cameronp12

I was on the Eclipse in October 2023 and thought she was in great shape, other than the normal wear and tear on a ~15 year old ship. The crew was great, as always, and we can overlook a bit of rust and wear here and there!

Coming back on this thread...

Like I mentioned earlier, we have friends that are currently on Princess in Livorno today. Official word from them is no limitations on type of alcohol served in port (all spirits available with no extra taxes, etc.). They do have the drink package, so can't speak to those that do not.

However, I think based on this, we can likely conclude this issue is NCL-specific. Probably something about an extra that they don't want to pay that other cruise lines are willing to as to not inconvenience their customers.

Seems like NCL is cheapening out here and blaming it on regulations.

Someone mentioned the Galveston rules…

I cruised out of Galveston on Royal and they let you use the drink package on day 1, but you can only order Texas-sourced alcohol. 
 

Whereas, it seems Carnival doesn’t allow you to use the package at all. So this is another example of different lines handling regulations in different ways.

FYI - just checked as we have some friends currently in the Med on a Princess cruise. We cruised with them in Spain the last 2 weeks on Celebrity and then they went on another 2 week Princess cruise after. Their Princess cruise visits Livorno on Friday 5/12, so I will definitively check with them on whether or not Princess is using the same “rule” to limit drinks while in port. 
 

Will be an interesting comparison!!

Is this just an example of NCL being cheap? I was on a Celebrity cruise last 2 weeks that went to multiple ports in Spain (but none in Italy admittedly) and experienced no additional taxes (as some have reported here in Spain with NCL). 
 

So the question begs, does Celebrity just eat that extra cost, negotiate better, or something else?

Food for thought…

Ship:  Infinity

Length of Cruise: 10 nights

Cruise Sail Date: April 26, 2023

Date email offer received:  March 1, 2023

Captain’s Club Tier:  Elite

Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA:  Direct

Current Cabin:  V1 Veranda

Bid?  Yes/No:  Yes

If YES -  Bidding Details:

Cabin Category:  Aqua Class

Bid Offer:  $805pp

Notification Date: 4/13/23

Accepted / Rejected:  Accepted!

General Comments (offer details, etc.):  

MoveUp minimum offer was Aqua $800pp; Concierge $300pp; Sunset Veranda $250pp

Excited! This will be our first time in Aqua!

Obligatory I got my 1 point today too.

1 minute ago, MrsTravelBug said:

I just had the basic WIFI and it was not the best.  It cut out a lot and often wouldn't connect.  When we were docked the signal was the best

Thanks for your response! We’re on the first sailing out of Lisbon at the end of the month and will likely be upgrading to premium WiFi.

How was WiFi? (If you used it?)

Same as everyone else it seems…

It makes sense from their perspective to continue the PUP, even if they do them less frequently. 
 

It keeps people engaged with the brand, even while not actively cruising and it probably doesn’t cost them much money to operate. 

Celebrity’s no-smoking indoor policy is definitely great! 
 

To be honest, we have been pricing out different Europe options for 2024, including a few different ocean options and one river option. There are several areas of Europe we have yet to see, so we have plenty of options of area to go.

When looking at Celebrity’s pricing and inclusions, it’s hard to see the “value” anymore. I was comparing an 11 day Italy cruise on the Constellation to a Viking Ocean cruise that is 8 days, but with added on pre- and post-cruise extensions to spend more time in Italy. 
 

The Viking cruise + land packages + flights (economy) all bundled together came out to about $1000 more than Celebrity AI pricing. And Viking includes basic shore excursions at each port + many more things (especially transfers to/from the airport).

We might not be the target demographic for Viking, but it’s hard to pass up that increased “value” for how much more you get.

We did 2 Celebrity cruises last year plus one with NCL (our first time with them). Celebrity was hands down better than NCL (and likely still is). 
 

We have 2 more booked this year with Celebrity, one in late April going to Spain/Portugal on the Infinity and the other is a California coast in October on the Eclipse. 
 

I will really be paying attention to how all of these changes/cutbacks affect our experience, comparing 2022 to 2023. Our cruises being a little later in the year give them a little while to work out the “kinks” and add some things back if they choose to. We will remain optimistic as we love Celebrity’s service and brand. We had planned to go to Europe again in 2024, but prices are INSANE by Celebrity standards. We want to make sure we truly aren’t put off by the cutbacks before we commit that kind of $$$ in 2024.

Mine just loaded as well! 300 points even so now I’m Elite.

Does anyone think they could re-add free room service later as part of higher level perk for a revamped Captain's Club offering? Maybe like E+ and above get room service fees waived? I could see that as a way to not alienate their most loyal customers...

Following as this is a bucket list itinerary for us! Also, we will be on the Infinity in April for her first Spain & Portugal cruise after she crosses over to Europe, so excited to know how she is looking. Thanks!

Mine has randomly paused twice now and I have had to refresh the page and start the whole thing over because there is no play/pause button...ugghhhh. But I am determined to get these 5 points because I'm sitting at 295 right now.

The Infinity is honestly probably a great ship for them to use for their new year round Europe season. The average passengers who would book fall/winter Europe are probably less concerned with which ship (think older, retired, empty nesters, etc.) and just want to cruise Europe in non-busy season. And a lot of these folks probably prefer M-class to E-class anyway.

And that allows them to move the newer/updated ships to the huge moneymaker locations (Caribbean in the winter), where younger people/families might want to be on the latest and greatest. 
 

That’s my opinion at least.

1 hour ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

The Tampa itineraries are available but not for sale yet. Mostly 12 and 9 night cruises like initially released with some 6/7/8 mixed in around the holidays. 

Weird...wonder why they would hold those back. Doesn't seem like there would be anything revolutionary about the Tampa itineraries.

Looks like no sailings out of Tampa for fall 2024/winter 2025? Constellation must be staying in Europe...

Just had a thought: Maybe they are trying to end the current sale so it doesn’t count for these Europe cruises. I see they just extended the sale.

Anyone know why the delay? Surely they already have all the itineraries/port calls finalized? 
 

Seems like this will only upset those who wanted to book today, not add excitement/anticipation.

Anyone know when/if the Infinity and Constellation will get their hulls blue-ified? Seems like they’re the only holdouts now. I would think Celebrity would want the unified look across the fleet.

Just found out we got upgraded on our upcoming Europe cruise on the Star on 9/26/22. We had a balcony cabin and bid $140pp for Club Balcony and won! Minimum bid was $120pp.

Got the email at 3:34pm CT. Looks like the folks in the US can get these points too!