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12 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

However the song came out 4 years before the book was written. 

Its sad that it brings out strong emotions in people that have family with addictions but Celebrity are focusing on Alice in Wonderland. 

Although the song was released in  '67, it is often inferred that it was written when Slick was coming off an acid trip.

It is sad that the children's  story has been so strongly tied to the hallucinogenic  drug culture of the 60's and 70's.

I reacted similar to the OP, in that I thought this was a very controversial song to have attached to a Celebrity ad.  I saw this ad for the first time tonight...in fact I have seen it three times in the last 90 minutes..it is running in every 30 minute cycle...my initial reaction was very similar in that I associate the song White Rabbit to the movie Go Ask Alice, and as previously noted that movie, and the book it was based on, was about a drug addict and her tribulations.....who eventually  dies.

White Rabbit is a classic, that is synonymous  with the boomers  and the flower power generation.....ironic that we are no longer the target market.

I did take one thing away from the ad....as Alice is sitting at the bar and picks the "herb", it gives me hope that soon we can pick some "herb" and roll a ....... oh never mind

My thoughts, for what they are worth.......

If this is the cruise you want to take and there is only the one offerring then book it now.  Book it with refundable deposit and if a sale or promotion does pop up in the future and it is to your advantage then you can make changes.

We prefer aft cabins and have sailed there on about 80% of our cruises.  we sail on the deck immediately below the ocean view cafe primarily because there is an overhang which provides shade from the sun and shelter from any rain which makes the balcony more useful.  there is some noise from the deck above but nothing we have found too disturbing.  we have never been disturbed in the early morning by furniture being moved around above, although this is a concern expressed by many people.

On 2 occassions out of about 16 cruises we have experienced a soot problem.  never a major issue however it is a bit of an inconvenience. Stateroom attendant will deal with it immediately.

As others have said it is a wee hike to the elevator/stairs but not seen as a deterent.

There is more motion at the aft, as well as the bow, compared to midship, it can be noticable on sea days when the ship is moving at speed and there is any type of weather/wind.

All of these "issues" are minor compared to the wonderful views of the wake.

Just a heads up to the OP, several years ago 2015+- we discussed starting in Alaska southbound to Vancouver and then B2B Vancouver north into Alaska returning south to Seattle. We knew it would violate PSVA so called Celebrity to discuss...they recommended the same workaround as in this case, only it was to disembark in Victoria, travel to Vancouver for the second trip.  Almost did it, until they advised we had to remove all our belongings in Victoria and take them with us.  OP indicateces he wants to just take a knapsack and leave everything behind in the cabin. Recommend he obtains approval from Celebrity before he commits.

Like everyone else, from what i know about PSVA, the three segments look fine.

Good luck.

OK, up front I will admit I spent way too much time thinking about this; however, it seemed like a good puzzle to solve.

Like the OP my immediate thought was that it is a reasonable conclusion to expect more suites as they have the  highest cost, and therefore the highest  payback after expenses. It is also true that the cost of delivery of service/product is higher to the suite class...but how much higher is it?

I then realized Celebrity had already done the analysis when they built the Reflection. So I picked the Equinox as my comparable ship, I excluded the FV's and all suites above SS, as they are in a unique group of their own.  They added 61 additional cabins to the Reflection of which 40 were new SS's, a 90% increase in cabin class. The next largest was Aqua with 20 new cabins or a 15% increase, followed by inside at 14 additional or 10%.

This was then reinforced when I looked at the Edge and the mix of cabins and their percentage of the total cabin space. As compared to the Equinox they added 102 more SS's or a tripling of cabin class; from 3% of total cabins to 10% of total cabins. OV cabins were doubled from 70 to 148 or 5% to 10% of total cabins.  Interior, Concierge, and Aqua were reduced  by small numbers anywhere from 6% to 15% compared to Equinox.

I then went on to analyse the gross revenue per square foot per night, based on a sample sailing of Equinox in March 2021. It was difficult to draw any firm conclusion not knowing costs, etc. Assuming that Celebrity prices their cabins originally at a point where they are all profitable, or at least not losing money..then the gross margin on Sky Suites is significantly higher relative to all other cabin categories.

Does that mean more suites as a percentage of cabins...I can't say because there are too many variables caused by things I don't know,  but I think there is a higher probability than not it will happen.

I noticed this "phenomenon" about 12-15 months ago.  we were considering cancelling a booked cruise and moving it to a new date.  I did the same comparison you did with the same results...significant difference in exchange rates used for different categories.  however, I did have some rates which were considerably skewed in my favour as it was about 10 percent lower than the current rate.  I then did a comparison between total cabins available in each category and it seemed that categories with a higher percentage of available cabins had a better rate attached to it, and lower availability had a higher rate attached.....I concluded the bean counters had found a way to increase their spread.....just my theory.

