phoenix_dream

The bottom line is it depends - on the ship, on the maitre d', on the capacity of the ship. Most likely will allow on M class as opposed to the other two classes. We personally enjoy just about all of the Blu menu and specifically book AQ for Blu unless we can afford the suite price. In addition to the dinner, we like eating our breakfast there - much nicer than the buffet for sure, and usually better service than the MDR. The "classics" such as chicken, salmon, strip steak, caesar salad and others are always available. Unfortunately the waiters don't always advise people of this so if in doubt ask. I suggest looking at the menu a day or two ahead and if you can't find anything you like ask the waiter if you can order from the MDR that day. Even if they don't commonly do it with advance notice they might. Do keep in mind that on some ships the kitchens are not close together so if you are asking last minute you are taking the waiter's time away from waiting on other guests. If you are on one of those ships to be considerate it's nice to plan ahead or only do it if the dining room is not busy.

I'm with those who say do it on your own. Very easy (and I am not the bravest about these types of things). Just make sure to time it so you have plenty of time to get back to the ship as traffic near sailing time gets crazy in St. Thomas.

Pacific Coastal is my preference of the two, but I really like the Mexican Riviera ones as well. Do need to be more careful about where you go when in the Mexico ports.

Interesting observation. I do think the personalities in general are a bit different in different areas of the country, although I've never encountered any issues on my many Pacific Coast or Mexican Riviera cruises. Let's leave it at that 🙂

To respond to the OP - I think there are some differences but that's what makes it fun. There aren't as many people from Europe on these cruises, maybe because it's further to fly? There are many more people from California, and usually fewer Canadians than you often find on Florida sailings. Age-wise I think it's about the same as other cruises of similar length, perhaps a little bit younger crowd as California does not have as many retirees as Florida does. The ports are very different as well. After awhile to me just about every port in the Caribbean feels about the same (I know that's an exaggeration and I have my favorites and least favorites, but in many ways if you've seen one you've seen them all). I think in the Caribbean (with some exceptions) it's mostly about the beach, snorkeling, etc.. In Mexico I think there is more culture to enjoy. There are areas of Mexico that truthfully are more dangerous than you will find in the Caribbean. Not trying to scare you off (love these cruises and have one scheduled in December) just be a little bit more aware of where you are going and don't wander away from the tourist areas. If you can explain more what you mean maybe we can provide better input.

I won't argue the point as I'm not sure what you mean? The people in California? The crew onboard those sailings? The people in the ports?

I miss the 14 night deep southern Caribbean ones also. But what we do (and I know not everyone can or wants to) is just book more back to back cruises. After being to the Caribbean so many times I really don't care if I visit the same ports a week or two apart - especially if they are the ABC's as those ports are great. I do wish they would bring back the 14 nighters though I don't think they will. Why? The average age group was quite high compared to shorter cruises (when in my 60's I was often in the youngest 10% onboard!) and Celebrity is trying to attract younger folks because they tend to spend more on fancier dinners, photo packages, shore excursions, etc.. than those of us " of an age" who have been there; done that and don't feel the need to do a lot of the extras. (not saying none or never, but in general)

Do I like how the OP planned to address his/her issues? No. But enough has been said about that. I do think it is Celebrity's responsibility to notify passengers of changes before the sailing, so as to give them time to make a decision to cancel or try to negotiate another cabin. It's unfortunate that people need to follow cruise boards like these to discover that if they are in a deck 3 or deck 6 cabin (or wherever else depending on the ship) that they may be moved due to quarantine rooms. If this cabin was changed last minute due to an increase in Covid isolations on the prior cruise(s), then that's just bad luck, but should have been communicated nonetheless even if just a day or two before. If it was changed some time ago then there is really no excuse for not notifying the passenger.

you have to ask for it. Why they don't automatically do it I don't know, but we have never had an issue getting it when asking. If you booked a TA, have them do it. If not you need to contact Celebrity.

We have sailed 9 times since restart on 7 ships. On every ship if no premium wines were available in our wine type (cabernet or similar red) the sommelier has offered us premium level wine that is normally sold by the bottle, by the glass, except for a couple times where they suggested a wine normally sold by the bottle that was not as expensive, but we liked it. On one ship we had to raise a bit of a stink first, but once we did that we had no issues. On other ships no issues at all. We sailed in AQ and Sky Suites if that matters.

