LabGuy64

Not me.....

Don't know how this fits into the topic, but I love the idea.

 

 

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I think 800 is WAY too many....it would have to be a realatively small number....it would not be fair to the Suite and Zenith cruisers to dump 800 others into a service made to normally handle a much smaller group....the servise would suffer...and it would lose any special allure it may have had....and everyone would be unhappy.

 

 

 

It would be a great idea, especially if they opened it up to the first 800 pax to pay the extra fee and take advantage of the 'welcome aboard special lounge experience'. Then the buffet area would be lovely and quiet for the rest of the embarking passengers to enjoy 'freely' :rolleyes: :p.

 

Sorry, couldn't resist :D.

Yes Yes,

But the article was talking about Columbia......Even without that being specifically mentioned...I can't believe that anyone thinks the 3rd most dangerous cruise port in the world would be in Spain

The OP did not mention a country. There are at least two Cartegena named cities in the world and the one in Spain was the first. Both are cruise destinations.

 

Similarly, there are at least two Huntsville airports in the US. I once almost found myself booked on a flight to the one in Texas instead of Alabama.

 

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I will not apologize......bring back serfdom.

I want 10,000 serfs subsidizing a lavish lifestyle for me....not to mention Droit du seigneur.......

Does that make me a bad person? LOL

When have I said any cabin is subsidizing any other cabin, let alone that standards are subsidizing suites? I've made the point that there are other factors at play such as giving various groups pf passengers choice in cabin size, square footage has very little to do with setting cabin fares in all honesty.

 

You stated that RS sell for full fare but for the last one sold, I am asking how do you define "full fare" in your analysis, as I noted 11 price changes in an upcoming sailing (verandas on that one by the way, had 14 price changes).

 

As you stated all suites sold or full fare but the last, that means we have to look at a cruise sailing very soon, to see how all the suites sold, we can't look to a cruise a year away with only 1 or 2 of the suites sold to conclude that "all the suites but the last one" sold at full fare, can we? If all the suites are not sold, how can you state that they all sold for full fare?

 

But for fun, I'll look far out. 2/7/16 Eclipse sailing, so far RS have had 4 price points. So far 1 of the 8 RS have been sold on this one, but the fare has adjusted 4 times (all increases so far). Which of these 4 price points (so far) is "full fare"?

you really can't see the difference?

Thousands of people attempting to funnel into the ship in a very few hours...most of which want on the second that they open the ship for boarding........not much mystery here

Does anyone else find it ironic that some here feel it's OK to stay late at a hotel, even though they ask you to be out by a certain time; but it's not OK to arrive at the port at a time different than the cruise line requests? So it's OK to ignore the hotel guidelines but not the those of the cruise line?:confused::rolleyes:

I would suggest you really get an idea of what you want to see and set up any tours ahead of time or you will lose valuable time. also in long beach there is really not much worth seeing except maybe the aquarium of the pacific (if you are interested in sealife)....the Los angeles area is VERY spread out nd with the traffic it takes FOREVER to get any where....if there are things you want to see I would either pick one and head right for it...or at best only things VERY close together..say getting to hollywood from long beach can take from 1 to 3 hours depending on traffic.

Just booked a Princess cruise this Spring which visits Santa Barbara, LA (Long Beach), San Diego and Ensenada, Mexico - departing and returning to San Francisco.

 

We're used to ports of call around Europe and the Caribbean where local small business tour operators wait at the port entrance to offer trips on a casual walk up basis.

 

Is this typically on offer in the above US ports ? Not too keen on the ship's excursions.

 

This is a whole new experience for us, so expert advice and guidance would be appreciated.

can't let yourself be bullied.....you pick your hand...andwhen they try to put you all in you take the bet.....often these guys have very little...just trying to let the stacks pressure you.

I love playing but don't have a fortune to play with. Two cruises ago on the Ruby in Great Britain they had two tournaments, one with a $60 entry, one with $100. I played in the first, won it actually, but missed the second.

 

This last cruise on the Regal there were no hold 'em poker tournaments. But the table was almost always full when the casino was open. I decided I like the tournaments better. At least that way everyone starts with the same amount of money and the same chances. At the table on the Regal, whenever I'd go by, there were always one or two guys who had $150 or more. So if I'd buy in with a lower amount, I couldn't keep up with them. I played a bit the first night, but not afterwards.

