ggo85

Great. A verandah without a longer is (to me) like sitting g at my desk at home.

Does anyone know if there is a lounger on the balcony? The diagram on the website shows there is one but some reviews suggest there is not. I truly hope there is at least one.

Yes, we as passengers come after the TAs in terms of satisfaction priorities. 😀 Somewhat kidding. But annoying that, if they can manage to give info to TAs, they can’t give it to us. Other lines manage this just fine. I also don’t like being “forced” to use a TA or full out a form with personal info - which maybe sends you to a TA? I have a fantastic TA BTW, but in 2024, using one should be a choice.

I really love the whirlpool tub so we went with classic. If anyone has sailed in the newly remodeled design, would love your views. Second, is there any way to see what cabins are available without submitting a booking request (which I find VERY annoying)?

I think the reason to go twice is if you are torn between options - you can get the other choice next time.

We haven’t sailed on the new Crystal, though we had quite a few cruises on the “old” line. There appear to be 3 options for non-room service dinner - is that correct? Which require reservations? Is it just one free reservation and then a fee after that? How much is the fee? Would also welcome thoughts on whether the one(s) with fees are worth doing more than once. I recognize food is subjective, but open to opinions.

We’ve done X Retreat many times and SS Silver Suite 3x. Could write a novel. What specific things do you want to know?

We were on Silhouette in June in Retreat. Great shape. Great crew. Felt much less crowded than Reflection (which we sailed earlier in the year). Starlink was fantastic. The best connectivity I've had at sea on any line / ship. There isn't much selection with the Classic drink package. We were on a cold weather cruise so didn't experience chair hogging or lack thereof. But venues never seemed crowded beyond the usual. For example, there were always plenty of seats in the theater, seats in various venues, etc. I was also impressed with the number and variety of free activities (I define that as no cost and also not trying to use the "free" activity to sell you something (like foot analysis). I did origami, painting, lots of trivia, etc. The passengers made the events fun. The one negative on our cruise was the cruise director staff (below the director). Most were late to events, provided no direction, appeared totally disinterested, and sometimes were actually rude to guests. It was as if they hated their jobs and the passengers (not necessarily in that order). They are usually so upbeat that the difference on this particular cruise was very noticeable. Overall, however, we were very impressed. It ALMOST made us want to cruise again on X.

One "solution" might be to offer non-buffet dining venues where dress is more flexible. For example, on Edge class (where I believe there are 4 MDRs), have one "casual" MDR -- where you can wear shorts, flip flops, tanks, etc. I would allow the waiters to dress more causally as well (collared shirts and pants). Serve same food as other venues but in a more causal atmosphere for those who want it. Then enforce it!! Those who show up at the other venues in "casual" clothing would be redirected to the place where they would be welcome. Those who want a "dressier" atmosphere can eat where others are similarly attired. It actually does bother me when someone (M or F) walks into the MDR at dinner wearing shorts, a tank top and a baseball cap. But I have no problem providing those folks a place where they can order sit-down wearing what they want to wear.

I think SS still requires a jacket on “formal” nights for most venues. But those nights are few and there are venues where a jacket is not required. The point is that they do enforce their policies (as attested to by the above poster). I’m in favor of that. If people don’t like the policy, there are dozens of other lines to choose from.

For upper level suites, X is delivering less than luxury lines at a much higher price.

Two issues -- distinct yet related. One is dress code. Currently, the policy on X is no shorts for guys at dinner in the MDR. If someone doesn't like that policy, they should find a cruise line that doesn't have that policy. Until very recently, Silversea required that men wear jackets at dinner (most venues). If DH didn't want to wear a jacket, we either went to a venue on SS that didn't require it or we sailed on another line. He didn't just show up without one. (FYI, SS no longer requires men to wear jackets). Two is policy enforcement. If a cruise line has a dress code, they should enforce it or change it. On SS, I NEVER saw a man without a jacket in a venue that required them. If you showed up w/o a jacket, you were politely informed of your options (go back and get a jacket, borrow one of theirs, eat in a different venue). Most people here are suggesting that, if you don't like the"rules" (policies) on a particular cruise line, rather than ignore/violate/flaunt them, find a line where the policies are more to your liking. Not following the "rules" -- whether hogging chairs or wearing flip flops and tank shirts to dinner in the MDR -- is discourteous to your fellow guests who may have selected this line in part b/c they do like its policies). And fully agree that the line should enforce their policies . . . or change / eliminate them.

I don't think Guest Services personnel are lying any more than I think gate agents at the airport are lying when they give inaccurate information. I had a gate agent tell me the incoming plane was circling above the airport and going to land in 15 minutes. In reality, the plane was still on the ground 90 minutes away (and actually didn't land for another 3 hours). The gate agent was given bad info from the airline and was repeating what she was told. She believed it to be true, but it was not true. Guest services on cruise ships are repeating what they've been told. I have no doubt they believe it is accurate. Whether X is being honest about tips . . . I'm less certain. I do believe passenger tips go to the crew in some measure but not necessarily exactly as described (for example, I would hope that a cabin steward whose cabins were 1/2 full on a cruise would not lose half their income . . . but maybe they do). I also wish mainstream lines would simply pay their crew better wages, include gratuities in the fare, and give passengers who want tip extra the option to do so.

