CalTexCruiser

My daughter played 10 minutes on a slot machine in 2019, and in the second half of 2022 was getting nonstop BCC comp offers. However, that was a waste of time for them since even comped rooms are not enough to lure her back to cruising. Her offers have since stopped (at least so far in 2023) so it appears that the geniuses at BCC may have come up with a more refined strategy.

Got the same offer. I did a trial booking and was charged $ 1 pp for the entire 7-day sailing (plus port fees and taxes). FINALLY Celebrity has enabled the booking of comp sailings directly online as opposed to having to contact the BCC over the phone or filling out a form and waiting for a call. Hope this is a sign of things to come from BCC. Definitely one change that I like.

I'm posting this to warn others with waitlisted airline upgrades that Flights by Celebrity may cancel your waitlist if they have to touch the reservation for any reason. Using FBC, we booked travel on United Airlines in Premium Economy between the US and Sydney. We used airline miles (directly through United's website) to request an upgrade to Business Class, which was waitlisted. Recently, there was a schedule change of the flight that moved it about 40 minutes earlier. No problem. However, when FBC touched this reservation as a result of the schedule change to email us about the change, they inexplicably cancelled the waitlist. Fortunately, I just happened to look at my reservation on United and saw that the waitlist disappeared...we did not receive any notification from FBC. I called United, which told me that FBC cancelled the waitlist, and I had to contact FBC to reinstate the waitlist. I called FBC, and the rep said he will escalate to the ticketing department. Fortunately, the waitlist was reinstated a few hours later, but we likely lost priority relative to others on the waitlist.

Thanks for heads up If I ever have Stewart as my steward I will ask Stewart to change out my minibar, and if done well I will give my steward Stewart a 10* rating

you can google the Celebrity tour descriptions and often similar or the same tours offered by third parties (e.g., Viator) will pop up and you can read more detailed descriptions and more importantly customer reviews. That's helped me pass on many Celebrity tours, which are more expensive anyway. One tour that appears to be Celebrity exclusive is the Taieri Gorge Train in Dunedin which we booked when Celebrity offered it at 35% off on their recent sale.

We also took advantage of a BCC comp for an April sailing...wouldn't have gone otherwise as the Mexican Riviera is generally meh, but LA is close and it was "free". I will note that a Princess sailing on the Discovery on the same itinerary that we took last October was packed full. Apparently Princess has more loyal customers on the West coast than Celebrity.

@RedkingThere has been quite an uproar on CC recently regarding drastic cutbacks on the Oceanview Cafe buffet, including a report that the buffet on the Apex had shut down 75% of its stations for DINNER (no cutbacks for breakfast or lunch). Have you seen such buffet cutbacks for dinner on your cruise? We are curious as we will be sailing the Eclipse AU/NZ on Feb 16.

If one is used to the Celebrity Suite experience, then the Princess Suite experience will likely be disappointing. Following compares Celebrity's Sky Suite to the lowest suite on Princess: 1) Physical space: Princess wins here because their lowest level suite will be larger than SS (separate living room and bedroom, although the separation is a curtain). 2) Luminae wins hands down, in terms of ambiance, service level, and food. The Club Class restaurant is an extension of the MDR--food is meh in our experience, typical main dining room fare. Service in Club Class is better than MDR, but not to Luminae's level. But Princess' breakfast in Sabatini's for suite passengers is a good benefit. 3) Retreat lounge/sundeck on Edge class is the big winner here. No dedicated sundeck on Princess, and the lounge for suites on the Royal class ships is small and a bit claustrophobic (no window to the sea). 4) Celebrity's butlers if used are wonderful. No butlers on Princess. There is a concierge in the lounge, but the service is nothing like the over-the-top pampering that some butlers can provide. 5) Amenities offered by Princess not available with SS: Princess suites have first night specialty dining, one-time bar setup with mini liquor bottles and beers, unlimited laundry

Yes you are correct. That is why I wear mine when traveling. Now it would appear I'm allowed to also wear it to dinner.

Then that is a truly good deal. My deals are room only.

Definitely true. In fact, we are trying this out on our April Solstice cruise to the Mexican Riviera, where we only pay for: 1. port fees/taxes, 2. grats, 3. 1 streaming Wifi package. We'll be relying on our Elite status to grab as many drinks as we can during HH. This Solstice cruise will follow our Feb Eclipse AU/NZ cruise when we'll be in a Royal Suite, so we'll have a chance to contrast and compare ... LOL

So these free rooms are not so free after all, it would appear.

I believe you would have been processed using code SOL should you have changed your mind

LOL, that's a change I actually like. Too often I tend not to order the pastries because of how large they are and how bloated I know I would feel if I ate the whole thing.

I received free offer for sailings in the Med earlier this year, including on Beyond if one has flexibility on dates and want to sail in Europe they can probably wait and see what shakes out

👍Great news! Once you are underway and crossing the Tasman Sea, could you let us know whether it is just as fast? In NZ as well. Thanks in advance.

Anyone have any experience whether the recent high demand/lack of supply of specialty dining is affecting the ability of passengers in upper suites in booking unlimited specialty dining at prime times in the specialty dining restaurants? We've never had an issue in the past getting a spot at any restaurant at any time we asked for, even last minute.

I'm confused--when making multiple reservations in advance wouldn't the customer need to pay in full for each reservation? If they are willing to do that, I don't see what the issue is.

May be related to whether there is a sufficient quantity of Starlink satellites in that region. I understand that Starlink is continuing to deploy more and more satellites, so hopefully the coverage improves for AU/NZ soon.

LOL. To me any number with an Mb after it is way better than the sub 100 kb/s speed I experienced on a recent Princess Mexican Riviera cruise, which rendered Wi-Fi unusable.

Thanks @Tom-n-Cheryl Just curious, did staff react differently to the new upper suite indicator any differently than before?

Same thing with those people who received free veranda cabin offers, and complaining about charges to upgrade to Aqua class.

We were on Discovery Mexican Riviera and the Internet was unusable--couldn't even download emails. We have an ATT Wireless unlimited plan, so we get free cell service in Mexico (unlimited data, text, and call). I tried hot spotting to my phone in port but even that was a challenge--not sure why.

How are the blackjack tables: 3:2 payout on $50 dollar table, and 6:5 otherwise?

Never been on a SB cruise but have an 18-day upcoming in 2024 on the Encore. I'm wondering what a "crowded" Colonnade buffet looks like on the Encore. If someone has a picture could you upload? Trying to set my expectations appropriately. We sail mainly suite class on the large mainline cruise ships so what I am picturing as a crowded buffet may not be what a crowded buffet looks like on a SB ship with 600 passengers.