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B x

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Everything posted by B x

  1. No idea if it's across the fleet or introduced since we last cruised pre pandemic, but no Butler's on Reflection, instead 'Personal Retreat Hosts' who seem to do very little as far as I can tell, in fact almost invisible, seen ours twice in three days. Rang and asked for afternoon tea in our suite and was told if we wanted it go to Michael’s. Exactly the same reaction when asked for Luminea breakfast which is advertised as an in-suite option, also told only in-suit evening dining option was regular room service from the TV menu. Have had to ask each day for ice, was a time they did it automatically soon as they realised you liked to have it. Cabin and dining staff remain helpful and friendly as always and staff levels seem good. As mentioned day three and Captain announced first covid cases on ship which is 95% capacity and feels that way. Sad to say really unimpressed and will be having a few words in someone's shell like as feel suite guests, certainly in our part of the ship are being sold short.
  2. Certainly no reduced capacity on Reflection. When we boarded Monday we were told 2,400+ passengers, today an officer said 95% capacity and it certainly feels like it. This morning the Captain announced the first covid cases and stressed caution. We are masking, few are.
  3. Beautiful sunset en route to Sicily.
  4. According to our butler, capacity this sailing is in excess of 2,400 so up a good bit on last sailing.
  5. On board 11am, quick and efficient and lunch in Luminea which was well staffed. No ideas on capacity yet but seems busy. Docked across from Beyond and Queen Victoria which looks deserted apart from a handful of crew.
  6. If you have Lloyd's pharmacies in Scotland then they come recommended. Had ours at a local one this morning, booked on line, they do the test, fifteen minutes and they provide a certificate, then you pay, only £29 as well. Hope this helps.
  7. Reflection, next week, but you are right, some do carry far more and it does vary.
  8. Just left you a message on the Reflection roll call. And yes, the App is having a real hissy fit today.
  9. Can anyone confirm if the on board stores are still carrying Estee Lauder and Clarins beauty products? They used to but this will be our first cruise since before lockdown and wondered if they have thinned down what they now sell. Ideally would like to utilise some of the hefty OBC we have on re-stocking some items, but equally if they don't will buy duty free at Heathrow and then I'll just have to go to the jewellery store! Many thanks in advance.
  10. Same here we have just on £2,400 OBC, partly comes from their total mess up with a cabin on a previous cruise so carried forward and added to further OBC, would they let you do the same and carry some forward, has to be worth asking? Feel a trip to the jewellery store coming on for me.
  11. Really helpful, thank you so much for posting. Been pulling my heir out trying to find something close by - the joys of living in the middle of the Fens and best so far was Boots well over an hour away. But we have a Lloyds in the next village and just booked for 11th June, will be a relief to get it done before we go to Heathrow the next day. Bizarrely they never came up on any of my searches.
  12. That's really helpful, thank you. I had visions of lots of invasive questions that would prove difficult given what I explained. Not much different than going to the dentist or hospital really.
  13. Can someone who has cruised recently in Europe give any indication as to the questions asked please? It may be the same Globally of course. Having niggling worries now we are close as to how heavily Celebrity concentrates on recent activities of passengers in their questions. Having pretty much isolated for two years we are faced with a big gathering a few days before we cruise in June, eldest Granddaughters wedding, so lots of people and pretty difficult to distance in that environment. Here in the UK they say the current infection rate is 1 in 60 so at a weeding of about 150 inevitably a few likely candidates and under current UK laws not a mask in sight. Obviously we will be totally honest with our answers but just trying to second guess how Celebrity may deal with someone having been in a large gathering even when an antigen is clear. We are flying to Rome the afternoon before so judging by what the App says, we should receive the questionnaire at the airport!
  14. Can't comment on Infinity, but when we were booked on Reflection in 2019 I was told she was "old and sad", was uncertain after that comment but was the itinerary we wanted so stuck with it. In our view that comment was totally unfair, yes a few bits of wear and tear but not enough to stop us going on her a second time later the same year and again next month. So IMO don't be put off by a few negatives.
  15. As most have said a walk off at Civi is easy, it's what we do at all European ports and usually hassle free (that said we have not cruised since covid so there may be changes). In Civi our hotel always collects us pre and post cruise for transfers to/from Fiumicino, it's a quick journey of a hour at most and worth the 120 Euro for hassle free travel. We have also used the company the above poster mentions, they were excellent as our Heathrow flight was delayed by six hours and they were waiting for us having checked the flight status. Just as well we travelled ahead of embarkation day as we saw the cruise ships all heading into the distance as we went along the coastal road.
  16. Thanks folks, as first cruise since covid hit wasn't sure if things had changed. Boarding in Civi, 'up to date' so test pre cruise, suite and Zenith so fingers crossed if we arrive before noon.
  17. Does priority boarding for suite guests still exist or is now all at set times (our passes are showing 12 - 12.30). Thanks in advance for feedback.
  18. Prices seem very fluid, last week I checked available cabins with a view to upgrading from our booked Sky suite, both a celebrity and royal were showing available, rang our TA who in turn had to ring Celebrity, that took two days, when he came back the prices for both were more than £1,000 per person more than the when I checked the previous day. I went back to check for myself and that was indeed the case. As of yesterday both were still showing as available at the higher price and Sky's almost 2K more than we paid.
  19. At least they make a decent red there!
  20. It is now two days, confirmed by a call from the CEO's office this afternoon: https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/italy-travel-requirements
  21. An update which I am sure will helps lots of us embarking in Rome: https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/italy-travel-requirements
  22. An update that I am sure will helps lots of us embarking in Rome: https://www.celebritycruises.com/healthy-at-sea/italy-travel-requirements
  23. I've been shot down on this thread once or twice suggesting my interpretation of the Civi testing requirement of "within 24 hours" was totally wrong. I decided the only way to gain clarity was speaking to them, an hour and a half on the phone and they confirm exactly what I thought, "within 24 hours" does indeed mean that. I felt almost stupid asking and then receiving their interpretation of "within". They said if a test was done for example at 7am on the Sunday for Monday embarkation the test would need repeating as it would be out of the timeframe. No way will they deviate from the current published info and test other than Fully Vaccinated at the pier "for whatever reason" in their words. She passed me to someone else who she said had more up to date info, for a moment I had a glimmer of hope, all he had to impart was that pharmacies open at 8am on Monday mornings and what his colleague had explained was correct. C'est la vie, looks like they are asking the impossible short of proctored testing, but that's not an option everyone is physically able to undertake. But of course I and many others would be delighted to hear if anyone who has actually boarded and is cruising having done a test outside the stated timeframe?
  24. Hmmm, been there as well, we are on our third re-schedule of this cruise. Biggest problem is the huge reduction in the number of flights since Covid. Pre covid BA flight delayed several hours, luckily had planned an overnight in Civaveccchia as ship was just leaving port at we got to hotel, ever since hubby insists on going a day or so earlier.
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