kk99

So, these events happened on the Eclipse 4-22-2023 transpacific, and May 9, 2023 Hawaii to Vancouver sailings.

First off all of the crew, and staff were great. I am a very positive person, so these are the things that need to be published on Celebrity’s webpage so that everyone has the same information. Just for background, I’ve cruised a fair amount with Celebrity, over the past 25 years and always with friends and family. I also have been a Ruby tier casino player since they started the revised program several years ago, but I don’t plan on keeping it after this year. I’ve cruised on many lines, usually for the itinerary and value for me.

So the activities manager on Eclipse stated that while they will keep trivia (at least on longer cruises) , there would be no more prizes, (fleetwide) after our 2 cruises as it had gotten out of control with the cheating and people confronting the staff about the correct answers. I think this a positive, as those who just want to have fun can, and who needs another deck of cards or cap.  People need to be civil, way too much cursing going on. 
 
On our first sailing there were 26 Zeniths, and the 2nd leg had 36 Zeniths broken into 2 groups for lunch. A very nice luncheon on both sailings, and everyone got the photo of the groups delivered in a regular paper envelope. I went to the top cruiser event on both cruises, and sat in the back. I clapped for the individuals who got it, and left. Did not see any reserved seating in the front for people other than the top cruiser people. No big deal, just noticed it.
I don’t think Zeniths or higher tier casino players will ever regain access to the Retreat lounge that they had pre pandemic. Again Celebrity gets to make the rules of their loyalty and casino programs, but there has been a lessening of both program benefits imo.I rarely go in the lounge especially if I have friends who are not in a suite traveling with us.

Casino changes, more are coming this summer.

When we were in Hawaii, and the casino was closed for several days while we were in ports, they were going to update to some newer slot, video poker machines, but they did not arrive in time. What they did do was to install in all of the machines, the readers that allow you to charge to your room a maximum of $2000 a day. Before the readers were installed you would go to the cage, and you could charge up to $5000 a day to your room for chips or slot vouchers, if your bank account could support it and you really wanted to bet big one night. After the change, even if you had a previously established line of credit, it was capped at $ 2000 per day. I saw several frustrated table players on the 2nd cruise.
New rule is whatever comp play you earned is whatever can only be applied to your next new cruise for an offer or discount. Future cruise sales can take a blue chip club deposit for a sailing, but only for what offers are in the computer for you, up to 9 nights. You get better discounting and longer cruises by calling Blue Chip shoreside if you played a lot according to their algorithm , and also future cruise sales (onboard) cannot price out any Blue Chip discount sailing on a new ship for it’s first year of service.

The biggest change, and this is a Captain’s Club issue that affected us, is that if you book a suite through Blue Chip, because say there are only sky suites available at the time of booking, and you later pay the difference to upgrade it to a higher grade suite, even outside final payment, you do not get the points of the cabin you sail in, but at what suite cabin grade you originally booked. It is being treated the same as a move up points restriction. So on our 2nd leg, we all got the cabins we wanted on the day of booking, but on the first leg, we didn’t but paid a sizable amount to upgrade it when a better suite cabin became available to book outside of final payment. One of my friends on the sailing would have turned Zenith on their next cruise, now it is 2 cruises away for them. Celebrity needs to fix their website pages to disclose these changes, and not have people be surprised after the fact. This was an undisclosed change by Captain’s Club, and Blue Chip had no idea about the change. Blue Chip to my knowledge does not have a shoreside manager in place after Patrick Jacquot left the company several months ago, but a call center. The junket side of Blue Chip is more helpful and knowledgeable.
 

So my funny story is that I am taking medications for my immune system where I can’t drink. So we requested precruise and while onboard that Celebrity keep all the alcohol. I think for the 2 cruises between the suite amenities, Blue Chip, a birthday celebration, Captain’s Club and other departments, we got something like 15 bottles which went to the crew bar, with the champagnes going to couples celebrating long term anniversaries. I got a lot of thank you from crew members. Two of us played trivia once in the Retreat and won a bottle of nice champagne. I never laughed harder, and declined that prize. 
 