 Staterooms and suites are generally available at 1 pm or shortly thereafter. An announcement will be made when available.  since you are in a suite, Luminae will be open for lunch, or you can hang out in Michael's until they are ready.

Luminae is open seating, so you can arrive at anytime during the service hours. Be aware that occasionally depending on the passenger mix there may be peak times. Historically we have never had to wait more than a few minutes to be seated.

On 5/20/2019 at 10:09 AM, Swann5 said:

My husband was awarded our first cruise on Celebrity through the Royal Bank of Canada’s reward and recognition program in 2004. Back then the banks would have very large numbers of its employees from all across Canada, as well as it US and Caribbean branches on a week long Caribbean cruise (and probably annoying the other passengers by theirs large numbers and taking over of certain areas of the ship at times). The event has grown so large that RBC now charters a whole ship, so no more interfering with other guests experiences. There are many Royal bankers who have become avid cruisers after being awarded their first one, a very expensive new way to enjoy travel and getting away from the stresses of work!

I also was awarded the employee convention cruise in 2001, on the Century.  As you said back then it wasn't a full charter and we met several passengers who sailed specifically on that cruise each year due to the continuous party for 7 days. Dancing until 3 am was the norm...and the original beverage package...all you had to do was find an executive to buy you a drink.  Been hooked ever since.

2 hours ago, garardo said:

We always prefer a table for 2. The reason is I am a Certified Sommelier and we end up with the Cellar Master, Food and Beverage Director, and others visiting our table. We find that some of the 2 tops are only inches away from each other. I do not like to intrude in the space of other guests when we get visitors. Our plan is to patrol the MDR when we board and look for more of a secluded table  and request that table for the rest of the trip.   Would it help secure our table selection with a tip to the Maitre di. If so how much would be appropriate? 

My opinion would be that an up front "tip" would probably do very little to help you secure your table selection.  As a  Certified Sommelier I am assuming you have extensive experience in the hospitality/food and beverage industry and are aware how an up front tip is often construed as a bribe for an employee to do "what is right"; an affront to their professionalism. There is also the issue that the table you deem to be suitable for you, may already be assigned to another couple...now the Maitre D' has a dilemna as to which guest should receive the table.  A much more professional approach would be to ask the Maitre D' to recommend a suitable table once you have explained the circumstances.  Then it would be appropriate to express your appreciation in a suitable manner.  Just my thoughts, FWIW.

Although we have four future cruises booked, the only sure thing is the one in a few weeks.  The other three may be cancelled. DW and I discussed over dinner a few nights ago that we could plan a land based vacation and go where we want, on our own schedule at a lower cost per day without compromising on the quality of our accomodation or restaurants.  We believe the decision makers at Celebrity are starting to believe their own marketing hype  and think them are offerring a luxury product when in reality it is just a top end mass market line.  Just my humble opinion.

There is no appreciable time savings flying from east coast to west coast then to Asia, in fact it makes it a longer travel day.  we have flown several times from YYZ to HKG or PEK and all are flown by what is called the polar route...basically over the north pole more or less and then south down the other side.  looking at it on a map makes it look longer....looking at it on a globe makes sense...it is a shorter route.    from the west coast most routings do fly a northerly route.

It is a long flight regardless of how you do it.  From Toronto it is about 15.5 hours...and usually arrived about 6am in Hong Kong. Makes it easier to sleep if it is a night flight.

Yes fares are expensive, depending on when you are travelling.  Some of the China based airlines offer lower fares, however it will mean a layover somewhere in China, Beijing, Shanghai....

Generally fly premium economy for the bit more room, have done business class much nicer with lay flat seats...but a significant increase in price.

It is called Great Circle navigation...look it up for a better explanation.

We have stayed in Hong Kong  several times and prefer to stay on the island.  We stay at the Holiday Inn Express Soho which is on Jervois St.  The hotel is within walking distance of many restaurants, markets and attractions, as well as being a 5 minute walk from a MTR station. Also, a stop for the Airport Express Shuttle is outside the hotel making it convenient to get to and from the airport. The hotel rooms are compact, but extremely functional.  For us a hotel is a place to sleep so a big room is not a requirement.  the hotel offers a few features we use..self serve laundry, free breakfast, are two of the ones we use.  Primarily we use this hotel for the location. It was about a 30 minute taxi ride to the cruise terminal. Front desk staff are extremely helpful.

