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bigbadandugly

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  1. I’m interested in getting the premium drink package, however my wife does not drink. Due to Celebrity’s policy requiring all adults in the room to purchase the drink package, I’m precluded from benefitting from the current 20% sale on drink packages. Given my situation, what’s my best strategy to get a discounted drink package? Or am I pooched and have to pay list on board?
  2. Not sure why you’re interpreting my comments as directed towards personal preferences, but I can only surmise that you did not read the two sentences that I explicitly separated from the rest of his elongate response for clarity. Let me reiterate his comments that I was specifically responding to: “Celebrity still seems to be the same Celebrity it always has been... Still great service, food and ships.” if you want other examples from what other members of this board have posted, I would add: - lobster tails are small (certainly not like the monster served by Oceania a few posts up from mine) and they now charge extra for a second scrawny lobster - drink packages have jumped over 20% There are many other changes as well, but it is patently wrong to say that it’s the same old Celebrity it has always been. Whether they impact your cruise experience or not is a personal matter as you state, but I did not address that at all.
  3. Dude - they cut the prime rib and other prime cuts of beef from the MDR menu for 2023. Enough said.
  4. I just booked my wife and I on a 2024 Rio cruise on the Eclipse, and I was deciding between a Deck 8 Balcony or an Aqua Class cabin, which included the basic drink and Internet packages and dining in Bleu and a few other bells and whistles. But in the end, we decided the extras didn't have have the value to us to justify the additional cost (although I must say we made that decision before experiencing the post-COVID MDR menu, which sounds like it was substantially downgraded for 2023). The drink package is now priced for alcoholics so I'm fine going a la carte and we can do with detaching from the Internet for a week. But all-in-all I'm in agreement with OP that Celebrity has lost its edge and we will also be opening the door to other options.
  5. I'm not sure about the newer ships, but the older ships do not. I just booked the Eclipse and it does not, so I assume none of the Solstice-clas ship do. I requested an extension cable for the cabin, just as I had the previous cruise with Celebrity. I use it for my CPAP, and in the morning I toss it under the bed. I'm fine with that. If you do have a CPAP, request a jug of distilled water be provided and it will be awaiting you in your cabin. At least it would have been with the pre-COVID Celebtrity. They probably charge you a daily fee for renting the extension cord and $9.95 + 20% gratuity for the distilled water.
  6. With the beverage packages now going for $89/day or $109/day depending on level, that's about 8-9 drinks a day on average. That's a lot of liquor. I'm sure this works for some people, but it's got to push a lot of others over the edge to skip and drink less. For some of the lower inside cabins, you're paying more for the beverages than the rest of the entire cruise. Does that make sense? Even in the past when the drink packages were $20-30 cheaper I think I would have struggled to get my money's worth. I just booked a cruise for spring, 2024 and decided to skip the beverage package and will just be content with water, tea, and coffee, and augment that with a nice glass of wine off the a la carte menu for dinner. Not much different than my typical beverage diet at home. This will be my first cruise skipping the drink package, and I'm perfectly fine with it. I would have ponied up $50-60/day for one of the bev packages, instead Celebrity is going to have to be content with the revenue from a single glass of wine from me.
  7. Just not a ribeye or a slab of prime rib - those are gonzo alonzo from the MDR. I just booked a Celebrity cruise, but I suggest it will be the last for a while as the reduced food quality, ridiculously-priced drink packages, and all the other money-grab changes they've made for 2023 made the selection process particularly bothersome and enough to make the wife and I decide to look elsewhere for our next cruise experience. Usually the planning portion is a real joy for me, but reading all the price increases and quality of service cutbacks was a real downer this time around.
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