SilkySal

See #26 and #27.

Thanks for doing that and thanks for letting all of us know about it! Sadly to say, that's all you can do I guess. Hope you enjoy the rest of your cruise!

Question again, did you complain (please)?

Yep, just that @island lady, double eeewwww! We rarely get into either the pool or the hot tub but, when we do, it's usually in the morning on a port day when not crowded and most are off of the ship, immediately followed by a hot shower and a change of clothes. Oh, and remembering not to touch my face! Party on!

Question again @DennysDad, did you bring all of that to anyone's attention? Problems cannot be fixed, unless management is alerted. Thanks if you did just that! We have already booked Icon for next year, so hoping most problems will be addressed accordingly. We still intend to enjoy our cruise but maybe without the pool; we rarely use it anyway. Booked Utopia and Celebrity XCEL as well! Oasis class continues to be our favorite so far. Cruising while we can! Cheers friends!

It was available in the MDR on sea days. No buffet. You requested what you wanted in your salad and they put it together for you. No swim wear allowed. We preferred it to the crowds in the WJ and miss it as well.

Tom and I just booked another Celebrity cruise today! We tried Celebrity Solstice last February and loved it! Got home and booked a week (kinda pricey) on the brand new but not out yet, Celebrity XCEL. A few days later, Tom asked me to make it a B2B, so I just now booked the week before the original one! We'll be experiencing the XCEL in April, 2026 and can hardly wait for it! It's not the Retreat but, hey, it's for 2 weeks vs one!! Whoop! Whoop! Ken, OMG, what beautiful suite!! Cheers!!

I hate to say but actually, you waited too long to make your dining reservations, as earlier times for MTD go quickly. You've already emailed the dining venue but could try that again, if you feel it would help (don't think it will). I don't think the reps will be much help over the phone either. In my opinion, when you first get on board (hopefully, you've got an early boarding time slot), go straight to the MTD room and try to get it sorted out. Make sure you have all of the room numbers for your table. Please remember to smile, remain calm and be nice (not demanding as some are). I believe they will do their best to accommodate you. Don't let it ruin your cruise. Good luck and happy cruising! Cheers to you and your cruise friends!

I made some of my MTD reservations several months ago and they still aren't showing up on the app. I wouldn't worry about it. Yes, always confirm any restaurant reservations as soon as you board the ship (at least we do). I do believe that the MDR can make your specialty dining reservations but, if not, just stop at one of them to do that, as well. Happy cruising! Cheers! Oh, and be sure each of you does the safety briefing right away on the app, and visit your muster station to get checked off, so you can relax and enjoy your cruise! If you're a couple, only one of you needs to go to the muster station to have them check both of you off as completed.

Wow! So glad you avoided the stings! Good thinking @ATG!

OMG, how terrible! However, it's a shame that the beekeeper couldn't relocate them. When we bought our Florida home a few years ago, my husband was remodeling our kitchen and, when he took out the exhaust fan above the in-cabinet stovetop, a beehive fell out onto the stovetop! Luckily, for us, there were only a few dried up/dead bees. Whew!

Great fish treats!

Forget which ship we were on but DH and I saw a small hawk fly onto the pool deck from one side, attempting to do a "fly-by" by exiting the other side. Unfortunately, the poor hawk hit a closed window on the other side and was knocked unconscious. I picked up a cloth napkin and placed it over the hawk, picking it up to see if it was alive or dead. He was unconscious but breathing. A young woman came over to me, explaining that she was a wild animal rehabber and asked to check it out for physical damage. I handed her the little hawk and she proceeded to check out it's wings for any damage. No damage found. She then promised to take it up to the higher open deck and sit with the hawk until (hopefully) it regained consciousness. Lo and behold, the little hawk woke up and flew off of the ship. The little hawk circled the ship (as if to say thank you) and flew away. It was a really wonderful thing to see! I would do the exact same thing again in a heart beat! Another time, while on a cruise, a queen bee decided to leave the island and brought her worker bees with her to the pool deck, where she decided to nest under one of the deck umbrellas. It was amazing to see how quickly so many bees nested under that umbrella! We notified ship staff, who quickly roped off the area, donned those white (Covid) suits, and brought Henry (the ship vacuum) with them. They proceeded to "suck up" all (or most) of the bees. We asked them what would happen to the bees and we were told that they would be taken back to the island and released. I hope that happened. Luckily, no one got stung! Happy cruising! Cheers!

Wow! We booked an infinite CP balcony on Icon for November, 2025 and we paid around that amount total for both of us! So glad we booked Icon early!

Ditto to what @Biker19 said. As far as possible boarding times, I found this thread talking about cruises from Galveston: You can also go to the roll calls for Harmony of the Seas; find a cruise that's current or recently completed and ask that question. Welcome to CC and happy cruising! Cheers!