SHIP TRAVELER

We will be in Bonaire on October 22, 2022 on the Celebrity Summit with an arrival time of 2:00 and a departure time of 10:00PM. Because we don't have much daylight we are thinking we should just try for a glass bottom boat experience to try to see some fish and coral. We are not big into snorkeling. Just wondering is anyone has tried this in Bonaire? Do you see anything worth the price? Is it possible to book on shore on the day of arrival? Thanks for any input.

Congratulations on your nice wins. We like video poker also. The double double game you played was 91.22% compared to 95% for 6/5 jack or better. The worst part for us is that big 52% variance compared a 19% variance at Jacks or Better. We are not as lucky as you are so we play the boring games where our money drains slower. Even black Jack players that split tens sometimes get lucky. I think a lot of Vegas bartenders are addicted gamblers looking for a big win that they will quickly give back. Just a different perspective about odds. It is good to see big wins in ship board casinos. We were thinking how seldom we see any one win with a royal flush on a ship when we read about your wins.

On S class ships the Elite Coffeehouse is usually in Tuscan with great views out the big AFT windows. It stays open later than the MDR for breakfast. If we have an early breakfast in the buffet we sometimes come in just for special coffees when we don't have the drink package. The fresh juices and smoothies here are good also.

Different perspectives abound here. I wish the Summit was not going to stop in Bermuda in Oct 2022. It is costing us $80 US (and some paperwork) for a few hours and we will not even be getting off the ship. We cannot board the Summit until we pay the $80. I hope the requirement will be dropped and you have a good time in Bermuda.

The $5 match play coupons are perks from the Captain's club and the number you get is based on your level. Elites get three per person. They are no longer actual coupons left in your cabin but are loaded on your sea pass card. Different ships handle them differently so just ask at the cage and they will either hand them to you or send you to the tables pit. You do have to bet your own money with them in a matching amount to play them. It is fun to place a bet on roulette red or black three times. Sometimes you even win....

Same for us on the Solstice in Aqua with AI. This kind of "glitch" wastes a lot of time and $$ for travel agents and X phone reps. Luckily we are retired and have time to waste but in this job market I'll bet X would rather be booking cruises than wasting time confirming that it was an IT error for hundreds of callers. Just saying.

We attended a life on board talk on the Solstice where during the Q and A the Hotel Directer/Manager was asked when the crew would be able to stop wearing masks. Her answer was that there had been a trial on the Summit recently and the test had to be stopped after three days because of cases. She was a sharp lady and I think that she and many others really wanted this to work but had to admit at that time that it did not. Maybe they are trying another test. At least we know that they are paying attention to the situation and results.

As hcat said. Make sure you have it in writing and bring the written info with you. Sometimes what is agreed to on shore does not get shared with those on board. We have had to take something in writing to Guest relations/ the Retreat Manager before. It certainly makes things easier to settle.

There is some variance in different games but on the 6/5 J or B video poker it does not matter. Playing $1.25 a hand or $5.00 a hand the payout is the same lousy %. so the same. Some of the bonus video poker game schedules are below 92%. The 6/5 J or B is a flat 95%. If you buy credits before you board or during on board promotions you get an extra $5 per $50 buy in to help offset the house edge. We obviously play for entertainment with OBC but try to make up part of the poor odds this way. We enjoy Video Poker so be play that along with craps, black jack and Ultimate Texas holdem. We don't play regular slot machines. We love the non smoking casinos on Celebrity.

We did the side by side shuttle between the Reflection and the Apex in Feb. 2022. I personally would take other transportation if I had it to do over again. It is NOT walk able. We were added to one of the last buses heading to the Airport. There was a small group of Side by Side people to various RCCL and X ships. We waited nearly two hours outside terminal 25. This was frustrating in the extreme for us. The fact is they want you off one ship well before the terminal opens to check in at the other ship so you are going to have to wait one place or the other. We were in suites on both ships which helped with the line at the Apex.. I just wish someone had explained the wait to us so that we could have eaten a very slow breakfast and stayed on the first ship until they kicked us off. Shuttle was free but I think $5 or so bucks would have been better than STANDING not knowing what was going on, wondering if they had forgotten you etc. It was chaos outside of terminal 25 with no one telling you about the wait or that we would be on the last bus. There was a crowd of people ahead of us waiting for a bus to the airport and there was trickle of buses coming in and loading. Just our experience with side by side. Both cruises were great but the "move day" was stressful.