So I am taking a break from Celebrity for several months, as I still have one more treatment, before a fall transatlantic. I do hope they fix the shoreside experience, Blue Chip notices and the Celebrity website to correctly reflect whatever changes they have made or will make shortly.  I so enjoy being on the ship but not the shoreside issues both pre and post.   I am hopeful that they will add different future itineraries, as I have found places we want to go visit both on land and by sea that Celebrity doesn’t offer.

My favorite memories of this wonderful vacation was going to Russell,  New Zealand and paying my respects on Anzac Day. My father served under the Australian generals during WWII in the South Pacific.   Thankful for everyone’s services. 
 

We did all private tours on our cruises, and just had a blast. If anyone needs information or has questions about the ports, just post up, and I’ll try and answer. Here’s hoping your next holiday is a wonderful one.

So if the move up bid you wished to place was an extra $500 a person for 2 people in the cabin for a total of $1000, and you were Classic members, your bid would be $505 a person, if Zeniths at 5% it would be $525 a person, and if you win the  move up bid you only pay the extra $1000 for the cabin. You do not get the higher level of Captain’s Club points only the points your original cabin category comes with. 

Since cruising restarted, I have sailed 4 times in higher level suites, also as a Zenith member. On each sailing, there was a Zenith lunch for just the guests, with some of the officers or Captain’s Club hosts stopping by at the beginning to take a picture, but not eat with the guests. There is an officer’s cocktail party for the suites, where you can meet the officers, and have your picture taken in the retreat lounge. Zeniths are not allowed in the retreat lounges unless sailing in a suite at the current time.There was no sit down lunch with officers for top suites on my sailings. You can in the RS suites and higher request to trade your 2 bottles of alcohol for one better bottle of alcohol. There is usually a sailaway from at least one port stop on the ships for invited guests which is always nice for picture taking. We have gotten nice flower arrangements, extra bottles of wine from the Hotel Director, and invitations to Captain Club and Senior Officer’s cocktail parties.
As a Z no matter what category of room you are in, you get the upgraded toiletries.

phoenix _dream when you make Z they will recognize you in the Captain’s Club event, they will give you dining at one of the speciality restaurants, a cake, flowers, a bottle of wine. They used to have the celebrations up on the bridge with Captain & staff. Once they started sailing again, it appears to be more of a low key celebration,  just as nice, but not on the bridge. You should email the CC host to ask what the particular ship is doing for your special celebration as there are always new changes. You will get a nice picture for making Z.  The internet, laundry & premium drinks are always appreciated perks. 

As for RS & higher, ask about spa perks, some will let you have a thermal pass included on some ships, and not on others. If you want a party with snacks and beverages in your suite, with some advance notice they will take care of it. You can order off different menus for room service dinners. You can also have someone from future cruises meet you in the retreat lounge to book any future cruises you want without waiting at the future cruise booking area. Your stateroom attendant, butler and retreat concierge will do whatever is reasonably possible to make your voyage a wonderful holiday. I find that to be true no matter what category of room that I book.

Happy sailings to all, and beautiful weather.

