jaywoods678

8 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

And me as well.  Finally, a port I can drive to!

Me as well. This is great. We are in St. Augustine - just about an hour and 45 minutes away.

On 6/12/2023 at 3:56 PM, Hanoj said:

Is this a fact? Or, your interpretation?

 

It's possible Oceania is making calculated short term decisions to reduce costs to positively impact their parent company's bottom line, even if it may affect long term prospects. NCLH stock price is well below its pre shutdowns price and has generally trended downward the last two years. Its unsecured debt rating is in the junk bond range. If NCL is not able to meet is obligations its future is tenuous. In such circumstances it is not uncommon for publicly traded companies to emphasize the short term over the long run. And, yes I'm speculating.

 

"Never again" spoken in the heat of frustration is not definitive. Its possible O is confident many passengers will take your view of accepting missed ports, even if they become more prevalent. 

I completely agree with this. I can't remember all the exact details or reasons, but I have heard on numerous occasions that it CAN be in the cruise lines best interest to cancel - depending on the circumstances and other factors. I've been on too many where the ports were cancelled for not so good reasons and have heard crew members mention that corporate will sometimes make the decision based on fuel costs, tendering (of course, tender ports tend to get canceled more than others), and number of excursions, etc.

5 hours ago, Static events said:

I have been on loads of cruises with various lines but now trend to cruise only with RCCL or Celebrity. 
 

I recently got off the Silhouette and I can say without question it was THE worst cruise I have been on in every aspect.

 

Food was shocking

Entertainment in the main theatre was beyond awful, every show was extremely poor.  
Service in the bars slow 

Room attendant non existent 

Queues getting back onto the ship 

Cruise Director poor

 

Given the higher price point (which I don’t mind paying) I no longer see why I would cruise on Celebrity and would rather opt to cruise with RCCL. 
 

If not RCCL or Celebrity who else should one try?

 

 

 

I completely agree.

On 5/28/2023 at 9:14 AM, grifdoglover said:

In this day and age I would recommend asking the staff to request the people quiet down rather than a direct request.  (Especially where alcohol consumption is involved) Sorry you had that experience!

I absolutely agree. Never approach them directly. If they are rude enough to be that loud and inconsiderate, then they are also rude enough to tell you to f*** off and try to fight you if you approach them.

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

Any form of compolsary AI is bad news. It reduces the value of the loyalty programme, penalises passengers who have no need of unlimited WiFi and is especially bad for single passengers who end up paying for 2 lots of everything. The current system works well as everyone has choices.

100% agree. We don't use the wi-fi, and we barely drink.

3 hours ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Exactly, why can't Celebrity get their own private island catered to the Celebrity clientele? Princess does (Princess Cays). It's something that would certainly make the short Bahama cruises more appealing. Like you said, I'd imagine they are investing in what's netting them the highest profit and Celebrity's Caribbean itineraries are limited to only 1 ship in the Summer season.

Holland America does too, and it's an amazing island experience.

On 5/5/2023 at 2:10 PM, Fly and Sail said:

 

Sure they could. But they don't for whatever reason, my guess (and it's really just a guess) is either overcrowding or that RCL wants to keep PDCC a "RCL Signature" benefit.

I completely agree with you. There has to be some kind of strategic reason they don't go there, however I think it hurts them. Even though Holland America owns their incredible private island, Carnival is allowed to go there (Of course, Carnival Corporation owns them) in the summer months when HAL doesn't operate in the Caribbean. Also, even though Oceania doesn't have a whole lot of itineraries in the Caribbean, they are allowed to dock at Harvest Caye and Great Stirrup Cay, both private islands owned by their parent company, Norwegian.

2 hours ago, MadamedelaMer said:

Hello HAL travelers--Husband and I are considering an Alaska cruise (Seattle-Seattle) on HAL and are a bit stumped over the more expensive 'choose your own' stateroom option.

