poeticlicensed

8 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

As good as Two Buck Chuck AKA Charles Krug?

Remember the two buck chuck phenom? Sometimes I can find a decent wine at TJs, but def not 2 buck chuck 

9 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Our sommelier in Luminae couldn’t even tell me if I should have the Moscato or the Chardonnay with my burger.  He kept offering wines from some place I’ve never heard of called “Napa” when everyone knows the best wines are from Lodi. 🙄

 

Seriously these folks may be trained (I doubt it), but the product is sub par.

The thought of a Moscato with a burger makes me queasy. Thats really unfortunate. Even with limited training they should know the very basics. 

On 8/17/2023 at 9:14 AM, Whinenowine said:

Do you think they knew their stuff? Last year on both the Edge and MIllie there was a sufficient number of Somms...but I was disappointed with their general knowledge (or lack thereof)--including in Fine Cut/Tuscan Grill.

I have a neighbor who went to school to be a sommelier after be sold his company and retired. He told us a trained sommelier makes big $$$. No way can a cruise company afford to hire dozens of sommeliers for each ship Most likely is that the head sommelier on the ship is educated, and he/she gives training to the staff. Its fine with me, I know enough about wine to tell them what I like and have them bring me wines to try. 

We've done select and set time.alnost never had to wait with select. I cannot wait til after 8 to eat, so we generally choose early seating, but if we are on an excursion or don't make our seating, we just go to the select section of the MDR. Never had a problem. 

56 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Yes.   It is not automatic.   You have to call either your agent or Celebrity to have the adjustment in price.

Well thats just a pain in the derriere

1 minute ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi

Have you never walked into a greenhouse bursting with tomatoes,,pulled one off and eat it out of your hand,,,,,one of the joys of summer.

Especially the small round variety ‘Gardeners Delight’.

 

Sorry for going off topic!!😉

I used to live near some tomato farms that would grow the best beefsteak tomatoes. There is nothing better than a tomato sandwich on good bread. Most tomatoes I find to be inedible, so I generally don't eat them anyway. I just can't see getting so bent out if shape about a tomato that I went to guest services. I worked with the public for several years early in my career and we used to keep a running list of all the crazy complaints and complainers we got. I bet the folks at guest relations still talk about the tomato guy. 

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

The search function stinks imo because it brings up every post with a matching word whether relevant or not. I have much better luck googling my question. More often than not a CC thread will pop up. Just a much better filter…but to your point, I agree a quick search of something will often yield a hit. 

I'm generally not a fan of search functions, but on CC, you need to make sure you change the default from "any search words"  to "all search words".  I get better results that way. I wish they would set the default to that, because sometimes I forget to change it

25 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

Anyway, we are normally Verandah cruisers on X, and Aqua when we can. We don't need a large cabin, but they're nice when we luck into them. As the suite folks are moving up to Regent and such, we are looking there, but mostly looking at lines in the Azamara range, as they are priced well for our needs. 

 

Likewise, we typically book verandah, have done concierge and aqua if the price is right. My opinion is that celebrity is raising prices more than other lines, and while i like them, I'm not willing to pay more than I perceive the value to be. We don't have the budget or inclination to do suites or move to a luxury line with butlers, flights, private transport and what not.  Not sure what our next move is. We are booked on a TA with HAL, but I hesitate jumping in with them full bore until I see if its a good match. On top of that, X seems to be focusing more and more on Caribbean sailings and as a longtime FL resident,  I'm done sailing the Caribbean. 

We will look at lines like Oceania, but I've also sailed MSC (not in YC. I know the horror of it all) and it wasn't bad at all. And they have a more European focus with their itineraries. 

There's also much travel to be done that is better suited to land based travel. So we will be looking at that also. 

12 minutes ago, the penguins said:

Once tips are removed it will be much easier to see exactly what X is charging for the drinks and WiFi on any particular cruise. You will also be able to compare the AI price against paying for the 2 elements separately.

Will the cost per night be the same on every cruise ? 

I doubt it as the new system will give X much more flexibility to play with the rates depending upon demand.

We are currently looking at a cruise in 2025 on HAL and the price on that for tips/drinks/WiFi is £50 (around $60) per person per day.