So, just off Infinity, and I have been on all of the ships many times in all classes, celiac not by choice, and vegetarian by choice. In Luminae they usually use gf Canyon Bakehouse for white toast, and also have gf raisin bread. None of the menus are marked with gf symbols as the main dining room menu is or the labels in ocean view cafe.  At Cafe al Bacio, they usually have gf coconut macaroons, no other desserts that are gf, except sometimes  in the morning hours a small gf muffin which is okay but not very tasty imo. On the buffet, they will have jello (not vegetarian) and 2 other gluten free desserts that are usually vegetarian with signage. I have never seen gluten free crackers on any sailing. Blu and the main dining rooms seem to have more gf options than Luminae. I always bring gf crackers, gf protein bars with me. The chefs in Luminae, and the other restaurants will make you any basic meat, fish, vegetable or fresh fruit dishes gluten free without bread crumbs, or sauces that may not be gf. There is very good made to order gf pizza and pasta in the ocean view cafe made when you order it, takes 15-20 minutes.  At the gelato stand on my most recent cruise, none of it was  marked gf. However, they had ice cream in the ocean view cafe and restaurants that was gf. Please ask the chefs, and preorder the night before in which ever restaurant you may be eating in. Tuscan Grille has made some great dishes, and made from scratch gf bread if ordered in advance, same with Murano, and other speciality restaurants. I know they have dedicated toasters for the gluten free bread, and use separate tongs for no cross contamination. They do have gf soy sauce available, and they try hard to please.
Still, dining is not why I cruise Celebrity, as there is room for lots of improvement for those who must eat gf, and some of the modifications to menu items would be easy to make in Luminae. I just wish corporate would let those with dietary restrictions give them some ideas for fast, reasonable cost items to be included and enhance the shipboard dining experience. I really appreciate all of the staff on the ships who try and please you. For me, I prefer other speciality dining, Blu, and the buffet to Luminae. Please have your reservation marked with any dietary restrictions, and try and get the same servers for whatever your main restaurant will be, as they will be more aware to avoid cross contamination & not tempt you with amazing, and not gf breads and pastry baskets. Luminae needs to add all the codes for gf, sugar free, vegetarian, and other categories on the main dining room menus. They have had several years to do this, and it would save time when someone is ordering as well. 

Enjoy your cruise, and have a wonderful holiday.We always do.

I was on that December Apex sailing with friends. When the emergency announcement was made, 2 of my friends got up from the dinner table, as they are universal donors. I followed them down to where the  potential volunteers were signing information forms. My friends both had their blood registry cards with them. So many people volunteered, and then they took who they wanted off the list for those who would be a possible donor match. My friends were not asked to give blood,  but were asked to remain as backups if needed. (which they were not needed) The person could not have been evacuated safely per the medical team and the Captain or it would have been done in my opinion. No one, had a problem with the ship speeding up and coming into port early so that passenger's life could be treated further at the hospital. 

I never believe anything on TMZ in this case other than a lawsuit was filed. Whatever the actual facts are, it will come out in a court proceeding, with expert medical testimony. I wish the passenger who underwent the medical emergency all the best for the passenger's health, and thankful to witness the  immediate response by the passengers who could give blood to a fellow passenger in need.

It gets even funnier. I got the email addressed to another individual  sent to my email who is in the starting tier of BCC for a comp cruise excluding taxes and port charges. So I called BCC to have them send it to whoever it was supposed to go to. Then I asked, if I qualified for the offer. Until December,  I am in the highest tier.  Nope, it was a targeted offer.  🤣

Mariner Boy, I mistyped the play rate on the points additional free play on the machines. 15,000 dollars played through the machines through the machines is 300 dollars of additional free play  so 50 points equals one dollar of free play.

The 25,000 point tier is actually the third tier, amethyst. Anyone who has played one dollar on slots in the casino is the pearl tier, 2500 points  is onyx, amethyst at 25,000 , sapphire at 100,000, sapphire plus is 500,000 and ruby at 1 million points.

For those players who are Ruby, and most of them are table players, they cruise quite a bit during the period of one year to 18 months for each qualification period, and their rooms are "free" other than taxes and port charges, and they start with free play money of a minimum of $2500 given by the casino.

On our cruise, I saw a few jackpots in the 7500-10,000 dollar range for players. For winning that amount,  they earned on a slot machine at a dollar a point for the tier club points they have a sizable start towards the 3rd tier. Also there are quite a few junkets, where they offer players from land based casinos free  cabins except for port taxes or greatly reduced  in price trips based on their gaming history.

 So if someone wanted to cruise, and would have spent $3000 for the cabin, plus taxes, I think that most people who gamble would be willing to spend up to the amount of the value of the discount they received on a particular sailing and play knowing they would probably lose it, but could  break even or win.  I do know one table player who is a Ruby player, and  he cruises at least 12 weeks a year because he and his family love cruising. He obviously can afford it, and he enjoys the tables.

