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You could ask on your roll call next time if anyone else is interested. If a group of you book together less chance of cancellation. Yes, agree, we enjoyed one nice experience and then we dined with Mr Knowitall and Mrs Drinkitall…Whilst now we laugh about the experience at the time we felt we had spent a lot of money to sit at a table we couldn’t wait to leave. If we were to do it again I think it would be when we were cruising with friends. Really fancy the market tour. Friends of ours tried it and really enjoyed.

I have never been on a cruise yet when Luminae has not been open lunchtime on boarding day and on all sea days. I would be very surprised if this was not the case on your cruise. I would also guess the days one or other of the other restaurants are generally open at lunch are sea days too. So, if on port days you don’t fancy the standard on board offerings, just a few alternative ideas… Go on the roll call for your cruise and see if anyone has any ‘foodie’ ideas for the ports where you are not planning on doing much. Many posters will be seasoned cruisers who can offer advice on anything from a local ice cream shop to a wine tasting and gourmet meal and all in between. They may already have some plans you can join in. Look at the Celebrity itineraries and see if there is a Chef’s Culinary Tour. Not available always but friends of ours have really enjoyed this. You go to the local market with a chef and then return to the ship and the group enjoy a special meal, usually using some of the ingredients seen. Go to the port of calls section and look up a variety of bars and restaurants and gather a few ideas…If you look for a variety of venues (bar with a view, snack bar, full meal) then you can simply decide on the day what type of dining you want. Simply walk off the ship and enjoy some local food and ambiance… We do have limited mobility now and what we can do on a day often depends on how we feel. If you pre plan and then settle for a snack on the Retreat Deck on a port day it is no big deal but if you don’t plan then fancy something and just walk of the ship with no ideas you can often end up missing something special and paying a lot of money for a poor experience. Enjoy your cruise!

Thoroughly enjoyed reading, thanks for posting!

We were in a RS after the Revolution, the Autumn before lockdown. The suite looked fresh with new bedding and new sofa and chair. Carpet and curtains remaining the same (good condition). It is a well designed room, no issues with layout, storage etc. Our only real gripe re the room was the balcony furnishings. Two recliner chairs with footstools with no cushioning. Whilst they looked nice they were no where near as comfortable as the previous rattan furnishings. Outside table chairs also had no cushions. To be fair there were loads of cushions in the suite but none really fitted comfortably or safely on the recliner chairs. The lounge deck was an asset. Comfortable furnishings and excellent beverage service. There was a snack menu which was also nice. Unfortunately it is both hot and breezy with limited shade and has no water feature. The newly refurbished Retreat lounge had some odd sized chairs and some rather sharp cornered low tables. Service very good. The highlight of the cruise for us was the unlimited speciality dining. Both Murano and Tuscan were outstanding on this cruise in terms of food quality and service level… Hope you enjoy…

Hello again, I am following your posts! I honestly think you may not know until you board and then even then things may change part way through your cruise. I would think a lot will depend on % occupancy, staff possibly in quarantine…Please note my comments are general, we haven’t traveled on E class yet. Historically, in our experience, there are few options open on port days in the Med. Quite simply most guests do go on excursions or at least walk around the ports. Sushi on five on a couple our cruises on port days opened at 2pm and was the busiest we ever saw it at about 4/5pm on those days. I guess a lot of people had returned from excursions tired and hungry and decided on having a late lunch early dinner (Lunner?!?)…A lot to be said for this strategy…head there as you return, enjoy a few nice cold beers as you wait for your meal then later bathe, rest, enjoy a bar and dine late if you want or just grab a late night snack… On sea days I would expect Luminae and Raw on Five to be open… One option you have not mentioned for lunchtime is room service…In our experience the standard menu is fine for a lightish lunchtime balcony meal. Mix and match…chicken noodle soup, Caesar Salad, Club Sandwiches… Whilst you are not fans of the buffet I must confess that once or twice per cruise it is nice to graze….Move from station to station putting bits and pieces together or head for a reliable favourite like the Indian selection…

At least with Lufthansa there are later options…Budget lines are frequently one per day. Next flight we are on (next year) we will be wearing masks and I will have antibacterial wipes for tray etc…I used to wipe down my ‘personal space’ before covid to try and avoid noro… As I am sure you know, early excursions in the Med are almost a necessity at this time of year. You can always compensate with a well deserved siesta…However, I do think you have done the right thing not to book excursions every day, you do also need time to relax, unwind and enjoy the ship…Santorini is my favourite port too. I would definitely recommend an early excursion there (partly because of the heat) but also so you have extra time to perhaps visit the local museum (well worth a visit and easily walkable from the cable car) or to simply enjoy the view from one of the many bars… Enjoy!

Much easier said than done….So many people this year have booked early, paid a premium for direct flights or ones with good timings only to have things totally changed near to their vacation. I must confess with age and a few mobility issues against us we chickened out of flying and opted for a Canary Island cruise from Southampton. Not our favourite itinerary but definitely less stressful this year. Focus on the drinks package as you board, blue sky and sunshine ☀️…. Looking at things from the glass is half full perspective at least you have decent flights out 🤞 Sincere best wishes for a great cruise!

