Tom and Ingrid

For me, yes and no. In Ensemble Lounge? Bring it. 😄 If I am looking over the night's main show, and it is the best of the 50s or a "Dave Miller sings Sinatra" night? It's a hard pass. 😞

Now I'm getting JEALOUS and ANNOYED! 😡 😅 🤣 😂

We definitely enjoy the non-main stage entertainment that we encounter in various bars or sometimes the main lobby or Bacio area. And usually, there is a main stage violinist or similar that can put on a good show. I'm of the era of "modern" Broadway, too, so thinking back to musicals of the Les Mis, Miss Saigon, Rent, through Wicked, Lion King, etc. eras, as good starting points for the cast revue shows. I always compliment the live musicians in surveys as I feel like that's a huge PLUS for X when we are cruising. It is lovely to grab a drink and a comfy seat in one of the smaller bar areas and relax for a spell to live music. We like the DJ at the pool or up in the Observation or down in the lobby, but LIVE music is a great bonus.

That actually seems live very valid feedback for them to consider. Sure, not everyone will be in their stateroom, but if an overnight issue (pretty likely, seemingly), that sort of challenge might be crucial.

Wow - I never heard that but I guess it makes sense. I'm sure Bug would "let" her have one six month stint without having her aboard. Seems Bug's grandparents are good to her.

It seems like as a new ship rolls out, it is a "reward" to various captains to be at the helm as they roll out and are the latest and greatest. My assumption (right or wrong) would be that most captains and other officers are trying to progress towards those ships, and being given a spot on an Edge-class is a "promotion" of sorts - maybe not pay or even responsibility, but at least "status" related. Think Captain Kate or the Greek Brothers. Is it likely the same with the crew? That is, they work up the ranks both in position but also in ship "status", or does the nature of their constant renewal of contracts make it more dependent on whatever ship wherever needs crew?

What do you lose by trying? IOW, if you actually wouldn't mind a "move up" for a fee of your choosing, you might as well try.

I'm super fine with the M and S class ships. I would actually like to see a "recycling" loop through a new series of "small" M class sized ships but modern in all ways. 3 or 4 of them and then a refresh of the S class size ships, and so on. For me, small is not what we want (yet), but the M and S seem to really be in a sweet spot with their sizes, and it would be a shame to eventually lose them to an all E and E-plus sized fleet.

We went to a local free show here in my neighborhood with a group call HerrMetal who basically cover the 80s hair metal but include other less "metal" and just rock. Anyway, if you want to motivate a crowd a of 45-65 yrs olds, simply play the opening lines of Sweet Child Of Mine. It works every time, and while I wouldn't want just that era of music, it does fit the bill of bridging the 70s to the 90s. Regarding ABBA, that is still a huge success every cruise. More of a tradition now, but definitely well attended and fun. Heck, I now know the words, and I have lost most of that recall for even my favorite music.

Over in the Short Cruise thread, @Jeremiah1212 made the comment: "2/3 of cruisers are <60 years old so I see the need to try to grab new guests. The short Caribbean cruises have been conceptually sold and marketed as an additional cruise, rather than a replacement for someone who typically goes on 6-9 night cruises. Their "refreshed" audience is experienced cruisers 45+ (that is not an assumption - that's straight from Celebrity) The bulk of the 6-8 day North America market has an average age of 45 so they have taken that data and hit it head on. Today's 45 years olds will be 55-60 nearing retirement soon enough, so get them locked in to the brand. " This got me thinking about the comment/feedback I ALWAYS put on my X reviews which is, "Choose more recent music and entertainment". And by recent, I don't mean 2024 hits (although newer 2020+ music in shows is nice), I mean more current as of past 40-50 years, not 70 years. Assuming 45+ is a target, having some main stage entertainment performing - almost every cruise - "hits" from the 1950s and 60s is becoming more and more of a non-starter for me. When we started cruising 20 yrs ago, often the same kind of performance was being done - ie throwback to 50s/60s music - but that was a bit more understandable as the 45+ (really the 45-65 folks) would have had that music in their youth or at least be very familiar with it. Fast forward 20 years, and Elvis and the Rat Pack and even early Beatles are far off the radar of many current cruisers. I'm a 70s-90s music era cruiser. I'm very familiar with 60s music, skipped most pre-1960 music, and definitely more entertained by much more current stuff. Do you seek out the shows with older themed music, or, are you like me, no longer willing to "gut it out" to get to music at least near your generation?

I hope X is future-planning that sort of thing. If they don't, it will likely limit options for them across an assortment of ports. For me, I'm interested in the size of the new ships. Are they staying with the E-class capacity? Boosting it? Reducing it? That sort of cue will let us see where they see their niche developing. I also think they will integrate from the get-go the ship-within-a-ship concept, but that has its own risks for them if gone too far (or not). To some extent, it seems that may be their "solution" to the ever growing Elite and Zenith status - less about the status, and more about the class purchased. Maybe the perks evolve to pre-cruise discounts towards the ticket and higher classes, and away from any real rewards on board. In many business eyes, it's becoming more of a "what have you spent lately" mentality vs "what have you spent historically" or "have you been loyal customers". A new cruiser in a top tier suite is likely far more important to them than an Elite in a standard balcony room.

