Jeremiah1212

I've experienced both. Including one of the SV's on E class next door to the aft Sky Suites that are really too narrow for 2 chairs + lounger. I think the lounger on SV's in general is the exception not the rule.

People like to complain about inconsistency. A hard no across the board seems pretty consistent to me.

That's not been the case for a year now. Starting last September when the new WCB menus came out they have been a lot more flexible. The back page of the menu now lists beers and wines and they will make simple drinks. https://profcruise.com/celebrity-bar-menus-2023/#world

1 of 3 things will happen: 1. Incrementally reduce inclusions and go completely a la carte like Royal Caribbean which allows them to advertise a lower base fare. (This was the real reason cruise-only rates were introduced after AI) 2. Let the dust settle on removing gratuities then rename All Included to something more fitting. 3. Let the dust settle on removing gratuities then offer a 2/3/4 inclusion option like in the past that offers a one-to-one match for the current All Included/drinks and WiFi setup. Ever since drink packages were introduced (~2103?) the name of the inclusion packages have changed over time. 1/2/3 Go, Go Big, Go Better, Go Best, Always Included, etc. over time.

There is some verbiage along these lines in emails going back several months. I don't think this is new at all. Labor Day Flash Sale: **Offer applies to bookings made between August 30, 2023 – September 4, 2023 (“Offer Period”), and applies to select sailings departing September 10, 2023 – December 27, 2024, excluding chartered sailings (the “Offer Cruise”). Labor Day Sale (“Offer”) provides per person savings on select new purchases of Drink Packages, Shore Excursions, Specialty Dining, Wi-Fi, Photo, Gifts & Gear, Casino and EFFY Jewelry, and varies by product, ship, and length of voyage. Drink Packages exclude upgrades, Shore Excursions exclude select sailings and tours; Gift & Gear excludes select products and Specialty Dining excludes select sailings. Price shown at time of purchase reflects savings. Additional fees may apply to booking changes or cancellations. Shore Excursions can be cancelled or modified up to 24 hours prior to scheduled tour departure for a full refund, excluding tours involving flights, trains, special events, overnight stays, hotel stays, Extend Your Stay, Multi-day Adventures and Private Journeys. Cancellations will be refunded in the original form of payment; onboard credits will be applied to guest’s account, and credit card, debit card, or other form of cash equivalent payments will be credited back to the original form of payment within 30 days. Offer will not be available onboard and is non-transferable or combinable with Captain Club discounts or any other offer or promotion. VAT is included in price where applicable. Offer is subject to availability and change without notice and may be withdrawn at any time. Refer to https://www.celebritycruises.com/account/signin? for additional terms and conditions. Celebrity reserves the right to cancel the Offer at any time, correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions, and change or update fares, fees and surcharges at any time without prior notice.

March 1 would be the last Caribbean cruise then a March 8 westbound 13 night TA to Barcelona, dry dock, then presumably spend the rest of the summer in Europe but nothing beyond that is on sale yet.

They will definitely serve a cocktail with egg whites. The Strawberry Fields on the old World Class Bar menu had an egg white. I think a few of the Eden cocktails do also. You can also use aquafaba but I've never seen them use that on a ship. Or any cocktail that has a lot of pineapple juice just needs shaken harder and you'll get some foam. If you want an espresso martini my suggestion would be avoid the machine. They are horrible and tasted very metallic for some reason. Ask them to make a proper one for you and it's 10x better.

I'm not sure how anyone would consider them claustrophobic. You have the normal balcony railing and opening along with a nearly floor to ceiling window on one side. Personally I would be likely to choose one of these over an S1.

Leave it alone and ignore it for a few days. It takes some time for everything to get rectified and balance out on their side.

Unless prevailing rate drops significantly (which it won't) there would be virtually no chance this is beneficial. Any group space through the end of 2024 is essentially unaffected by the All Included change. They will continue to have gratuities included and refundable deposits.

That's anyone's guess. Group pricing will become key and very valuable through the end of 2024 sailings. They have adjusted the guidelines a bit since this was announced. If you're not using a good TA right now that is a big miss.

Any status match on the first matrix gets you VV's Sea Rover status. You have to match by 12/31/2023 and sail by 12/31/2024. You get a stackable 10% discount, $100 extra bar credit, $10 daily coffee credit, a concierge, laundry perks, premium WiFi and upgrade VIP boarding. Their embarkation process is different and a bit of a mess so this does have some value. A bit of a sticking point amongst people here - their deposits are 20% and nonrefundable after 7 days from booking.

