BytownMatt

Just back from one visit and already planning another one for 2026. Even the trolls in Leknes are excited. Enjoy your cruise!

Having just completed my first HAL cruise, I can say that the line's approach to OBC is really inefficient if it means that people are opting to go to guest relations or shore excursions once onboard to undo pre-paid reservations and switch them to OBC. On this particular (full) cruise, there were always very long lines for guest relations, internet help, etc. Not a great way to spend time on the ship. IMHO HAL should rethink its approach to OBC. That said, it didn't affect my overall experience on the cruise (which was great) and the specialty dining I tried (Pinnacle and Tamarind) was excellent.

That would be great but I'm not getting my hopes up. Based on past experience, I expect a lot of short Caribbean sailings, familiar itineraries, very basic repositioning cruises, and perhaps a few very expensive solar eclipse cruises (like some other lines). Happy to be proven wrong though...

Sorry to hear about this outcome @Sandy1975. It still seems to be inconsistent/ad hoc across the fleet - e.g., based on the website, there don't appear to be similar restrictions on the Beyond in November (with more expensive solo cabins still available). I have 7 cruises planned with Celebrity over the next 2 years (booked a while ago), all as a solo cruiser in a regular balcony stateroom. They didn't refuse my money for any of those. I don't understand why Celebrity would deliberately alienate a segment of their market. Perhaps they think occupancy rates over 100% will last forever and solo cruisers belong on RC going forward.

Agreed. I didn't suggest otherwise.

I have seen the dividers open on the Silhouette when the crew was cleaning the balconies. Would assume they do the same for the balconies on the E-class ships. As noted above, it's worth asking the stateroom attendant to see if it can be done.

It's not a large venue so the capacity is indeed limited. My experience (most recent E-class experience with Craft Social was on the Beyond last summer) is that it depends on the time of day, sea day vs. port day, etc. I have enjoyed going there for a drink after a shore excursion or on a sea day (mid to late afternoon) and didn't find it too busy then. It was tougher to find a seat in the evenings pre- and post-dinner. Ships are sailing more at capacity this year so it may be busier now.

Ship: Apex Length of Cruise: 12 night Western Europe Transatlantic Cruise Sail Date: October 23, 2024 Date email offer received: July 26, 2024 Captain’s Club Tier: Elite Plus Booked through Celebrity Direct OR via TA: TA Current Cabin: Infinite Veranda E1 Bid? Yes/No: No thanks... Edge Villa: Minimum $5,530 CAD pp Royal Suite Minimum: $6,910 CAD pp Celebrity Suite Minimum: $4,145 CAD pp Aqua Class Suite Minimum: $2,350 CAD pp Sunset Sky Suite Minimum: $2,350 CAD pp Sky Suite Minimum: $2,350 CAD pp Aqua Class Minimum: $690 CAD pp Concierge Class Minimum: $275 CAD pp Enjoyed my previous transatlantic on the Apex in 2022 so I booked this one at a good price (perhaps due to the somewhat bland itinerary). All but the last two upgrade minimums would cost more than the original fare (as a solo cruiser) so I'm going to pass on this one (and keep my MoveUp record at 2 wins and 6 fails). I believe the cruise is mostly sold out so I think the upgrade chances are low. Posting for information for those who like to track and compare these things. As a side note, I was amused to see that the photo of a Sky Suite in the MoveUp email is actually a photo of the Penthouse Suite on the Edge. Interesting strategy.

Looking at @Sandy1975's specific situation, I see that for all Apex cruises in November 2024, solo cruisers can only choose between single IV staterooms and the Retreat. That seems inconsistent and arguably unfair. Perhaps you or your TA can ask Celebrity for an explanation and an exception to that restriction? (as per your original post)

It's a good question. I went back to the 8 cruises that I had looked at where there were no (evident) stateroom restrictions and there were single/solo staterooms available on six of them (like the example from @Travel-and-See). (Some of the single staterooms were priced higher than a regular stateroom which is another topic...) If it's not a glitch/error, something else is driving this restriction like the overall number of staterooms left to sell (after guarantee bookings) or maybe the number of solo cruisers already on the cruise in question? Unfortunately I don't imagine Celebrity will reveal much about this.

