phoenix_dream

Do you trust Celebrity customer service to always be accurate? I certainly don't based on many other posts of incorrect information being given. Not saying it's wrong. Just saying can someone actually on January sailings confirm.

Exactly my point. And much of it rumor, speculation based on what Royal is doing, or unconfirmed. Sometimes people will experience something on one ship and just assume it is an across the board Celebrity change when it was in fact just a decision of that specific ship/sailing due to supply issues or onboard management decisions. I am trying to hear 'from the horses mouth" as the saying goes what has actually been confirmed by those sailing this month.

You're correct. I should have been more clear. I should have said after you have cleared customs on land (which doesn't happen until the ship is cleared) you can get back onboard whether actual boarding time has started or not.

Sail on an S or M class ship, especially one not yet revolutionized and then report back again. IMHO E class ships have been getting the best of everything since they were introduced. They hand picked the best staff (not that I don't love ALL the X staff), I can't prove it but it feels to me that the staff to passenger ratio is a bit higher (at least at this time), they send all the best live entertainment there, they developed fabulous new shows while the shows on M and S class have been the same for a decade or more, they of course are all new so are in fabulous shape while revolutionizing of other ships have been put on hold, and the list goes on. Does this mean I don't love Celebrity? In fact I do and have been loyal for years. But having sailed all classes, including many since re-start, I can tell you that the experience on E class is not the same as on the other classes.

I agree that it is likely they will hold half of the bottles and return them the last evening of the first cruise. B2B's are treated in almost all ways as completely separate cruises. The only exceptions I can think of is that if you have the same cabin you just leave your stuff there, and you can remain on the ship while they prepare for the next cruise.

Yes they care. Your teens will not be able to bring on wine.

So would you please share what it says about Celebrity vs other lines - not ship by ship but generally speaking?

that is correct, as well as in the city closest to me - Chicago. But in Mexico lots of the problems have been in the areas tourists frequent. That is not generally the case in the US cities mentioned (not saying never, but the main issues are almost always confined to certain non-tourist areas).

correct. Forgot about that one. People have posted photos showing it on their app so I would agree that is confirmed.

Lots of speculation and rumors about what may or may not have changed as of January 1. The extra lobster charge has been confirmed. To my knowledge nothing else has. Can someone onboard since January 1 weigh in on what is rumor versus what is true? Rumors about cutbacks in the evening buffet, reduction in MDR offerings, reduction in classics menu, inability to order off MDR menu in Blu to name a few. What changes have been put into place as of January 1?

Curious - have any of the Sky Suites been updated? Last we sailed in a corner S1 a few years ago post-refurb ours was not. Wondering if any of them were?

Definitely wrong. I have done multiple B2Bs over the years and never had to take anything off the ship except myself (in the US). Overall it is a very simple and very easy process. They will give you all the details you need to know a couple days before.

And I think for some reason you can't let this one go. So we'll respectfully give this topic a rest. I still stand by my comments as do you so let's peacefully move on.🙂

I love Celebrity and have been cruising on them for 30 years and many, many cruises. What might make me jump ship? Truthfully I am concerned about rumors of eliminating or seriously cutting back on the classics menu. Sounds a bit silly in the scheme of things I know and yet to us it's not. DH orders off that menu literally every single night. We like to sail suites when we can afford it and honestly the Luminae menu leaves a lot to be desired in our minds so we often order classic especially salads or soups, as we do in Blu as well. We cruise for relaxation and a big part of our relaxation is the nice dinners at night. If we can't find food that appeals to us on the Luminae or Blu menus and can no longer order classics (or sometimes off the MDR) then that honestly is a big issue for us. Would it make us look elsewhere? I can't truthfully say yet. But at the very least it would make us reconsider.

Can anyone on this cruise confirm that the changes mentioned in another thread (about "Ambush charges") are in fact correct? Other than the lobster one which has been confirmed.

Exactly my point. It may be true, it may not. But I want to know where the confirmation of this is coming from, if in fact it is true. I agree that December experience is irrelevant. But the person keeps saying the changes are effective January 1. Not that they think they were effective, but stating that as a fact. I want to know how they know this.

I can tell you why we occasionally do it. We love the ambiance and service in Blu, and like to get to know our wait staff as we ask to be seated in the same area every day. While we also occasionally eat at a specialty restaurant, we prefer to eat in Blu each night. We have a couple favorites from the MDR menu from back in the day before we could afford Aqua. And sometimes the Blu menu isn't appealing. So if we can stay in Blu where we are comfortable and happy with the staff, why not occasionally order off MDR if we want to (and it is not too inconvenient for the wait staff)?

You keep repeating this, but we are all waiting for confirmation that it is true. Not saying you are wrong, but how do you know this? Did you sail this month? Did you read it on another online forum? Were you told that by someone of authority at Celebrity?

I don't even eat lobster, but the nickel and dime charges being added here to me are nothing short of tacky. (and to charge that much - what the heck?!!?) Of the mainline cruise lines, Celebrity was always a step above. You always got a lot of special little extra touches with Celebrity which made it my cruise line of choice for close to 70 cruises. Now I'm starting to feel like I'm boarding a Kmart blue light special (yes, I'm dating my self LOL). I understand everything costs more now. I understand they need to recoup their Covid losses. But doing it this way just cheapens the brand IMHO. They are already charging considerably higher prices. But I honestly would prefer if they just upped everyone's cost $100 and stopped this pay extra, pay extra, pay extra nonsense.

I suspect there was a much better chance at this when people were required to present a negative Covid test prior to boarding. Not saying it couldn't happen anymore, but my point is that even if it's happened since restart, with testing now eliminated that might not be a good data point for evaluating future possibilities.

You will get all kinds of answers as to value. And costs differ by sailing of course, depending on availability. We always book Aqua when suites are too expensive for us. We love dining in Blu for breakfast and dinner. On M class, we like the extra cabin space. Not big spa people, but if you are and particularly in S or E class this is a nice perk. M class spas are not that impressive IMHO.

Some of the things mentioned in the original post surprised me. Are we sure they are all true, or did someone just experience them on one sailing and assume it applies to all? Or are these new to 2023 and confirmed? Specifically - - where is it announced that you can't order off MDR menu in Blu? We did in September. I'm not sure about E class, but never had an issue doing that on S or M. - what is reduced on the MDR menu? On our December cruise we often ordered off that menu and didn't notice any reductions - we got a tote bag in our cabin (granted it was as sky suite) in December. Not the nice one of old, but a bag - confused about a reduced classics menu? Where was that announced and what is missing? We ordered off that often in December as well I've heard about the room service charge which I don't like even though I never use it, and I know portions are smaller, but I confess never going hungry and except maybe for lobster you can order as much as you want I am concerned about the recent nickel and diming, and I don't like these things being sprung on you after you booked, although in fairness there would be no way for them to handle some passengers one way and others another. It would have been nice for some kind of an announcement to come out to advise people of upcoming changes - heaven knows they manage to send out enough emails to advertise their sales and to tell you about any positive changes!! If anyone can comment and confirm the changes I asked about above I would appreciate it!

I am of the same opinion. Have sailed January (early or later) and February multiple times in recent years and always full ships, or very close to it. Those of us retirees in cold climates love to head out of town to the Caribbean, often on B2B, and then some cruises.

Wouldn't trust the cabin "fridge" for dairy items like yogurt. It is not a fridge, it is a cooler. On some ships I have found it to really chill the contents, on others not so much. That's why people who need medicine refrigerated order portable fridges from Special Needs.

On recent suite cruises this year, our bags were always in disembarkation group 1, so yes, there was priority.