NutsAboutGolf

I saw that and the last app update was a week ago

That's Celebrity for ya...lol...But I'm overall happy that at least some with older phones can use the app

There's only a handful of non-suite staterooms with real balconies, they are under the room type of balcony and are port-hole rooms and the balcony is so shallow, you can only fit comfortably if the chair is at a 45 degree angle. On the other end of the spectrum, all suites do not have IVs

To stay on topic...How much do you tip the steak master class chef? With that out of the way... 🙃 Great looking steak and sear. I've been a big fan of hers and saw the video before, I just watched the conclusion as I didn't remember her cooking method. She does an old-school reverse sear, with an oven yet presents different temps/times relative to its thickness and sears each side for around 90 seconds but says to use your judgment. I haven't tried it but will; she doesn't pre-salt, I don't agree with that If you want a faster result, as I mentioned earlier, "Cold sear" putting a cold steak in a cold pan is all the rage as it comes close to SVing and is fairly fast requiring only a skillet. A test chef for ATK/CI claimed they developed the method, here's one of their videos, the cold sear method starts around 5:15 Also on ATK, I haven't seen this anywhere else (not say they were first) but you put 1/4" of oil in the skillet and you pick up the steaks for a second before putting it back to ensure the oil is getting into all the nooks and crannies. You're pan-frying it but the results are gorgeous crust

When they first reinstated it after the restart it was for one ship only, the reason I mention this is that I'm not sure if it's yet available on EVERY sailing. So if someone says "Yes, I used it last week!" it COULD be ship-specific. Perhaps someone who knows for sure will post

You do not need the internet to access your pass within the X app, you may get a popup that says "no connection" but doesn't stop you from accessing it. Was recently behind an elderly couple who didn't have phones, I thought this was going to be a 5min thing and looked to see if I could jump into the back of the line at either check-in person beside me but to my surprise, it only took the staff a few seconds to look them up and validate the info matched their passport

Trying to be helpful, what information are you specifically looking for when you ask if it's "similar"?

How's the cliche go, opinions are like noses, everyone has one! A certain ex-president orders his Peter Lugers steak extra well done with a side of ketchup; I've never been president, who am I to tell him to order his steak differently? I share why it's better or worse to do something a certain way. This is why when you sous vide a steak as you get a better taste that's difficult to accidentally overcook it

Come to think of it, once you pay the cover, you have 3 options, they cook it for you, you can cook it without assistance or you can cook it with crew assistance?

The $20 upgrade was on board at future cruises (for me, whenever I called the BCC, they had no idea what I was talking about when asked about the $20 upgrade)

There are very few datapoints out but one theory is that if you have a fully comped room, you can receive the OBC if you pay to upgrade your room type. There were a couple of people claiming they were able to receive the OBC back when you could pay the $20/night fee to upgrade to AQ

We haven't been as lucky. Mistakes happen, no biggie, but in both cases, we were told they'd be crediting it (we never even signed either receipt) and in both cases, they never issued one. They might as well tell you "Our bad, to receive a credit go to guest services"

You are correct that 99% of the time, 4mins on high is too much; I missed it was high heat earlier Many restaurants and pro chefs pepper their steaks before cooking, pepper does burn but the taste is a good one. Can pepper before and after. Here's an example from the most famous pro chef on the planet

First, need to stay on topic, does celebrity have a steak and fish cooking class? With that out of the way... Here's serious-eats article on SVing salmon, it gives the complete breakdown with different SV temps, skin on vs skin off, etc https://www.seriouseats.com/sous-vide-salmon-recipe

Next time you should give grilling your steak cold a shot to see if you notice a difference. I totally understand some are just set in their ways, including people who perpetuate the myth that you NEED to pour oil into your boiling water for pasta. The claimed purpose of the oil is to prevent pasta from sticking together, but we've learned that's not true and therefore wasteful. Heck, even for steak the myth of, "sell the sizzle, not the steak", was coined in the 30s, we now know it's better to let the steak rest which means it won't be served sizzling unless some additional steps are taken and are rarely done (think ruth chris). You're Vegas steak most likely wasn't served sizzling, correct? Isn't science great?

Yup! I just wanted to point this out as sometimes people freak out over cooking plastic despite having no problem microwaving food in/on plastic. Most Sous Vide machines cannot even reach 200f which is when some plastics start to release their toxins. You can also use reusable dishwasher-safe silicone bags

Sous vide keeps the interior of the steak medium rare as you don't have that well-done gray outer band. It's also foolproof cooking as you pretty much set it and forget it

Several sources state an App's annual maintenance costs are 15%-20% of the app's initial development costs. I have no idea how much X paid for their app but it's downloaded and used by a lot of people so you'd imagine considerable costs Do you have a source for your claim that more people use 16 than use 17? I just googled it and the first two answers were more use 17...

Simply put, cutting iOS 16 support is another cutback Thanks for providing the email, I'm not trying to discourage anyone, you have nothing to lose by emailing them. But I'm trying to manage expectations as this isn't a developer issue where something like a bug is preventing people from updating. It's a financial decision by RCG since RCI has also cut iOS 16 support

It’s the same with RCI, requires iOS 17. They simply don’t want to spend the money to support iOS 16 or older. I don’t think a few dozen people asking for X or RCI to support iOS 16 will cause them to spend money on it. They’ll probably just suggest workarounds including buying a new tax free iPhone on your next sailing…lol

I've found Celebrity/X on Twitter/X is responsive, but I'd guess they rarely reach out to those in the Exec offices

It's only happened to me once. The issue is, that there isn't "uncertainty", they just give you a receipt with a pen. I mention it should be free as I'm elite plus, they respond "Not on embarkation day", it's only when another seemingly more senior worker corrects them. So from now on, I confirm with them it is free

Six months ago I mentioned the embarkation day exclusion to Celebrtiy/X on Twitter/X, wouldn't be a training issue if they removed the Elite happy hour embarkation day exclusion. I also mentioned RCI doesn't exclude it. Like when I asked them earlier about X serving inferior spiny tail lobster while RCI and Carnival serving superior Maine lobster, they replied "We're happy with the current offerings"

I just want to point out for anyone reading this, they like one drink at a time per seapass. They've made exceptions for me when Ms. Nuts was still asleep and I didn't take her card but just pointing out the rules don't allow you to get 4 drinks at a time

I've had issues in the past, and what seems to work is to say "There should be no charge because I'm elite plus, correct?". One issue was the crew member didn't even know Elite+ shouldn't be charged in the first place which was surprising, the other time they said there was a charge for it on embarkation day. In both cases, a more senior crew member corrected the crew and promised I would receive a refund. Never did, had to go to guest services