jayoldschool

No sewing machines? lol, couldn't resist.

I was also on this sailing. I agree, my stateroom was really showing the wear. Broken shower door, one broken drawer, rips in balcony curtain and hooks missing up top, and the vinyl was peeling off the sofa back. Didn't affect my enjoyment, however! Staterooms really need the E-upgrade. I was definitely looking with a critical eye, I was on Ascent in December. I will also say I didn't like the new layout of the sunset bar out back. Service and food was great.

I got off of Reflection on Saturday. Band was decent, but I wouldn't go out of my way to see them like I do for most pool/lobby bands. Singer was not great. She was a decent sax player, however. The Time Machine duo was good, and the solo guitarist was great. Orchestra band was very good.

When you look at current per glass wine prices, the bottle-20% Elite is a great deal. Not as good as walking with a big pour from Elite HH to the dining room, though 😉

I felt the exact same on Ascent at xmas. My last X sailing was 2018. It was like I missed everything people have been complaining about for the past number of year, and it felt like coming home when I was on board.

I liked it on my recent Ascent sailing. Makes the room bigger. It was great when the weather was not fantastic. I would probably look for a traditional balcony for a summer Med sailing, though.

Hmm, I never thought of asking for an unopened beer. This is genius.

11:30 boarding time, I was on at 11:10am. Dropped bags, wandered around. Oceanview was not busy until around 1.

OBN you're not getting back. Spend it. If you want a challenge, you can get chips at the casino and turn that into cash. You actually need to gamble them, though. If you're decent at blackjack, you can turn a couple hundred into actual chips to cash in. Or, have fun playing... OBR, you get it back on your payment method. I just got back $200 OBC that I didn't use.

I make a spreadsheet when looking. Break it down for cruise, total cost, grats, insurance, cost per day, perks, OBC, etc. The numbers never lie. I only lie to myself to convince myself its a good deal...

I was stunned to see crew painting deck 5 right outside Eden on Ascent two weeks ago. It's brand new! They were hand masking one of the murals. Scuffed the blue paint, fresh paint went on.

I didn't on my recent cruise. Never missed the package. Between Elite breakfast, and cocktail hour, I was happy. Bought an occasional afternoon drink, a bottle of wine at dinner. Also brought on two bottles, and had one in my cabin when I arrived.

An IV is not an OV. OV does have a curtain for the window.

It was moved inside on the xmas cruise at the last minute. To the foyer/martini bar. It was packed, crazy, and fun. I have pics and video if interested.

I opted in for Go Green on my Dec Ascent. I still received twice a day.

It was not used on my recent xmas cruise. It will cool and windy out there. I could see this being a really nice option on a summer evening in the Med!

Really appreciate this detailed comparison. I'm in the same demo (age and cruise history) as you, and I have been thinking about giving VV a try (especially with status match). I really think the right corporate move is to make X adults-only and keep Royal as the family-focused line.

I was on the Dec 24th sailing. It was amazing. Honestly, I don't have a bad thing to say. From the ship to the service, it was top notch.

Sunday can't come soon enough!

I Moved Up from a guarantee OV porthole to an Aqua Class balcony for 175 dollars. See the point now?

I completely forgot that Elite gets a bottle discount. Thanks for the reminder.

The Move Up bid that I won with was at least 1000pp under what it would have cost me at booking time. Any balcony on this sailing was double the cost pp/day over that porthole OV. When I start to research a booking, I create a spreadsheet and break it down by itinerary, ship, room class, and cost per day per person. It's really easy to see where the money goes. So yes, Celebrity made some money. But I think I did ok 😉

I added my details to the Move Up thread, but was so happy that I thought I would start a thread. Booked a porthole OV on the xmas Ascent. The old "just get on the boat" move. After I figured out the Move Up process, I put bids (min) on every balcony I could up to AQ. I wasn't offered anything higher. Sure enough... got one of the last two AQs on Friday! Should be a nice surprise for my travel mate, lol, they don't know. And I won't tell them until I grab the cards and walk in! My minor issue is friends are joining, and they aren't in AQ. We'll make it work.

Did they do the seafood lunch extravaganza?

Ship: Ascent Length of Cruise: 7 day Cruise Sail Date: Dec 24 2023 Date email offer received: I kept checking online Captain’s Club Tier: Elite Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA Current Cabin: Porthole OV Bid? Yes/No: YES If YES - Bidding Details: Cabin Category: AQ Bid Offer: 175 PP (min) Notification Date: Dec 8 Accepted / Rejected: ACCEPTED Notes: I bid on everything that had a balcony. AQ and down. Bid everything at min, but didn't drop the bids for the BF sale. Bid was accepted, but got an email that my payment was rejected, it was a credit card mess up. Called in, and managed to get the bid accepted.