You know....I kind of like the mystique of being invited to exclusive tour only open to a select few....rather than one open to anyone with 50 bucks...the first was adds to the charm of the cruising experiance....and the experianced cruisers....hearing rumors of the exclusive tour could always hope that they might get the invite each time they cruised.

It does require a lot of planning, and there is one person who is in charge of it. It isn't always difficult to get on them, when I was on the Ruby last January B2B2B on the Getaways promotion (where you got your fare back as a credit) the first two (five and four days) they did not have enough people and on the third (five days) they barely made the minimum of six.

heathens the lot of you ......all this talk of virgin drinks...should be ashamed! dastardly.......LOL

I'm just off the Regal. I discovered on this trip that the mocktails were different than the last Princess cruise I was on. Furthermore, the mocktails available at the bars around the ship were different. I tried ordering one I got from the Seaview bar somewhere else, and they couldn't make it. It did seem like any non-alcoholic drink was included on the "soda and more" card that I had. Like a virgin pina colada or daiquiri.

Hell,

If the tournements are anything like the ones that were going on during my last criuse.....I would rather get a private game together in my cabin

They had Hold 'Em tournaments on the Grand last March - $100 buy-in (and raked 15% off the top :eek:). I think it all depends on the Casino Host - if they want to run them, they will. Usually there's a sign-up sheet placed at the cage at 10 am and it's filled by 10:02, so plan to get there early and wait. You'll have company, don't worry. :D

 

 

Grey

I fully understand what you are saying about port safety....but what does Cartegena Spain have to do with the point of this thread?

Hmm. A tale of two cities.

 

We were in Cartegena (Spain) in October with Cunard. It's a very pleasant little spot, the Roman amphitheater is well worth a visit, the centre of town is nice and the locals are okay. The town hall is maybe 600m walk from where the ship berthed.

 

On the other hand, my nephew is living and working in Cartegena (Columbia) for the last two years. His apartment is on a spit of land between beach and naval port and he's happy to sit out on the beach with a couple of bottles of beer - a local homeless guy fetches him food or whatever else he wants. Local shops and restaurants are safe enough for his wife to venture out solo when she goes to visit. But he's very careful where he travels around other parts of the town and especially when moving outside town to the project he works on.

 

Bottom line - if a cruise company is willing to go someplace you don't have much to worry about but think carefully about solo excursions.

 

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you don't think price drops and upgrades have anything to do with the prices of other cabins?......if so your view of this issue is terribly distorted

I don't have to account for that at all. any cabin class can be subject to differing discounts and then you are no longer comparing apples with apples.

if what you are saying is true..how do you account for price drops and free or reduced cabin upgrdes?

This was your final sentence, and in all instances except the penthouse suites go up in price per square foot.

 

In all instances across all classes of cabin prices go up per square foot. The two exceptions being outside view and penthouse.

 

I did the maths, laboriously.

Very true Curt....the celebrity algorithim is working hard to maximize the booking / profit ratio.....anothing to do with issues of fairness...or dollar /sq foot...and I never heard od anyone refusing a free upgrade because it was not fair to those that paid ful fare....congrats on snagging the penthouse at that price!

I'm sailing PH on Summit for 7 nights saturday for $8500 as a solo, $4250 per person.

 

I've done PH on a 13 night TA on Eclipse for under $10k solo (5 k pp). This year the Eclipse TA is selling SKY suites for over 10k PER PERSON, 20k for the cabin!

 

Pricing is all over the place, supply and demand hard at work. Its impossible for anyone to make generalizations about fares unless comparing exact same ship and itinerary and smiling date. Even same itineraries in a season vary dramatically.

Actually, what's really the biggest motivating factor for adding the suite perks is that celebrity knows they can fill the veranda and ocean views on most cruises.....and that they don't want to bump people up to the next level.....so they intice the ones on the edge those that could go either way to PAY for the next level knowing that there are more that will fill in the lower level cabins. then they don't have to bump people up.....and as long as the benefits are less in cost than what they make in increased fares it is a gain for them....and people are happy getting "extra" perks as well

of course the veranda and ocean view cabind do often sell much faster than the others driving the price up until it make sense for people to pay slightly more to book a sky suite etc... or they get a free or purchased upgrade which opens up another veranda which is selling better.....it's not an issue of fairness though.....only economics....and if a person gets bumped form a veranda to a suite...they get the benefits of the suite even if they don't pay for it.....like I said...not an issue of fairness...just maximizing the bookings

