Dar & Bob

Yes on sea days but we didn’t have many and it’s limited hours. you could browse CC but we were too busy! Love the E class ships

Maybe, maybe not. We did enjoy the additional space, mostly in the bathroom. However, we weren't as impressed with Luminae as we expected. Menu selections seemed limited. The lounge on this cold weather itinerary was somewhat crowded somedays so we ended up going to the martini bar. We love the spaces on the E class ships and we are going to try a regular IV on the Ascent next April. We were on the Equinox in January and after seeing the extent of the Retreat areas, I don't anticipate paying for Retreat on that class. In fact already booked on her again next year in a Verandah. For the difference we can eat in the Specialty restaurants almost every night and buy the premium beverage package and have $$ left over. When I am booking I look at value for $$

We just did a Sky Suite on the Apex to Norway in May. 1) Favorite aspect, we did enjoy the lounge and the Retreat sun deck bar, however not sure how it would be on a full ship. At the Captain's party there was barely a seat in the lounge. Cold weather itinerary so the Retreat sun deck was usually empty. 2) If you have any issues Do Not go to Guest Services, We got our hands smacked so to speak " You have a concierge and a butler do not come here" I was shocked! We were there about a refund on a shore excursion. From our perspective I am not sure if we would do a suite again. The cruise we were on only had 1962 guests so most of the venues were easy to get into. Luminae for us was a little disappointing in the number of choices, however look at the menu a day in advance, if you see nothing appealing ask if there is something else like a filet that you can order. Sailing into the fjords - remember there are some open sections on the Retreat Sun Deck without windows. We went to the main resort deck and people were piled up 4 deep. LOL I looked over and saw the door to the Retreat area. Because we had been mostly in the front I didn't realize there was an area without glass above the rail. It was fantastic. For lunch on a port day Luminae is not open for lunch but you can go up to the Retreat bar area and there is a menu for lunch. With the cold itinerary we didn't realize there would be anything served there. Also in the Retreat area there are lots of stadium blankets. I took one back the room for going on our balcony LOL asked the butler for one and he brought us two blankets for the bed! If you are doing the fjords they are spectacular and if you are going to Flam we have heard the railway was fantastic. Don't do the Viking Village (fake tour) Have a fabulous cruise.

So if you search the posts you will see that chair hogs are still abundant in the Retreat and no one does anything about it. As for Luminae it isn't open on port days either. You can order food at the Retreat sun deck on the E class ships not sure about the others. When we got back around 1:30 there were no "snacks" in the lounge and were told none until "tea time" at 3 or 3:30

One area I am in disagreement with on the discussions is how much more Celebrity is. In the last few years I have started to create spreadsheets for similar itineraries comparing number of days, number of ports, similar cabin class and beverage package and also the amount of OBC included. To my surprise many times Celebrity ends up being cheaper for us overall. Within a few hundred dollars of each other we go with the best itinerary for us. Note: at present it is Impossible to compare an Edge class ship to any Princess ship, Period Also, I will agree with the staff on Celebrity being much more friendly, every employee greets you with a hello, good morning etc even if just walking past in a hallway. It really does add to making the cruise a pleasant experience.

I’ve tried booking several different cabin classes on different ships and itineraries. From other discussions on the board this is the way they are going now

@lakegirl16 I agree with most of your assessments. We just started cruising with X in April 2022 and have been on the Edge, the Equinox and the Apex. On Princess most recently we have been on the Regal, Sky and Grand. The Grand IMO was not in decent shape. Also we had issues with so many things (internet, wrong charges and cabin noise) that we were in line at Guest services a number of our vacation hours so we will never sail less than Royal class again. The food I agree is about even, however on the Sky the meals in the MDR were really lacking, overcooked, cold etc and we did send them back a couple of times. As far as entertainment for us on all the Princess ships the production shows were like a high school musical. The entertainment on the Equinox was very good and the Edge class ships the shows were fabulous with musical groups in Eden, the Grand Piazza, in the Club etc. Some nights it was hard to decide where to go - too many great choices. We will still cruise Princess, but right now I am put off by not being able to select a cabin of my choice and instead being put into a guarantee. If they continue my FCD may be getting refunded.

Great choice, I am jealous LOL We loved that place and the living room provides a social hour so you get to hear from others, what they saw, ate and experienced so you can go check it out too. Also, our flight got in early we took a taxi to the hotel - room wasn't ready but they tagged our luggage and put it in a locked storeroom

This must be ship to ship - on our May cruise we did not get this message.... but LOL I picked an Auto spin machine that took half in the blink of an eye the first time 🙂 I won't make that mistake again.

but you can order a bottle with a discount to share. 🙂

Ours were there just after we made our Book Later deposit in January and it was there up until a month ago and when it disappeared it concerned me but I had my resevation from my confirmation email so I had the number. We just used it and it was no problem. I always save my confirmations from Celebrity in my "cruises" folder on my computer since Celebrity sorely lacks in making information available on their website.

