markeb

No tickets for the Tube anymore. I mean you can, but nobody does. Just use a contactless credit card or Express Transit on your phone. Your credit card or phone is your ticket. More info here: https://tfl.gov.uk/travel-information/visiting-london/

So basically you’re a California cab drinker? 😀 Ideally, in a good pairing you should come away thinking that was a great combination, not that was a great wine (although the Grgich Hills cab is a great cab). But would it have complemented the entire meal? I’m guessing no. Great beef and lamb wine. Actually better than you might think with dark chocolate. It would totally overwhelm most fish or chicken. It’s also heavy, but fine on its own. I subscribe to the drink what you like theory, but I would have a hard time with a heavy Napa cab as the only wine for most meals.

e-SIM was already answered by Island2Dweller. It can save money but does add a level of complexity. With the various Travel Passes (we have Verizon) you basically get your normal data and it's simple. Honestly, it's what I do, even though I know I should use a local e-SIM for data. As rhiannon84 said you need to download the Google Maps app from either the Apple or Android store. It works great in London. TFL is Transport for London and is the transportation authority for buses and the Tube (and maybe the Thames river cruises) and the regulatory authority for cabs. Their app is pretty good once your underground. Google Maps will get you to the Tube. If you have data roaming (sounds like yes) you don't need to worry too much about offline maps, although reception is pretty poor on most of the Tube. City Mapper is another app that's used a lot in London. Google Maps works for me, and it will "find" me above ground when I go east instead of west out of the Tube. Since you were there in 017, TFL has gone to contactless payment. You can use any contactless credit card (obviously use one with no foreign transaction fees). You each need a unique card. You can also pay with Apple Pay and Google Pay. TFL will use the "Express Transit" feature on the iPhone so you don't have to unlock the phone to pay. You can still use an Oyster, but contactless payment is pretty much the norm. I believe you do need an Oyster for child and senior discounts; I'll let one of our Londoners set me straight on that I'm confident you can do earlier than 1715 at Buckingham Palace. I didn't look before typing today. Last time I looked when someone asked something similar I thought the tours much earlier, but that may have been a different tour. I'd say 1430-1500 should be fine, and might give you time to wander around more of Tower Hill and the Tower Bridge if you wish. And eat. Don't forget to sit down, eat, and drink. I think I remember that review of the Abbey and War Rooms and that's a pretty good schedule. There's plenty to see around both the Abbey and Whitehall if you finish early at the Abbey, and again, lunch. Horse Guards Parade and St James Park are nearby. Google Maps says a 16 minute walk from Westminster Abbey to Horse Guards Parade and along St James Park to the War Rooms. If memory serves there are a couple of decent pubs along Whitehall, as there are in DC near government buildings. (OK, they're more bars than pubs in DC...) The flight can largely wipe you out. I'm usually OK but not great the next day. I don't do that short of a stay anymore to avoid being a zombie, but it can be done. Don't over plan your arrival day; unless you can sleep soundly anywhere, you'll be beat. But we've been to London a lot over the last thirty years and don't push as hard anymore.

Revising and extending my previous remarks. Also look at a HOHO on that first afternoon. Don’t get off. Just do the loop. It’s a great orientation but lousy point to point transportation.

Suggestion one: Take a deep breath. You've already overplanned for two days... You're going to be a bit rushed no matter what, but here are my suggestions: First, carry your smartphone and have an international data plan or get an e-SIM for data. Period. Have Google Maps, TFL Go, and Citymapper on your phone. I mostly use Google Maps. I'm assuming this is a summer cruise? If so, the sun is out very late. You can see a lot of London from your location simply by walking around. That's what I'd plan the first days once you've somewhat recovered. Cross the Westminster Bridge and walk along the Embankment beyond the MOD main building (it's huge) and eventually cut over to Whitehall. Plot a course on your phone to Trafalgar Square, probably cutting over around Charing Cross Station. Look at the map and pick something else that interests you. You'll eventually end up back at Westminster Bridge passing Westminster Palace and the Elizabeth Tower to your hotel. I would probably do the Tower in the morning of your second day and Buckingham Palace that afternoon. Latest time you can get at the Palace. From your hotel, you have two primary choices to the Tower. You can catch the Tube at Waterloo (Bakerloo Line) and transfer to the Circle Line at the Embankment. You can also cross at Westminster Bridge and get directly on the Circle Line. (Can't remember if the District Line also stops at the Embankment?) The other option is to catch one of the Thames River Cruises at County Hall. Allow more time, but you'll get a nice view of the Thames, usually narrated, and I believe the first stop is the Tower. Check that out. I'd allow 3-4 hours. Don't plan on anything else in the area if you plan to make it to Buckingham Palace. You may have time, but don't commit. Tower to Buckingham Palace is about a half hour on either the District or Circle lines with a walk on both ends. I'd probably allow an hour before your tour. Abbey and War Rooms work well together. I can't tell you how long to allow for the Abbey. The War Rooms will consume as much time as you'll let them. It's walking distance between them. I really can't see a good way to also visit the British Museum with your other stops. I'm sure it can be done, but it'll be a poke your head in and leave visit. If you're there on a Friday, they are open until 8:30, so that's a possibility. My one time experience with timed tickets at the British Museum was a "so what". It was one line for screening with or without a timed ticket and everyone was flowing together. YMMV. First thoughts. Enjoy. Don't overplan. Have a pint (lots of neat places just wandering the South Bank near your hotel) in a pub.

