phoenix_dream

You raise a good point. While we may or may not spend more $$ onboard we do have more time and disposable income to enable us to cruise more often and help them keep their ships filled. So if the reason is not financial, then what is it? I am not challenging you - I just don't understand then why they don't value the loyalty more? I personally was very much less than impressed with the recent modifications to the Captains Club benefits - at least as it impacts me. As an Elite Plus, planning to become Zenith later this year (if all goes well, fingers crossed!) I saw little of additional benefit. The percentage increases for Move-up bids are so minor as to be of little value in my opinion although it's better than nothing - I have yet to win a move-up bid so hope it helps. I still love Celebrity and will still make her my cruise line of choice but I was hoping for something a bit more impressive. I have to say, though, that I am thrilled that they have not upped the points needed for Zenith. Cynical as I can be, I kept fearing that once I got justthisclose to Zenith they would raise the points needed. Thankfully that was not changed.

I agree. It has become very clear since LLP took over that suites are the focus, with loyalty taking a far back seat. In some ways I guess it makes financial sense, even though I don't like it. Those of us who have sailed for years with Celebrity will likely still stay (most of us anyway) because we love the product and while we enjoy the perks it is not our main reason for booking. We also tend to spend less onboard for pictures, jewelry we don't need, shore excursions we've been there/done that, etc.. So we are less valuable financially. We are also by and large older than the crowd they hope to attract. Celebrity talks about inclusiveness in their advertising. Hmmm. Somehow inclusiveness only applies to those under 40 years old. When is the last time you saw a senior in one of their ads - that would be never. But it is what it is.

And if everyone chose to do this just imagine the chaos of 2500+ people schlepping their luggage on elevators and trying to haul it to the customs area. Not to mention many of Celebrity's passengers are seniors of rather significant age who would struggle mightily trying to do what you are suggesting, potentially hurting themselves and causing massive logjams of passengers. (and I'm not picking on seniors - I am one myself - but facts are facts) Years ago they used to require you to prove an early flight in order to walk off with luggage. I sincerely wish they still did that as too many people just do it for their own convenience with no regard for others, and create great difficulty and stress for the people who truly need that early morning walk-off to catch a flight. (my particular favorite is the Florida passengers getting off in FLL who just want to get home a few minutes earlier, and the heck with everyone else). These days you don't always have options for flight times and on more than one occasion recently we've had the airlines change our flight times, sometimes later but sometimes earlier so we didn't have a choice but to rush to the airport. If nothing else, if you must walk off do as you indicate you do - take your time and wait until the frantic early flight people have time to disembark.

Whenever we can't afford a suite (which is often) we always book AQ, specifically for Blu. We like the smaller, more intimate dining area, the better service, and the great food. We also like the ability to eat our breakfast there. Much more comfortable than the buffet and more intimate than the MDR. On S class ships in particular the spa is nice as well, but as we are not big spa people Blu is our main attraction.

Agree 100%. I don't think I would ever sail E class unless in a suite, and it is not my preferred class regardless. IMHO it is form over function - very beautiful and flashy but not necessarily nearly as comfortable for us as M or S class.

You weren't asking me this question, but I'll give you my two cents anyway. In large part I think all other things being equal we often will call a ship our "favorite" because of experiences on particular cruises. By that I mean maybe you have made lots of friends with staff on a particular ship, or a particular cruise had great ports or great entertainment so you enjoyed it more than other cruises. This is honestly why Equinox is probably my favorite ship, although I love all the S and M class ships (E class not so much due to design). We sail a lot and over the years by chance have sailed Equinox more than many others and have made some long lasting friendships with staff onboard. I have to admit that colors my opinion in nominating it my favorite. This is not necessarily true for everyone of course, but I think it does factor in, particularly for long time cruisers.

I would choose based on itinerary. If they were the same (or close) I would book based on price and cabin availability for my preferred options. I love both of these ships. On Summit I love the Rendezvous lounge for relaxing in the evening or before dinner, as well as the T pool. On Equinox I prefer the additional Specialty restaurants to choose from. One other factor for me is motion. On a sailing with lots of sea days or in seas known for more motion I would lean towards an S class ship as they handle the seas just a bit better. But I would be happy on either, and in fact am sailing Summit in September and Equinox next year again.

