asctony

6 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Yea, it seems like X is leaning towards a younger clientele that has bottomless pockets and will just shell out for the premium drink package, specialty dining and whatever else they want.  We do B2B'S and on our 18 days on the Encore last November we decided that X was in our rearview mirror.  What really got me was when my DW ordered a Mich Ultra and I found out there was a 1.20 charge since it was 11.00 and not covered on the basic package.

FYI - we cruise CELEBRITY, MSC, NCL, PRINCESS & RCI each year. We are fortunate to be able to do so. 

Celebrity is totally reducing perks & at the same time increasing prices.

We have Beyond B2B  this year and Equinox TA next year. So, we like some things and don't spend money on overpriced items.

Celebrity can't even keep their Bar Menus in sync. What does IT do? 

LOL

HAPPY CRUISING!

8 minutes ago, Retired-N-Happy said:

Celebrity's prices are off the wall compared to Princess's.  On Princess a Blue Moon and a Michelob Ultra are 7.50.  On X they are 11.00 and not covered by the basic package.  Any way you cut it 11.00 for a Michelob Ultra is highway robbery.

I fully agree with your posting.Celebrity is totally overpriced on their drinks. Overpriced on their Specialty Restaurants, too. Yes, people who cruise other lines see the differences.

Any business will charge what people will be willing to pay. How many people really care what the price is when they are in vacation?

That is a reason some will pay and others will not. We have choices and our money talks.

No one forces us to pay or buy anything! So, it is your choice and mine. 

Happy Cruising!

4 hours ago, Gilliganluvsmaryann said:

This is day 3 of our 7 day Beyond voyage and everything has been phenomenal! Staff A+++, food five stars, the ship five stars. Will give more detail when we return. One piece of advice upgrade to premium internet before you board if you want to do anything other than browse the internet.

Have u crossed other Celebrity ships? 

Happy Cruising!

So, with all these opinions and experiences, who do you agree with? 

What will you do? 

I personally believe Celebrity is totally overpriced for their SRs.

Service & food is good. Not 4 star like it used to be. JMHO!

HAPPY CRUISING!

3 minutes ago, Eno said:

Agreed with the Medallion, it was my husband's birthday and was a nice touch with the display when we walked by.  Wasn't happy with the Princess breakfast or lunch buffet, usually made a salad for lunch.  Did love the Catch by Rudy for specialty dinners.

What ship were you on? 

What was wrong with the breakfast & lunch buffet?

TIA

For our X TA Equinox 2025 14 Day OV is $3,300 total.

P pkg @ $65x2x14 = $1,820

P pkg @ $100x2x14 = $2,400

Go figure!

12 minutes ago, cruisetonowhere10 said:

Yes!  I have a short 4 night trip in 2025 with two port days and I’m going to attempt the bring wine on board and then buy drinks as we go to see how it really works out. 

Agree. On our B2B we will bring wine and use our Elite+ HH drinks.

I believe that Celebrity is the most expense Mass Market cruise line for drinks, Specialty Restaurants, etc. JMHO!

15 minutes ago, dabear said:

don't forget + 20% tip

 

OMG! I didn't even think of that. 

$3x20% = .60. That is $3.60 per drink. 

A drink pkg is almost as expensive as a 7 day cruise.

So, the prices on some of these items went up $3. Examples: 

Tito's  9 to 12

Gray Goose 12 to 15.

33% increase.

15 minutes ago, FeliciaB said:

If you are looking at the menus on the app, it could be that some menu's have been updated and others have not.  Until you get on the ship the menus that you see in the app are not always correct.

I am on the silhouette now and Tit's is listed at $12 in the Martini bar.  If you see two prices, the higher one is probably the current price. 

Thanks for your response! 

To me that is a very big short coming on any Companies IT Department.

I wonder what would happen if you are on the ship and opened the app and the price shown was $9. 

Of course they would still charge you $12. 

Happy Cruising!

Going on Beyond soon. Looking at the various bar menus.

Why are there different prices for the same brand in the bars.

Example - Tito Vodka 

Martini Bar $9

The Club Bar $12

Other examples on wine, too.

Anyone know why? 

TIA

Just now, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

That’s what makes cruising great!  There’s something for everyone!!  😝

You are totally correct!

Happy Cruising!

51 minutes ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

I would choose Celebrity over Princess every time. With that said I have 4 cruises booked and I have 2 with each. 

I am just in reverse! Princess over Celebrity. Yes, we also have 2 each. Beyond B2B and Sun B2B this year.

Happy Cruising!