I may try that.

So am I the only one who paid good $$ for one of these cruises, never got the email even though I cruise regularly and gamble enough to be Onyx (which I know is not too high a level), and is more than a little unhappy that others are getting the same cruise for free?!?? Note, I am not mad at those taking advantage of the offer. I would as well. Just seems very unfair to those who paid for the cruise. If someone earned it by playing, fine. But just randomly giving away free cabins?

Sounds like you're insinuating I don't understand this. I certainly do. My point is we get mixed messages. And while our own doctors know our health history, etc., and may be extremely capable in their own right, they are not necessarily experts in the field of viruses which the doctors I am referencing are.

These are expert doctors affiliated with some of the top hospitals in the country. Would never rely on a newscaster for sure.

And yet the medical experts on the news in the Chicago area recommend not to wait. I guess if I was confident in my own doctor I would follow their advice, yet at the same time it means ignoring the advice of very respected, highly ranked medical experts. The bottom line is that no one knows for sure

And with this latest variant causing symptoms in as few as 2 days you might have picked it up on the trip home. No way to know for sure.

There was a big sign at our Vancouver Eclipse embarkation that no plastic bottles were allowed and soda cans or canned water were limited to 6. Never saw that before so don't know if it was a Celebrity thing or a Canadian thing.

Are you willing to share the company? That sounds awfully inexpensive for that much coverage

Not true. It spreads primarily through air but according to the CDC as well as the Canada equivalent of same there is a risk on surfaces albeit much lower

Insurance may reimburse you but it doesn't make travel arrangements for you, at least none that I know of. I'm expecting that's what they meant

That's a valid point. At the same time. Celebrity skews towards an older crowd which I'm thinking (,perhaps incorrectly) makes it less likely that there are many asymptomatic cases. I believe there are a good number that won't self-report. But there were enough to push most ships into orange status when that was a thing. I know it didnt take many to reach that level. I think though that the big issue is the media. At any hint of a decent sized breakout the media will go bonkers again and make it seem like the world is ending. That's the real issue I think.

You don't catch a cold from cold and wet conditions. You catch a cold (or Covid or whatever virus) by being in contact with someone who is ill. Just because you and maybe some others in your FB group got sick doesn't mean it is nothing more than theater. It helps (the key word being helps, and not prevents) keep the numbers onboard down. It is not perfect and never will be. The cruise lines cannot take the chance of another large outbreak like those in early 2020. The press coverage would sink them (pun intended). I do think testing will go away sometime soon, but I also expect them to continue to require vaccines and maybe even boosters to keep the severity of the illness reduced.

I love Aqua Class, primarily for Blu. But in this case I agree with those who say keep that cabin specifically for the views. Going through the Inside Passage in particular is beautiful and you will have great optics. Any other cruise I would move to Aqua because of Blu.

I have sailed Celebrity on 65 cruises. I generally eat at the buffet for a light lunch daily, and on occasion have eaten there for breakfast. While I can't say I've never seen some of the "disgusting" buffet habits people talk about I can honestly say it is very rare. Most people, especially these days, are very aware of food safety issues. In 65 cruises I have never (to my knowledge) caught any kind of disease from eating at a self-serve buffet. While I would prefer a crew-served buffet in the Covid era as just an extra measure of safety, I would not hesitate to eat there still (and have on my 8 cruises since restart last year). And for the record, I occasionally will grab a french fry or potato chip off my plate while I'm browsing (without touching my fingers to my mouth). Not sure why anyone would find that offensive, but whatever....

We always send out laundry the first day as we arrive to port several days early, and have done so on many, many cruises. We also have sent out laundry up to 2 days before ending. They don't iron your clothes unless you pay extra and don't claim to. The clothes are washed in hot water and dried in a hot dryer for sanitary reasons unless you tell them otherwise (or so I've been told, haven't tried that). We have been sending laundry out for years, on literally 30+ cruises, and only one item was ruined - a pair of black socks was faded. Your choice of course, but we will continue to send out our washable clothes - t-shirts, underwear, pj's, etc.