I've had trouble opening some of the bottles and in fact have even cut my hand a couple of times on the sharp metal edges. For that reason primarily I really dislike them. I actually now bring one of those flat rubber jar openers with me which I wrap around the top of the bottles while opening. I don't particularly like the taste either, but I am not all that picky about that part.

I understand what you are saying. We did sail in a Sky Suite, but as we often sail in Aqua Class it was quite a treat for us just being in a suite. The room furniture had definitely not changed, and probably my biggest issue with that was the old TV. Didn't even have the pay for view movies or anything. Another problem was the tub in the bathroom. Fine for me for my 6'3" husband couldn't even stand up straight! I would assume that when revolutionizing they will fix that problem. Not a game changer for sure but a hassle for him. We had a nice hump balcony and spent alot of time there - for one thing at the time you needed to wear a mask everywhere onboard so it was nice to just chill there. Also, I've found on the recent times we've been in suites we don't use the retreat deck much anyway. On Apex in December, we never could find a lounge or chair in the shade. Unfortunately chair hogs come at all levels of cruisers. We did enjoy Michaels Club and prefer the more comfortable style in there to the revised style on revolutionized ships, although the Retreat Lounge on Edge class ships are awesome!

IMHO you may be missing out on a great time. No, she has not been revolutionized but has had many cosmetic changes in recent times and overall is in very good shape. Your choice of course but just saying she may not be nearly as worn as you may think she is.

And how does one obtain a CVP? Been cruising Celebrity for years and don't have any other way to contact them other than the posted phone numbers. Was using a large online "travel agent" aka booking agent but their service has been abysmal so I want to go Celebrity directly.

You are of course correct, but your response seems a bit defensive. The facts are that a very large majority of people taking cruises out of Vancouver are from the US. The facts are also that the USD is much more readily accepted worldwide than Canadian currency. So it seems like a reasonable question for the OP to ask, and a reasonable expectation that USD might be accepted in the Vancouver or Victoria area in most cases. I certainly would expect to use local currency if spending any amount of time in another country, but for a day or two prior to a cruise it is very convenient for tens of thousands of people to be able to use USD at this embarkation city.

We starting taking my son on Celebrity cruises when he was 13 and he sailed with us well into his 30's. I don't think he ever felt out of place (although I can't lie and say as a teen who would have rather sailed on a Royal ship with more 'fun' stuff for that age). I've seen people of all ages on my 65+ Celebrity cruises and I wouldn't worry about it a bit. Just as information - the shorter the cruise the younger the crowd. If you sail a 7 or fewer days out of Lauderdale that stops in Key West for example, there will be a good number of people in their 20's - 40's. If you sail a 10+ day cruise the crowd will skew older, and depending on time of year might be considerably older. When Celebrity used to offer the 14 night deep Caribbean cruises in my 60's I often felt like a youngster! But it really doesn't matter at all. If you enjoyed a more laid back, classy without being stuffy atmosphere you will like Celebrity just fine no matter your age.

We sailed 21 days on her in January and had a great time. As said above, some of the areas have been refurbished as far as new upholstery and so on, and some not. But overall she was in good shape and I would not hesitate to book her again.

It's very interesting how times have changed. A number of years ago my then teen-age son was not allowed into the theater on "formal" night because he had a pair of athletic shoes on. True story. He had dressed in a sport coat, etc., for dinner but then changed into a collared shirt, khakis and athletic shoes. These days it seems like almost anything goes. I personally believe in following the rules and the rules don't say anything about shoes in the dining rooms except for beachy type flip flops.

I agree with what wrk2cruise wrote. As for us, we actually enjoy the Rendezvous Lounge the most of any lounges on M or S class ships (with the exception of sailing in Alaska, where a Sky Lounge view is awesome). It's much more comfortable in our opinion than the lounge on S class, and fairly large but more intimate than the Sky Lounge.