 

Aside from being able to choose a stateroom away from the elevator, I don't necessarily see any other significant advantages to paying the upcharge but perhaps I am mistaken? It is impossible to tell which staterooms are adjoining (another thing I'd want to avoid) or which are across from crew areas (which I prefer to avoid after experiences in the past on other cruise lines with constantly opening and closing of service doors at all hours of the day and night).

 

I'm a bit baffled as to whether it is worth the extra approx $1,400 for the opportunity to choose our own Neptune Suite stateroom. And frankly as a frequent Cunard traveler I was surprised to see that there's an upcharge for this on HAL, which is something I've never encountered previously.

 

Any thoughts would be enormously helpful!

 

Thanks!

 

🙂

 

 

Even though we don't book suites, we always choose our own room even if it costs extra to do so. I am prone to motion sickness, and I hate noise. So, for me, I want a room on the ship that is mid-ship and as low as possible (to reduce motion). Also, I always make sure our cabin does NOT have a door to an adjoining room. That increases the noise level. Plus, I'm a bit of a control freak and always prefer knowing what my room number is.

On 4/28/2023 at 1:02 AM, NMTraveller said:

I want my AC also.

I'm from the hot and humid South (lived in Georgia and Florida most of my life). We LOVE our air conditioning. I absolutely have to have my AC really cold in my cruise ship cabin.

On 4/27/2023 at 4:30 PM, rmalbers said:

I've said it before on here: it won't make any difference for the new people that have never sailed in a cabin with a true balcony, they just won't know any different.  People that have had and like balconies are aging out, basically every day, so it's just a matter of time and there won't be any IV discussions.  It just another change with cruising, and changes with cruising have always happened over time.  Other cruise companies are doing it also, it's about cost savings.  

And that's exactly what the marketing gurus at Celebrity are hoping.

On 4/27/2023 at 1:24 PM, indy406 said:

They can call it a veranda (it's not), they can call it a balcony (it's not) or they could call it a ham sandwich (it's not.) It's also not a deck or a lanai or a lean-to. It's a part of the stateroom with a big window. No thanks. I'll take CC or Aqua on S-class or M-class ships every time. 

Well one thing that Celebrity does good is marketing. They are marketing geniuses, especially with LLP there. They are also now marketing themselves as Luxury. They are not Luxury. They are a mainstream/premium line. We all know what the true luxury lines are and even the upper premium/luxury lite cruises like Oceania and Azamara. But if one doesn't know better, because of the marketing, they will think they are going to sail on a "luxury" line with a real "balcony" cabin.

On 4/27/2023 at 7:55 AM, poffles said:

Dislike and would not pay ‘balcony’ pricing for this ‘verandah’.

 

Here is my personal opinion (mini review) after my recent first time sailing in one on the Edge (10 night Caribbean) two weeks ago.  Listing what I thought was good/bad about the room in comparing to my typical balcony preference (unfair I know).  Some of it is perspective, some of it is just how it is.

 

Good:

•    Floor to ceiling window view was nice.  Sunsets oh my.
•    Room felt more open, spacy, and bright (blind open of course).
•    Reduced ‘outside’ neighbour noise.  Though we did hear a baby crying from below.
•    Less chance of smelling smoke if someone does the naughty nearby.

 

Bad:
•    It’s a window that can open … not a balcony.  It is what it is.
•    Very noisy opening/closing, especially the blind.  As someone else said here, it was bad. At times we could even hear when neighbours were opening/closing theirs.
•    The chairs felt wrong.  It felt like they should match to a dinner height table.  Padding was nice but the chairs seemed to add to the oddness we felt sitting in front of a window. 
•    Window open – AC off.  I get it, totally makes sense not to let money running the AC float out the window but no ability to enjoy sitting in the ‘veranda’ window open for an hour or so and then immediately shift to the cool of the room. We would open the window until the person not wanting to sit in the heat could tolerate it and then close again.
•    Inability to utilize the veranda as closed off area.  This was a big one for me as an early riser, I quietly sneak out and get coffee and come back and go out to the balcony and enjoy the sun coming up.  Nope, this has to be an all-party choice because not only is noise of opening the blind a problem, but you can’t close off the brightness from the room once you open the blind.  The French doors are silly, and we never used them once.  Also if I opened the window the room would heat up for those ‘sleeping’.
•    Captain can close/disable the window at any time.  When we first got on the ship we were eager getting to our room and seeing this for the first time, went to open the window … nope it was closed by the Captain (it was open by sail away).  Not a big deal but sucked.  It was the only time on our 10 day cruise that we encountered this so no biggy.
•    Mechanical issues.  We encountered many times when the window would just stop in the middle of opening or closing.  The button was very fickle, and it became annoying at times.  What I thought was lacking was the ability to push a button to auto open/close the window much like the blind.  Instead, you had to hold the button the entire time and hope it didn’t stop midway (it did many times).  I thought about why there is no auto button for the window, thought perhaps safety but then considered that the captain can do this remotely, so no safety thought in that.

