Buckeye94

1.5 hours to check in. Now I'm on the shuttle bus over to the ship. Unreal. Still better than a day in the office, but my patience is in my checked bag. 😂 First thing I'll unpack. I knew I should have put it in my carryon.

I feel like Princess Anna. It's Embarkation Day! Wish I could have seen more of Santiago. Next time!

I get slow data, 2G, internationally on my plan. Lomit's offered a copy when they thought I was having problems with the code. I'm sure they'd find a way.

As an expert reviewer, a technical question. To share pictures, I added/uploaded them. After I insert pics to my post, can I remove them from uploaded files or are the images in the post linked to the upload?

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! I made it to Santiago! First note for those who are considering this itinerary. If you are in Santiago for NYE reserve your NYE dinner/event early, and pack carefully. Very few stores were open yesterday, banks were closed, and many restaurants were booked or closed. Today, is a national holiday, so my winery tour booked almost a year ago was cancelled (months ago so not a surprise, just a disappointment). Very, very few restaurants outside of hotels are open. But, that didn't stop me from having a wonderful day. I'm staying at Solace Hotel Santiago https://solacehotel.cl/santiago/ in the Providencia area. Nice spot near the embassies, shopping (any other time of the year), and restaurants. Today, I walked to the Sculpture Park. https://santiagochile.com/parque-de-las-esculturas/ Peaceful outdoor setting with lots of benches and shade. Each sculpture had a marker with a QR code to learn more about the piece and artist. Fascinating! Food! Yesterday, I had lunch at Lomit's (https://lomitsrestaurant.com/) which was featured by Andrew Zimmern on Bizarre Foods. Kind of bizarre, but not outrageous, I enjoyed the chacarera which is pork loin with tomatoes, peppers, and shredded green beans. It was delicious, and so was the pisco sour. Today, I ate at the pizza place I had hoped to try last night (https://www.lapizzanostra.cl/). I enjoyed a beer from Punta Arenas as a preview to the days ahead. Both restaurants accepted debit cards. Not sure about credit cards. Yelp only listed debit and my Spanish failed me on this subject. I had heard that BA favored debit cards, so I opened one with a limited balance before I left home. Fun fact: Santiago closes some main streets every Sunday for recreation. Bikes, runners, families out enjoying the day walking down the middle of the road. Interesting trees:

Re: shore excursions For this cruise, I am sticking with Celebrity excursions for a few reasons. 1) I'm traveling alone really far from home and my Spanish is iffy. 2) Lots of tender ports. 3) Important sailing days between ports. I'd hate to miss the Chilean Fjords and Strait of Magellan because I missed the last tender at Puerto Montt, or sailing around Cape Horn because I was delayed in Ushuaia. I know many people who do independent, and in the Med where ports are close and less meaningful sea days, I do independent. Here, they got me with the peace of mind. More expensive, you bet. Maybe next time. 😀 But, yes, I will share my perspective on the excursions. Penguins, sea lions, toninas, on my! 😀

Thanks! I don't know how some people do it! 😀

Okay, here goes! My first (hopefully) live review! I’ve learned so much from Jim, Chicago Paul, GenX, and others, so now it’s my turn to pay it back and forward. A little about me...I’m almost always a solo traveler. A couple of times, I’ve traveled with friends, but often, I’m adventuring on my own. Due to that pesky solo supplement, you won’t find me enjoying the suite life of The Retreat and Luminae. I did spoil myself on my first cruise with a balcony, and I can’t bring myself to go Oceanview or Inside. I’ve sailed Edge and Beyond, and the IV is as close to an Oceanview as I want to get! IYKYK 😉 I’ve been cruising since 2009, and all but one was on Celebrity and that was a New England Coastal on Royal Caribbean. Haven’t felt the urge to try other lines, and I want to make the most of my loyalty points. Although Elite+ seems so far away. I am very excited about this Patagonia sailing. I booked it as soon as I got my first COVID-19 vaccine. The pandemic slowed down my travel which allowed me to save up the $$ and vacation days to take this trip of a lifetime. Twelve nights is a long time to be away from the office, home, the cat, and family, but YOLO, right? I am spending a couple nights in Santiago pre-cruise, and I'm taking a day trip out to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires. I wish I was staying on for the Antarctic B2B, but alas, work! Sailing on the Infinity. I’ve read here that she’s looking a little tired and worn around the edges, buy you know what, so am I! I have a soft spot for Infinity since that was the ship for my first cruise ever. I am excited to see her again. I’m sitting in the Admirals Club at DCA awaiting my next leg to Miami then on to Santiago. Looking forward to celebrating NYE in Santiago, exploring the city for a day, and then sharing a ride with a new CC friend from the Roll Call over to Valparaiso. A few notes: 1. I have no idea how good the wifi is going to be. I’ve been following a recent thread on this board about it, but won’t know until I know! So, my posts are partly dependent on my ability to connect. Yes, I’ve upgraded, more on that later. 2. The other dependency is time and living in the moment which puts the “live” part of the review at risk. I’m not going to sacrifice my full enjoyment of this trip to stress over posting an update. My intent is to try to keep up with any questions and post daily. 3. If some unforeseen interruption (or 1 or 2 above) delays me or renders me unable to post, I will make it up with a full review post-cruise. I really do appreciate the first-hand accounts from other travelers. I hope you'll join me on this adventure. For now, I’m going to sip my glass of wine, tie up some loose ends at work, call Dad, and try to ease into vacation mode! Cheers, Julie