Virgin Voyages is also offering a match https://www.virginvoyages.com/sailing-club https://www.virginvoyages.com/sailing-club/eligible-loyalty-programs

Yes, US bookings prior to final can reprice to prevailing rate any time before final payment.

Celebrity isn't competing in the lux space. Not by a long shot. MSC Yacht Club, NCL Haven, Oceania, Cunard, Viking, etc. do not include gratuities. There are a lot of people among Retreat and Haven alone that want the bigger ship experience. Small ships, long itineraries, odd embarkation ports, lack of activities, average pax age and included excursions and not selling points for people many people who will still pay for a Retreat/Haven priced product. Royal Caribbean Group's position is the actual lux market is Silversea.

There is only one court which is diagonally setup across the Rooftop Garden area. It can be windy even when the ship isn't moving. For me this one gets the award for one of the most dumb ideas so far.

I’m not a show or entertainment person. I think they are all mostly terrible. And definitely not isolated to Celebrity. But if I could recommend cutting that ukulele boy band that would be a great start.

Not just Celebrity. Industry-wide there is a significant need to continue to capture the new to cruise population. All of the new to brand people claiming to move from Celebrity to the premium and lux market are exactly the same type of guest as a new to Celebrity cruiser.

Celebrity has been pretty consistently on par with NCL pricing versus HAL or Princess in both Alaska and Caribbean. I think the suite level product is more consistently comparable between X and NCL. You don't hear people often on here saying Haven is superior to Retreat mostly because NCL is quite often more expensive than Celebrity's Retreat and comes with less so it's not a good candidate for argument or comparison. You could take this example and move to Vancouver on Jewel to start at about $1,000 less. Gratuities are not included in that price (at $25 pp/pd).

They basically manage dry dock activities which all cruise ship have to complete. They have already done work with Royal Caribbean Group brands: https://mjm-group.com/portfolio/marine-interiors MJM Marine, an outfitting firm based in Newry, said the increase in business across a range of global clients, including the world's largest cruise companies, will enable it to create more than 100 new jobs. "The announcement will be made today on board the Celebrity Apex which was docked in Belfast. It is part of Celebrity Cruises, a brand in the Royal Caribbean Group and one of MJM Marine's trade partners." "The new roles are predominantly based at our headquarters in Newry and range from operations and project management to commercial and other business support roles," he said. RCG already uses this company. Apex happened to be in Belfast which makes a good backdrop for an annoucement of 100 new jobs. Will some Celebrity ships get work done by this company? Certainly appears that is possible. But no where does it imply that Apex is getting a complete overhaul or is 'removing features'.

It's been a habit around here for as long as I can remember to price compare different lines in an effort to prove a point while omitting important info like cruises booked far in advance, forgetting to mention you are quoting a per person price, comparing cabin type that are in no way similar, comparing random off season itineraries, etc. Or "I'm not giving corporations interest free loans" then claim you are moving to lines that charge 20-25% deposits. Now I'll step aside while 5 people tell me their Seabourn cruise is cheaper than an inside on Celebirty 🤣

Assuming you talked to other people onboard and felt they paid a better price? Rates adjust all the time. You booked an expensive ship, expensive itinerary during an expensive time of year. There is no child rate and suite bookings comes with drinks by default. You were accepting of the price when you booked and assuming you did your research up front, agreed to pay it. As they say...that ship has sailed. Literally.

Totally normal. It’s a link to verify arrival/boarding details or pass along any other pertinent information.

The key element is prevailing rate. You aren’t paying gratuities twice in this scenario because you never paid them on the initial booking. Anything you do to an existing reservation after 10/3 that requires repricing will move to the prevailing rate (i.e. the price and promos applicable on the day you make the change). It’s really pretty straightforward. Best Price Guarantee still applies but you need to factor in the cost of gratuities to see if the reprice is worth it. If your cruise decreased by more than the cost of gratuities you would potentially still benefit.

I'm not sure Princess is all that much different than Celebrity. Choose wisely. https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2957180-just-got-an-email-outlining-the-new-offerings/ https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2958333-response-from-princess-to-email-re-changes/#comment-65943401 https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2954258-casual-dining-fixed-price-menus-and-a-la-carte-charges/ https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2954341-confused-about-the-new-charges/