Ma Bell

How about a Cornhole tournament.

I agree that asking what is important to people and having focus groups of experienced cruisers is a good thing,  I just don't think it's a great idea to ask about cutting things that are already provided. Seems a bit counter-productive to me.

Personally I wouldn't post a poll like this. No need to give them any more ideas about cuts.

On 9/15/2019 at 10:26 AM, WonderMan3 said:

Sorry for the delay on updates. Between being busy in ports and feeling a bit under the weather I haven’t had a chance to post. So continuing our adventures from yesterday in Marseilles...

 

We met our private guide outside the cruise terminal. I had reserved a tour through a company called One Day In Provence which I found with good reviews on Trip Advisor. Our guide was named Patrick. He took out in a very comfortable van for a tour of Marseilles and Cassis. We started in Marseilles with a walking tour through the old town and then down along the harbor of the old port. The city is a very gritty with a hodgepodge of architectural styles and graffiti mixed in with some wonderful murals. It felt very much like Greenwich Village back in the 80’s where there were little boutiques, cafes and art galleries alongside buildings that looked derelict. The harbor area seemed to be experiencing a revival with more renovated buildings and was abuzz with locals and tourists. Patrick took us through the local fish market and brought us to his favorite coffee shop to try a cup. Afterward we took a drive up to the Notre Dame de la Garde church which stands magnificently on a hill overlooking the city. It was very crowded with visitors and my cold was starting to annoy me so we didn’t stay too long. 

 

We next drove on to the cute little fishing village called Cassis, about a 30 minute drive from Marseilles. We had a nice lunch at a cafe near the harbor where we enjoyed some truffle risotto and veal milanese. After we had planned to take a boat ride to see the Calanques, which are giant rocky cliffs surrounding beautiful inlets with beaches. I was feeling very tired at this point though we just strolled for a bit instead to check some local shops and a bakery that Patrick recommended. We then finished our day with a drive up to an overlook to view the Calanques from above. Patrick then drove us back to the ship. All in all we spent 7.5 hours on this tour. It cost us 540 Euro for the day with lunch being on our own. Patrick was a great guide and I would definitely recommend this company. Sharing some photos from our day.

Patrick and William are both outstanding guides we have used on multiple occasions.

46 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Thanks for your input and I did go back to the OP's comments in which they indicated that they 'may have to move' to another cruise line...

 

My comments were in support of their thoughts if the service declines beyond which they will not further tolerate as they have written "...we'll just find another room on another cruise line to hang out in. "

 

They too, are loyal X passengers.

 

Because I Am supporting the OP's comments and thoughts means that I Am defending X????

 

Point out where I went afoul in your mind, as I did not criticize the OP's thoughts in any manner or form at all?

 

In fact, I do believe, for some, service and amenities will either decline or be reduced to a level at which they will not tolerate it any further and I do support their leaving at that juncture.

 

As you, rightfully, believe that providing 'creative' criticism is healthy, as do I, I do also believe in following the whole text thought as well... sometimes I do get it mixed up and wrong and I do apologize when I do, without hesitation or remorse.

 

bon voyage

My apologies. I have just noticed that you always seem to suggest that people find another cruise line and if you point me to a post that you have made that is critical of Celebrity I'd love to see it.

7 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

I think a 'movement' for your issues really need to be mounted either in a regional newspaper or on social media (which is often times at no charge) where you can possibly get the 'most' eyeballs and subsequently in X's eyes to be addressed or actually responded to.

 

You may find others who will possibly read the impassioned thoughts, will chime in as well... where it counts.

 

The issues have been noted here on CC which is a very limited audience and even if someone from X reads it, the post cruise evaluation, on-board complaints are where it's at and in the forefront... IMO

 

It may be time to move on to another line where these concerns are not an issue.

 

bon voyage

If people follow your advice there won't be anywhere to "move on". There are plenty of others places to go with complaints but there's also nothing wrong with speaking up here.

I've been a loyal customer for many years but that doesn't mean I won't provide what I think is constructive criticism when necessary. I have personally been responsible for bringing many others to the Celebrity product as well but just sitting back and watching the product lose it's appeal doesn't help anyone. Good grief man, you can't just blindly defend everything they do.

Bon Voyage to you too.

12 hours ago, meechee341 said:

I agree!  You hear people on these posts talk about the new Kelly Hoppen (I hope that's her name) design choices as if she was designing a room in THEIR home.  Some of these people forget that they don't own a single X ship (and can't afford a private yacht!).

