jg51

. Although we are open to correction, experience has taught us that the above names are pronounced as follows (with upper-case indicating the accented syllable) ... Wayan is like the English words, "WHY on." Putu is like the name of a famous bear, etc.: "POOH too." Gede is like "geh-DEH" (not GAY day). Made is like "MAH-deh." [When you first see his name tag, you may do a double-take, because it will say, "I Made," and you may wonder, "What did he make?"] Kadek is not like Cadillac! It is like "kah DECK." Nengah is hard to spell phonetically, but you will be close if you just accentuate the second syllable. Nyoman starts with the sound of the "ni" in "onion," so it is like "nyoh MAHN." Komang is like "koh MAHNG." Ketut is like "keh TOOT." You can pleasantly surprise Indonesian crew members by saying one or both of these: [Thank you:] Terima kasih = teh-REE-mah kah-SEE [You're welcome:] Sama-sama = SAH-mah-SAH-mah. .

. When you meet a cruise-ship crew member who has "I Putu" [Ni Putu for a woman] on his/her name-tag, you can be sure that he/she is from the Indonesian island named Bali. (It is one of few [if not the only] predominantly Hindu island in predominantly Moslem Indonesia.) Balinese names are very different from what we encounter elsewhere in the world. A Balinese crew member does not have a family surname, but he/she probably has a "personal" name that is not normally seen on a name-tag. Instead, we will see, "I (or Ni) xxxxx," where "xxxxx" is a numerical word that lets us know whether the person was the first-born, second-born, third-born, etc., within his/her family. The following values of "xxxxx" are used: ~~ First and fifth child: Wayan, Putu, or Gede ... ~~ Second and sixth child: Made, Kadek, or Nengah ~~ Third and seventh child: Nyoman, Komang ~~ Fourth and eighth child: Ketut As a result of the use of this system, you may encounter two or three or even four Balinese crew members with the same name on the same ship. You may even encounter two or more bartenders with the same name. Naturally, they may cause some confusion! .

. Hello, Zack. We think that, when the virus crisis has ended, Quasar will revert to its former uses. The one use that we recall best is karaoke, which was held on the average of every other night (more often if there were an extra-large bunch of good and willing singers aboard). We think that karaoke was cut back (or even temporarily eliminated) on some ships, because of the desire not to share a microphone, expel a stream of germs, etc..

. Sorry to have to ask this question, "sbcs5390," but ... Can anyone confirm or deny what we have highlighted in green, above? We know, for sure, that the above is true of MDR dinners (delivery by Room Service after about 6 PM) ... but is it also true of the lunches that are served in the MDR? We always thought -- perhaps mistakenly -- that we could not order, via Room Service, from the MDR menu during the lunch hours. Thanks. .

. So deceptive and lacking in courage you are, RCG! Naturally, we will start consecutive cruises -- next month -- with a six-nighter, so we will be forced to test yet again, after having been tested thrice (pre-cruise) last September, November, and January ... plus once on-board. All pre-cruise and on-board testing should have been terminated, regardless of cruise length (in our opinion). .

. Hello, "SusieV." We should not have to "write a list of what [we] sent out." The reason for our saying that is this: The laundry list is a multi-copy document (3 or 4 different-colored copies), and one of the copies is for us guests to keep. It is our way of keeping the laundry honest. .

. Hello, "sinned19." If you stick with Celebrity long enough, you will become an "Elite tier" member of the Captain's Club ["loyalty" club]. At that point, you will receive certain free laundry privileges. (Even at the "Select tier," which precedes "Elite," you can get a discount.) You can find Captain's Club "tiers and benefits" listed here: https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/tiers-and-benefits Enjoy your cruise! .

. Hello, "Buckeye94." Although this may not help you on a E-class ship, some (if not all) of the MDR aperitif cocktails are on the menu at the Passport Bar on S-class ships. If we were you, we would go to one or more bars and approach the most senior bartender ... because he/she may have had to work in an (out-of-view) MDR's bar, over the years -- and may know how to make your beverage. If you get a negative response, try another bar, etc.. Also ... we were under the impression [mistaken impression?] that recipes for "X" cocktails were available at all times, to all bartenders -- either in printed form or viewable on a bar's computer screen. A last idea: Go to the MDR on Embarkation Day, and try to get its bartender to write down the recipe for you. Then you can carry it during the cruise, to show other bartenders throughout the ship. Go, Buckeyes! (We've cheered for them since about 1958 -- and briefly lived in Columbus, on Neil Avenue.) .

