TheHawk1

Absolutely go for it. I do every cruise. And if anyone gives you side eye for being too old, just splash them and carry on 😀

Thanks for the informative review. Will be on Apex next February, so enjoying the preview. The last few menus you've posted from Tuscan and Normandie look like the ones I remember from the Edge earlier this year. But that first one from the Cosmopolitan? That was just sad. I've seen better selection at an Applebees.

Our cruise stops in La Spezia on October 4 and we're planning to tour Cinque Terre on our own. I thought the ferry looks like a more scenic route and not as crowded as the train might be? However, the ferry schedule changes on Oct. 1 and there appears to be a reduced scheduled with fewer boats. Wondering if it would be a good plan to take the ferry north in the morning, stopping at a few of the villages and then take the train back to the port? The train runs more frequently and would be faster getting back to La Spezia. Our ship doesn't depart until 8:30 pm, so we have all day, but don't want to be panicking that we would miss the last ferry back and I've noticed that not all of them stop at La Spezia.

Sorry I wasn’t doing the currency conversion for you into U.S. dollars. I am booked in an SS1 on an 11 day Beyond cruise in Feb. 2025. The price is $22K, even with the future cruise “discount” applied. That is $1000 CDN per person per day.

Since when did we start calling Sky Suites on Celebrity "junior suites"? Isn't that Royal Caribbean terminology, where their junior suite doesn't come with any perks at all, it's just a larger cabin? Oh wait, that's exactly what's happening here. All the apologists for Celebrity are now trying to say that paying upwards of $1,000 per person per day in a Sky Suite no longer qualifies for the luxury cruise experience. Just be grateful, for the time being at least, that you're still being allowed into the Retreat and Luminae along with the "real" suite passengers. Sheesh indeed!

Is it coincidence that they just recently raised the deposits on suites significantly, including future cruise bookings on board, before making this announcement? I think not.

I'm not trying to hijack the OP's thread but the two are related. This reservation was less than a year old and at that time Celebrity would have only been booking a suite with premium packages included. Apart from a Move-Up Bid, which should be indicated on the reservation somewhere I suspect, there would be no reason for a suite booking to have anything less. Anyways, I'm merely pointing out that staff who provide service to the suite passengers should know how all this works and on my particular sailing, they did not.

Very eerie coincidence and clearly not an isolated situation. But in response to the posts here, most people are indicating that someone in a suite would never have a reservation without a premium beverage and premium Wi Fi package. So why wouldn't all the staff on board the ship actually know that and do something about it in our case, especially a butler? To be fair, the Retreat Concierge was very helpful and sorted it all out for us, but she was the only person who really stepped up. The rest just seemed to shrug it off as our problem, not theirs. I certainly wasn't feeling the preferential suite "experience" for the first couple days of our cruise.

I was originally booked on an Edge cruise earlier this year in an IV cabin with another couple. The other couple decided we should upgrade the cruise, so they called back and changed the reservation to a Sky Suite for both reservations (which were linked). When I first got on board, I noticed that I didn't have the option to sign up for premium Wi Fi. I asked our butler about it and he said perhaps that it was you booked or you bid on a move up? Neither of those was the case. I had to go see the Retreat Concierge on Day 2 and get it corrected. Then decided to try out one of the MDR's on night 3 instead of Luminae, because the menu was better. Ordered our usual drinks, including sparkling water. Next day when I checked my account, I had been charged for the water. Back up to the Retreat Concierge, who realized that the drinks package associated with the booking was not premium either. No one had noticed that on our sea card for 2 days in Retreat bars or restaurants? Eventually all was corrected, but it was clearly a major screw up by the Celebrity call centre agent at the time the reservation was made. And worse, our butler, who I never found particularly helpful throughout the cruise, did not volunteer to look into any of this for us. All in all, it was a really poor introduction to the Retreat experience, which was duly noted on my survey.

That is true, but it's not called the Promenade Deck. On Royal ships, that name means something else entirely. Perhaps the OP should realize that each cruise line has their own branding and terminology for their deck plans.

