JeffB

There were zero public announcements on Valiant Lady. The one exception is safety or an announcement that a safety drill by crew members is taking place. Otherwise ...... beautiful silence. "Edgy" entertainment? Virgin Voyages is an LGBTQ advocate. It is a gay friendly cruise line for sure - so is Celebrity for that matter. In both lines I've never experienced any "inappropriate public displays" among guests who I identify as either lesbians or homosexuals. Many performers in the entertainment industry are gay. That demographic is present in Virgin Voyages entertainment, same as Celebrity. There was a performance by a magician that featured some "colorful" language but no different than that I hear in Celebrity's late night, adults only, comedy acts. "The Ship Show's" MC is a transgender lesbian queen. Think Rupaul. She had a few jokes in her show that some might consider off-color. Again, no different than Celebrity late night comedy acts. I'm completely comfortable around gays for the most part but I'm a bit put off by PDA in the form of amorous touching among lesbians or homosexual men. I've seen absolutely none of that on either Virgin or Celebrity cruise ships. Heck, most of the adagio performances on cruise ships are very sexual in an athletic sort of way. If you are strongly and politically opposed to the gay or trans lifestyle you may find Virgin Voyages are not for you. OTH, there is absolutely nothing amounting to in-your-face overtly LGBTQ behavior on the Virgin cruise I enjoyed.

Thanks for reading another one of my tomes, WAAAYTOO, as they can easily be identified at TLDR. I really liked Virgin, Ann not quite as much as I did. She thought Celebrity's entertainment was better and in some cases it is. There's no cruise director on Virgin Voyages. Just a staff of energetic young people who are around and about to answer any questions you might have. The "Ship Show" star is a Diva Queen and entertainment on Virgin is a bit edgy with choreography modern street dance type and language in the performances that tends to the adults only lewd side. We were fine with it. The way the Galley works is at the location of the stand you select staff takes your order and gives you a buzzer you take back to your table. It takes a while to get your food selection - maybe 10-15 minutes (unless you do grab and go, bento boxes, pastries and desserts or the bagel place). The benefit is that there's no lines or people crowding and shoving to get a particular dish. Ann didn't like that. I didn't care because, no lines and the food and diversity of it outweighed the inconvenience of waiting for your buzzer to go off. I didn't mention cabins. We booked a Standard Sea Terrace. In Celebrity lingo its a Standard Veranda. There are other balcony type cabins on offer for an additional cost. They might be bigger or be in preferred location. The standard Sea Terrace is small at around 180 sq feet compared to Celebrity Verandas that are closer to 200 sq ft. The balcony, similar in size to Celebrity's, boasts a hammock. Did not use it. Storage (closet space and drawers) are efficiently placed and met our needs. There are USB ports and electrical outlets all over the cabin. A nice feature. Everything in the cabin (lights, curtains, TV) is controlled on a small tablet that sits on the desk. Another nice feature. Public spaces don very modern, minimalist architecture. The bathroom is tiny. Large people would have a problem fitting in the shower. The five specialty restaurants are architecturally pleasing to the eye. The most impressive was the Korean Barbeque place, Gumbae. Loved this one. The Italian spot, Extra Virgin, featured a warm and intimate environment. The Wake is the Virgin's rendition of a steak house. Great menu. Test Kitchen is really unique google it if you're interested in how that one works. Pink Agave is the Mexican spot. We didn't make that one but alternatively did the Ship Show with dinner.

