Lastdance

There are so many factors for the pricing of cruises, couple that with the ship, itinerary, cabin/suite etc. There is no real way to compare unless apples to apples. If you feel like you are getting a great deal, most likely you are, not to mention sometimes it is just not good to keep looking at pricing. My itineraries are on newer ships going to or from Europe, so pricing is higher. Then there is the air factor, coupled with cabin class. Just a lot to consider nowadays. However, if it is what you want and can easily afford, just go for it! Life is way too short as it is..., but do not forget insurance! I am just in a holding pattern for now...also, the stock is high, so don’t purchase now, but a good way for extra OBC. I actually sold my stock and it almost paid for a suite. It was a result from my post above, but not a knee-jerk reaction. ~Safe travels wherever you go...

Well, you have saved me so much money due to having to cancel a few cruises because my DH decided to ski down a hill backwards, so I will just use that to keep up with inflation. However, as you continue on your journey, keep me and everyone else informed and let us know what’s next for the two of you. Enquiring minds want to know more, as you have made a lot of us eager for the next saga...I mean after this b2b... My DH wants to know how much money one has to spend to make Zenith? He has no idea about these things, but he is curious about the spend to get cake, flowers and a private ceremony? I told him no worries, as it is just a couple hundred thousand + or so. He seemed pleased with my answer🤷‍♀️ He then asked me how many points we had and was surprised! Just give him the gym and he is happy.

Yes, I have had things “drop-off” in the past, so well aware of that. This was a first for the b2b discount too. I don’t understand why that is a factor, as I still have two cruises. My onboard booking experience was pathetic this time and I did share the name of that individual. The discount was only a few hundred dollars, but my experience was very frustrating nonetheless. I have been cruising with Celebrity for a long time, but this BS, as you so eloquently say just got too much for me. At least I have choices with cruising, not to mention to cruise or not to cruise, but also believe that Celebrity needs to retrain or eliminate employees that behave erratically.

Well, I have tried to reprice three times, yet Celebrity always has a unique reason. this never used to be the case, but so far it is not working. The first time was the day after I booked my cruise onboard, so when it dropped a few hundred the next day, I stood in line for a reprice. Since my representative was off that day, I was told she was the only one who could do it. Yep, even making a small fuss did not help. The next time it dropped, I could not get the price because I had 100 discount for a b2b. Really? Since when is that an issue. The most recent time, yesterday, I would lose my OBC and my discount for a b2b. This has become rediculous for me, so feel very good about your price drops. Celebrity still owes me 200, but has only excuses to share about the reason. My TA cannot believe the individuals she has to speak with on the phone, as they know so little about their jobs. One of the reasons that I booked another cruise line was the way I have been treated by Celebrity on land. When my DH had. a bad skiing accident, Celebrity did not want to refund my money because it was paid before the 90 days. My TA requires that. The excuses were phenomenal, not to mention different no matter who answered the phone for my TA and myself. IMHO, customer service needs to improve greatly. Yes, I had to get involved and create some waves...no pun intended! I was booking suites. I have shared names with Celebrity, not to mention details of conversations. Of course I have received the “I’m so sorry,” but that’s about it. So good for those of you who feel that Celebrity listens to you! I canceled one of my suites citing the fact that I could and it was refundable. My rationale was that Celebrity did not want my business, nor cared about keeping me as a customer. I cited the name of one employee that basically asked if he could cancel that cruise for me because I was unhappy. Really, an employee of Celebrity offering to cancel? I do have 2 cruises booked, but not until fall of 2025. My experiences onboard have always been top notch.

Did you stay at the same hotel for your Oceania cruise? Just curious, as I am deciding where to stay next year for our TA. Your view is very nice!

Jim, is your next cruise on Oceania? I hope you will be doing another review, as it will be interesting to hear about the demographics in Europe, along with how everything compares to Celebrity. Hopefully, cruise lines will become more consistent with their offerings and quality will improve overall. Okay...back to your TP!

Having their stock is a much better deal IMHO, but we don’t need the premium drink package or a free Caribbean cruise; access to the Retreat is nice if not doing a suite. Just my opinion.

Surprising that the crew didn’t do anything about what was happening in the dining room...sad! It certainly isn’t difficult to find adults acting out and oblivious to others...don’t need kids to have issues...so thanks for clarifying.

So, kids are allowed in YC; Spring Break = lots of kids in Caribbean. I guess the “adults’ just felt the need to...

I so agree about twilight time and photos...dinner seems to not always allow for such timing, but running out for a few great pics is usually rewarding. My DH does not agree. 🤷‍♀️

Are you speaking about the Caribbean? So, not leaving the ship at all(YC)would be a much better experience than on Celebrity due to clientele, facilities and price? Average demographic equal to Celebrity?

To those of you who really enjoy MSC Yacht Club, are you mostly cruising in the Caribbean? For me, Europe is my destination, so how do those experiences compare with Celebrity? I have been doing my research, but need more information about the experience, ships etc. For me, on Celebrity, there is a huge difference between Europe and the Caribbean. ~Thanks in advance!

We just don’t want to dress up for dinner; that seems to be so prevalent on the smaller ships. Also, not partial to having someone wait on us continually, nor do we drink a lot of alcohol. In addition, having a decent gym is very important to us. So, we are trying Oceania for the first time due to itinerary and a smaller ship experience, not to mention the overall cost was less than Retreat on Celebrity. It keeps us from flying both ways to Portugal. However, O now includes excursions in their price, so that is an issue for us, as we do our own excursions for various reasons. It seems like we keep falling through the cracks, so choosing the ship experience for us is coupling it with land stays for the benefit we want. Celebrity has failed us in customer service and on our last cruise experience, so those disappointments are still a bit raw; however, we are more open to new experiences, but not completely finished with Celebrity either. Both of us realize that we also are not typical cruisers either, so do not fit into the norm of targeted customers. That’s on us to find the best overall experience for our hard-earned dollars. Honestly, overall we are very blessed to be able to have so many choices available.

We were in a sunset suite on Edge for the first TA crossing and had a wonderful suite on the corner next to the SV on deck 11. No noise for us or the cabin (SV) because we talked to the people about their cabin. (11268 and 11270). Also, had the same configuration on Apex, deck 11 and no noise. Yes, you can hear a little when docking, but that is to be expected! Both of these cruises were b2b. I read the same information about 11273 being horrible on Edge...what a nightmare!

The best way is to give them a call, as the pricing is usually better.