ak1004

If you don't mind me asking - why you continue sailing on Celebrity after trying O?

Isn’t this true for any line? As I mentioned many times, the comparison with OL is meaningless and pointless at this point for new bookings. The only relevant comparison is to other lines and what they currently offer.

I don't boycott businesses or products. You can find enough reasons to boycott half of the companies on the planet. It accomplishes nothing. I buy products and services based on quality and value they provide compared to their competitors. Pretty simple. I'm also not loyal to any company or cruise line in rhis case and always go case by case basis. But if people want to nake statements it's their choice of course.

We are the same. But even those who don't like doing it themselves can still ask their TA to do it. Agree about Sky Suite. But besides for the space, the main difference between X and O is that on O everyone is treated equally once outside the suite (with a few small exceptions), while on X suites are ship within a ship, with separate restaurant, pool and a completely different service. On O everyone eats the same food and gets the same service.

People book suites for 2 reasons: space and perks. On O there are almost no extra perks for suites. You get a butler (which for many people is not a real benefit). I believe you get one extra specialty restaurant reservation (which you might get anyway depending on availability). Free laundry, which is really peanuts compared to the total cost of the cruise. That's it I believe. Then there is an extra space. To us 240 sqft on O is more than enough and not worth to pay 40-50% more for PH, but everyone is different. This applies to O class, on the R class I would definitely book PH, but PH on the R class can be similar price to SB or SS. Not a good value in my opinion.

Every time we asked for a quote from O for business class their fares were way too high. And you are not in control. We sailed with X last time in 2019 and their air was very good. We could book directly from their website and the fares were very competitive for business class. But in 5 years a lot has changed, so I'm not sure how it is now.

I believe Sky Suite is 300 sqft and PH on the newer O ships is 350 sqft (excluding veranda). Celebrity suite prices never made sense to me, some of them are just absurd. But then again, even regular veranda prices are now pretty close to O, especially on a newer ships. Again, a complete absurd. Not sure who is still sailing with Celebrity.

With all due respect to the Caribbean, many ports there are very similar and you don't really need an excursion, you can just book a taxi which takes you around. In some ports we don't even leave the ship or leave for a short walk around. The excursion prices are not much different, and it doesn't make sense to pay over $100 USD for a half day tour. But Europe (or Japan, South America etc) are a different story. But as you mentioned, it might be different for you if you have seen most places in Europe.

I agree with you about the Caribbean. But for European cruises SM might be useful. We usually book private tours, but there are some ports where it's not possible, or we just don't fell comfortable.

I'm not sure why people keep comparing SM to OL. OL is history now. The only comparison should be to other cruise lines. If you think O increased prices look at Crystal or SS - their 2025 prices are 15-20% higher compared to 2024. Even Windstar in some cases is more expensive than O, and they don't include drinks and internet. Yesterday I priced a 10 night European cruise on one of Celebrity newer ships. The basic price still seems almost reasonable, but when you add port fees and extra for refundable deposit, the price was slightly more per night than what we paid for 2 cruises on Vista for 2025. And Celebrity price doesn't include drinks (even not soda, specialty coffee or tea), internet, specialty restaurants and excursions credits. Lets get real. Everyone is increasing prices. It's called inflation. The amount of negativity and constant whining of some people just amazes me.

Well, this particular cruise is $250 USD per day for veranda. Sounds like a bargain, much less than many other sailings I checked. For the record, I do agree with you that it would be nice if O at least allowed to transfer the admin fee to another cruise. I'm just saying that they probably won't do it not to create a precedent and open a Pandora box. And for me, this would not be the reason not to sail with them (or any other line) again. I'm practical, not vindictive. But as the old saying goes, "When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk!" If people want to go to another line, just go. There is no need to announce the departure. Anyway, I'm going to follow the OP lead and stop beating this dead horse. I'm not sure why we keep discussing this when the OP is not with us for days.

What a fantastic attitude! Sometimes I come back from a a great cruise and read reviews titled "Cruise to Hell", and I'm starting to question my memory and my sanity. Were we on the same cruise? We always embarked with the attitude that we would have a good time and we always did.

