ChucktownSteve

I just spoke with an Azamara rep who said I have 91 days to pay the balance to receive the 5% promotion. However I must use it on the cruise I'm paying for. She said it will probably be a long time promotion because it's been very popular. I understand that comment plus $4.95 will get me a bitter cup of Starbucks coffee. Drink mine black.

If you liked the info I supplied and you're going to book a Regent cruise, I can get you $250 off the booking if it's within 14 day of making the reservation. Let me know. I'll tell you how.. steveL50 hotmail.

So it just shows to go ya, Celebrity IS more expensive whether its a standard veranda cabin or Resort Suite.

As a caveat,I'm not sure if those crew numbers are still accurate for Royal Caribbean Group's lines. They may not be based upon recent crew cut backs; increasing their bottom line the past couple of years during/post covid. Look at the uproar over Celebrity's attempt to change to a butler group instead of the promised/booked personal butler. Also I'm not sure Silversea Medallion suites include the specialty restaurant or excursions since I have not experienced that line. I've found that the smaller ships tend to be more port intensive which is what I prefer in an itinerary. The more active in port I am, the less likely I wish to stay up later for "entertainment." Part of the intangibles proposition for me, as Markeb mentioned, is the caliber of other passengers. Meeting and making new friends is much easier on the intimate ships. Billc23, the way to determine PSR: Passenger Space Ratio = Gross Tonnage (GT) divided by the number of passengers. Thus Regent Grandeur = 74.39 and Celebrity Ascent = 43.12.

Yeah I liked the itinerary too which is why I booked it. I was seeking the ABCs not two of them. I did make a fat finger error. I just rechecked the Silversea web site and the Medallion suite is $12,100 pp or $105pp/pn more than Regent. Thankx for catching that. I booked this Regent cruise on 2/29/24 which was the last day for that cruise to receive the two category upgrade promotion. I always book when they run that promotion on a Regent cruise I want. I paid for the Concierge E and received the Penthouse C suite. Thus I paid $10,949 pp on the 14 night which comes to $782.07pp/pn. Since it's the same price on their website still listed for the Concierge, I didn't think I needed to show the invoice.Too bad you missed the promotion. It may come back though. As a side note, my TA is rebating me $2,050 on this cruise instead of OBC which I didn't calculate into the cost. 😁 There is an online cruise booking company which I use for ship details (which must not be posted) that shows the size of the ship, with pax and crew numbers. So for your spreadsheet edification... SILVER RAY Year Built 2024 Tonnage 54,700 tons Registry Bahamas Length 801 feet Beam 97 feet Passenger Capacity 728 Crew Size 556 # of Inside Cabins 0 # of Outside Cabins 298 # of Cabins w/ Verandas 286 # of Suites 298 SEVEN SEAS GRANDEUR Year Built 2023 Tonnage 55,498 tons Registry Bermuda Length 735 feet Beam 102 feet Passenger Capacity 746 Crew Size 542 # of Inside Cabins 0 # of Outside Cabins 375 # of Cabins w/ Verandas 375 # of Suites 375 CELEBRITY ASCENT Year Built 2023 Tonnage 140,600 tons Registry Malta Length 1,073 feet Beam 128 feet Passenger Capacity 3,260 Crew Size 1,400 # of Inside Cabins 131 # of Outside Cabins 792 # of Cabins w/ Verandas 1210 # of Suites 198

I just looked at Silversea Ray for an 11 night Caribbean cruise in a Medallion Suite which is 527sf compared to the Regent Grandeur Penthouse at 561-644sf for 14 nights and the Celebrity Ascent Celebrity Suite at 501sf for 11 nights which I posted on the Regent Board. All three overlap with different Caribbean itineraries in Feb 2026. Silversea is $408 more pp/pn than Regent. The Celebrity suite is $52 pp/pn more than Regent's suite. Besides my preferred itinerary on Regent and daily Valet Laundry for every suite, I no longer wish to deal with schlepping formal wear on a Silversea Caribbean cruise. Regent and Azamara don't require Formal nights anymore. Since RCG now owns Silversea, I'm wondering if they'll apply the same cost slashing to that line that they've done to both RCL and X? That's what made me move from X, my former go to line, to AZamara and Regent at better pp/pn rates, longer cruises and better food IMO.

