takemewithyou

1 minute ago, katie8203 said:

We leave from Seattle (Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway, Victoria)

 

Maybe @Ferry_Watcher can advise you.  From Seattle.

1 minute ago, katie8203 said:

See, if we're able to go directly to our room, why not just take our bags ourselves....

Depends on where you are embarking. Where is your cruise?

You can’t take big luggage up an escalator.  They won’t allow it.  You would have to use the elevator,

12 minutes ago, katie8203 said:

Oh I've got them ready to go! 

I have been getting conflicting info - some folks saying we can take our own luggage onboard and put it in our rooms even if they aren't ready. That doesn't sound right. We board at 11:30 a.m. so I'm guessing our room will likely not be ready yet? IDK. I'd rather not hand our bags off to anybody unless we're going to be toting it everywhere for hours. 

I always hand my big suitcase over to the porters and tip them.

My carry on comes on board with me.  I believe you go directly to your cabin where you pick up your room keys and you can put your carry ons in the cabin and go to lunch…..whether room is ready or not.
 

Some one correct me if I have this wrong because I have not cruised X recently. 😀

3 minutes ago, katie8203 said:

This is what I'm worried about - our luggage getting to the right ship. I'm not going to be able to relax until all of our luggage arrives - how long did it take for yours? The last two cruises I've been on, we took our own stuff on. 

I suggest apple air tags!  They are a Godsend.  You will know if your luggage goes to the wrong place!

I learned that hard lesson when Viking couldn’t find our luggage..🤬.  I wish I had the air tags then.  I bought them for the very next cruise! 

1 hour ago, DaKahuna said:

Solstice has Murano, Summit does not.  
Solstice has the aft corner suites, Summit does not. 

The top deck forward on Solstice is the Retreat Sundeck, on Summit it's open to everyone.

 

I would go with Solstice for the greater selection in venue's over Summit.  But it is all personal preference. 

 

Full disclosure, we have done both itineraries. 

 

Solstice has a retreat sun deck?

I thought it had not been revolutionized?

Just now, Oceangoer2 said:

P1, 2, or 3   or all all the same?  I think it's only location of the decks?  I'm leaning that way from X but need a subtle push after all the years with Celebrity.

Usually a PH 1 for me due to location..  I like to be not too far from the Executive Lounge.  Check out the locations of the cabins.  Some have extended balconies near the aft, but may be a few decks down from the lounge.  That may not matter to you.
Hope you enjoy.

7 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

Oceania Vista (2023 build) penthouse suite, priced comparably to or better than X sky suite.

Very nice!   Oceania Allura is going to be beautiful.  Comes out in 2025.  We have two future bookings on it. 

22 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

But moved on to where?  I'm researching other lines and I don't see 'nice' balcony furniture ..... however, they're better than the kitchen chairs and dinky table X provides.  Hard to find pics of what other lines are offering on their balconies.

We have sampled quite a few lines.

Viking has simple chairs that look like wicker but are more like molded plastic type material and dining height table.  No cushions on chairs.

Azamara balconies have two chairs and dining height table.  Small balcony, even in club continent suite.  No room for loungers.

Holland America Neptune suite has two wooden loungers with pads, a big dining table and chairs for four people.  Lots and lots of space.

Our  favorite was Oceania in a penthouse, which is their entry level suite.  There were two really comfortable wicker type chairs with thick cushions and footstools and a small table for drinks.  The furniture was extremely comfortable in which to read, watch the ocean or take a nap.

2 minutes ago, Oville said:

 

To each their own.  Hated Oceania, never again.  Loved Virgin Ocean but not Casino people.

Not wanting to get in a discussion about E class.

To get back to the topic at hand:  I would like at least one lounger on S class sky suite balcony as there has always been and as pictured on web site when I booked it.

1 minute ago, Oville said:

Your lose but we all have our preferences.