I'm a long time Celebrity loyalist pushing 80 Celebrity cruises since 2001. 10 more on other lines (Disney, Royal, NCL, MSC, Princess, Oceana). I found myself in a cruising rut and thought a change-up was required. I chose, Virgin Voyages, that is noted for its owner, Richard Branson, and his traditions breaking approach to high seas cruising. Yes, there were differences, most of which I considered good. At first glance, Virgin Voyages are pricey but when you unpack what you're getting as part of your cruise fare, costs are comparable. A recent post appeared up thread that said this: I’d like to try Celebrity but paying over $2,000 (Premium) for drinks on a $3,000 cruise fare seems crazy. It IS crazy and it is reflective of unwelcome pricing and revenue stream approaches by Celebrity Corporate. I'm an Elite Plus Celebrity Cruiser with just over 2000 Loyalty points - I'm unlikely to reach Pinnacle status. I stopped purchasing "everything included" packages when they dropped gratuities from those packages around 18 months ago - maybe longer. I find the free 5-7pm happy hour Celebrity loyalty perk all I need. I simply cannot consume the alcohol required to make "the (drink) package" - Classic or Premium worth the cost. Not even close. Virgin status matched. I obtained the Blue Level of Loyalty which got me a free bag of laundry and one specialty coffee per day. The perks are better after 4 cruises obtains the Deep Blue Loyalty level. That includes $100 of Sailor Loot and a free upgrade to already free WiFi to premium or streaming capable WiFi plus the Blue perks. If you book a suite (they are very expensive) you become a Rock Star on that voyage and get a whole range of premium services for that including a stocked hosted bar in your suite cabin. A bump up from Sailor status for non-suite guests. Virgin Voyages approaches the enjoyment of alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages very differently that Celebrity - in a good way. First, a full range of non-alcoholic beverages including fountain sodas and the usual selection of juices is part of your cruise fare. For alcoholic beverages you pre-purchase a "bar tab" in an amount that suits how much alcohol you think you will consume during your voyage. There are unsponsored web sites that have bar tab calculators to fine tune your estimated cost of drinks. There are incentives in the form of bonuses up to $100 depending on how much of a bar tab you purchase. I bought a $200 bar tab and got a $25 bonus. On a 5n cruise, that turned out to be just about right consuming one cocktail and 1-2 glasses of wine per day. How does that work? I got two cash perks of $100 each credited to my on-board account; one from my TA and one from Virgin. I had $225 of bar tab plus $200 of "Sailor Loot", as Virgin calls it's cash incentive perks. Once you've used your bar tab, you sailor loot will cover drinks too. It's a very good system and a major plus-up that influences which company, Virgin or Celebrity, I'll book with. Virgin Voyages uses a bracelet approach for your room key and for any onboard purchases including cocktails and wine. It's like Princess Cruises without the need to buy watch bands from them. Bar staff scans your bracelet after you've placed your order. Gift shops and Duty Free shops do the same if you buy anything on board. There are 22 restaurants aboard the three Virgin Voyages ships sailing now with one on order. 5 of these are comparable to any of Celebrity's Specialty Restaurants. The difference is they are part of your cruise fare. We had time to pre-reserve a table and visited 4 of them - all excellent with high end service and food quality. The other five eateries are lower key but fun themed. One of those five is called the Galley. Unlike traditional cruise line buffets, Branson went for more of a food court style. There is a lot of different food choices available in these stands. There should be no problem finding something you like. Two unique offerings are a Bento Box with sushi in it or a "Grab and Go" offering if want something like a pre-made salad or sandwich quickly. You just grab it from the user accessable cooler shelf (like a grocery store cooler) in the Galley. Ship made ice cream and various types of pastries, cakes and candies are also available in several places around the ship. No charge. Several coffee shops are spread around the ship. Specialty coffees on offer have to paid for using your bracelet. All of this was a very nice change to the usual cruise ship buffets, al Bacio and pay as you go gelato. In the end there are similar offerings, if not quite as diverse aboard Celebrity ships and, in the Ocean View Cafe. One of the bar areas at the aft of the ship serves small apps offerings late afternoon with a Greek take. It's a beautiful setting and tasty bites to eat are served there by wait staff. Branson shaped entertainment aboard his virgin fleet to be completely different from Celebrity's production and featured performers shows. More like a festival with smaller less ambitious shows - all of them very good entertainment and the shows are performed more than once per night so, you won't miss-out because a performance venue is filled up. And that does happen. About 6 months ago, Virgin stopped the requirement to pre-book these shows on the Virgin App. It's now first come first serve, except one, "The Ship Show" - a variety type show that comes with dinner. We booked that. It was free and it was fun. All three Virgin ships have different entertainment line-ups. A clever move to encourage future bookings when you know the entertainment won't be the same as the cruise you just sailed. We lined up 20-30 minutes before a show we wanted to see at the time we wanted to see it I could go on. I hit what I perceive as some major and enticing features of a Virgin Cruise. I found the staff to be friendly, engaging and very good at what they do. Ship's company officers do not wear uniforms. They are hard to distinguish from other guests in shorts and tee-shirts. They do wear distinctive black ones though. They're not omni-present and visible like they are on Celebrity ships - an intentional Branson approach. An important note for seniors. We are in our 70s so I was a bit apprehensive about the ship's vibe. We fit in just fine. Virgin isn't catering to the Carnival crowd that loudly parties and is drunk the entire cruise and routinely vomits in passageways. All-in-all this was a pretty staid group of cruisers a bit younger, but not by a lot, than the average Celebrity cruiser by age (47). The higher cruise fares helps to keep undesirables (you know who these are without sticking your nose up) on shore, not on Virgin's ships. This was a themed Halloween Cruise. We dressed as the Mad Hatter and White Rabbit, my wife has costuming experience. That said, out of nearly a hundred cruisers that competed, we won the "Best Dressed" category at the costume ball beating out the other finalists who were dressed as Bat Man and Cat Woman. That got us a free 7n cruise. Besides that huge plus, I really liked VIrgin's whimsical approach to cruising. I booked our free cruise - a R/T Barcelona-Barcelona - in June next year and added a B2B repositioning Barcelona to Rome cruise. I'm comparing similar Celebrity Eclipse and Virgin's Scarlet Lady translants in April 2026 that end in Amsterdam and Barcelona respectively. Not leaning either way yet. Pricing will feature in the decision. My TA is working on that.

