the penguins

Thanks. Not sure how this works with prebooking a table for everynight.

Why did you "want someone to change your mind"? What are you missing? A real balcony. I think your first instinct was correct. Enjoy your real balcony on Equinox and Silhouette. 4 restaurant ? we have never cruised on E class but from what I have read don't the 4 restaurants have basically the same menus? So all you really get is a change of decor - i.e. similar to Royal's "Dynamic Dining" that sank without trace after being firmly rejected by passengers.

Conforming to "local standards" is what every travel organisation does everywhere in the world. In some cases that could mean higher than at home in others lower - it's just one of things you have to accept when booking any sort of travel. Incidentally the same applies to Hotel star ratings which, contrary to popular, are not based on standards but on facilities.

Marketing geniuses? Judging by their thankfully shortlived attempt to make "all included" compolsary that's one thing they are most definitely not.

Please don't add "facts". There was no mention of being left out in the sun and the ship did provide support i.e. it referred the passenger to the place where she would get the best treatment.

A credit card with no fees gives you much better protection than a Debit Card. Post Covid many (most) most businesses in Europe prefer Cards to cash even for small purchases.

Illegal for the car service to charge a fee for using a Credit Card. Credit Cards are safer than carrying lots of cash. We have 2 different ones, one of which we leave in the hotel/on the ship as a backup. Always carry enough cash (💲) in a money belt to get us back to the ship in an emergency.

Yes, but what's the point?

The atmosphere is totally different and more relaxed than the buffet. Lots more choice than just bagels. We love the croissants, smoked salmon, fresh fruit and the pastries. Smoothies are excellent. The Captain's Club host is (should be) in attendance every day. Very popular meeting place on sea days and Transatlantics. It's our choice of how we start our day.

A nice gesture but Romania doesn't use the Euro - it's just another foreign there just as it is in the UK.

Which other Ocean are changing to IV cabins? Viking, the line with the most experience of this type of cabin, (widely used on its River cruise ships) chose not to have them on its Ocean going ships. More concerning for Celebrity must be if having tried IV cabins most cruisers won't book that class again and will change to X's other ships or worse to a competitors ship. Interestingly X's TV adverts in the UK only feature suites and there is never a mention of IV cabins.

Thank you for your honest comments. In short IV’s are good for people who like the idea of a balcony but don’t actually use it. Poor for people use the balcony for extended periods as a place to relax. We are firmly in the second group which means IV’s are a non starter so we will be sticking to S class.

Now choice would be good say a 50/50 split between standard and Infinite. The reality is no standard cabins have a "true" balcony - it's Infinite Verandah or pay a large upgrade fee.

Window down, blind up and no Aircon doesn't sound ideal. Also curious how long did you spend each day relaxing in the "comfortable, low backed chairs" that are a feature of the the Infinite Verandah?

Most places will take (and often prefer) card payments so you will need very little cash. Your hotel will also probably help change larger bills but even then may decline a 50 as it will take most of its spare bills. Not sure with Euros but very few businesses in the UK will take £50 notes (bills) so am surprised that cafes in Europe will take Euro 50's for just a couple of coffees. A large supermarket may be a better choice. Whatever you do don't change anything left back into 💲, make sure you have changed all the 50's into smaller bills then use those for crew tips. The crew will happily accept any currency.

Not just the USA very valuable for opening false bank accounts and creating fake identities.

Always buy the insurance at the earliest possible moment then relax.

Recently completed our first Princess Cruise and found out first ever duck. Having taken the duck's picture for our photo book it was rehidden in the buffet.

I agree I just object to the way X markets it’s tours as if you will never be left behind which is just not the case. We have also never missed a sailing on any of our numerous private tours most booked through Toursbylocals which has the same guarantee of getting you to the next port. One ship did sail without the band who all failed to return before the deadline. The crew were taking bets on wether they would all be sacked and refused boarding at the next port or would the ship be forced to take them back as they were needed for the show on the final night. The band did indeed catch up the next day and performed at that nights show. Regrettably we never got to hear the outcome,

Seems odd what are the timings of the tour and the dinner?

I believe there is to much emphasis bring placed on what the port requires as opposed to what "other" officials for example the police may require. I believe the ships advice is usually to carry "government issued ID" without specifically mentioning a passport..In many (most?) countries if were to be stopped by an official for example the police ( after an accident, robbery etc) they would expect you to be carrying original i.d. not a copy. Copies are a useful back up if you had to replace a passport but should not be relied upon to satisfy an official request to show I.D. Also bear in mind that the request could well come from someone who's first language is not English and who is expecting to see an original document. We drive regularly in the US and I would certainly not attempt to show a copy of my driving licence at a car rental desk and certainly not to a police officer. Perhaps I am being over cautious but carrying my original driving licence in a secure pocket seems a simple way to ensure peace of mind.

Pop into the casino before it opens or gets busy (late morning or early afternoons on sea days is usually a good time) and the croupiers will happily teach you to play roulette, blackjack etc. and explain the options.

If we were unlucky enough to lose a passport we would never tell the ship until we were onboard and the night before the cruise ended. That way we would be disembarked at our final port of call which would be much less hassle.

Not your passport but always an original Government Issued form of ID - a driving licence is fine. We never rely on an official accepting a copy of anything when they expect to see an original document.

A common misconception: the ship does not guarantee to wait if you are on a ship's excursion. What it guarantees is that if it doesn't wait they will get you to the next port.