jg51

. We do not have the same "confidence level" in regard to norovirus -- which is why we specified "CoViD-19" in the sentence that you quoted, above. Nevertheless, we are not "worry-warts" about norovirus, for these reasons: 1. Experience has shown us that norovirus [NV] is rarely brought aboard ships. We have been on approximately 35 cruises in 16 years, and we have never become sick (except for a cold or two). We have encountered NV outbreaks only twice -- one slight, one moderate, zero widespread. 2. Various crew members are always carrying out actions that are designed to prevent NV spreads (even more now than they used to) -- for example, the wet-wiping of banisters/handrails. 3. Although NV symptoms are extremely unpleasant, they usually last just one to three days. Fatalities are ultra-rare (0.01% [1 in 10,000 cases], according to one source). 4. We know that some people may tell lies, but each guest must fill out brief a health-related questionnaire on Embarkation Day, making it at least somewhat less likely that NV is being brought aboard. Considering the zillions of passengers that are carried by cruises ships each year -- versus the relatively tiny number of NV cases that occur -- we do not lose a moment's sleep worrying about catching NV ... from buffet utensils or otherwise. Thanks, "jwlane," for giving us the opportunity to share our thoughts about this topic. .

. We have eaten at T.G. many times, beginning in 2010. We have never been served anything that we disliked. Among the meatless (or almost meatless) courses, we have especially enjoyed the eggplant parmesan and the strozzapreti carbonara. . May you have a wonderful T.G. dinner (or two, or seven). .

. As we intend to cruise soon, we are very happy to read that self-service is back. We began requesting it back in the middle of 2021, just after cruising returned. Why did we do such a thing? Because we had already served ourselves (many times) at Golden Corral buffets -- beginning in the second half or 2020! We have never gotten ill and have never heard of any other diner (or employee) becoming ill. We have always disbelieved that CoViD-19 is spread -- to any significant degree (if at all) -- via shared serving implements. We do not pay attention to what is said/written by folks who are "worry-warts" regarding self-service. We do not bash them, however, because we think that they cannot help themselves, due to their excessive concerns having been part of their upbringing. Thanks, "lexmiller," for being a voice of reason in this thread. Your logic is impeccable. .

. Thanks much for that info, C-M-L ... but it raises the question: How in the world were we supposed to know that we should "click on [our] initials in the top right corner"? Why would the screen's designer make something so important so cryptic? .

. Hello, "jelayne." Recently, we saw this (or a very similar) statement on another thread -- posted by you or another CCritic member. When we went to our account page (where we could see our booked cruises), we tried absolutely everything we could think of to find a link labeled "Order History," but it was nowhere to be found -- and none of the other links got us to any record of a beverage package. [Maybe you are using an "app" -- which we do not have (and will never have) -- and the display has a different structure, different labels on links, etc.?] We booked "Always Included" [sic] fares -- and later sought to purchase upgrades from Classic to Premium, but we could find absolutely no online recognition of either of those levels of beverage packages! We couldn't even find an online confirmation that we had paid "AI" fares rather than "Cruise Only"! In our opinion, the "X" site is remarkably shabby. We would have been fired from our former jobs in IT, if we had produced such a mess. Anyway, we had no confidence or peace of mind until we later printed our boarding passes (after online check-ins) and saw "CALL, PALL" printed on them. . After fourteen years with "X," we are seriously thinking about saying, "Adios." .