I've looked at the Brightline option from Fort Lauderdale station to Orlando - we have friends we want to visit there and it could serve as a trial run for a sailing on Celebrity Equinox from Port Canaveral to Barcelona in May '25. Yes, I anticipated you're going to ask if Celebrity Equinox is now porting at Cape Canaveral and yes they are in the 2025 early season. We can drive there in about 3.5h, another 45 minutes to parking at Port Canaveral. Brightline point to point, takes 4-5h not including about an hour from the Brightline terminal in Orlando to Port Canaveral. It's also not cheap and seat pricing is load controlled. Like the other poster tells you he paid an extra $20 because he waited to get tickets. The base price for the main cabin is $89 - it goes up from there. The Premium fare which gets you some goodies for a price starts at $119. So your talking for us it's going to cost around $200 to 300 R/T. Is it worth it? Well, you've got to consider the cost of parking your car if you drive; that's a bad idea, I finally concluded for us as we're on a B2B with the second leg after the transplant going from Barcelona to Rome. We're gone for 25-30 days. A whopper of a parking bill. We'll fly back from Rome to ORL. Probably not happening for the Equinox cruise. I can see it for a cruise from Boca and points north like Stuart and Fort Pierce. May try it if/when we go visit our friends in Orlando.

My advice is to change your dining selection to Select Any Time via your TA or, if you booked on line, call Celebrity. This way you can show up at whatever restaurant you like on day one. With Fixed dining, you'll get an assigned restaurant from one of the four on the first night. If you like it, stick around. If you don't or just want to cycle though all four of them. Find a time when the hostess isn't busy and ask to switch to another restaurant or call the number for the restaurant manager and request a change. You might find they try to talk you out of changing. Be persistent. You may get an assigned restaurant via a card in your cabin for the first night even if you select Any Time dining. The Restaurant managers do that to spread out guests on the first night. After that you can go wherever and whenever you want. Another tip: make a pre-cruise reservation at a specialty restaurant the first night of your cruise. That way you avoid the typical confusion of guests at the various dining venues on night one. Also, if you anticipate you're going to splurge for specialty dining, book a dining package pre-cruise. Nearly a year out, you should get a good deal on a dining package. Maybe even better, watch for prices to drop for the package as the cruise gets closer and the ships restaurant managers aren't getting enough pre-cruise bookings. These discounts might only last for a day or two so, if you see a discount, grab it. On today's front page of the RCL blog's main page, there's a good article on doing that very thing to save money on specialty restaurants that have experienced large price increases for entry post pandemic.