Thanks for the response, as I said it was just a curiousity. We always pack the covid tests too as well as the meds to take care of almost any ailment. Got caught without it once at a resort and paid dearly 🙂 Glad to know the procedure.

The info I posted was from a Princess passage contract - everything I see states that they have medical personnel onboard not that they employ them.

I will just say good luck with that. Usually the medical personnel are not employed by the cruiselines - they are independent. And as usual READ your passage Contract Due to the nature of travel by sea and the ports visited, the availability of medical care may be limited or delayed and emergency medical evacuation will not be possible from every location to which the vessel sails. All health, medical or other personal services in connection with Your Cruise are provided solely for the convenience and benefit of Guests who may be charged for such services. You accept and use medicine, medical treatment and other personal services available on the vessel or elsewhere at Your sole risk and expense without liability or responsibility of Carrier whatsoever, and agree to indemnify the Carrier for all medical or evacuation costs or expenses incurred on Your behalf. Doctors, nurses or other medical or service personnel work directly for Guest and shall not be considered to be acting under the control or supervision of Carrier, since Carrier is not a medical provider. Carrier does not undertake to supervise the medical expertise of any such medical personnel and will not be liable for the consequences of any examination, advice, diagnosis, medication, treatment, prognosis or other professional services which a doctor or nurse may or may not furnish You. Similarly, and without limitation, all spa personnel, instructors, guest lecturers, entertainers and other service personnel shall be considered independent contractors who work directly for the Guest. Carrier strongly recommends that all Guests travel with a sufficient supply of their prescription medications to last fourteen (14) days beyond the scheduled conclusion of the Cruise.

Curious question - do they quarantine you with the flu? and since your hubby had it so long did they test for C-19?

I would disagree - read my response above.

Being from FL we had limited flights to and from Anchorage. We ended up with an 8:30 pm flight home. We did a tour on the way back and got to the airport around 3 - the big issue is that no one is at the check in desks until an hour before the flight so we were stuck on the outside of security. One restaurant available to get something to eat and tons of people for the few chairs. I am assuming leaving from Vancouver would have more flights available and at least someone manning the desks earlier

So we had a similar situation on the Equinox. 3 couples with our reservations linked in the X system made reservationa for 7 pm for every evening. We showed up the first evening and we were told no go - take a pager, which we did but they would see what they could do. Night 2 was the same so when I was coming back to our table, I saw a person I thought to be the maitre 'd - sure enough. I asked him to speak to my husband. Basically we were told the same as you.... show up at 6:15 to see what they could arrange for us. IMO not a good solution. I sent off a note to the CEO address (after getting no where with anyone else) and was told we should have went to Guest Relations when we were on the ship. If they are going to offer reservations, keep them. When someone such as the OP and us make reservations months in advance why ruin their experience by creating an unpleasant situation. I am wondering if this is just the Equinox and maybe their maitre 'd

Banks Mansion, just stayed there. Central Location - walking distance to almost everything. Breakfast and self service bar included. Snacks and drinks. Friendly staff, fun place. Be Banks, Be Different is their slogan

Totally agree - don't be obvious. This probably varies from ship to ship, cruise to cruise. Also, I highly doubt there is more than one "promotional" chip (or whatever they are called). That is why I posted the rules on no contra betting. There have been posts that say you can't use OBC in the casino, which even accorinding to X website you can as of 2015. Thanks for posting your experience.

I don't think there are different "promo" chips.X isn't that sophisticated. I think it is just applied differently from ship to ship. If you purchase chips ahead of time - where they give you a 10% bonus there are rules and of couse you have to convert them all to regular chips before cashing in. " No contra betting permitted on Roulette or Baccarat. Promotional Chips cannot be used at the Texas Hold’em table. Promotional chips Chip denominations are subject to availability. Guest must present SeaPass at table play for Casino recording. Cancellations can only be made pre-cruise via Cruise Planner; refunds will be made to the original form of payment. After Cruise Planner closes for the sailing, all sales are final. Pre-Cruise purchases made that exceed the maximum purchase amount will be refunded to the credit card originally used for purchase within seven business days after the original charge was made. Offer is subject to availability and change without notice and may be withdrawn at any time. This promotion will not count towards Blue Chip Club loyalty points accumulation. Celebrity Cruises reserves the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies or omissions. ©2019 Celebrity Cruises Inc."

Deal or No Deal

I haven't heard this I know as an individual you can't bet red & black but would like to see where it says you can't bet outside. We had promo chips from DorND and we bet them outside no problem

One other Caveat, be aware of the machine you pick. Somehow on the Apex, I ended up on an "auto spin" machine. I thought at first I had won something since it kept spinning by itself. However, it was just eating my OBC! Luckily I hadn't transferred much but it ate almost half before I found thst Stop button.

If you bought a package you can not reserve a time until on the ship. This may be a change from the past but it's been that way over 18 months now.