. Speaking as 14-year veterans booking our own Celebrity cruises (including multiple cruises during the past year) ... "Calling early in the morning" [in the "wee hours"] used to be helpful -- but definitely no more. Several days ago, our call before 5 AM resulted in a very long wait, and, when we mentioned this, the vacation-planner said that he and one other person were the only people answering all the calls. We now believe that "X" either (1) is having trouble hiring people ... or (2) is able to hire but unwilling to do so [due to reluctance to pay the salaries]. Moveover, "capecodmercury" (the OP) wanted to get help specifically from a Captain's Club representative. There is no point in OP "calling early in the morning" to reach such a rep. If we are not mistaken, the CClub reps don't start working until 7 or 8 AM Eastern time, Oh, one can dial the CClub number at 3 AM, but the call will simply be transferred to one of the "skeleton crew" of ordinary vacation planners. Yes, the Internet site has been pretty darned bad to us, over the past year -- and this should be embarrassing to "X." [We have to laugh when we hear all the propaganda about the corporation winning awards!] It's not that the site has been doing weird things to us, but rather that it is horrendously slow -- and it forces a potential guest to go through too many "screens" to reach a destination. Because of poor design (systems analysis) that shows a lack of intuition/imagination, it takes at least twice as long to do some things as it should take. In addition, X's programmers seem to have begun to use techniques/coding/scripts that our browser cannot handle, so we have to leave home and use someone else's computer to get things done. We can no longer even do an online check-in at home. . The OP's first sentence was this: "Well, called the Captain’s Club number." 😜 .

. We have been aboard both the Summit (twice) and the Equinox (three times), over the years. We were on both ships during the second half of 2021. We greatly prefer the Equinox, for multiple reasons. We booked the Summit the first time (several years ago) only because Solstice-class ships do not visit eastern Canada. We were aboard the Summit the second time (in 2021) out of curiosity -- to see how much it had been improved by the modernization. We will never go on the Summit again. We will soon go on the Equinox again (Heaven willing). Thanks for asking! .

Thanks, Oolie, for that helpful information. If you happen to see one of the crew members that managed the back-to-back transition -- and if it would not cause you an inconvenience -- could you please confirm or refute your suspicion (that anyone testing positive would have been forced to leave, even if asymptomatic)? Since we have not gotten a reply (from Jim) to our other questions, may we further impose upon you? If you do speak to a well-informed crew member about this subject -- and if he/she says that a positive test would prevent "consecutive cruising," then ... What happens to the unlucky "ex-guests"? Do they have to stay in a hotel for some days? Does Celebrity help them to fly home? Do they get a full refund or a 100% "Future Cruise Credit" and/or something else? Thanks again. .

. Thanks for the review, Jamie. Sorry to read about your health-related misfortune, but glad to read that your symptoms were not terrible. The first post quoted above was directed to Helen Haywood, but she did not respond. We would like to direct the question (written by "39august" to you), Jamie. Did you hear anything about recent back-to-back guests being tested on the final sea day (as was done to us on Equinox in September, 2021)? A Celebrity employee recently told us that she was not aware of virus tests now being performed aboard (on back-to-back guests). She said that, if a back-to-back guest were to report being ill during the first cruise -- and if CoViD-19 were confirmed (in the Medical office) -- the guest would be allowed to remain aboard for the second cruise ... but in a temporarily quarantined status. [Of course, we have no way to confirm the accuracy of her statement.] Sorry about your tough luck, Jim. During what month was your unfortunate test administered (just before the Reflection docked at Southampton)? What happened after you had to leave the ship? Did you have to stay in a hotel? Did Celebrity help you to fly home? Did you get a full refund or a 100% "Future Cruise Credit" and/or something else? Thanks, in advance, for your replies. .

. We will not consider anything to be "good news" except for the [soon-to-be-announced?] news that all pre-cruise testing requirements have been completely dropped. We think that they should have been dropped weeks ago, if not months ago. We will not cruise again until this happens. We cruised on "X" ships in September, November, and January. Because of the potential for a "positive" (even a "false positive") finding -- with all the possible ramifications thereof -- we experienced the great stress and expense involved in being tested twice (each month) on the last or second-last day before the embarkation days. There was even greater stress in being tested aboard the ships on "turn-around days" before the second of back-to-back cruises, because of the possibility of being "sent home." We will never again expose ourselves to the stress and expense that we experienced. We believe that it is time for things to return to normal (i.e., the way they were before March, 2020). .