Some thoughts on Edge Class ships, dining: We've sailed 3/4 Edge Class ships at least once and in some cases 3 or more times. Ascent is the one Edge Class ship we've not sailed and obviously XL which is not in service yet. Edge class dining is unique as compared to Millennium and Solstice class ships. When you book, you can choose Select Fixed or Anytime Dining. As the title reveals Fixed Dining has two seatings - early and late - 6pm or 8:30pm. I'm told by restaurant staff that the 4 Edge class restaurants have specific areas for fixed and anytime diners when times might conflict. I can honestly say, I've never noticed this. After our first Edge Class Cruise (on Edge) during which we had fixed seating - as was our preference on Solstice and Millennium class ships - that didn't work if you like trying all four of the main restaurants and maybe settle on one that you like the staff best. Menus are essentially the same with the exception of a specialty main course and dessert. My experience is that you can forget about making reservations for any time dining. It doesn't work pre-cruise on the app and the hostesses will tell you don't worry, come when you like. If you do Fixed seating, you'll be initially assigned to one of the 4 restaurants. You can change but I don't think the restaurant managers like doing a lot of that. It messes up their table planning, especially if you are in a large group. As you enter any of the Edge class ship's 4 restaurants, there are two hostess podiums - one for diners with reservations, one for diners without reservations. Again, I don't think it makes any difference. You're seated according to table availability by usually, I've found, one default hostess. Who, BTW is also really good at managing table availability. All the hostesses want to know is your cabin number. There are definitely the right and wrong times to get a table quickly instead of waiting. You're' going to wait from 6 to at 6:50pm and at 8 to just after. I have found that if I leave the theater before the cruise director's gig at the end of the show, go directly to the main dining venue of our choice for that night, I'll get seated right away and my wife will join me with the friendly guidance of wait staff or maitre d. If you find a wait staff you like, and if you ask, the hostess will try to assign you a table in that wait staff's assigned section. The best hostesses, and most of them are very good, will remember you and your cabin number when you approach their podium if you are a repeat diner in one venue. We are late diners for the sole purpose of seeing the 7pm shows. That works for us. It's tight if, like the OP, you want to eat early and then see the 7pm shows. It would be nice if main dining hours started at 5 or 5:30pm to accommodate a more relaxed early dining experience for early diners wanting to see the 7pm show. Optionally, you can eat early and then stay up for the 9pm show. Specialty restaurants: Well, our fave, Murano, is not on Edge Class ships. TBH, the specialty restaurant up-charge on Edge Class may not provide a better dining experience than the 4 main dining restaurants. JMO. YMMV.... and your experience by ship will also vary but is, for the most part, consistently great. Fine Cuts is very good but too much food for us. We've seen Le Petit Chef - it's a fun one time experience. I actually like Raw on 5. You can usually walk in at any time if you get the urge but, again, why? On the plus side, I've never found it to be very busy. It's an ala-cart menu and IMO, affordable/not over-priced. Forget dining on the Magic Carpet unless you are in port and it's not raining or windy. I've found that bar and dining innovation to be off-putting. Again, JMO. You can also walk into Le Grand Bistro. Nice but nothing special, rarely busy, a nice lunch option with a Frenchy al-cart menu. Eden is indeed very nice. We've experienced both excellent and not up to par dining experiences in Eden though. It takes just one of these to make you think twice about paying a specialty dining up charge. Blue and Luminae are dining venues for Aqua and Suite Class guests respectively. We don't book Aqua Class at all and can't comment on Blue - it looks appealing. We booked suites twice, dined at Luminae and found it noisy and trying too hard to be special and upscale. You don't like lines? They form at Luminae all the time. No reservations! Strange. Very off-putting, IMO. The retreat was over-crowded on ships sailing at cabin capacity and you paid a ton extra for that privilege. Think carefully about booking a suite when you can do two cruises in a Balcony for the price of the least expensive of suites - the Sky Suite - with the dubious special privilege's of dining at a noisy, not very special, supposedly exclusive restaurant and fighting the crowds at the main pool while at a small Retreat area pool area with a limited number of lounge chairs. Here's a decent but, as usual, not a great read on Celebrity's supposedly only Edge Class dining dining. There's a section on Murano which isn't on Edge Class ships. Go figure. https://www.celebritycruises.com/blog/celebrity-select-dining PS: the Entertainment venues on Edge class ships are, again, unique and innovative. Yes, the main theater is small. People line up early to get seats they want - usually the best ones for viewing the stage. But, the LED screens, theater in the round, and the Broadway quality of the production shows, to me, are worth going early and lining up. There are usually three of them on each cruise of 7d or more. The Club on deck 4 mid-ship, hosts production shows as well and lines form an hour early for those usually late in the evening shows in this venue. It holds maybe 150 people and there are only a hand-full of really good seats close to the performing area. There are usually two, sometimes more of these per 7d cruise. Eden hosts production staff shows too. Once more, guests grab the best seats close to the performance area an hour to 90 minutes early. Once again, worth the wait if you want to experience production dancers, singers, aerialists and acrobats (a separate cast from those doing the production shows in the main theater) doing their stuff within a few feet of where you're seated. Exhilarating and the performers seem to thrive on this kind of intimate performing. Usually, only one of these per 7d cruise. Worth staying up late and going early. Relax and have a pre-show drink!

