phoenix_dream

I agree. Too often people who report a bad experience are referred to as complainers or people who are never satisfied. At the same time, people who report good experiences are often reviled as cheerleaders. Frankly, I've been accused as both! I report my comments based on my personal experience - good, bad, or indifferent. People can give them as much credence as they care to.

Are you writing this as a joke or to get people revved up to argue with you? Obviously it can't be a legit comment. The "upper suites" already have lots more privileges associated with them so I think they are taken care of just fine, That's as far as I plan to discuss this as the idea is too far out of the realm of reality for me to waste any more time on it.

You sound like a polite and considerate person. Unfortunately those on our cruise were not. I didn't have a particular issue with the seat being saved for people paying big bucks for highest level suites. But if that was happening to me (and it would be pretty obvious early on) I would definitely advise the hostess if I didn't plan to dine there that day.

And yet, the website also still shows Decoy and Conundrum as included in the premium package! So not just a poor move overall, but false advertising.

I think my biggest frustration was that there were so many times they just never showed up and the ideal table went empty! That's just not right. I can see them catering to high level suite guests - heaven knows they are paying a small fortune to sail in those - but my real issue was with the guests themselves. Totally inconsiderate.

What I meant was, concern that they would adjust their rules so that suite guests were no longer charged the small upcharges while in Luminae or in the lounge, but not intend to change anything for anyone else. I realize I am sounding (and probably am) a bit paranoid here, but frankly the way they've been handling things these days I can understand why. It's already very frustrating that as a Zenith our perks of premium liquor and Wi-Fi are of no value when booking suites - a separate but annoying issue I didn't want to really get into with this particular thread. I also don't want to seem like I don't care about non-suite or non-Zenith folks. I certainly do. It just seems that there have been quite a few significant sales on drink packages lately which are of no value to us. So as a suite guest we don't get those kinds of discounts per se as the cost of the package is already included in the (sky high these days) price of the suites. So once again, paying more and getting less. But I understand it is an issue for everyone and I hope they look at it that way.

Wondering how many have been contacted after sending an email to the Executive office regarding the recent changes to wine prices vis a vis the premium package, and how that conversation went. I wrote an email and got a call within a day. Had a nice conversation with the woman on the phone about my concerns. Besides mentioning my general displeasure with the new costs and why, I also expressed concern about how these changes are happening. I have heard people say it has even changed mid-sailing. I indicated I thought they should improve their communication so people know ahead of time what they are buying into, regardless of what the change is. One of my concerns is that they may only focus on "fixing" this for suite guests. As a Zenith member who took 30 years and close to 80 cruises to attain that level, I am not happy to see its valuable perk of premium drinks downgraded for those times I am not sailing in a suite (which with current prices may be often!). If they lower the price of the package, offer great sales, etc.., but keep the current wine pricing that's fine for people who purchase the package as an add-on but that doesn't help me (or other Zeniths not in suites) at all! I was told they are in the process of reviewing these changes and the comments coming in, and I was reassured that they value our loyalty and would keep that in mind. So, encouraging that they are quickly responding, and encouraging that they apparently are getting so much feedback that they are reviewing it. Wouldn't it be nice, though, if going forward they relied on focus groups comprising of all types of Celebrity passengers, including (and perhaps especially) those who are the most loyal. Fingers crossed something positive will come out of this.

Don't know about Japan, but typically 2 hours ahead of time. I also would figure 3 in case of any issues getting to port.

That's true. Although on one b2b cruise I was on, the hostess was instructed to always save a particular window seat for a Royal Suite guest. The most frustrating part of all was that literally half the time or more they never showed up and that most-desired seat was left empty! How incredibly inconsiderate and selfish. I've sailed in a Royal Suite (granted, only twice) and they never did that for me, nor would I ever ask or expect them to for that matter.

That's fine if you sail in non-suite cabins or are not Zenith. People sailing in suites often pay tens of thousands of dollars for their cabin - and then to be charged an upcharge for a glass of wine whose bottle sells for $20 or less retail?? That is nothing short of outrageous. And those of us who have finally, finally earned Zenith status (for me 75+ cruises over 30 years), only to find the value of that status once again declining is very, very frustrating. I'm not saying this as an attack on your response, but I think everyone should be concerned about these types of changes being made, and made after booking as well. This change may not impact you personally but it is a disturbing trend and there likely will follow other changes that will impact you. If we just sit back and take it and continue booking and don't provide any feedback it will continue and continue.

Only the new ships and in some cabins on revolutionized ships will you find smart tv's, not all Celebrity ships. In fact on a Sky Suite on Constellation, our TV did not even have the usual movies, access to your account, etc.. And whether streaming will be a breeze definitely depends on the internet on that cruise, which can vary greatly by sailing location as well as cabin location. Granted, with their updated internet it is usually much better than previously, but you definitely cannot always stream successfully.

