critic2023

I did this itinerary in January of this year. I only saw it offered in January and February with possible spillover a few days into March. Typically, I'd say Celebrity only offers 3-4 of these per year due to weather limits on when it is safe to travel in the region. My cruise was completely sold out and it seems to me that the rest were also sold out or close to it. I have mixed feelings on my experience. I don't regret going, of course - it was the trip of a lifetime and also my first foray into South America. But having seen how it goes on a sail-by cruise, I think I would do an expedition cruise in the future. In fact, I now absolutely plan to do an expedition cruise to Antarctica someday - this trip didn't quite scratch the itch for me, and I feel like there is much more to be seen. My main complaints are not anything I blame the cruise line for, because they are things I knew about well in advance and chose to move forward with anyway. There are a lot of sea days (I like more port intensive cruises, so I knew this would bother me) and we spent a very small amount of time in Antarctica - I think about 1.5 days in total out of a 14 day cruise? Again, I don't blame Celebrity for this. They didn't advertise anything different. But having done it, I now know it's not the way I want to experience the continent. Someday in a few years, I will be splurging on an expedition cruise to do it what I now consider "the right way."

The final payment date for my previously sold out cruise has passed, and as a result, several new cabins have come available. I booked an oceanview cabin because it was the best deal available, but now there are several single infinite veranda cabins open for booking. I would like one of those, but they actually cost a bit less than what I've already paid and are not necessarily an upgrade, so I don't think I can bid through the move up program. If I call and speak to customer service, can I get switched to one of these staterooms? And if I do, will I be able to get the price difference refunded? It's not a huge deal, I can keep the ocean view if need be - however, it's a scenic cruise and I think the single IV stateroom would be a little bit better for that. Only reason I didn't book a double occupancy IV to begin with was that I'm not in love with them over a regular balcony for the price they're asking. Singles were sold out at the time.

That's for sure. I had only ever cruised on E class before so the Eclipse was a step down in many ways, but one thing that absolutely exceeded expectations was the Sky Lounge! They even served snacks and mimosas during our scenic cruising days.

I really hope this changes! I started my journey with Celebrity a bit over a year ago as a solo cruiser. I've done 2 cruises with them and have 2 more booked. I had every intention of exclusively cruising with Celebrity (unless a perfect itinerary popped up elsewhere) and eventually reaching Zenith status with them. But this new discriminatory pricing for solos has been a huge blow to my opinion of the company, and has left my future with them in question. If I'm occupying a non-solo cabin, I'm happy to pay non-solo prices. That's industry standard and I expect it. Paying more than a couple would is such a huge middle finger from Celebrity, though! To have a higher price right off the bat than a couple and also not be offered the sales couples are offered feels like a hostile statement from Celebrity. I've enjoyed my cruises with them, but I no longer feel that I am welcome. I even feel a little weird as a solo on cruises that I booked prior to the price hike. It's just clear that they don't want my business, and that hurts as someone who somewhat recently made the decision to commit to them as my cruise line of choice. I'm hoping this policy is reversed, and if it is, I'm happy to come back. But as it currently stands there are much better options for my vacation dollars from companies who are happy to have my business.

Hi everyone! I'm a solo Celebrity cruiser who is starting to branch out after the launch of their discriminatory solo pricing this year. I've been interested in trying Virgin for a while, but this seems like the perfect excuse to leap out of the nest, so to speak. Here's my situation: I have roughly $500 in credit with Virgin from a cruise that I had previously booked with them but canceled due to other plans for that trip falling through. I have until June 2025 to use that $500 credit. Now, I'm more of a traveler than a vacationer. By that, I mean I like to use cruises as a way to see multiple new/exotic destinations in one trip, not to hang out on board and relax. For that reason, I've always steered away from Caribbean cruises. It's not that hanging out on a beach isn't great, I just prefer to use my vacation days to see the world. Virgin has a lot of itineraries that meet that criteria. Despite everything I just said, I'm desperately curious to try Virgin at this point and have been looking in to the 4 night Fire and Sunset Soirees itinerary for Summer 2024. It's not an itinerary I would ever pick normally, but it's a quick intro to Virgin and would be easy for me to travel to (and save time off work) as I'm in the US and it's only 4 nights. Alternatively, I can wait until 2025 or later and use that credit for an itinerary I like much better. Is this itinerary worth it as a quick intro to Virgin? Would love to hear your thoughts!

