tfred

16 minutes ago, late2cruisin said:

I agree that there will not be "hordes" of Royal and X cruisers jumping to SS, but I do think these new benefits will entice some who are thinking of "moving up" (or getting older and starting to cruise without kids, or are newly retired...)

 

I have to disagree that Royal and X are 7 day cruises leaving from Florida. Sure, some of them are (as are some of the "luxury line" cruises) . The ones we've taken are longer cruises, leaving from Sydney, Singapore, Athens, Rome, Southampton, Buenos Aires, etc. etc. And on the cruises we've taken, most of the passengers got off the ship at most of the ports.

 

We recently took our first SS cruise and we're about to leave for our second. Getting this new status on SS from our Elite Plus on Celebrity has incentivized us to book a third SS cruise (well, a fourth if you count the just-cancelled Mumbai cruise in Dec.).

X and R certainly have European and Asian cruises. The meat and potatoes are the Caribbean cruises. Big profit for them. 
 

the non Caribbean cruises are port intensive with most pax get off and touring   Caribbean cruises are floating hotels with many pax staying on board or just taking a quick Wally tour of the immediate port. 
 

I agree that SSea is an easy upgrade to consider for Retreat pax looking for more interesting. We are on a SSea Rome to Venice 12 day this August. It was actually less expensive than a X Med cruise so it was a no brainer. 

12 hours ago, 1Virgo said:

 

What I was speaking about is not purging points!  Rather if one sails on Silversea or RCL, you should earn points.   By allowing point accumulation across their 3 lines, just might entice people to stay within the brand. ie not go to Oceania, Regent etc

at the moment RCG think that mirroring the status across lines is enough. Maybe that will change

Sooner or later they will start to weed out low profit guests no matter what their status. What will drive this is access to Retreat lounge. That is the X premier product and they will not allow that to be clogged with the DYKWIA crowd pushing the  full fare paying suite pax from the bar. Airline clubs already do this for a reason - too many people with low profit status. 

RCG is not crazy enough to think that SSea can stand on its own without bringing in new customers. With the launching of Explora, Ritz Carlton and the existing Seabourn and Crystal, the lux cruise segment is getting competitive.  New to the market cruisers have no idea what the differences are and make choices that would be different than seasoned cruisers 

The status match program is just a way to let Royal and X cruisers that there is this other nice cruise line that we own and when you want something unique you can look at SSea for vacation fun.  Sort of the old GM model of start with Chevrolet, move to Buick and then a Cadillac 

There will not be hordes of Royal and X pax jumping to SSea.  Royal and X are 7 day, Saturday ships leaving from Florida.  Literally half the pax never get off the ship.  SSea is longer cruises, harder to get to get to ports and doesn't conform to most working people's vacation schedule. 

32 minutes ago, 1Virgo said:

I still dont understand why a business would not give points if you spend your money on one of the cruise lines under their umbrella.  Status match. hmmph. more importantly, If you want to keep me spending my money with you, and I book RCL or Silversea, award my loyalty to the brand

Hotel chains do

Hotel chains also purge the status ranks every year of “under performing “ guests   That usual is nights and dollars. Cruise lines don’t do that but probably should 

28 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

As a double Zenith, I would not be concerned if I were you.    Looks like the only benefit is an ungraded bottle of bubbly and Free Laundry.  The FAQ says many of the special events 500+ members enjoy are not included for those on Status Match.

CAS Excluded Benefits include but are not limited to the following: 
I. Complimentary Pinnacle Club milestone cruises  
II. Diamond Plus and Pinnacle Club amenities  
III. Single supplement cruise fare reduction  
IV. Cheers with an Officer onboard event  
V. Milestone recognition (Crystal Block)  
VI. Upgraded bathroom amenities  
VII. Pinnacle Club milestone kits  
VIII. Chef’s Choice amenity  

Free laundry means something on SSea. Longer cruises with what looks like enough B to B folks. 

Laundry, for the most part, is not worth it on X. 2 day turn around on a 7 day cruise makes it difficult to use. You almost have to show up with dirty laundry to get any use out of it. 

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Jazz just wait until the Pinnacles take over a Silversea Ship.  The avoidance of entitled attitudes was one of the reasons that I previously switched to Silversea from Celebrity and Royal.  Oh well let's see what happens. 

not going to happen. Royal and X ships have a very specific segment - regular 7 day cruises generally out of Florida   Pick your level of "opulence" to cruise at 

SSea cruises are longer, start midweek, from harder to get to ports for most people.  VS benefits are good but not a game changer. The status match is just to make sure that if you are tired of X or R that there is this other cruise line that we own that you may like and you get some recognition of your previous patronage 

14 hours ago, Jim_Iain said:

May be just a conjecture on my part.    Current Zenith's are also admitted on a space available basis and I thought I saw a provision that in those cases a Lounge would be setup for the non-suite Zenith's.   