We sailed on the Solstice in August to Alaska. I thought the public areas looked OK, everything was clean and in decent repair. Our issues were with the cabin and they were also minor. We had a cabin on deck six forward which may have been a quarantine for crew previous to Alaska where new crew comings and goings may have been limited. The curtain to the balcony was just a dark out plastic shade (with the usual pinprick holes) that was loose at some places from the hooks at the top. There was no filmy inner curtain or colorful outer curtain. We did not complain to the steward about this, if we had maybe it would have been changed out. The other thing was the veranda furniture which did look awful., It was the older style combo wood and metal with reclining backs. It had badly peeling paint on the metal parts and the wood parts were bleached and out dried out and almost looked splintery. We did not use the veranda for setting because it was cold and wet out. I doubt if the steward had access to other veranda furniture but we did not mention this either. Otherwise the bed was good the cabin was very clean. The crew was GREAT. The entertainment and cruise director, Giuseppe, were also great.

Looks like lucking into a perk bottle of wine mid cruise is now out of the picture. Good to know anyway.

yes on Solstice end of August

I agree this is just a new way to run "hot seat prize" night in the casino. On an April cruise my name was drawn (while I was playing) and I had a choice of several "ladies" prizes donated by the shops. I would have liked free play better (not offered) but took perfume. I gave it away to our daughter when I got home but free is free and it is fun to win.

I am in the good riddance group. It was stale and predictable. I think there are new things that will be fun for groups they can come up with to replace it..

On an August Solstice sailing we were told 48 hours before boarding that our two offers were ...rejected via an e mail. We were already enroute to the cruise. They keep you hanging until the last minute if you are rejected.

We just returned from the Solstice on Friday. Deck six was all open. The only doors I saw shut off were on one side of deck three. I know of no cases. There was not a lot of coughing in the shows in spite of the self serve buffet. Not a good answer, just some recent observations.

We are just off the Solstice and I noticed the difference. We went to the welcome event with passed appetizers and free drinks, we went on the back stage tour (it went backstage), we went to the party with Senior officers in Cellar masters, again drinks and appetizers and live music, we went to a very good wine tasting with a polished presenter and decent wines (not same old same old.). There was also a pop up Elite and above helipad sail in event that we were unable to attend due to dinner plans. Rose, the Captains Club hostess visited with us everyday that we attended the Tuscan coffee house event. Sadly, these events were poorly attended because there were not a lot of Elites and above on the cruise. I would encourage more to support this effort so that it stays around.

We didn't get one in a standard balcony on the Solstice last week so I think you can't count on having one in your room. I think many people already had them and did not even take them when available.

Waiting for a response on a move up There is still one or two cabins available in my requested category.. Bid at least a month ago. Solstice sail on Friday 8/26. Today is Wednesday still pending. When do the rejection notices usually come out. We fly out this afternoon to Seattle and are antsy.

When we were testing at the Hilton using E med my test (Abbott) went fine..negative. My husband did the swab part and put it in the card to wait for results. When he folded the card over it would not stay closed. Rules required that it stay closed and flat without being held closed or touched. His test was negative but proctor could not certify it. We didn't have a back up test with us so to the Rome airport we went for a live test. E med did give us a replacement for the bad test kit but just a warning that it is not over until you have the certified proof in hand.

It may be a staffing issue on some cruises.

The travel Gods really love you....they don't love my DH, if he is in the traveling party, things will go wrong just because. His E MED test didn't stick closed properly and was invalid. He had to test in FCO before our flight home in May. Thank goodness we don't have that hurdle now. There were two good sized lines at opposite ends of the terminal to get ticketed and clear security. You made better time than we did.

For those trying to figure out the possible criteria for the free cruises....it is not triggered by the purchase of casino slot credits to get the discount because we regularly buy credits with OBC before the cruise to get this discount. No e mail offer for us. We called anyway and were told we could not get the perk unless we got the email....but I think if you are a"whale" you might get it. We are just ONYX.

When we went on the Reflection we had the Lobster and I thought it was very good. It was far better than the ones in the MDR. It had a creamy sauce, maybe not for lobster purest but for me it was very tasty presentation.