Some people are not shoppers, drinkers,  spa people, and everyone has to decide what their budget is or if they even play, or what they spend their funds on.  Just reported on the cutbacks on the program in place. Happy cruising.

Updating from my experience on Apex 12-4-2021. First time sailing since the end of 2019. All tiers extended through December 31, 2022. All prior points were reset to zero when the ships started sailing again,  and you retained your prior tier status.

For every dollar played through a slot machine, 1 point for the count towards BCC status, video poker $5 to get 1 tier point. So if you played 100 dollars on the slots, and you won 50 dollars and played it through, you would have 150 points.  You need 25,000 points for amethyst,  100,000 points to get sapphire, 500,000 for sapphire plus, 1 million for Ruby, so if you sail 4 times before the end of 2022, your accumulated points will determine the next year’s status of your tier.

For every 5 dollars cycled through a slot machine ( more for video poker $10) you earn 1 dollar of free play that must be used and played off on a slot machine or video poker machine before the end of the cruise. So if you played through 15,000 dollars on a slot machine, it equals $300 of free play, which is in addition to your tier free play guarantee on the BCC chart.

No access for higher level players to the Retreat, also Zeniths excluded, due to having fewer people in the lounge due to Covid policies for lessening crowds,  unless already staying in a suite. 
 

No casino reception event, no free slot tournament entry fee waived, no bottle of wine or treats sent to the room, no offers to pick up a specialty dinner or take something off for shipboard or spa charges as they would do in the past if your level of play warranted it, just going by the benefits per the chart on Celebrity’s website. I do realize that all of the budgets have been trimmed, so this did not surprise me, just stating this for others who have not been back onboard a  Celebrity ship yet under the new BCC guidelines.

So for some BCC players, there was a test promotion on Apex  for our sailing at Future Cruise Sales, where you could book most sailings up to a sky suite in 2022 at a discount percentage. Friends that I was traveling with who are Sapphire, received a 30% discount off their base casino fare, and they booked  a sky suite for a 2022 12 night European cruise on Apex. However, when I wanted to do a future booking, Future cruise sales could not do it, as no rate discount code was in their system for Ruby players. So Celebrity missed an opportunity for a new booking.

Both the Apex casino host and  casino manager sent emails to BCC management  shoreside to try and get the rate code opened, and it never happened.  I also called BCC when we were in port to try and get it resolved. The BCC staff are all really nice on the Apex, so clearly a kink in the system to be worked out shoreside.

When I got back from the cruise , I did call BCC to see what the dollars off per night to be applied to a brand new booking that was earned and received 2 different answers. I am waiting on an email response now.

We like Celebrity , and sail on different brands for itineraries or different experiences.

I am holding a neutral position on the BCC restart of the program. There needs to be clarity  and consistency in the program, and people can decide to participate , try and maintain, increase or decrease their tier level if it is a benefit to them.

Happy sailing everyone, and best of luck and good health for all.

I just renewed with one month left on my GE card. Did it online, had to look at my pics to get all of the countries(40) in the past 5 years, as not all were stamped in the passport. Got the approval same day, and the card with the prior picture in a week. Had the same day refund to my credit card for the 100 dollar application fee.

 Someone else in my family was able to update their passport information online, and was not required to go the actual office. This was out of DFW airport office. They got confirmation in 3 days of the update.

On passport renewals, we will be applying more than 6 months in advance, based on the current delay times. 

I am on the 9-3-21 sailing. I got confirmation 2 days ago.  Mine was moved, same category, different cabin. I called back and had them switch me back to the cabin I wanted. I think all of the sailings are loaded, for the transfers to Millennium, so if you booked directly, call them to get your original cabin back, or call your TA, if nothing else they can hold the cabin you want until they finish the paperwork. 

So, this will be my last post on this thread, as everyone has been so kind to respond, and on to happier discussions on Cruise Critic. Renee, we were on that sailing with you, small world indeed. Thank you to the person who contacted me and sent the Facebook message of my original post to Celebrity Cruises. I appreciate it very much.

