camella

As long as you aren't sailing out of Sydney you should be ok. I recently left from there and like in the states I was going to send a packaged case of sparkling water and they literally started screaming that they would confiscate it if I sent it through the luggage. I told them it was WATER and you could clearly see it was and they still said if you give it to us it will be confiscated! So then we had to keep one of our roller boards so that we could balance the thing. My husband has a herniated disk and we were forced to carry this while in a huge line for about 40 minutes! Ridiculous. Good luck!

I agree and I'm afraid they are leaning towards the Royal Caribbean type wines. Just got off a Royal ship and their wine list is disgusting. The best they could do was Kendall Jackson which was considered a premium wine at $12 a glass! I can buy an entire bottle of KJ for less than $10. They did have La Crema for $19 a glass - a $4 upcharge every time and again I can buy a bottle of La Crema for $14.99 at Costco. That's one of the reasons I quit sailing Royal is their wine list is SO BAD and since that's all I drink it doesn't make for a happy camper. Tried it again bc of a great deal but definitely won't be back and as for X if they follow suit they're going to lose me too. Life is to short to drink bad wine!

Looks yummy! Would you mind sharing the link for the shared shuttle? We had originally booked a train from FCO but we aren't sure we should go through with that. We don't want to hassle with the luggage - even though we travel light the old bones aren't what they used to be and having to find room for the suitcase isn't always easy on a train. Thanks in advance -we get on May 13.

I think your main difference is the two lines. We usually prefer Celebrity but because my travel agent got a good deal and we had always wanted to go we decided to go on a 18 day transpacific cruise on Royal Caribbean. I just got back home and didn't wear HALF of the things I brought because to be honest people on Royal dress like slobs. Shorts and flip flops in the main dining room. I have always found that Celebrity cruises, particularly those out of Europe tends to have people who are better dressed. In fact I have never seen Celebrity allow shorts in the dining room for dinner. That said you don't have to even bring any dresses unless you want to. I ditched the formal wear and heels long ago but still enjoy dressing up like I would if I was going out to a nice dinner at home. You can even wear jeans but I usually dress them up as well.

Ok didn't know they were Australia prices. That makes a difference. I agree I like having the package because I will have the coffee and lots of water and sparkling water and my wine. The drink price for the packages was $15 for premium in October but I guess now it's $17? The $2 upcharge isn't great but it's not awful...like I said though nickel and diming and I hate that. I like to pay in advance and have everything taken care of and if I choose to tip more for the bartenders or cabin stewards etc then I do. Don't like to have that big bill at the end of the cruise. Thanks for the clarification!

Sorry to be a pain but when I go on the app the only thing that comes up is my future cruise in May. I'm not the best with computers. What am I missing? Thanks in advance!

That's your experience and I'm just telling you mine. I've also been cruising since the early 90s and my experience was they took it away. So I haven't bothered to even try since. Not worth the aggravation. just sayin.🤷‍♀️

You have to laugh - they are completely clueless and will lose a bunch of customers for this little trick. I'm elite plus and will not be sailing on them past my current bookings if they don't straighten this out. I quit sailing Royal Caribbean because of the nickel and diming with drinks and stuff and the selection they have is disgusting. So sad to see the same happening to Celebrity.

Things must have changed then because I brought a small one years ago and they took it away from me.

The Mer Soleil was $15 last time we were on Celebrity which was in October - it is now $23. A $8 increase PER GLASS is outrageous!

That's because it's La Crema central coast which is a cheap version of La Crema Russian River which they used to have and not nearly as good. The difference in price for a bottle at Total wines is $9. The central coast sells for $17.97 and the Russian river sells for $26.97

You are so right about the young management comment. I guess I have truly gotten old but I think it is a generational thing. You can't go ANYWHERE anymore without someone trying to "upsell" you something. Not even freakin McDonalds! Can I offer you fries with that? Can I offer you a large soda instead of a small one? Can I supersize your order? Go to Starbucks same thing - would you like a pastry with that? Would you like an extra expresso shot? and then they turn the machine around for you to tip them for ringing up your order - not making it but ringing it up. Somewhere they have taught people in business school that in order to make money you have to nickel and dime people to death and upsell everything. It is beyond annoying and I'm with you - I like to just pay for it and be done and not stress about a huge bill after the cruise.

I have one of those! I use it when my friends go to sports bars that only serve crappy wine - I order a glass of crappy wine and go to the bathroom dump it out and fill it with mine 🙂

Elegance is Kendall Jackson. It's laughable that it's now considered a "premium" when you can buy an entire bottle for less than $10!

That would be me! I bring a package of the Schar breadsticks and then I don't feel so left out. If you have your travel agent write on your reservation that you require gluten free meals and talk to the waiter the first night - he or she will get you gluten free rolls for dinner every night instead of the toast. I love escargot and hate having to use that toast to soak up the garlic butter so it was nice when the waiter would bring me different rolls every night.

No you cannot bring your hair dryer. Most people bring a thick rubber band to keep the button on because you have to hold it down 🙄 to keep it working.

I don't see that in post #2. Could you repost please?

Do you by chance have the wine list with the new prices? Thanks in advance

Yikes - I hope it's not our favorites! We are kind of wine brats and we like what we like which is why we always upgrade to premium. I know everyone is having a fit but it only makes sense that they would raise the prices based on our current economy🙄. Hopefully it won't be too bad! And thanks I will keep an eye out for those flash sales!

I don't know either but I went ahead and upgraded my drink package. Didn't want to take a chance on that. I also heard that they have recently raised the prices of the drinks so a lot of the things you used to be able to get on the premium package you now have to pay a couple dollars extra per drink because they are no longer at the $15 mark or less. If anyone can confirm that it would be great to know in advance!

I would call Royal Caribbean corporate and see if they can help you. It's possible they could send an email to Joel and see if he still has them or still has access to them. Good luck!

Neb. Cruiser - nothing is crazy if it works. Different things work for different people. Sometimes what's causing the reaction isn't an allergy to dust or whatever - it's something else. About 10 years ago I was getting heart palpitations and RAN to the heart doctor since heart disease runs rampant in my family. She checked me from a-z and said ok I want you to go off gluten. I was really surprised and even had to research just exactly what gluten was but I said ok. She said in the meantime I'm going to test you and see if you have a certain gene because people with that gene are more susceptible to gluten intolerance. I came back a month later, no more palpitations and by the way I had the gene. So go figure!

Great to know - do you remember where you got it?

That's a great idea I always hate that thing on the bottom and just cringe thinking how nasty it is. Not a germaphobe but I always wake up congested on the ships and on a recent road trip had the issue with the pillows and my allergies and my son in law came up with the idea of the uv light. Usually try to avoid contact with the sofa or put towels. An extra sheet would be a great idea. Thanks!

Yes I tried that but never saw them again but they were white. I can look for the printed ones and see.