I totally understand the disparity in rates, based on demand, season, location etc. But you would think that wifi and booze would cost pretty much the sane, given that the cruiseline pays a negotiated rate via contract for booze and they are the ones providing wifi. 

The all in package pricing is a mystery to me. I'm looking at one cruise and AI is 55 pp pd. On another cruise its 166 pp pd. I cannot figure out why such a disparity. One would think that drink costs, gratuities cost and wifi cost would be similar no matter what cruise you are on. Which leads me to believe its all made up so taking away tips is meaningless, given there's no baseline 

So does the best price guarantee only hold if you call and tell them you saw your cruise at a lower price? 

8 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Found it---

 

No Whole Tomatoes 12

By swjumbo, August 22

That is hilarious. I was still a bit unclear though. I guess he was upset because he likes grape tomatoes and they only had cut up full size tomatoes. I cannot imagine anyone eating a large tomato. 

I really hope people realize that fruits and veggies are seasonal. If you cruise out of growing season, you may find availability of certain foods lacking. I'd rather have no tomatoes than tomatoes that have been sitting in cold storage for months. 

12 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

" Nobody cares " ???

WHAT ?? Can't be !!! --- I spent $$$$$$$$$ of $US with the terrible $Canadian to $US conversion rate and finally graduated to Elite to get all them perks ----and nobody cares ??

How d'ya think the old farts in the " reserved " section in the theater would feel if nobody cheered like crazy when the Captain ( don't know his/her name ) presented them with a gold(ish) medallion in honor of their 1000 Celebrity cruise ?

LOL-- How d'ya think I felt when I ordered a scoop of gelato and the young lady ( very pretty ) put 2 scoops into a cup and when I told her we were Elite, she took 1 out-- " You only get one "she said. ( Absolutely true story ).

So, when I went to GR to remove the gratuities or " settle " for a complimentary cruise, I overheard a man complaining about no round tomatoes, a lady complaining that her French onion soup was served cold and another old fart was upset because a young child was in the Solarium.

That's more serious than the " only one scoop " of gelato, so I left.

 

 

 

Someone please explain the round tomato thing. This is the second time someone made a reference to it. I need a good laugh today. 

2 minutes ago, zitsky said:

I’m interested in suites but I hope I’m not obnoxious about it.  I hate the posts that mention elite status when it’s not relevant.  “I’m elite and I just ate a sandwich.”

 

 

Well sure, if I was considering a suite, I'd be all over it. But let me know in the title, then I can decide. 

I crack up at the people who state they have double zenith status. All I can  think of double secret probation. Seriously,  I think many people who have achieved those status think that if they tell you their status it gives more weight to their answer. And for some its just a flex. 

1 hour ago, kywildcatfanone said:

You can put me in the steerage forum.  

Same here. But honestly, if people would title their posts to indicate questions or comments about suites/retreat/aqua, etc, or those having to do with amenities are are only available to certain tiers those of us who rarely or never book in that cabin class or aren't at that tier don't need to bother looking at. For example, titling a post "Disappointed by Apex" would have me clicking on it if I was booked on Apex. But "Disappointed about my butler service on Apex" I probably wouldn't read since I would never book a cabin category that comes with a butler.  Just like I don't read any post that begins "We are Elite",  or "Elite [fill in the blank]", since I'm not. 

3 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

Stay tuned we are taking our FIRST non-Celebrity cruise 12 days from today.  I will probably be a Live Post Comparison and will fire it up in about a week from now.

 

Like many of you, I guess I qualified as a "Loyal" Celebrity cruiser as we have not ever sailed another line in 23 years.   Like many when too many things change in a relationship it is time for either a separation or a divorce.  We will be hitting Double Zenith soon and to tell you the truth not excited about it (Except for the free Aqua Class Cruise). 

 

We have also been looking around and so far Seabourn, Azamara and Silverseas is popping to the top of our research list.

 

Enjoying everyone perspective as many of us have different priorities.   Our main priority are longer cruises (14+ days) and NON-Caribbean itineraries.  Bermuda an RCL/Celebrity Island are definitely not of interest. 

What is double Zenith? 

