the penguins

short term yes. Lots of new passengers who may or may not book again. Sailing from the UK there is no choice and the marketing is, in my opinion, questionable as cabins are only defined as "Balconies" regardless of their type. We will only really know when X develops it's next class of ship. X got it very wrong once before with the M class ships' "jet engines" which failed to deliver the promised fuel savings. The engines were dropped when the S class was introduced.

we have sat on our traditional balcony for around 3 hours on practically every sea day on every Transatlantic cruise - both directions on both the northerly and southernly route.

on Edge - if we take Deck 8 as an example (The other decks with cabins are the same) excluding suites there are: 162 IV cabins and 12 with traditional balconies.

personally we always do this direct and in the covering email ask all the questions we want answered that way we know exactly what to expect when we are at the terminal.

if you haven't already done so you need to contact X ( or get your Agent to do it) and get the Guest Special Needs Form. This needs to be completed and when you submit it you can ask all your questions and request any additional assistance you need. Good luck and enjoy your cruise.

for us - no for 2 reasons: 1) the location of the cabins - deck 7 is as high as we go and close to midship. 2) Dining - we eat as a couple every day at home and one of the highlights of cruising is sharing tables in the MDR (Select table of 6 ). Not right or wrong just personal choice.

As X committed (gambled) to building several E class ships before the first had even sailed we won't know how successful the IV is until X launches its next generation of ships. I believe Icon only has a few IV's which is totally different. Viking is only one cruise line that has many years of experience with IV's and it chose not to have any on its Ocean Fleet.

With the balcony door open go out into the corridor and close the cabin door and you will hear the whistling. Next open the cabin door and you will get the full effect of the vortex your aircon is creating. The notice on the balcony door saying it must be kept closed is there for a reason.

Edge class operates differently to S class - the OP was asking specifically about Reflection.

Not on Celebrity. Leaving the balcony door open is an absolute no no. It puts tremendous pressure on the system creating a pressure vortex. Additionally as the aircon is shared between 2 cabins it also affects your neighbour. Walk down any corridor and you can hear the whistling created when balcony doors are left open. The balcony doors are all clearly labelled to reminder you that the doors must be kept closed.

Thanks. I assume you travel solo as clearly two people couldn’t use the table as a foot rest. My wife has mobility/back issues and clearly the chairs provide no back or neck support and there is no room for 2 foot stools. The IV seems perfect for passengers who: 1)like the idea of a balcony but don’t actually use it much. 2) don’t need chairs that provide support for the neck or the back. 3) don’t need space for footstools. 4) don’t need a decent sized table. 5) Accept that with the window down there is no aircon or heating. As we mainly cruise on itineraries with lots of sea days and regularly have lunch on the balcony the IV is a non starter for us. We will be sticking to S class. Not right or wrong just choices. Enjoy your cruising.

Just curious. The chairs have low backs and look extremely uncomfortable compared to the high back chairs that recline on the traditional balconies. Can't imagine relaxing on those chairs for the 3 plus hours we spend on the balcony every sea day. Just how long did you sit for?

No, aircon/heating is the samething. Window open everything is off.

not true on Reflection. We always pre book a time. On arrival every one signs in a the desk. Any one with a reservation is escorted to their table everyone else is held in a separate line (or released with a buzzer if there will be a longer wait) until a table is ready

We share one 90 minute package - prepare off line, logon send, logoff, read messages - repeat morning and night. When the first 90 is used decide if the second lot will last the rest of the cruise - if not use it as a discount on a full package for the remaining days. 90 X 2 has always lasted us.

Not on the basic package you would need to upgrade to Premium. For us one of the joys of cruising is to ditch as much of the digital world as possible. We check our emails early morning and late evening and that's it. The TV also stays off except to check our onboard account every day.

First 4 pics were Bora Bora - the rest Mooreia

pics as promised:

we were lucky got in on Solstice

Plus the ships have to enter through a hole in the reef blasted out by the American Navy in WW2 - The size of the gap, depth of the water and the very narrow channel are all limiting factors.

In both Bora Bora and Moorea we did private tours that took us way inland - or as inland as its possible to get. Mooreia: the attraction is definitely the flowers/ plants and the fabulous views that featured so prominently in the film South Pacific. Bora Bora: has just one road around the island - we choose a tour that included some WW2 sites. Both tours featured "air conditioned" vehicles that turned out to be open backed trucks. Both tours had great guides. Pics of both will follow

Surely its: Walk Offs Suites Luggage Tag numbers. The only other split is where you wait (Elite, Assistance etc ) for your tag number to be called. When we didn't need Assistance we waited in the Cafe Al Bacio. With Assistance it's usually Sushi on Five.

You can't. The only workaround is if one of your group is in a suite then they may be able to arrange for you all to get off with them. It worked for us (group of 6), and our Suite buddy fixed it well in advance. Good luck.

Prices: book early is the best way to reduce the costs. Hurtigruten have 12 nights this year from £6316 ( $7800) per person including flights from the UK and 19 nights in 2026 for £6000 ($7500). We did the reverse of your cruise on Eclipse to celebrate our Golden Wedding and had a fabulous time.- we did the Igassu Falls first and then a b2b ending in San Diego.

sorry what locals? there are no residents in Antarctica of any sort except on Research Stations. Hopefully by going passengers appreciate just what a pristine world where animals have no fear of man can be like. Far more tourists and ships go to the Great Barrier Reef every day than have ever been to Antarctica and without any of the controls.