So thank you to all of the posters whether they knew Kendall or not. It makes me happy that people are so caring about a stranger  but who was a fellow cruise enthusiast.

As to those on the Apex transatlantic 4-30-2022, I  will be there, and I will be buying drinks for others throughout the cruise in Kendall's honor. I will also attend the Cruise Critic get together, if they still have them when cruising resumes. I do hope to meet up with all of you who posted, who are on that cruise and say thanks to you in person.

And lastly as a another step in paying it forward for Kendall,  all of my family made a donation today to the Celebrity Cruises Crew Donation Fund, to help whoever is in need in some small way, as Kendall would have wanted that.

Blessings to all of you, and happy future sailings,

Kelcie

24 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

So sorry to hear of the loss of your brother. It was very nice of Celebrity to do that.

Renee your CC name sounds familiar. Have you been on any Royal Caribbean sailings on Oasis or Allure besides Celebrity?  Thanks for your comment.

11 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

@kk99, thank you for taking the time to post your story.  I am very sorry about your brother.  Did he regularly post on Cruise Critic?

Yes , he did post some under my cc name kk99, which was a combination of our first name initials, and under his own member name , which the family had requested to delete after his death. He always attended all Cruise Critic get togethers, and posted in the Celebrity Cruises Facebook boards, and kept up with past and present employees of Celebrity Cruises. He never said he met a stranger, just a new friend. My family members are so lucky to have all of our memories with him on these voyages. I hope when we return to sailing, I can thank some of the staff in person for their reaching out to us.

Thanks once again to everyone. I think whoever at Celebrity sent the flowers and note, was just a very kind person. I just called the main call line, and did not give them my account number, or even my last name, although I have many more cruises than my late brother. The representative did not know me, and yet someone connected the dots to locate me. The world can be such a universally good place, and again I will pay it forward in as many ways as I can to honor him.

17 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

You have already started and have helped some of us to participate in that....

 

Thank you.

 

Bon voyage

 

We were on The Edge together, right?

Hi Bo, Yes we met on Edge. Your friends and yourself were really great to meet. I hope our paths cross again, as your conversations were great.

Thanks to everyone who has responded. I will cut and paste this thread to my siblings with my sincere thanks for the replies. I do not do Facebook , Twitter or Instagram (due to work reasons) but if anyone would like to help me send my post to Celebrity for them to see I would appreciate it. I am also sending a written letter to their headquarters as well of sincere thanks. I do hope to be on the Apex transatlantic in April 2022, and whatever may sail at the end of 2021. It is amazing to me how many people my brother interacted with who remembered him. It really helps us all. I will always remember the kindnesses displayed by people during this past year and I hope to pay it forward.

Thank you Bo, We have sailed with you before, and hope to see you again in a future sailing,

Kelcie

I rarely post on any social media sites, but I wanted to thank Celebrity Cruises for the company's  kindness yesterday, My younger brother who cruised with Celebrity frequently, died of pandemic complications two weeks ago. In 2020, he would have made Zenith with Celebrity, and all plans changed for everyone in the world. My siblings were one week away from being able to fly in from all different states to see one another in person after being two weeks or more past full vaccinations. Sadly, my brother passed from pandemic complications, and we saw each other again in person  in more than a year at his small service. I notified Celebrity this past week so they could cancel his account, and informed them of his death. 

When I got home from a long day at work,  there was a beautiful bouquet of flowers, with a note from Celebrity.  So unexpected, but it made the evening a bit brighter.

When we all get on future Celebrity Cruises whether in 2021 or 2022, whenever the world can reopen safely for cruising, I'll be toasting my brother, and remembering all of the times we were together as a family or with friends on many happy sailings with Celebrity Cruises.  So Cheers to you, Kendall, and so many of your cruise friends have reached out to me, with pictures, videos, emails, and it has made it better for our entire family to have those memories.

