wineoclock

We took our own last few cruises. For our cabin. Last cruise Cristal. Very nice. Usually take Billecart Salmon also nice but Cristal in another league!

U.K. our go to travel agent we have stopped using the last couple of years as it generally was a bit higher. Crux one year we booked an expensive land tour & didn’t use another agent we know (personally) as I thought the deal wouldn’t be as good. Turns out they were the main agent in the first place. Lesson learnt. Now we book direct with cruise line as I also can’t no longer be bothered to hunt around.

We were talking about doing an Alaska cruise when on Apex last year. The general consensus from seasoned cruisers was Princess rather than Celebrity but that we wouldn’t be disappointed if we stayed with celebrity.

We generally tip extra also. There is sometimes, someone we forget, when doing our calculations. So now we take 2/3 extra envelopes with us, with just our room number & name on, so that if we see someone we’ve missed out, they don’t. It doesn’t often happen but we aren’t perfect!

There is a gluten free section (& deserts) in OV but you need to be super vigilant due to others. I’ve always been accommodated well with gf bread. I occasionally choose the day before but not always. There is usually something I like or that can be adapted.

Time to investigate P&O I think if X goes the smoking route. Dog walking friend sails P&O, Princess & Cunard (cut above for Cunard).

We were on Silhouette in Aqua for the first time in May. Did not get any snacks delivered. Blu was excellent, as good as Luminae imo. We dined in Tuscan & Murano. Personally thought Tuscan wasn’t worth the upgrade as Blu so good. Lunch in OV was decent on sea days but not what we are used to in Luminae. I suspect will be same for you if coming from Viking. Silhouette is a beautiful ship & I wouldn’t hesitate to do Aqua again on S class.

It should be nice & sunny. May get the occasional bad day but on the whole will be nice. Pack a cardigan for the evening as it’s usually a bit cooler.

Does Azamara have casino’s? Dh likes a flutter on board & we sail celebrity as we like the vibe & non formal dress code. We will probably be looking to move after our next cruise with them if the vaping policy goes fleetwide. Looking at Oceania. Considering MSC Yacht club as well.

One of the reasons we stick to CS on E class. I don’t think the RS or PS merit the price tag without a proper balcony. EV out as I’m limited mobility.

Non smoking & non vaping indoor helps differentiate Celebrity from other lines. If they change this then we may as well look at other lines. We generally sail suites & dh is in the casino nightly.

Thank you. We cruised Norway on silhouette in May/June & I still managed a balcony!

Thank you for this thread. With retreat pricing looking to switch after our next cruise. (Just got to persuade dh!) So we are in X penthouse when sail with our kids & CS when just the two of us on E class as I prefer the bigger balcony than the RS on E class. So what would be similar to CS please in YC? Thank you

Just saw this on BBC news page. Think other cruise lines will also be impacted?

Interested in possibly trying Oceania one time. But husband spends a lot of his evenings in the casino so would need to be one. However if X brings carries on with their experiment then he won’t spend any time or £££ there!

We were on Silhouette in May. For sailing into Olden the captain opened up the helipad at 5am. I went into the OVC at 5.30am as I wanted coffee. (Was up at 4.30 watching some from my balcony.) By 6.30am we had reached the end of the fjord. Absolutely worth getting up for & breathtaking. Husband missed a treat. Was not the same view sailing out later in the evening.

We used this company on our recent celebrity cruise. But please note they also used coaches but cheaper than the ship’s excursions. https://www.norwayexcursions.com/en/search-tours/?tour-search=&tax-tour_category=fjord-tours&tax-tour_tag=&tax-tour-destination=&tax-tour-activity=

For me E class ships only retreat will do as I like a proper balcony not a pseudo one. S class we’ve done Aqua & would do so again depending on itinerary & number of sea days.

The wines in the premium package are just not really good enough & we end up buying a few bottles. Life is too short imo to drink poor wine.

Every X cruise I’ve ever gone on I’ve requested a kettle. I always take my own teabags. Twinings everyday.

Proper balcony? As opposed to the IV? I’d have booked the proper balcony in the first place 😁 not helpful I know. I’m not a fan of E class though unfortunately husband is. I prefer S class, so go for it. It’s a great way to travel. Lots of places & you unpack once.

I’m starting to voice it. I’m at the age where I’m retired so no longer care about keeping my job by voicing for the silent majority. But trying to be respectful at the same time to the few. Easier said than done when they are generally not respectful to me.

We have done 4 DCL cruises when they kids were small. Stick to Celebrity now. DCL were phenomenal for when the kids were small, now I prefer a more adult line.

For us we like the Celebrity S class ships. M class too small & E class too big, though my husband has persuaded me to go on Apex again next year. On E class it’s retreat or not sailing as I don’t like the IV. I also like not having a formal night. I worry about SS or SB as possibly too small for me. So looking at regent or Oceania for our cruise after Apex.

We do a mix of both private & ship with more private excursions. Just need to do your research. However on our next cruise we’ve booked mainly ship (at the moment) as we have a lot of OBC. I’m sure once I start my research I’ll be swapping for private & using the OBC for better🍷 than AI wine.