine on board we do wipe everything down as part of our hygiene routine…Door handles and remote controls being my particular concern… As you say we all have our own routines that suite.

Exactly, it is the ideal venue for cold sea days and the size means it takes pressure of venues such as the Cafe.

In our experience the Buffet is no longer the bun fight it used to be when people used to settle with their hand luggage and not move until 1 pm when rooms were declared open. Now guests can board and drop off their hand luggage most people don’t want to linger in the buffet. People seem to pop in grab a bite at some point but move off to explore, visit their muster station, enjoy their drinks package. Sincere best wishes for a wonderful cruise!

Much as ‘socialising’ is part of the daily walks I think it is also an important way of monitoring standards too. I remember Captain Leo walking through the Solarium one day and gathered a few glasses and plates which he placed at a table in the spa cafe. Minutes later a waiter and tray appeared who he had a word with then a thorough gathering from sun beds took place…Amusingly a guest, obviously not recognising the stripes, asked the Captain to pass her another towel which he obligingly did! If Officers don’t circulate they won’t be aware that some staff at certain times are overwhelmed or that cleaning in other areas is suspect…Often it can be little changes that make a big difference to quality of service…

Sincere thanks for a wonderful review. All the best for the new school term. I retired 2014 after 30+ years as a teacher…It was wonderful to (at last) visit places at the best time of year rather than when the holidays fall…I celebrated retirement with a flight to Hawaii, a week there then a TP cruise…Fantastic. During my cruise I could not resist sending regular emails with pictures to my colleagues as they settled into the winter term…

They did have some smoked fish but tiny and full of bones. I think I entertained the adjacent table who were (through sign language and the one word ‘Eat!’) encouraging me to eat the whole little fish which I simply couldn’t do. I dissected the first one and gave up after that. Much as am quite an adventurous eater I can’t cope with my food staring at me so much of the fish wasn’t an option! I couldn’t cope with the baby octopus either served whole on the plate…