Thanks for your response HeWhoWaits. We've been told by the current stage manager aboard reflection that changes to Reflections stage are coming in August during the production company changeover process. I'm interested in information pertaining to the extent of the modifications to Reflection's stage that might preclude production shows on our booked future cruise in September this year. Just speculating but it's likely that the modifications would involve installation of LED screens like those on the Edge class ships that provide a back-drop to the production shows there. That would take some time to do that, more than what could be done in the usual 9h turn-around day at Port Everglades between cruises. My sense is that no one who we might contact at Celebrity's Customer Support would know anything about this - its an Operations Department issue in coordination with Celebrity Entertainment.

During a backstage tour on our Reflection cruise just last week, we learned that the current production cast will end their contracts sometime in late August of this year. Further, and at that time, Celebrity will introduce production shows, currently being run on Edge Class ships, on Reflection. Reflection will undergo modifications to the theater's stage to accommodate the new shows. I don't know what the extent of those "modifications" are but I see the potential for production shows to be cancelled during the 7n, B2B (4n + 3n) Reflection cruise we just booked from Friday 09/06 - Friday 09/13. I looked at the Celebrity's Entertainment website and there is nothing there on this potential. A google search came up empty too. Anyone care to comment?

Century Class, was different than Millennium Class that was different than Solstice, Edge Class is different from Solstice Class. Celebrity makes a big deal when marketing a new class of ships stating that their new ship designs are driven by advanced technology more than size or amenities for cruisers. There is usually a specific design feature, e.g., Eden in Edge class ships, that sets it apart from previous design features. Millennium and Solstice class ships are still sailing itineraries along with Edge class ships and the 4 Edge Class ships (Edge, Apex, Beyond and Assent) are evolutionary in design. Celebrity does a very good job of learning from issues and correcting them on each new ship in the Edge Class. So, there are differences between all four ships in Celebrity's Edge Class fleet. As noted above, you're going to enjoy sailing on any of Celebrity's ships. My experience sailing each of Celebrity's ships that are in service at least once is the continuity of the onboard character that the front office wants to create and service delivery. It is the same friendliness of the crew, from officers to staff, on all the ships I've sailed on. Service is very high in quality because of the rigorous training Celebrity conducts. There might be a few hick-ups when large numbers of crew or officers transfer from one ship to another or their contracts end. I've been impressed with how Corporate manages this to keep the chaos from routine transfers, on to and off the ships that can occur, keeping it to a minimum or hardly noticeable. As I walk up the boarding platform and enter the ship, my usual exclamation is that, "I'm home."

WaayToo, won't be in attendance at that one. Our group of airborne EW/Recon Marines is April 17th in San Diego. We're members of the John R. Daily Squadron an affiliate squadron of MCAA.

Second the above response. Good idea but my guess is no. Had a similar circumstance on a recent west coast itinerary involving Seattle and Vancouver. We asked if we could debark in one port and re-embark at another. Pre-cruise, the request was entertained but the probably set response that we got a few days later was no. In our case it was because of in-country visa requirements. Visitors getting on and off a cruise ship for a day are treated differently than overnight travelers moving within or through the country. I still think you should inquire with RCL support teams (not reservations and booking). It's likely country dependent.

