someguyfl

I haven’t had the MDR lunch in a long while… my last cruise was in a suite, and the one before, I forgot it was available. In Luminae, the lunch is certainly not “fast”, and I’d assume the same is true at MDR or Murano. AFAIK, Murano lunch is every sea day except day 1. also, I’m on the same cruise as you… I’m doing Valparaiso to Buenos Aires, and then Buenos Aires to Antarctica.

On my last Celebrity cruise, there was some group on board (I forget what the name was), and a number of the excursions had duplicates, one open to all, and one that had the same name of the excursion with the name of the group just after in all caps. The description said "This is only open for members of the [blah] group. Any reservations that are not part of this group will be cancelled." The group rate was very slightly cheaper.

Yes! I forgot about this issue with the Speciality dining on Edge. I was sailing in a suite, so I just used Luminae, Blu, or one night in the MDR ... The only Speciality restaurant on Edge that seemed interesting to me was Fine Cut... But, that restaurant is completely open-air to the main atrium, so if there's loud music there, good luck having a nice peaceful fine dining experience. Compared to Murano, being the top restaurant on Solstice class, I don't know what they were thinking on the Edge design.

Just my humble opinion, but... If you are booking a suite, the Edge class ships have some large advantages... The retreat deck is nice, the retreat lounge is nice, the new suites are beautiful. If you are booking a regular Verandah or Aqua Class, the Edge class ships have some large disadvantages as many people have discussed about their dislike for the IV rooms. If you are booking an Ocean View or Interior room, Edge class ships have some benefits (eg: better entertainment, improvements in the MDR, some new speciality dining, better tendering experience with the Magic Carpet), some downsides (no more Murano, no more Sky Lounge), and some things which vary depending on your opinion (more/louder music in common areas). I'd personally only consider Edge Class for the few rooms with a real balcony (eg: Porthole Verandah, Sunset Verandah, or a suite) ... or perhaps in a cold destination where the balcony isn't as likely to be a daily use (eg: Alaska, Antartica). For the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Transatlantic,Transpacific, Hawaii, etc ... I'd prefer an S-class ship if I were in Aqua class. I haven't personally been on an M-class in many years, so I can't comment on that one way or the other.

I believe what he's trying to say is that you can also order from the MDR menu if you don't like the Blu menu.

Interesting ... Was it good? I suppose you could re-create this outside of Luminae between Al Bacio and some Gelato.

Just a guess that the Retreat Lounge is meant to feel like a Club Lounge at a high end Hyatt, Ritz Carlton, or Marriott hotel where everything is available complementary. I'm of course not saying that it does or doesn't make sense, just a theory on why it is the way it is.

If I were you, I'd call celebrity and ask them to look into it. There's a fair chance that your card will print fine but your husband's wont... Of course, you can get them to fix it on the ship, but do you really want to waste an hour of your cruise dealing with that?

If the premium shows online, that means you have premium. Maybe a mistake was made, I’d suppose if you keep asking about it, they might fix it and downgrade you… not sure if you really want it fixed though.

I agree completely re: the E class. I don't need to try the IV to know that I would hate it. I live in Florida and *NEVER* open windows because I don't want humidity indoors. If I open the door to a balcony (in Florida, or in any Hot/Humid environment), I open it, go outside, and then close it behind me. On my one trip on Edge, I booked a Porthole Verandah, and won a bid to a Sky Suite. It's a shame that it seems even on the newest Edge-class ships that Celebrity hasn't incorporated anything for the negative feedback on IV.

My similar recommendation is this: https://www.amazon.com/European-Adapter-Adaptor-Countries-Netherlands/dp/B008JCVF0U/ref=sr_1_122?keywords=european%2Btravel%2Bplug%2Badapter&th=1 Anything I travel with is 100V-240V (read the markings on the device/charger!), so will work just as efficient, if not more efficient with 240V. (Generally speaking ... higher voltage means lower amperage, which means less waste heat). This adapter gives you one grounded and two ungrounded american-style outlets from one european outlet. Between that and the two regular american-style outlets, it should be plenty for plugging in all devices.

MDR has a sit down lunch on sea days as well... But yes, I've had the Luminae lunch, and it was great. If the MDR lunch isn't up to your standards, you can always do Murano for lunch even from an Inside cabin, and still save a fortune compared to suites.

I've mostly been in either SS or AQ on Celebrity (but also in regular Verandah, Ocean View, and a Royal Suite)... IMHO, on S and M class ships, AQ is the sweet spot, because Blu is a large step up in quality over MDR (which isn't bad itself) ... and while Luminae does have somewhat fancier ingredients and somewhat better service ... Both are really quite adequate. On my last cruise in SS, I found myself eating at Blu half the time anyway, since I preferred the menu. As far as the Butler service... Really, I'm not that fussy, and I didn't get too much use out of the Butler service even when I was in a Royal Suite.

