steverk

At first, I thought Royl Caribbean decided to link royalcaribbeanblog.com from their web page. Alas, no. It goes to a completely different place.

On 5/13/2025 at 11:38 AM, steverk said:

I noticed something very interesting.

Looking at the Celebrity website, Celebrity Solstice allows you to search cruises between March 2026 and April 2027. But when you do so, it says "Sorry, there were no cruise search results for the selected filters." This wasn't the case a month ago (in fact a booked 3!).

Could this be the first step toward a redeployment of Celebrity Solstice or is it just a glitch on the website? If it is a redeployment, would Galveston be in the cards?

Leave your thought below!

The answer to my earlier question is a definite "No!"

I just received an email from Celebrity about my March 2027 Transpacific cruise. The V1 prime veranda has been reclassified as a C2 Concierge room. The sailings are back on the website as usual.

It looks like they disappeared while they did the reclassification of the rooms.

I've stayed in 1814, which is an accessible cabin on the other side. I love this cabin. The view is incredible. 

The downside on 1814 is very limited storage space. 

It has been announced the Disney will sail out of Galveston year round. It isn't clear to me if this is the company that has picked up the vacant space from Princess or if it is an expansion of service. Therefore, it probably means that Celebrity isn't picking up those docking options. 

9 minutes ago, FOB said:

Hubby and I did a back to back in 2023. Bought the soda package on both cruises. 
used the cup on the first cruise and rather than getting a second cup we decided to see would it work on the second

amazingly it did - but the message we got about when the chip would no longer work was way out - I think it said something like October 2021. 
so if you have a. Cup from a previous cruise, even if you have used it, it might still work

Be careful you don't incriminate yourself!

I think this is a really great question that many people probably have for many countries. 

As Matt and ChessE4 have said, credit cards are extremely common in Canada and will probably suffice for a few days in port there. More than that, and you'll probably want a little walking around cash. Maybe $50-100 CAD.

My bank has ridiculous fees to convert cash to foreign currency, but you can get cash from any ATM in Canada. 

I'm fortunate as I have another option as well. My local mall has a Florida Currency Exchange/Texas Currency Exchange kiosk. Their prices are reasonable and they have over 80 different currencies. Want a Viet Namese Dong? No problem. How about a Thai Baht? It's in stock. I can't recommend them enough if you are near one of their stores.

One final point. Be sure your credit card doesn't have any foreign transaction fees.

With that many people,  I'd expect to have access to a meeting location on a regular basis. Say, every morning from 8-9.

Talk to a travel agent that has experience putting together groups. 

I totally agree about most of the balcony cabins on Serenade. With the exception of a few cabins at the front of the ship, all of them should be considered partially obstructed 

To maximize my outlets, I've converted over to usb for everything.  Alarm clock, toothbrush, fan, razor, etc. Then I have 3 input voltage matching usb hubs. Then it was just a matter of buying the correct cords for what I need.

You only need tags for checked bags. 

You'll find your luggage tags in the cruise planner by expanding the view more details button for the specific cruise. 

15 hours ago, Geezer Of The Seas said:

 Margaritaville's short itineraries setting sail from Galveston would seem to fit their business model. Must be a underserved group of Parrotheads in the North central gulf.

I guess, but the shortest itinerary that is practical from Galveston is 4 nights. Geography just doesn't support 3 night cruises with the PVSA.

The same can be said of New Orleans. Except I think the vibe would fit even better there.

Time will tell!

36 minutes ago, mjb1127 said:

Thanks.  Looks like I missed the boat on a good price.  Hopefully, there will be a sale soon.

Last I checked, it wasn't a huge price and you can buy it as an all inclusive or just a beach day. The beach day only is about $40.

My question is where is it? When I look it up on Google maps, it says it is at "Playa Mia." But Playa Mia is shut down to be rebuilt as the Royal Beach Club.

My kids have done it and found it to be an great experience. That said, it is en expensive splurge, so you have to really want to flow ride (or have a ton of OBC) to be worth it.

For those that are already proficient in Flowriding, you can talk to the sports staff on board and just do a private hour of Flowriding without instruction for less (I think it's $345, but YMMV). To do this, book a lesson. Then talk to the sports staff and get it converted to a private hour. The price difference will appear as an OBC on your account.

I noticed something very interesting.

Looking at the Celebrity website, Celebrity Solstice allows you to search cruises between March 2026 and April 2027. But when you do so, it says "Sorry, there were no cruise search results for the selected filters." This wasn't the case a month ago (in fact a booked 3!).

Could this be the first step toward a redeployment of Celebrity Solstice or is it just a glitch on the website? If it is a redeployment, would Galveston be in the cards?

Leave your thought below!

I think it depends on your kids. X has pools and kids clubs and not much more. If that's enough for your kids, then go for it. If not, then stick with Royal. 

Have your kids sailed a Radiance or Vision class ship? From a kid perspective,  those ships would be similar to X.

2 hours ago, Snow said:

We started cruising on X many years ago and never stepped foot on an RC ship till our son was born 10 years ago.

We were very happy when the match went into effect because it gave us Diamond status. We love it but the match is not really a full match and I called RC about. At least for us we did get the change in status but not the corresponding points for that tier.

As an example we have 303 points on X but only 22 on RC. We should have in theory started with 80 points on RC and then the additional 22 point we have earned should have been added to the 80 giving us 102. When we got the match we started with zero.

So for us to make Diamond + will take a very long time. LOL... not sure if anyone else has had the same experience with the match. When I called and asked CS they said they were matching the tier not the points.

 

It is a status match rather than a point match. So your summary is correct.  As an Elite in Captain's Club you would be diamond in Crown and Anchor with very few points.

This works both ways. I'm Diamond+ in crown and anchor.  That gives me Elite+ in Captain's club with about 100 points on X.

If you read the fine print, there are a few items that aren't matched at all. For example, a Pinnacle member doesn't get a free cruise on Celebrity. 

On 4/21/2025 at 7:07 PM, steverk said:

I'm on Mariner and we stopped at Costa Maya today. I took special interest in the aviary.  It is definitely closed and about 1/2 of the bridges have been removed. I spoke to a shorex person on board and he said it was closed for necessary maintenance. 

It will be interesting to see if it ever reopens. 

I'm back in Costa Maya today.  There is noticeable progress on rebuilding the bridges blin the aviary.  Therefore,  it looks like it will reopen. 

And Norwegian has Jewel

As to exactly when Royal would announce an itinerary change, there's no telling.  It could happen today, tomorrow or even the day you're expected to be in port.

35 minutes ago, Jill said:

 

Certainly not from Royal to Celebrity. 

Why not? I'm looking forward to status matching on Celebrity!

According to Matt, Celebrity Zenith is much better than Royal's Pinnacle. 

Does this mean Playa .ia and Isla Mia are the same place?

Diamond on Royal has better benefits than Elite on Celebrity, but there's more than just drinks to consider. 

Elite does include a free bag of wash and fold laundry and a free scoop of Gelato. On longer cruises, the free laundry is a great perk.

I'm not from Australia, but I'm hoping Royal or Celebrity will do another circumnavigation of Australia.  Both have done it in the past, but it has been a few years.

I found it on my cruise planner today, and the price was surprisingly reasonable at $35.99

Like Pooch said, drink vouchers include nonalcoholic drinks if you prefer. 

They also include Johnny Rockets milkshakes and floats. You can also get specialty coffee as long as it isn't Starbucks. I think it includes fresh squeezed juices, but I never actually tried it.