Sometimes people talk about things to make things better for everyone. Your post is the perfect example. In all the years Cruise Critic has been in existence, there has never been much comment about ship design until Kelly Hoppen came along. There’s good reason for that as evidenced by the many “after inaugural” changes instituted on a brand new ship. Defending a product blindly isn’t really a good thing either and constructive criticism from people who love the product in general can be helpful.

1 minute ago, verizon said:

Sorry I don't sleep with strainger.

I will be in suite fro Hawaii to Sydney from Sep.23rd to Octber 11th.

I like my privacy.

 

Just kidding, but if we choose to travel like this we need to be willing to pay.

31 minutes ago, verizon said:

I know it sucks I am also paying 200%.

Why don't the two of you get together and then you'd only have to pay for one.

The cost of every loyalty benefit is passed along to the consumer. If they give you more, they will charge you more.

The benefits for a Zenith member are very good and should be very difficult to achieve.

41 minutes ago, janbear said:

Ok so when we are cruising between Hilo and Kona for example at night, or between Maui and Oahu  etc. your thoughts are that it would be open? 

Yes

https://www.lasvegasadvisor.com/question/hawaii-anti-gambling/

As I said, the casino opens when the ship gets far enough out to sea, but not in port. They don't make arrangements to open in port because Hawaii is one of two anti-gambling states.

https://statelaws.findlaw.com/hawaii-law/hawaii-gambling-laws.html

2 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

Casinos can be open when ships are in port.  There have been special arrangements made in the Caribbean when ships overnight in the port and the casinos do stay open.  So don’t assert that they are never open in port.

Pardon me. The question is about the Vancouver to Hawaii itinerary, no need to be rude.

The casino is never open while the ship is in port. In the evenings they go far enough out away from land to open.

11 hours ago, Highpeaklad said:

 

Surely those who dress up more will stand out from the crowd. I thought that was the whole point of dressing up, showing off in your finery?

If everyone dresses up you’ll just be lost in the crowd. 

What does this have to do with what I said?

52 minutes ago, cocobakerchica said:

I don't buy or wear jeans with rips or holes in them because I come from a generation (Gen X) who went the DIY route when we wanted rips and tears in jeans. Why pay extra for holes when I can do it myself for free? 😉😅  Besides that, I got wanting to wear ripped jeans out of my system as a 20something and see no reason to go back.  I don't buy designer jeans because(at least for now)I refuse to pay those prices! I find great looking and fitting jeans well under the ridiculous designer price points.

 

Just think about the whole concept for a minute.🤔

Yes, I'm sure they'll be saving a lot of money by doing away with footstools. As we've seen in other posts, people will just pile up the cushions from the sofa and bed to use which should really save them a lot of money.🙄

The lovely IKEA style furniture they have used in the new ships and refurbishing should really save them lots of money too.... until they see how often it will have to be replaced.

35 minutes ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

I don’t recall posting about shoe styles. I plan to bring the same shoes I would on any cruise. They were good enough for Princess, they should be good enough for Celebrity. The only other concerns I recall having initially were that I had read Celebrity ships were filled with older people (retirement age) that go to bed early and  there wouldn’t be anything to do at night, such as live music, comedians, good shows, etc. We don’t gamble so the casinos are out. Those concerns were alleviated. 

 

We are going to Bermuda, not the Caribbean. 

 

 

Not disappointed in honest answers, but in attitudes from people that think people like me are lowering the standards. Again, Celebrity made a decision to remove ripped jeans from things that are banned. Perhaps they want to stay current with the times even though some of their long time guests aren’t pleased with that decision.  I’m sure you noticed that not everyone feels they would be out of place. 

 

Besides, I only had them in mind as a backup plan or possibly for the last night since I plan to wear them on the way home since they are so comfortable. We have late seating and on most ships your luggage has to be in the hall before then. When that’s the case, we typically have to wear the same thing to dinner we wear home. 

 

 

Now you’re just being condescending. I know how to dress. You may be quite surprised to hear, but I have packed what would be considered appropriate attire for both chic nights. I think even you and Ma Bell would approve, even though your clothes may be more formal. We have always brought clothes for the formal, elegant, chic nights... whatever the cruise lines called them. And we have many beautiful photos for those nights. We will most likely do so while dressed up this trip as well because we will be celebrating our 25th Anniversary. Normally I do bring a few sundresses, but have opted for pants this trip since we are flying and I picture them to be a wrinkly mess by the time we unpack. I do have one that doesn’t tend to wrinkle much, but I believe I’ve outgrown it. I’m bringing navy capris and long black pants. I have tops to go with each color.  If something were to happen to one of those pants, then I would need the “sloppy” capris as my backup, unless I were to wear the pants I’m bringing for the second Chic Night. They are super long though which would mean another night in 2” heals and I much prefer my sandals.  I have neuropathy so they can cause me quite the discomfort. I figured two nights of dealing with it are more than enough.  Also, I’m taller than my husband so he prefers me to wear flatter shoes. 