I took my very first day trip to Rome last year from Wonder of the Seas, which is exactly the same itinerary/times as Symphony this year. Based on some of the expert advice I received on CC and my own research, here's what I did, which was absolutely not stressful: Got off the ship around 7:30 am. Took shuttle (6 euros) direct to train station Took the 8:44 regional train into Rome. Easily found two seats, as it wasn't that crowded (in mid-Sept). Got off at Ostiense station. Went to take the underground tunnel to Piramide metro station and it was closed for construction. Had a moment of freaking out, then simply walked upstairs and outside and walked the block to metro station. Took subway to Colosseo station. I had tickets booked in advance for 10:30 entrance time and was easily there 20 minutes in advance of the tour start. Around 4:00 pm after a day of touring, took the subway back to Termini station. Caught the 4:57 Frecce train back to Civitavecchia port (having the reserved seat in a quiet car was a nice way to end the day). Made it back to the ship by 6:30 pm, in plenty of time before departure. I liked it so much, am going back this year on the Symphony cruise in October to catch many of the sights I didn't have time for on the first trip.

Right, the same millennial (and Gen Z) generation who only have part time gig economy jobs rather than full time employment? The ones still living at home into their thirties, saddled with six figure college tuition debt? Sounds like the perfect demographic for Celebrity to market their luxury suite cruises to.

Thanks for all the feedback, I think I will stick with my original choice and be happy knowing I like the location of where I’m booked. If I really want to be in a suite on a future sailing, I will reserve one from the outset, to ensure I get a location that I’ll like… which, at today's suite prices, will take a lot of saving up 😆

Kind of contradicts your theory that Celebrity should just let the boomers go and focus instead on a younger market. Boomers (and some older Gen X) are the ones who can primarily afford the Retreat, which is a huge cash cow for them. I guess you'll just have to put up with some old folks photo bombing your endless selfies on your next vacation "experience", as the millennials say.

True, but if I know I'm comfortable paying for an an ocean balcony category when I'm initially booking a cruise, then I want to choose my cabin location. I would never let Royal do that for me just to save a few bucks.

I wouldn't say extremely 😁. I just know what I like when I'm on vacation. The appeal of a Royal Up is a potential suite at a lower price. But I would never choose a GTY.

I have an opportunity to bid on a royal up for an upcoming Symphony of the Seas cruise. I'm currently booked in an Ocean View Large Balcony Cabin on Deck 11, which I chose over a year in advance. I've been on five other Oasis class sailings, including SOTS, so I'm very familiar with the ship and I'm somewhat particular about the location of my cabin, e.g. not too close to an elevator, not too far forward or aft, not on a low deck, etc. While I would enjoy the extra space from bidding successfully on say a Junior Suite, you really have no control over where you'll end up. While JS are primarily in the middle of the ship, I could end up on Deck 6, which is too close to the water or on the dreaded Deck 14, where I'll listen to the scraping of pool deck chairs at all hours. Curious if others let those concerns affect their bidding or they would just rather go for a larger cabin at a good deal?

I'm on the Apex with the same itinerary in 2024. Very interested in your thoughts on each port and what type of excursions you did.

Can't comment on Liberty vs Independence, as it was quite a few years ago I was on Indy and never been on Liberty. But in a battle between Labadee and Coco Cay, it's Coco by a mile.

That's the train I am also thinking of taking back to the ship. However, when I choose the Frecce option and then select Civitavecchia Porto, it says "we don't find any travel solution". I have to choose just Civitavecchia as the arrival in order to get the 16:57 train to show up as a selection. Even then, I'm seeing the strange behavior where the web site is trying to book you a day ahead of the actual day you choose in your Search criteria. Very strange.

If you want them to have a good time on their first cruise, one of your suggestions is not like the others 😆

I would agree with this. While no RCI expert, I've been on all five Oasis class ships because I enjoy that particular experience. It's very easy to find spaces where there are no crowds and I just ignore the screaming children in public areas (headphones help a lot with that). The one time I tried the Independence years ago, it was ok, but certainly didn't have much of a Wow factor. The entertainment was very high school production, the pool deck was always crowded and the promenade felt like a 70's indoor shopping mall. Perhaps the Quantum is a happy medium, but if the OP is looking for a more adult experience, then I would suggest Celebrity Edge class as an alternative.

Premium Rouge is an oxymoron

This thread is worse than zombies in a horror movie. It just won’t die.

I believe the tickets for a given date that is 30 days in advance are all released at once in the morning. I agree that it must be bots grabbing the tickets. There was nothing left about 10 minutes after they were released. I've had an easier time getting concert tickets.