Way, way too big a ship!  
No forward lounge. 
Not interested in fancy new X ships.

Prefer Azamara, Oceania currently.

1 minute ago, Oville said:

Your first point is true, E Class never had loungers.

??????  I have never sailed on E class and never will.

No interest.  I just booked a simple 7 day Alaska cruise on Solstice.

Just got a call from Executive office.  Diana.  

1.  She first tried to tell me that there are NO loungers on Sky suite balconies.  She said they are not big enough (lie).  I know better and told her that.  Been sailing X since 2009.  Told her loungers are pictured on Celebrity web site on SS balcony, also.

2.  then she told me that ALL loungers have been removed for “safety issues”.

3. I pressed further and she said you can ask for one once onboard and since you are in the retreat, you should receive it.

Really ? Are they nuts?! This is ridiculous.  We are not Wed to X anymore.  We sail other lines and probably will not be back after this sailing.

SAD.  The impression I was left with is the Celebrity Executive Office could care less whether we ever return.

2 hours ago, catspaw1 said:

That's correct.  My spelling was wrong. Amazon has it for $16.63. I know there was used copies also at one point because I bought it to give to a friend. Their gourmet pumpkin soup is to die for! Hope you will like it! Please advise how you do. 

Bought it.  DH is from Annapolis 😀

Happy to see an IT specialist who is very experienced with versonix reservation system! 

On 6/16/2024 at 6:53 PM, SerraG said:

 

That cookbook had great reviews.  I found a used copy for $3.50 so I bought it.  I am looking forward to trying to make the crab cakes! 🙂

You must have found the last one!  Doesn’t come up  in an Amazon  search for me.

I did print out The NY Times cucumber salad with roasted peanuts and chili recipe.

I really, really enjoyed your live postings.  I looked forward to each one!  So you made me very happy!  I loved your pics of the food and your descriptions.  I share your love of good food, recipes and cooking. 
 

May I suggest that you look in to Oceania?  We did a long TA from Lisbon to Miami last Nov and we really enjoyed the food.  I think you might just love it, too. 

Edited to add:  and Oceania has a great culinary center where you can cook in the kitchen with a chef and taste what you make. A special cocktail is made during each session which you get to enjoy!  You get to leave with a glossy copy of all the recipes!  I think you would enjoy that as well.  I took 3 classes on my TA and enjoyed every one!  The chef was Julia Childs assistant for years!  chef Steph….you can look her up.

Thanks again.

Thanks to @aliaschieffor all the contributions from the World cruise on Onward!  It has made for great reading and the pictures were wonderful!

Thank you for taking us along with you. 

I hope that this tread will continue to be active from other passengers who are onboard any Azamara ship and that they will feel free to drop in and tell us about what’s happening on their cruise! 😀

6 hours ago, MR_T said:

Hi All, 

 

So after 20+ celebrity cruises we finally got round to booking Azamara after wanting to try it for so long. I think we finally grew out of celebrity and really wanted to make the switch and find out for ourselves what we think. 
 

The first cruise we booked was a holidays cruise on Journey this year and really looking forward to escaping a piece of our Canadian winter. The second cruise we booked a week or so ago is for April/May 2026 so a fair wait for that one although we are really looking forward to it as it’s a first time destination for the both of us. And currently we are waiting to confirm a third booking for an Iceland cruise leaving July 1st this year so obviously very excited about that one as it’s another first for us both and also super close so we get to experience Azamara a lot sooner than first expected 😊

 

if anyone has any tips/advise good, bad or ugly please feel free to add a comment ☺️

Looking forward to meeting you on the Christmas and New Years cruise.  I know you are on the roll call 😀

We started sailing Celebrity and Azamara at about the same time…2008 -2009 and we flipped back and forth and then just stayed with Azamara. 
I think you will love Azamara.  You should get a good taste for Azamara on our Journey Christmas cruise. 