Out of curiosity I took a look at the Celebrity website for solo vs. couple bookings on E-class ships. I looked at 10 different cruises on the four ships later this year and next year. From what I could see, 8 of those cruises did not have any obvious restrictions on stateroom selection for solo cruisers while two of them did (certain categories were listed as not available for solo cruisers but were listed as available when there were 2 people in the stateroom). Obviously not a thorough review but it was interesting to see. I think that solo cruisers should have reasonable options and be able to make choices based on personal preference. For me, I found the single IV staterooms to be a good choice when the price was much lower than the alternative and when the itinerary meant I wouldn't be spending a lot of time in the stateroom (e.g., a port-intensive Med cruise). Otherwise I would prefer to pay extra for a regular stateroom with more space and storage. I am ok to pay 200% for a regular stateroom (provided the underlying fare is reasonable). I did not consider the 250-300% Celebrity was charging solo cruisers earlier this year to be fair.

Surprised to hear this. I have sailed with Celebrity 13 times as a solo cruiser, 11 of those times in a regular veranda stateroom, twice in a solo cabin on the Beyond (back when they were a lot cheaper than the regular staterooms) and I have 4 upcoming cruises in regular infinite veranda staterooms. One of those cruises was re-fared earlier this week. I have heard no mention of such a policy change. When I try a mock booking online (Canadian website) I can still select non-solo staterooms (e.g., a Beyond cruise in December). As Spudd mentioned above, perhaps this is only a thing when the particular cruise is down to its last few available staterooms.

I have always done anytime dining usually between 6:30pm and 7:30pm. On recent cruises, there were typically one or two nights per cruise where there was a delay in getting a table and I was given a pager and waited 20 min or so (one of those nights was consistently the first chic night). If that delay would bother you, then you could reserve times to avoid or minimize the wait time. Otherwise I think that the anytime/walk up approach works well.

Happy birthday and thanks for sharing your travel adventures. Great photos as always!

This looks like a pretty comprehensive guide for the Apex obstructed views. I've stayed in two of the single staterooms on the Beyond but not the Apex. 02_15_23_FLY_Obstructed_Cabins_AX.pdf

Royal Caribbean Group is changing its pricing more generally (not just for California cruises) but it's unclear whether this extends to drink prices. I didn't have any upcharges on some of the drinks listed here (e.g., Decoy) on the Silhouette earlier this month but obviously this could be a very recent change. If it is indeed another broad price hike, that would be disappointing.Consumer_Pricing_FAQs.pdf.

Any chance that this change is related to the new California pricing transparency law (i.e., requiring tips and other fees to be included in the advertized prices)? In other words, matching what is already happening for UK cruises. RCI has said that it will be following the new law - perhaps that includes the drink menus.

I found a 15% flash sale for the 5-night package back in March (for an 11-night cruise on the Beyond in December). Had a lot of OBC for this cruise so I figured I would use it for the dining package. The Celebrity sales and flash sales can be pretty random so I would keep checking.

I started (solo) cruising less than two years when I retired and have only cruised with Celebrity until now. Relatively early on I gave some advice/feedback on a survey and made 3 recommendations to Celebrity - (1) maintain an all-inclusive option (2) keep some longer and varied itineraries (3) recognize the need to recoup losses from the shutdown and to pay down debt but avoid making a series of cutbacks and changes that diminish the overall Celebrity product. The first "response" was to cancel three cruises I had booked with longer/interesting itineraries (Europe and South America) so that the ships could be repositioned to the Caribbean for shorter sailings. My other two recommendations didn't work out so well either and for good measure Celebrity launched what appeared to be a pricing policy to discourage/punish solo cruisers. Fortunately with a good TA and travel flexibility, I still have been able to find cruises within my price range. I remain a big fan of the onboard Celebrity product and have had 13 excellent cruises to date and have more Celebrity cruises planned for later this year and next year. That said, I am also trying out other lines, starting with HAL in August. I appreciate the commentary and suggestions posted here on Cruise Critic - very helpful in thinking about future cruises and considering the pros and cons of different lines.