. So you are saying that Celebrity -- after more than a year of seeing many CruiseCritic members complaining about the foolishness of calling it "Always Included" (when it was only "Sometimes Included" or "Usually Included") -- has finally changed the name -- to something just as silly (if not more silly): "All Included"? It is false for "X" to say, "All Included," because not "ALL" is included. The "AI" fare does not include ... (1) the highest level of beverage package ... (2) the halfway-decent level (speed) of Internet access ... (3) the air fare and airport transfer, if needed ... (4) the excursions that one may like ... (5) any specialty restaurant fees ... (6) the travel insurance ... and ... (6) probably some other things that are not coming to our minds at this moment! Oh, well. Despite the deception/inaccuracy, we wish to cruise so much that we are now booked anyway! Unfortunately, we the public are at the sorry point, in human history, in which most people running businesses are so unethical, dishonest, or ignorant that we must either avoid them completely [e.g., never cruise again] or just sadly shake our heads and pray for them to repent and reform their ways! .

. Dear "busymumofthree," We want to apologize most sincerely to you for not thanking you well enough for the great service you performed in posting a huge amount of detailed information about your experience. We want to apologize most sincerely for failing to show our compassion for the suffering that you and your husband endured, as you so eloquently and movingly described. We want to apologize most sincerely for, in a sense, "hijacking your thread" unjustly -- to ask for everyone's input in regard to our own personal concerns for the future. We should have started a new thread, instead of "jumping aboard" your very special thread. Please forgive us. JG51 .

. Needless to say, "di T," we are thrilled to read what you just told us about your June experience ... and we hope that the same will be true for us in August: NO testing for back-to-back guests! Unfortunately, Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity sometimes do things a bit differently from each other ... so we cannot be certain, at this point in time. May we ask this: What were your RCI ship, your embarkation port, and your disembarkation port? Thanks. .

. Thanks, "wrk2cruise," for going to the trouble of posting this information for us. Reading what you wrote (and linked) caused a new question to occur to us ... On July 18, the CDC stated that effective immediately, the CoViD-19 program for Cruise Ships (which had provided [voluntary] guidelines for pre-cruise and onboard health and safety protocols -- as well as the color classification system for cruise ships) was terminated. So ... in light of that CDC cancellation ... would it be correct to say that no mandatory quarantine (in a hotel) exists any longer for a cruise-ship guest [U.S. citizen] who is forced to disembark at a U.S. port after having tesed positive for the virus/disease? Also ... We read (and understood) the PDF that you kindly linked for us. We noticed the final paragraph, which begins with these words: "The terms of this Policy are valid from the Effective Date below [May 13, 2022], subject to change, and will remain in full force until we choose, in our sole discretion, to update or modify all or part of it. Updates or the modifications may be made and shall be effective without publication ...". If onboard testing of back-to-back guests must (unfortunately and, in our opinion, inappropriately) continue in August, then we hope that Celebrity will allow the pre-June-30 "terms of the policy" to accommodate folks like us, who may fail a test on the last day of our cruise #1. [Further complicating the situation is the following fact, which we didn't mention earlier (in order to keep things simple): We are also booked on a third consecutive cruise! That is yet another reason that we would so badly want to remain aboard during cruise #2, even if we had to be quarantined for the whole darned thing!] Thanks again. .

. Hello, Jim (and "busymumofthree" [OP, thanks for this thread]). Jim, we recall seeing your posts [on multiple threads] describing how you were ... ~~ (1) booked on back-to-back[-to-back?] cruises, earlier this year (2022) ... ~~ (2) tested at the end of cruise #1 and found to be positive for CoViD-19 ... ~~ (3) forced to leave the ship at the end of cruise #1. Jim, we don't understand how/why you were treated so differently from "busymumofthree." Why were you "booted off the boat," while the OP and her husband were allowed to remain aboard (quarantined) -- even into the next cruise (which they had not even booked)? Before we began to read what happened to either of you, we had booked ourselves on back-to-back cruises in August (less than a month from today). Now we don't know what in the world to expect -- and we don't know what precautions, if any, we should take! In other words, we don't know if we should intentionally decrease our enjoyment of the first cruise (always wearing masks, using room service instead of dining rooms, staying away from all other people, etc.) to lower the odds of testing positive at the end of cruise #1 -- out of fear of being sent home (as you were, Jim) and missing cruise #2. Does Celebrity's current (July) course of action -- whether removing people from a ship [Jim] or putting them into quarantine [busymumofthree] -- now depend on the embarkation/disembarkation port/nation, or does Celebrity now do the same thing throughout the world (quarantining)? Is the procedure consistent or inconsistent? Does anyone really know? If we knew, with certainty, that we could remain aboard for cruise #2 (even though quarantined) after testing positive at the end of cruise #1, we would relax and enjoy cruise #1 (unmasked, using dining rooms, etc.). In other words, we would rather remain aboard for cruise #2 (despite the great restrictions) than be forced to go home. [We would hate, even more than being quarantined during cruise #2, the thought of the alternative scenario (being forced to cut the trip short ... packing ... being quarantined at disembarkaion (?) ... flying home ... unpacking ... trying to get refunds ... having to find and book a new cruise and flights ... packing again ... etc.).] Actually, we are hoping that "X" will stop both pre-cruise testing and the testing of back-to-back guests at the end of cruise #1! We are waiting/hoping for such an announcement from Royal Caribbean Group, any day now. .

