LIVE Norwaylady sails on Edge World Cruise from Rome to Singapore 30.10 to 25.11.23 , 26.night

[Norwaylady]

1 hour ago, Coates55 said:

Been wonderful following along on your cruise journey. Can I ask a question about visas for both India and Sri Lanka? Are Celebrity helping with visas for either country i.e. issuance onboard or on arrival or were they strict in checking if you did not have the correct visa you could not board? There is an argument that Transit visas for both countries should suffice but this is open to interpretation give the overnight call in Colombo.

 

Have fun in The Retreat.

You need to do visas before departure! 
The ship can not get you the visa on arrival in India and Sri Lanka. 
 

Both are online and okey to fill out. 
The most demanding is the Indian visa. You need a picture of you and passport picture 

For India, we as Norwegian citizens need a full visa. This is similar to all guests is my understanding. 
You do the visa online. 
Transit visa is not valid, you need an entry visa according to the embassy. 
 

Sri Lanka is also online. 
I asked the embassy about the transit 48h visa for free. They said it’s only valid on the airport. 
So if you leave the ship for a tour, you need a full visitor visa. 
Application is online and very easygoing. 
 

[DaKahuna]

8 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

 

Not to be super picky or angry….🤪

When I spoke to the concierge about my missing transit card, she said, whiteout me asking, that our level of captain’s club was taken care of and that everything was in order for next part of our cruise. It would be Elite Plus on our cards… 

 

Well…… it’s not. 
It’s not the underground of the world or holiday❤️🥸🙃 It’s just the attention to detail. And seen in the fact of the missing transit card, it’s just a little more sand in the machinery of minor things… 

We will see if we bother to try to get it sorted. It’s not a big game change for us. 

 

 

 I recommend you go visit the Retreat Concierge and let them work it out.  Apparently working directly with the CC Host has not worked in your favor 

 

[Coates55]

Norway Lady- Many thanks for this useful reply. Am on the Millenium next month from Mumbai to Singapore and will source both visas before travel

[Jim_Iain]

3 hours ago, DaKahuna said:

 

 I recommend you go visit the Retreat Concierge and let them work it out.  Apparently working directly with the CC Host has not worked in your favor 

 

Agree with John -   The Retreat concierges have all the card stock and can print you a correct one while you are have a drink.    

[Jim_Iain]

Wow... really surprised to hear what a disaster it was for B2B's in Dubai.   I was just reading on the Social Media Site and I have never seen so many complaints. 

[kabmab]

6 hours ago, Norwaylady said:

So, I unpacked our luggage again. 

Mr was very happy for a balcony! 

 

We went for a view and visiting in The Retreat. Mr was very happy for the view forward! 

He had this smile on his face😁😁😁 (this guy is a hopeless poker player🤣🤣) 

 

Things where not running smoothly in the terminal today😰🤪😫

Luckily we cleared immigration this morning and could go straight onboard again🙏🏻👍🏻

Athens was peanuts compared for todays issues…..❤️ 

 

At 18.30 we could finally hear Captain Matt speak and proceed the mandatory safety protocol. 

 

Tonight’s show is Stephen Barry.

 

 

 

 

 

Good mood and orchestra! What more can you ask for? 

Love Stephen Barry!  He has an amazing voice and had a nice brief chat with him.

[Lastdance]

2 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Wow... really surprised to hear what a disaster it was for B2B's in Dubai.   I was just reading on the Social Media Site and I have never seen so many complaints. 

You are right; it is horrible to read and very frustrating too.  The, on the other hand, it is not surprising, as communication seems to be lacking in so many places...just a shame!

[Jim_Iain]

37 minutes ago, Lastdance said:

You are right; it is horrible to read and very frustrating too.  The, on the other hand, it is not surprising, as communication seems to be lacking in so many places...just a shame!

 

Are there any estimates yet on how many B2B's in Singapore?     The Retreat Hosts can usually pull it up.

[Norwaylady]

So where to begin? 

I find this a bit hard and difficult…. 

My inner ***** is felling a little coughing. 

 

I really do hate to complain and be a negative person. But there are some things that didn’t start this off to an excellent experience. 

 

So the cards/transit pass is one thing.

 

Before we went to show and dinner, we heard nothing from housekeeping/retreat host (what ever they want to call housekeeping😝) 

The first thing Mr found in our bathroom on the floor after arrival was a small in between brush dental stick. 

