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Day 7 - Colon Panama For today I went on the Culebra Cut shore excursion which I highly recommend. A few things about this. It is an incredible excursion, but probably a once in a lifetime type one. Going throuhg in a small boat gives you a very different perspective on the canal and is very much worth doing once. I would not go back through on the ferry, I would do it only on a cruise ship. 1) Times are subject to change. Lock times are dictated by the Panama Canal authority and sometimes the times don't work and the tour cancels. We were lucky that we had no issues. 2) This is not a full transit. Celebrity did not offer a full trransit on this cruise. We took a bus about half way through the canal and boarded the ferry boat at Gamboa before transiting the Culebra cut and then out to the Pacific Ocean. We did not see Gatun Lake at all. From Panama City we re-boarded our bus and went back to Colon. 3) The ferry will be full. Get a seat inside in the air conditioning. You can get up and walk outside whenever you want but there is no way you will get a seat if you don't grab one at the beginning. Folks who sat outside were very grumpy by the end because it is hot and the shade limited (and it can be a long day).

Today was my birthday and my butler put together some lovely decorations and a nice cake for me.

Day 6 - Cartagena Luminae lunch Beautiful sail away

Day 5 - Cartagena (Overnight) Luminae Breakfast - Granola parfait, biscuits & gravy, smoked salmnon benedict In Cartagena we were docked next the Club Med 2, sister ship to the Wind Surf. I have never seen one of these ships up close so it was a lot of fun to be next to them for 2 days.

Day 4 - At Sea Smoked Salmon Lunch: I tried the MDR for dinner - it was OK, but does not come close to the Luminae or Tuscan quality of service. I have been really spoiled the last few cruises and this was my first time in a MDR in quite a while. After a somewhat sad steak I went back to Tuscan for a second try! Went with a half order of the lasagna and a steak. Much better 🙂

I had an early dinner in Luminae which was lovely. Around 9 I decided that I would take advantage of my unlimited specialty dining and went back to Tuscan for an evening snack. Absolutely love this perk! Pizzetta Bianco Chicken Parmesan (this is the standard presentation adn definitely could use more sause on the pasta!)

Day 3 - Grand Cayman I was supposed to go on a tour but I woke up and decided that what I really wanted to do was crawl back into bed and never get up again. So I called Michaels and advised them I would not be going on the tour and went back to bed. This was absolutely delightful, and I got up again around noon. Luminae was closed for lunch so I went up to the OV. The food tasted much better than it looks! I will say the main thing I miss about the HAL buffet is that everything is served - I am not a fan of the self serve, everyone touches the utensils model that Celebrity uses.

Blu - the Aqua Class restaurant is open for breakfast and dinner only. I never dined there (supposedly Retreat guests may dine there on a space available basis). I believe you may be able to request items from Blu in Luminae as it all comes out of the same galley. I never requested this but I am sure they would have accommodated it.

While photographing the buffet I decided that the pasta looked good and had a quick pre-dinner snack. I was caught by the hotel director who was very concerned that I was not dining in Luminae. I reassured her that I was just having a snack, but never the less the Luminae team heavily pushed the pasta and extra main dishes for the rest of the cruise 🤣. They also offered me the MDR and the Luminae menu at every single meal after this.

After all the reports lately of the Oceanview Cafe dinner updates, I decided to do a quick walk around and picture what they were offering and what was open/closed. The grill and one other station were closed, but basically everything else was open. It was Valentines Day so it is possible this was an enhanced dinner. Also, side note - I LOVE Celebrity's pizza. The only thing that could make it better is if they offered it cooked to order like HAL (though I like the actual pizza on X more).

For lunch I went to Luminae - great lobster bisque! Totally forgot to get a picture of the menu (and the burger). When I got back to my room I found a little surprise from by butler. They leave these boxes filled with goodness throughout the cruise.

