MamaFej

9 minutes ago, amandawalker1 said:

Booked with Virgin yesterday, they matched elite, offered before I even thought it was an option. Two more princess cruises then I’m off to Virgin. 
looks cool. Actual all inclusive, no upselling.

We have good friends, who normally sail with Celebrity, who did a Virgin cruise ealer this summer. They absolutely loved it!

13 minutes ago, SunnySunflower said:

Sorry I misunderstood your question.  I don’t know the answer to what you are asking. No one has asked us to self identify but I have been wearing a badge holder with my color coded room key/sea pass.

The concierge in Michael's Club on the Eclipse earlier this year told us that she has everyone's (security) pictures when I told her, several days in, that I was surprised neither she nor her colleague ever asked us to identify ourselves. 

2 hours ago, mahdnc said:

My Club Point total has advanced by one!  I can now go about with my work day!

I got mine, but I'm reitred. I don't have a work day to go about. 

I have no idea what to do!!!!

12 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

Unfortunately, it is reaching that point for us. We are so close to Zenith but now don't care if we make it or not. Another thread had a sample menu for Murano's that eliminated the Dover Sole and lobster. While we don't care about the lobster, I have the recipe and make it with cold water lobster, we always looked forward to the Dover Sole. 

WHAT?!?!?!?

I finally have come to appreciate fish (well, at least mild white fish) and Dover Sole (especially that in Murano)  is a major reason for that. 

We have a 17 day HON-SYD cruise coming up in a verandah, and have purchased a specialty dining package for it. I may have to reconsider. 

I suppose living in the First World dramatically increases the odds of having First World Problems. 

On 8/6/2023 at 4:05 PM, SandJCruiser said:

The other ship act was a quartet from the Philippines who did pop and rock covers.  They were OK, but I had to cringe when they announced,  “Here’s our version of a Guns n’ Roses song,” and proceeded to play an uptempo, jazzy version of (Bob Dylan’s) ‘Knocking on Heaven’s Door’.  Respect the music, people.

I would have been clenching my fists so tightly that I'd leave deep nail impressions. I'd probably break a tooth or two from the jaw clench, as well. 

I love Guns N' Roses, but c'mon, if you're covering a cover, say so. Don't take credit away from the orginal artist!

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We now return you to your regularly scheduled thread. 

15 minutes ago, Kelownadon said:

About five years ago I witnessed a man at our table who ate about 10 or 11 Lobster tails to try and beat his own record. The only good news was he apparently spent the whole night vomiting in his stateroom and was nowhere to be seen the next day. I take it this was not that uncommon an occurrence in years past.  

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes?

1 hour ago, sting1st said:

For the World Cruises… Free business class airfare. Complimentary visa service and silver spirits package. Shipboard credit and ground transfers, to name a few. 

Gratuities?

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We already have a nearly three month trip, then a total solar eclipse cruise planned during this period, ot I might jump on the deal. We have stuff planned for early 2025, as well. Maybe I'll try not to plan anything for early 2036, and hope for a deal like this to pop up in norhtern summer of 2024???

4 hours ago, mayleeman said:

 

I think if Celeb reps read this forum, in a couple years we can expect what I call "Gilligan-style" rowing machines in the gym connected to generators and the ship's batteries. You get a couple CC pts for every megawatt you produce.

CC points? Unlikely... I mean Power Up Points was right there!

😉

58 minutes ago, chemmo said:

I think lots of people would be interested in different classes, especially on longer cruises with lots of sea days. The cooking one seems an obvious with the number of chefs on board. I also think iPad/phone ones could be popular. You could even get a discount for the class if you bought your iPad on board!

Hubby took an iPhone photography class (no additional charge) on Azamara last year, and learned a few tricks from the ship's photographer, a delightful young man who was never pushy and always friendly. 

1 hour ago, Tyler414 said:

Just got off a Virgin cruise in the Med.   They have no bottled water, you are provided with 2 carafe's filled with water in your room that are refilled as needed by your room attendant and there are several water filling stations around the ship.  I did pack two different sizes of stainless steel water bottles with me (I was freaking out packing these things as they take up a decent amount of space)

I thought I would hate this, as I like having bottle available at all times... It actually worked out GREAT.  The water I brought on excursions stayed cold and the one time I needed more water on an excursion I just bought a plastic bottle for $2   On previous cruises I always over packed water on my excursions because I did not want to run out, and always seem to come back to the ship with un drank bottles that I carried around all day.

