TFLG

2 minutes ago, juju2454 said:

They are testing on children and babies as well as pregnant women, So I'm pretty sure children will stull sail.  I still find them preferable to most adults.  Kids don't get drunk and mouthy.

 Yea, right... Once past about 6, most kids are mouthy and quite a few (older) kids will get drunk given a chance.

I think you need to ask yourself a few questions.

Are you Ok if none of the ports are open?  Could be a cruise to nowhere.  Some people love that some are all about the ports.  And most cruise lines sailing in Europe require ship booked excursions or you ain't getting off.  I suspect the sailing from the US will be the same.

Are you OK wearing a mask on the ship when out and about?  Pretty sure mask will be required.  And I wonder how long it will take for some antimask nutjob to get left at the first port.

Are you Ok on a ship with limited entertainment and social distancing. They will be running at 50%-60% occupancy which some will LOVE and others will hate. 

If you are all about just being on the water and finding a quiet place to read then there's never been a better time to book a cruise.

If you like to party you pants off it's probably going to be a big let down. 

We did a back to back on the Equinox just before the zombie apocalypse ended the world (March).  I honestly didn't notice any difference after the remodel. Yea I know the Equinox only got a partial but it still seemed the same to me. The pool was still busy, so was the sunset bar and the martini bar.  The world class was still dead, so was sushi on 5. Like most people I don't usually use the solstice deck, because it's too far from a bar!   Plus I've seen some stuff up there that I am still trying to unsee.  I guess I'm still a fan of Celebrity but there prices even for us plebs are getting a bit hard to deal with.  I started cruising because it was a better value than land vacations. Not sure that's the case any more

I'm not cruising if masks are mandatory.  That's just not my idea of a vacation.  I'm fine with a rapid test for pre boarding. But I'm on the ship to get my party on. Hang with friends, drink, dance and get silly.  I think if mask are mandatory cruise ships will be more like floating old folks homes.  And judging from the youtube videos of the first few cruises that's not far from the truth.  I'm not cancelling my 2 bookings for next year yet but if mandatory masks are a thing I will do land vacations instead.

On 8/10/2020 at 6:39 AM, Bo1953 said:

Will some of the Scotch drinkers provide your input on these differing regional products?

 

If you would provide your personal tasting notes and brands that are not widely and those which are widely available, that would be great.

 

Then those which have been seen, at least once, on in any bar on X, rather they still are available or not.

 

Cheers and bon voyage

My personal goal regarding Scotch (and other whiskey's too) is to TRY THEM ALL!  And I'm making great progress. I do wish there was more variety on the ships to help me reach my goal.  Unfortunately I find that I typically have to buy the bottle when trying the more unusual stuff. I find most Scotch to my liking.  Not a big fan of the Islay stuff though.  On rare occasions I get the urge to pour a dram of Laphroig or Lagavulin but I just usually avoid the peaty, smokey stuff.  I probably have 20-30 bottles in the bar right now which only leaves me about 10000000 to go😂.

On the ships I generally stick to Macallan, Glenfiddich, Glenlivet or more recently Monkey Shoulder.  For a blend Monkey Shoulder is quite good.

For sure you are not getting into Australia in Sept.  I've been trying to find a way to get into Australia this Sept and have been shut down at every turn. They are CLOSED!  Even with a doctors note, Covid screening etc, they don't care.  I would just cancel.  I just canceled a Panama cruise I had booked for Nov this year because I was concerned that some of the ports would be closed. And spending $8k to sit on a boat for 2 and a half weeks isn't my idea of a great vacation.

We did it a couple of years ago on the Infinity and thought it was great. Ours was an 8 day with an overnight in SF.  Enjoyed that as it gave us more time in the best port.  We live in SoCal so we have been to all the ports dozens of times but still enjoyed arriving on a ship rather than in our car.  Not a big fan of Catalina or Ensenada though.  I know they can't skip Ensenada but I wish they would dump Catalina on the coastals and go into San Diego or some other decent port. Monterey and Santa Barbara are both great stops. And if you like Wine you can do winery tours in just about every port.

