Jeremiah1212

It's a full ship charter so it's not just your group of individuals. The next steps and comp have been released to who you booked with. It is strange to do this so late but it also explains the extremely high prices on this itinerary that some people thought were a mistake. Assuming they had some delay in getting the charter buttoned up and sent prices way up to discourage bookings.

Probably right before the end of the year. But I would suspect this year may be slightly impacted by how soon Edge class #5 is ready to go on sale since it should be ready sometime in Q4 2025 (assuming they put #5 into the Caribbean for an inaugural season). Last year fall 2024/winter 2025 was released mid-December.

Adding some sort of reciprocity with Silversea will be challenging. The catalyst of their program being mostly a small monetary discounts versus freebie perks that Celebrity offers. You have to surpass 100 days onboard to get the 5% discount and OBC really isn't an incentive like it is on Celebrity. I imagine it would really irk some SS customers who have spent significantly more if someone who has mid-level Celebrity status with zero Silversea nights was getting near the same loyalty benefit they were.

This argument is tired. I'll be really blunt. People seem to miss this point. Celebrity has 4, soon to be 5, additional ships to fill since 2018. The people that started sailing 25-35 years ago don't have that much time left. You don't see many 90 and 100 year olds cruising. Someone has to fill the cabins, and then some, and that takes tapping some new customers.

They are not $60 pppd on average. These figures are actually a little low and calculated per person minus tax and fees on cruise only rates (excluding AQ and Retreat). Of all the itineraries including Perfect Day, the average Inside is $99, Oceanview $128, Veranda $151, CC $171, Aqua $255 and Retreat $477. Interior cabins are only 10% of S and E class cabins. Oceanview cabins are 5% on S class and 10% on E class.

My first hand experience suggests that the typical customer is absolutely nothing like this vocal group of <30 CC posters. Listen to her comments about trying to ride the line between familiarity and trying new things. There's this little faction of a group that drops a nuke with any change. If you want a real pulse of what is going on and what is working, the only real source of truth is here https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search-and-access.

I also recall people posting things that are factually incorrect as I myself witnessed first hand things like the Magic Carpet never moved on XYZ sailing despite having video if it in fact, moving, or they didn't host a Chef's Table when I was there, or such and such venue was never ever open, when again, I was there.... but if you believe everything you read on here good luck!

For a ship that comes out in ~24 months it seems awfully late to implement such drastic changes. Edge #5 (Vortex apparently) would go on sale in about a year if not a little sooner. The request went out at least twice. It wasn't an exclusive Zenith Q&A. Despite this being one of those more ridiculous dramatic episodes to hit social media, I can't recall ever seeing an actual verifiable fact that said they removed the other cookies. There is so much stuff posted that is an incorrect assumption, enhanced for drama, outright made up or just completely wrong it's nearly impossible to weed through.

If you need new or more customers you have to give them a shorter option. New to cruising and new to brand people almost always start with short cruises. That's been proven time and time again for years if not decades.

CC'ers lost their wits when they thought that giant plate of tepid rubbery fatty meat served with a big glob of even more fat was being eliminated. Some even claimed it was the reason a new CEO stepped in. The old menu just had a hot 'daily carved meat' selection that rotated. The rueben is missing off the Handhelds menu. I'm curious to see how similar the premium Spaniard Bocata is to the ham sandwich served in Le Grand Bistro. The tuna salad sandwich would also be duplicated. It almost seems as though the walk up deli sandwiches at Le Grand Bistro may be replaced by the Eden Cafe premium options. Every time we've grabbed them for lunch no one knew it was an option.

There has been an optional up charge lobster roll (The Porch) and a la carte sandwiches (Le Grand Bistro) offered for years.

There is not a blanket statement correct answer. It depends. TA OBC can be a mix of both depending on how the agency obtained the credit.

They pay it on Celebrity, on Royal Caribbean, on NCL.... Your comparison isn't really even a comparison though. Totally, totally different markets. Look at winter prices for resorts in St. Marteen, Los Cabos, Turks and Caicos, etc. there isn't a shortage of people willing to spend $25k (as an entry price point!) for a week in the Caribbean. The $10k cruise becomes the bargain.

If the rate you are seeing is on the Exciting Deals it is only available for new bookings. You should still be able to do a paid upgrade.

It may seem frivolous until you have a client that gives you an invalid credit card number, wrong cvv, closed the account, etc and has zero sense of urgency to return your calls and then is past the due date. But it’s still the TA’s fault. Just dealt with this earlier today on travel that was way more expensive than a cruise. 6 messages and 3 email follow ups and I’m still the bad guy.

There’s been no way to tell lately. It’s even been different ship to ship. Your e-docs will have a form toward the end or check when you board. The form they have online is 6 months to book for the OBC and a default refund if unused after 12 months. You can still book between month 6 and 12, you just lose out on the OBC.

No. If you had gratuity included originally they carry over. You only pay additionally if there is a difference in the gratuity rate between your original cabin and your new cabin. That has been the standard since MoveUp was introduced.

This has happened on direct bookings ever since tips were absorbed into the fare under various structures over the years. Leave it alone. You may be prolonging the issue by continually removing them.

For several years now tour busses are banned from the city/historical center. They have significant restrictions in a second ring around the city center which is why you'll see most of the touring coaches stopping outside of the city. That particular Crown Plaza is one of the closest locations they can reach.

If it's an invoice the TA creates that really doesn't solidify anything. Obviously they know they made a big error. I'm still not sure I would accept their offer. It sounds like it may just be more headache to deal with after the cruise.

That's unfortunate. There must have been some omission in your cruise planner.

Did you get a copy of the booking confirmation directly from Celebrity? Not the TA issued invoice, the actual document on Celebrity letterhead?

Not very often have I encountered to someone at that point but it happens. I have seen a guy get cut off at the Sunset Bar. He was speaking in cursive at that point so ordering a drink was a challenge for him. Security was lingering around the corner slightly out of sight. Also have seen the pool bar servers avoid certain sections all together after a group of 5-6 hilarious (or so they thought) beer chuggers had been camped out in the same corner of the pool the entire day. We also had a man who fell asleep/passed out while upright in Luminae. It made the staff far more uncomfortable than anyone else. He was an every bit of 350lbs and had he took a stumble on his exit he could have easily wiped out a few tables. The bartenders and security probably have better awareness of certain people than you may think but they also try to avoid any altercation.

I wish they would mention how many people book Cruise Only then turn around and buy drinks and WiFi. I suspect it's a decent amount. Sometimes you can explain the cost benefit until you are blue in the face. There are some 'math adverse' people out there who just can't make it click.

You can still complete check in on the website like you’ve been able to do for years. However doing it on the app is hardly a hassle. It takes 1-2 minutes.