Not in the formal "here's what they specifically look like", but more in the "this is the concept we're following" sense? If I understand it, the Xcel is the final E-class. Since that has kicked off the build stage recently, I would think X is already deeply into some sort of planning for the NEXT class to come out. With the E-class ships coming out every 2 yrs or so, it would seem X has a similar time frame to plan and eventually build a next-class ship so it would be operation in 2027 or 2028. Have we heard the direction their next ships will take?

For me, a short cruise fails the "bang for the buck" calculation I do which includes flights, but more importantly logistical planning at home to get care for my aging pup covered. Add in "off for a day, week, or two weeks still results in a song and dance at work", and I'm most inclined to aim for longer duration cruises or land vacations. From a "been there, done that" perspective, I'm also not too excited about the options available for super short cruises. From a "steep discounts" perspective, I'm also not too excited by a potential large group of booze cruisers on board.

Interesting twist. I would have to think, if you are actually able to purchase the gift card, then you HAVE the gift card and discount associated with it at check-out. And later on when redeeming, X wouldn't deny you due to CA citizenship. IOW, if you can buy it online for the discount, then it is doable. If you can't, you might want to VPN in from a US IP, and buy it that way.

Interesting. The lawn is a pretty nice addition on the S-class ships, and depending upon the ship and the itinerary, a welcome "quiet" place for a variety of ways to relax.

I've got a list of cruises I'm watching, and they're mostly not X. We're trying to see what's out there from other lines, and are definitely not "leaving" X. I have MSC, Royal, Cunard, Virgin, and Princess cruises on my current "tracking" list - all different itineraries from each other. But also a couple X cruises too, like the Tahiti one I am especially interested in for '25 or '26. With matching status on MSC, Royal, and Virgin, plus some perks for Cunard and Princess, I feel ok looking beyond X. Watched another video last night on the Icon, and honestly am trying to see how we could "fit" on a ship like that. On the one hand, it seems like an interesting chance to explore an at-sea amusement park, but on the other hand it just seems to be too much. Separately, the MSC, Princess, or Cunard seem like easy "swaps" for X, and Virgin a bit more likely to be easy too.

A bump for @fair-winds39.

We had a thread not too long ago on this topic. I recently registered for our upcoming cruise. We'll see 🙂

Still nothing for me, but I did (or will) get $20 back for a new pair of sneakers I ordered via another offer (Zappos $100 gets $20). 😄

It does seem like they've now been using the orange in their advertising. It does catch your eye. I can see the orange being an accent color not the main color they use. In logos maybe we'll have to wait to see if the slightly stylize X in orange shows up more, of the standard white X above sticks around. I'm no marketing person, but a giant of well known logos - Coca-Cola pulls off a scripted "full" logo and the plain text Coke logo too. Coca-Cola seems to perennially be refining their logo strategy as Cherry Coke/Coca-Cola shows:

For sure. Sadly, in any group of people, there always seems to be a few that don't mind being pushy or rude. It can be a fine line, but the golden rule is so simple, I don't get why folks keep ignoring it. 🙂

Definitely plan to stay a bit before and after the cruise when we do it. Never been to Honolulu but know some folks there (on Oahu, at least), and we honeymooned many years ago on Kauai, so we know we like Hawaii and would have plenty to do. We did a NZ cruise which started in Sydney, so that's the only place we've been in Australia. We really enjoyed our brief time there before the cruise, and I'd love to spend some more time there (and beyond). Since it is such a PITA getting to/from Australia, we'll need to decide if it's a "just stay longer" decision point vs our usual "leave something to look forward on a return trip".

You definitely should feel free to sit at almost any bar or seating area together even if just one of you is drinking. The Martini Bar is definitely BUSY at some times in the evening, so in all likelihood, there will be folks milling around and/or sharking for a seat at the bar. Some folks can easily tune that out and just enjoy the company they're with, but others will eventually feel "pressure" if they're not also drinking. A mocktail or the Coke in a glass would likely help the non-martini drinker feel more comfortable.

I haven't looked at the itineraries, but what we did (a Vancouver to Seward on Millennium (or a sister ship)) was a great way to do it. Every day, buy going north, everything got "better". The stuff from day 1 that was spectacular was "normal" by day 3, and so on. Personally, I love both M and S class ships. S class being a bit newer and larger have some pros, but also some cons, so neither would be a deal breaker for me. Not much to help you, but hopefully you have a great time. I might pop over to X and review their Alaskan itineraries.

For us, the cruise IS the celebration, but milestone birthdays do get a bit of a bonus. Obviously, a specialty restaurant on the ship is a great treat, and a birthday cake too. But, depending upon the port and the length of time in port, a local restaurant for the celebration might be a great treat too. For me, likely it would still be mostly a "port day as usual" where we would get out and about to explore and have our usual great time, but back on board, even the MDR and a nice tiramisu dessert would be a lovely end to a great birthday. Add in a show and maybe a quick spin at the casino, and I'm pretty good to go 🙂. But, in that case, that's not any different than any other day on a cruise. 😅🤣😂 To your side comment, it is still amazing to me how hard it is to find friends and family who actually would join us on a cruise. Too often, they're just "stuck" in their own rut, but it is still just amazing that folks aren't as jazzed about both travel and pampering and all the fun stuff we enjoy on a cruise. I could understand better if they listed off some of the fun alternatives they might be enjoying instead, but often it's the "doing my hair" level of mundane. It's not my job to convince them, but man is it strange to me.