As you say, all about choices…Your post bizarrely reminded me how much we enjoy the AI… Picking up a drink (alcohol or otherwise) anytime of day. Trying a drink I don’t know if I will like but it doesn’t matter, I can just leave it and try another. Asking the sommelier to pair unknown wines to my food. Browsing the internet, having ‘conversations’ with friends and family at home. Enjoying sharing experiences by doing a live thread. Even spending that OBC…nice to treat yourself or a family member. Knowing my general tips are paid and I just need the extra ones. As you say all about choices… What I would like reinstating are some special events…Even with access to the Retreat Lounge we did enjoy a few times a cruise going to the Captains Club cocktail hour…It would be nice if they had an event for E+ too.

Look forward to following…A few months yet until our next cruise….

Forgot that! We were on it very early after the upgrade. Some of the furnishings were rather odd, much more comfortable on Silhouette.

Great news! Thanks for reporting back.

Some rooms (not all) had new bedding and furnishings, some balcony furnishings were replaced. Carpets and curtains remained the same. The Solstice deck (high forward) deck was turned into a suite deck. Nice furnishings but no water feature and limited shade. This was the upgrade which was limited.

Fingers crossed 🤞 for you!

M class, Summit and Millennium S class, Silhouette full upgrade, Equinox partial upgrade (I can give more information if you require, have cruised both). As far as I know that is it. Someone reported a few weeks ago that there are some maintenance slots booked in but these could just be routine rather than upgrade…

So pleased you are enjoying your cruise! We have been fortunate enough to cruise in the M class PH twice…definitely a decadence of space! Make sure you check every cupboard before you leave, we nearly left our snorkelling gear behind, it had a wardrobe all to itself! Much as we enjoyed the inside of the PH to us it was the balcony at night that was the highlight. Every evening we would enjoy a meal, a couple of drinks and then came the decision “show/bar/deck?”…The deck won every time…We would return to our balcony where our butler would have left a snack in the full sized fridge…We would pour ourselves a drink and star gaze…There was always a hum of noise from the sunset bar, enough to be social but not enough to be intrusive….The sound and view of the wake…If I close my eyes I can hear, see, smell and even taste the salty air now…Quite magical. Make the most of every moment…one thing the last few years have taught us all is to not take life and it’s beautiful opportunities and adventures for granted… Looking forward to reading more…

Lovely location and great balcony. We are big fans of wake views! Enjoy…

If you will enjoy the other perks that come with a suite then definitely worth booking. However, if you are happy with your room choice and would simply prefer the premium drink selection why not just upgrade your drinks package? You can either upgrade pre cruise or wait until you are on board, try the classic package and if it doesn’t offer what you want then upgrade. Whatever you choose to do, have a great cruise!

So pleased you are all clear to go….Now you can really feel your cruise is going to happen. We had a great cruise on Reflection some years ago. We loved the extra dining venues. Our only criticism would be how busy the pool deck area was on sea days. Hopefully your cruise is not fully booked and it will not be an issue for you. As I sip my cup of tea, rather less glamorous than your Aviation, I drink to your good health and wish you a wonderful cruise!

We usually book RS or PH. However, I think most suites come with a premium package…perhaps someone on your side of the pond can confirm as UK T&Cs can be different. I think if you use the move up program, however, to upgrade to I suite I think you keep the package you initially had…again hopefully someone who has done this can confirm.

We have never gone via Michael’s or Retreat for an excursion either…last couple of cruises, however, we have not booked ship excursions at all….

Some people are real wine experts and know exactly what they like…Even with the premium package they may struggle with the selection offered. Then there are guests like us…We frequently try house wines in restaurants and although we usually have a premium package because it comes with our room we will often just ask for a fruity red or a refreshing white…Easy on the first few days of your cruise to both order different wines at a bar to find something you like…If you pop by a quiet bar you could ask the bar staff to pour you just a taste of one or two different reds or whites to give you an idea. Once you know what you like take a drink back to your room, order your room service then one of you pops back with both cards to get a second glass ready… I suggest you do bring a few bottles on board simply for convenience if you are planning on regularly dining in suite. Your room attendant will bring you ice twice daily on request so you can chill your white. Great advice to give you some ideas… Also We probably get as much value from our package in speciality coffee, water, soda and the odd (OK frequent) little something to end the meal with. No room is ever that far from a bar… Hope you find the classic package wine enjoyable and that you have a wonderful cruise! Just as a ‘by the way’ you do know you can order your dinner from the MDR menu when it is open don’t you? You are not just restricted to the limited all day room service menu.

Sincere best wishes for a fantastic cruise…

The truck driver was alerted to your suite cases being on board…I would think that there is a good possibility that they have been identified and are being processed for redirection to you. I would keep in regular contact with the company in charge of finding your luggage by email or telephone. We usually have a personalised tag on our suitcases too with name and address and email on and a similar but slight larger name/address/email/phone number on top inside the cases. Did you have either or just the Celebrity tag? The biggest risk to not getting luggage back is if there is no clear contact information. In the meantime I would start making a list of all items so if, in a few more days time, the company in charge of finding your luggage report they have not been successful you will be ready to make an insurance claim. Very odd you were given the #1 tags…Was there any communication between you and your room attendant prior to them arriving in your room or did they just appear? I wouldn’t give up hope yet, sincere best wishes. Please report back (hopefully with good news)…

The reliable inconsistency of ‘additional perks’ add to the difficulty of communicating on CC exactly what to expect when cruising in a suite…All we can all do is differentiate between the ‘official list’ of higher suite perks and then relate our varying experiences.

Hope you are now feeling better.