CalTexCruiser

9 hours ago, waltd said:

Just curious how was the movement up front in the cabin?

Thanks

No motion at all.  And my wife is extremely motion sensitive and sometimes gets seasick even in the bathtub.

Our sailing had smooth seas YMMV.

On our Mexican Riviera cruise, we surprisingly enjoyed the Window Suite on the Discovery Princess.

No balcony on this suite but:

1) loved the floor to ceiling windows on the side and up front (lots of them) to provide a panoramic view (the view in Cabo San Lucas while the ship was anchoring was fantastic),

2) the suite felt very roomy because the space that would have been used by the balcony is now part of the suite.

3) the weather was so hot that we likely would not have used a balcony much anyway,

4) the suite was a few steps away from the bar in the Retreat Pool--easy to grab drinks there to bring to our suite, and we got to know the bartender well,

5) easy access to the Retreat Pool and the hot tubs.

CONS: far from the Concierge Lounge.  No balcony if you want one.

On 8/31/2023 at 11:34 AM, 58Piano said:

If you have inside cabin will they still do it for you elsewhere on the ship????

You'll need to sign up for the UHD, Ultimate Hallway Dining.  They'll set up a lovely dinner for you right outside your stateroom door in the hallway.  But do make sure to scoot up against the wall a bit so others can pass by.

32 minutes ago, md9 said:

Italy, Croatia, & Montenegro, Mediterranean Rome to Rome on Celebrity Beyond, Celebrity Cruises Cabin Details: Sky Suite 1, Cabin Grade S1 Fare Code: K8293541 . Duration: 10 nights Embark 7th Jul 2023, 17:00, Returns 17th Jul 2023, 06:00 ((Cruise Only)) $800 On Board Credit Adults 2, Children 0, Infants 0 Date Name Arrive Depart 7th Jul 2023 Rome   17:00 9th Jul 2023 Olympia 08:00 18:00 10th Jul 2023 Corfu 08:00 18:00 11th Jul 2023 Dubrovnik 08:00 23:00 12th Jul 2023 Kotor 07:00 18:00 14th Jul 2023 Sicily 07:00 18:00 15th Jul 2023 Naples 07:00 17:00 16th Jul 2023 Florence/Pisa 09:00 19:00 17th Jul 2023 Rome 06:00

€14365.00

 

	Includes Pre-Paid Gratuities
	Includes $800 On-Board Credit		$800.00
		Final Price
Total		€14365.00
Per-Person (2 people)		€7182.50

Kind regards

 

Hi All, this is what my agent charged me. He claimed he had given me a great price and rebated 2/3rds of his commission. I found out on board we had significantly been overcharged. It was 1 adult 1 child no alcohol, but we were booked as 2 adults with alcohol, he said no price difference. 

Does anybody have any supporting evidence from your own experience to show me how much he over charged us, or alternatively if you paid similar and feel this was a great price, please do correct me. It was booked in March 23.

 

Many thanks for your help

 

MD

This is definitely on the high side for a sky suite but I wouldn't say its egregious, as I've seen worse.

When you say "I found out on board we had significantly been overcharged"--is that based on comparing the rate you paid to others?  Remember that people who book early (such as when onboard another cruise) often get much lower rates, so comparing your fare to theirs is not going to establish that your travel agent ripped you off.

1 hour ago, susanrobert said:

The second time cold and incorrect.  Took half hour to resend correct order.  First time they offered to set it up, 2nd time drop and run.

This is terrible.  This is a definite downgrade from the butler delivering the breakfast.

I guess Princess is learning that there is high demand for "free" pizza, but very low demand for pizza that will cost passengers either money or Plus credits.

To be fair though, this is still in the transition period so only time will tell whether charging for casual dining is the revenue generator they expected, either (1) through increased casual dining purchases onboard OR (2) increased purchases of the Plus/Premier packages.

43 minutes ago, verizon said:

I am a very low maintenance guy.

Never request any services but at least the butler should have come and introduce themselves.

I always take care of them but not this cruise.

 

I think the 2 butlers of the butler team are there to service requests IF asked, similar to the Retreat concierge(s)...it would take forever for them to go to each Sky Suite to introduce themselves, as there are just 2 of them and many, many, many Sky Suites.

13 minutes ago, Fortunate 2 travel said:

Signature restaurant is for suites, reserve is for the reserve class mini suites

Oh I see, so everything marked with "Signature" is dedicated to full suites only.  I also see two elevators at the rear of the ship that go to the Signature Lounge and Signature Sun Deck--I wonder if those elevators are also dedicated to full suite guests only.  

Seems like Princess has really upped its game for the suite-only enclave experience.  

from the Sun Princess deck plan, I see a "Reserve Collection Restaurant" and a "Signature Restaurant."  What's the distinction between the two?

It appears from the deck plan that these two restaurants are separate from the MDR, which IMO seems like an improvement over Reserve dining on the other Princess ships where the Reserve dining is part of the MDR but in a separate area.

Will the restaurant assigned to full suites have elevated dining choices similar to Celebrity's Luminae or NCL's Haven?  I wasn't terribly impressed with suite dining on the Discovery Princess as it had the regular MDR dining menu plus one additional item (which wasn't that great either).

30 minutes ago, chubbypiggy said:

My friend received an email from Princess 5 days ago notifying her bid acceptance for the Reserved Collection Mini Suite (cruise will start in 3 weeks on Diamond Princess).    She was given cabin D404, very good mid-ship.  She called her CVP to ask him to mark the cabin as "No upgrade" because she really like the cabin location.  Her CVP told her it is already marked as No Upgrade, and he said, once bid accepted and cabin assigned, there will be no further changes.

