markeb

😀 Do you work for United? I’ve watched dozens of bags come off the belt before the first orange “Priority” bag came off. No real confidence in any cruise line being better.

I'm trying to understand how priority baggage service would even work. I'll have to look, but I don't think it's part of the Retreat. And having had priority baggage for years on airlines, good luck with that...

If you look at the web page, Elliott Advocacy is a 501(c)(3) non-profit. I would assume they do a lot smaller advocacy. The news articles would generate income, but those are going to be larger cases. Changes in the wine list, footstools, etc., aren't going to generate good stories, or really consumer advocacy issues. Like it or not, and I really don't, "decline in the product" isn't going to be a violation of the cruise contract. That's also his point in the article Bo linked. They met the terms of the cruise contract, and the final straw was absolutely not Celebrity's fault. He could probably do an article on the overall industry that would include Celebrity, but I don't know what the market is, outside of maybe The Robb Report, for articles that most readers would boil down to "spoiled rich people complain about no Grey Poupon". And I only see a couple of Celebrity hits on Google for the Robb Report (far more for Regent).

Apparently a lot of people contact him, just not people on this board and this thread. https://www.elliott.org/about-christopher-elliott/ Interesting bio. I may have heard of him in the past, but we have a ton of consumer reporters in the DC area (he worked for the WaPo for 14 years). "Travel Troubleshooter" will get you dozens of Google hits on his travel advocacy articles. So, yeah, people with travel issues contact him and his team constantly.

When you put the two cruises together (they're two separate cruises) Celebrity is transporting you on the same vessel from Honolulu to Seattle. The only ports that matter are where you start and where you end, and they're different US ports. That's a violation. I've never booked a back to back. Apparently the software treats the two cruises as totally separate events until some sort of compliance check that occurs later. I really don't know if the booking system even directly recognizes that you have a back-to-back booking at the time. It would be helpful if it did. If you booked with a live person, either at Celebrity or your own TA, and it sounds like you did, shame on them.

It's not vague at all if you look at the amenities for each type of suite. This is a Signature Suite: Exclusive services and amenities Complimentary bottled water, soda, and beer stocked daily Unlimited lunch and dinner in all specialty restaurants Two complimentary bottles of premium spirits VIP canapés Complimentary laundry service (twice per cruise) Priority luggage delivery This is a Sky Suite: Exclusive services and amenities Daily delivery of afternoon savories upon request Afternoon tea event hosted in The Retreat Lounge Complimentary 24-hour room service Complimentary use of umbrella and binoculars Complimentary shoe shine service The first includes complimentary bottled water, soda, and beer stocked daily. The second does not.

I've found that to vary ship to ship and sailing to sailing. Only on one of our Sky suite sailings did our butler/retreat host offer to replenish water and soda; never asked to replenish the crappy beer. That's the one sailing they told us to not pay attention to the sign that said the mini bar contents weren't included in the drink package. Celebrity does not list the mini bar as a benefit of a Sky suite and to the best of my knowledge never did. Regardless of the fact that butlers would frequently (but not always) replenish it without charge anyway.

I don't know that it's that so much as not wanting to be in the 20th percentile for age... I'm pretty sure I asked a similar question years ago when considering Celebrity after years on Royal. In my early 50's. One thing about Celebrity is for the most part age hasn't been a great predictor of the crowd. The Celebrity crowd has largely been "young" for actual chronologic age. Other than the love for really bad '70s music 😁.

That's publication. It may be internet, but they're an old school publication. Cutoff date was probably months ago.

I've probably had both, but not on my most recent cruises. Are Forbes readers defining the fruit baskets we got before the pandemic as a gift basket? No one here thinks that, but are the folks commenting on Forbes frequent cruisers? We all did get welcome aboard drinks at one time. Yes, it was crap sparkling wine, but we did get it. What's the date on the Forbes' content? I'm guessing their production schedule is much longer than the post immediately schedule on CC. If the Forbes population and the CC population is significantly different, which seems possible if not likely, then it's not hard to believe they'd have different impressions. Forbes readers "might" actually understand that decreasing inflation doesn't mean prices drop...

I guess I don't find it that hard to believe. Has anyone on this thread really followed Forbes for travel information? Do you actually send messages to Forbes "advocacy team"? Is it so hard to believe their audience is different from Cruise Critic? Basically the same as following the Money Guy, Dave Ramsey, or Azul (or various others) on YouTube for retirement planning considerations (not to be confused with financial advice...). Different populations follow different people. I have no data on the size or demographics of Cruise Critic subscribers, nor do I have that information for Forbes. I'm sure if I approached either of them wanting to spend $1M in advertising, I'd have that information in about 5 minutes...

