DCPIV

Just to be clear on that, it's almost any bar. I know the World Class Bar is out because they only serve premium liquor. I believe Flying Carpet also is out. Some say the Martini Bar is out, but I've seen plenty of CC HH drinks slide over the Martini Bar--I believe you just need to be very clear that you want something from the CC HH menu. It also could be a matter of what ship you are on.

It sounds like they are trying to reach out to more suites. I suppose that's good, but I hope they can handle it!

We rather enjoyed the Atlas Bar, but it wasn't something we wanted to do every night. I didn't keep a count, but we were probably in there around half the nights we were on board (11-nighter). Sometimes we were in there before dinner, sometimes after, sometimes both. We enjoyed the special menu, but we also ventured away from that (and I sometimes just wanted a neat whisky). Bar seating was our favorite, but it also was very limited. The rest of the seating varied from comfortable to awkward, and I expect different passengers would different spots comfortable or awkward. The decor was fine, but it had a feeling like someone was trying a little too hard to be "kitschy chic." We loved the large, triptic screen at first, but it became somewhat tedious soon enough. Like it or not, a screen with motion on it is a distraction and not always a welcome one. We didn't much care about it after the first couple or few days. A few days later, it became a reason for us -not- to go in there or only stay for a short time. But I don't want those criticisms to overwhelm my first point. We liked the Atlas Bar, and we want to go back sometime!

Perhaps things have changed over the last few months, but I don't see them doing a lot of "charging" in Luminae when it comes to the "stock" wines (for lack of a better term) that they serve by the glass via the wine list and that fall under the premium package. I'm talking about the ones that typically are referred to generically (e.g., Do you usually like a cabernet or a pinot noir" or "I'd like a glass of chardonnay"). I often see waiters just going from table to table and topping off glasses with those. I have no doubt they are keeping their inventory by the bottle on those wines, of course, but that's different. I would expect that if you were to order something else and not have a premium package (beer, cocktail, other wine, or even premium water), you would be charged accordingly in the same way that ordering a glass of Caymus would get you an upcharge even if you had the premium package. That said, we've had it happen more than once that we've asked in Luminae for a recommendation. We didn't ask by label but described what we were looking for. The sommelier returned with a bottle of something that wasn't on that list. While I assume that wine was priced by the glass within the premium package, it wasn't served by the glass. The bottle stayed on the table. The next night, we could have another bottle if we wanted it. I haven't seen or heard anyone checked while in Luminae or the Retreat Lounge/Michael's, but I admit that I'm not exactly concerning myself with that. I've never spent more than a few minutes at a Retreat Sundeck. My wife also reminded me about when we had guests in Luminae (the one time we did that). They only had a classic package, but they were served premium wine by the glass from that wine list. No one was charged. No one was carded for their drink package. Luminae was well aware of their cabin number and so also was aware of what package they had. Again, that policy may have changed since we did that about a year ago, or maybe someone was just feeling generous.

There's no telling what that means, and it may mean something later this year than it does today. They may be doing some of the rooms, or they may be converting Michael's to Retreat Lounge or adding Retreat Sundeck, or they may be replacing Cellar Masters with Craft Social and doing nothing else. There are a number of ships that are partly revolutionized. I don't think it was there long enough to do that much work. It would have been nice, though. I quite enjoyed Craft Social on Equinox, but Cellar Masters is a pretty dead area on Reflection. Of course, Craft Social carries forward the current trend of "better to look good than feel good" with some of its seating. The bar stools were designed by an A-1 sadist.

That is off in all sorts of ways. Luminae typically opens around 5:30 or 6 PM and has last seating around 9 PM.

By the way, @blueskadoo, have you tried other cocktails with Ciroc? We have a friend who cannot tolerate hardly any hard liquors at at, but she tolerates Ciroc just fine. It could be the Ciroc that's key rather than just the cocktail.

It sounds like you have a solution, but I can try and get a little more intel if you like. I'm on Reflection next week.

I did a 5-day on Summit in October '21 out of Miami. We had something like 275-280 on board (I never got a certain number). There were time I walked into a lounge and no one else was there except a bartender and, perhaps, someone playing music. Sometimes that was the Martini Bar. Talk about surreal.

It reads as though it's simply a gift certificate for a certain amount.

And when trying to enter a foreign country that requires a valid passport.

As mentioned, loyalty levels are more about discounts than priority on board. You'll have as good a time as anyone else on board, even you are paying a little more for your drink package and wi-fi. Enjoy your cruise!

You may not have noticed it was there, but it probably was there. I bought a Persian Garden pass once, and it had gratuities added as a line item. I had more OBC than I could spend, so I didn't mind sharing the wealth a little.

What are you trying to work out beforehand? If you are trying to be seated with another party, you can link your reservation--you can do that on the website or via phone. If you are trying to get a seating time and are waitlisted, you likely will need to deal with that once on board.