The answer to your question is no. If one person in the cabin orders a drink package the others have to purchase the same package. You have to know your per day alcohol consumption along with water/energy drinks, al Bacio coffees, sodas and Smoothees (premium pkg only at venues these are offered) consumption then figure out if you are going to use the package enough to warrant the daily charge. The classic pkg includes a lot of non-alcoholic beverages. You may find that the cost per day per person is worth it if buying the classic drink pkg allows your husband to drink alcoholic beverages plus non-alcoholic beverages while you just consume non-alcoholic beverages. Here's a link to a fairly current blog post that will cover questions you might have about determining what is your best bet with or without a beverage package. For some, the convenience of simply presenting your Sea Pass card when ordering a beverage and not having a post cruise bar bill is worth it even if you're not equaling the daily costs. You may also find that the daily cost is much higher for the package than what you would be charged if you just ordered your beverage and paid individually for them. https://eatsleepcruise.com/review-of-celebrity-cruises-beverage-packages/#:~:text=Can just one person purchase,the Zero Proof drink package.

I've done a lot of cruising since 2001 when we sailed our first cruise, a 10n Western Caribbean itinerary, aboard Celebrity Mercury. I have six cruises booked through 2023, 2024 and have 75 cruises under my belt already - most of them with Celebrity (and I'm still not close to Zenith). Just recently, I asked my TA to check the pricing on a January 2024 Sky Suite booking. I thought if I cancelled and booked an Infinite Veranda, I might save some money. Several Cabin classes below Celebrity's high priced Retreat cabins that would seem to be a realistic goal. Boy, was I shocked. I booked Beyond's Sky suite using the onboard booking agents a good 18 months earlier than the sailing date - probably within 2-3 months of the first itinerary listings for 2024. Generally, following that approach will get you the lowest cabin fares and deals. I sure proved that with the Beyond booking. First, the 10n Sky Suite with everything included cost about $3700 per person, all inclusive for a total of $7400 and change (checks math .... about $370/d pp). A new booking of an Infinite Veranda with everything included was now $3950 pp. Astonishingly, the asking price for a comparable available suite was $9500 pp ...... that's right! $19000 for both of us!!! In lurking and reading recent posts on this blog, I've seen multiple posts about rising prices. Certainly, there is unprecedented demand for cruising and plenty of folks are willing to pay for the exclusivity of suite offerings across the industry. But this? Both myself and my TA were flabbergasted. A quick search of comparable Princess and Royal itineraries and cabins demonstrated similar price increases well above what we are accustomed to paying. If we continue to cruise after we've sailed on our 6 booked cruises, I'll be looking for no frills cabins and amenities. As much as I have enjoyed the exclusivity of suite life and accompanying amenities on Princess, Royal and Celebrity, we're getting priced out of booking these kinds of lux getaways. These days, even OV and Veranda cabins are often 2-3X more than what we're used to shelling out. Sad, really.