 

Would it be a good assumption that the Celebrity Zeniths, the Pinnacles and the SS's top cruiser might not make it into Retreat but send to an Alternate Lounge??

I would hope so   I dont want the Retreat lounge jammed up with the DYKWIA (do you know who I am?) crowds from Royal demanding access in the lounge, sun deck and Luminae. 

what is killing airport clubs are associated memberships that allow access. What used to be an easy access to an airline club is now a torture - long lines, no early access, access only on departure, not arrival.  

it would be nice to cross earn points but not to be.  

Next up will be to weed out long term, but low profit members that really dont cruise often but clamor for "benefits" that crowd out pax who are paying top dollar for it now.  Every airline and hotel have requirements for maintaining status - cruises don't. I would expect that will change 

14 minutes ago, OttawaJohn said:

Can someone clarify how the menus in Blu work?  It seems you can order from Blu's menu or the menus of the MDR?  Do you get all the menus given to you or do you have to ask or how does it work?

 

Thanks in advance

Depends on the ship. Edge Class probably not as the two kitchens aren’t close. Older ships it’s a possibility 

Martini bar has entertainment but is somewhat loud   Eden has acoustic and is low key

there generally isnt any entertainment. Maybe once or twice an acoustic person will do something. The lounge really isnt that big enough to accommodate something 

6 minutes ago, PTC DAWG said:

I’m a big S class fan myself..but the Sky Lounge is under utilized, IMHO..and it’s not like you are outside in the wind. 

for X it was a no brainer.  An half empty Sky  Lounge or a bunch of suites at $1k/day 

59 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

I don't agree.  I don't think of a cruise ship as just a floating hotel or resort.  I think of it first and foremost as a ship; a key reason for me to be on it is to be on the water, feel like I'm on the water, and see the water.  The trend with newer builds (and it's not just Celebrity) is to disconnect guests from the water.

 

You feel differently, that's fine.  

Every tv commercial on any non expedition cruise line shows it as a vacation that happens to be on a ship. 
 

X and others can’t survive only by poaching other lines pax- they need land resort vacationers to literally “get on board”. Land vacations in better resorts are expensive (I know since I just spent 4 nights at the Key Largo Marriott) and have sectioned off areas that everyone there understands. It isn’t one big egalitarian property.  
 

non suite guests have 3 sides of the ship to look at water so while that isn’t a preferred view of the there is plenty of connection to the water available 

On 5/8/2024 at 7:03 PM, Turtles06 said:

For those of us, like the OP, who enjoy the "connection" to the water that comes from being on an outside, forward-facing deck, it's a shame that Celebrity's new builds (the E Class ships) have restricted that unique space to suite guests (and that Celebrity is doing as much possible on the S and M classes to do the same). 

 

It's one thing to have a suites-only restaurant and interior lounge.  These are not unique spaces on a ship, everyone gets to eat somewhere and hang out in other places. 

 

That's my personal feeling in terms of one of the things that I find special about being on a cruise ship -- seeing the ocean from an outside deck, seeing where the ship is going, seeing the ship pull into port, just hanging out on that deck.  

 

 

Any, and every, resort style hotel has multiple room classifications - ocean view, garden view, partial ocean view, dumpster view.  A resort guest doesn't have free reign to roam around anywhere they want to go for their "preferred" view. A cruise ship is no different.  

You pays your money and takes your choice. 

we like the retreat and the service that comes along with it. Never really used the butler but went to the Lounge and did it there   Never had a problem

Luminae food is very good and you are able to eat at Blu -space available.  Usually is 

The biggie is small ship vs big ship. It is 500 pax vs 3000 pax. X doesnt feel crowded but there are obviously more people.  Shows are much bigger on X and well done in our view.  We like the fact that you can get the big ship vibe and energy and then use The Retreat as a place away from the activity. 

I would sail on E class on X. S/M have a retreat lounge but no set aside pool so that sorta kills it for us 

The elevated list presentation  - which shows the actual net up charge - is a better way to present it. You dont have to do the math $22-17=$5.  It is easier to say yes to the net number rather than seeing the prices and wondering "how much is the bottle at the wine store?" 

it is $17 + shipwide.  For all the marketing panache of the Retreat experience, the wine component really falls short   $2 up charges, lesser quality wines and  a lot of "yeah, I can drink that " going on.