AirTag saved me from having no luggage on a transatlantic in 2022. Due to flight delays and changed connections, my luggage didn't make it to Rome with me. The lost luggage contractor had a not-so-helpful message that they would do their best to return any lost luggage in 3-7 days. Two days later, with no follow up from the contractor, I see on my phone that my luggage is at FCO. I head back to the airport where the lost luggage desk tells me that my luggage is still missing and cannot be located. I tell them that my iPhone shows it as being in the same room and suggest they take a look in the storage area behind them. Eventually they do and surprise surprise they find it there.

The first night was windy and a bit cool as a result. The second night was very nice I thought. I wore a sweater on both nights. There weren't many people there - perhaps three or four tables with guests plus some of the senior ship officers. That said, I think I was lucky as overall the weather was great for the British Isles and Baltic Sea at that time of the year (very little rain, warmer than normal). Perhaps you could check it out on the first night and see whether it would be warm enough for you (although you might not be able to change the day 3 reservations at that point?). I would agree with the posts above about the ship warmth (indoors) and not pressing your luck eating outside if you don't like cooler temps. Enjoy your cruise!

It's a great place for dinner. I ate there twice on my recent B2B on the Silhouette and really enjoyed it. There are some barriers as well as overhead heaters. I believe that the staff will also provide blankets for those who want them. For me the issue is more about the wind than the temperature but maybe that's a Canadian thing...

Just completed my 13th solo cruise with Celebrity. I continue to love the Celebrity onboard product but like many others I am not keen on its recent approach to pricing for solo cruises (along with some other changes). I'm prepared to pay extra as a solo cruiser but the solo "premium" has increased significantly over the past year or so. As others above have correctly pointed out, these amounts are not insignificant. A recent example I found for an 11-day S-class cruise in 2025: -Celebrity price for 2 people sharing a veranda stateroom (AI + tips + taxes and fees): $10,612.68 ($CAD) -Celebrity price for one person in the same veranda stateroom (AI + tips + taxes and fees): $14,145.34 ($CAD) Whether you consider this disrespectful, mean-spirited, unfair or some other adjective, clearly Celebrity feels this is a reasonable policy in the current supply-and-demand market. That said, I think you can still find more reasonable fares for at least some cruises if you shop around and avoid the Celebrity website fares. One TA in my area gave me a quote of $7,217.34 ($CAD) for the same conditions above. There will also be last-minute discounts for some cruises. I recognize there is a lot of variability here, this example likely does not apply to all cruises, and some people can't travel on short notice or at certain times of the year, but I think there are some ways to manage what Celebrity is doing.

I would question how much enforcement is happening. On a cruise earlier this year I was checking out some of the more creative "evening chic" choices for gentlemen. Two stood out in particular: 1) the all-white track suit ensemble - white two-piece track suit, white t-shirt, white socks, white sneakers 2) not sure what to call this one - basement rec room chic? - overly tight print t-shirt, blue jeans, beige leather belt, no socks, beige furry slippers Both were seen leaving the dining room (separately) after dinner, presumably on their way to the photo studio.

I took my first solo cruise - a 7 night Alaska trip on Celebrity - in August 2022 and have done many more solo cruises on Celebrity since then. I find solo cruising to be a highly enjoyable way to see new places (and revisit some old favourites) for many of the same reasons listed above. There is lots of flexibility to do your own thing but there are also many activities and entertainment options at your disposal - production shows, musicians, trivia and other games, "Beyond the Podium" talks, presentations by the cruise director and ship crew, movies, etc. Lots of places to relax on Celebrity ships although I find the E-class ships to be a bit busier and noisier (not necessarily a bad thing, just an observation). I've enjoyed relaxing/reading in Eden, Cafe al Bacio, the shaded outdoor area near the Pool Bar, to name a few preferred places. Outside of meal times I've also seen people using the Oceanview Cafe buffet space for reading and playing cards and board games. I've only stayed in the Retreat once but I liked the Retreat Lounge and weather permitting there's a nice outdoor area there. The Retreat pool deck and bar area are also nice but seemed quite busy especially in the mornings and mid-day on my cruise. You should also enjoy the extra space and real balcony in a Sky Suite. There are often solo cruiser meet-and-greets organized by Celebrity - not really my thing but I know some people like those as a way to meet others onboard. Hope you have a great time!