. Hello, "wrk2cruise." Thanks for that interesting explanation -- an "alternate take" from a different ship, apparently. Your technicians and/or crew handled things admirably! In September, 2021, the Equinox's 50 or more "back-to-backers" were tested by professionals [nurses?] between 9:15 and 9:45. We were not told to isolate ourselves. We were told, "If you don't hear from us by 2:00 PM," you must have tested negative. We didn't like that way of doing things, but it was better than not finding out until 8:00 PM (which was Pennstatedj's fate on the same ship in 2022)! .

. Thanks very much for following up, "Pennstatedj." We were surprised to read that there were as many as "60 plus BTBers." That could help to explain why you didn't get notified all day. It is claimed (on the Internet) that processing a rapid antigen test may take about 15 minutes. If so, it would take one technician 15 hours to process 60 tests (or it would take two people 7.5 hours -- or three people 5 hours). You wrote: "we assumed if you tested positive they would have contacted them" (and we assume that you meant, "would have contacted them immediately"). If that was true, then "X" should also have contacted you immediately, so that you could "rest easy" and not have to worry for eleven hours! It seems logical and just that a crew member should have had the duty to contact each guest as soon as he or she was determined to be "dirty" or "clean" -- at least leaving a voicemail message on each stateroom phone. Saying nothing directly was too impersonal -- unjust to you and bad for business (public relations)! .

. Hi again, "Pennstatedj." Sorry about our needing to "follow up" a bit. Thanks for answering our #2 and #3 questions (about service level [high] and future occupancy [near capacity]). We would like to ask again about something from part #1 of our previous post. You told us about the 8:30 AM test on the last full day of the cruise. You also told us that it was announced that about 1% of the guests had tested positive during the cruise. Those two things are not necessarily related to each other, because the percentage could have been 0% or greater than 1% in the 8:30 AM test. Therefore ... We wonder if you know how many, if any, of your fellow back-to-back guests tested positive. (Last time, we asked it this way: "Was there any word about whether anyone failed the [morning] test and had to go home, instead of staying aboard [the next day] for the second leg of the journey?") We also want to comment that we are shocked that you did not find out until 8:00 PM that you had passed the 8:30 AM test. It seems almost inexcusable for you to have been kept waiting that long -- wondering if you might be forced, at the last minute, to pack your bags (late at night) -- in order to be ready to disembark in the morning, disappointed and/or angry. You should have learned the facts before 12:00 Noon, in our opinion -- unless there was such a vast crowd of back-to-back guests that the technicians could not determine the test results any earlier than 8:00 PM! For the sake of argument ... Consider the possibility that five or more back-to-back people had tested positive. They could have been running around the ship all afternoon and half the evening (having lunch in the MDR or buffet, having dinner in the MDR or a SR, spending time at bars, etc.), spreading CoViD-19! That's why we say that you should have received the results before noon, in our opinion. If they can't do better than 4:00 PM (before dinner), there ought not to be any on-board testing. Thanks again. .

. Thanks for this info, "Pennstatedj." It raises some questions that we'd like to ask you ... (1) You were on the Equinox for back-to-back cruises. Were you tested for CoViD-19 on the last full day of the cruise (across the ship from Celebrity Central, after a briefing)? If so, was there any word about whether anyone failed the test and had to go home, instead of staying aboard for the second leg of the journey? (2) Maybe we are guessing wrongly, but we assume that you had somewhere between 2,200 and 2,350 for the first leg (since not all 2,400 made it to the ship). In your judgment, was the Equinox sufficiently staffed (for dining, bars, and stateroom service) to handle so many people? Or was there an under-staffing problem, leading to various kinds of delays? [We wonder, because we were aboard her last September, when occupancy was (blissfully) below 1,300.] (3) You mentioned a coming "charter" cruise, followed by going up to "capacity for the next couple of cruises." Are you referring to cruises that were about to take place later in July -- or cruises that will take place in August? Thanks, in advance, for your reply. .

. This is a clarification for the benefit of "Cheshire Blue" ... Notice that "SbbquilterUT" told you that "extra entrees will have a fee." We know that, in most of the world, an "entree" is actually an appetizer/starter (as one would expect from the derivation of the word ["enter"]). In some countries (e.g., the U.S.) and on some cruise lines (e.g., Celebrity), an "entree" is what is called a "main course" or "main dish" in most of the world. Therefore, SbbquilterUT is warning you that if you order (for example) two steaks -- or lobster and filet mignon -- it is likely that you will be charged extra. We have heard of amounts in the neighborhood of $10 to $20 extra. It is true, however, that you may order two (or more) of the other items without penalty (appetizers, soups, desserts, etc.). At Tuscan Grille, we recommend eating no bread, but ordering a dessert AND at least one scoop of "fig gelato" -- if you are still hungry. [Bread, because it has a lot of air in it and/or soaks up water and wine, can take one's appetite away in a hurry. The cruise line is counting on that, so that it does not have to serve you dessert and gelato! It can thereby pocket more profit.] .

