TeeRick

Ha Ha. On Cruise Critic the sky is always falling and that goes along with the prices always rising!😀

Will do. We are on Equinox Jan 21-30 just before you. We do occasionally eat in the buffet for dinner maybe once a cruise. We are in a suite so are mostly in Luminae for our upcoming cruise.

Let's summarize the situation. The original post was about an unsubstantiated online social media rumor (reported here by the OP for discussion purposes), and it was about eliminating the Oceanview Cafe dinner buffet service entirely. No evidence that this has happened or will happen. Some posters on at least one sailing on Edge (and one on Equinox) have reported reduced offerings at the dinner buffet compared to the past. Not sure if this was in response to lower capacity on those particular sailings and a resulting attempt to reduce food wastage. Or a decision by Celebrity for those ships. Or is it fleetwide decision for 2023? Any other ships reporting this reduction in offerings? I will be on Equinox in 2 weeks and will report back here. I will be disappointed if this is true (after I have made final payment). If a big change like this has been implemented, then it should not happen for all ship sailings that have already made final payments. Future sailings are fair game and people booking can decide if this changes the value of their cruise dynamics.

In Nassau, you can book a cigar tour at GrayCliff. They are a short walk from the cruise terminal. I have not been there for quite some time so not sure about the prices. Check the website. I will be in Nassau on our Equinox cruise on Jan 22.

For real Cuban cigars you need to find stores or outlets for La Casa del Habanos. They will be very pricey but authentic. There is one in Grand Cayman (Harbour Dr. Georgetown). One in Curacao (201D Schottegatweg Oost, Willemstad, Curaçao). One in Bonaire (31 Kaya Grandi, Kralendijk). All very near the cruise ports. In Nassau you can get them at the Atlantis. Or go to the Graycliff Cigar company for genuine Graycliffs.

I see this as an unsubstantiated rumor or speculation by those unknown social media (non-cruise) sources that the OP mentioned. Closing the Oceanview for dinner would be a very unpopular decision. I do not believe it will happen. However the room service charges appear to be real by multiple sources here.

Late night charge even for suites? I understand butlers generally are not working at night. In the morning, butlers usually deliver and set up the breakfast in suites.

Explains the popularity of escargot on board too. Move those little rubbering this to the side and dip your bread in the garlic butter!

On ship only. The availability and time might depend on the size of your group. We were a pretty large group (10) and we had to take late reservations (8:30 PM) to be accommodated.

they can leave the chocolates in the morning instead, The Daily can be electronic - saves all that paper!

thanks so much!

Yes. Is there a number or department to call Celebrity and arrange for scooter?

We will be cruising soon with elderly parents - one needs a wheelchair or electric scooter. The cruise is out of FLL on Equinox. Does the ship provide? for a fee? Or are there options that people have used in FLL to get a scooter delivered to the ship? I know lots of people do this every cruise so what are the recommendations? Thank You!

For us we can get out of the Northeast US winter for a significant time period by renting properties or by cruising, Good combination.

Expensive history lesson with 4 E-ships already and a 5th one on order. After that, a new concept ship will likely be announced anyway- maybe in 2025 or later. All controlled by Royal Caribbean's CEO.

Yes but is that good or bad to you?

No problem. I would enjoy meeting you! The place we rented does not have a pool. You will need to use the bathroom or the ocean!☺️

Yes we cruised M-Class Constellation with our family (8 other people, all in non-suites) pre-pandemic. The Specialty restaurants at that time were Q-Sine and Tuscan which we all enjoyed together. We also did the MDR a couple of times which was OK. But we did Luminae together as a group twice for dinner and paid $30 pp. Much cheaper than Specialty dining and Luminae was a big hit with everybody. If you do not want to pay for everybody there are ways to work that out between you.

We have done mostly land-based vacations since 2020 Pandemic era. We kind of re-discovered non-cruise options. And they can be a nice change. In fact, we can rent a whole house on the beach for a month for less than the price of a single cruise in The Retreat on Celebrity. We have one lined up this winter oceanfront in FL, a 4BR house and we can have our family and friends visit. If we took them all on a cruise instead (as we have done in the past) it would be incredibly expensive compared to the house rental.

This is very true and the whole idea behind E-Class for Celebrity.

Probably - but who knows everybody's criteria and preferences, and how they view their monetary decisions? Again, Celebrity is sailing pretty full these days. Even with a lot of people not CC members this is the case.

I am OK with E-Class (if I have a real balcony). But I much prefer S-Class. We go on Equinox in a CS in three weeks. I know the Retreat is not as nice as E-Class but it will be nice enough for us! I prefer the smaller (less noisy) Luminae on S-Class and M-Class with the better food menu options as you point out.

Ipee, you make strong general statements and assumptions about "most guests". And "many would argue". I think you are representing yourself and your views, which is fine. But not sure how you come to the conclusions and assumptions for others. In fact, the cruising data currently says otherwise. Celebrity ships are sailing near capacity even with very high prices. Retreat or no Retreat. Whether we like it or not.

I would agree with you for cruise customers looking for the best price for traditional non-suite cabins as their number 1 overriding criteria. But from what I've seen here on CC, many customers are not just about lowest price. Many just prefer Celebrity over other lines even if they pay more. It is the whole experience which is not at all equivalent across ships and cruise lines. So price is only one factor. It tends to be over-emphasized as the bottom line criteria here by some on CC. It is a factor in a more complex decision.

Whatever their strategy- it is working for them. It is indeed very hard to get a suite on most ships and sailings even at some of these outrageous prices. So if people pay and suites sell out- why would they ever change?