It’s a decent amount of stains on the shelves and on the front of the porcelain zink. The box containing Kleenex towels had 1 left in the box. (Not a big operation for me to change… ) 

 

We returned back to our stateroom after dinner, it was 21.05 and our room had not received turndown service yet. 

The stateroom attendants on deck 11 was still running around for turndown service….

I do understand and they have my full sympathy that yesterdays turnaround day was special and heavy due to all b2b changing cabins and lots of late people arriving close to sail away time…

But I know Mustafa called to our new stateroom attendant to give the person a heads up that we will be on a adventure in Dubai and we will not be back before after 13.30, so they have time to do their ting’s😌 

After our little visit to the stateroom, we meet out stateroom attendant in the hallway, we asked if it was him. 

He confirmed at said it was very busy, so later it would be “in order” for normal timing…. We will see🤓

 

We picked up a glass of wine and a drink for Mr in Al Bacio before the show last night. I saw paper slips coming out of the printer and it was frenetic punching on the cashier system…. 😔Last night Mr drinks were voided but not my glass of wine… So it’s just another thing to take care of.

 

Back to dinner! 

Our card from Luminae asked us to join them between 19.45-20.15. 

 

We went upstairs after the show, so we arrived around 20.05…. The place was packed.

We needed to wait for a few minutes before they could seat us. 

We had a table on I-95 main road and exit for the pantry. 

So servers and plates was running around us…. 

The level of sound was on the edge of too much for my taste. 

 

Service by: 

 

Bread and water service was walked to the table quickly after seating. 

 

Tonight’s menu 

 

 

We had both the salmon tea and

Turbot. 

 

Mr had also the chilled corn soup. 

 

chefs surprise bite 

 

The food arrived quickly. It went bang-bang-bang. I’m not joking. We had finished our dinner in 35.mins. Not our style! (Even Mr said this is a bit overwhelming of how fast you want us in/out the door) 

Now wine service before our food arrived. 

Wine was not refilled, topped up during dinner. No questions. 

Mr had to ask after we received our ice cream if he could get a glass of Riesling for his dessert. 

 

Dessert menu:

 

We went for ice cream. 

It was not on the menu so we had to ask. Our waiter said the classic from MDR was available every day. They offered vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream. 

Mr asked for sorbet, but it was not available. 

 

 

We both agreed and said to ourselves that we will try to go a little later (our usual timing is 20.30-20.50) So we can see if it’s a bit calmer and peaceful. 

The food…… I was not heavy impressed. The tea salmon was good, Mr said the corn soup was good and the presentation of it was nice. 

The turbot was a minute overcooked in my opinion. This applying for both plates. The fish was still good, but a second more and it would be dry. 

My sauce mirror had a film, a thick film. 

 

So I will not judge the service down and under. We will give them some days before  I will say Yea or Nje of Luminae. 

 

It was too early for bed after dinner…. And since our room was not served yet, we decided to attend the music quiz in the club and the rock show performance from the cast…..

 

Trivia went decent! 27/30 points🤓 it was 80’ hits. 

 

 

 

 

 

The cast did a great job singing rock and dancers had a great mixture to the party. 

 

After this it was bedtime. 

[Norwaylady]

Paperwork Cruise Compass Day 2 Sea Day. Clock +1h. We are now on Pakistani time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[asnaleah]

Doesn’t sound like an encouraging start to your Retreat experience. Please utilize the Retreat concierge, they can work wonders. 

[Norwaylady]

8 minutes ago, asnaleah said:

Doesn’t sound like an encouraging start to your Retreat experience. Please utilize the Retreat concierge, they can work wonders. 

I find and feel this a bit hard. 
When we visited the Retreat yesterday afternoon for look around. No crew said hello or welcomed us. It was very busy. One was constantly on the phone and one was occupied by others. 

So we will see if it’s different today. 

Mr went to the outdoor bar to get us a glass of champagne 🥂. 
 

Now it’s time for me to go get some coffee🙂 

Mr is all dead in bed😂😂😂 He was SO clear to try Luminae for breakfast and I tried to wake him up… but it’s nobody’s home😝

[abbydancer2003]

Sorry your first retreat day was such a miss.  As far as Luminae goes, 20:05 is probably one of the more packed times.  We usually go about 20:30-2:50 (in other words right before closing.  That said, we've not yet been on an Edge class in Luminae, so we'll see. (next month).

 

I really, really hope it gets better for you!!!

