phoenix_dream

It has been a couple of years since I sailed Connie so my info may be outdated, but on our sailing in a Sky Suite the television was very old and we couldn't even access our account online. Hopefully that's been updated - interested in hearing your responses.

How many nights in a row have you spent on the same Celebrity ship (including B2B)? If a long time, wondering how you handled things such as so many duplicate shows and menus, missing family and friends, away from the comforts of your homes, etc. My longest is 21 nights and I think that's pretty much my tipping point.

Celebrity absolutely offers a bus to the other piers for their ships or Royal. We've done it several times.

Not claiming this didn't happen to you, but that is definitely not the normal process. They do provide a bus for travel between Celebrity and Royal ships. Passengers only, no crew and no diversion to the airport. We've done it a few times. The only issue we had was if not in a suite we had to wait outside the building until boarding started around 11. If in a suite we could go in and wait in the Retreat Lounge. It was arranged by the Retreat Concierge or Guest Relations depending what type of cabin

I doubt you will escape lowered food quality, price hikes, and less service by cruising other lines, unless you jump to luxury lines. If you read the boards for other lines you will see the same complaints as here regarding those things. As to butlers - they have returned, not sorta kinda. Some are better than others but it has always been that way. Comfortable seating on balconies - I'm with you on that one. A huge issue for me. I am a Celebrity loyalist, but not a cheerleader. I'll call out the good as well as the bad.

We've had this issue too - our confirmations came without showing the upgraded package and our TA had to fix it. Whether it would have been an issue when boarding I have no idea as we didn't want to risk the hassle of waiting.

Usually the guest entertainers are not announced until the day of sailing, and in fact for longer cruises may not even be announced until mid-cruise.

The Celebrity strict smoking policy is definitely something that keeps me loyal to the brand. When they started testing vaping I was seriously considering bidding them good-bye, after 80 cruises.

I am subject to seasickness which hasn't prevented me from going on 90 cruises so far. I've been in seas up to 30' high. Buy some meclizine (cheapest at Walmart) and some sea bands as extra protection. No need to go to or call a doctor IMHO as this works as good as the patches. In fact, I don't like the patches at all as you wear them all the time - pills you only take when you need them. The patches didn't work very well for me either. And please take care when drinking with any of these meds! Not saying you can't at all, but even the meclizine (which is the medicine in non-drowsy Dramamine) can make you sleepy, just not as sleepy as original Dramamine. And drinking a lot if you're seasick is definitetly not a good idea.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Retreat Deck on Equinox is just a deck - no bar, restaurant, pool, or whirlpool. I'm not sure if I'm right about this part, but I think you also have to walk up stairs to get to it - which is a problem if you have any disability. That said, I love Equinox and would sail her anytime in a suite, in fact I am doing that for a B2B in March.

I can't speak for all industries, but in mine (corporate insurance) it was way more costly to try to attract new customers than to keep your current customers (presuming they were the right customers of course). Maybe it's different in cruise lines. But it sure seems to me like 95% of the efforts are to attract new customers to (often) the detriment of the loyal customers that built the brand. Considering the huge number of berths to fill between Royal and Celebrity, I guess time will tell if that was a smart marketing move. It's working now, but ongoing?? We'll see.

It's really impossible to say. In years past, you could almost always secure a cheaper rate when onboard. In the past couple of years, it is a rare situation where I see staff walking around trying to sell specialty dining for a discount. Not saying never, but it certainly is not something I've commonly seen, and I've done around 20 cruises in the past couple of years.

Am I misremembering - I thought Equinox got a Sun Deck, but it doesn't have a bar/restaurant or a pool or whirlpool? I don't usually use the Sun Deck much so I'm not sure if my memory is accurate.

Indoor temperature will be no different than, for example, if you were staying at a hotel. A long sleeved shirt and long pants should be fine. I get cold easily so if I am wearing short sleeves at night I often bring a little sweater.

Wow I'm jealous. Glad they did that for you. To illustrate how these things vary ship to ship or sailing to sailing, on our 40th anniversary, we told our room steward, butler, and our Maitre d', as well as our TA. What did they do for us? Nothing. No room decorations, no cake in the dining room, definitely no free dinner. We treated ourselves to Tuscan and had a nice dinner but it was pretty disappointing to say the least, especially since it was our 70th or so Celebrity cruise and we were Elite Plus at the time.

I have stayed on both the port and starboard sides, never the ones facing aft. Have never had an issue with smoke. When on your balcony you can hear any movies or shows being projected on the screen above but it has always, in my multiple experiences, been muted enough to not bother me. Two "issues" - there was no overhang so in warm climates it can get very hot on the balcony, and as such the cabin itself can sometimes be warmer than you might be used to. That said, unless I can get a hump balcony mid-ship these are my favorite AQ cabins on M class. One thing I like is the close proximity to the rear elevators and stairs for an easy trip to the restaurants and buffet. It is also usually nice and quiet in that area without a lot of foot traffic.

Wow. I feel sorry for the staff on your cruises.

You said exactly what I planned to say. These itineraries always book up quickly as they are the best Caribbean itineraries.

I agree. That's why I added the comments in parenthesis. I'm talking in general - it has been called that a lot - including in some communication from management when it was first offered.

Yes, even though the actual cost of these perks is generally double that. Happy to get any discount, don't get me wrong. But I hate when I hear it referred to as cruise only (not saying you did - talking in general). It's a discount but not a cruise only price.

I agree with you that higher up and further forward or aft are subject to more movement. I just feel, as someone also subject to mal de mer, that there is really not all that much difference between a cabin on Deck 7 versus 11 or 12, as long as you can be mid-ship. The real differences are felt forward and aft. I hate how the newest E class ships have all the Retreat stuff including cabins upfront for that reason. I think the statement you made about what the Captain said illustrates how rare such extreme occurrences are though.

The answer from Laura. One of the biggest non-answer answers I've seen yet! Has anyone requested the comfortable furniture be removed?!?!?! Who the heck's preference was that?? This is a key issue with me if you couldn't tell. Very, very disappointed in this non-answer. And IMHO the options are easy - bring back footstools and loungers! Let people ask them to be removed if that will enhance their experience. Posted 1 hour ago Thanks to all who shared their feedback on the veranda furniture. We appreciate your feedback and are always committed to enhancing the guest experience – your experience. We made some changes to the veranda furniture based on guest needs and preferences and now understand that opinions vary widely on this topic. We are actively exploring additional options to ensure the best possible experience for all our guests.

Hard to believe that even before these cabins were FV's they were actually the same category as other balconies (and also before they had so many categories of balconies!) - we stayed in them several times way back then. Then Celebrity got wise and converted them to FV's to charge more, and then got even wiser (or more money grabbing) and converted them to suites.

It certainly doesn't hurt to make arrangements for it, but I've never had a problem just showing up, but I don't go at the prime seating times.

I don't know where you've been sailing but the odds of hitting that kind of weather again is extremely slim. I've sailed 90 times and the highest waves I've hit are 30' and that was only once. Your cruise; your choice but avoiding higher decks because of one rare experience seems a bit overcautious to me, and I am prone to seasickness myself.