I was super bummed because on our last cruise the app showed short ribs that day, but when we went to the MDR no short rib on the menu

1 hour ago, jaywoods678 said:

I completely agree with this. You basically wrote down my thoughts exactly. And I believe this is a good theory. I'll elaborate. The large mainstream lines have economies of scale. They may have lower fares but have lots of first timers and families. These customers spend onboard. They spend on alcohol, excursions, photos, souvenirs, art auctions, spa services, etc. They also have a lot more cabins filled with four people. All of this obviously makes them more money. On the other end, the true luxury lines make more money simply because of the high fares. Then you have the lonely premium lines in the middle - HAL, Celebrity, and Princess. From my own personal experience and from others, these are the lines making the most cuts. Yes, all lines are making some cuts, even the upper premium lines like Oceania but NOTHING like the others. In fact, even on mainstream line Carnival, on their newest ships, they've actually eliminated extra charge fees for many of their specialty restaurants, so not only are they not cutting as much, they are actually giving more. They are still providing free lobster on formal night whereas their premium brand Holland America is not. Go figure. For all of us experienced cruisers who prefer the aforementioned premium lines, we've sailed a lot. We are most likely not purchasing photos, we are probably booking our own private excursions, I can't remember when I've last been to a spa onboard, and we don't spend money in the shops. So the lines don't know what to do with us or ways to squeeze more money out of us. They know we are not going to fall for all the gimmicks, so they are simply just going to cut cut cut until they can't cut anymore. At this point, these lines have already cut so much that they are pretty much indistinguishable from their mainstream counterparts. I think they would love to get rid of this category and just roll these lines in with the mainstream ones and just consider these lines the more "adult focused" versions. For me, there is really no reason to pay more to sail with the premium lines. I will just start sailing the mainstream lines and, if I want a better experience, will from time to time sail on a line like Oceania.

That would be unfortunate. If they make X like RCCL I'm out completely. My last Royal cruise cinched it. We hadn't been on Royal for nearly 15 years and were given a free cruise.  It wasn't the food or the price. It was the noise. I feel like the Grinch when I say that, but the noise noise noise. They played music so loud in public areas I was literally covering my ears. By comparison, X is peaceful. 

I booked our first HAL cruise. Seriously looking at Oceania. I'd rather cruise less with better itineraries  than move to Royal. Didnt like Carnival or NCL either.  

7 minutes ago, terrydtx said:

When we booked our HAL 11 night cruise next August form Boston, we looked at Celebrity as they also had a 11 night cruise from Boston. The Celebrity SS was over $8000pp so we looked at doing an Aqua Class which with AI was about $4800pp. On HAL we booked their highest category Vista Suite for $4400pp with the early booking premium Have it all promo and with Club Orange. We get premium drinks, Premium Wi-Fi, all tips, $200 OBC, $200pp shore excursions credit, and 2 specialty restaurants credit. Club Orange gives us priority boarding and tendering, enhanced dining with extra special entrees every night, and a CO concierge and several other benefits. The decision to go with HAL was a no brainer.

We did the same. Booked a 14 night TA on HAL. Got the have it all pkg which includes tips, wifi, drinks, 2 nights specialty dining and 2 shore x. With all that, the price was 30% cheaper than a similar itinerary, albeit fewer ports, all in package on X that doesn't include any shore x or specialty dining. And I would have to upgrade my bev pkg out of pocket. It was a no brainer

4 hours ago, Boatharbour said:

We’ve just booked a HAL cruise to Alaska after only ever sailing Celebrity. The price difference was so large that we couldn’t ignore it just because of loyalty.

 

Celebrity Aqua sky suite was over AU $20,000 AI - for a 7 day cruise! With HAL we booked a Neptune suite AI for just under AU$12 000. 

We have one more cruise with Celebrity coming up in 2024 (booked at 2022) pricing and will then look elsewhere. 

 

 

This is my take. We aren't Retreat or Suite people. We book plain old balconies. We want to cruise the Fjords so I've been looking for some time now. What I've noticed is that while everyone is raising prices, something is out of whack with Celebrity. Looking at next July, with similar itineraries, dates, cabin class, I'm seeing celebrity is much pricier. We are talking the difference between 330 pp pd and 490 pp pd if you add each cruiseline version of all in. And some lines are more generous, including specialty dining or shore x. So after Oct 4 that 490 a day will be over 500. That is too big of a difference to ignore. And while I like the Celebrity experience, I dont like it enough to accept such a large disparity in pricing 

Blue cheese souffle 

30 minutes ago, Duanerice1 said:

I'm just a normal cruiser.  No Regent or Oceania for me.  Out of my budget for a cruise but a cruise is just a small part of our vacation portfolio.  Fancy, huh, vacation portfolio... lol  But we do take a lot of non cruise vacations. 

