baggal

Celebrity is not known for varied and interesting itineraries. We were very recently on a 11 day Southern Caribbean cruise on the Holland America Rotterdam. With the exception of St. Marten and St. Thomas which we had previously visited multiple times, all the other ports were new and interesting to us: St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados, and Martinique. We took the ferry from St. Thomas to St. John for a day at the beach there. And then finally, a stop at Half Moon Cay, HAL's private island (which Celebrity doesn't have). My advise to you is to look at other cruise lines.

You must go to a different Nordstroms than I was in today - in an upscale mall in a New Jersey suburb. There was maybe 12 would-be customers in the entire store and if there were more, there was no merchandise for them to buy, specifically the children's department. On the other hand, I disembarked the Rotterdam last week and the ship was sold out. Yes, there were some shortages (bananas that went "bad" too early) and some slow service in the MDR, but overall we had a great time. IMO it will be many years before the cruise experience, on any line, will be what it was pre-COVID.

Probably not. My husband came down with COVID towards the end of our Med cruise in October. He had a pretty bad cough and sore throat. He hoped to get Paxlovid to relieve some of his symptoms so we called Medical. They would not give it to him because he takes a statin drug. Mixing the two drugs is contraindicated. They gave him some decongestants and throat lozenges and that was it. Thankfully he improved in a few days.

I don't see the point in threads like this one. Either someone wants to take a cruise or they don't. Discussions about real or perceived cut backs, stock prices, etc. are meaningless to most cruisers. I once read that only 1% - 5% of people who cruise are loyal Cruise Critic readers. So you're not reaching a large audience if that is the intention of the OP. No one is forcing anyone to cruise on any line.

Its just not HAL that has casino promotions. Many, if not all, of the main stream lines - Celebrity, Royal Caribbean, Princess, Norwegian, and probably more, all offer discounts/free cruises to their best casino customers.

I'm thinking that those are "quarantine" cabins and those passengers are instructed to leave their trays outside their cabins. Just a thought.

I'd rather wait a few extra minutes for dinner to be served to me than stand in line in the grocery store waiting to do self-checkout and using bags I had to bring from home. Then, go home and cook my dinner and of course, clean up afterward. Everyone's perspective is different.

On our last HAL cruise a year ago, we were able to get cash at the blackjack table and charge it to our stateroom account. Surprisingly, we weren't charged an additional fee. Pre-COVID, the casino charged a fee. Does anyone know what the rate, if any, is now? Thanks.

For me, meals prepared low sodium are a medical requirement not just a preference. I always make note of it when we book the cruise. Then, I discuss it with the maitre d' on the first day. The first night is always iffy, but usually something can be arranged. After that, your waiter or maitre d' will bring you the next night's menu so your meal can be prepared separately without adding salt. Surprisingly, this routine even worked well recently on the Apex where we had dinner in each of the separate dining rooms. And I never had a long wait as longer as I ordered my meal the night before. Be forewarned, most food in the Oceanview Cafe (any meal) has salt added to it. I found it more difficult to make good choices so I tried to eat in the dining rooms as much as possible.

Before committing to 2 to 3 months, why don't you go on a shorter HAL cruise to see for yourself whether its what you're looking for in a cruise line? This way you can form your own opinion.

Thanks! I'll make the $12 investment and unless my bags are nearing the weight limit, I'll bring them with me.

Sorry. John's answer was to my question about cabin wall hooks on the Rotterdam. You may be confusing this thread with another one.

Thanks for the info.

I apologize in advance since I'm pretty sure I saw a post about this but now I can't find it. We're going to Norway this summer on the Rotterdam and since we'll have jackets, etc. I want to get hooks for the cabin walls. I never had the need before, but I would like to use them on this cruise. What should I get that will stay on the wall? Thanks.

