phoenix_dream

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.

Wow that's alot! What ship? We're on Equinox for a b2b in January and there are only a handful available. But they're 9 N ABC cruises which are very popular.

I think the only thing that will get their attention is if bookings drop. Why pay attention to people complaining (and rightly so) and refusing to book when there are other people who will. Suites are sailing full. I know most at this time were booked before the changes. We'll see how new bookings go looking forward.

On Reflection now. It is very nice. Large, comfortable, and lots of seating and a nice bar area.

I am not downgrading any current reservations but definitely can't afford suites going forward anymore! Will book AQ and maybe consider move up bids if reasonable. Won't sail E class without a regular balcony so will only book if we can get one of the few nonsuite cabins with balconies or if the suite prices tumble (not holding my breath on that!) Suite prices are already outrageous and with the cuts in service and perks like obc and gratuities I just can't justify it anymore. But it won't change until bookings drop. Sigh......

I completely agree. E class ships seem to get the best of everything Celebrity has to offer. Kinda frustrating. Other than things venue specific by necessity, offerings should be completely the same. Consistent inconsistency is unfortunately a Celebrity trait.

Better not to take a chance. We take charging cubes with multiple outlets. Never had an issue on multiple cruises

It should be either fully decorated when you board, or decorated during your sailing. They usually start right after Thanksgiving, although this year it is the earliest date it can be so it may start a little later but should definitely be at least started for your sailing.

That’s good to know.

I guess it depends on how you define team. Primarily team means the room steward now does 90% of what the butler used to do, in addition to his/her other duties. That’s been my experience. Makes one wonder how this may affect staff retention/hiring going forward. They were already very, very busy with tons of cabins and no assistants any longer.

Personally I don't like the vibe of the World Class bar. Too much out in the open, with lots of people walking back and forth going to shops, shows, etc. Someone said it is more 'intimate'. In the sense that it is smaller, yes it is. But it's very much out in the open so to speak. I do agree that the Martini Bar can be a madhouse at times, but there are areas along the sides and the windows where you can relax a bit - or try to luck out at a seat at the bar where it is more lively and you can watch the bartenders get fancy with pouring their martinis at times. A lot of fun.

My vote would be Alaska or Norway - beautiful! Hubby's favorite cruise was the Panama Canal. Didn't think I'd enjoy it but I loved it. So interesting, and I got to add a few more countries to my visited list that I otherwise would not have known such as Guatemala and Costa Rica. If you decide to do that one, I'd advise spending time in San Diego before or after, depending which way you cruised. SOOOO much to see and do in that area!

The Hilton Long Beach is not near the port.