2SeaWithMe

We're returning to cruising after having kids.  I have total sticker shock.  The same itineraries we cruised before, but thousands more.  I couldn't justify 8k this year for a Thanksgiving cruise in a normal room.  

For the 6-8k I'm getting quoted on Celebrity,  I can get the suites and lots of perks on other lines.  

When you read the above list and think to yourself "crap, I'm addicted to CC!"

:p

I think the required gratuities are more of a way to give the server's a little more chance at getting the gratuities at all. Anytime dining/Select Dining you don't tend to have the same team all the time, and there's not as much between the server and yourself...and if you have a couple bad dinners, people might remove the gratuity all together.

You might have the option of adjusting onboard but I'm not sure. I see nothing wrong with not tipping for a service you don't use.

For those that attended, were the wines and demonstrations featured in the class worth the fee? Previous posters who had done the more expensive demonstration stated that some VERY nice wines were used.

My confirmation states that we would get a redemption card with the invitation to our tasting once we board. I would assume if the card isn't there, you can call guest services to get one, if they don't offer you one, I would cancel at that time.

It will be interesting to see what kind of discount one is given when ordering the glasses from Celebrity Vineyards.

Not sure what you mean, when those who booked were told free, not discounted.

This is what the website now says...it has been corrected:

Celebrity Cruises and Austrian crystal manufacturer Riedel - recognized worldwide for designing finely tuned drinking instruments for every level of wine sophistication - now make it possible to experience something truly unique at sea. Participate in the Riedel Wine Glass Comparative Workshop and experience how the shape of a glass affects the experience of every sip of wine through this fascinating seminar.

Reserve your place now, and then on the day of embarkation, be sure to confirm your participation with the Guest Relations desk or your sommelier in the main or specialty dining room. An icon placed on your SeaPass Card indicates your participation in the Riedel Wine Glass Comparative Workshop.

Once you have confirmed your purchase online, the order cannot be modified. You may, however, cancel the order and then make your purchase(s) again.

Participation must be pre-reserved a minimum of four days before your sail date

This is what the website stated when I purchased:

Ok, without doing a huge process I can't just C & P my screen shot. But at the end of the (much shorter) description, which states nothing about confirming participation (??) it states:

"Participants receive a set of Reidel Stemware to take or ship home (Shipping not included)."

If they know enough to fix the website, they should at least be acknowledging those that booked under a different description.

This is in the confirmation email:

GUEST NAME PRICE* CREDIT CARD NUMBER

Cruiser1 17.25 USD *******XXXX

Cruiser2 17.25 USD *******XXXX

Please note: Riedel Wine Glass Workshop reservations cannot be modified once a payment has been made. To change the reservations, you’ll need to cancel it first and then make your purchases again. An invitation to the Riedel Wine Glass Workshop with the time, date and location will be provided in your stateroom upon arrival, along with a coupon to redeem your Riedel Tasting Set on-line through our Celebrity Vineyards website.

My confirmation email stated when we arrived in our stateroom, there should be a slip stating the time of the workshop, as well as a coupon for free glasses to order via celebrity vineyards website.

If I can't get the glasses, I'd like more information on the wines being sampled. I can go to a free wine tasting nearly anywhere...and as I stated before, I never knew the original price until this thread, if booking out of the beverage package information only, I wouldn't place a ton of value on a non-set of glasses for one person.

That's me personally...so no, without this thread it never would have occurred to me anything was amiss.

Forgive my critique, but how is expecting a company worth approximately $7 billion to have their stuff together before updating their website wrong?

 

I agree, the onus is not on a customer to confirm that if they see a good price, that that is the actual price and not a glitch.

Not a rumor. I reported what I was told directly by a rep in the Cruise Enhancement Dept. She may turn out to be wrong -- altho I can't imagine X giving away four Riedel glasses for $17.25 -- but it is not a rumor that I was told this.

 

I understand what you are saying, and please know, I'm not calling you a liar. BUT...you're a stranger posting basically anonymously on the internet. People say all the time, on this board and others, that they know something for a fact, or were told something, without any actual proof. Without information, e.g., "I spoke to Barbara at the captains club, her ext. is 0000 and she is the representative in charge of all Riedel events. Here is her email response with headers." than to myself, it's still a rumor.

