the penguins

The only thing you can rely on with X is its inconsistency. I think in its FAQ's it says to apply 30 days before but in reality it just seems to depend on who opens your email. We always submit each cruise separately and have never been refused. In May we decided to stay on Silhouette for a second cruise and booked just 48 hours before the first cruise ended. Applied for Shareholders immediately and it was on our new booking within 6 hours.

Not all OBC comes from Celebrity, we get some from our Travel Agent, and even when it does they are not "giving" it to you it's part of what you paid. Part of ours also comes from our shares and is a reward for staying loyal despite X not currently paying any dividends. Aart from that we do spend all our OBC on the ship i.e. we play roulette but choose to play in a manner that gives us close to a 50/50 bet and we keep our winnings. You also only choose to give some of OBC back to X i. e. you drink some (most?) of it It's all about choice

Once on board nobody cared. We got extra keys at GR with no problems. We told the Cabin Steward we were swoping which caused no issues The Captain's Club paperwork/ offers just came as per the booking. We set up our onboard accounts as follows: Cabin 1: Me and Brother in Law. My credit card to pay my extras and my wife's (you just need the name, booking ref and cabin number for the other person) Cabin 2 My wife and sister My sister credit card to pay her extras and her husband's again showing the name, booking ref and cabin number. Of course if you are going to pay everything and sort out the money later you can do it all on 1 card. We could all now attend the Elite breakfast and other Elite events. I think the Comped cruises exclude tips, drinks and internet so whichever of these you want will have to be sorted - we prepaid the tips. My sister used one of our Elite internet packages. Hope this helps. Have a great cruise.

On all our TA's the breakfast has always been packed and often spilled over into Quisine - a great way to start the day.

Probably too late this time but the solution is to mix up the bookings which works well and is especially easy if you have adjoining cabins. When travelling with my sister and her husband we book so I share with my brother in law and my wife with my sister. Once onboard we get extra keys and swop back. We set up the onboard accounts so each couple pays their own accounts. This was the Captain's Club suggestion.

Our OBC is always converted to cash via the casino

Yes

The majority of passengers will not breakeven by upgrading if they did X wouldn't sell the upgrades at the price they do. Signing seems to have "gone out of the window" since cruising restarted at least that's been our experience on 4 Silhouette trips.

It's the US Health Authorities which has the "no carpet rule" just another example of how ships have to adapt (and retrain staff) as they move from one area of the world to another. The same issue is why the popular Brunch in the MDR was dropped.

It's the same in the UK as everywhere else. You can book Simply Sail or AI unless you choose Aqua or a Suite in which case AI is compolsary.

I see you are Canadian and so is TBL. You will see they a free phone number. We have used TBL in Asia, South America, USA, Europe never had a bad guide. Also you can tailor everything for example we drop shopping and lunches and add coffee and cake breaks. Even during a tour if you need an extra stop or see something you like you can usual fit it in.

Just a thought, unless you have a lot of OBC to use, have you looked at doing private excursions. There are lots of companies doing these, our personal choice is Toursbylocals, which gives you the opportunity to tailor a tour to your exact requirements. With TBL you deal direct with the guide, pay via TBL in Canada, get a full refund if the ship doesn't dock and TBL will pay to get you to the next port if you miss the ship.

When doing the math also allow for the other Elite benefits: 1) internet : 90 minutes free each. You can use the minutes whenever you like. (Elite+ get 240 minutes each). A good tip is to share the first 90 and see how you get on. Then for the second 90 you still have the choice of using it as minutes or as a discount on a package by which time there might be a special for the remainder of the cruise. If you prepare all messages "offline" then log on, push send, log off, then read downloaded incoming messages you will be surprised at how long the 90 minutes last. We have never used our 90 x 2 minutes. 2) the Elite breakfast also includes mimosas, bloody Mary's and sparkling wine + speciality coffees. 3) the Elite drinks also includes bottled (actually canned now) water and you can get enough to take you through the next day.

No free drinks on the first night. Unless you have booked a Sail Only rate it's now pretty much a meaningless benefit .

The regular. OBC is based purely on the numbers of nights. The amount is invested by the boss (Anita) in the casino.

Was this before the introduction of AI?

Most people don't come out ahead on a drinks package if they did X would either have to increase the price or drop the package.

Just curious, and I'm sure the bosses at X would be delighted too know to, but where would you find new experienced crew who were: 1) fully vaccinated ( many countries don't provide this for younger people). 2) can get visas for the countries required (again every country the ship visits has different requirements and a lot have added to the requirements post Covid). 3) you must also allow for the 28 days minimum quarantine that was originally required between being offered a contract and being able to work on a ship. 4) add in the training. 5) be prepared to work for a full contract without ever being allowed off the ship - this last has been gradually dropped but was a problem earlier. When UK cruises restarted even the Guest Entertainers weren't allowed to leave the ship - for example Olie Nez and Matt McGurk all had to sign on for the whole season. Guest Lecturers refused to sign up for the same reason. Ships are not liked land based operations that have few of the above problems. 3)

Very safe. However we always put our money, jewellery, passports etc in the cabin safe. Why? because if anything were to go missing our insurance wouldn't pay out if we chose not to use the safe. Off the ship we wear cheap watches, no jewellery, keep money and cards in a zipped security pocket ( never in a back pocket) or in a closed bag worn across the body. Enough money in a separate security belt to ensure we can always get back to the ship. Two different Credit Cards - one set that remains on the ship as backup.

This was raised at a Q and A with the senior management on Silhouette in May. The Hotel Director's explanation was. 80% of the crew across the fleet returned. As the first few ships started to cruise it was therefore easy to fill them with experienced staff but this became increasingly difficult. Visa, vaccination and quarantine regulations have made it increasingly hard to recruit from Celebrity's traditional areas which is why they are stepping up recruitment in the Carribbean and South America. Recruitment levels are improving but of course these new recruits are untrained and therefore cannot just fit seamlessly into the operation. He wouldn't commit to how long it would take to reach prepandemic levels of fully trained staff but did say that the manning levels were not being reduced.

I agree totally unfair but fortunately the introduction of Sail Only rates has partly solved your problem at least in respect of the drinks and internet.

I always have a latte with dessert. However, because I know it's a long trek for the drinks person to go and get it, on Day 1 I tell them that " I would like a latte every night with/just after my dessert so would they please bring me one at that time without making a special journey." They are very appreciative and the drink arrives "like magic" every night thereafter. A little gesture on my part which helps everyone.

For Elite+ yes, Elite on Sail Only would pay.

Also specialty coffees and teas, great smoothies and juice. Meals are pre plated but can be plated to order. It's our favourite way to start the day. Tends to be busiest on sea days not so popular if you want to be off the ship early. If you just want to stay in the town most ports in the Fjords are walkable. However the "attractions" can be further out - research each carefully before travelling.

There are inside cabins on every deck from 7 upwards. From deck 8 they are near the front, personally we wouldn't consider any of those. On Deck 3 port and forward you will be close/under the disco. On balance port side as far back as possible which will be close to the Atrium.