Shiba_Lover

If we passengers powered the ship we could work off all our desserts. This is the best idea yet!😁

I worked at an oil company that did offshore drilling / exploration. Please no comments on that. The only reason I am stating it is because yes - once you realize there are certain species migrating through or breeding in the area in which you are operating. You cease operations. Immediately. Even if it is costing you millions of dollars. It does disrupt things, but it is what you do for the good of the environment and the animals.

Had a sky suite corner on Apex TA. Fort Lauderdale to Amsterdam. Had soot one day. Never smelled smoke. They cleaned the balcony one day. We were on deck nine. Get some towels from the pool before you come up to the room at some point ( our butler started doing this for us). If there is soot in the morning or the chairs are damp from humidity you can put the towels on the chairs before you sit.

Double check when you go to pay with your card. It will often ask if you want to pay in EUR or GBP or your own currency (CAD). Always select EUR or GBP. If you select CAD - the merchant's bank will do the conversion for you and add a fee. Your own card/bank will do the conversion at a favorable time - so select EUR/GBP if offered. Also check your credit cards - many charge no foreign conversion fee - if you have one of those - be sure that's the one you use.

I think it depends on the room. We had them in a sky suite a few months ago and in a Celebrity Suite earlier this month. the q-tips are not real Q-tips, but pretty sub-quality ones (very little cotton). I did not like them. Would suggest bringing your own. I use them primarily to remove under eye makeup, and the ones provided are pretty scratchy - so would not use them.

Looking forward to reading that one!

Looking forward to this. Panama Canal is also on my list of cruises to do! Thanks for sharing this experience!

I do not think they will bring you an iron/ironing board. They will steam/press or iron your clothes. I've had 1 day turnaround when handing in my clothes first thing in the morning and also 2 day turnaround (ie Monday morning get back Wednesday afternoon) If you don't know about these packing cubes - check these out (or look for similar on Amazon) - we use these for my husband's button down shirts, and they really help. If you fold/pack neatly and put the clothes in these - they come out looking really nice. Classic Medium 3pc Packing Cubes | eBags and specifically for shirts (with a special plastic "folder aid" CTS Packing Folder | eBags

We are on the Flora in October and also got the $750 offer off offer. We actually wound up paying only $150 each with the X offer. Our flights however are horrible - but they would be if we booked ourselves or booked through X (since we live in the mountains in the middle of nowhere). We fly from Santa Fe to Dallas to Miami to Quito. But hey - we only pay $150 each and can just hang out in the Centurion Lounge on our layovers. We have no option to fly direct. This was the best option to arrive in Quito at a decent hour (8:30 PM as opposed to 11:30 PM then have the drive to the hotel).

I was able to snag a guarantee suite on Flora for the 10 night trip (3 nights in Quito as well as the 7 night Galapagos). It saved $3800 over the price of the cheapest suite available at the time I booked. We finally got our room assignment and we got a pretty decent location - one of the infinite veranda sky suites, so saved even more I guess. No bad rooms on the ship, so for sure worth doing a guarantee if you can find it offered.

OK - I am wrong. you all are correct. Orignal poster - Please ignore all of my posts.

We just did a similar one. It was Feb, 4 nights on Summit out of Miami. Key west and Nassau. Also Thursday - Sunday. It was a very different crowd than typical Celebrity, but not like you would see on Carnival. There were lots of groups - birthdays, bachelor and bachelorette parties, family reunions. But I will say the big parties were not insane. They were just having fun - not drunk obnoxious, but just having fun. For sure it was a younger crowd than typical on Celebrity - I think due to the 4 days and the Caribbean. But - it was not as crazy as I expected it to be.

I'm not actually confusing them - St Maarten is Dutch while the others are part of France. But I'm also not the one traveling there in a month so again - as I've already stated in my post - if I were the person traveling - I would contact the cruise line to see if I can sail. It might just be that they cannot disembark in St Maarten, or it might indeed be - just bring a birth certificate. All I said was that I believed they likely needed a passport. Would be interested in the outcome and also where to find info that says St Maarten lets US in with a birth certificate - it appears to be very common knowledge. I know Mexico does, and that is easy to verify - but does not appear to be easy to verify for St. Maarten. Maybe this info should be pinned somewhere on cruise critic in general as this is a pretty common question here.

There was a small basketball court on Summit a few weeks ago. Very top level. People seemed to play pick up games.

Sorry, it's closed loop. But I believe you need a passport for dutch St Maarten unlike most closed loop cruises. I'll edit my comment.

It looks like this cruise goes to St Maarten, which is Dutch Virgin Islands. you would likely not be able to use a birth certificate like you can if it just stops in Mexico. You should call the cruise line or your Travel agent ASAP.

For future - you can "pause" by clicking onto a different website / opening a new window. I did that when I needed to check on something and it automatically paused the video and resumed when I went back to that window.

We were on the summit a few weeks ago. It was fantastic. Actually better service than on Apex in 2022. By better I mean more personalized, and the food seemed a bit better than in Apex. I think this is due to the size of the ship and number of suites (passengers vs staff). We don't ask for a lot of attention - but in the dining room on APex, I felt that we were seated with a different waiter each evening. On Summit, we had the same table and waiter each evening and breakfast. They knew I did not car for onions/chives and would leave them out if possible or tell me if it was not possible so I could choose something else (or if they were in big chunks and I could just pick around them) (don't judge - it's my one thing). Little things like that. The staff in the Retreat lounge on Summit made very good drinks - martinis perfectly chilled. On Apex - we had to ask for ice cubes - drinks were never cold despite asking. I think it is just the sheer number of passengers versus the number of staff on Apex vs Summit.

I've gone to the OV a few times as we go on longer cruises (usually 11 or 12 nights). I sometimes just want a break from the multi course meals and being fussed over in Luminae. Or if I am not too hungry and just want a salad. I do think the MDR has good food and so does Luminae. But, it is good to take a break and have a plain old simple meal with no fuss sometimes when on a longer cruise.

It is an April sailing on Ruby princess - Caribbean. Thanks!

Perfect way to spend the 20th!!

Does the medallion app have show schedules and other activities listed? All I can find online is that you can order drinks and use it as a room key/embark / disembark the ship and charge things. Also - what times are the shows typically. Thanks!

Hi - the other perks for booking onboard are a reduced deposit. And yes, whatever best offer is available at the time - you do get the additional benefit on top of the best offer perks. So it is a win-win. You can either book direct on board or do the future booking reservation like I did, which is a place holder. With that, the benefit is you have a reservation for a booking with the reduced deposit. If you make a real booking within the time frame (mine is one year, but that will be 6 months as they are changing it) - then your deposit is the reduced amount, and you get the best offer in place at the time plus the additional benefits as you booked on board. If you do not book - then the deposit is refunded. Enjoy your cruise!

Yep - used my seapass and it lit up green. I do receive marketing emails for sales. I guess I was not one of the lucky ones. Good for those of you who were selected!! It sounds like these are pretty good choices! Have fun!!

How are you getting offers other than gambling with your seapass? Did you have to sign up or something? I get emails from X, and gamble A LOT in the casino. Have never received an offer. Am I missing something? (Yes, I know what a lot is in terms of gambling).