FYI: Surprisingly, Celebrity was very prompt in reimbursing us for days missed due to my husband's quarantine. United Airlines, too, was very cooperative in refunding the points we used for our original flights home from Rome, as well as taxes, etc. However, its been 4 weeks since we came home and filed a claim for the new flights which was $2,700. BTW, we did cancel our upcoming Celebrity cruise in May.

Having learned the hard way (husband came down with COVID on a Celebrity cruise this past October), the doctors on board are reluctant to give Paxlovid to a passenger because you must stop taking your statin drug while you are taking the Paxlovid. I'm guessing they are fearful of a worse outcome without the statin. FYI, we've been on 3 cruises since the beginning of this year. We ALWAYS took our home testing kits with us. This last time we needed to use them. Why wouldn't we want to know? But a word of advice, if you do use your own kit, DO NOT DISCARD it in the anywhere in the cabin. Keep it locked up in your luggage. You never know who's checking your trash...

Because the Italian government regulations prohibited us from disembarking in Civitavecchia when our cruise was over. That caused us considerable stress and anxiety, not to mention the $2700 (!) for new flights home from Spain. We submitted claim to our travel insurance but their already giving us the run around. I've already been to Italy several times so no need to go back somewhere that wouldn't let us in.

Not at all true. We were on the October 17 Apex in the Med. About halfway through the cruise my husband came down with a terrible cough and sore throat. We self-tested and he was positive. He asked me to call Medical, which I did. They moved him to a cabin on deck 3 that they called a "medical" cabin. It had a porthole. It was in a corridor that had approximately 10 cabins behind a locked door. Each cabin had a stool outside where room service left his meals. He could ask for clean towels, etc. but everything was left outside. Since I tested negative, I was able to stay in our original cabin. I was not quarantined in any way. My husband recovered within 3 days. But, he was not allowed to return to our cabin. We were scheduled to disembark in Rome to fly home but guest relations informed me that Italian regulations prohibited guests still testing positive from disembarking in Italy. We would have to stay on the ship for two extra days (no charge to us) until we reached Spain where their regulations were not as rigid. The ship was beginning a transatlantic. We disembarked two days later in Valencia. The ship arranged for a taxi to the airport where we took a flight to Zurich and then a non-stop back to Newark. My daughter back in the states made the flight arrangements for us. Some lessons learned: We were completely vaxxed, boosted, and had our flu shots before we came on board. He could have gotten it anywhere but as the cruise went on, there was a noticeable amount of coughing by the passengers. Interesting, that the crew had to start wearing masks on the TA portion. I WILL NEVER STEP FOOT IN ITALY AGAIN. And we're still deciding what to do about our other upcoming Celebrity cruises. At the beginning of the TA they moved me from my verandah cabin to a basic inside cabin even though I offered to pay for any other type of cabin. It was a glorified broom closet. We all really need to weigh our risks vs. rewards before we book.

Looking for moderately priced hotel (up to $350 night) in Amsterdam for both pre and post cruise. Preferably a Marriott hotel, if possible. Thanks,

I didn't know that but I just checked and they sell them on Amazon.

I still don't understand why the OP can't buy it relatively inexpensively over the counter at any drug store, supermarket, etc. You can also get a generic type which is even less expensive (CVS, Walgreens, etc). For it to really work well, you need to take a dose BEFORE you board the ship (ideally that morning) and then continue while you're on the ship. If you start taking it once you are sea sick, its not nearly as effective.

What do mean Greece and Turkey are not happy campers? This is the first time I am hearing about any problems.

I would take it either way.

Corn on the cob is always included in a traditional lobster bake. That was just a variation.

Have you read or seen any of the news reports of the heat waves that blanketed Europe this summer? I'm sure you can plan on more of the same next summer. For that reason alone, I wouldn't do a Med cruise in August. As for the Alaska cruise, I really don't know what you mean by passenger demographics. But if you're unsure about the Millennium why don't you look at other cruise lines? All of the main stream cruise lines as well as some of the premium lines have very good Alaska itineraries.