 

 

[Bullswood]

Interesting...I hope things improve as rightly your expectations are and should be high in your new location. If not, I'd question whether it's still worth the price difference of the Retreat product on a cruise line whose brand has become a little confused in the recent re-positioning of its majority product into the "nickel & dime" sector.  It's a bit difficult to have two cultures on one ship and Celebrity does seem to be all about costs recently rather than safeguarding its top-end brand with product rather than price as a starting point. In other words, for the Retreat, "this is the product I demand and then you tell me how much I'll have to pay", rather as the long-haul airlines seem able to do with First Class. You then get both the highest and the lowest payers believing that they are receiving value for money, despite a huge differential of prices paid.

 

As above, I hope this was a false start but if not, perhaps it would be easier to simply stick with one of the single product luxury lines where there's no confusion?  We're skipping to Silversea after January.

 

Edited November 14, 2023 by Bullswood

[Cap_D]

Hopefully things get better, and you're able to let one of the officers know so they can get everything right. 

 

As for the sound in Luminae, I also found it to be too much by the I-95 area (great use of the phrase, and much used US highway).  The tables behind the maitre d station tend to be quieter, though without as many people watching opportunities.   We sat in that area for almost all of our meals on Apex (same configuration), and had previously tried all the spots out when we were on Edge.   Also, the spaces at the far front end of the Luminae dining room (front of ship) were surprisingly okay, too.  

 

My guess you will both enjoy breakfast in Luminae, which tends to be calmer, and  suggest using the lunch opportunities on sea days.  I hope dinner service becomes more relaxing, as you seemed to enjoy the spaces of the other dining rooms (are those quieter?). 

 

I haven't seen you mention Eden Cafe for lunch, and it probably was not open much on the prior cruise because of the port days.  My family enjoyed the cookies and relaxing on the outdoor deck, which we'd arrive at right before closing (after Luminae for lunch, we walked through the stateroom hallway on Deck 12 to avoid the crowd on 5 to make it before closing time).  

[Bullswood]

As a p.s. to my comments above, I'm amazed at how almost all the cruise (& air) lines survived two years of expenses without revenue during covid, so it's perhaps not surprising that there's a cost focus while balance sheets are repaired. I think all the carriers have been caught out (pleasantly for the accountants) at how quickly demand has recovered. I well remember many saying that non-one would want to return to those "disease-infested floating petri-dishes", so perhaps we do need to give things a year or two before expecting a return to normal.

Edited November 14, 2023 by Bullswood

[upwarduk]

1 hour ago, Bullswood said:

so perhaps we do need to give things a year or two before expecting a return to normal.

It does sound as though there is a severe staffing shortage, especially in housekeeping.

I wonder if contracts were completed in Dubai, so new staff were taken on.

Or perhaps a strike?
One night in October on Silhouette, when we were not served anything for one hour, we were told there was ’trouble in the kitchen.’

[Norwaylady]

54 minutes ago, upwarduk said:

It does sound as though there is a severe staffing shortage, especially in housekeeping.

I wonder if contracts were completed in Dubai, so new staff were taken on.

Or perhaps a strike?
One night in October on Silhouette, when we were not served anything for one hour, we were told there was ’trouble in the kitchen.’

Lots of crew signed on in Dubai. 
The lineup of crew was next to where we cleared immigration in the morning. 
So hopefully it solves some issues. 

[Norwaylady]

Off to a very late start of my day. 

I went downstairs to Al Bacio to get some coffee and just enjoying a round of walk. 

I didn’t check the paperwork too well yesterday, so discovered today while waiting for Mr, that the first captains club event was today at 10.15…. (Before Mr had went out of bed🤪) So we didn’t attend. 
We will go for the senior officers party. 

 

Mr was all “dead” so I kicked him out of bed at 10.45. 

I said to him, you wanted to try Luminae for breakfast… Well, that train left….

And if don’t hurry up, the late breakfast service in OceanView will close…

 

So we made it by a minute before they closed for breakfast 11.00….🤪🤪

Mr had his usual omelette and herring. 

I had a bowl of milk and my cereal…

 

After breakfast Mr needed to do some work. So I parked him in the room and I went off for a power walk. I did a decent hour from 11.45. I returned to our room to check on Mr plans for the day… 

 

He said that he wanted to go for a walk and enjoy some outdoor time. And housekeeping had not visited yet. 

