ISABELLA

On 11/16/2023 at 7:55 AM, Cruise a holic said:

We sail on Celebrity and Royal Oasis class ships.  Have sailed on NCL.  If you aren't in the Haven not the best experience- Food medicore at best and the layout of the ships poor.  Haven't been on NCL in a few years and will not go back again.  

 

The crowding and ships flow was horrible.

That is exactly our feeling after 30+cruises on X and 1 recent cruise in Haven. We enjoyed Haven more than our last in  AQ  in 2019.

Is the regular coffee still bad? I remember from 20 years ago - it was terrible. Maybe new Sun will have good coffee.

On 11/14/2023 at 2:15 PM, schwartzy said:

I have not been on a cruise in 7 years, but before that my husband and I went on a bunch of cruises. Almost all were on Celebrity but we also went on Norwegian and Holland America. Celebrity was definitely our favourite, especially Aqua class - we thought the food and service were much better than the other cruise lines. We're looking to cruise again soon, but reading reviews I'm seeing lots of complaints here about food quality going downhill on Celebrity, but very few complaints on the NCL boards, especially for their newer ships. Question - do we think that the quality has declined on Celebrity where now it is on par with the other lines? Or have they all declined? Are there just more complainers here? Or perhaps Celebrity fans set the bar higher? My husband is pushing for Celebrity because he says "it is better" but I'm not sure what to think. In the past we only chose NCL or Holland America because of the itinerary.

We sailed in NCL Haven for the first time in May and thought food and service was by far better than our last cruise in AQ on Reflection (2019 - TA). And price was not much more than AQ. 

Finally! Some positive reviews about Equinox. We are looking forward to our upcoming cruise on Equinox in 2 weeks. 

23 hours ago, david63 said:

What unrest in Europe? As far as I am aware there isn't any - at the moment.

I don't think I will visit London these days.

We are booked on Sun Princess, sailing next May. With all unrest in Europe, I am wondering if Princess will make changes in itineraries. I am assuming Istanbul will be taken out... Celebrity already made changes. 

So tired of price game. 

Not excited about E class. 

On 11/7/2023 at 9:46 AM, Lena11033 said:

 

Maybe someone loves spreadsheets? 🤔

Or venn diagrams😜

To the new cruiser, Celebrity can sell anything, if they call it " special' or "exclusive".

On our last cruise most people did not follow the guidelines. At least we didn't see pj type of clothing. We are old school and always dressed up for an evening. Nicely dressed people enhance cruising experience. At current times, I know a lot of people will not agree with me. I am not in for discussion " don't judge the book by it's cover".

3 hours ago, rM3panno said:

From what I have researched it has multiple meanings. If the bid is still able to be modified then it doesn’t mean much other than there’s still a chance to get the upgrade. If the bids are locked and especially if you bid on multiple upgrade categories and one is showing “pending”and the others “expired” then there is a very good chance you have won the upgrade. The process could take from the time it is locked until 48 hours before departure to actually clear as upgraded. The first sign of the clearers upgrade is the charge on your credit card provided when you packed the bid. This it is helpful if you have alerts set for CC transactions.

 

As a side note, as someone recently a victim and still fighting identity theft I would suggest notifications of any transactions. As a business owner get a lot of notifications but the immediate notice has proven to be a lifesaver.

We only bid on one category Sky suites and it is open for modification, just noted as pending. I will check my CC.

Thank you. 

Question for experienced in move up bids: What does " pending" mean? Maybe?? or just that Celebrity received our bid? Thanks

We are considering a cruise on Beyond, but we don't like IV, so I was looking on booking what they have Porthole veranda. 

Anyone with experience in sailing one, please share your opinions. I think we will prefer aft cabin.

Thank you very much.

$8.99 upgrade on November 30 cruise.

