prmssk

I didn't pay attention to all the meat options (especially since I don't eat red meat) but the dinner buffet on the Eclipse in May had a grilled to order station.

If you are not a suite cruiser who can afford Azamara, Oceania, or some of the other more premium lines, then your options are all going to be pretty comparable to Celebrity so which you prefer of those comparable options greatly depends on which specific aspects of the cruise you enjoy more. I would put Celebrity, Holland, Princess, and Virgin on roughly the same level (maybe Disney too but I have no interest in that many kids or Disney). We've done both Celebrity and Princess lately and much prefer Celebrity but that may just be our personal preference. We hope to try Holland someday soon. I don't know if Virgin is quite our vibe but it's not off the table as an option for us. Another one you might consider is MSC. We haven't sailed them yet but have two Yacht Club bookings coming up. My understanding is that the ships are a lot bigger and the standard cabins are likely a pretty big downgrade to Celebrity but Yacht Club is a lot more affordable than the Retreat and I've also heard good things about Aurea (probably the most comparable to aqua class). I suggest trying something different. I've never had a truly bad time on a cruise and each one we take on a different line helps me better narrow exactly what I enjoy most when cruising. Every line has a little different pluses and minuses.

I have to wonder if they just aren't seeing the same demand they used to for these longer sailings. And my guess is that those on longer sailings are not usually the ones spending the most in on board spending. I'm not at all surprised at this change. I suspect the cruising demographics have shifted at a faster rate since the pandemic which probably has made it a bit challenging to guess which itineraries would sell best. Any business is going to offer what they think will actually sell best. it's really unfortunate for those who get cancelled but could pose new opportunities for others. To me, sailings out of Port Canaveral are a plus. I prefer it over Ft. Lauderdale and Miami. And as much as I love longer cruises, they do stretch the limits of my PTO.

I'm pretty sure this relates to the winter 2024/2025 season. There was a chart of the new sailings in one of the other threads on this board.

If they are trying to book an All Included fare (which likely is the most cost effective if both adults want the drink package), everyone in the cabin must have the same fare. If they are trying to book a cruise only fare and add drink packages, my understanding is that only those of legal age must buy the package if one does. Here's the wording from the FAQ: Does everyone in one stateroom need to buy a drink package? The Drink Package Policy requires all guests wishing to purchase a Drink Package to do so for ALL guests of legal drinking age in the same stateroom. This policy applies to packages purchased pre-cruise or onboard. https://www.celebritycruises.com/faqs/beverage-packages

NCL's Flow water though only comes in large cartons so isn't part of the drink package. I don't know the reasoning behind not having single serving Flow cartons (cost, availability, something else?) but that maybe why Celebrity hasn't implemented that option on it's ships.

Michael's Club still exists on all non-revolutionized ships. It was on the Constellation last fall. It was on the Eclipse in May.

Plastic bottles will turn you away from Celebrity? I think most cruise lines use plastic bottles as do most places on land still. I would love to go away from single use plastic but I'm not sure how to avoid it aside from bringing my own bottle with me which I can do on any cruise line. Personally, I would love to see cruise lines install more water bottle filling stations around the ships to encourage people to use their own reusable bottles like Celebrity does on their expedition ships in the Galapagos.

Do you already have a 2 device basic plan in your name? AI comes with a 1 device plan per person (so each 1 device plan is in each person's name). I thought you had to upgrade them each separately. The top option in that screen shot might be to upgrade 1 device and give you a second device with premium internet. Does the description give you any more information?

In Hawaii on the Eclipse this past May, they ran all night in Lahaina. They just didn't have as many running or quite so frequently. I imagine they will do the same in Kona.

I disagree that it is a majority. Maybe it's just that the poorly behaved ones are the loudest. We often overestimate how many they are when they are. I also want to add that since the restart across all cruise lines we have sailed, I can remember some specific examples of very poorly behaved adults. I can't actually remember any specific examples of poorly behaved children. Not to say there were none but it was the poorly behaved adults that had a greater effect on my vacation.