Ok, in that isolated instance you are correct

occasionaly if a cruise books lower level cabins very quickly and does not book the upper level suites then the price rises on these cabins....and the price either lowers or stays the same ....this happens with all cabins as a computer algorithm attempts to maximize bookings and profits......this is not the NORMAL variable between cabins unless there is great demand for a specific cabin class......look at Silhouette for nov5 2016 ...Penthouse is 22500 for 2 and the veranda is 2550 for 2

a "share" of a veranda does not cost 2000 pounds....more like .....850

Which itinerary has a Penthouse suite for 8000 pounds? I would like to book it immediatly.....as I said...LOOK at the prices. the absolute CHEAPEST I have seen a Penthouse going for was approx 12,300 pounds (and a balcony on that cruise for 1700 pounds)....So, lets get the numbers in the realm of truth.....and actually, most go for much more...there are other factors involved such as relative spending levels at the other revenue centers, incremental increase in the cost of the accomadation after a certain level etc.

However, if you didn't get the burger -vs- steak reference you probably won't get these explenations either....so just take everyones word.....(as I don't recall seeing any posts in support of your view of "unfairness") that you are not supporting the suite passengers luxurious cruises with the price of the cabins of the oppressed workers (Lennin can rest easy).

Celebrity is in this to make money and, is not letting anyone cruise without paying generously...at any part of the spectrum...Interior cabins to the Penthouse.

Anyone know how this will run?.....will suite pax be assigned to this venue?...or can they go either here or the MDR?....I thought we might want to eat with friends that might not be in a suite i assume it would not be a problem but does anyone know for sure?

You really booked with someone calling themselves "Dora the explorer?!"

I booked a private guide for the 6 of us with "Dora the Explorer" and had a fantastic day! http://www.cartagenatour.com

 

This port really surprised us and we thought the old town was beautiful.

 

 

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Maybe set up the transfer a bit later and have breakfast....

Also, most WISE travelers come in the day before so as to eliminate the chances of missing the ship due to any problems in transit....they can easily set the drop time to suit the schedule.....

and for those that do not wish to come early..as awareness of the notices becomes more widespread they can perhaps set their arrival time to be in accord with the requested boarding time...OR....don't worry about when you come...come when you want..just don't cry if everyone else comes at that time too, and it takes time to get you onboard.

Suggested boarding times are all very well, but when we have to check out of the hotel at a certain time, it really narrows our options. The hotel doesn't really want us hanging around in their lobby with our suitcases, we can't do much sightseeing or shopping in the hour or two before our advised check-in time, so going to the terminal and trying our luck is our best choice.

 

And I do have to wonder about the passengers coming from the airport on the cruise line transfers. Their flight arrives at 10, the transfer picks them up at 11, but their check-in time might not be until 2. What should they do?

I don't see why "if you can come at the time they wish that it would be a problem....especially as the ones that gripe most about this notice are the same ones that will howl if they have a long crowded embarkation. So either go when they as ..if you possibly can...or get a suite

Since the majority of CC posters on this topic claim to be ignoring it, get ready for the Airline Response: you must pay for early boarding!

On formal night everone would be required to wear a shinning pin of the company logo. :cool:

Well there's a thought. Everyone would pay the same, eat the same food and wear the same clothes. Oh sorry that is Communism and history indicates that worked out well then. Anyone who has travel in recent years to China can see equality in action - the Four Seasons, Ritz, Prada, Chanel and good old Louis Vuitton.

You know......

Perhaps, there is a new cruise line in this......you could call it Proletariat Cruise line....all the ships would be totally without windows and rectangular in shape so that there would be 2500 exactly equal sized "interior" cabins......Hmmm might have to look into this....LOL

Wow! I am guessing that you also agree with the 50p tax and Mansion Tax then. :D

 

It is an interesting point and perspective you raise but IMHO very wide of the mark. I would suggest the subsidy relationship may be the other way around but as I don't have access to Celebrity's financials I could be wrong on this one.

 

As an aside to CC contributors. Is there something about this time of year for Celebrity boards as it was about this time last year where the anti-suite rhetoric was particularly high and that was before Suite Class was even announced? There was a suspension in the venom but good to see that it is coming back. I guess it is about to restart with the menus and pictures of Luminare coming on stream. The next months until April are going to be interesting.

 

Dear OP,

 

I don't understand why you are worried about what others pay and what they get. When I get on a British Airways plane (I fly more than I sail), I don't worry about what first, business, premium economy or economy get but what I receive relative to the class I am in to the price I paid.