I agree. How many times would I want to even listen to the same song over and over and over without the crowd participation or some other fun-added aspect. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course and can like or dislike it. For the record, I'm no youngster myself (on the other side of 70) and I have no issue with the sing alongs and love the "so good, so good, so good" and "bamp bamp bamp" singing!

We sailed on Celebrity many times with my youngest son, starting when he was 7. He always had a good time. As he got older he learned about other, more fun (for him) ships such as Royal and he definitely would have preferred them. But all in all he always had a good time. DH and I both worked fulltime so it was nice not to have all the bells and whistles so to speak as it meant we could spend more time as a family. We swam together, played board games (some of which we brought from home), enjoyed the shows (even in his younger years), and just enjoyed some family time. As he got older, he brought our laptop (no tablets back then LOL) and downloaded video games to play and movies to watch. He also brought books and comics for his own quiet time. I'm sure your kids will do fine, as long as expectations are set for the older ones especially.

Gibson's in downtown Chicago - Decoy Cab is $15 a glass. Celebrity now $19 a glass. 26% higher on Celebrity. And the big thing, to me, is that the premium package is very expensive and many people (me included) would purchase it primarily to have a bit higher quality wine with dinner. And we are not even talking really high quality wines - we are talking wines we can buy retail for less than $20 a bottle. To offer wines on the premium package which sell for around $10 a bottle at home is insulting to say the least.

Why? They never have before!

So you think it's the right choice to sell someone experience A, and then decide later to reduce the value by delivering experience B? Makes no difference if you personally use that service or not. If I paid for a car that was supposed to include, for example, heated seats and Hyundai decided to eliminate that feature in my car, it doesn't matter if I live in Florida and don't or rarely use it. It's a service paid for, and therefore should be delivered. Period. I don't understand how people can think that kind of bait and switch is ok. Maybe if they make a change on something you do actually use, after you bought and paid for it, you'll understand.

I beg to differ. It makes complete sense to compare prices we can pay at home versus what Celebrity charges. Of course one expects a cruise ship or restaurant to charge more and make a profit, but these amounts are insane. A markup, sure. A complete and total ripoff, not cool. If not to compare prices then what would you compare with? Local prices provide a realistic and honest comparison data point. To ignore that is to be an incredibly naive consumer, which I guess is what they are counting on.

Yet in stores you can get it for as low as $17 a bottle sometimes. I understand markup but this is crazy. Especially when they want to charge $19 a glass!

I priced Decoy by the glass at Gibsons in downtown Chicago. An expensive restaurant in an expensive city. $15 a glass. Now on Celebrity $19 a glass. Prices are going up everywhere but Celebrity is out of control with this! When I can buy a bottle of wine for less than $20 it is ridiculous that it would be $19 per glass on Celebrity, and now over the Premium package limit. And it's a good, but certainly not superior or special wine. I am not a wine fanatic by any means but if buying or using the Premium package means I am stuck with low quality and low priced (on land) wines this may very well be the last straw for me.

I wouldn't count on the app to be accurate. I've seen several posts on other sites indicating a change. To say I am unhappy about this is an understatement! First there is the once again promise one thing and deliver another. Then there is charging $19 a glass (above premium package) for the couple of wines I always enjoy on the ship, for which price at home I can purchase an entire bottle. One of our favorite times on the ship is relaxing with our favorite wine and a nice dinner. Honestly, if this is how it's going to be I am done with Celebrity after 30+ years and over 70 cruises. Some other changes have annoyed me but I was willing to compromise. This is not one of those, if truly rolling out fleetwide.

I couldn't agree more. The continued release of bigger and bigger ships is destroying the experience in many ports, as well as causing ports to prohibit ships completely. Where will it end?!?? And it's not just ports. Was just at FLL on Sunday morning after disembarkation. It was a nightmare of crowding. I know travel in general is up but i have to think it had a lot to do with the many large ships in port that morning. The United lounge literally had every single seat filled. Not to mention the huge increase in hotel costs and crowds anywhere near the port. The nice, relaxing cruise experience that kept me loyal for 30+ years is no more. I have to think this build more and more huge ships strategy bubble will have to burst at some point. Is it just me?

Exactly. Could it happen? Yes, especially these days. Bit highly unlikely

Which for some of us is a blessing. Love to sit out on balcony and its nice to be able to do that without the hot sun beating down on you.

There was a news article i read this week where people were bumped off a Royal Caribbean cruise. Same ownership. Rare but these days apparently not impossible.

You don't get the OBC anymore which made a considerable difference. You also now don't get gratuities included but the prices rose rather than dropped. I know this isn't true of everyone but we are lucky enough to be Zenith so the beverage and wifi perks we don't need. Even so, some of the prices are double or more of the non-suite cabins. With sales you can get pretty decent upgrades from classic and surf for those bookings that are all included. If you consider higher than a sky suite the prices are outrageous. And yes, we actually do keep records of our bookings. We've sailed the Caribbean at similar times of year around 50 times over the years, usually 6-9 per year since retirement. So we do have a good handle on what is a good versus outrageous price, at least for our normal cruise choices.