One issue is that the decks used for quarantine seem to vary by ship. I've been on ships with Deck 6 used for guest quarantine, and I've been on other ships where Deck 3 was being used (and who knows where else). I know situations can change things, but I think Celebrity needs to be upfront, prior to sailing, to let guests know what the plan is (allowing that a high number of cases could require a Plan B). For sailings where Deck 3 is used, people may choose to cancel rather than be stuck in an outside cabin with no fresh air (I would personally hate it!). And BTW, on the ship that used Deck 6, it was not the whole deck - just half of it. So some who booked on Deck 6 were in the cabins they originally booked.

I think it's a very negative view on people to think for most it's "all about me". My opinion differs from yours but it is based on my view of the logic of the situation. I personally think people should be allowed to remain quarantined in their own cabins but it has nothing to do with the fact that of course I would personally prefer that. Before Covid, if someone got norovirus they were confined in yes, their own cabin. If they caught a flu virus, they were confined in their own cabin (actually by their own caution - I don't recall rules about it). And yes, I know Covid can be more dangerous for some, but the facts are that for the vast majority of people vaccinated (and especially if boosted) the virus is mild or moderate - uncomfortable for some but not severe requiring hospitalization or similar. Staff does not have to enter the cabin. Food can be left right outside the door (opened by the passenger required to wear a KN 95 mask), as can supplies. Cabins could be so notated so that crew members know to avoid entry. I also think that if people could remain in their own cabins, they would be much, much more likely to report the virus than not (for those for whom it is "all about me", which I know applies to some). At the very least, people should be moved to a cabin with a balcony, which is what the CDC recommends. The fact is that this virus is not going away. We all hoped it would but that is not going to happen for so many reasons not worth listing here. At some point in time- which IMHO we have already reached, barring a new more dangerous variant - we just have to start treating this virus similarly to the seasonal flu for people who are vaxxed (especially if we begin requiring boosters, which I hope happens soon for those who are eligible). Statistically for those people, I believe the mortality and hospitalization rate is similar to those vaxxed against flu. So why do we continue to treat it differently? We don't move flu sufferers to a quarantine area. We don't move people with bad colds to a quarantine area.

When we cruised Apex in December the shows were 7:30 and 9:30. First time I've seen those times in 65+ X cruises. Not sure why they were later than other ships, or if it has changed since then. We don't normally like production shows but we thought Rockumentary was one of the best shows we have ever seen, on a ship or in Vegas.

I concur with the info on the newer Oceanview cabins. They seem more spacious due to larger windows. Just check the deck plan before booking 3rd floor to make sure there are not inside cabins across from you if possible. Last time we did that floor we had a lot of insides across from us and sadly they were not very considerate about their door closings (as in, letting them slam day and night). Otherwise if you must do an oceanview rather than a balcony we love Deck 3 for its convenience. One thing to keep in mind is that on some ships (not sure about this one and it seems to change regularly) they reserve cabins on that floor for potential Covid quarantine. So depending on the ship and depending what's happening by the time you cruise, it is possible that on that floor you may be more subject to being moved than in other locations.

The outdoor pools should be open (and it may or may not be warm enough to swim) and the inside pools are generally adults only, but on cold weather cruises like Alaska it has been my experience that they will have a couple of hours where children can swim in the warmer pool inside.

Just logged into the Celebrity site and found 9 cruises on Solstice to Mexico. Not sure what date you are looking at, but there were many cruises.

I definitely prefer S or M class to Edge class. If I had to pick one (very tough choice!!) I would pick Equinox. Probably primary reason is the staff we've gotten to know on that ship, although the staff overall is great on any of their ships.

I've sailed 8 times since restart, sometimes get seasick without meds, and have had no issues getting meclizine (aka Dramamine II) at Guest Relations for free. If you asked for Dramamine maybe they thought you wanted the original which they never have?? Or maybe it was just a supply issue on your sailing?

I would advise them to complain to the shore excursions desk. You pay more for small excursions and should get what you pay for.