 

My takeaway thoughts:

 

Not the first one to say this and it is entirely true … these staterooms should not be even slightly compared to a balcony. These really are midway between ‘ocean view’ and ‘balcony’ and if the price aligns then great. 

 

These seem more suited for a moderate to cold weather cruise.  The ability to open such a large window without extreme heat filling the room would be nice.  To have such a great window view without wishing you could sit ‘out there’ … imagine Alaska.

 

We utilized this area totally different than we do a ‘balcony’, basically less.  No mornings sitting 'out there' which I really missed.  We would even typically go out and sit on a balcony in the evening, late at night in the dark, we did not do that once on this cruise as it just isn’t the same.

 

The way you utilize your stateroom during a cruise will dictate your opinion.  Clearly, we are all different which makes having choices a good thing.  Choices are great but don’t be misled.

 

I went in fully aware but wanted to form my own opinion and now I have, which I've now long winded shared with you LOL 🙂

 

.
 

I completely agree. They are midway between a standard oceanview and a standard verandah. And the price should align with that. Unfortunately, the prices does NOT align with that, and as usual Celebrity is trying to get a premium for them.

On 4/26/2023 at 7:35 PM, RichYak said:

A choice? How many balcony cabins are there in AQ or CC on Edge class ships?

That's what I was thinking. They are definitely not giving you a choice. Almost all of their "balcony" cabins are just oceanviews with a window that opens. There are only a few real traditional balconies.

On 4/26/2023 at 4:57 PM, AliceS said:

I am so underwhelmed by this design, I will try not to ever settle for one again.   I will go to an ocean view, or upgrade…..no more infinite balcony.   I was solo…double cost.   The window made so much noise up and down… grrrrrrrrr, grrrrrrrrr……why?   I don’t get it.    It’s an ocean view cabin with a window that opens.

Forget it!

Completely agree! But a lot of people fall for it.

12 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

100% agree...If X wants to keep the IVs, fine, yet for every IV cabin there should be a traditional balcony.  We can pretty safe to say the Eden space and magic carpet were a miss.

 

For the Eden, the original "whimsical" concept was to have an ongoing show all evening, you could pop in at anytime and stay for 15mins or 3 hours.  Now more often than not they just have musicians play in Eden but the musicians could (and do) play anywhere on the ship

 

Magic carpet is a gimmick that fixes a tender problem that never existed.  It makes tendering slightly easier, but at what costs?  It creates several obstructed viewed staterooms, had a lot of R&D costs and requires ongoing maintenance, surely X is passing those costs onto its passengers

 

All and all, we'll see with the next class of ships if X continues with the magic carpet, Eden and traditional balcony % vs IV %

Completely agree with all of this. So it sounds like they got rid of some of the really bad creepy weird performance art in Eden. At least that is one good thing, but Eden is still a big miss.