. For folks (like us) who have neither a phone nor an app, here is our "old-fashioned" way of listing the items on the special lunch (for back-to-back and concierge-class passengers) ... Appetizer: (none) Soup: Butternut Squash Soup Salad: Caesar Salad (with optional Chicken Slices) ----- Entree 1. Whole-Wheat Penne Pasta Entree 2. Moroccan Braised Short Ribs Entree 3. Roast Salmon Entree 4. Grilled Chicken Paillard (or [Turkey] Focaccia Panini) Other Entree options: Hamburger, Cheeseburger, Hot Dog ----- Dessert 1. Warm Apple Pie (w. Vanilla Bean Gelato) Dessert 2. Chocolate Cake ----- Ice Cream, etc: Option #1. Vanilla, Chocolate, and "flavor-to-be-determined" [TBD] Option #2. Sorbet (flavor-TBD) Option #3. Low-Fat Frozen Yogurt (flavor-TBD) Toppings for the above: usually Chocolate Fudge, Butterscotch, Raspberry . Everything is delicious, in our opinion! .

. We have no doubt that the cases will increase, both among the crew members and among the guests ... BUT ... if CDC and "X" judge that the current "strain" of the plague is mild (and manageable), then we've reached the point of having a sort of equivalence with colds, flus, and noroviruses. For none of those three was pre-cruise testing (and masking) ever required ... so there ought no longer to be testing and masking for the weak covid-19 strain [<== in lower case, to emphasize its weakness!]. .

. AND ... the end of tests (on board) for back-to-back guests, on the last full day of the first cruise. Being kicked off the ship for failing the on-board test can be even more traumatic (and costly) than failing a test that precedes the first cruise. In the latter case, "X" will give a full refund [or perform re-booking at a later date?], possibly with no loss for air travel [?] ... but, in the former case, we are not sure about refunds, and we may have to foot bills for quarantine and re-booking of air travel. We are open to being corrected, if we have stated something inaccurate above! Thanks for the potentially excellent news, "AbbyCruiser45"! .

. The (very large) menu booklet at Cafe al Bacio has two pages that list alcoholic coffee drinks. The second of those two pages has drinks that are covered by the Classic package. The first relevant page is labeled "Coffee Cocktails," and the price for each of the six or seven drinks is $12. These are not included in the Classic package, but they can be purchased for the $3 difference (plus the 20% service charge [which is not a "gratuity," because it is not a "free-will offering"]. We highly recommend all but the last of these cocktails, which are normally served "on the rocks." The second relevant menu page -- which does not immediately follow the first one -- is labeled something like "International Cocktails." There are about a dozen of these, and their price ($9) puts them under the Classic package. These are normally served hot (with optional whipped cream on top), although a Cafe manager told me that they could be made on the rocks. We enjoyed these too. Have fun! .

. Hello, "drakes2." Based on replies from multiple members, it appears that things are back to normal. That was NOT the case for us last September (Equinox), November (Summit), and January (Reflection) -- when the special lunch for back-to-back and concierge-class guests was held [ridiculously] on the lower level of the MDR, on the first day at sea. Why was this done by "X"? It was because of the chaos and great boarding delays that took place, during the first several months after cruising from U.S. ports was restarted. Many concierge-class passengers were unable to board the ships until after 1:30/2:00 on Embarkation Day (e-day), so they would have missed their special luncheon. Even more silly than having the special luncheon on the first day at sea was the fact that several of the items that have long been only on the SPECIAL e-day luncheon menu ... were inserted into the REGULAR luncheon menu that was then used simultaneously on the MDR's upper level for all passengers! (We suspected that this was done because the chefs objected to having to prepare BOTH all the items on the special e-day menu AND all the items on the regular luncheon menu.) . In no way were "b2b" and "c-class" guests compensated for the inappropriate way in which this was handled. . We are glad to see that the situation is back to normal. .

Hello, "ScottC4746." You will find lots of info and opinions on this topic in the following (very recent) thread:

. Your comment made our eyes "bug out," because we have had the opposite complaint! We like self-service, because we are usually served too much food by the crew -- and we hate leaving the excess on our plates. We were taught not to waste food. When we serve ourselves, we take exactly as little or as much as we want. Often it is too difficult (or too late) to explain the right amount to crew members, some of whom do not yet speak English well. .