I'm well aware of it, but how this is relevant to our discussion? Antarctica is still part of many South America sailings. Here are some examples: https://www.oceaniacruises.com/south-america-cruises/buenos-aires-to-santiago-de-chile-MNA250216/ https://www.oceaniacruises.com/south-america-cruises/santiago-de-chile-to-buenos-aires-MNA240214/ In fact, I don't think Oceania has any cruises that go to Antarctica only. It's usually only 3-4 days out of much longer voyage. So a cruise line can argue that removing 3 days out of 20-30 days cruise that are not even ports but just pass by isn't a "material change" that justifies a refund. And this is exactly an issue. Who decides that the change is dramatic enough? For OP it could be, others maybe took the cruise because of Rio, Buenos Aires etc. Plenty of other interesting places on this cruise.

We will be taking our first SB cruise in September, and it's possible that SB will become one of the alternatives for us. Generally speaking, SB is more expensive by around 20-30%, at least for European sailings for entry level veranda. Since we don't drink, the only thing we would be paying extra on O is gratuities. Even if you upgrade to prestige drink package, the O price will still be less on most sailings, but there are always exceptions. It's always good to have options. We looked at 2025 European sailings, and booked two with O because to us they still offered the best value, especially now when we can book French Veranda on Vista. But it's always case by case. We are not married to any line and have zero loyalty.

They probably mean gratuities.

I agree with you 100%. But inclusions are important only if you use them. If you don’t drink (and we don’t) then the included drinks are meaningless for us. Yes cabins are much nicer on SB, but veranda cabins on O ships are good enough for us (I’m not even comparing to R ships). Unlimited caviar is a very nice treat, I’m still in withdrawal after our SS cruise in December. So it all comes to itinerary and price. All other factors equal, and similar price, I would probably go with SB. If the price is 30-40% more? Not sure.

I posted a full comparison: To me the main difference is that SS is all inclusive, which can be positive for some people and negative to others, and much more formal. Otherwise I consider them in the same league, SS a small step up.

Yes, I know. I meant transferring the deposit without any admin fee. Would be a win-win for everyone.

Whole pizzas. I have no issues to have unhealthy meals sometimes, and we did have a meal at the Pizza place one evening on formal night when we didn't want to dress up. I just don't consider it to be a full dining venue on an ultra luxury line.

We liked the Pizza on SS, but I would not consider it as a legitimate venue for dinner. It has only pizza, not even salads. It's very unhealthy to eat pizza for dinner, especially if it's only pizza. And as others mention, I don't pay a small fortune for an ultra luxury cruise to eat pizza. Pizza on SS was very good, but not among the best we had.

SS officially has 8 venues for dinner. One of them is Pizza. Yes, they consider a place that serves exclusively pizza as a full dining venue.

If the price of SB is less or even slightly more, then it's an obvious choice, especially when comparing to the R ships. We compared many European sailings and typically SB is at least 20% more expensive when comparing an entry level veranda. We sailed twice on SS and while we found it a small step up compared to O, the price difference on most sailings is not worth it for us.

The main differences: No lines No crowds No (or very little) children Much better food and service on O. More inclusions, no nickel and dime on O (specialty restaurants, drinks, internet included) Better entertainment and activities on C We took a cruise on O last year with friends who sailed exclusively with C for 20+ years. They agreed that O is in a different league. That said, for Caribbean cruise, O is not a good fit if you like at least some activities.

P.S. I also find it curious that OP joined CC just a few days ago, made 2 posts and then just disappeared after mentioning they will never cruise with O again.

As I mentioned before, Qatar made the decision to ban cruise ships in April 2022, 8 months before the cruise, and SS waited till October to send the notice. Azamara did the same. Water levels sometimes are known weeks in advance, and river cruise companies know in advance that the cruise will be a bus tour. That said, as I mentioned before, I think O should offer at least an option to transfer the deposit to another cruise, as a gesture of good will.