Maybe a special selection of lounge and Luminae only wines is a better solution   In 2022 we were drinking super Tuscans in Luminae and loving it - and they had equally good other choices   Not asking for upscale white burgundies but most of the selections now are everyday Publix pickings 

I can understand the $10-15 up charge selections. Those are well known name liquors and wines.  

The $2 up charge selections are very annoying - especially in Retreat or Luminae.  Getting dinged for that small amount is ridiculous.  They should include the extra $2 wine  for suite pax

btw - the PDP wine selection is pretty weak

30 minutes ago, southerngoose said:

If prices are dropping, it doesn't happen on my cruises.   I booked my solo balcony cabin a year ago for a cruise in January.   I got an 11day and b2b 12 day for approx $2500 each cruise (same room).   I checked the prices today and an interior for one person is nearly $5000 for only 11 days.   I don't think I would have paid $5000 for an interior room on that cruise (certainly not after seeing the air prices!).  I ended up getting an award ticket for the airline ticket going and I'll buy the ticket for the return.

 

I think that $4000-5000 for one person on a 12 day in a well located balcony could be reasonable (assuming it's not a repositioning/transatlantic/transpacific).   But not an interior!

single rooms are never going to be a "good deal". Probably have to look at other lines like Crystal for still expensive but better value rooms. 

I had been looking at Jan 2025 7 day Caribbean cruises for the last few months. Most were at $4800/pax for a Sky Suite so I didn't purchase. 

I waited a month, looked again and it was $3500 and I bought.  2 weeks later it was $3100 and had it repriced. 

It pays to look as for whatever reason, prices are dropping. 

1 hour ago, italnsd said:

It does not work with the TV in my room, which seems to be an older model than yours (the Samsung code indicates it is from 2008) with a non-original and limited-function remote. From different posts on the subject, including the one I linked in my original message, it seems that not all rooms in a ship have the same tv model, so you might have more luck. I think that my only option might be to purchase an HDMI to VGA adapter as in the pic below to connect to the only selectable tv input. I'll try to do it at the next port in two days. It would be much easier if I can find out how to get it delivered to a locker in Brazil lol.

Pretty much why X IT makes it harder whenever they can to stop any pax connection with cables of any kind. They don't know what you have connected and reconnected to make your device play. Additional the room attendant isnt going to check so they would have to send someone from the limited computer lounge staff to check so the next pax can actually use the TV (maybe for the muster drill) 

No IT dept in any company would allow a physical connection to a network - which this TV really is   They would duct tape the entire back of the TV and cover every port if they could

X IT probably got tired of resetting any TV that was reconfigured by the previous guest who had to watch their personal video programs. 

It just takes time to figure out what the previous guest has done to change the TV inputs. Why allow that voluntarily?

Sky suite can board at 11. There is a lounge that is available to wait. Certainly opens at 10, maybe as early as 930 ?  Go to the ship as the wait wouldn’t be long. 

9 hours ago, no1talks said:

We've not been on a river cruise, but I've studied the subject a bit. I get the impression the small area of these boats makes for a somewhat regimented experience until one is off the boat and seeing the sights.

River ships are close to "better" ocean ships, just much smaller. 

Restaurant, bar with lounge and a few common areas - mostly on the top deck for viewing.  All of these ships are smaller than any ocean ship in every dimension. There aren't 5 restaurants, 12 bars and tons of common areas 

River cruises are port intensive and almost everyone gets off to tour. There is generally on "river day" for a scenic stretch of the river.  Parents with younger kids aren't going to hang out in the room all day or up on deck (too sunny, cold, etc).  They set up camp in the bar/lounge with a collection of toys and blankets.  

Viking and Virgin ocean ships are over 18.  Two different ends of the spectrum but they seem to be making it work. 

9 hours ago, no1talks said:

From the linked article:

 

"Unlike other upscale brands, Explora Journeys caters to families as well, he noted, with a complete entertainment program for children."

 

Whether Explora Journeys get these families on their ships or not, the targeting of such may very well dissuade not a few luxury cruisers.

 

It is no secret a good many such cruisers enjoy the nearly child-free surroundings typical of luxury cruises.

I like the Viking model of no one under 18

I know the argument  -I would rather sit with my well behaved 8 year old world traveler rather than your drunk uncle.  We did a two 100 pax Crystal River (sad to see them go). First was no kids and great.  Second was enough kids that made a big difference on a small ship. They didn't like staying in the room so it was play time in any of the lounges   Dinner was kids standing on the seats swaying to the beat with an iPad. 

No thanks