We book as early as possible, often when the cruise is first released.  There is no down side as far as price is concerned. If the price goes up you are happy.  if the price goes down you call and get the new lower price. Since you are Canadian you have the option of watching the price and responding accordingly.  Be careful of the nonrefundable deposit option as there is a penalty to make changes.  If your plans change you can always cancel prior to final payment without penalty

Everyone has a different tolerance for risk.  Some feel very comfortable with ship excursions andcare willing to pay a premium for that security.  Others are more aggressive and are willing to accept the risk assoviated with third party tours for the (sometimes) lower cost of the tour. Neither option is better than the other; just different.

However, something to think about......often people quote reputational risk as a point of comfort in their decision, what if a tour does miss the return time cut off to the ship...and the ship does sail leaving 20 people on the dock.  Would it be all that difficult for business "A" to shut down and reopen as business "B" to avoid the stigma of missing the ship.  ??????

We have flown to China and elsewhere in southeast Asia several times and Cathay Pacific has become our airline of choice.  Most recently we flew prem econ in Feb/Mar and the flight was probably one of the best flights we have ever had and it was 15+ hours.  Service quality was outstanding and as previiusly noted food quality is very good. We have flown British Airways, and Lufthansa both in business class and Cathay in p/e was a very close rival.  Our experience to China has included United and Air Canada, both of which were not comparable to Cathay.  We are expecting to fly into mainland China later this year although Air Canada has a quicker route the price differential is not sufficient to change us from Cathay.

Without checking, the Shanghai/Hong Kong segment will probably be Cathay Dragon or Air China.

While we have never done it, it is my understanding that you can change cabins within the same category.

We have been to Hong Kong several times and stay on the island.  It is generally close to the things we want to to see, and it is quite enjoyable just walking around.

Celebrity uses the Kai Tak terminal.

26 minutes ago, Lisah101 said:

My first choice would definitely be a backpack but since those are out, Pacsafe has several other options that include security features such as a Slingpack or a Crossbody pack.  I've used a Pacsafe backpack for a dozen or more trips all over Europe and the Middle East without issue.

I have used a Pacsafe crossbody slingpack for a few years and it is ideal.  it is small, yet is able to hold all i need for the day including a small camera.  plus it has a multitude of security features which will deter any pickpockets.   it is small enough that it may be searched at a museum, but they will not require you to check it.

15 minutes ago, phoenix_dream said:

Then please enlighten me how germs could possibly be transferred in the scenario I mentioned. 

I can't believe you asked this question.

The primary form of germ transmission is by air, although primarily as a result of a cough or sneeze.   however, with every breath you exhale, microscopic drops of moisture are released into the air...these drops carry microscopic germs and virus which potentially could land on your hand and then be transferred.....  Although your hand doesn't touch your mouth it is probably quite close

As previously mentioned I think your TA dropped the ball. However, Celebrity also bears some responsibility in not holding existing bookings on the revised cruise until they receive confirmation regarding the clients intentions. Given that they tried to contact your TA twice, from your disclosure of the timeline it appears they may have been holding the cabin possibly for 24 hours.  You didn't disclose how you were actually assigned the new cabin....from your description it appears you just recently became aware of the issue......is it possible you TA was hoping you didn't  notice.  If Celebrity is unable to persuade the current occupants to switch rooms, it is time for a serious heart to heart talk with your TA and their manager.    Best wishes for a positive outcome.

9 hours ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

Based on this - LePetit Chef will be fleet wide.

 

Not necessarily  going to happen.  we were on Millennium  in Feb just after she came out of the refit and Qsine was not converted to LPC.  I understand the conversion did not occur on Summit  either.

Last July on the Reflection, there were tables for 2, and tables for 4.  We did not notice if there were tables larger than 4.

2 hours ago, Klapka said:

Now that  the ship is Edgified, may I get things straight in my head about the Retreat.

 

It is open to all suite passengers.  There is a free bar at certain times of the day.  Canapés are served at certain times of day.

 

Have I got that right?  If so, what is the timetable?

You more or less have it right.  there is a full service bar that is open from somewhere around 7am until 11pm.

If they do not have your choice of beverage they will find it for you.  They are very quick to learn your preferences.  For example, if i went in to read for an hour or so early afternoon, they would bring me a beer.  Before and after dinner they would bring me a scotch...without asking.......I guess i am a creature of habit.

There is a self service cooler with water and soft drinks available 24 hours, as well as a coffee and tea.

The food service is a little more than canapes, but that is a good description.  There is a "breakfast" presentation with more of a continental presentation, a midday presentation for "lunch" and then late afternoon/pre dinner.  We never participated other than pre dinner and food quality was very good.

To be honest both DW and I cannot recall if afternoon tea is served as we were never there during that time period.

Jim I found a Celebrity info sheet dated 2015 that indicated capacity is 70.

Claude.