It's going to be more of a booze cruise than other itineraries. Florida + 4-night + long weekend = party time. That said, I likely will not be all hell breaking loose like you might see on Carnival or RC. I suppose it's a matter of how much you can tolerate. I was on a November 4-nighter on Millennium, also Thursday through Sunday. It was also out of Fort Lauderdale but only one stop (originally Grand Cayman but rescheduled to Cozumel). It was more "booze cruise" than other Celebrity cruises I've been on, but it wasn't terrible. A few loud groups and a handful of other passengers who most certainly on a drinking agenda, but I've seen much worse on longer, allegedly calmer itineraries (such as Alaska). You can probably expect things to get crazy at times around the Martini Bar and Pool Bar (maybe the Sunset Bar at times and maybe Passport Bar while music is playing). There always will be refuge, though,

Do they now? They still had Tea Forte on Equinox, but that was 4 months ago. We'll see what's on Reflection soon. The Retreat Concierges can do almost anything that Guest Relations and Shore Excursions can do, and they can do it from the convenience of the Retreat Lounge. That includes scheduling or cancelling dining reservations, spa reservations, or excursions. They also are very handy for relating any complaints or comments you may have. While they may not be able to address them directly, you never know. They have some kind of magic wand. If nothing else, they seem to have a more direct line to those who may be able to address your comment. If they are busy with someone else, just let them know you would like to speak with them, and then find a comfortable seat in the Lounge (although I will warn you that the seats in Summit's Retreat Lounge aren't necessarily comfortable). Butlers can do a lot of what the Concierges can do, but the beauty of doing it through the Concierges is that they have direct access to dining reservations and excursions (they may have to call about the spa). For that reason, we tend to make or change reservations or excursions through the Concierges because we can pretty much walk away knowing it's done. That said, we have cancelled reservations through our butler with no trouble at all. Unless something has changed, you can meet in the Retreat Lounge for excursions that meet in the theatre (or some other common area of the ship). The Retreat Concierge will have all the stickers, and someone typically will escort you off the ship. If nothing else, it's nice to have the morning goodies available. In some cases, your Butler may escort you off for an excursion. Enjoy Luminae! It's your new MDR, and they really do try to please. Your maitre d' may very well know who you are before you even show up. Do not hesitate to express a preference or concern to your waiter or maitre d'. As mentioned, you can order from the MDR menu, and you also can order from Blu. I've enjoyed looking at the different menus via the app each day and figuring out what I might want. I am more than happy with the Luminae menu more than 90% of the time, but there are some things particularly like from other menus.

I agree with much of what the others said. We love the World Wine Tasting. The wine itself is not necessarily something to sing songs about, but it's good, and you get to try a lot of wines at your own pace. The conversation with the sommeliers (and other passengers) also can be excellent. On top of all that, it's a fun atmosphere. Unfortunately, they did not offer it on Equinox when we were on board last Fall. We'll see if it's back when we're on Reflection next week. It's on the cruise planner, so we have our fingers crossed! The Premium Wine Tasting is expensive, but it's totally worth that price. You get some pretty special stuff that you cannot get by the glass on board (and would have to reach much deeper into your pocket if you wanted a bottle). The Riedel workshop is good if you want the glasses or the experience of trying out the glassware. It may not be worth it if you already are familiar with Riedel (and especially if you already have Riedel glasses at home), The whisk(e)y tastings are hit and miss, and I've found them mostly to miss. It's not so much that they liquor isn't good, but I cannot make sense of paying $30-40 for 3-4 half pours unless you are talking about something really special (and this isn't that). You can pretty much do any of these tastings on your own for little or no money (maybe while talking to a bartender) if you have a package, and then you get a full pour. Also, a lot of them are conducted by someone who isn't much more familiar with the liquor than those who bought the tasting. They are marvelous folks, mind you, but their expertise is wine. They typically are giving a set speech, and they've even said some things that are dead wrong (e.g., bourbon can only be made in Kentucky). Now if you were to get someone who really knew what they were talking about, it might be worth it, but you won't know that until you're already into the tasting. If you are interested in liquor tastings, check in with the liquor store on board. They often do at least one free tasting every day, and the folks working in there typically know what they are talking about.

I used to get peppered with them, but it then stopped. I don't know what I did, especially since I don't recall doing anything. I still get emails about bookings, but that's it.

It's good to hear that it works well. Cheers!

I think they let things slide a bit in Luminae when it comes to pouring by the glass. I wouldn't bank on it, but I think it's more trouble than it's worth for them to keep up with who might be on a classic package due to a MU bid. Now, if you were to ask for a premium wine that wasn't on their typical "by the glass menu," you might expect a polite apology that they cannot accomodate your request unless you were willing to pay the upcharge or buy a bottle.

While I do believe you are correct about needing a passport for St. Maarten, I also believe the worst thing that can happen is that you would not be able to get off the ship there. I highly encourage everyone to double check that with someone who is not a non-expert.

For our sailing next week, the same room class has gone up roughly 25% since when we booked it. For very same room on a sailing a year later (similar itinerary), it's about 60% higher. I agree that it's starting to look like Lexus prices for a Toyota, but I won't start grousing about prices until they aren't filling ships. As long as they can fill the ships, then more power to them.

Good to know. I expect they were getting asked to empty far more often than they were making sales. It's good to ask them to empty it. That way everything is accounted for. As mentioned, it costs nothing to do so.

I know that's the policy, but my experience is that you will be served as long as you aren't both intoxicated and acting like a jack---. They also are very good about asking folks to slow down. They also don't mind getting cutting you off or getting security involved if you are the sort of person who doesn't take wise advice well.

An expired passport is worthless except to the extent you can renew it. I would think the old birth certificate would work just fine with the raised seal and all those goodies. From what I hear, your husband's passport ought to show up soon. They've been turning renewals around pretty quickly. Of course, be ready in case it doesn't.