I stuff the clean stainless steel bottles with clean socks or clean rolled sleep shirts to preserve packing space. 

Yes, I'm weird.

Yes, it works. 

With the popularity of Escape Rooms on land, I think that having one onboard, could be a fun revenue-generatror. These are especially popular with the younger Gen-X, Millennial, and Gen-Z folks cruise lines need to attract. 

Perhaps Celebrity Central, or another location could be temporarily set up as one, especially on sea days. If it ends up being very popular, it could perhaps replace a shop that doesn't generate much revenue, and could be set up more permanently. 

If they had multiple sets of puzzles, they could sell pacakges. As with some other things, discounts could be offered to E, E+, and Z  CC members. 

2 hours ago, C4HCG said:

Not sure they opened it, but the casino decision certainly didn’t help.

It may have already been cracked open, then Celebrity took a crowbar and ripped the lid completely off. 

I have often seen folks cite the lack of slip signing as a contributing factor toward getting a pacakage.

So now, when a previously included drink is a dollar or two over the package limit, instead of noting your cabin number and package, then getting and bringing your drink, punching it into the computer when things are slow, they must wait for a terminal to ba available, wait for the slip to print, bring you the slip and have you sign it. 

This may take from a few seconds to a few minutes more. A few seconds is no big deal. A few minutes can be frustrating.

In the meantime, they may be serving fewer package drinks overall. A win for Celebrity. A win for livers. 😉 A loss for crew who have to deal with folks annoyed at delays and potentially less in spontaneous cash tips. 

35 minutes ago, MamaFej said:

I'm a baseball fan. In my mind, I see a line-up with team butlers on deck, waiting for the next request. 

Maybe I shouldn't have mentioned being a baseball fan. The Dodgers were winning 1-0 when I posted thie above. They are now losing to the Padres 1-2. 

It's only the bottom of the 5th. There's still hope. 

Keep it on topic, MamaFej... something, something, butlers, suites, cruising, cutbacks, double play.

Oooooo, so close!

13 minutes ago, jelayne said:

wish I could join you 🍷 

TBH, my limit is pretty darn low (any incoherence is more due to sheer exhaustion than the beer)  and I wont actually have a second...

But that doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy one. 

I owe you an email, but know that PapaFej and I are in our RV in Three Forks, Montana at the moment, so (some) things have largely improved over the last report. 

5 hours ago, mayleeman said:

Why don't you list how Celebrity's experts have improved things, showing their careful attention to passenger convenience and comfort? I mean, it's not as if they overbook thousands of pax and have to cancel them with no compensation or explana -- ooops, forget that example. And we know they would never advertise huge sales that are discounted from prices that were simultaneously raised -- uh, forget that one. At least Celebrity's famous quality foods ... darn.

 

Well at least they keep some of their uniqueness intact, like free room service  -- oh, shoot, never mind. Do you suppose charging for room service with a drastically reduced menu reflects that extensive research you are extolling? And maybe your idea of perfect management is to decide customers happy with decades of smoke'free interiors enjoy vaping being sprung on them once they board.

 

I should be more open-minded on that last one...no doubt Celebrity has secret information that their passengers would enjoy vaping if they could just be more exposed to it. With an enhanced casino experience, too!

 

Face it...Celebrity is making these changes with their only concern being how many or how drastic they can get away with before bookings drop. 

I haven't had nearly enough to drink to have the chutzpah to write a post like this, and probably never have (but I kinda wish I had). Well done, Jayhawk. 

That's coming from someone who is willing to have a wait and see attitude about the team of butlers concept. As I've previously said (paraphrashing), perhaps this would allow folks who share a butler with demanding passengers to have a better level of service. I'm a baseball fan. In my mind, I see a line-up with team butlers on deck, waiting for the next request. 

Then again, waiting and seeing will probably not be a first-hand experience for me. I'm one of those folks with very limited Suite/Retreat experience, and have only had that due to the Move-Up program as well as an onboard inexpensive upgrade because a Retreat Concierge liked us on cruise one (a Move-Up)  of B2B, and got us in on a great onboard upgrade deal on cruise two due to a no-show. 

PRO TIP: don't fly in the day of your cruise: you might have a flight delay and some middle class fool (🙋🏽‍♀️) might end up in your CS. 

