Cruising89143

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? 

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.