Day 2 - At Sea For breakfast I went to Luminae. One big difference on Celebrity ships vs the HAL ships I am more used to, is that Celebrity makes use of the atrium for entertainment. Throughout the day and evening there will be music and activities like paper airplane contests, egg drop contests, etc. Today was Valentines day and here we see the Cruise Director and Activities Director getting set up for a vow renewal ceremony - open to any couple that wanted to sign up at the front desk. Celebrity did this fleet wide today.

For embarkation dinner I went to Tuscan. One of the best perks of a Royal Suite (besides the cabin and the free laundry) is the unlimited specialty dining and Gelato! Both the food and the service were excellent and I got a nice table by a window overlooking the pool. Pizetta Capresse: Caesar Salad: I modified the Chicken Parmasean and asked them to put it over the Gnocchi instead of the spaghetti - this was fantastic, I highly recommend! Spinach Lemonchella Cheesecake

You will love it either way! What ship are you on?

Love this idea!!

As someone who typically sails suites I regret waiting so long to try Celebrity.

It depends a lot on the ship. They should be able to provide you an extension cord but it is irritating to have running across the room. On my recent Constellation sailing they gave me an EU adapter and unplugged a bed lamp. Worked fine as a solo traveler, but would be very annoying if traveling with someone (or heaven forbid you both need a CPAP and need to give up both bedside lamps).

The Michael's Club folks arranged an exclusive sail away from the helipad for Retreat guests. Lots of fun to be up here for the departure. As a guest staying in one of the Royal Suites most of the officers knew me and greeted me from the beginning of the cruise and throughout - I am very much not used to it but it is a nice treat! View from Reflections From the bow: And back from my balcony - Tampa Bay is HUGE. It took almost 2.5 hours to get from the pier to sailing under the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

My favorite way to start off onboard an X ship (saying this as someone who has now been on 2 X cruises) is embarkation lunch in Luminae. I didn't want any of the starters so they suggested adding a lobster roll to my burger which was delicious. Luminae burger is just as good as I remember it. A look at the Dinner menu since I will be in Tuscan tonight And finally, I had to make a stop for iced tea at Cafe al Bacio. I love their iced tea pitcher system.

Slightly different layout on the Royal Suite on the Millennium Class - there is one bathroom (instead of having a day head and master bath) and the entry to the bathroom is off the hallway so guests or folks sleeping in the living room can use it without disturbing occupants of the bedroom. Of course as a solo traveler I had no worries about this whatsoever!

Honestly one of the best cruises I have been on. The crew were fantastic. Will get everything up over the next day or two. Embarkation Extremely easy - I arrived around 11:45. There was a separate line for Retreat guests with a separate security screening and then a into a separate room for check in. As soon as they scanned my boarding pass they saw I was i a Royal Suite and I was escorted onboard by a crew member. My room was ready so I went directly to get a first glimpse of my Royal Suite.

We raced back at 22-25 knots due to the fog. Docked at 10:30 PM and then disembarked as normal. I was so grateful for this as I was worried about my 11 AM flight.

Hi All, So much for a live thread! It is amazing how busy one can be with nothing to do 🙂 Lots to report on, but it was a fabulous cruise. Connie is in good condition and overall is well cared for. One of the officers mentioned that half of the crew are on their first contract. I did not notice any service issues, the crew were all wonderful and took great care of us.

Ok I take it back. There was one station that was closed. To be honest I’m not sure what is supposed to go there. It’s on the starboard side just past the salad bar and across from Beverages. They had it set up to sell sodas. Anyways lots of options - stir fry, pasta multiple main dishes, salad, desert, pizza, Asian station.

Good evening! Boarding was very smooth. There was a separate line for Retrear/Zenith with separate security and a waiting room with some refreshments. I arrived around 11:30 and was quickly escorted onboard. Lots of photos for later once I can get them uploaded, but the biggest update is the buffet. I just did a full circuit of the OV cafe and as far as I can tell every station is open and serving for dinner.