Easiest course of action is to go straight to your stateroom, grab your Seapass card off the door, drop off your carry-on, lock anything you won't need in the safe (passport...), and then head for the Retreat Lounge. If you're boarding first, the elevators will still be free. If you head for the lounge, you'll be tempted to head for Luminae, and you'll be dragging your bags and suddenly everyone will be on the elevators. The lounge will definitely be open, but you'll probably be happy that you (or one of you) made the trip to the cabin first.

It's really a math question. If you drink premium water or Red Bull, for instance, those are not available in the Classic package and you'll pay full price for them. They're just excluded completely even though they're below the dollar limit. Red Bull is I think $7 plus gratuity. or $8.40 Can't remember which waters are included, but figure $6 each or $7.20. If you're looking at wine, cocktails, beer, or spirits, you pay the upcharge plus gratuity. If you are looking at the $17 martinis versus a $10 classic package, you're paying $8.40 extra per martini. Take the upgrade price (including the extra 20% gratuity) and divide by $8.40. If that's say $24/day, then you'd break even at three martinis in a day even without accounting for higher priced wine or beer or water. It's a calculated guess for a first timer. But if only one of you is looking at premium package drinks, unless they're talking about (using the simple math above) six martinis for themselves, every day, it's likely going to be less expensive to pay the upcharge as you go...

That's what a good sommelier should do. Glad you have one. I also think too many of the sommeliers on Celebrity just fall into asking the customer what they want, so we never give them the opportunity to recommend other wines. And we (the customers) have a bad habit of just asking for something we recognize. Not on Celebrity, but I've worked with sommeliers at a couple of nice places that have described a pairing I never would have thought of that ended up being amazing. Like a mid-body red with a white fish, because of the sauce.

I'm one of the rarest of Marriott/Bonvoy members. Made Lifetime Titanium at the merger. The only time it was offered. My wife thanks me for all those trips every time we have breakfast in an M Club... Ambassador wasn't a thing. I guess there are stay and dollar criteria, so it's not invitation only like Global Services. Never got there. Don't perceive a real advantage. I do still know what my house looks like!

I tend to agree. There was a Delirium cafe in Brussels with a lot of beer on tap, but I don't think even they did flights like you'd see in the US. I just don't think it's a thing in Belgium. The better beer is served in small glasses and enjoyed fairly slowly. And the really good stuff is 10-14% alcohol (barley wine territory) and one can be quite enough. Probably can't take the supermarket beer onto the ship, in most cases, unfortunately. It'll probably get nabbed and returned on the last evening. At room temperature or above... And I'll second a previous post on Mary Chocolate. Probably my favorite Belgian chocolate from too many trips to Brussels over the years. I'd buy others to bring back to the office (Leonidas) but Mary always made it home to my wife...

That’s good to know. My big complaint with Tuscan was that the portions were just too big. Might try it again and split a better steak. I usually cook a 10-12 ounce ribeye and slice it for the two of us. And sometimes save some for breakfast the next day. 16 ounce t-bone or porterhouse is just too much!

Probably Porter in Coombsville and Paloma on Spring Mountain. We were mostly going to small places. Paloma was literally in the winemaker’s dining room. Darioush is a bit of an off the beaten track winery. Great wines, just not necessarily well known. We were at a tasting tonight for Sky Devil. Don’t know that they have a tasting room, but Kirk Venge is their winemaker. Venge wines, Trespass, and Sky Devil among others. Amazing winemaker. I’d buy pretty much anything he makes and probably most things he consults on.

If you have data onboard, "some" of the wines by the bottle are a good deal. In the past that's included some not by the glass that were far better and averaged out at a decent price. No, Conundrum is probably still overpriced. But there are some decent to very good Pinot Noirs that aren't badly priced. Not 3X retail for sure. Actually, Pinot Noir may be one of the best bottle prices I see in the app. Again, if you're drinking mixed drinks, beer, water, soda, and specialty coffees, you'll do better than you think. Some of the whites by the glass are pretty good. Right now, it's the reds that seem to be lacking. I'll try to report back after the Summit. Where are you going in Napa?

I've never found an alternate Cabernet. In the past, I've frequently found very good "other reds". Malbec, Zinfandel, Primitivo, Syrah/Shiraz, Sangiovese, etc. Not so much my last cruise. We'll see on Summit in a couple of weeks. What would you have paid for 2-3 bottles? Just curious as that seems like it would be a better alternative for dinner. Better wine and maybe even less expensive if you're paying the upcharges anyway. The question then becomes would you have drunk enough other covered drinks to pay for the package.

An extreme case, of course, but the argument to "can I make a XX:xx flight"? We're overnighting in Vancouver after our Alaska cruise to not be rushed and have a day in Vancouver, but... Hope all goes well with the patient. That's the most important thing.