Older, 50s+ I would say. I'm a solo cruiser in my 30s and from the two I've done on Celebrity, I have only seen one other traveler who was roughly my age. I did a Med cruise last year and the demographic skewed 60+. I don't recall seeing anyone my age on that cruise. Edited to add: that being said, I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Almost every friend I've made on a Celebrity cruise has been someone in their 60s or 70s that I met at the martini bar.

I was on the January 6th sailing. I'm glad to see you're having a good time! Bummer about the weather in Antarctica, but from what I remember Milos and Steven (the academic speakers) saying, what you're seeing is normal. We were incredibly lucky with our Antarctica weather - Milos said he'd never seen it so clear in all his trips down to Antarctica. In fact, during his narration from the bridge, he said to not bother ever booking another cruise to Antarctica because we'd expect to have the same view and we definitely wouldn't get it. Unfortunately, we used up all our luck on that and got cancelled for Port Stanley, which was the stop I was looking forward to the most. Hopefully luck reverses for you - you got the mediocre Antarctica weather, so surely your luck is holding out for Port Stanley, which is cancelled roughly 50% of the time. I've read through the thread and agree with much of what you've said. Overall I enjoyed the cruise and certainly do not regret it, but it was entirely too many sea days for me and I got a bit claustrophobic. I will certainly not be booking a cruise with that many sea days ever again. I'm thrilled to have seen Antarctica and wouldn't trade it for the world, but if I return (and I hope to!), I think I'll opt for an expedition cruise with landings and more time in the region. I didn't realize quite how short of a period of time we would spend cruising Antarctica. One comment of yours I especially echo is the situation in Oceanview Cafe. It was unreasonably crowded for breakfast and lunch. I've never in my life had to fight for a table at the buffet until this cruise. To see people sitting there on their laptops, playing card games, etc. was infuriating while circling with a plate of food in hand for 15 minutes trying to grab a table to eat.

Just seems like a bad move to me, and a way to alienate a potentially lucrative demographic. How many solo cruisers are there on any given sailing, especially on a ship that doesn't offer solo cabins? Can't be that many. I already offset the cost a second guest would have spent by paying for a whole nonexistent second occupant in my cabin.

Ouch... I didn't even notice this because I was so distracted by not getting the discount when I booked a regular cabin as a solo for an upcoming cruise. May need to go back, check the prices, and cancel/rebook the drink package then. Thanks for the heads up!

The issue isn't that they're charging double occupancy for a single passenger - I get that, much as I may dislike it. If the room can hold 2 people then they want the full price for 2 people. The issue is that they're not extending the same sale price for a solo occupant as they are for double occupancy. A cabin I just booked for a bucket list cruise as a solo costed me about $8k for a veranda. If I booked with a second occupant, it would have only costed about $6k. Same room, same cruise.

Let's say that someone saw this family at the cruise terminal, and picked up some warning signs that they thought this young lady may be a victim of trafficking. Totally independent of race - let's say it was other warning signs that had nothing to do with the way she looked as compared to the rest of the family. And then, on top of it all, they find out that she is a minor once they ask for identification. Why on earth would they not ask for the same paperwork (adoption records, birth certificates, etc.) from the other minors in the group? If these people are supposedly suspected of trafficking one minor, why would the same precautions not be taken for the other minors in the group? It was racial profiling, plain and simple. And I don't think OP is looking for a "free cruise," as others have suggested - I just think he is hoping changes are made and other families are not subjected to the same treatment. I'm sure it was not pleasant for anyone in his party, most of all his poor daughter.