17 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Really?  LLP approved the E-class ship concept that eliminated the most common type of cabin on the ship for an unproved concept of the IV balconies.  For years cruise lines saw the importance of balcony cabins and tried to add as many as possible and LLP eliminated those cabins for the non-suite guests.  For passengers that actually use their balcony to sit outside by the ocean, the IV balconies are a non-starter and force those passengers to move to other cruise lines.  The IV balconies also resulted in the ridiculous miniature dollhouse furniture because nothing else fit on the IV balconies.  And tell me again, what's the purpose of the Magic Carpet?  Another expensive ill-conceived addition to the E-class ships.  While we're on the subject of ill-conceived, has anyone forgot about the Eden concept?  All of these issues are still in the E-class ships.  Any CEO that alienates a large portion of the cruise passengers should be sent to the exit gates.  Unfortunately, the E-class ships will still be around after many of us are gone. 

 

Although not unique to the E-class ships, has anyone forgot about Goop?  Who takes responsibility for approving that silly program.

 

The fact that LLP is near retirement age only hides these issues.

 

Bye-bye LLP, many of us won't miss you.

Totally agree with everything you said. In regards to the Magic Carpet, it's way to gimmicky. Usually these types of gimmicks are for the mainstream lines (Carnival, Norwegian, & Royal), but not for the premium lines, like Celebrity says they are. It's not even very useful, plus it's very ugly sitting on one side. It's just not very appealing or attractive.

On 4/6/2023 at 9:05 PM, Bobsgonecoastal said:

Very true, and that was just one of many poor decisions and bad communications by LLP.  Yes, some of us loyal X customers are getting older, but that doesn’t mean you communicate your desire to throw us overboard for a new woke group of hipsters.  That really soured my taste for LLP, and X overall.  We still have the time and we still have the money! I’ve had numerous other bones to pick with her, but won’t get into them now.

 

I truly hope the new X President steers the ship back to it’s previous market position of a premium cruise line.  one that I would feel good about spending my time and money with.

That is so true. She made it VERY clear she no longer wanted us, and she was determined to go after a different market. That's why they turned the music way up on all their ships and started having weird performance art in Eden, not to mention the uncomfortable IKEA dorm room looking furniture. I work at a university with the type of new folks she wants to cruise Celebrity, and trust me they don't even like cruising. They think it's just for old rich racist white people, and they would never give their money to an industry that is so bad for the environment.

5 hours ago, Loracpin2 said:

Anyone remember the cruising experience with Celebrity before RCI acquired the line in 1997??

 

I clearly recall the evening we were dining in the Century MDR (first European cruise) and the Maitre'd told us they were just informed RCI purchased Celebrity.  Since we hadn't sailed RCI yet we didn't realize the possible impact. We do know now!!! 

Same thing when Carnival bought Holland America.

On 4/1/2023 at 3:51 PM, jonthomas said:

Reasons why we will be sailing on O....

 

We left Celebrity after they divided the main dining room in half....those in suites and everyone else...for us in a regular balcony, the food in main dining room and buffet became very low quality and taste. Prices for suites are higher than a balcony on O. 

 

O has very few kids,  there is nothing for them to do.

The food is so much better than Viking, Celebrity or Azamara...all lines we have tried.

Lectures on O were wonderful...

To be continued...

Totally agree!

9 hours ago, SSFrance69 said:

I agree and that's exactly how I felt about my first cruise on Oceania earlier this month. What a fabulous ship. Food and service the best I've ever had. It's a bit more pricey, but also has the added value of included water, soda, special coffee and specialty restaurants. I have a cruise already booked for Celebrity in July but after that I think we will stick with Oceania. 

Love Oceania. It has replaced Celebrity for us. And, for now, we still cruise Holland America, but it has gone downhill as well.

9 hours ago, Myrtle Ave. Mayhem said:

I'm DONE with the mass market lines that masquerade as premium. This includes Celebrity, Holland America, & Princess. Everything from new ship design, food, service, lack of attention to detail, constant gimmicky revenue production. Been cruising over 30 years & I think the lines I mentioned have become ghostly shadows of their former selves. 

 

Enter Viking Ocean! Higher price point, but worth every penny. It's as if the founder(Torstein Hagen) saw my personal wish list for a cruise line then went to work, creating Viking. 

