Cruising89143

2 hours ago, HicksRA said:

The suite lounge and CK are basically one big room with CK on one side and SL on the other. Drinks are free at both locations during happy hour. 
Your waiter in CK will bring your drinks. 
 

This!

GP, enjoy your cruises and Happy Anniversary. Will be following along. 

On 11/11/2023 at 2:39 AM, jelayne said:

Has anyone found out what priority boarding and tendering means?  Is that before Suites and Zenith, with Suites and Zenith, after Suites and Zenith but before Elite Plus, Elite who get priority tendering, or after those who already had priority but before those who didn’t have any priority. 

Last year on RCI we were in a GS sailing out of Miami on the Symphony and when we arrived at the terminal we were escorted to the suites only area. Key holders were directed to a standard seating area. We boarded first. I would assume that X will board Retreat guests first as well. 

13 minutes ago, Ashland said:

Agree....Suites across the fleet should include Voom Surf-n-Stream.

A cheap shot by RCI...but not surprised.

We stay in OS and I've always thought the WiFi should be included and NOT just based on the particular ship I'm sailing on !!!

This is why we seldom book above a JS unless it’s a ship that has full suite benefits. Just not worth it. I usually put in a low bid for RU and sometimes we get it. If not, a JS works fine. Celebrity recently made a few changes on the Sky suite but they still receive entrance to Luminae, Premium Wi-Fi, Premium Drink package and the Retreat. Sky suites lost butler service, OBC and gratuities. 

I think that this will move over to Celebrity as well once RCI works out any bugs. RCG wants to increase onboard spending and this will help. 

3 hours ago, the penguins said:

She is currently on the Edge.

Her mass of red hair makes her easily recognisable.

She is almost always a panelist on Liars Club.

Until you meet her you can at least listen to her as she is the " voice" in the lifts /elevators on every Celebrity ship.

She is a sweetheart. She used to be on RCI. Met her on the Allure when it was a brand new ship. She was over the GR desk. 

I sent mine in in March with expedited service. Took seven weeks. I recently read that they are moving faster now on turning around renewals,

2 hours ago, twangster said:

It is disappointing to see Royal further mixing up suite benefits across the fleet. 

 

The matrix of "if this ship then these suite benefits, if that ship then those suite benefits" was already inconsistent and confusing.  

 

Now, within Oasis and Quantum class it isn't consistent.  This is a move in the wrong direction.  

Agree. First, make suite benefits consistent fleet wide and either make a JS as true suite or change the name removing the word “suite”. I still think RCI could carve out part of the MDR on each ship to add CK like Celebrity did with Luminae. 

6 minutes ago, Cruising started said:

Someone please explain in slow English but if I am Emerald on RCCL, I get the benefits of Select on CCL. But if I book a CCL cruise it does not add to my points to move up to Diamond on RCCL. Even though they are the same group. So if I am getting close to Diamond, I should just stay with RCCL. That sound right? Thanks in advance.

Status transfers up to Diamond/Elite but points do not so if getting to Diamond on RCI is on your radar then yes you should stick with RCI to earn points.

So far I’m only seeing this new logo used on the new ship and nothing else. For me, not a big deal. First world problems. 

On 10/31/2023 at 1:41 PM, cruisemom42 said:

 

Just in case you need it, another good hotel tucked right behind the Pantheon is the Albergo Santa Chiara.

 

just booked this hotel. 
 

Thank you. 😊

No self service laundry. They do offer laundry services for a fee.

17 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

It looks like Celebrity is “taking a dive to the bottom” to become a mass market line.

Celebrity has been mass market for years as are Princess and HAL. Many want to believe the marketing of “Modern Luxury” that Celebrity has been pushing but it was nothing more than a marketing game.
 

This new program is nothing more than RCI’s KEY being adapted to the X brand. Based on the number of people who purchase it on RCI, I would being willing to bet it will be popular with new cruisers. 
 

Celebrity is adding three and four day cruises on the Reflection along with stopping at Coco Cay. X is changing. People can either accept it or find a new cruise line. I now look at X as RCI with less kids. Laura Hodges Bethge was brought over from RCI for a reason. We’re now seeing why with the changes. 

47 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

 

LOL -- I was offered a Woman ---

Makes two of us. Add drugs to that as well. 😳

30 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

Looking to stay close to the Pantheon for three nights before our TA next November. Both the Albergo del Senato and the Abruzzi are booked. Any other suggestions? 

Thanks in advance.

I think that I’m trying to book too soon by a month. I have contacted the Albergo and enquired. 

Looking to stay close to the Pantheon for three nights before our TA next November. Both the Albergo del Senato and the Abruzzi are booked. Any other suggestions? 

Thanks in advance.

There are several on the X website. Do a search for Europe and not the British Isles. 

15 minutes ago, Ocean Boy said:

I don't think the lounges are a monster at all. RCI fixed the problem with the vouchers. Now if there is room in there for you great. If there is no room so be it. It is no different than going to the Schooner Bar when it is packed. You get what you find. Now you get your 4, 5, or six drinks no matter what. During the day and after happy hour the lounge is there to use as you please.

I don’t see people complaining on Facebook about not being allowed in the Schooner Bar because it was full but I do see a lot of complaints about not being allowed in certain lounges with the recent changes. 

I just tried to contact our CVP as we booked a cruise with her about a month ago. Her number now goes to a call pool. Looks like they’re using the same call center as RCI. I think my CVP moved to the Executive offices as she called me one recent afternoon and the number came up as that on my caller ID. I had the number saved from an earlier issue from a year or two ago. 

RCI created a monster with the lounges. At some point that had to rip the band aid off. We usually avoid the lounges with the exception of the suite lounge last year on the Symphony. Due to the location and CK, it was great. The drink vouchers work great and we can choose the lounge of choice. 

Thank you for your post. Like a breath of fresh air here on this board. So the sky is not falling. 😉

Thanks for the photos. We did this cruise back in April on the Solstice. A chilly but great cruise. 

I have been dealing with RCI’s third party call center with both their regular bookings and their Casino Royale department for years and have had no issues. A few times it was difficult to understand the agent but overall nothing that we could not deal with. I do have a Celebrity CVP that I booked with a few weeks ago. I have not tried to contact her to see if she’s still with X. 

22 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

I'm not sure insurance will help here at all.  The cruise/flights are still operating so any cancellation would be at the passengers request and not a covered reason

We had a cruise booked last year out of Civitavecchia on the Apex. We canceled just prior to the final payment due to the continuation of Covid and testing. United give us a travel certificate good for our full amount paid. We had until December of this year to use the certificate and it could be used in segments. No, not a cash refund which we knew not to expect but we did receive the full amount back in some form to use at a future date, 

SMH. If you book non refundable air who is that on?