terrydtx

It still has to be better than dining in the MDR with the masses. That is why we chose CO for our Koingsdam cruise in November.

We use one CC for taking off the ship or outside the hotel and keep or two from separate accounts in the safe just in case. This credit card we ONLY use when we travel abroad and has no conversion or transaction fees. We had this happen to us while on a land trip in California, and if my CC hadn't been able to overnight us a new card, we would have been stranded. BTW I have used our debit card to get Euros from guest services on both Celebrity and HAL in Europe. On land the best place to use an ATM is in bank. There are many private ATMS in bigger cites but they have huge fraud problems with CC skimmers and if legit they have huge fees that are lost in the transaction and translation.

Thank you for your experiences. I hope that the CO food and ambience is as good as the Luminae on Celebrity. I was told that on the non-Pinnacle class ships the CO food is all the same as the as it the same kitchen served is a roped off section of the MDR. That is why we never bothered adding CO. We have our first Pinnacle ship booked in November.

We used our CC many times for purchasing an expresso (2 Euros in Italy). We found some merchants that actually preferred a CC for payment.

Last year we found out that Turkey, Croatia and Montenegro would not take Euros too.

The gratuities for AI are for you room attendants, food servers and others covered by the daily service charges. Gratuities will be added for all drinks above you drink package limits in the difference between the cap and price of the drink. Gratuities are not included for room service, spa services, wine by the bottles, Gelato purchases, cabin mini bar, and specialty restaurants, a gratuity charge will be added to your account for those purchases for 18-20%

It boggles my mind too, but I think many people go to the buffet because they do not want to get out of their shorts and flip flops and clean up to go down to the MDR. On our Oosterdam cruise last August when I saw a passenger sneeze and then cough all over the bread in the Lido, I did not go back once. I then tried to get the staff member there by the bread to pull all the bread out and replace it, to no avail.

For me the difference between having dinner in the MDR and the Lido is like the difference between eating at Golden Coral and a nice sit-down restaurant. One is a buffet where you serve yourself and the other is a finer dining experience where you are waited on and served course by course. I want to be waited on for dinner. Also we always take the anytime dining so we can enter when we are ready for dinner, specially if we have a late shore excursion or nice Sailaway. On sea days, lunch is in the MDR, on port days we generally will try the local cruise for lunch on shore. Post Covid I have seen way too many passengers sneezing and coughing while serving themselves in the buffets which keeps me away from them as well.

We have CO for the first time on our Nov 4 Koingsdam cruise, but in the Navigator app it does not show the CO dinner menu, is this normal? We mainly added CO to this cruise for the smaller dining room and hopefully better cooked to order meals.

Our Nov. 4th Koingsdam cruise opened up for specialty dining reservations yesterday, April 28th. We also had no problem booking with our HIA credits. So it seems from reading the above there is no set time for releasing reservations for booking. Keep checking daily to see if your cruise has been released. That was what I had been doing and I did not receive any notice that our cruise was available to book.

I would 100% use a private transport. We are using on for our September cruise from Rotterdam but we are flying out of Amsterdam. We are using Private Transfers Schiphol | Private Transfers Amsterdam (viptravelservices.com)

Thank you, I was interested in the list as well.

If you are in the Retreat room service is still free. For all other classes $9.95 plus 18% tip seems a little steep for getting a pot of coffee or a mid day snack.

We usually sail in a Signature Suite with HAL and room service for all class of cabins is not available on the morning of debarkation. I am sure you know a Signature "Suite" is only a bigger cabin with no amenities. We also sail in true suites on Celebrity and they have the same policy.

I am with you on beets, and I also love Okra, either fried or stewed.

We will be on the Volendam in August next year and your home port is one of our stops. Looking forward to some of you great sea food for lunch or dinner. I hear you are known for exceptional oysters, muscles and scallops. We hope this cruise gets us out of the heat of August in South Texas.

bought a rack of lamb at Costco today for $14.95 lb about what it had been for over a year.

My wife grew up in Eastern Oregon in Klamath Falls and she and her brothers were also the official snow blowers for their home. Once they were out of the house her dad installed a hot water system that melted the snow on their driveway and front walk way. They lived on top of a geothermal well that they used to heat their house, so they had an unlimited hot water supply that they ran through pipes under the driveway and walkway. Many of the over passes in their town also used geothermal wells to keep ice melted in the winter too.

Other than the Boulud chicken, I do not think I have tried any other chicken in Luminae or in MDR's. I am a very adventurous eater so I like to try things I can't cook at home. Nothing worse than over cooked chicken

My wife raves about the Branzino on the embarkation lunch so, on our upcoming Equinox cruise I think I will try it instead of the Lobster Roll. My last lobster roll was missing the lobster as it was impossible to find. I had Branzino on other days in the past in Luminae and it was excellently done. I agree with you the Luminae fish chefs do a great job. I always hesitate to order steak on cruise ships or even in land restaurants as I have a local butcher shop that sells the best beef anywhere and I can grill perfect steaks anytime at home. When we travel and since we are always close to the sea, I prefer to try local fish and am seldom disappointed. One exception was last year in Greece I tried fresh grilled sardines for the first time, don't think I would again.

I agree this level of service is unacceptable and you should have a discussion with the Luminae manager. If you get nowhere there try the food and beverage manager.

Another thing I will never eat is farm raised shrimp from Indonesia, just like Tilapia they have no governmental controls over feed and production methods. If the shrimp are not wild ocean raised and caught, I do not eat them. Some of best quality and tasting shrimp come from the US Gulf Coast and the eastern Florida estuaries. My favorites are the Florida reds caught off eastern Florida and Key West pinks. The old standby brown Gulf shrimp caught off the coast of Texas and Luisiana are also excellent for taste. Last year while in Greece and Italy we enjoyed excellent shrimp caught in the Med and around the Greek Islands.

Both my wife and I had ordered the Barramundi in Luminae and it was delicious each time. I will order it next time it is offered too. Here is a description of the fish; What Is Barramundi? (thespruceeats.com)

Our TA handled both our insurance claims and HAL reimbursement, which made our stress so much less. She also filled out and filed the insurance claims for us.

@Jim_Iain & @DaKahuna years ago I googled how Tilapia is mostly farm raised in 3rd World countries with no controls over how and what they are fed and raised. After what I read, I refused to ever eat it again. It is used in restaurants and probably by Celebrity because its is so cheap to buy. China and Indonesia are two of the biggest producers of Tilapia and the biggest offenders. My Local HEB grocery store fish manager told me that the Tilapia they sell is fresh and farmed raised in Costa Rica which has better controls and quality, but I still will not eat any.