Happy Cruiser 6143

I've rented a Twizy once. They're fun for the driver. Hell for the person who has to contort him or herself into the back seat. Never again. We did this in Bonaire.

Since you're staying in the same cabin, you just leave everything as is. No need to pack up. As for getting off the ship and back on, it will depend on your cruise and the port. You will receive full instructions on board. As for an earlier checkin time, again it will depend on the port and the number of passengers on board. You can try showing up earlier and see what happens. Most likely you will be permitted to board early, but there are no guarantees.

I don't know why you would get slammed for your opinion. It's your opinion. We don't all like the same things. Thanks for your report.

Anxious to see your nouveau deck design in October. I thought Ms. Hoppen's design took up rather a lot of room on our lovely balcony but I also thought the furniture was a bit heavy to be moving around. Alas, Alex our butler extraordinaire, will be on vacation then. Fingers crossed that Lobo is back at his post as Fab Maitre d' in Luminae.

I've sailed YC on MSC a couple of times. Their ship within a ship concept is definitely better than Celebrity's, their cabins are excellent, and the pool deck is far superior to Celebrity's. The food, however, is lackluster and the service is definitely not up to Celebrity's standard in Luminae. When I asked for non-alcoholic wine or champagne, they looked at me like I was crazy. Apparently it has never occurred to them that some cannot or don't drink alcohol. It was a good deal in the early days of their sailing from the US, but lately the pricing is more than I want to pay for a boring 7-night cruise with the only interesting port being their excellent private island. And I'm not a fan of sailing out of Miami, which they seem wedded to.

Tip of the day: always organize something like this with your butler. Do not involve the shoreside concierge or the suite concierges. Apparently they have been instructed to try to charge for this. When the shoreside concierge called me before my last cruise, I asked her to alert the butler that we would be holding a sailaway party in our PH. She responded by sending me a catering menu with outrageous setup and food charges. I just never sent it back. It wasn't my first rodeo and I knew there would be no charge if the butler set it up. Just worked with him when we got on the ship.

Yes, it can be done. Once upon a time we invited the entire roll call to the PH for sailaway. About 125 people showed up. It was a tad crowded, but can be done in an M class PH. But I prefer smaller gatherings.

We weren't forgetting restaurants, we were dining in our suite. What we forgot was the meals everyone had ordered. It was pretty funny, and we sorted it all out and nobody went hungry. That's why I suggest that folks make a note of what they order if they order in advance. Then when the butler asks who gets the whatever, you'll know the answer.

Yes, please arrange in advance with your butler. But a small tip: once we ordered the dinners so far in advance that by the time the night arrived, none of us could remember what we had ordered! So make a note so it's easier for the butler to serve you.

And yes, you may have guests in your suite for dinner.

Free laundry, dry cleaning, pressing. Whether or not any of these items are worth the extra cost is debatable. Mostly you're paying for more space.

I never did find any fares where the single supplement was completely waived. The max I found was 60%. I certainly expect to get double points for paying any single supplement. Will see what happens this fall.

I'm not back on Summit until October. Interested to hear how you like the new captain.

So procure them in individual-size packages. Problem solved. I too love a good potato chip.

If, for some ungodly reason, you run into any snags on your specialty dining reservations, know that the maitre d' in Luminae is in touch with all the restaurants and can basically work wonders. But I predict you will have a fabulous cruise. What ship are you sailing on?

Dunno what Celebrity has against potato chips. You used to be able to find them in the buffet at lunch by the sandwich bar. I would suggest you bring your own if this is essential to your enjoyment of your cruise.

Thanks for the kind words. I do try to only post accurate info as many seem to rush in with guesses or inaccurate assumptions. I've learned lots from other posters over the years and believe in paying it forward. And, yes, Jelayne is also a good source of information. So, relax and wait for the shoreside concierge to contact you. You will have a wonderful cruise in your royal suite!

Celebrity phone reps are basically clueless. Don't waste your time. A couple of weeks prior to your cruise, a shoreside concierge will reach out to you. You can deal with these issues at that time. Or you can book your specialty restaurants on board. I've never had a problem with that on board when in a royal suite or penthouse. Yes, specialty restaurants are included for royal suite guests.

Don't know about Equinox. Summit had iPad Pros in the spring. So it will depend on how successful Celebrity has been in liquidating its existing inventory. Good luck!

We walked to the totem park.

Sitka is a lovely little town, but not with 5000 other pax in addition to the pax from your ship wandering around! There's a lovely national historic park with lots of wonderful totems and an interesting raptor center.

When you purchase (independently) your ferry ticket to Capri, purchase your return ticket at the same time. Just don't pick the last ferry of the day for the return.

"the retreat lounge on the Equinox reminds me of an airport lounge snack area" I thought I was the only one who felt that way! Hope you have a great cruise!

It sounds as if Friends #2 knew the deal. Friends #3 should perhaps have asked a few questions before booking. If they still have time to change their booking, you might advise them of the dinner situation. Then they can change or not, but they will know what the deal is (just as Friends #2 did and chose not to book a suite). Since you didn't organize this, I don't see that you have any responsibility. You will have plenty of opportunities to be together. This is why, when traveling with friends, I make sure we are all in the same cabin class.

But the single staterooms have no storage space. My view is that Celebrity really doesn't want single passengers.