 

 

Where we live, teachers are not well paid (NC is among the lowest in the country). I do it because I love it, not for the money. With the exception of the two Chic nights everything else I’m brining for dinner I would wear to work as well. When I buy clothes I try to find items I could wear to work (with the exception of shorts and t-shirts), Church (gasp!  Most everyone in our church wears jeans, even jeans with holes!), or out to dinner. Our budget doesn’t allow otherwise. We do dress up on special occasions if we go to a nice restaurant. However, most people around here dress very casual most of the time.  My husband will be wearing a shirt and tie the first Chic Night, not sure if I can convince him to do it twice. I won’t be dressed up as much the second night anyway.  The first night I have a cocktail dress, the second just dress pants with a blingy top. 

Personally, I never commented on what I think anyone should wear or what I wear but for some reason you find it necessary to include my name in your comment. I'm not concerned with what anyone wears. It's their decision not mine. I thought the question was whether you would feel out of place. No one but you could possibly answer that question and you certainly have. Since you already knew the answer I wonder why you asked the question?

12 hours ago, NCteacherlovescruising said:

 

If you feel it’s polite to imply that normal people that don’t want to dress up on Celebrity are somehow lowering the standards...  If you feel so strongly about this, travel in a suite and you won’t be bothered by the working class that have to dine in the MDR.  I’m not sensitive to the fact that not everyone would wear them. I would be shocked if my mom did, although I might give her a high five!  

 

 

I just wouldn't want want to be sent back to my room to change or to the back of the dining room instead of my assigned table. 

 

 

Trust me, I won’t be worrying about what others are doing or wearing. The elitists seem to do enough of that for everyone. 

 

 

Celebrity is trying to appeal to Millennials. I’m not saying they should give up on their money train, it’s just a fact.  I do hope to be able to retire and travel more at some point, but I am a long way from that now.

 

Believe it or not, some of my best friends are in their 60’s and 70’s. They just aren’t stuffy. 

Amazing that you can read something and respond with so many non sequiturs.  You seem to have categorized everyone into imaginary groups, elitists, working class, stuffy, normal, Millennials etc. and then ascribing imaginary thoughts to them. It's definitely entertaining but not very realistic. There won't be any class warfare or confrontation going on.

Just relax and enjoy.

You asked the question "will I be out of place wearing them?" Everyone was polite in giving their opinion and all was well as long as they didn't say you could "possibly" feel out of place.  The horror...someone dared to give you an honest opinion. Likely everything will be just fine but since you seem to be very sensitive the possibility exists that you could possibly feel that way.

If you want to "be yourself" why bother to ask the question? Just do as you please and I'm sure you won't have to worry about the old elitists criticizing you because of their insecurities. I'm sure no one will be one bit worried about what you are doing. Most people will be busy enjoying themselves and won't be watching you.

Believe it or not all those old customers that you believe Celebrity doesn't want any more keep them in business. They're the ones with the time and the money to cruise frequently and if you are fortunate you may be one of them some day. You might even meet a few that you enjoy. Most of them started out just like you.

26 minutes ago, njcanuck said:

We’ve taken our echo tap with us a couple of times and hooked it to my hoo too travel router.

 

https://www.amazon.com/HooToo-Wireless-Performance-TripMate-Hotspot/dp/B00HZWOQZ6/ref=sr_1_4?crid=HR94TTVNFSY7&keywords=hootoo+travel+router&qid=1565231213&s=gateway&sprefix=Hoo+too+tra%2Caps%2C136&sr=8-4

 

Allowed us to use pandora and amazon music on the balcony.  

 

 

Do you use headsets to listen to your music on the balcony?

As evidenced by this discussion, you can't enforce common sense and good taste.

This is the strangest story I've ever heard about the Blue Chip Club. 

3 hours ago, Nicole&Pete said:

Thanks for your reply. What do you think about enforcement of no jeans, flip flops, shorts, t-shirts on every night? Personally I think this should be the case. I don’t expect people to be super dressy but I think it’s nice for people to put on something slightly smarter to go to dinner than what they were wearing to lounge round the ship in during the day.  

I would like that but a lot of people wouldn't so unfortunately I think that's a losing battle for now. That used to be a minimum standard and it wasn't a problem but there are a lot of people who seem to think jeans are comfortable and can't do without them. Personally, I think they're the most uncomfortable clothing I own.