I believe they are telling us what corporate said to tell us.

She CAN speak to them; she opts not to.

Not comparing Ruth’s to MDR. Just that dress codes aren’t unique to cruise ships. And I agree that they should be enforced. We were on Silversea at a time when men had to wear jackets for dinner in the main restaurant. One guy showed up without one. They gave him a loaner. Now, some guys wore the jacket in the door and then promptly took it off and put it on the chair back. Go figure.

Many restaurants on land have dress codes. Most county clubs do. There are also "unspoken" dress codes. I don't think most people would walk into a Ruth's Chris steakhouse wearing the same attire they would wear to McDonalds. Or I would certainly hope not.

Mainstream lines could do what luxury lines do -- pay crew better wages so they don't have to depend on tips. And charge prices for the cruises that account for this. Many crew on the luxury lines have worked the same line for years in a gratuities included environment. They not only seem to manage; they seem to thrive. And why do you assume the entirety of your mandatory gratuities are going to the crew? Maybe. Maybe not. You don't know. As someone above said, if X had LOWERED Retreat pricing while taking away free gratuities, that would at least be understandable. Or if gratuities were at the passenger's discretion. But they have increased prices and then added mandatory gratuities to your end-of cruise bill. Oh, and taken away much of the OBC that you could use to pay for them. Ironically, I am MORE inclined to give extra tips when gratuities are included in the fare b/c I don't see a certain amount charged to me every single day. For a suite passenger, you're talking up to $20/day pp -- for 2 people on a 10-night cruise, that's an extra $400. Pure profit for X. Under the new X scenario, the only one that benefits is X.

I think the above (non-answer) means they will be selling off the unrevolutionized ships and giving us more Edge class.🙁 Trying to convince us that E class will give us what we love in S. Note the above is ONLY MY INTERPRETATION.

Well, since I'm not cruising X unless or until they return loungers across the fleet, I really don't care.😀 For me it's the anxiety of now knowing. It totally ruined my last cruise (and they did provide me a lounger when requested). I'd rather have the certainty of knowing I won't have a lounger (in which case I wouldn't sail X) than booking a really expensive suite with the expectation I'll get one (because the brochure says I will) and then show up and be told "no."

I fear the result of this thread will be to "punish" the crew for soliciting 10s. The reason the crew is begging for 10s (we got it too from Luminae, our butler, our cabin steward) is that they fear retribution if they don't receive this score. We were told that "quality of food" reflected on the Luminae staff, even if the quality of meat was terrible b/c the company won't spend the money for better meat. The survey is designed to give Corporate the answers they want. There is no nuance in the questions, and responsibility for any negativity appears to be placed solely on the crew rather than corporate decisions. The only way to get better is to get constructive feedback. X clearly doesn't want that.

PMJI, but I don't think women should be allowed to wear shorts when men are not. I don't see a difference (and I'm female). But also agree that the rules are the rules and should be followed. As an aside, I am OK with women wearing sleeveless b/c, for women, sleeveless can be very dressy. In my experience, sleeveless (tanks) is never dressy for guys.

We were on Reflection in February. We went on deck at 8 am. There was not a single lounger on either the pool deck or upper deck that didn't have crap on it. Fewer than 5% of the loungers were occupied. We found a lounger with only X towels and removed them. By 10 am more than 50% of the chairs were still unoccupied. The people who'd reserved our chairs showed up at 11:20, angry. We stuck to our guns. Said there was no reserving of chairs. It was not pleasant. The problem is that X (like most lines) doesn't want to anger / annoy the chair hogs. They don't want the deck/pool staff to try to figure out who went to the bathroom, who is in the pool, who's grabbing a sandwich. 100% GUARANTEE that every chair hog will return with an excuse. It gets ugly, it gets hard on the staff. So, X and other lines just let it be (with a very few exceptions). It ain't gonna change. We've found things much better on luxury lines. Not saying that they are better people (they're not), just different demographics. Almost no kids and thus no parents watching kids -- taking up multiple loungers. Many of the passengers don't sunbathe for various reasons. Many of those that do come out later in the day. Almost aways plenty of loungers.

At least she didn't trot out the "safety" rationale . . . It is nice to offer to answer questions. But in doing do so, you know you're going to get more than a few "hard" questions. It's like doing live Q&A during a cruise. You have to think on your feet but also answer the question b/c there likely will be follow up. Many of these answers sound like they were written by attorneys. A more honest answer might be: We've heard from a lot of you regarding your dissatisfaction on this issue. We also recognize that there may be inconsistency in application across our fleet. We hear you. We are going to ensure that, going forward, there is a single policy, that the rationale for the policy is sound, that the policy is clearly communicated, and that it is consistently applied. Look for more on this by the end of August. How hard is that? It doesn't insult our intelligence by suggesting some passengers actually like the new policy (rather, the "differences of opinion" of which she speaks are between those who made the policy (X corporate) and those who have to live with it (the paying passengers)).

I'm guessing that the IVs are cheaper to build / maintain than "traditional" verandas. Thus, as long as people keep booking them, X will keep building them.