markeb

Honestly, that may be as easy as anything else. Leave the bags at Moynihan, plan on the train to EWR, and explore. They're going to have a decent amount of time. Penn Station is close to the Empire State Building, Macy's, the Flatiron Building, Time Square, and Rockefeller Center. They'll be beat, but it's doable! Although I'm taking notes on princeton123211's recommendations for the future!

Vint Hill is a lot of fun! Wish VABC would let them and Old Busthead (brewery) comingle. We're 15 minutes from their sister vineyard, Effingham. Have a barrel tasting there on Sunday. Our other favorite Virginia winery is Doukenie, also in Hillsboro. Virginia is getting interesting in wines. Way beyond the green pepper Cab Francs and Viogniers of old. Petite Verdot can be amazing here, and not just as a 1-2% filler in a Bordeaux blend. Our other memberships are in Washington. Just find them more approachable than Napa/Sonoma, which I do love. Used to live near Livermore and went to Wente occasionally. Usually visited Lodi instead...

The only time we've done it we were driving and brought something out of the cellar. I don't think we've ever gotten to the port city early enough to track down a good wine shop, although there is a Total Wine near most of the hotels in Fort Lauderdale. I'm probably guessing anything I'd like would be current vintage and not ready to drink...

Old Montreal is the classic area. It's been a long time since I've been there, so no hotel recommendations. Last time we were in Montreal we stayed at the Renaissance. Nice hotel and neighborhood, near the art museum, but a decent walk to Old Montreal.

Yeah. I've actually been known to take a connecting flight through Frankfurt to Munich instead of flying direct. The Lufthansa Senator lounge in Frankfurt is airside, has showers, and a hot breakfast in the morning. And I knew I'd be homeless in Munich once I got there...

The lounges are on the airside at FLL (only land side lounges I've seen are arrivals lounges in Europe), and they're likely to require an outbound ticket. Delta "might" allow you into the SkyLounge, for a fee, since they partner with Alaska. But your luggage will be delivered outside security...

Just looking at the app (which is organized by venue, not by type of wine), it looks like Cattier is the highest end by the glass champagne available. There's their co-branded Celebrity Vintages (which is from Loire not Champagne) and Chandon from California. And I think I saw a prosecco. And an Italian Brut rose that's apparently also a prosecco.

Which airport are you flying into? Getting a car to stop for wine, especially Manhattan, could be difficult.

Probably not. Someone will have the exact language, but it's something along the line of ports and itinerary subject to change. At least for US purchased cruises. EU rules are apparently tighter, but largely as long as they leave and return to Fort Lauderdale (assuming FLL here) and provide a cabin, it's the cruise you paid for. Even if it's not...

I'm not a fan of the tasting, but at least you can do a side by side. If you're cruising with your 4-5 good friends, all on a package, and can share, you can definitely build the tasting. But a series of full, neat pours is going to dull the senses (and the brain!). If they offered a flight (don't think they do), then I'm there with you for most onboard staff. Or just enjoy them one at a time. Still not my favorite whisky, but...

If you can pay for it with OBC, and aren't sure what to do with you OBC, go ahead. Just go in aware that it may not be a great experience. I guess the one advantage to the tasting versus just getting a whisky on your drink package is you try them together with small pours. If they offered a flight (you'd have to pay probably, even with a package) they'd be tasting sized. Four full pours is a lot of whisky in one sitting, and you'll burn out your taste buds before the last one!

Actually, you just need some dilithium crystals to control the matter-antimatter reactions. And maybe a crazy engineer from somewhere in the Scottish highlands...

Are you concerned they're stored with the bottle angled down towards the cork? Which I think is what I'm seeing in the photo? It both keeps the cork from drying out, and keeps air out of the bottle.

Insert bad cruise director extension cord joke…

Are you spending the night in Manhattan? What are you looking for? Good price and good selection is very dependent on your price and tastes. It looks like there are several within an easy walk of MCT, including one on 53rd and 10th Avenue. I'll defer to a local. If you're overnighting, you have different choices. NYC beer/wine/liquor laws can be "interesting", and it's on you if you want to try to walk all over Manhattan to find a couple of bottles of wine! And most stores are very neighborhood oriented.

Yes on OBC. Since the OBC is already "in the bank" you're not going to get the usual hedge against changes in the CAD/USD exchange rate (I assume the OBC is in USD?). If that's what you're thinking, I'd take a look to make sure you know whether it makes more sense to pay them separately now (depending on the exchange rate that I haven't been following). We've done AI on our last two cruises, so I haven't had to do this online, and there was no advantage to me paying in USD to even look for it.

Tilley. One of the ones with mesh so it breathes more. (Mine’s an Airflo, but there could be something newer and better.) A Panama hat looks better, but it’s not as practical.

It’s in the App Store on your phone. Search for Celebrity. Click Get and let it install. Use your online credentials to logon. Do it today, try it, and ask questions! If you both have a logon, download it on both phones and you can each logon

It’s the duty free no age statement Macallan whiskies. It’s not bad, depending on who’s doing it and how many people. We probably had 30 (they oversold and admitted as much) and it was OK to meh. It will be the afternoon of a sea day. It was Craft Social on Equinox. I had OBC…

If you're thinking about pulling currency from an airport ATM, check the ports of call board for that airport. Heathrow, for instance, is notorious for TRAVELEX ATMs and horrible exchange rates. There are no bank ATMs in Heathrow, or apparently Paddington at the end of the Heathrow Express. Probably not a big deal for £20, but I'd generally avoid it if possible. Just be aware And your credit card/Apple Pay is your best option!

The last month has finally explained why the waiters seem incredulous when I order something other than lobster, prime rib, or ribeye for dinner. This is apparently a "thing" that I don't get. I don't have a problem if it's your "thing", but I will never understand it. I've never cared for lobster. On one cruise the waiter was so incredulous that we were ordering something else that he brought us a lobster tail to share. It was OK at best, but not something we'd seek out. Now langoustines at Le Bernardin, oh, my... Prime rib just makes me think of rubber peas and sitting uncomfortably in my Mess Dress at some formal function. It's not a food I select. I do actually like ribeye, but I can cook a better one than I've ever had on a cruise ship, and for whatever reason it's usually on the menu with rack of lamb or lamb chops, which I don't cook myself. Oh, well. Different strokes...

Yes. The form is just for an additional gratuity (I think it actually says tip, for consistency, obviously :). They get charged to your account. OBC gets applied first and any balance gets closed out to your credit card. There's nothing OBC unique to the form.

Pull pounds from an ATM away from the airport. Start very low, 20-50. Odds are you’ll barely touch them.

Are they offering no cost changes? I’d at least look at it. What airport? That would help a lot!

Which doesn't help if they change the seat configuration and you could have grabbed an aisle instead of the middle they stuck you in...