Nope. It's the cheap, short cruises that attract the booze cruize patrons with very little disposable income that can't usually sail a much longer cruise or have the available vacation time..That's why I prefer 14 night cruises. A different type of patron. Short Carnival cruises are a good example also. Nothing wrong with that if it's what people want. Just not for my pasture.

Bet a one day cruise would be even cheaper. 🤪

It's a promotional insulated beverage (bottle or can) holder; usually made of neoprene with a printed company's logo handed out for free.It's supposed to keep the bottle/can cold. In Australia it might be referred to as “stubby holder”.

Yeah they do if cold liquid. That's why I put them in a koozie. 😎

It appears from this post that the most important aspect to you for cruising is price regardless of what you get. Would you say that's accurate? You can always find cheap cabins on ships that don't sell because an empty cabin is lost revenue forever. Good for you getting the cheap prices. Many others have different priorities though and are willing to pay based upon value. Cheapest is not always the best value.

For those who consider food important to their cruise experience as I do, I've attached a sample of Regent's Main Dinning Room, Compass Rose, every day menu. You want lobster, Dover Sole or scallops every night without an up charge? How about a Filet or Veal Medallion? No problem! Then there's the specialty entree menu which changes daily. If you download the attached pic, you should be able to enlarge it. https://www.rssc.com/experience/cuisine/compass-rose

I believe you're correct. What I like about Regent's bar set up is that you request two of your preferred liquor brands. They deliver in liter sizes. Plus they replenish them should you drink the bottle empty. Last cruise I requested three...Walker Black, Grey Goose and Seagrams VO.Not a problem. Their aluminum refillable water bottles are a nice touch too as a bring on excursions and take home.

Is neither an option?

@Zitsky, Before recently booking a Regent Grandeur cruise, I compared it with the Celebrity Ascent. Both are new ships sailing in the Caribbean February 2026 with overlapping dates. I had a two category suite upgrade during the Regent promotion last month. I stripped out the included Air and hotel for calculation since I won't be using them. I priced a Regent Concierge.Suite but booked a Penthouse Suite for the same price. I also prefer 14 day cruises which Regent offered to the Southern Caribbean but Celebrity only had an 11 day sailing. Celebrity used to offer a lot of 14 day cruises which I booked often. While the Regent sailing has the ABCs which I wanted, Celebrity doesn't go there on their longer cruise itinerary. The Regent Penthouse is 561-644 Ft2. The Celebrity Ascent Celebrity Suite is 501 Ft2 and the Royal Suite is 759 Ft2 . Since the CS is priced much lower than the RS and the Regent Penthouse Ft2 falls between the two Celebrity, I used the CS size for price comparison. I also included the cost of gratuities on the Celebrity booking since Regent includes that. Both include Butler, WiFi and premium drinks. Celebrity includes Luminae but no specialty restaurants. I've eaten in Luminae; wasn't impressed but was bored with the offerings.The Regent MD, Compass Rose. is (IMO) far superior even with their every day menu of USDA Prime steaks and a wide seafood assortment. Then there are three Regent Specialty restaurants included in every reservation. The regent bonus' are: included excursions in every port, daily valet laundry returned same day, 746 pax vs. Ascent's 3,260 pax, and a pax to crew ratio of 1.37 vs. Ascent's ratio of 2.32 I prefer more intimate personalized service regardless of which suite you're in since Regent's whole ship is only suites. Therefore the whole ship is the Retreat. After all that, Regent was still priced $52 pp/pn lower than the Celebrity Suite for the larger Regent Ft2suite. And that is why I booked Regent over Celebrity for this cruise. Regent was the better itinerary and value to me. YMMV. However I've found the best time to snatch a booking's best price is when they first release the itineraries. As a side note: I've taken the air credit on our previous three Regent cruises.

Good luck with that. For us, that mass market cruise line ship has already sailed until they change course back to better quality/value. JMHO.

Here's another consideration. The person who receives commission on the booking, still receives their full commission on the cancelled cruise.