I have a Panama cruise booked for November.  Hoping the madness is over by then.  I'm thinking though that this mess is going to hurt the cruise industry for a few years.  I'm trying to get some friends to book a Greek Isle cruise NEXT sept (2021) and pretty much everyone I've asked is telling me they wont book any cruise because of the "germs".  It seems that there is a perception that cruise ships are just floating germ factories by much of the public.  On the plus side, this might help bring down those ridiculous prices on Celebrities med cruises.

it's not just fear of getting sick that would make me consider cancelling it's the chances of missing ports or just plain getting stuck on the ship.  We just got off the Equinox where we missed a port because the local authorities didn't clear the ship.  Honestly I didn't mind because the DR wasn't really a great stop and they refunded us a full day credit (that's a win in my book!).  But more and more ports may say no cruise ships right now.  So then what, a cruise to no-where?  I have a Nov. Panama cruise coming up and I am seriously considering changing it because I don't want to take a chance of  missing the ports.

We were in Costa Maya on the last western leg.  I can't believe they managed to tie up, the ships were taking a beating from the rough seas.  Once at the beach the wind wasn't bad but out on the pier the water was very rough. It was funny watching waves hit the pier side and the huge splash thrown up was soaking some the NCL passengers.  Last week we did miss Dominican Republic due to a health inspection that took forever.  The captain finally gave up and we sailed off about 1pm for an extra sea day, we received clearance to disembark about an hour after we left 🤣

6 hours ago, jelayne said:

Maybe because we rarely sail in the Caribbean our experience is different but we have seen men in shorts turned away from the MDR and Blu.  

We sailed on the reflection in March last year and there was a guy wearing pretty shabby shorts and t shirts in Blu every night. He looked just slightly better thana homeless person.  We were thinking maybe they lost thier luggage.

11 minutes ago, Bretty said:

To the OP, I would encourage you to try sushi made with fresh raw fish, and even some fresh sashimi, if you’ve never tried it but don’t like the idea of it. Honestly, I don’t think you can beat the clean fresh taste o fish prepared simply like this, with a little wasabi, some shoyu and some gari to clean the palette. Washed down with a nice chilled sake or crisp white wine.

 

It’s far better than a California roll, but you’ll never know if you don’t at least try.

Enjoy your cruise either way.

Not sure how 'fresh" the sushi on the ship is though.  I've tried it a couple of times and it's been mushy like it was frozen and thawd a few times too many.  I love good sushi/sashimi and have it at least once a week. I am fortunate to have a really nice place close to home that gets fresh fish from all over the world so I'm a bit spoiled. We get to try lots of unusual fish that you don't often see. Bluefin is still my favorite tough but Hirame (halibut) is a close second.  The OP really should try some "real" sushi or sashimi, when fresh it's fantastic (well most if it anyway). Sushi on 5 has some very good appitizers and the lobster ramen is good.  I've tried quite a few of the rolls most are ok but I don't think they are as good as any decent decent sushi bar on land will serve.  But they do have some great cocktails!

1 minute ago, Swampbabe said:

Thanks for the info, I checked in my planner and it says the same.  Wonder why the difference on the main pages?

Because Celebrity has no clue how to make a coherent functional website

39 minutes ago, Swampbabe said:

Except that's not on the website, at least not on the US based one. I assume that the package is as it has always been but what shows on the website is different.

That's pulled right off the US website, but it's pulled from the cruise planner for my upcoming cruise.

And in case there is still some confusion, here's the info from the website

8 hours ago, doxiegal said:

So does Classic package include soft drinks ? Yes or no?

Yes, soft drinks, water and specialty coffee are included. Pretty much any drink $9 or under you can get with the package.

if you want a variety of entertainment options the Summit probably isn't going to provide it.  The main theater shows are typically not great.  In the evening there will be one thing happening at a time, maybe two, so not a lot of options. Early evening there might be a band or DJ in the Atrium, later 10ish, there will be a silent disco somewhere or a pool deck party, late night there might be a band or DJ in one of the 2 main lounges. If you like some energy in the evenings Celebrity can be a challenge. 

