Jim_Iain

Hi Phyllis - I hope I make it to the Slot Pull I will have to put in a calendar reminder. I often go into cruise amnesia and forget about events. Do you know which type slot machine will be used? We seem to have done our best on wheel of fortune.

Yea ...agree. Your ears must have been ringing, Joan @jelayne and I were saying how much we missed you when you cancelled this cruise. I was really surprised by how many gifts they gave away. I of course didn't win anything.

If they are available. I've had some as far out as a year that had some available. Others nothing. Yes you can use celebrity OBC shown in your online account. Usually shows at top right corner of Plan My Cruise. Once booked with Celebrity or any agent you can book yourself.

I did that on the current cruise and actually ran our 600 up to 750 before cashing out. The only reason I purchased the packages is that when you Pre-Purchase you receive a 10% free play bonus. My understanding is that for the free play you have to play it but can cash out the win. As antiquated as the slots are on Equinox I can't imagine they would have the technology to track. Maybe just put it in a machine and then just cash out or play . I 'll come back a report my finding on Sunday.

I've done the same in a number of ports including Yokohama, Singapore and Buenos Aires. I let Celebrity know of my desire pre cruise. I also followed up with the Retreat Concierge. The ship will work with local authorities to facilitate. They will need to know approximate time you wish to leave so they can arrange for a customs agent to be available. Personally I would check early as Indian Customs can be more difficult that some locations.

I had that on the current cruise I'm on. Received the Rejection notice at exactly saiing time 4PM 48 hours before the cruise. It was a Saturday Cruise and was notified at 4PM Thursday. The next cruise (B2B) it was kinda weird. Sunday Departure - On Tuesday my bid showed expired for one bid and Pending on another. The next day all the suites and Blu showed booked. I checked my bid and both were open for Modification and Cancellation. Two days later I was awarded an upgrade. First notification of my upgrade was when my watched buzzed from my credit card alerting me of the CC charge.

We aren't big gamblers but because of the amount of OBC decided to purchase a couple Slot Packages. The package says that the Free Pull will be credited to your card. Curious if anyone knows how this works on Solstice (not revolutionized at all and old slots). The slots don't have the reader and ability to access your account. They have a slot that you put your card in and then have to remember to take it out and bring with your. To transfer money from card you have to go to the cashier and they sell $100 casino slips.

The covid restrictions have been dropped and they are again accommodating dining with non-party members. I agree. Let them know in advance to have a table setup.

We had our B2B meeting this morning. Real quick and not many questions. Mario handled it really well. He had the head of each department come up and say a couple words and gave away gifts and offered many promotions. Shore Excursions - 15% off all tours booked the first day Spa - 20% treatments booked on first day Specialty Dining 1st night 30% off and 20% for remainder of week Free Specialty Dining for 2 Certificate $100 OBC Certificate Bag of Laundry MDR - Free bottle of wine and all invited to B2B lunch in MDR Bottle of Champagne.

Love Mr Singh. He was extended and extended. He then requested to extend beyond the end of this sailing so he could return home when his wife does but this time they said no. Geez you would think they would work with him after he bent over backward for them. We haven't seen him in a couple days as he is usually at dinner when we go down for drinks. Herma has been take care of us for sure. I'm impressed with the whole staff on this ship They really work well together and compliment each other.

Pictures will certainly follow. You will love it. One thing I love is that you get 4 internet accounts for your room. Having 2 media device attached I won't have to sign in every time we come back to room.

Sorry - I really didn't notice. I have YouTube TV and am able to watch live as well as record and watch when available.

Hmmm.. maybe they are going to work Mar heavy. Ken who is a Customer Service person was suppose to leave last week but with Pennappoli's unexpected need to return home was extended a cruise and Mar was shifted here (1 day prior to the cruise).

Heading north. Winds are at 25 knots from north and sea’s choppy but smooth temps cooling to 75. Not a cloud in the sky

Cabana Time There was one being used today (sea day). these are on Starboard (heading north) One was booked Port Side and looked like in shade (morning) I met Mansur and had a chat. He normally works at Murano. He confirmed the Menu I posted is the same on all ships but also said you could also order anything off of Room Service Menu He said we go out of our way to fill requests and dietary requirements

I've done it before using a Private Car Service and had no problem Last time in Southampton on a B2B the ship was totally zeroed out and B2B processed at 9:15. Even if really bad traffic would be less than 2 hours. A good way to play is to go to Google Maps and put in Origin and Destination and then choose either car or public transit and day of week and time of day and will calculate with normal traffic

The had a well attended sing along in Foyer

Oops.... I just announced ==== This is your wake up call - get your A@@ out of bed it is 9:45 - Ol grumpy said -- No it's not - we gained our hour back last night. I forgot to update the time on my laptop.

The weather has been perfect. The first day out of LA is a bit cool at about 18-20 C but quickly warm up by day at sea number 2. I've been living in shorts and a T during the day for the past week. I do bring sun lotion as the sun is really strong

YOu can search on https://pevvesseltraffic.broward.org/webx/ Do a custom Query magnifying glass and put in date range of the 1st day and last day of the month and year you will be sailing. The Show all limits only to 500 so have to limit to a shorter period by date like this

Wanted to say we usually purchase a Premium Bar Setup. Includes 1 Liter bottle Premium booze of your choice and mixers. Cost is $120 plus 18% Grat. I usual pick it up when on sale. Iain enjoys a drink after we return to our cabin and finds it more convenient than picking up a drink and carrying it to the room. I know - 3rd world problem. As a comparison you can buy 2 Bottles of Gray Goose for $60 in duty free. Somehow I always buy them on the last night of a B2B and they somehow show up in our room.. Wonder how that happened. We just got upgraded to a RS so I guess we don't have to do that as we will get 2 Liters for a 8 day cruise....

I haven't tried ATT at sea but am using Calling over WiFi an had no trouble placing and receiving calls over the Internet. Solstice just installed StarLink (not real impressive) and calls have been good. I do have a premium account. I was talking with our daughter and got cut off a couple times but was walking laps so probably being dropped switching between routers and not the service itself.

No. They don't have the technology to use the iWatch in that manner. You should put your iWatch in airplane mode or may be surprised with satellite charges.

Next cruise - Got some numbers last night. B2B's 20 of us. Next Cruise currently at 1,558 which will be about 200 fewer than this cruise.

Cunard is on our short list of our first adventure off of Celebrity after 23 years. Right now the leader of the pack is Ponant.