jmdlv1

Thanks for posting your TR.

We were on the Apex 3/16-3/23.

Our experience was fantastic. Glad you are enjoying 

Have not used UR Comped but a similar company.

Since most of my play is tables ,I don't get W2 Gs .

$140000 is a strong return.

I honestly have not been able to play 3-4 hours a day on cruises. When the casino opens at 6pm on port days ,that goes into dinner ,shows  and anything else. 

Playing in AC or Vegas is completely different when play can be spread out over 24 hours.

1 hour ago, kwokpot said:

I'm not sure what you or the BCC rep told you but on ANY BCC offer there isn't ANY obligation to gamble a specific amount or level on THAT sailing. That's not how it works. What you gamble or DON'T gamble WILL determine what your FUTURE offers are. 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/terms-and-conditions/casino-promotions

I understand that.

However ,when in a free or discounted cabin,there is an implied expectation of play.

i have been told by independent reps working through the BCC that 3-4 hours a day is expected.

Almost impossible on most cruises.

The discounts have become insignificant in my opinion.

My average bet on Bj and craps has been over $300 and the return in comps is laughable.

I've talked to the BCC club several times and they expressed an expectation that I play x hours /day on the cruise.

I never met that especially on port intensive itineraries.

I used to get 50% off suites and free balcony cabins.

Now they offer free inside cabins.

So I stopped booking through the casino .Last couple cruises I booked through a regular TA and have been happy.

No pressure to put the hours in playing in the casino.

After sailing on the Apex two weeks ago ,they sent a voucher to my room for a free inside cabin.

No thanks!  

I'll pay and gamble when I feel like it.

Was on the Apex 2 weeks ago.

I believe it was double odds on ell pass line bets up to $50 and then you could get 3/4/5.

An observation on craps play on cruises.

It seems like there are some cruises where there are a lot of craps players and others where the table is often empty most of the time.

The limited hours makes that understandable. Competing with dinner and shows cuts down on players.

My biggest issue is the constant "NO ROLL" call on short tosses.

I understand if a shooter  regularly does not hit the wall.

But on the first throw ,calling "No ROLL" is too rigid.

Even if the dice kick sideways and hit the side wall it is "NO ROLL"

IMO give the shooter one warning .

26 minutes ago, jwlane said:

Current Brokerage statement less than 90 days old.

• Your name matching the name on the reservation.
• 100 RCL Shares.

 

The rules are pretty clear---and I'm of the mind it's not their responsibility to inform you if you fail to comply with them.

It is not their responsibility but after two phone calls they should have been able to tell me what the problem was.

If they told me the problem on my second call ,it could have been fixed.  

Have a wonderful cruise.

Will be following along.

enjoying your trip report!

We disembarked on the 23rd as you were boarding.

Sounds like they cleaned up the damage from the storms on the night of the 22nd.

There were broken chairs on the Retreat Sundeck and loungers in the main pool.

Glad things are going smoothly.

No form from either customs or Celebrity.

So this did not have a happy ending.

I submitted my statement from Merrill and kept waiting for the credit to show up.

It did not,

Called again and they gave me the email address again so I re submitted.

Nothing!!

Finally I called the day before embarkation and was transferred to a couple different people.

After 20 minutes ,they got back on and advised me that my name was not on the statement.

Huh??

I was already in Fort Lauderdale and it would have been very difficult to get anything.

I asked the rep why they did not contact me.He did not have an answer.

So ,no big deal but lesson learned..

This was all table games.

I played a little VP but no big winnings there.

Been on other cruises where I won more but this was a first.

It was in Port Everglades 

Just got off the Apex March 23.

When I put my Seapass against the  desk ,an alert came up on the bottom of the screen with my picture on it.

Could not read it but they called a Guest Relations rep over who advised me I have to go with her to see a customs officer.

We walked into a back room and told to sit and wait.

The Customs officer came out and said they got an alert that I won money in the casino!!!

He asked where the $$ were.I pointed to my carryon bag.

He asked how much I won and I told him about $4K was my closest guess.

Then he asked how much I brought on the cruise.

I told him .

Then he wanted to know if we purchased anything with the $$

We did not and he said ok you are free to leave.I guess they were trying to see if were not declaring something but it was weird.

If I won $10K or more ,I could understand but it was kind of ridiculous.

I have won more on other cruises on Celebrity and did not have this happen.

I cannot recall seeing anything like that on any ship.

we always have the drink package though so I may have missed it.

2 hours ago, Nauty said:

I’ve been wondering about this too. My only Celebrity cruise was way back in 2012 and they had it back then. Sold onboard only. They had tables set up at different locations around the ship where you could purchase either 3, 5 or 7 bottles. I’m hoping they would still have this for our upcoming cruise in June. We’re not really interested in the drink packages but we drink a lot of wine so this is a better value for us.