I generally prefer traditional Swedish/Finish dry saunas, yes… and that’s why I prefer the free ones on S class which are dry and hot. The Persian garden on S class just doesn’t get hot. It’s got a view, but, without being hot, it’s pretty pointless IMHO. On the E-class, yes it is infrared, but at least it does heat me up… and it has a pretty view.

Other than a few items which are unique to each restaurant and stay static every night, the menus are the same at all the MDRs ... I personally prefer the special items at Normandie, and the decorations as well... but in reality, all 4 are likely sharing the same kitchen and are basically different themed rooms for one restaurant.

That looks like the same time window they'd probably be giving to either everyone on the ship, or at least everyone in the same class of service as you ... 2.5 hours is fairly long for a window.

I got it, I don’t think that’s an official benefit of the Sky Suite, and I don’t mind dealing with my own luggage as long as there’s not a long line. I never use a bellman at hotels. IIRC, I was escorted all the way to my room from the check in desk area at the port, though, so they may have volunteered if I had luggage.

I'm curious of your review of sleeping in the Inside cabin. I always book veranda or higher... but I've heard some people say that the Inside rooms are actually the best to sleep in since they are 100% totally dark, and have a much more mild as far as ship motion?

On previous cruises I've been on, Day passes were capacity restricted, but were generally available to buy. I personally come from a Russian/Jewish family background, and it's in our tradition to heavily use Saunas, and often 'the hotter the better'. I like to use a Sauna almost every day when I have access to it, and only you can answer what your preference is. It's been a LONG time since I've been on M-class, so I don't know exactly what the temperatures are like, but On S-Class, I personally find the Persian Garden sauna to be way too cold... I could literally take a nap in there for 8 hours without breaking a sweat. I usually end up using the free dry sauna in the Men's locker room instead. On E-class, they do not have the free sauna (not sure about M-Class), but the Spa sauna on E-class is much warmer than on S-class. Hope this helps!

I'd agree with the other comment about packages resulting in late reservations. Personally, I prefer to sit down for my dinner some time between 5 and 7. I'd strongly prefer to be DONE with dinner by 8 or 8:30 at the latest. Many times the only reservations available are at 9 with these packages. Also, Personally, as someone who is typically either in Aqua class or Retreat class, I'd prefer Blu/Luminae over all of the "Speciality" restaurants except for Murano, Fine Cut, or The Chef's Table. Not interested in Tuscan or Lawn Club, which I personally find to be inferior to Blu/Luminae. Also note that when I am in Blu/Luminae on S-Class, I do sometimes order from the MDR menu, too. I've personally never tried the Sushi on celebrity, so maybe that's good ... it's always seemed to me like a really strange idea when you know that logistically it would be difficult to get fresh deliveries every day.

Given how easy the process was for checking in at FLL into my Sky Suite last year through the special Retreat entrance, honestly, I would have just brought my luggage with me if I had a do-over. It was under 5 minutes from entering the front door to making it on the ship. The time we spent having Celebrity reviewing our paperwork we were allowed to sit on a Comfy sofa, and there was plenty of space for our bags to sit along side us. Using the porters, I didn't see my luggage again for a few hours -- it wasn't terrible, but it would have been nice to have access to my stuff immediately, and really wouldn't have been hard considering there was no waiting at any moment.

From the cruises I've done (Port Everglades and Seattle), they didn't seem to be checking check-in times, nor if you went into the right line (eg: for Seattle, I was directed by security into the Zenith line even though I was Select). The Celebrity staff who checked me in didn't even comment on me being in the wrong place. With that said, now that we have online check in, and the human interaction is mostly just confirming things were entered correctly, the process in general seems way faster than it was in the past, and I'd imagine in most cases people will end up on the ship within 20 minutes regardless of status, cabin, or time of arrival, etc. I could be wrong, that's just my opinion.

I personally burn within 15 minutes of sun exposure. Sunblock often washes off easily for me so I end up with burned spots. In America and many other countries, it’s normal to buy “UPF” shirts which are specifically sold for the purpose of wearing in pools, oceans, at the beach, etc. I don’t wear the shirt anywhere else, and I assure you it’s not sweaty. frewuent usage of sunblock is also… not great for your health either. The chemicals do absorb into your skin, and while it’s better than sunburn, it’s better to avoid the whole situation and just use UPF shirts to reduce the amount of sunblock necessary. Celebrity doesn’t do anything about it because there’s nothing wrong with it, even if it is uncommon in your country. and re: WiFi not working in some countries.. I agree that they could do a better job communicating it, but you can also easily look it up yourself on starlink’s coverage map. If coverage is super important to you, in addition to starlink, you can buy a travel eSIM… and beyond that, it’s a cruise ship… it’s honestly silly to expect communications to be 100% reliable.

It's been many years since I've been on Millenium, and I mostly sail on S-class ships. How is the Thermal hydrotherapy suite superior to the Solarium on Solstice class?

I see it on my reservation as well. AFAIK it is new, never seen it before.