We love the passengers on Azamara and always have found them to friendly and interesting and well travelled.  It’s easy to find like minded folks to chat with!   The crew on Azamara is the best ever!  If you make any effort to talk, they will reciprocate and you will make instant friends!  They have a remarkable memory and will soon know you and all your likes and dislikes! 
 

Every cruise has a White Night.  Our cruise it should be in Barbados on New Years Eve and then our Azamazing Evening will be in St Maartens on the dock. 
 

For a tip, I would say be sure to visit the specialty restaurant reservation desk as soon as you board!  There you can make your reservations for specialty restaurants, Chefs Table ( which is a must do at least once) and they will have a calendar marked with White Night, Azamazing evening, and any other special meals such as Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day, etc.  Come ready with some nights that you might want your specialty restaurant reservations.  
 

Looking forward to cruising with you and welcome to Azamara!
 

1 hour ago, WNcruiser said:

Did you look all the way at the end of the email? My email had my new VS number on it at the end after all the benefits. 

Well, guess what I just found I my junk mail folder?

The welcome to the Venetian Society e mail you were talking about with the number at the end! 

28 minutes ago, WNcruiser said:

Did you look all the way at the end of the email? My email had my new VS number on it at the end after all the benefits. 

This is more of a general e-mail.  It doesn’t go over the benefits.

It is personalized to me because it says Welcome and my first name.

There is no VS number.

Thanks.   Maybe this is just the first of the emails …..

9 minutes ago, Chot50s said:

I’m assuming I’ll get a Venetian Society membership number in the welcome email they send when loyalty status match is complete, which I think may take up to 7 days to arrive. I enrolled last Thursday or Friday. My upgraded Venetian Society status shows up in the Royal and Celebrity apps (on the Loyalty Match tab) but no membership number is shown (yet?j.

I did the status match when the announcement first came out.  Today I got a “Welcome to Silverseas” e mail.  Like you, I thought the number would be there.  It isn’t.  Oh well….no cruise planned yet.

1 hour ago, MamaFej said:

I was having a heck of a time getting my statuses matched. I updated my Celebrity app, thinking that would help. Nope. 

 

Then it occured to me that I needed to close and relaunch the app. That did the trick. I feel rather silly for missing that step, but it's done now, and we will get laundry on our Arctic expediton cruise in 9 days. Yay! 

Were you then given a membership number for Venetian Society?

If so, I can not see how to do it.

3 hours ago, Ski Mom 2 said:

Has anyone been on a theme cruise (like a golf cruise) but only because you wanted to be on the cruise and had no interest in the "theme?" Wondering how it would be to not be a part of that group. (One of the cruises I'm looking at is a golf cruise but I don't golf).

We were on a Perry Golf cruise Ireland Intensive 1 year ago. We are former golfers ourselves.  We would have loved to have met some golfers and heard about their “golfing adventures” in Ireland.

Our cruise was not impacted by the Perry Golf group in any way.  We hardly knew they were onboard except for embarkation day when we saw the “check in” for golfers in the Living Room in the front ( port side) as you enter where the big table is.  They are a small group and they blend in to the rest of the passengers onboard.  

I would not hesitate to book another cruise that had a Perry Golf group onboard.

1 minute ago, SerraG said:

 

There are also some classic items that are always available such as Caesar Salad, French Onion Soup, Steak and Salmon.

Are those on the Luminae menu?  
I know they used to be available on the MDR menu?

I don’t think I have  seen any chicken on the menus you posted.

Is there a chicken that is always available?

8 minutes ago, Texed said:

The pastas are wonderful.  Our entire group thought the filet was better than Fine Cut's filet,  The lamb is great.  We loved several different fish entrees.  I am not that crazy about lobster.  But, the poached lobster was very good.

 

If we didn't see something on the menu that caught our eye, we would ask our waiter for his suggestion.  He was always "right on".  😋

Thanks for your suggestions.  Keeping that all in mind 😀