DaKahuna

I loved that promotion. We recently received 56 points for a 7-day B2B in a Grand Suite on Quantum of the Seas. (7x2x2x2 = 56)

I agree 100% -- $tar%ucks has always tasted to me like cheap beans over roasted. The only way I have been able to drink it is in a frappuccino. At one time I did find a nitro cold brew that I liked. As I once said, the only reason I would ever go into $tar$ucks is that it is one of the very few places you can walk into and order a "tall hot blond" without getting into trouble with the law.

These are had questions to answer because the areas are so subjective. We've never sailed the Fjords but have sailed quite a bit on both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. In our experience/opinion both the food and service on Celebrity is better than on Royal. Celebrity usually has a higher staff to guest ratio than Royal. As far as rooms go, take the example of a veranda on deck 8 on Celebrity Equinox, This room is 194 sq feet. On Anthem, balcony stateroom range from 177 square feet to 198 square feet. For a given cruise there will be less children and more older adults on Celebrity than Royal Caribbean. Entertainment on Royal is much more varied as there are larger venues but like food and service, this will be subjective. We have seen excellent shows on both lines but we have also had some that we would not recommend on both as well.

Peter Ritz on Quantum was outstanding. It was interesting to see how he energized the crowd and how to crowd in the Schooner bar seemed to increase each night as the cruise progressed. The last night of the first leg of our B2B was standing room only. The first night on the second leg it was easy to find a seat. By the fourth night of the second leg it was back to standing room only.

Thanks. I have always wondered that both when no sailing in a suite and when sailing in a suite. I think Celebrity, unlike Royal Caribbean, at least on the Solstice class ships, makes it sort of covert since they simply walk you out the back door to Michael's Club/Retreat Lounge, onto the deck instead of through the ship and past the line of those waiting to disembark.

I have no issue with suite guest paying to have non-suite guest join them in Luminae. The suite guest have to pay for the non-suite guest to dine with them so I think that is fair. Full disclosure, my wife and I were introduced to Luminae for the first time when someone in a suite invited us to join them for dinner in Luminae. It was that experience that led my wife to telling me we would sail in suites on Celebrity and that is all we have sailed in since then. However, I do not believe that non-suite guest should be allowed to accompany suite guest in the Retreat Lounge and or Retreat Sundeck. There is no way for a suite guest to pay for this so it should not be permitted.

It depends on the ship you are sailing on. If you have access to the Concierge Lounge then you should be able to get a couple of bottles of water during happy hour. Not all ships allow D+ access to the Concierge Lounge/Suite Lounge. Even when we are in a suite, my wife and I buy one water package each cruise. We went through 27 1-liter bottles of water in 14 days on a recent B2B. We drink a lot of hot team in our cabin and I like to drink water in the room as well.

Wow, I wonder what everyone thinks about passengers who sail in a suite getting escorted to the front of the line by the Suite Concierge? Is that 'line cutting' or just expected as it is one of the suite benefits?

We were able to have the Suite Concierge book our reservations for us prior to boarding on our last cruise in August. This is the same as it was pre-COVID so I do not anticipate that changing.

I noticed there were three of them on the menu you posted, Quantum only had the Bacardi one. I'll have to try Pyrat on our next cruise, if they have it on Harmony. I believe you and i have spoken in the past about our common like of the rum old fashioneds.

The Schooner Bar is our favorite hangout as well. We spent quite a bit of time there on our last cruise, a B2B. If you have not already, give me Pyrat or Rum Old Fashioned a try. I love rum based old fashioneds I had them make mine with Bacardi 8, although my preference is Ron Zacapa 23 Solario, on Quantum. Unless you like them with a sweet finish, when made with rum, ask for them to use 1/2 the normal amount of sugar.

Make sure and say hello to Romana from Toshiko and John. She's a wonderful lady and will take very good care of you. You will also find that Han and Putah are great in the Suite Lounge. Make sure to warn them if you are going to change your drinks around. After the first one or two orders, they'll simply just ask if you want your usual.

Not that important, more curiosity on my part.

We were early in almost every port on Quantum with the engine still being repaired. Do you know if the one that was fixed was the one they took down for maintenance or the one that broke down?

Email sent.m

I had very few issues with WiFi calling, text, or surfing during our cruise on Quantum Aug - Sep of this year.

Yes, we avoided the storms and any heavy rain during port days. Our cruises were 8/29 - 9/5 and 9/5 - 9/12. We did have the typical mist/light rain during the day in the Alaska ports but had very beautiful weather for the days we were in Victoria and Seattle. Actually discovered that I should have packed a couple of short sleeved shirts/polo shirts for daytime wear. We do not sail Celebrity again until our Panama Canal East to West in April 2023 but will try and continue to live vicariously through your postings.

Sorry for being absent my friend. We just finished two weeks on Quantum of the Seas in Alaska and have been busy on the RCL boards and not hear. Very glad to see the two of you are having a great time, as usual, and are enjoying your B3B.

We qualified for a new block on our last cruise but did not receive it onboard. I went back and checked and we only have blocks for 140 and 210 point. Both were on Freedom of the Seas. I called the C&A Loyalty desk and was on hold for less than a minute. Advised them we were missing block for both the 280 and 350 points. He verified the ships we were on, Explorer and Quantum respectively, and placed the order for the blocks. He informed me of the supply chain issues but that the orders had been placed and that I would receive a shipping notice when the block(s) were shipped. Took less than 10 minutes to complete from time I dialed to the time I hung up with the C&A representative.

We've been in early June, Early August, late August and early September. We enjoyed all four but the weather for the early August cruise was the best. As @Tulsacoker said, try going in July. If you do not mind putting up with more young children aboard, that is a great time for Alaska. Being retired, we prefer t o sail in the "off season". We find the cruises to be less crowded, quieter, and most of the time less expensive.

Beautiful. We are still missing being onboard!

She is a great lady and will make sure you are very well taken care of while there. If you want/need something just ask her. Our primary waiter left the ship for his vacation when we did but Rupash and Bikash should still be there and are excellent. P.S. The hamburger and spaghetti with meat sauce from the kids menu are both great lunch choices. You have to try the banana split from the kids menu as well.

@lizsoars As others have said, there are activities for people of all ages. They even have meetings for single cruisers, although I have never been to one. If your sons get bored I think it would be their own fault for not trying hard enough to find something to do.

We have sailed multiple times on both Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Our preference is really Celebrity mainly because it fits our demographic better. We are in our early 70's, mobile, and able to take one or two cruises, or sometimes more, a year. Celebrity offers better quality in the way of service and food, in our opinion, than Royal Caribbean. That is not to say Royal Caribbean is poor in either categroy, it's just that Celebrity seems to us to be better. One of the things we like most about Celebrity is that they have a lot of 'longer than 7 day' cruises. Our next two Celebrity cruises are for 15 and 12 days respectively. Our next Royal Caribbean cruise is 8 days, and we just finished a B2B of 7-days each. As other have said, if you are looking for a quieter atmosphere, fewer young children (under 21), and great service and food, Celebrity is a better choice, in our opinion, than Royal Caribbean. P.S sailing in a Suite on Celebrity is a much different, and I would say better, experience than Sky Class on RCL. Celebrity really takes care of their Suite class passengers.

I believe this is referred to as "check the box' mentality. Is a test required? Yes; Did they show evidence of a test? Yes; Check the boxes and move on.