I'm surprised that this is even controversial on this forum. If every single minor is not being asked for birth certificates, adoption paperwork, whatever the case may be, then why was this one singled out? It's clearly because she looked different than OP's other kids. But how is that any indication that she was adopted and the others weren't? Maybe she's the biological daughter of one of the parents from a previous relationship, and just looks more like the other biological parent (who is not present). Maybe she's adopted, but who's to say the other kids aren't as well? I mean, I think the intent is clear because OP was not asked to produce all this paperwork for the other kids. They only cared about the one who looked different. You would think a passport, driver's license, etc. would be plenty enough. I have literally heard of people taking other people's kids on cruises before who were not put through this much heartache. Sorry that happened to you, OP. Hopefully it was an isolated incident and does not represent Celebrity as a whole.

I'm a bit surprised that it took them this long to cancel it, honestly. I booked a September 2025 cruise including ports in Israel and I'm not even confident that will end up happening - 2024 seemed optimistic on Celebrity's behalf

If anyone has success negotiating the price after contacting Celebrity, please let me know! I'd be happy to reach out as well. I booked one cruise at this price because I was worried about it selling out, but there are two more that I'm holding off on purely because of discriminatory solo pricing.

Yes, I'm very annoyed with this. I'm a solo cruiser and I just bit the bullet and booked a cabin at full price because it's a cruise I've had my eye on for a long time. I completely understand cruise lines charging solos for double occupancy, but to not offer us the same sale price that couples are getting for the same room is absurd.

Eagerly awaiting the 2025/26 Asia schedule! Some very interesting itineraries just leaked from Virgin, but they're spring/summer 2025, and I don't think that timing will be great for me unfortunately. (If it does work, I probably won't know until they've long been sold out.) Winter 2025/26 works much better for me and Asia is calling! I had a Singapore/Thailand/Bali cruise for January 2025 that I unfortunately had to cancel - hoping to maybe book something similar around January 2026.

I've been getting the same issue. Their website is pretty notorious for not being great, but this is a new one. If you're persistent it will eventually work but I agree that it's very annoying

Horrifying. Hopefully Celebrity in their due diligence in conducting background checks and thoroughly investigating and potential complaints/suspicious behavior if there were reports. Unfortunately, those kinds of things are only effective if someone has been caught before... if it was their first time or they've been able to get away with it somehow, a background check won't do anything. Just makes me sick to think about it.

There was no welcome aboard champagne when I was on the Beyond this May either. Disappointing, as I'd seen it in all the videos I watched prior to the cruise! Now it's not that big of a deal as I immediately went up to the buffet for lunch and grabbed a glass of prosecco, but having a glass handed to you as you walked onboard is a nice touch that I would have appreciated.

As others have said, solo should get you 120 points, 60 for each person who "should" be occupying the room if it were full. If they don't give you double points, it should be easy enough to fix by calling!

Hi everyone! I have my eye on a couple itineraries from the newly released 2025-26 deployment schedule. Since they are a ways off, I'm trying to figure out when the best sales are and it would be cheapest to book. I am a solo cruiser and these ships do not offer solo cabins. I'm not opposed to booking a normal cabin on my own, but I've noticed that most of Celebrity's sales offer a certain discount for the second cruiser in your cabin, which obviously does not apply to me. Are there certain sales or promos I should wait for in general, or as a solo cruiser specifically? Thank you in advance!

I don't like Celebrity making a policy more restrictive rather than less, but truthfully, this doesn't make much of a difference to me in practice. The only things that would make me want to cancel a previously scheduled shore excursion that close to show time would be weather or political unrest... and more often than not, I think I would be making that call inside of 24 hours anyway. Points off for Celebrity in theory, but in practice, I doubt it will make much of a difference.

I think they should only be banned during theater performances. I agree etiquette is lacking sometimes (you do not ever need to be on speakerphone in a public setting), but it is possible to quietly and respectfully use your phone pretty much anywhere else.

I'm not one to shy away from splurging on a vacation, but you'll never catch me dropping $75 for one single dinner at Eden when I could eat somewhere else (with great food) for free. I enjoy the ambiance in Eden so I'll just sit there with a drink if anything.

To each their own. I am not retirement age so it's not even an option, but even if I were, I think one single B2B would be my limit - and even then, only if the itineraries were drastically different. I love cruising (wouldn't be here if I didn't!) but for me anything more than 3ish weeks is just way too much time to spend on a cruise ship and away from home.