Spurschick

13 hours ago, nelblu said:

Yes, but also on the plus side it encourages them to be loyal to Royal.

Not always

my daughter has her eyes set on pinnacle and moaned that I booked a cruise on Celebrity. After celebrity she’s not quite so loyal to Royal (especially if we are paying lol)

28 minutes ago, Itchy&Scratchy said:

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2910594-worst-cruise-ship-shows-ever-meraviglia/

here are other people who bought tickets to the shows on Mera and were hugely disappointed

Thanks I’m on Mera soon so will see how it goes.

On 1/24/2023 at 9:49 PM, fredmdcruisers said:

Then why do those who push this way of cheating always say: don't mention that you booked a guarantee cabin?

Once a guarantee is assigned to a category, changing to another cabin in the same category that is available is not cheating. 

On 1/20/2023 at 8:28 AM, John&LaLa said:

 

Stress reimbursement, seriously. 🤔

 

Good luck with that

Agreed, I would have loved stress compensation for the times that Royal have chartered out our sailing and cancelled our cruise, or moved our ship to a different part of the world after we booked, or even sent our ship for a dry dock and turned our cabin into 2 cabins so the cabin we booked no longer existed. 

On 1/10/2023 at 9:48 PM, neverbeenhere said:

Jump on a Carnival Cruise, either you’ll be back to Royal quickly or you’ll find your new love ❤️ 

The problem is Carnival are more expensive than RC now on some sailings so Carnival cruisers are jumping to RC. Which is essentially making Royal the new Carnival on some ships.

we cruise every month and recently we have noticed a much more prevalent presence of security around the ship, especially around bars and the Promenade just stood there monitoring.  The vibe and overall experience is definitely changing.

We even had a guy banging on our cabin door at 4 am on one cruise as he couldn’t get into our cabin, so drunk that he was trying to tell my husband that we were in his room. Like seriously not what we go on a cruise to be yelled at in the middle of the night by a stranger that doesn’t even know his own room.
 

We are pretty loyal to Royal but are booking far more cruises now that are not Royal than are Royal.

12 hours ago, Fitzget said:

Yes, we had friends with us who were in Yacht Club - the perks were nice. I wasn't comparing suites though - I was comparing like for like. You get A LOT more with Royal in a standard room. Their butler did make dinner reservations for all of us, so that was nice. But again, Royal is just a much better product. 

Yes - RC is better for non suites, but MSC is better for YC and RC doesn’t come close in that regard. Our butler on MSC was far better than our Genie in Star class.

Sky and sea class also do not include drinks the YC includes, nor do they include Butler like even interior YC cabins get.

Would I stay outside YC on MSC - definitely not.

Would I sail in YC on MSC over sea and Sky class on Royal - definitely

10 hours ago, Fitzget said:

To each their own. I've been on more than just Royal and MSC, and MSC is a very different product than anything I've been on before. I like the additional dining options on Royal. I like the fact that I can use my drink package anywhere. I like the fact that I don't have to wait 30+ minutes for a drink at a bar. Like I said, we had a great cruise, but it just wasn't for us. Royal just has an overall much better product, and MSC has a lot of learning to do. MSC even charges extra for shows, which really surprised me. We're all entitled to our own opinions, and our own likes and dislikes. 

Interesting as we have never been charged extra for any show on MSC?????

9 hours ago, bigbenboys said:

We did one sailing on Azamara and the ship was boring. Every once in a while I look at Silversea. My negatives are that ships are to small and the dress code. Give me Smart Casual attire every night. Maybe MSC Yacht Club, but again the dress code. 

I just stay away from E-Class ships. I enjoy doing glass blowing. More food options on the M and S Class ships in Luminae.

I just booked an Alaska cruise in a CS. Edge was $7936 pp, Solstice $6036 PP. Solstice ship out of Vancouver has a better itinerary. I booked Solstice and I can do glass blowing. 

MSC Yacht club, yes there will be the occasional person really well dressed, but smart casual is all you need. It is the best suite experience we have encountered to date (full disclaimer, trying retreat soon to see how it compares.)

15 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

If I'm not mistaken, you're a suite cruiser.  It will be interesting to see if Celebrity' ship within a ship concept for the suites will work out in the long term.  Celebrity is trying to market and price the suites on the E-class the same as the suites on the true luxury lines.   I'm seeing more and more comments that people in this market prefer the true luxury lines.  I believe that Celebrity is trying to use the higher prices on the suites to raise the prices on all of the cabins.  I think this will turn out to be a mistake.  Cruisers in the non-suite cabins will compare the prices to those on other mass market lines and will drift to the lower prices on those lines unless Celebrity adopts competitive prices for the non-suite cabins.

The ship within a ship concept will most definitely work. We have done it on MSC Yacht club several times and people that sail in suites are looking for that experience. It is a huge hit on MSC. It is also the truest version you can get as every suite and amenity is within the sectioned off section of the ship with no through traffic from anyone non suite.
 

Royal are finally moving that way with the closest version currently the Wonder and the Icon tweaks it a bit. Royal have listened that again that’s what their suite guests want.