 

Been sailing almost exclusively Celebrity since 2007.  Family situations and Covid broke that streak but went back last April.  One of the best cruises we have been on.  We only sail in a balcony so don't expect any special treatment but everyone we had contact with was pleasant, especially if we smiled and said hello.  Food was good but then we are nor foodies so take it for what it's worth.  The only issue I have is the entertainment isn't that good. 

 

Is it less than it was years ago?  Sure but not as far off as most people post.  It's still a bit above many cruise lines and it's still our preferred when the prices are right.  We have no interest in spending the money for the luxury lines.  We go just to have fun, we don't need to be pampered or catered to.  Just be nice and give us good food and we'll be happy... lol

 

 

I feel the same, but I'm having issues finding decent prices. We aren't interested in the Caribbean, as we've BTDT too many times. And that seems to be the direction Celebrity is heading. 

I booked our first HAL cruise a couple of months ago. Hoping its a good fit for us.  Our most recent cruise on X was good, but since we mostly cruise on X, I did notice the cutbacks. Fewer choices in the MDR. And sadly my beloved martini bar just wasn't good. We are convinced they are using cheaper booze and mixes. And since our itinerary was a bit port heavy, I found that I didn't care as much about ship activities, even on sea days. And I realized that I'm just not into bingo and I thought the trivia and silent disco is not for me.  And I hate those game show activities where they use pax to provide entertainment. I was underwhelmed by the shows. There were only 3 nights of 7 that they had a real stage show. Otherwise it was magicians and comedians. Honestly I'd rather listen to a lecture or some music. So yeah, some of the things that I see more and more on X are not the things I'm interested in. I realized during this cruise its about the itinerary, the food and the service for us. We definitely noticed the cutbacks in the MDR. 

I would love to try Oceania or Viking Ocean, but its gonna be a hard sell for hubby. He thinks smaller ships will be boring and full of snobby people. Its going to take a lot of convincing. 

12 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

People were pissed off when they included grats in Always included , now people are pissed off they are excluding them 🙄

I would think 99% of the passengers will just pay the daily grats without even thinking about it 

That's why they took grata off. People are gonna pay them. If they removed the bev pkg, you'd have a lot more people saying no to bundling. 

2 hours ago, ECCruise said:

Have been sailing Celebrity since 1999.  30-some sailings, about a years worth of time on 15 ships.  Sailed every =X= ship built except Meridian before it went to the bottom.  Never sailed Flora or an E-class and have zero desire to sail either.

 

For many years, Celebrity's theme song, which was in all the commercials and played the last night when the staff and crew would assemble on the stage in the theater, was "Simply the Best."  And honestly, we strongly felt that way.  For the better part of a dozen years, we considered no other line except for something that Celebrity did not offer (an excursion ship to Antarctica, e.g. for more than the 1 year they offered it).  It was our line of choice and we wore that badge proudly.

 

But then we felt it starting to get away from our personal preferences.  When drink packages and Martini bars and Silent Disco and Liars Club became the focus rather than spending time in unique destinations.  When the bulk of =X= itineraries became, at the least, pretty hackneyed.  We no longer did the Caribbean or Alaska, so that worked against booking again.

 

Even though we have 4 =X= sailings booked with some interesting itineraries, we have largely moved on.  Have done many Azamara, which is by far our preferred choice, and a number of Oceania (no longer consider them) but also starting to re-add HAL to the mix after a number of years away since they have some really interesting itineraries. 

 

But Celebrity has obviously inked the direction that they want to go forward with, and that is fine.  Suite-centric, younger demographic, and maximum price point with less inclusions. If they feel that it is their best foot forward, more power to them.  They likely will be able to develop a new guest profile and perhaps to continue to sail full (although all lines are largely sailing full today).  We have some wonderful memories, and that will stay forever. 

Completely agree. People can complain and write letters, but I'm guessing this has been the plan for some time now. I'm now searching other cruise lines to find one that has the things I value.