TGfromTX

And here is the root of my dilemma..

Thanks for the response. My next cruise is my first on Celebrity (Beyond) & my first solo cruise, although not completely by choice. My roomie backed out due to work & I still need a vacation. I feel a little anxious about going solo pre-cruise but I'm confident an alcohol package can cure that. A decade ago, I was on a NCL cruise where they asked if we (2 in my group) wanted to dine with a group or alone each time we went to the MDR. I've gone on 2 cruises since & that has not been asked at all. Although it can be awkward at first, I really enjoyed the group of strangers setting and by the end of the cruise I recognized quite a few people on the ship. I don't expect to see it offered on Beyond. If you are offered, I highly recommend you try it.

This is going to sound naive, but how are you getting onboard credit? It is a promotion they run from time to time on their site?

Me bad. I don't see a way to edit the poll now - it must lock after someone responds. I think of MDR as 'included for everyone on ship.' Since I missed them vote however you'd classify them. Personally, I would consider them specialty since you are paying extra in your fare to get into them - or other works.

I was curious what percentage of people were eating dinner in the different venues. I know where I think most people eat on the ship but I thought a poll might give better insights.

I was wrong about what the non alcohol package was going to do - at least for my sailing. It has stayed at 32.99/day. The other 2 packages have jumped all around since the holiday sale. They jump to full price sometimes - 84.99 and 99.99. Sometimes they are at the lowest I've seen them: 54.99 and 64.99. And right now they are at 67.99 and 79.99. I'm still undecided if I prefer to have a 'tipsy' trip or not. I can drink enough booze to make the alcohol package pay for itself, but I don't drink enough soda/specialty coffees to make the non alcohol package make sense.

Do the drink packages work at the craft social bar? In the app it looks like food and drinks are both extra in it.

@Old Fart Cruisers @sue402001 Are you on the same cruise? Looks like you depart on the same day.

What is a sunset veranda? Is it one that wraps around one of the back corners of the ship? Or maybe a rear facing balcony? @NMTraveller Interesting about 15% savings - I haven't seen that number before. I'm too lazy to digest that article - hurt my brain. I did see IV balconies on the RC ships - which made sense to me since they have same parent company. I didn't notice percentage of cabins with them but they look to have same 'bones' in the cabins. I had the impression RC was doing the same cabin across the new ships but happy to hear they are doing a mix.

I plan to play for the first time. In youtube videos of the show, the audience has fun but I think it's going to be very similar to how much you like playing and losing at bingo.Entertainment is the main value here. I've never won anything at bingo on a cruise - and with multiple cards I'll likely win something. If you miss the show you can have the casino scan your card & it'll let you know what you won. I think the winnings are given as play in casino. Unsure if it can be on table games or only slots, but you'll have to be lucky twice to actually get cash.

Hurricane season officially started on June 1st. I saw the NOAA forecast online and thought I'd post it here. The article stated that the increase in activity is thought to be due to the ocean temperature increasing .9 degrees per decade. I also found interesting that the first named system typically forms around June 20th and the first hurricane around August 11th.

You posted HERBIE!

I booked early May and mine hasn't listed any lower than I posted. Not even during the Memorial weekend sale. This is my first cruise with Celebrity so maybe that is why.

Once you install the app, you can select a reserved time for dinner - early or late. People that want to have the same waiter(s) & sit at the same table will generally select this option. It will be around 7 for early or 9 for late (+/- 30 min depending on specific cruise). I believe your dining room is selected for you with this option. You can go to the main dining room on embarkation day & check if you like your seating. They'll likely change to your request. If you leave your dining as "Anytime" dining, you can show up whenever you want. With Anytime dining, you have the option to open any of the 4 dining room details in the app and reservations can be made there. Reservations will have to be set per day (you add each day to the cart and checkout with a $0 charge) & there are much more times, every 30 minutes, that you can select from. Many suggest reserving if you have Anytime dining to reduce the amount of time you are waiting and especially if you have a larger group. Be aware that how the dining rooms work is different per ship/cruise. Some ships will place priority over the reservations and many report that some ships seat first come still and will directly tell you reservations make no difference. If you book the cruise late you may get forced into a dining time. In the app you can request Anytime dining wait list. I did that for my most recent booking & was changed to Anytime after about 2 weeks.

That Elite plus discount must be big. My cruise shows premium wifi 1 Device: $22.99/per guest per day(30% off) premium wifi 2 Devices: $22.99/per guest per day(40% off) basic wifi 1 device: $23.99/per guest per day (no sale)

Mine is currently at $32.99/day - ever since the Memorial day sale. It most often is $26.99/day. I expect it to go down to that well before the July sale. If they do as usual, they'll increase to $32.99 during the 4th of July sale at which they'll lower the standard & premium alcohol packages. This is what seems most common across most cruises, but some itineraries have the packages at a higher rate. I haven't figured out if the higher pricing is by ship or location or what.

When I was researching which cruise I wanted to take, these are the numbers I found - where I could find them. But it's likely not apples to apples. Many ships have categories within cabin categories and the source didn't really take that into account. RC Wonder/Allure of the Seas 182 cabin + 50 balcony RC Navigator of the Seas 198 cabin + 42 balcony RC Enchantment of the Seas 191 cabin + 39 balcony Celebrity Beyond 184 cabin + (unlisted) balcony Celebrity Reflections 246 cabin + 54 balcony Celebrity Solstice 194 cabin + 54 balcony Celebrity Summit 170 cabin + 38 balcony