As for Celebrity, yes it will be a big hit, and as for luxury I agree they are pricing themselves as a more luxury pricing but they are rebranding as a luxury line which is why all cabin fares will increase.   But they are still cheaper on a per person per night basis than your ultra luxury brands like RSSC, the new Explora brand, Silverseas etc.

forgot to add Royal have suites just as expensive if not more expensive than Celebrity, and Royal is far from being considered a luxury line

On 12/27/2022 at 12:24 PM, smtcan said:

I have not sailed on E class, but the impression I get from this thread is that suite guests love their facilities while non suite guests are not so happy.  Since we will probably never book a suite, particularly since the price increases and the fact that drinks are included, which is not value for us, I think we will stick to S class.  After more than 30 cruises with Celebrity, and one more booked, I feel as though it is time to look for another line, maybe one that provides us with more value for money.  I appreciate that everyone has their own version of value, but we cruise for destinations not just to be on a ship.

And yet we booked an 11 night beyond due to the ports (Panama Canal, A/B/C islands etc) in a suite for less than we pay for 7 nights in a suite on Royal with nothing included.

1 hour ago, Panzano said:

I was on the Summit last month with the premium package and the limit was $15, not $17,  so the upcharge for above the clouds would be $5 plus 20% tip ($1) so the total upcharge would be $6.

Thanks - interesting as the website says Premium package is up to $17

9 hours ago, GetToLivin said:

Did you happen to notice if they have packages you can buy once on the ship or is it all pre-booking only?

You can buy onboard but i would recommend viewing first. Given the effort other new ships put into their Thermal Spas (Prima, Edge Class and MSC) it is severely underwhelming at best.

14 hours ago, lauder said:

I had the "above the Clouds" and was charged $6 extra over the premium package on a recent Beyond cruise [was worth it] 🙂

Confused.???

above the clouds says it is $20

the premium package covers drinks up to $17 so how was it a $6 up charge???

3 hours ago, hal2008 said:

Interesting.

Guess we hang in different demographics.

 

Hard pressed to think about any relative/friend/neighbour/coworker who has not traveled outside USA in ten years. 

 

When I lived in TX most people I knew hadn’t even been outside TX and we were 1hr from OK. YMMV.

6 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Thanks for this information.  We are not on Beyond until 2024 and I booked Le Voyage using OBC. Now I can cancel it.

If you contact your retreat host they can cancel it and do refund and rebook for same time for you.

Further update, Terrikka advised me that after my original booking which was made when Le Voyage was not included, the policy changed and it is now indeed included.

19 hours ago, A&L_Ont said:

What’s theirs?

As per Dakahuna 

12 hours ago, nelblu said:

We could also blame the extra night point for the Suite guests.🤣

Just imagine the uproar if they switched to similar point scheme as X !!!

17 hours ago, nelblu said:

First of all, D+ are not allowed in the CK.

 

How, the problem was not the D+ tier level but his/her staying in the JS.  To alleviate what you consider/indicate a problem, in this case, is not allowing JS Paxs in CK.

 

Stop dumping on us lowly D+s.  We don't go around flashing our gold badges.😄

I am aware D+ are not allowed in - he was just making sure that in every sentence he said he reiterated he was D+ like it would make a difference

and I’m certainly not dumping on D+ as I am one myself lol. 

I think part of the issue is what people became accustomed to in quiet restart after the pandemic times and back to full capacity times.

Case in point, recently on Symphony I had 2 guests in front of me at CK on boarding day. The first guest was pinnacle, second guest was D+

First guest was trying to make reservations for CK and was given restricted hours due to over 100 pinnacles onboard.

He was perfectly fine and understood the situation and took what was offered. (Not in full suite)

guest 2 was D+ in JS. When he was told he would have to check on a daily basis if there was an opening for CK that day he started yelling at the staff that it was completely unacceptable as he’d made CK reservations before in a JS with no issue. (Also he’ll bent on making sure they knew he was D +)  Despite multiple staff trying to explain that guests in suites had priority, Pinnacles had next priority and JS could see if there was availability on the morning they wanted to dine in the evening he wasn’t having any of it. I was actually quite embarrassed by his berating of the staff and felt very sorry they had guests that treated them that way.

Hopefully this will alleviate some of the abuse they have to put up with.

15 hours ago, orville99 said:

Sorry, but no way those pictures are from Harmony Solarium Bistro complimentary mains.

Then clearly you have not eaten these dishes off the menu for dinner.they are very much dinner main options from Harmony.

12 hours ago, orville99 said:

Only a few questions, what was the special nature of that specific cruise that provided you with a completely one off menu that has not been seen before or currently on Harmony? Was that her first cruise out of Lauderdale, or were you lucky enough to have hit the jackpot and were on the cruise where they were trialing an upscale menu. The only reason I ask is if that will eventually become the menu in the bistro, then it’s life as a complimentary venue will have come to an end.

I suppose you are now going to argue that this isn’t my lamb from my Harmony sailing in September in Bistro - because that was cooked to order definitely no buffet plating with this one.

10 hours ago, Husky1987 said:

Yep, lamb was free on Symphony three weeks ago.  I know, because my wife had it every night.

So did I!!!

Because it was buffet just walk up and help yourself to as much as you want on Symphony

14 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

 

We stay onboard plenty of times, but might as well get off a few times, even places we frequent a lot.

 

Love the meat pies in Falmouth😁

 

As far as clueless, I posted a follow up 😉

Ah the patties in Falmouth are the only reason we get off. 

4 hours ago, orville99 said:

In the 6-8 months after the restart in 2021, if the Bistro was open at all in the evening it was all buffet. They didn't switch back to the main course menu until mid-spring 2022.

If you read carefully what I said - Harmony is buffet starter and desert but had a menu to order main course

Symphony is buffet for all three - starter, main and desert.

Both of these cruises have been in last couple of months. Different ships - different setups.