Now food and drink they do pretty well, and with the often included beverage packages it makes sailing Celebrity a lot more attractive. My girls (early 20's to early 30s) like Celebrity but not as much as they like RCCL, but they are not big partiers.

6 minutes ago, fragilek said:

I hate when stats are quoted .  I got transverse myelitis more than once - what the chances- well wining the lottery twice would be greater - Then I got AML leukemia - whats the chances.  Don't quote stats at me that won't help🤣

 

All my family and friends have said if it gets to Scotland then they are not coming near me lol

Smart friends!  but the odds are still the odds, and yes someone wins the lotto every week.  I'm still waiting.

Your chances of getting it are about the same as wining the lottery and something like 3% of those that get it die.  Over-reaction much?

14 minutes ago, davy jones said:

Will they ever show up?

I've never seen them show up on mine.  I think I've read on here that some people see them closer to sailing. Maybe I'm not looking but my experience is that only the OBC shows up.  Take along a paper copy of your booking just in case but I have never had any issue with not getting my perks.

I just looked at my upcoming reservation (23 days out) and only OBC is showing in my cruise planner and the perks are not on the edocs either. 

1 minute ago, davy jones said:

Several weeks ago I booked a Summit cruise with the 4 perks promotion.  The only perk that shows on the cruise planner is the OBC.  It does not show the unlimited internet, premium beverage package, or the prepaid tips.  

 

However, the site keeps trying to get me to use the OBC to purchase items that I already have.

 

Is this typical?  When can I expect to see the perks on my cruise planner?

Yup, that's normal.  I've never seen the other stuff show up in my planner except the OBC.  I always take a paper copy of my booking along just in case although so far I've never had an issue.

39 minutes ago, louieboy said:

We have the Classic drink package as one of our free perks on our upcoming Equinox cruise and are wondering if it is cheaper to upgrade to the Premium Drink package.  In the evening we like to have a Martini (or two) or maybe a Jack Daniels and coke.  Would it be cheaper to pay the upcharge difference on these drinks than pay for the daily upgrade to the Premium?  Just wondering what the upcharge would be.  Does anyone have any experience with this?  

Regular Martini's are included under the classic package and even though not technically shown I've gotten Jack and Coke but Jim and coke would be the norm (honestly I cant tell the difference once coke is added).  The large specialty martinis served at the martini bar are over the $9 limit. Most are around $12 so you would pay $3.60 if you wanted one.

20 minutes ago, bluehengal said:

I'd definitely recommend going to the World Class Bar.  Best drinks and mixologists!  They only have top of the line liquor there.  It's a limited menu, but well worth it.

By the signature it looks like they are going on the Infinity so no World Class Bar.  One of the reasons I always try to book an S-Class ship!

To the OP, don't worry about "what the best is" or getting the most expensive. Worry about getting what you like. And yes, the bartenders will pour you the well booze unless you specify a brand and not all the bars will have every brand so look what's back there and order something they have.  Unless you are in one of the higher end lounges don't bother asking the bartender to recommend or pick something.  Most of them are just drink makers not trained bartenders (and last crusie they may have been a waiter).    If you do wish to get some advice or try some new stuff head to one of the inside bars (renevous, passport bar etc)  in the early afternoon when they are not busy. Then you can actually chat with the bartender.  Best part of the package is that you can try new stuff without worrying about whether you will like it or not.

1 minute ago, leaveitallbehind said:

...most of which are made at the World Class Bar.

On the S-class they usually are, but you can't get them there (unless the bartender really likes you  )

I think some of the best cocktails on the ship are in Sushi on 5 ( I like the jalepeno vodka one, the wife likes the spicy mango-tini). The World Class Bar has several good ones, my favorites are the Zacapa old fashioned and the buck stops here. the sunset Martini at the Martini Bar is pretty good too.