Cruising89143

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? 

I’m not expecting X to put a lot of money into the Infinity or Connie due to their age and RCG’s current debt load. I think they will turn their attention to updating the entire S class. 

18 hours ago, jelayne said:

I can’t eat fish or any sea food so Luminae options are limited and now with the kids filet gone, it is worse.  On E class, where our next 5 booking are, ordering from the MDR isn’t an option.  Number 1 reason for me was the Sun Deck and 2 was the butler, Lounge #3.    

This will be an issue for us as well. Our next X cruise is on the Edge and seafood is out for us. I hate to book more specialty dining restaurants. Hopefully X will make some changes to the Luminae menus if the negative feedback heats up.

I haven’t stepped foot on a Carnival ship since the fall of 2004 and I don’t really see us cruising with them again. We had over twenty cruises with them but they no longer appeal to us. I won’t make any comments about the current situation as I have no first hand knowledge so it would not be fair to them. We simply grew tired of their product and I’m not a fan of their newer ships. Believe it or not we liked the old Farcus designs. The designs were “out” there and fun. Loved the Holiday and Fantasy class designs.
 

We receive several emails weekly from their casino department for cruises. We have yet to take them up on an offer. We like RCI and X but prefer X a little more. We’re over the Oasis class. Simply too big.  We prefer the Voyager class on RCI and the S class on X. The perfect size ships for us. 
 

Finally based upon my remembrance of the Carnival product, X is not the new Carnival. Not even close.

1 hour ago, cruzzzinma said:

Unfortunately, Captain’s Club Happy Hour drinks are available at the Martini. Sometimes it makes for a rough crowd and really slows martini service.

Agree 100%. 

I guess everyone is different. We usually avoid the private lounges on both RCI and X. The only time that we have used a lounge within the last ten years was on the Symphony last year. The suite lounge was part of the former Viking Crown and it was very nice and expansive. 
 

Since we always have the drink package we prefer one of the bars and avoid Michael’s or the Retreat lounge. Again, everyone is different but glad to see X reinstate this perk. 

I would take Coco Cay over some of the other Caribbean ports.
 

Also, there were questions from Elite Plus answered on the call. I don’t remember specific questions but they were there. 

27 minutes ago, doghog said:

The guy sound like an arrogant fool.

He was and thankfully he ended up talking to himself most of the time as everyone tried to ignore him. 

I have been cruising for many years and I can tell by VV’s current marketing and itinerary choices that VV is not for us. Their standard staterooms look like they made a huge shopping trip to IKEA to dress a college dorm. Suites look nice but nothing else makes me want to board their ships. I’m glad that many like them and I read that they were looking to provide more interesting itineraries. They seemed to have found their niche. Celebrity on the other hand seems to still be confused as to where they belong. The pandemic certainly did not help. 

On 9/23/2023 at 2:07 PM, zitsky said:

And then the complaints from Zenith that it’s too crowded and why do they let people from suites in?  Can’t they at least throw out the Sky Suite passengers?  😂

Heard this exact comment from a Pinnie on RCI last year. He loudly stated that he was Pinnacle and if RCI could not accommodate Pinnacles in the suite lounge on a particular sailing then they should allowed to cancel at the last minute and then he loudly proclaimed that Pinnacles should have priority over suite guests in the suite lounge. The looks from the other guests and the two suite concierge was amusing. 

MSC is back on the radar for us. We had five cruises booked with MSC during the pandemic and all canceled due to shutdown. We want to try the YC experience and see how it rates versus the Haven and Retreat. There is a huge price difference between MSC and the other two so if MSC provides a nice experience, they might pick up another customer. I do recall that their FLL shoreside customer service left a lot to be desired. Hopefully that has improved. 

We avoid the MDR at all costs and have on ALL cruise lines for about the last fifteen years. We enjoy the smaller specialty dining venues where we’re not rushed. It’s all about choice. If a person enjoys the MDR then go and dine there. Same with the Oceanview buffet. If we don’t have Luminae available then we book specialty dining. If you have an issue with a particular venue then voice your opinion and with your wallet.

We tend to gravitate towards the Voyager class ships. We used to really enjoy the Oasis class but feel that they’re too large now. Since the Navigator is on the west coast we cruise this ship often. Perfect size. Other than that we love the Solstice class on Celebrity. It was great to finally get them out here this year. 

8 hours ago, Blue Eyed Belfast Belle said:

 

On my last 3 cruises when I got Room Service I rang to get them pick up used dishes.  I was told no one was available and to put them out in the hall and someone will come along with a trolly once they have enough to pick up on that corridor. 

Agree. My last 6-8 cruises, calling room service to pick up the trays resulted in being told to leave them in the hallway and they would be picked up at a later time. 

Not a lot of info but yes it’s a dry dock. 

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/07/royal-caribbean-cancels-holiday-freedom-sailings-for-drydock/

1 hour ago, hcat said:

the Less RCL influence, the better.  Has aleady taken X down a few notches.

I won’t be surprised to eventually see Eclipse of the Seas, Solstice of the Seas, Edge of the Seas, etc…….Seems to be moving that way. 

3 hours ago, prmssk said:

This is not at all representative of Coco Cay on a day when multiple ships are in port, especially if one of them is an Oasis class of ships.  In the morning we did find plenty of quiet spaces to sit but as more people got off the ship that quiet disappeared and so we got up and started to wander the island more.  It was really loud and busy everywhere we walked so we headed back to the ship.  That's not to say we couldn't have found lounge chairs at numerous places but we weren't finding quiet spots anymore by late morning.

 

I am hopeful though that the addition of Hideaway Beach helps create more quiet spots.

 

And I agree that it isn't Nassau (although Nassau recently opened their new terminal area so I imagine looks a bit different than even our January stop there) but a lot of the itineraries going to Coco Cay also will stop at Nassau still.

We were on the Symphony late last year. We docked at Coco Cay along with the Independence. Over 10,000 guests on the island. It was definitely crowded and felt that way. We were also there the week prior on the Freedom. The only ship docked. 100% difference. I personally have no desire to pay Celebrity’s prices to land at this island. 

We had issues on the Solstice in April. The lady in the stateroom next to is loved the “F” word. She screamed at the top of her lungs day and night. I think she liked the go go juice a bit too much. They were rude and crude. 

Had wings today at a local restaurant. Six wings was $18.99. The RCI prices are a bargain.

1 hour ago, tomtcruise said:

What other media?

https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2023/05/norwegian-cancels-winter-program-in-europe-on-epic/

Our first cruise was on Norwegian Caribbean Lines (before they changed to Norwegian Cruise Line) on the MS “Starward” in May of 86 out of Miami to the western Caribbean for seven nights. The price for two in a standard outside stateroom was around $3000.00. No balconies on the ship at that time. I don’t recall the brochure price but the room was tiny. I remember almost being able to touch both walls with my arms spread when standing in the center of the room. The standard bathrooms today look like palaces compared to the ones back then. 
 

There is very little that I miss from cruising during that time.