Sounds like no data on S or M Class... Honestly wasn't something I was paying attention to on Equinox in November. It was an 11 night cruise, so it did seem older, but I do remember quite a few "younger" passengers on our excursions. But I'm a horrible judge of age.

You are correct. It’s never been included.

Some of us Yanks are quite fascinated by the history of Ypres! 😀 But I do agree you need a greater than average interest in the battles AND someone who knows where they’re going to make it worthwhile. It’s probably more than I’d attempt for a cruise port of call. And you wouldn’t be there long enough for the Last Post.

Just to be clear, I believe they’re talking about one of these… Or something similar. I don’t think they’ll allow that on board. Odds are if you call and ask about a scooter, the person on the other end will think mobility scooter. These are the things they rent as dockless scooters and end up left on a sidewalk somewhere for the company to come collect.

Agree. I’d still probably go for 2 out of 3 to be sure and all bets are off with actual port security! I’d leave them at home.

They specifically prohibit skateboards and surfboards. I suspect they would extend that to powered scooters and one wheels. I thought they’d prohibited Hoverboards in the past. The current list is “incomplete” to put it mildly.

Not always. I’ve seen plenty of times where the Acela was cheaper than the NE Regional. It really depends. Business Class on the NE Regional is a strange bird. It’s not the quiet car. Unless something has changed, you’ve got to walk through the quiet car to get your free baby Pepsi or coffee, and it still makes all the stops. And every car on the Acela is reserved seating. But I agree you have to compare.

I’d also compare transportation to Union Station and the Acela. All seats are reserved now. Most Acelas no longer stop at New Carrollton. But the Acela can be a good deal if purchased early. You just have to get to Union Station. (BWI is skipped a lot.)

I don't remember the cured tuna. On the current sailing I'm following that's offered with the ginger crabcakes which is probably what I had. The salmon sashimi was beyond excellent, as was the carpaccio. Too much of my life in food safety to do beef tartare. Poke, sure, just not beef. I've always found the meals in Luminae to be excellent. The least excellent have generally been the more everyday dishes. The beef was generally average. Seared black bass was outstanding. It was designed to be an adventurous restaurant, although they've had to dial that back, which is a real pity. But it's also the primary dining room for Retreat guests. Maybe there's not as much adventure in that population as they thought?

You're already booked on a non-refundable deposit? I'd be very careful. The All Included is likely a fare basis not an add-on. If that's the case, I don't believe you can sever it from the booking once made. You could effectively be cancelling your booking and having to pay a change fee for this. Check your terms and conditions carefully before making any changes and ask a lot of questions. If the difference is as close as you're describing, the change fee would probably eat it. And that assumes the fare you're looking at is available for changes. Some are only good for new bookings.

Confirmation/validation of what I'm sure is MUCH more extensive data from actual behavior. Do the people who participate in a power up survey, a convenience sample, behave the same as what our data shows? They already know how frequently a RCI Diamond books Celebrity, and whether a RCI D+ is more likely or less to book Celebrity. And vice versa. The programs are customer retention programs disguised as rewards programs. I suspect they're incredibly effective as designed to encourage customers to chase status in two different programs with RCG benefitting from the chase. The simple fact that you can match status but at 0 points is brilliant. Some folks (that would be me) will simply enjoy our Elite benefits and our Celebrity cruises with no real need to go from 0 to 750 cruise points for Elite +. Others will turn right around and start cruising to get to E+. They already know if that's more likely for someone who began as D+; the survey would just confirm current attitudes towards matching. I suspect Silversea is a different animal entirely. If they feel they need to capture current Celebrity travelers, there are likely other means than some kind of status match. One time invitation, for instance. The goal would be to keep them in the RCG family at the lowest cost to their retention programs. And, again, they know how many D/E and above travelers book Silversea, currently with NO loyalty incentives. If that meets their needs, they're not going to change. The credit card thing is interesting. Is credit card points applying to frequent traveler status a uniquely US thing? The airlines and hotel chains keep playing with that in the US. You could theoretically spend your way to 1K on United this year just by using your credit card and taking the required 4 flights.

My brain is telling me I've seen promotions onboard, but in general they're probably less expensive to pre-book. You just may not have a date or time until you're on the ship. They're unlikely to be at the same time, but they could be back-to-back...

I'm biased (Marriott Lifetime Titanium...), but the Renaissance on 17th is nice and it's convenient to Walgreens, CVS, I think Publix, etc. But we're also normally only there for well less than 24 hours and not looking to do a lot of exploring.

Don't disagree, but the OP's signature says they live in the DC 'burbs on the MD side. Pretty sure they're very familiar with I 95 traffic. It pretty much rules our life around here...