TMLAalum

@Buckybee We too are a group of 12! My friend who sailed the Constellation in February booked our next year's Apex fjord cruise for us all the day she boarded. If you or one of your group have a Celebrity or Royal cruise coming up, I suggest booking aboard for everyone because of the reduced deposit of $200 per cabin and the OBC of $200 per cabin. The total deposit for all cabins will go on that cruiser's credit card, so they will need to be reimbursed. Each couple has the option to move their reservation to a TA within 30 days of booking. My friend had a bit of a challenge because 5 couples wanted bed by bath IV cabins and we wanted porthole veranda #7123 because of the ease of quickly stepping outside when a perfect photo op occurred. She and the Future Cruise Consultant did great for us all! If no cruise is in the near future, find websites that will show all available cabins. Look carefully at the deck plans for jut outs/ magic carpet tracks, etc. that will affect forward and aft views. Have some cabins port and others starboard so that if there is a something exciting on one side of the ship vs. the other you won't miss it. Know your choices when you call Celebrity or your preferred TA.

I've been through the Soo Locks and Yangtze River locks plus river locks on the Danube and Rhine, but I gotta say, the transit through the Panama Canal has a bigger wow! factor thanks to seeing them via this thread! DH has sailed through the Panama and the Suez canals back when he was 3rd officer on various merchant ships.

For peace of mind why not fly into SEA, the day prior to your cruise and then take the train eastbound back to Chicago. That way any delays won't impact getting to the ship on time!

Too bad! I will try the kid's sirloin, if not on next month's cruise, then perhaps on our longer August cruise.

Thanks. Upon further review, Yank Sing will not be open on our port day in S.F. Instead we will head to Pallette Teahouse, 900 Northpoint St, B201A. Looks like Muni Bus #30 from the Presidio Transit Center should get us there? And then the F streetcar back to Pier 27?

How about the kid's filet mignon?

Especially for @sfpd3000, but others who know San Francisco well, please chime in! Current plan is for us to take the historic streetcar along the Embarcadero ffrom Pier 27 to the stop closest to the Bart Embarcadero stop where we will catch the 9:15 or 9:30 Go Presidio shuttle. We will either catch the noon or 1pm shuttle back to the Davis/California stop. From there we will head to Yank Sing (101 Spear St.) to meet our Cruise Critic San Franciscan friend for Dim Sum. She warns us not to take public transportation due to muggings, etc. and has offered to pick us up and drive us. I hate to ask that of her, but it's been over a decade since I've been in San Francsico and at that time used muni busses, the F streetcar and cable cars without a worry. But should we worry now? Thanks!

That is sweet that you wish to accompany your traveling companions. If their hearts are set on Berlin from Warnemunde, perhaps they should bite the bullet for the cost of the ship tour and go there without you since you've been there. As a person who coordinates private port excursions for us and our friends cruising with us, I know that I try to find a cost-effective alternative to cruise excursions when feasible, but sometimes the alternatives such as DIYing it to Berlin for a day just don't make sense.

@mahdnc Hope everything is OK with you and the Summit since you've not posted since you boarded!

@mahdnc Bon Voyage! Looking forward to following your Summit sailing live thread. We board her in L.A. after she traverses the Panama Canal, so please keep her shipshape for us, thanks!

I am at an even # that leaves me only 2200 points until Zenith! I will keep doing whatever PUP activities come along in case I am still cruising when I reach my 100th birthday. Thanks to the charts and graphs of @mahdnc, if the trend of being able to earn Captain's Club points via PUPs continues, there is HOPE!!!

There are 12 of us next year on the Apex. Any tips on how to reserve dining for us all? 2 tables of 6 adjacent to each other would be ideal and since the menu for all 4 dining rooms is available, from any, being in just one the entire voyage would be just fine!

We initially booked Embassy Suites Logan Airport, but cancelled to save @$95 by switching to Hampton Inn Boston Logan Chelsea. Free Shuttle from airport to hotel. It's close to the Silver Line. Hilton Honors flex rate is $243.47 including $25.50 tax.

Google St Anne de Beaupre & Falls tours. There seem to be several half-day options that take you to both the church and Montmorency Falls by bus.

On E-class, suites, sunset verandas and porthole verandas have typical balconies accessed by a sliding door. Perhaps you can switch to one of those categories?