terrydtx

Hawaii no longer has any Covid requirements. Here is the HAL link where you can find health protocols for your cruise. Booking or Voyage Lookup (hollandamerica.com)

We did a tour to Orvieto in 2007 from on a Med cruise and love the village and they make a spectacular white wine from local grown grapes that we love when we can find it at our wine store.

I wouldn't be surprised since they are both part of NCL holdings. I would think NCL use them as well.

What the butler will provide in the mini fridge is always a hot topic, is it or is it not included in the drinks package. Before Covid Celebrity had a "Drinks and More" package that did include premium bottled water and some adult beverages in the cabin fridge. After Covid that package disappeared. I can only speak from my experience post covid in a Sky suite. In 2021 on the Equinox, the first day our butler asked us what we wanted in the mini fridge and we told him that we do not drinks soda but preferred Evian bottled water, red wine and beer, which he kept stocked the whole cruise at no charge. Last year on the Reflection from Rome when we boarded the mini fridge was totally empty and when we met our butler the first day I mentioned the fridge was empty and he said since we had the premium drinks, he would keep it stocked with whatever we wanted, again we got wine, Evian water and beer the whole cruise for no extra cost. Our butler also left a bottled of prosecco on two occasions in an ice bucket. On both cruises our butler also told us that if we wanted a drink from the bar he would be more than happy to get them for us and bring them to the cabin, which they did several times. Is this something I expect going forward? I do not but if it happens I will not complain. My big fear with all the discussion here and Celebrity's greed for more cash this extra from our butlers may end by them cracking down on butlers who give away too much. BTW, I did give extra tips to both of our butlers the last day of the cruise.

Following along with your live thread. We are on the Apex in September from Amsterdam and in a Sky Suit.

Our first stop is Portland. I would love a real lobster roll, not the phony ones in Luminae with hardly any lobster and mostly mayonnaise. We were last in Portland in 2001 and got these for a lobster festival and it was awesome. Our friends who lived there did a real NE Lobster and muscles bake, with a huge cast iron pot over a wood fire. The lobsters he bought that day from a lobster fisherman, and it spoiled us from lobster any where else. Nothing like lobsters in NE, thanks for the help.

We stayed at the Hilton Marina once, but they charged us a $65 resort fee for one night before the cruise and there was nothing close to walk to for food other than the hotel. In June we are spending 3 nights pre cruise at the Hilton Ft Lauderdale Beach Resort before our Equinox cruise. It is expensive but they have one bedroom suites with an ocean view. They also have a full service beach facility with pools and swim up bars.

Eden is dinner with a show and you will need reservations and it costs $$. The main theater does not take reservations, if you are in a Suite on Chic nights a section in the main theater is reserved for suites. Here is the description of Eden for the website Eden Restaurant Dinner at Eden Restaurant isn’t just a meal. It’s an extraordinary culinary journey, featuring an open kitchen, innovative dishes, and three levels of design excellence. Simple. Natural. Delicious. The experience in Eden restaurant is inspired by the cuisines and regions of the world.

True and you can use OBC pre cruise for the package too.

$89 plus 20% in gratuities.

It says in the fine print all adults in the cabin have to purchase the package. Highlights Each adult of legal drinking age assigned to the same stateroom must purchase this package.

Next year we are doing a Boston to Montreal cruise, and I am looking forward to some great cold water lobster and scallops at our ports. Not holding out much hope we will get any on the ship.

Last year on the Reflection our waiter in Murano discouraged us from ordering the lobster, he said they were very small and he was getting many complaints about the size and quality.

We will be disembarking in September in Athens and we have a noon flight to Santorini. We have 4 in our group and have hired a private transport to the airport for the 4 of us in a mini van for 109 Euros total. We are using Welcome Pickups. It is 40-60 minutes to the airport from the ship depending on traffic. Keep in mind that most of the good connecting flights back to the states leave before 11am. The airport is located pretty far outside of the city too. Here is a link to the transport: Welcome - Making travel easy, friendly, personal (welcomepickups.com)

In 2021 Celebrity wanted $16pp for transfers from the ship to FLL airport, sold onboard. We did an Uber for $28 total and didn't have to wait for a bus to fill up. We probably got to the airport while the bus was still loading at the ship.

My Celebrity App for our June Equinox cruise shows the following for Murano entree and no extra charge mentioned: "Murano Lobster, cognac flambeed warm water lobster tail, fresh basil applewood smoked bacon, Dijon cream"

On our last 3 post covid cruises Murano has only offered warm water lobster tails (AKA Caribbean spiney lobster) and they are nowhere as good as cold-water New England Lobsters and for lobster lovers they can be very disappointing.

When you board the crew will try to direct you to the Lido for lunch, but the MDR is open for lunch but the hours are usually limited. Last year on the Oosterdam when we boarded in Trieste the MDR was open for lunch from 11:30 to 1:00pm. The Lido gets so busy and packed during the E-Day and I have never seen the MDR that busy.

On our Oosterdam cruise from Venice last year we had HIA excursion and Specialty dinning credits that showed up in our HAL online account. We were able to book both online and use the HIA credits. We also had $300 OBC from a booking promo for that cruise, but we couldn't use them until we boarded, which is really frustrating. My wife wanted a spa service on embarkation day but we had to pay with a CC before we boarded and once on board we couldn't use the OBC for the Spa reservation and get our CC payment back.

When we fly home from Rome we always stay the night before at the Hilton Hotel at the airport. The next morning you can just walk out the hotel and enter the terminal. The best and fastest flight to the US leaves in the mornings. The hotel also has a free shuttle that will take you to the center of Rome for the day and bring you back to the hotel.

It is an older hotel but still Hilton quality and good for a stay the night before a cruise. They have a nice hot cooked to order breakfast and a bar. Last time we stayed there was August 2021 and the bar was not open because of Covid. I am a Hilton Diamond member so we always try to book a Hilton when we can.

You can also use OBC pre cruise and take advantage of the pre cruise discounts.

Just have to love the Celebrity IT department!

You could take a taxi or Uber, last time in FLL we used the Embassy Suites on 17th street and a taxi cost us about $25. The airport in FLL is very close to local hotels and the cruise port.

The Celebrity app has so many errors pre cruise. No way it would be open those late hours.