On 10/25/2023 at 5:30 PM, mrgabriel said:

 

As @hcat explained, Michael's Club used to be the place for Captain's Club daily events. Cocktails and hors d'oeuvres from 5-7, then in the evening there would be music,

 

If Perry Grant was performing on the ship, it would be packed for his shows - and he was a real hoot. Very clubby and intimate. I just remember hours of laughter in there. Now as the Retreat Lounge it's a bit ... dull ... by comparison. 

I missed Perry. He is a great entertainer, but not everybody's cup of tea. 

About new benefit - so much hoo haa about nothing.

We used to cruise 3 -4 times a year on X. After pandemic we had 3 cruises booked, but 2 of them we had to cancel. Last one on X was in March of 2022 and it was fantastic. This year we took one cruise on NCL Haven and it was very nice. Now we only have 1 to go in about 5 weeks on Equinox. Have not booked any on X yet. Next year we have 2 booked with different cruise lines. Will see if November cruise will motivate us to book another cruise on X. 

12 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

The ones who know how to code make a lot of money at very young ages.  Don’t kid yourself.  They’re out there.

No doubt. Wonder how many of them are interested in cruising. 

23 hours ago, georgiaguy said:

Just means I will still be cruising when you are long gone…

Every generation has its benefits.  Hopefully your children will have ability to cruise when you long gone.

28 minutes ago, Loracpin2 said:

 

I agree 100%. Our first Celebrity cruise was on the Horizon to Bermuda in 1992. No Balconies, no "over the top Amenities"!!!! Just service & food that was always fantastic (Crepes Suzettes and Banasters Foster made tableside by the Maitre'd) . When formal meant formal for both both Guests & Staff which made the vacation experience very special as opposed to a land trip.  Plus dinners were always leisurely with plenty of time to make it to the evenings great entertainment.....because the ships weren't oversold!!!      

 

Our upcoming January Apex cruise will determine if we will continue booking with Celebrity. Elite+ status is no longer the incentive!!!!! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That were the days. Remember them well.

36 minutes ago, hubofhockey said:

You would think, but they are going after a younger demographic these days.  

They need to realize that some of the younger demographic don't have the money. 

The cutbacks will continue as long as customer will allow. If people continue complaining, but still booking, nothing will improve. 

2 minutes ago, Orator said:

What we get is what people are willing to include in their experience. People are booking, especially Suites at what I feel is  to me outrageous prices, but that  being said, Celebrity would be fools(and they're not) to get less than the market will allow. The passengers who continue to book are most responsible for the decline in service and the rising prices. The market determines price!

You are correct - there are always be somebody to book a cruise.. And X will charge high prices as long as people will be willing to pay till they start to compare. That is what we did. AQ was $6500 for 9 days Carib cruise and NCL Haven was $5700 for 9 days Carib. We would not sail on NCL in the regular cabin.

I consider myself a very loyal fan of X ( Elite Plus) and so far we never had a bad cruise. Sailing in November will be a check mark for us. We have no cruises booked with X.  We did tried NCL Haven and loved it, so there are options. 

20 hours ago, TX-Cruiser said:

I still feel like Celebrity is a good match for my husband and I (65 & 56) and we also sail on RC when with our adult children. I do feel like I am starting to desire a little more refinement but not too refined...ie, stuffy. We are very "Texas" people...love great food and great entertainment but prefer to enjoy it in nice jeans & boots. We will dress up if we have to...haha. 

 

The big hurtle I have been finding is my husband loves to play cards. He loves blackjack and enjoys roulette. So a casino on board is a must. Anyone looking for a similar sweet spot? In regard to cost, we are very much focused on value over cost. Luxury has value, but we don't need to go crazy either. I hope this all makes sense. 

No dress code on NCL. But, we only will sail in Haven.

2 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

For free you can call room service in the morning and get coffee, I know other drinks also but not sure if tea is one of them

We had our morning coffee delivered. And was promptly at 7:30. Like I said, our lady butler was excellent. We didn't ask for afternoon snacks, but we enjoyed fresh fruit and cheese every day.