So I sent him off for a walk and found a sun lounger in the retreat area by the pool for me😎

[Northern Aurora]

On 11/13/2023 at 9:33 AM, Coates55 said:

Been wonderful following along on your cruise journey. Can I ask a question about visas for both India and Sri Lanka? Are Celebrity helping with visas for either country i.e. issuance onboard or on arrival or were they strict in checking if you did not have the correct visa you could not board? There is an argument that Transit visas for both countries should suffice but this is open to interpretation give the overnight call in Colombo.

 

Have fun in The Retreat.

 

 

My apologies again to our OP for jumping into her thread.   We are also in this cruise and also boarded on October 30. We are Zenith CC members and are also in a suite.  Despite a number of emails some folks have boarded without visas for Sri Lanka.  Even in the Retreat Lounge there is, at best, minimal assistance offered.  Make sure you get that visa before your board.  Do not expect help once onboard.  Some of the Suite passengers thought that the Retreat Concierges would be of assistance and have now learned otherwise.

 

When we boarded on October 30 for the Suez Canal cruise we were asked if we had an Indian visa.  We did.  Other folks were asked to produce them.
 

 

[Northern Aurora]

22 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Wow... really surprised to hear what a disaster it was for B2B's in Dubai.   I was just reading on the Social Media Site and I have never seen so many complaints. 

Jim:  Since we have been to Dubai previously we stayed on board and we are SO glad we did.  The Retreat B2B passengers had it somewhat better than the B2B passengers who went a shore but it was still an appalling mess.  Absolute mess.  Never have experienced anything like it.  Zenith friends went outside and — even with a transit pass — they reported a two hour line to reboard.  One person fainted while in-line.  People are very upset, and I mean very upset.  I have seen some photos and they are appaling.
 

We had the CC welcome toast this am. Again sloppiness as some Zeniths did not receive an invitation.  We learned of it as Charles ran into the CC hostess.  She told me that she had prepared the invitations before the turnaround day (and I believe her).  Very poorly attended by all levels of the CC.  But Captain Matt announced that we have 51 Zeniths onboard for this leg.

 

Gerry

[Norwaylady]

43 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

We had the CC welcome toast this am. Again sloppiness as some Zeniths did not receive an invitation.  We learned of it as Charles ran into the CC hostess.  She told me that she had prepared the invitations before the turnaround day (and I believe her).  Very poorly attended by all levels of the CC.  But Captain Matt announced that we have 51 Zeniths onboard for this leg.

 

Gerry

Glad that you managed to attend🥰👍🏻

 

We will go on the next. The senior officers party. 
It was in tiny, tiny text and all very compact in the letter of events… 

So it’s my own fault😂😂

Normally I check and have a planning routine. 
 

But yesterday was a bit “off” in many ways…. So I didn’t read it properly, just took pictures of the paperwork and put it aside for later reading🙃

 

I hope they take good care of you Zenith’s❤️🥂❤️ 

 

At least our card has reprinted to the correct status😎 so that’s one thing less to think about. It was busy when we stopped by around 3’o clock to ask for this. 
And the other humps will hopefully smooth out during today or tomorrow🙃

[hcat]

hope it improves.. too many glitches so far.. have you chatted with other Retreat guests to hear if they have similar experiences?

Have a Great Day!

[Norwaylady]

Mr had a short walk… (im convinced he walk thru the buffet and back to the retreat pool😂😂) 

 

They walked cassis sorbet today in the retreat. 

 

We ordered from the pool menu. (Mr said let’s get some 🍉 fruit and what arrived😂😂) 

Fruit for me and a retreat burger for Mr😂😂😂

 

Well, it tasted good. Fruit was fresh and Mr said the burger - bread tasted excellent. (I had a bite and completely agree👍🏻) 

 

After our fruit/lunch fiesta it was 15.00…. So I was ready to go downstairs to my BALCONY! Yes! A real balcony! 

 

I need to change my nail polish 💅🏻 and Mr wanted to have a dip in the tub by the ducks 🦆.  It’s approved👍🏻

 

Time run off and before you know it, it was time for the officer soirée in the retreat. 

We went upstairs and people started to arrive. We found a table and enjoyed the canapés. They had 4 types. 

Mr was very happy🥰🥂 

Cheers to a great cruise! 

 

tonight’s sunset 

[catgirl411]

Sorry that your first night at Luminae wasn’t great. On Reflection we loved Luminae for all our meals and the service was very good. Alison was the dining room hostess and she made everything smooth for us. We had tables at or near the window every night so no I-95! The food was lovely. Hope things get better for you.