Everyone be well, and I hope to see you on a future sailing. kk99

We had the penthouse cabin  for two sailings on Edge in December 2018. The balcony is long and  skinny, and the furnishings on the balcony were too crowded and looked good but did not function well.  They subsequently removed some of the furniture on it, making it more usable.  You could only fit a lounger if it was at an angle. It has a deep overhang, and you did receive some filtered sunlight on it during the day but not all day, and if you wanted to look up at the night sky, you could see it by going to the edge of the railing, as well as seeing the Bridge .  It would not be ideal for stargazing. I would have been happy with just two lounger chairs instead of the two small fabric sofas and numerous concrete and metal end tables, and the two cushioned chairs. The interior space was good with the two bedrooms and bathrooms, and mostly functional, other than some furniture designs which were tweaked over time, and improved by the time I went for the transatlantic and saw the cabin again.  When I went back on Edge for the transatlantic, I did not book this suite again, as the balcony space and usability does matter to me personally, and we picked a different suite category. If you don't want a large overhang, then either book sky suites, celebrity suites, or the Iconic suites. The Edge Villas also have a smaller but usable balcony, and it does lead out from an upstairs door onto the Retreat sundeck which is handy. The aft sky suites have deeper balconies than the side sky suites.  I was hoping that with Apex and/or Beyond that Celebrity would redesign the Penthouse and Royal suites without the large overhang or move the suites to a lower floor.  I might book the penthouse again on the Edge class ships but only in a very cold weather cruise, where I would not go outside that much. For the same amount of money, I would rather have two sky or celebrity suite cabins.  My favorite  Celebrity suite balconies are the penthouse balconies on the M class ships.

Whatever the cabin you pick, I hope you have a wonderful vacation.

10 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

I get "sorry we cannot locate this item", could def be me, my IT skills on a 1-10, well just say on the lower end of the scale...I am sure it is delightful though

Hopefully it is posted now, please just refresh and hit the arrow on the previous post, it is only a few seconds of a photo I took. Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

I’m thankful that even all of us are apart from loved ones, that there is still hope going forward, and for all the Cruises we did not get to take, that we will all be able to travel soon. I want to thank all of the front line responders, health care professionals, and everyone who has done a kindness for someone else during this very hard year.. I’ve had to say goodbye to several friends and colleagues this year to COVID.. I wish everyone much happiness this holiday season, and blessings to all. 

2 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

Another one of my favorites.

Mine as well, I believe the bird videos in cages are on Silhouette.

Nothing contradictory to add.  I appreciated the posting. I listened to the call this morning and read the 8-K report.  Here is a newswire clip

0:35 ET - Royal Caribbean is planning for a gradual return to service in 1H, Finance Chief Jason Liberty says. "The ramp up will not be a light switch," Liberty says on a conference call. The company has paused sailings through the end of November, a month past the CDC's expiration of its cruising ban this Saturday. Spring cruises will be focused on short sailings from key dry markets in the US and Asia-Pacific regions, Liberty says. The company will make the most out of its private island in the Bahamas, he adds. "Bookings for the spring season have remained below pre-COVID-19 levels, which is consistent with our staggered return to service approach and lower planned occupancy expectations," Liberty says. 

Mr. Fain stated that with the start of all cruises, the first will be nonrevenue cruises , everyone will be covid tested , masks, shore excursions through the ship, and short cruises as has been previously reported on the boards.

Mr. Liberty stated that the monthly cash burn for the entire group was between 250-290 million per month which was consistent with prior posts.

The SEC filing which shows the financial picture for 2020 Quarter 3 is here.

http://app.quotemedia.com/data/downloadFiling?webmasterId=101533&ref=115406726&type=HTML&symbol=RCL&companyName=Royal+Caribbean+Group&formType=8-K&dateFiled=2020-10-29&CK=884887

I can only hope that the company will go ahead and announce what additional future sailings for the rest of this year and perhaps the first quarter of 2021 will be canceled. In the event that does not happen, then I can hope that the lift and shift  program to be extended past November 2020 so that the customers have additional options.  

The  CNBC interview with Mr. Fain today. https://www.cnbc.com/video/2020/05/21/watch-cnbcs-full-interview-with-royal-caribbean-ceo-richard-fain.html?__source=sharebar|facebook&par=sharebar