I'm a die-hard Celebrity Cruise Line loyalist having notched 72 cruises with this company since 2001 and sill haven't come close to reaching Zenith!! There are many things I like about sailing on a Celebrity ship but the concept of "X" = excellence and beyond expectations (among other jingles over the years) has lost some of it's luster IMO. The industry always competitive has become more so post COVID as the lines work to recoup billions in lost revenue and retire debt. Celebrity sailings have become more homogeneous with other lines that seem to "try harder. setting themself apart to gain market share. TBC, I'm not making this post to ding Celebrity - we have 6 future cruises booked so, we still enjoy what the company has to offer. But, when checking fares for 7n E or W Caribbean sailings out of Fort Lauderdale, I became discouraged at the pricing, especially for suite classes. First, Industry wide, suites are in high demand so, available suites fill up fast and after introducing itineraries as far out as 24 months in advance, dynamic pricing models take charge with prices rising with demand. Just for fun, I thought I'd take a look at Princess Cruise Lines and specifically, Caribbean Princess that sails 7n E, W Caribbean itineraries out of Fort Lauderdale. If I'm looking for a suite, it's not going to be one of the high end types (e.g., Iconic) but rather a Sky Suite. These are particularly nice on Edge class ships as are the suite perks (Retreat, Luminae Restaurant) exclusive for suite guests. They are rather ordinary on Solstice and Millennium class ships but with the same attempt at exclusivity. Caribbean Princess was launched in 2003 and completely refurbished in 2019 so, she's a bit long in the tooth. But the cabin pricing for equivalent low end suites was 30-50% less than any Sky Suite cabins on Equinox - the one Celebrity ship that sails the Caribbean in the summer months. So, I said, I'll give Princess a whirl - my first. Princess has a very British way to classify it's suites: Suites (high end) Club Class Mini-Suites (added perks the same as full suite guests) and Mini Suites (same cabin minus the full suite perks). Booked the Club Class Mini Suite. Compared to well under 300 sq.ft. for Equinox's Sky Suites. The Club Class and non-Club Class Suites are a spacious 325 Sq.ft sporting two rooms and very large balcony with two lounge chairs and a walk-in closet just outside of a large tub equipped bathroom. I was very impressed with the Club Class Suite. Princess does a similar if not a bit more convoluted "everything included." There are two tiers - Standard and Premium, priced differently with different perks. The pricing of the Standard offering is also considerably less than the "everything included" on Equinox and the Premium, although more costly, turns out, on a day to day basis, to be a really good deal. The Premium offering includes two specialty dinning credits per person (Sabatini's, an Italian menu and Crown Grill - steaks), and a photo package along with the standard prepaid gratuities, wifi and drinks package. For all categories of suite guests, a section of one of the main dining rooms is reserved for these guests. Because the number of guests is limited, there is never a wait, table spacing is more generous and table service is accordingly better. This approach, compared to Celebrity's Luminae (exclusive dining for suite guests) is hands down better in terms of quality of service and noise control that Celebrity's exclusive dining. Menus were varied and with plenty of choices. Food quality and presentation was equivalent to Celebrity's menus and for a few specific dishes, were better. There were lots of bar venues with differing forms of entertainment. We easily found a favorite that we made our way to every night before shows. You could always find a seat at a bar; that is not the case on Equinox where unless you camp out at the Martini Bar (AKA, Ice Bar) when it opens at 4pm, it's hard to get a seat unless you happen to be walking right behind someone that is leaving and grab the bar seats before others approach and beat you to it. The production sows and entertainment were good and, for the most part, on par with Celebrity's, We were sailed aboard Caribbean Princess in early June and watched the premier of a new production show - Bravo. It was Vegas and certainly close to Broadway level performance. The bottom line is that if suites are in your cruising budget, the value on Caribbean Princess sailing out of Fort Lauderdale is remarkably good. So good that, in fact, we booked Caribbean Princess sailing a 13n Fort Lauderdale to Quebec starting July 222nd on board. Doing so got us a 50% discount on a Mini-Suite (not Club Class - they were sold out) and 50% off the Premier Everything Included package. The cabin fare was equivalent to those found on 7n cruises and purchasing the Premier package was the best deal I've gotten in a long time on any cruise line. We had a very good, if not limited to one ship, experience with Princess. I'm not abandoning Celebrity but Princess is, for sure, "trying harder."

This is the sad state of human interaction. There's been a lot written about how destructive this is to mankind's existence on the planet. Look around. No one is getting along and there are plenty of dangerous people who leverage discord and turn it into violent acts. An article appeared in the NYTs (and reprinted elsewhere) written by a flight attendant listing 12 rules for flying on an airplane. Here's a reprint that's not paywalled like the NYT is: https://www.telegraphindia.com/world/a-flight-attendants-12-etiquette-rules-for-making-flying-pleasant/cid/1939675 The list doesn't really apply to cruising but I'm sure this group could come with a good one that does and goes beyond the rules of behavior that the cruise lines feel comfortable delineating (and that few read, are scrupulously followed by passengers and enforced by crew) . Here are a few of my suggestions: Smile; greet fellow passengers and crew even if you don't know them. Cruise ship bars, lounges and dinning rooms are not your child's play area. Lining up is a part of cruising. Respect that part where there is a need to do so (e.g. checking in, serve yourself, open dining areas). Crew members assigned to serving you in your staterooms and within public areas are not your servants. Treat them with respect and common courtesy. Your turn.