The "new normal" due to covid and the supply chain? 😆

I believe I was were you are now. I'm halfway between you two in age. A few years ago I did an analysis of my retirement account with very conservative returns and very high spending for vacations to see how much would be left at age 92, if I lived that long. I wound up changing my cruising paradigm. I didn't see why I should leave so much to nieces and nephews. Before retiring, I was a workaholic and planning for retirement. I did take cruises but not as many. Plus the market has been exceptionally good to me. That's when I began elevating to premium and luxury cruise lines. I found I liked it more than mass market lines on large ships. I enjoy the variety of various itineraries on a cruise while gaining a glimpse of places I've not been before. So many places to see and so little time before my sell by date.Then I look at cost pp/pn with what's included. IMO, I've also found value at the higher cruise level. Those that enjoy destination inclusive resorts or large cities in upscale accommodations do what they enjoy more than cruising. I prefer getting away on the water. It relaxes me more between ports.

I haven't sailed this ship yet but looking forward to it. But it appears there is a wall between the two. Here's a link to to a 360 degree virtual tour through Grandeur's Penthouse Suite. You can drag and "walk" throughout the layout. https://www.rssc.com/discover-more/virtual-suite-tours/seven-seas-grandeur/penthouse-suite

You got a great price on Eclipse. Bookings must have been weak on that sailing. I've always found the best time to book Regent is when the itineraries are first released and when they do a two category free upgrade. During the pandemic while Celebrity was raising prices dramatically to eat up all those FFC which weren't as prevalent on Regent, Regent was MUCH less pp/pd and an incredible deal. That's why I booked three sailings then. Unlike dynamic pricing, it appears Regent raises the price at the beginning of each month. Watch for it.

Yeah I know but that's a copy and paste so it is how they market it. That's why the word free was in caps. Marketing. lol I wasn't going to retype the list. One thing that makes a difference to me is ship size. Ascent has 3,260 pax while I prefer the smaller ships which have advantages. Regent's largest ships are 750 pax with a higher crew/pax ratio. They also tend to include some ports the larger ships don't include. Being more port intensive means I'm usually not as energetic at night. Later port times also makes a difference.

When we booked a 2/2026 Regent Grandeur 14 day/ 8 ports Southern Caribbean (including the ABCs) last week, we got a 2 category free upgrade to Penthouse suite; (561-626 SQ FT). Without air or the pre-cruise hotel, it came to $782 pp/pn. Included are: FREE Unlimited Shore Excursions FREE Unlimited Premium Beverages, Including Fine Wines and Spirits FREE Open Bars and Lounges Plus In-Suite Mini-Bar Replenished Daily FREE Pre-Paid Gratuities FREE three Specialty Restaurants FREE 24-Hour Room Service FREE Unlimited Wi-Fi FREE Daily Valet Laundry Service PENTHOUSE SUITES AND HIGHER INCLUDE: FREE Personal Butler and more On Celebrity Ascent, also in 2/2026, an 11 night/6 port Southern Caribbean (without the ABCs) in a Celebrity Suite; (501 SQ FT) is $836 pp/pn. It includes the Luminae specialty restaurant only, premium liquor, butler, gratuity and wi-fi. Since the Regent Penthouse Suite falls between the Celebrity Suit and Royal Suite, (which is 759 SQ FT), I didn’t price the latter because the Celebrity Suite is already more expensive. IMO, Regent has had the best food I’ve eaten at sea with a wide variety of everyday options of upscale seafood and USDA Prime steak not available on Celebrity without an up charge. Our last three cruises were on Regent totaling 43 nights. We have three booked on Azamara and one on Regent. Celebrity used to be our go to until about three years ago just after we hit elite+ and they shortened many cruises. We like 14 to 18 day sailings. However too many cuts finally chased us to find other value. Unlike the title of this thread, in my case, Celebrity is more expensive than Regent.

Forgot to mention...full screen the video to get a much better view!

P1 aft view is my favorite. I love spending time on the veranda watching the wake and the horizon at sunrise. This was taken from 6090 on Quest December 2021. Our next three AZ cruises are aft facing on deck 7. Also the P1 includes internet, premium liquor pkg and some obc. But please don't book any P1's on cruises I want to take. It's like recommending a good restaurant to lots of people; then you can't get a reservation yourself when they become so popular. 😁 Azamara Dec aft view.mp4