32 minutes ago, d9704011 said:

Do you have an upper limit to how happy you can be?  Can you move from happy to delighted to ecstatic and eventually reach a state of nirvana simply by handing out tips?

I think I'm somewhere between delighted and ecstatic.

I might get there though .Great question. I actually guessed your location before looking.

I expect to get flamed by the anti- tippers but I see it differently.

I am happy to pre pay tips.

I am also happy to give cash tips to staff I interact with.

When I hand my room steward a $50 or $100 bill they are very ,very happy . Same thing goes for servers in the restaurants ,bartenders ,etc.

Most of these crew members come from impoverished areas. If handing out a few hundred  dollars on a cruise helps them or their family ,I'm happy to do it.

I agree that Celebrity has taken their pricing up too high while cutting back on services.

However ,I don't want to hurt the hard workers on the ships.

I can’t verify the accuracy but 2 bartenders on the Ascent told us they were moving away from the cans as passengers were cutting there hands when opening.

Thanks for all the replies.

I spoke to Celebrity today and they sent a link to include my brokerage statement and reservation number.

I will keep checking though since we sail on 3/16.The rep implied they could apply ti in time. 

I know this has been covered before but could not find any results in a search.

last year I bought a couple hundred shares of RCL.

is there any benefit like OBC or anything else?

I’m on the Apex in a couple weeks and was wondering if it is worth checking into.

Been on all the E class ships over the last couple years.

I cannot really see a difference between any.

You can get a great meal or a so so meal on any ship .

17 hours ago, Canadianhey! said:

Part 2 of review

First let me say I totally agree with  D.B. with the waiters having a hard time getting to know their clients. As in my previous post we did find one that did get to know us even though we only spent one night with them. So these two proved it is doable. But yes I believe it is much hard.

Now on with the rest:

Celebrity App: It just sucks. One of our excursions got cancelled, so I popped down to the excursion desk are asked to be moved to the shark excursion. I was told that they didn't have an excursion like that, guess they should of told the app. I miss the interactive tv for the excursions (never thought I would say that). We were told lots to swipe up to refresh. I think Celebrity app is similar to their website - needs a lot of work. You soon learnt not to believe the app.

 

Excursions: Our Belize snorkeling trip got cancelled the day before. I believe they cancelled it to early. The day in Belize was fine. Water was not rough. Half hour tender ride was not rough. Many of us sat on shore at a bar wondering why water sport was cancelled. There was little choices available from the ship to pick another excursion. Many unhappy people on board that day.

 

Entertainment: They seem to have lots of technical difficulties. One show after 20 minutes of technical difficulties we left to find other things to do.  Two other times in the Eden things were slowed due to technical difficulties. Not sure how many roving entertainment singers they had but it seemed that everywhere we where it was the same 2 people. Shows were good as usual, no complaints. If you showed up at the theater 20 mins early, you weren't getting a seat without a real search. It seemed to me that the theater was smaller than other ship, but might be just the way I saw it.

 

Stateroom: We stay in a Sunset room. Got a bit of noise coming from the Eden which was right under us but nothing to really bother a person. Room was huge and lots of closet room. As we have never stayed in a Sunset stateroom I can't compare it to any other ship. Touch control lighting is very nice. I washed the railing everyday due to soot being collected on it. Gave up on my stateroom attendant doing it so did it myself.

 

In closing I found the staff not as friendly or as happy as the other ships. Maybe they just have to many things to handle but it seemed like they just didn't have time for you. Maybe the many cuts Celebrity has made over the years is finally catching up with them.

 

I have always loved Celebrity but I am now one of the people that will look at other cruise lines as alternative to Celebrity. I always believed that by paying a premium price for a cruise I was getting premium service. 

 

 

I have to agree about the staff friendliness on the Apex.

We have been on five different Celebrity ships in the last 2.5 years and it seemed like the Apex crew was less warm and friendly than the others.Seems like a cultural thing to me. 

I was notified one time out of 6 or 7 cruises.

I spoke to my TA yesterday and told her I emailed LBH regarding all the issues.

She suggested I also send one to Katina ,SVP of sales and service for The Americas.

I figured the more executives that hear about our level of dissatisfaction the better..

 Her email is : Kathanasiou@Celebrity.com

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

I was on the Eclipse and enjoyed it.  No it wasn’t perfect.  Anyone have anything nice to say about Celebrity?

I am a fan of the E class ships and the crew  who are always accommodating.

Not a fan of the decisions made by the current management team.

The reduced service levels and increased price gouging is annoying but I'm still looking forward to my March 16 cruise on the Apex.

Just received a call from Geidy in the "executive office"

Who said all the changes are being looked at and there may be some postive news at the end of the month.