How can anyone sincerely get mad over the fact that they may not get the glasses for this price? You know the glasses are worth way more than this right?

 

Prices STARTS at 15.00. Is everyone printing that little line out also?

The starts would be a valid argument if there were tiers available. There are no tiers available, and this is the only option for the workshop. It states that glasses are included. I'm sure there are people booking this without reading CC with the thought that they would be receiving what was being sold. And the only input I have that the the glasses are NOT included is basically internet rumor.

I'm not familiar with with that particular crystal company, we have a full service for 12 we received at our wedding (I think I have literally, 100 boxes in my attic of crystal), so I've never shopped for it. I wouldn't personally place a ton of worth on one set of glasses, therefore. It seems like more of a draw to get people to purchase a full set if they find there is a significant change in the taste of the wine.

I just booked for my upcoming cruise, $34.50.

I honestly don't like wine much, but I'm interested to see if the glasses really do work differently. If they use nice quality wines in the tasting, I'm also interested to see if they can change my mind. So we're booking at that price as well. If I don't get the glasses...well, haven't decided if I would just cancel or still go for just the tasting.

I also bought the muscle refresher gel and I liked it. Was it worth $50? Not sure.

I found a similar product that has the same active ingredient (arnica) much cheaper and I get good results, so I'll probably not buy it again.

I believe that it is a take on lobster thermidor.

I beg of you, do not use frozen lobster tails.

http://www.oprah.com/food/Lobster-Thermidor

I purchased a tennis style diamond & tanzanite bracelet and diamond & tanzanite earrings in 2004 on our honeymoon. I honestly only wanted the bracelet and was half bargaining for fun...the bracelet was listed at $825 and I paid I believe $375 for both.

Of course, this was 2004 and gold was considerably less expensive at that time. I have never had them appraised but our my in-laws are jewelers. I'd obviously still have to pay them for a full appraisal, but they did verify that the quality was exactly as stated, and I would have likely paid around $750ish for the bracelet in the states (in 2004). The tanzanite was a good quality purplish blue and not the amethyst looking stones I've been seeing more often lately.

Now THAT being said..I wandered in and out of some DI and TI international stores in a Nov. cruise and I was astounded by how overpriced everything was. No one in those stores were doing any type of bargaining and they wanted ridiculous prices for everything.

For example, a green amethyst and diamond 14k ring, with the amethyst being approx. 2 cts and the diamonds small and of ok quality (surrounding a marquise cut amethyst) they wanted...drumroll....$1900. The gentleman at the counter came down approx. $100 and kept telling me I wouldn't have to pay taxes. I have similar rings at home I've gotten at places like gemstv (when they were around) or bidz or sam's club and paid possibly a 1/10 of that.

I think with the price of Gold, and the sheer number of these outlets now just steps from each other, in my experience I saw no bargains. Now, I have no experience if you're someone who will drop $10,000 on a right hand ring, to know if you can do better in that store. I like to buy genuine pieces, in the $100 to $700 range, but I'm also not above buying gold plated silver if it's really cheap. I don't buy "costume" jewelry in the sense of what department stores sell because I know I can get something better for $30 more with genuine stones.

We would probably be interested. I'd looked at some of the other cruises, and I noticed they leave a lot of stuff off the ship...no bars, no bingo, different shows, etc.

My husband and I drink rarely, but that moves up to once a day on vacation, so I wouldn't be interested in doing an alcohol free cruise.

Personally, I probably wouldn't return to Carnival though.

I have a co-worker that looks VERY pregnant but she is not. Skinny legs and arms but an enormous belly, looks nine months along. She gets asked all the time "when are you due"?

 

I'm not sure what is wrong with her but not close enough to ask.

If she were to take a cruise I think she would be denied boarding.

There's quite a few metabolic diseases that give you a distended belly. One called Pompe, which was covered in the recent movie "Extraordinary Measures", in the adult onset version give you a pretty big belly.

I was just on the RCCL Empress of the seas, in a handicap cabin. The bathroom, compared to 'standard' rooms, was HUGE. I was extremely pleased with the layout of the room too. I imagine it would be great for a big guy. :)

Summer