Hotel Praktik Rambla. Fantastic location, taxi stand nearby. Great boulevard with restaurants and cafes. https://www.hotelpraktikrambla.com/es/

That happened to me once. I upgraded prior to the sailing and had both PALL and CALL on my card (solo traveler). They offered me Classic wines first in MDR until I complained and eventually went to Guest Relations to get a new card with only Premium designated. Very frustrating. Save the hassle. If you see a short line at Guest Relations, get a card with only PALL.

Here's a link to my post with menu photos of the WCB on Beyond. I didn't take pictures of the page with beer and wine, but they are offered. The WCB overlooks the Martini Bar. It has more traffic than S-class with that location, and can get a little loud during the silent disco nights and martini flair demos, but I never had a problem finding a place to sit. It has more energy than S-class and is busier. Different, but still refined and creative. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2892936-beyond-world-class-bar-menu-photos/?do=findComment&comment=64281061

I can be an extroverted introvert at times! 😀 My attempt will be limited only by the wifi. I am so excited for this trip! Only wish I could join the B2B group for Antarctica, but I need to retire first. Goals!

Yay! Excited for another live review with you guys! I wish I had connected the dots to know you were you when we were on Edge in the Greek Isles in 2019 (?). You and @GenerationX are inspiring me to attempt a live review of my Valparaiso to Buenes Aires cruise on Infinity in January. I had such fun on Beyond with Charla and @hcat and @julia and the rest of the Gatsby ladies (and a couple gents)! Happy sailing! Julie

Maybe someone from Beyond can confirm, but they had a Full Moon party on the 11/7 sailing and suggested wearing white, silver, or gold. I didn't attend, but that's what I recall.

The Aqua Class slippers are yours for the taking, too. They are a lovely reminder of sailings and spa as I work from home and dream of my next cruise. 😀

To @GenerationX @julia @hcat and all the other Cruise Critic regulars I met (but don't remember your screen names), THANK YOU! I usually interact on the roll call before sailing, but this time it was so nice to meet the people I've followed and relied upon for advice for so long onboard, IRL! I hope our travels intersect again! Charla, you have inspired me to write a live (or post-cruise, depending on the wifi) review of my "only a veranda" Patagonia cruise in January. Until then, happy travels and travel planning! Julie

So glad they added World Class Bar to Beyond! I couldn't find a menu when I was doing my pre cruise planning, so I'm sharing pics now LIVE from Beyond. Sorry if this is redundant, but more search returns, if it is! 😀 Stop by and see Bojana! Cheers! Julie

Omigosh! That path to Blu! I was sober and it was a challenge!

Captain Kate is here! I didn't recognize her with her hair down and no stripes! 😂 She's a guest on this sailing.

I have a feeling we are boarding and high tailing it outta here! Give those stabilizers a good test. Whew, windy!

We'll see if they can hold the evening cocktails for you! Much more likely than a ship! 😜

Yay! I'm looking forward to a short break from work and meeting @GenerationX ,@hcat and others I've followed here for advice on board. See you at the Gatsby party! My accessories arrived just in time! 😀

I can't speak to Delta, but I can share my American Airlines experience. I have used Flights by Celebrity for at least three international business class flights with similar experiences. If you reserve online, call to speak directly with a FBC agent. They can select seats for you as long as the airline has released them even before payment. Until the flights are paid, I haven't been able to make any selections on the airline's site. I could see the trip, but when I clicked to select seats, it directed me to contact the travel service blah, blah, blah, i.e., Call Celebrity. After payment and the flights were ticketed, I could go into my reservation on AA and change seats.

As a market researcher, this thread gives me both hope and sadness. Some ignoring surveys, some still providing feedback (even if applied unfairly), some feeling pressured to give 10s, and all skeptical and discouraged by the process. Shame on corporate and ship leadership for creating this situation. Immediate, isolated service issues? Sure. Ask and address on board. But how can they understand the full passenger experience without honest feedback? I'm tempted to look at their corporate website to see if they have any Consumer Insights roles open. This is not how it's supposed to work.

Thank you @Jim_Iain for taking us along on your adventures. I hope to travel again with you some day! I hope the eye surgery goes well and you are back on the seas soon. Julie