tfred

no, but every kind of suite gets the same - Luminae, The Retreat. Upper level get a bigger room and in some cases unlimited specialty dining Bigger room for us (2 people) isn't worthwhile and the increase in cruise fare is so outrageous couldput you in a suite on a smaller ship experience like Seabourn or Crystal Spending $40k for 2 on X is just not a value proposition for us

Its difficult to justify any upper suite on X with today's prices. Sky is one thing although they are much higher than they used to be. Suite pax only have Luminae (which we like) and a bigger room depending on suite selection. The butler concept is of little use to us in general.

pretty much every restautant reuses yesterdays food as todays side dish It is really a balance between keeping enough old menu items that people order, offering something new to repeat cruisers and editing out the under ordered items. Octopus isnt inexpensive and is viewed as "edgy" as a menu item. As many people order some would view it as Eww. Probably depends which restaurant serves it although I have seen Luminae pax order well done filet mignon so who knows peoples taste in food. Rotation is based on food costs and controlling the menu complexity with vendors and staff prep. Would like to see the actual B2B numbers - probably low especially in the Caribbean Other more exotic routes may be higher

Blu restaurant in the big reason to book AQ. Look at the menu as it has a slight edge to it. Nothing weird but it’s not steak and potatoes every night. SV rooms are very nice but you will eat in the MDR.

X gets thousand e mails a day and it will take a while to look at all those All of her emails are screened so the chance of her reading it is slim. Did you address it on board? Best place to do it and then they have a record for you to talk about What was the incident - in general terms.

Whatever you booked at is the final number. The invoice you have is what you pay. They don’t retroactively add adjustments to your bill

having a bar setup in the back is pretty easy to organize. Having a huge menu prep area is another since so many ingredients are needed Blu and Luminae are meant to be a bit more edgy in food menu which is why the menu doesnt look like Cheesecake Factory. The classics part of the menu - beef, chicken or salmon is supposed to be safety valve for selective eaters The menus are what the are and in general I think that they are pretty good in Blu and Luminae. Some people complain when there is no seafood, others when there is too much.

the menu in Blu and Luminae is not as expansive as the MDR by design. To enjoy those venues one would need to be able to eat a wide variety of food- seafood, duck, lamb. Once you cut off those proteins you are left with chicken, veg and pasta in general I dont think the food is disappointing, it is the menu choices that some find limiting/disappointing

the "we like everything about Blu except the food" comments strike me as strange. Who goes to a restaurant where they don't like the food then asks for a menu from a different restaurant ?

People look for Black Friday sales in every purchase these days. Ant retailer has a big plan for it There are people who dont look at cruise sites all the time or book 7 cruises ahead. People looking for a cruise vacation may look a few times (to get an idea of price) and then wait for what they perceive to be a big discount. Any business's BF sale (true or not ) is now thought to be the BIG sale and the best pricing of the year

there are no land resorts out there with multiple restaurants on site that would allow that would allow you to order food from the "French restaurant" and have it served at the "Mexican restaurant" Yet this seems to be allowed and expected (by the pax) to be the norm. The food at the restaurant is the food on the menu. Many restaurants on land dont let you substitute baked potatoes for French fries let alone order from a different restaurant I think that many pax dont really know what the menu differences are and just expect MDR, Blu and Luminae are just variations on the same theme with better service Having eaten in all three, I have seen people have a real problem struggling with the menu at Blu and Luminae. The classics are there for the "selective" eaters. Sending the waiter off to another kitchen just diminishes the service for everyone else I dont think potential pax look at the menus before selecting room types. It really just "let's get a suite this time" thinking. Can't disagree with it but the food menu isnt really thought of when selecting. I can't blame anyone for being surprised since people eat what they like, most are not that adventuresome ( I have been on Crystal watching people eating well done filet mignon and mashed potatoes every night) and X doesn't prominently show the actual menus on the website.

I looked and the pricing for a 7 night Carribbean is just about the same on both ships fro a veranda AI. There is no "new ship" uncharge but X has a lot of cabins to fill

The interesting ports are served by the 1000 pax and under ships. Seabourne Crystal Oceania to name a few. Any mass market cruise line such as X or NCL is less itinerary based than small ships. Many people are very happy seeing Cozumel more than once.

NY Mets fans would disagree with you ......

certainly can see where the money is going - suites. I would hope that Luminae and Retreat deck are bigger than now. Judging by this, the suite bookings must be going well. They wouldn't be adding more hoping that it improves.

that is the meat of the cruise market these days. All the profit is there especially with ALL the people who have never cruised anywhere. Big ships=Big ports Other lines with smaller ships can do the more interesting itineraries.

Us also. Close to half price.

During an earnings call RCI said that new cruisers tend to take 3,4,5 day cruises just to see of they like it. CoCoCay is in there for a reason - it allows something familiar for most people (day at the beach) and a cruise. If you never have been on a cruise it is an easy way to see what a cruise is like without committing time and money for a whole week. I think that is why you re seeing short cruises Saturday to Saturday, 7 day cruises are easy to fit into most working people's schedule. Longer cruises are for experienced cruisers.

every restaurant of the world does this. Todays side dish is tomorrows soup

they aren't going to say on a video that the onboard food was "low quality". Variety is the only thing that they can talk about Again - it must be enough of a concern that their food was considered to be going downhill enough that it had to be addressed at a high level.

OBC is probably gone. That was literally just giving money (and profit) away There isnt a vacation resort in the world that does that

I don't think that one can be a "selective eater" and be in a suite- especially on Edge Class. We have eaten in Luminae and always find something that is interesting and good. The menu is the menu and it generally has an edge to it Luminae is not a "bring me what I want or I only eat what I eat" kind of place. While the service is very personal and attentive, if you are there for only the service aspect you will find Luminae to be a low value. I have seen a few people eating Mac and cheese with well done steak night after night and wonder what they chose a suite since Luminae is a big part of that experience.

what is the issue you want to address? Just about anything is handled by an admin and it is better to send it to someone who will address the issue quickly instead of being bounced from dept to dept.

I think they all knew before setting foot on that ship that there was a problem regarding food on social media and cruise reviews. The ship visit (and the just released video) was just a way to publicly say "heard, understood, acknowledged" I dont think that change in itself is a disappointment as hotels and resorts aren't what they were 5, 10 or 15 years ago and they are doing ok. Chocolate fountain and midnight buffet ain't coming back. What they will have to change is offering a few better entree selections and a notch or two up of what is chosen. Tilapia is not a fish to be served in.a restaurant . People buy it and eat it at home but that doesnt mean it is ok to serve on board - especially at the new X prices. In general I think that actual preparation is good, but when combined with lower end cuts of meat it makes the dish look unappealing

you don't know that yet. Wait until the menus come out