Oh I completely agree with this. And what's funny is they are still trying to masquerade as "premium lines" (a cut above the mass market ones). I don't know if Princess was every truly premium, but I do believe, based on our past experiences and sailings, that Celebrity and Holland America once were, at least to a degree. Sadly, that is no longer the case for either one of them. To me there is now no difference between the so called premium lines and the mainstream. Holland America, our favorite line, has completely changed.

13 hours ago, basenji56 said:

I miss Murano on Edge class ships.  

I do too. Even though we really don't cruise Celebrity anymore, I must say Murano is one of the best restaurants at sea by far, along with some of the specialty restaurants on Holland America and Oceania.

On 3/23/2023 at 10:26 AM, ABoatNerd said:

I was a Celebrity patron from 2001 to 2018, that is along time. During those years Celebrity was the Oceania of the day.

I have moved on to the premium and luxury lines for 5 main reasons:

1) The class apartheid - suites versus no suites. Not interested, despite being well able to afford suite class. I despise the Segregation and lack of ability to meet the guests on this ship. 

2) The inward focus on their new ships - As others have said, no forward lounge, fewer balconies, less and less open space. It is of course designed to keep the passenger inward looking and spending $. 

3) Too big, not interested in big ships which are nothing more than an apartment building, related to point 2) above

4) Too fake, Celebrity has deliberately minimized the relationship with the sea, related to point 2) above. The Eden with smoke etc simply is beyond fake

5) Destroying cruising traditions. Recently read that the afternoon tea, which used to be in the Sky Lounge on the Zenith and Millie class, is now totally gone. Not even tea sandwiches, scones in the cafeteria. On Oceania, Cunard this tradition remains.

The Connie is my favorite vessel and I may book her and the Millie class some time.

Otherwise, I, like many, have moved away from Celebrity.

 

I completely agree with this. I love the S Class ships. They are pretty close to perfect, as well as the M Class. Celebrity completely lost me with the Edge. Now they're just all about suites, loud blaring music everywhere, and weird performance art in Eden. And now their prices are insane. We still cruise with Holland America, but we also love Oceania (Oceania has replaced Celebrity for us).

On 3/22/2023 at 8:53 PM, NMTraveller said:

1.  The lack of real balconies.  The IVs ARE NOT balconies.

2.  The lack of a forward facing bridge type view such as the Sky Lounge.

3.  The total lack of views in general around the ship.  The E class ships have inward facing views and not many outward facing views except for the rear.  Compared to S class E class is Helen Keller.  I do not get on a cruise to look at fancy shops that I will not shop in.  I would like windows to see the views outside.

4.  We found E class to be loud and shouty.  Especially in places like Fine Cuts where you get the noise from below.

5.  In general there are not as many small intimate places to get a drink,  more large places such as Martini Bar where you will wait to get  a drink.

6.  The Magic Carpet is overhyped.  It is nice for tendering,  but gets too windy when the ship is moving.

7.  The E class theater is nicer than S class, but where are the acts?  

8.  The E class lacks quite a bit of grandiosity.  On S class you can look up and see the libraries, and other levels all of the way to the top.  On E class you feel more boxed in on many levels.

9.  I could go on and list another 10 or so more reasons but those are many of the reasons why I try to stay away from E class.

 

I completely agree with 100% of everything you said.

9 hours ago, RichYak said:

Just circling back to add that I'm moving on from Celebrity not because of the drop in quality, but because of the drop in value. The Retreat is now way overpriced for a mass market cruise. I'm sailing Millennium in Retreat next week, maybe for the last time. I'm also sailing Summit in August in a regular balcony cabin.

 

That's another example of Celebrity trying to be too many things at once--a mass market line for the masses and a luxury brand with luxury pricing at the same time. It doesn't work for me.

 

For a replacement, I have MSC Yacht Club booked for next March and have my eye on an Azamara itinerary next summer. I've never sailed with either. I'm looking forward to trying new things!

On a per diem basis, I now find that Oceania (a true premium line) is the same price and sometimes even less. And for a much better experience.