I'll keep on monitorng Cruise Critic and see what happens. In the meantime, I'm mostly looking at small ship cruising for the future, beyond what I already have booked. All 6 of my booked Celebrity cruises are in verandahs (some obstructed). For the price of Aqua on X, we can get better itineraries and inclusions on smaller ships. 

It has been A DAY!!! Maybe I will have another drink.

On 8/2/2023 at 2:30 PM, phoenix_dream said:

I've gotten excellent service on every one of my 75+ Celebrity cruises without tipping ahead of time.  So I'm guessing you would have had the same without doing it. We do always tip extra at the end.

In other words, you do not insult their intelligence and sense of professionalism by assuming that they will not give you the service which they are hired and trained to give unless you bribe them? Then you reward them beyond their salaries and standard gratuity share when you are pleased and/or extra pleased with the excellent service they provide?

I imagine they appreciate when you and others (like me) who don't automatically disparage them do that. 

33 minutes ago, Stem to Stern said:

Oh my gosh hilarious.

If you have time to kill, do the maths on the ones that aren't so blatently obvious. 

My bestie's son is trying to figure out what to do for a career. He's utterly brilliant in some areas, but mathematics is not his strong suit. Maybe he could get a job calculating discounts for Celebrity. 

"Mathematics"

Take all the time you need.

47 minutes ago, Wookie01 said:

This seems to be a really interesting comment.
Does this imply that the next set of changes will be to remove Retreat amenities from Sky Suites?

I'm interpreting it more as, "Let's head this question off at the pass." Surely they are aware of the speculation, and the complaints about lack of communication. Reassuring folks that this particular  concern isn't founded seems a wise move in my (admitedly speculative) opinion. 

One of the awesome things about cruising is that it can be so many things to so many people. It appeals to the big budget luxury seekers in the Penthouse or Royal Suites. It appeals to the bargain seekers in the lowest passenger deck inside cabin, and everything in between. It appeals to the "The ship is the destination" cruiser. It appeals to the "Take me to wonderful new places I've never seen" cruiser. It appeals to foodies, oenephiles, those who want to grab something quick at the buffet, early risers, late risers, trivia lovers, quiet readers, pool game afficianados, smokers, vapers, those who need clean air, art auction lovers, board game playes, solos, families, couples, and so many more. I think you get my drift. 

I have noticed, over the last several months, and especially the last several weeks, that Celebrity and other lines seem to have found ways to alienate most, if not nearly all, different types of cruisers. 

10 hours ago, villauk said:

 

You have lost it and so have we as we booked last year and paid for Plus - totally wrong to change T&Cs of those already paid-up pax.

Very disappointing, indeed. 

Princess and Celebrity are the only mass-market lines we have sailed. Both seem determined to push us (retirees in our 50s, with pensions and retirement savings) away. We have six X and 2 Princess cruises booked between next month and April 2024. After that, we only have Azamara, Ama, and Viking booked, and we are looking at other more premium lines for the cruising part of our future. It may stay that way.

14 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

 

We are Zenith members of the Captain's Club who travel in Sky and Celebrity Suites.  We have yet to have a butler show up at our stateroom with a tablet .....

That makes perfect sense. After all, it wold seem strange if something that I am only imagining as a possiblity for the future had happened in the past for you. 

I'm imagining (and I may be giving to much credit) that whichever butler you meet first will enter notes onto a tablet (like an iPad) and that each butler will have one, which each suite's preferences noted, and additional preferences added as appropriate. 

I've also been known to be wrong a time or two. 

13 minutes ago, happy5 said:

Giving an update… my husband had a heart cath on Monday and had blockage.. so had a stent put in.. Sooo doctor advises against the cruise.

called celebrity and they said our TA had to be the one to cancel., she is on a family vacay in the Mediterranean.. finally got hold of her to cancel.  The celebrity agent said TA would have to file a non insurance claim… but TA says she has never heard of it and therefore won’t work..

our feeling is it might not but why would agent say fill out non insurance claim if it doesn’t exist??

The good news is my husband is doing great!! And we just lost $$.

thanks for all prayers and info.. will keep you posted if there is any new info for all!

I'm very happy to hear that your husband is getting the treatment he needed. 

In case you haven't had the chance to read the whole thread, please check post #42. If your TA has a good working relationship with their Celebrity rep, you may be able to have a similar result.

All the best wishes for improved health and future travel!