 

She checked her booking daily.  Today, she noticed her cabin has been changed from D404 to D503. which is 11 cabins more toward aft of the ship and it is the last cabin of the M1 (Premium mini suite) before the category change to catg MB. regular mini suite.

 

She asked me if from now until her boarding, will the location of the cabin be changed again by Princess?  I told her most likely not, because her cabin is already the worst location of the M1 category.

 

So, it is not true that once assigned, Princess will no longer change your cabin.    

 

Thanks for sharing this.

I suppose technically your friend was downgraded to a worse location, not upgraded so the "No Upgrade" instruction was not violated.

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

We can take our retreat tote bag and fill up every couple of days as needed. 

Don't forget to bring a collapsible dolly to carry the retreat tote bag filled with drinks.

OR

Just bring your suitcase to the retreat lounge to fill up.

On 8/20/2023 at 6:38 PM, Steelers36 said:

Anything Dec 14 on is Plus at $60, so you are good.

Until they raise Plus to $70 (maybe at the end of 2023?), at which point some of the things that were included with Plus 60 would be upcharges.

Perhaps everybody on Plus 60 gets 3 free MDR dinners per sailing, and a "nominal fee" of $14.99 per dinner will apply thereafter.  Don't want to pay?--eat at the buffet or grab a burger/pizza by the pool.

In fairness, cruise line loyalty programs are different from hotel/airline loyalty programs that require customers to re-qualify annually.

I've qualified for elite with Celebrity, and will remain elite regardless of how much I sail with them per year.

The cruise lines should consider scrapping their current loyalty programs and switch to a program that requires re-qualification every year...then they can start offering meaningful benefits for those in high tiers, such as free upgrades, free sailings using points, etc.

The quote "non-interest on part of vapers" appears to be the key here.

Celebrity hoped that allowing vaping would increase gambling in casinos, but it appears vapers have not shown up in sufficient quantities at the casino.  Hopefully our writing campaign to the executive office has convinced them the risk-reward would point towards not allowing vaping in casinos.

This sailing epitomizes our changing world from climate change.

Who would have thought that it would be possible for a cruise to sail from out-of-control wildfires in Hawaii to a hurricane in California?

What's next...a blizzard in Fort Lauderdale?

May be rough seas even if down to tropical storm...not sure if the ship will chance sailing into LA on Monday...maybe wait until Tues perhaps.

Has any fellow passenger actually given this crass self-entitled person a verbal what-for?

These types of people MAY back off on their selfish behavior if confronted. 

We have a selfish neighbor that used to allow her dogs to roam unleashed on our street but after we got into it with her she has since (1) kept her dogs off the streets, and (2) avoided us.

48 minutes ago, gfkcruiser said:

Received this response to my email concerned that smoking in casino and other areas would return. 
 

Our casino players have indicated that being able to vape while playing would enhance their gaming experience. Overall guest feedback indicates that guests who do not vape do not feel vaping in the casino would negatively impact their experience.

 

What "Overall guest feedback"?  This response from Celebrity is total horses**t.

The correct non-vaping guest population to survey are non-vaping/non-smoking gamblers.  I'm sure if you ask a non-vaping gambler who never enters the casino whether vaping in the casino would negatively impact their cruising experience, of course the answer is no.

Unfortunately it looks like vaping in casinos is a done deal.

4 hours ago, ldtr said:

Let's see a 12 day cruise at 200 per passenger per day. The 14.95 optional cost for using the App is .6%.

 

If you ate at Alfredos once every day of the cruise that would total 7.5%. Most likely less.  After all.it is optional and while not the same there is still slice.

 

Actually its 200 per passenger TOTAL for 12 days for the mini-suite.  So the percentage is much higher.

NCL Bliss and Joy have smoking only in an enclosed space of the casino--the rest of the casino is smoke free.

27 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

It's a one time $14.99 charge to opt-in to OceanNow for the entire cruise.

 

Are you going to deny yourself that enjoyment after paying thousands on a cruise?

We paid $ 200 pp + port fees/taxes for a mini-suite on our 12-day upcoming cruise.  When we booked, Alfredo's and OceanNow were free.  Now we have to pay for these services which in the aggregate will make up a substantial percentage of our cruise fare.

3 hours ago, zitsky said:

I’m not familiar with Seabourn.  Can you explain how a Celebrity suite compares to a Seabourn suite?

I was comparing the Sky Suite to Seabourn's Veranda Suite (lowest level suite) which we are booked in.  Similar square footage.  The Celebrity Suite would be comparable to Seabourn's Penthouse Suite.

There are no non-suite cabins on Seabourn.  

2 hours ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

@CalTexCruiserThere are 27 Celebrity Suites and above on Reflection.  Don't forget about the ones on deck 14.

Yeah forgot about those odd-ball Signature Suites

1 butler to 9 suites still pretty good

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

I believe the Reflection also has 77 Sky suites including the Aft facing SS. So that now means the team of 2 butlers will have a lot of work to do.

Yikes.  If one enjoys being on hold when calling shoreside customer service, that experience will be extended to SS passengers trying to reach their butlers.

14 minutes ago, bnurick said:

 

Our 2024 SS booking was $11,490 or $1,149 a day. For that kind of money, you need more than a standard room to justify, it is the areas, drink, food and service.

 

I

Oof.  that's a bit steep for a Celebrity Sky Suite.

We have an upcoming Seabourn cruise for $ 800 a day (for two people).  No such thing as AI because everything is automatically included, including specialty dining.

Thanks all for your replies.   1pm or later sounds great.

I tried the strategy of arriving at 1:30pm when embarking in SF on Ruby Princess, but still waited 3 hours in line.  But that was a perfect storm of lots of covid patients on board waiting to get off, a crappy terminal (Pier 39 which should never be used as an embarkation/debarkation port), and rainy weather.