2 hours ago, zitsky said:

I suppose people who don’t like Luminae have been in suites on other cruise lines with better food and service.  Everyone I’ve talked to in the trailer park really enjoys it.  

 

I’ve been in the Retreat twice.   I like it but I don’t think it’s worth the price compared to Aqua.  
 

Don’t get me started on the folks who say “I love the Retreat, but the OVC is soooo much better.”

Got my popcorn. Go for it! LOL

1 hour ago, BirdTravels said:

The OL on Prima is smaller because the ship is a lot smaller with 25% fewer passengers. 

Just now, DCGuy64 said:

Not true of our last cruise. OK, so it was MSC in the Yacht Club, but still: it isn't true that every cruise line has problems with serving drinks in a timely manner. 😉 I *do* think they could beef up the staff to speed up the wait times, though.

 

More of the "I'm on vacation, I don't want to think" mentality. 🤣

OMG! I never said all! I said most!

Diamond on MSC and if you are not in the Yacht Club drink service is very slow. Been Cruising MSC since 2009.

I believe the reduction of space in the OL began with the Prima. The Viva is also the same as the Prima. NCL uses the OL  for many functions and restricts passenger usage during all times.

8 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

The two areas where I can sympathize with @MajSteve are these:

1. Bartender issues

2. Embarkation

It's well known to anyone who uses Cruise Critic that NCL doesn't monitor check-in times. In fact, nearly every time someone asks about 'what time should I show up,' most people on here will say 'whenever you feel like it.' Well guess what? That means EVERYBODY SHOWS UP AT THE SAME TIME. IMHO, NCL should start strictly enforcing the check-in times to stop these bottlenecks.

The bartender issue is a legitimate gripe, and I really think it comes down to poor staffing. It took a VERY long time to get drinks on our last cruise. The Shakers Martini bar had 2 bartenders for about 50-60 guests, maybe even more than that. They just couldn't keep up.

This happens on almost all cruise lines today. Staff have been cut back. People disregard times, too.

Happy Cruising on any Cruise Line!

On 1/4/2024 at 3:24 AM, zackarykeef said:

Everyone sees the negative reviews and gets nervous and starts posting about cancelling, but no one sees the positive reviews and gets excited and starts posting about packing.

 

If you look on the posts here that may be a negative review, or the posts on another popular social media website that are negative reviews, there are hundreds of comments from people saying the opposite. People tend to read the main post but fail to read the comment.

 

Literally, on the other site, there will be one long, negative review, and all the comments underneath are "disagree," "we had the opposite experience," "it was awesome," etc.

 

People are more likely to post when they had a negative experience...we know this. People with positive experiences only tend to comment/post when they are opposing something negative.

 

Don't cancel or be nervous about something because of what people you have never met think. They function/like/need things that are completely different from you.

 

I sailed on Prima and loved it. Extremely upscale, modern ship design with good food, drinks, and service. That's all I need, and there was nothing to complain about. Viva is the same, and I can't wait to board un 3 days!

Why not be more explicit on your positives?

'Extremely upscale, modern ship design with good food, drinks, and service.'

TIA

FYI to all.

2 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Hmmm you asked if you can still get the HH drinks in the other venues.  Answer-yes

 

you speculated that they reduced HH by 3 nights on a 7 night cruise and more on longer cruise.  Answer- they did not

 

my answers were specific to tge Happy Hour changes.

Thank you. I appreciate your answers. If you would have said this before your other posting, I would have accepted it without my comments. 

Happy Cruising & Happy New Year! 

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

The Captains Club Elite and above HH is from 5 -7 each evening except on embarkation night and the night of the Sr Officer gathering.  Drinks from the HH menu are available in most bars, but not dining rooms or restaurants.

 

The  2 of 3 HHs referred to in the video are held in a central location and is restricted to Elite and above, I believe there will be some appetizers on those evenings.

Details on the times and location will be included in the Captains Club events flyer that will be in your cabin on embarkation day.

The new HH. 

DOES 2 or 3 nights in a Central Location only apply to the Central Location? The other nights excluding embarkation night and the night of the Sr Officer you can still get HH at the bars?

If not, they reduced HH by 3 nights on a 7 day cruise and more on 8 or greater day cruises. 

17 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I don’t pay near that…usually. 

So, what do you pay?

Before you could get all: tips, Classic pkg & WiFi.

Now, they cut out tips & you only get Classic & WiFi. 

27 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

Why do people think that the retail price of an Invicta watch is really, for example, $300, yet you can buy it for $79.99? 

We all know. They are On vacation so price doesn't matter. LOL

13 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

Happy hour for me is every hour…rolling with the premium package..

$84 per day is more than HH.

Enjoy rolling!