jagoffee

Nice review. Have ever cruised on Seabourne or Regent?

I think you are correct. I am left wondering about anyone that books a cruise now that departs before 2/20. I would assume that pay the old Plus price? anyone in that situation?

You sure have taken a giant leap. It is reasonable to say that Celebrity will not honor pricing errors that have been quickly recognized and corrected.

I could potentially see Celebrity eliminating the table bar service at night. I have never been impressed with the dinner offerings in the OV. My wife and I only use it when we do not want to change our clothes and are not really very hungry. If you want to see a nice dinner buffet set up, try an Oceania cruise. (We were on the Riviera). Many freshly prepared options. Loved dining there in the Aft outdoor section even when we were ready for a full meal.

IMO the design of the Edge Class ships is purposely trying to discourage in cabin dining. My wife and I have been on 50+ cruises and we have never used Room Service for dinner or lunch. We occasionally order Room Service breakfast ( on early excursion days). If we were given a choice for even higher cruise fares or a charge for Room Service, we would prefer the lower cruise fare. I think there is no doubt that Room Service is a significant variable cost and very difficult to budget and plan. Reading this thread makes me feel like I have been subsidizing those that frequently use Room Service. Dare I suggest maybe even abuse the feature? I cannot count how many times it has been reported that although the room service menu is limited in some cabin categories, people just write in what the want and it is delivered. A surcharge for Room Service is a reasonable approach, but it easy to say for a person who does not place much value in the benefit. I suspect most cruisers will not be impacted by this change. (Since they do not use it). Is $12 each time you use it really unreasonable? I also have never ordered Room Service at a hotel. It could have been worse, Celebrity could have eliminated Room Service. I suspect Celebrity’s objective to reduce the use of Room Service or make it pay for itself.

Did you book and pay for the the Plus or the Premier package?

No Photographers? I vote for that one.

Good luck. Did you confirm that you do not still owe the money for your winning bid? I would not think you could just not pay and not still owe the money.

My comment was related to the reported lack of a bar in the Retreat Lounge.

Yes, the Apex has a bar in the Retreat Lounge. I have never been in the Edge, but I am shocked that they do not have a bar.

binro01, I believe you are correct. There is absolutely no way that Celebrity is going to subtract something from the Classic Alcohol package, especially for those that have already purchased this package. At a minimum the package will include what was previously included. I even think there is a strong possibility that it might include the complete new Zero proof package.

What are the dates of the two cruise? Is one prior to 2/20 and the other after 2/20?

The minbar will not be stocked with items that you do not need based on my experiences. It will only have the items that are included with your free set up. It will be on the counter and you will need to put them in the mini bar. You can make some substitutions by calling room service. Princess does not have a standard stock mini bar system like Celebrity.

If only one person in the party did not have a passport, the rest of the party likely could have taken the cruise. (Depending on the situation). I wonder how many people across the dozens of people actually did not have a valid passport?

That is a nice change as it will avoid any confusion.

Great to see that Princess has added rum.

Apparently those affected did not check in prior to arriving at the port. i would hope the reporters would do some research and report the complete story. I am left wondering exactly what question was asked, although it is certainly possible that someone on the phone gave them incorrect or incomplete information. I am not sure that the on line document and description could be much clearer. Too bad that this is not being reported.

What you say is true with mixed drinks and wines. There are some things like premium regular and sparkling waters waters, where this not not true. There may be a few other items. You can always upgrade after a day or so.

Another suggestions to give Murano’s a try, especially if you can get a discount on the first night. Part of this suggestion in my opinion that it is best dining experience that Celebrity offers and it is your first cruise in Celebrity. This will also give you plenty of time to try another Speciality restaurant if you are really impressed. if you do not find that the Murano experiences is many times better than your $35 for two dining experiences at home, I suggest you not try the others. Going early gives you time to evaluate the MDR and Overview experiences as well. That way, you can view the question from a different angle. You cannot make a “bad” decision. No matter what you decide, you will have plenty to eat. I also think you will enjoy the non specialty dining experiences.

That is also my understanding. Any cruise line that allows smoking in an inside Casino cannot be called “effectively a no smoking line” IMO. I would not want anyone to get the wrong idea. i would be surprised if any cruise line still allows smoking in individual cabins. Certainly a lot less smoking across all cruise lines today. Personally I would consider Princess as one of more liberal cruise lines related to smoking.

No more smoking in the Princess Casino?

The major points for me as I cruise in suites on both Princess and Celebrity. Princess’s entry level full suite (Vista) is significantly larger and has a better layout than Celebrity’s Sky Suite. Princess wins by a large margin. The overall Celebrity Retreat (suite) benefits are vastly superior to Princess’s Suite benefits. Celebrity wins by even a greater margin. When Princess has an itinerary that I love, I cruise with Princess. I suggest to try a Princess cruise and try not to compare the two experiences until you are home from the cruise. Good luck.

Butter Pecan Late!! I will have to try one, but not at 3 AM unless I get up real early that norming.

Thank you for the detailed explanation and for answering my questions.

What ship are you one? Are you saying TV does not have additional HDMI inputs? Isn’t the Roku USB cable for the power? (I sometimes find you have to use the AC power on some TVs). What cable do you believe you are missing? It would connect from what into where? Thanks. I am cruising next month and I want to make sure I have everything I need. I have a travel router in case it is needed.