I agree - we have found quiet relaxing areas on every cruise we have taken across the various lines.

I'm 40 and have been cruising since I was 13. I took my first Princess cruise while in high school, got married on a Holland ship in my early 20s, and took our first Celebrity cruise in 2015. Although we cruise many lines, we keep coming back to Celebrity because it fits us best. There's room for people of all ages on Celebrity regardless of the comments you read on this forum or others.

It’s usually for cruises in the next six months that I suspect aren’t selling quite as well so they deeply discount the guarantee cruise only rate but still want to earn the on board spending of the passenger. If you actually choose your cabin, usually the rate between the AI and cruise only is more reasonable.

When I did the comparison recently for our Apex cruise, I used a IV for comparison to a Magic Carpet Suite as the price between the IV and CC was too big to justify CC at current prices. I like the CC embarkation day lunch but that is only worth so much. No matter how I looked at the numbers, I couldn't justify the Retreat. I also did a comparison to Aqua Class and I was even struggling to justify that one compared to an IV at current prices for that cruise but it was a lot closer to maybe being worth it than the Retreat.

No, it is not advertised as a perk. And I did not have the same experience of others in this thread when in a Sky Suite. Our butler grudgingly was willing to put a few waters in the fridge but not willing to keep stocking it or include anything else. When my mother-in-law stayed in a Sky Suite (on a separate cruise with a different butler) she was clearly told by the butler that it was not included for Sky Suites. Both these experiences were in the last 1.5 years. I think it has been really nice that many butlers are willing to do this but it actually is not officially included from what I can tell and definitely not advertised.

I think plenty are hanging around out of curiosity regardless of whether they have anymore booked with Celebrity or not. Also, a lot of the previous changes didn't affect those in the Retreat nearly as much.

I have to admit reading this thread has only reminded me of how much I missed out on. We did the Retreat twice, once in a Sky Suite and once the Penthouse. We struck out on butlers both times. We didn't get to know either because neither were really around. Neither offered anything extra and anything we wanted required multiple follow-ups. So after both those experiences, I'm not sure how a team would do a worse job and they might do a better job. Unfortunately, after our Galapagos suite this November (which isn't really the Retreat product), we likely won't be able to afford Retreat prices.

This is a risk with any cruise line right now, Royal Caribbean Group owned or not. All businesses are interested in increasing profit/revenue.

I realize you are probably just catching up on this thread but the comment you quoted from me was 2.5 days ago, at which point we did not have confirmation of anything.

Assuming it is all true, it appears Celebrity did provide at least some assistance - internet time to book a hotel, advice to file a police report which turned out to be quite important, starting contact information for the US Consulate, and it sounds like a willingness to let her re-embark in the next port if she could get a replacement passport. So she wasn't actually left at the dock with no assistance (and she may be understating other assistance they provided her). I don't really know what more Celebrity could have reasonably done. It wasn't their fault she lost her passport.

At every single port the cruise lines make certain certifications as it relates to customs even if that port never asks to see every passenger's passport. The cruise lines have a responsibility to ensure their passengers meet customs requirements and honestly make those certifications to port authorities.

A copy of their passport likely won't satisfy customs agents. Celebrity likely didn't have any other option than to disembark her.

Royal has at times in the past cancelled stops to Labadee because of the political situation but Royal isn't bound by US travel advisories. They make their own call. This does seem to be an escalation of what we have seen in Haiti in recent months/years so I think we will just have to wait and see. The Liberty of the Seas is currently scheduled to stop there tomorrow. And then the Mariner of the Seas the day after. We shall see if they detour or stop.

So you sent a payment to your travel agent on Friday and now on Sunday, you are worried Celebrity hasn't charged your card yet? It's the weekend. And when you work through a travel agent, there are a few steps in between you giving your credit card and it getting charged. I wouldn't stress. I personally wouldn't follow up until August 2 or 3 although I suspect it will get charged before then.