terrydtx

First of all, I am a Texan but do not own a pair of cowboy boots, they are uncomfortable and too dam hot to wear 9 months of the year. Fortunately, we do not get too many icy mornings here too.😇

Do you know the best way to sauté Kale is to add coconut oil, it makes scraping it into the trash much easier.😂

This was on an April cruise this year. I just looked at an Apex April 2024 cruise and the AI is there. You have to look at Cabin categories' less than Aqua to see both pricing. I believe Aqua class and above have AI included in the fares.

I don't see how having the AI doubles the cruise price as you say. The 7 night cruise in April on the Beyond for a standard IV cabin is $1761pp for the cruise only rate. The same cabin with AI, worth $1032 in added perks is only $2323pp or $562pp more than the sail only rate for the drinks, Wi-Fi and gratuities included.

I loved following your posts. We will be on the Apex in September and then a B2B on the Edge in Jan 2024, in the land down under. The Luminae food looks as good as I remember and we only now book Sky Suites with Celebrity.

Thanks for the report, we will be in the Retreat on the Equinox in June.

We were on the Reflection last August RT out of Rome and loved the cruise and the ship. Would not hesitate to book again if the price and itinerary were right.

Way more than he/she is worth.

you need to now compare the difference is price for the AI vs sail only pricing. For a 7 night cruise for example Classic package $630pp or $743PP WITH TIPS Wi-Fi $175pp Gratuities $112pp Total cost if not on AI above the sail only price $1032pp. From what I have seen if you take the AI price on a cruise you are way ahead. A 7 night Caribbean cruise in May on the Beyond in a standard verandah cabin the AI is only $562pp more than the sail only rate, so AI for some may be a better way to go over ordering ala carte.

NCL has redefined the term Nickle and dimming, we did a one and one with them 5 years ago.

We will be in GC on the Equinox in June with our Granddaughter. She wants to swim with the sting rays, so we have no choice but to get off and do that with her. We sail away at 4pm so we will be able to enjoy wine and drinks in Luminae that night. No big deal, we have been to GC before and had the port canceled twice because of high winds.

Was the Branzino still on the lunch menu yesterday? My DW and I prefer it to the over hyped lobster roll. Looking forward to you reports on the Equinox.

Here is a very good researching web site with deck plans and description of cruise ship cabins with actual pictures from contributors. We use this site before booking cabins. https://www.cruisedeckplans.com Here is an image of the S1 Sky Suites on deck 9 of the Apex from this website. Here is a video posted on the website too: Celebrity Apex Cabin 9187 Video and/or Picture (cruisedeckplans.com)

Actually, I believe these category changes become effective on all cruises departing on or after April 23, of this year. I know it is in effect for our Equinox cruise in June and Apex cruise in September.

We do the same when we travel in Europe for the same reasons you mention with the peso. Last year we pre booked hotels and private transportation in Rome, Florence and Venice all in Euros, to be paid at the hotel or a few days before. Most when we booked the exchange rate was $1.12 to the Euro, during our trip in August the exchange rate fell to $1 to 1 Euro so we saved a lot on the conversions. We use nothing but CC's with no foreign conversion or transaction fees for use.

There may be some downgrading of Luminae menu, but it is still a better overall experience than the MDR and on the top of our list of why we cruise in suites with Celebrity. Last August, Luminae on the Reflections was not as good as prior cruises but after hearing all the complaints from others on our cruise with the MDR, I was happy we got to dine in Luminae. We passed on specialty restaurants for dinners as in our opinion Luminae was as good or better than them. We did do a couple of lunches on Sushi on 5 and it was exceptional as always.

So, this is Celebrity's fault? No hardly, it is a requirement of the local GC government. Celebrity has not downsized your amenities; they have no choice but to follow local government laws when in that government's territorial waters.

Celebrity pays him a lot of money for nothing IMO.

Or dress codes! LOL

Well that cures me from ever cruising on Royal, but wait there are more reasons than just the chips.

We were on the Reflection last year on a 10 day cruise. The app never did show any dinner menus for Luminae beyond night 7 until we boarded. Day 8, 9 and 10 turned out to be repeats of Day 1, 2 & 3.

For those in suites and dinning in Luminae there is not a cost for room service, only the non suites have the new RS charge.

I have said the same, Chef Boulud should make sure it is changed or have X take his name off the dish. If this is a signature recipe from his restaurants, I would never waste my time eating there. Both times I tried it, it was so very dried out and tasteless, first on the Equinox in 2021, I asked our waiter about the dish, and he told me it gets more complaints of any Luminae menu item. I then read a few positive reviews and tried it on the Reflection last year and it was no better than on the Equinox. Now I will not try it again and I see it is still on the menu in my app for both of our cruises this year. If Celebrity really wants to save money in Luminae discontinue the Boulud menu, I heard Celebrity pays a royalty fee to Boulud for using his name and the dish.

I would like to see the Daniel Boulud dishes change after the same thing for 3 years. Tried the Moroccan chicken twice on two ships and it is not good at all.

Exactly what I was going to post, thank you.