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What have been your experiences of Yacht Club on Fantasia?

It almost seems that the CEO is keen to try anything to either maximise profits or test the patience of long standing loyal customers. Although we have predominantly cruised with X we have tried a few other cruise lines but we have always returned to Celebrity. You knew what you were getting and invariably it was always a good experience. We are are cruising , again with Celebrity later this year , but with possibility it could be the last time because there are so many questions to be answered .  Many other cruise lines are also modifying their  cruise experience adding to the dilemma passengers are facing in making the right choice. 

Well hot off the press Celebrity are trialing hot cookies in El Bacio but you you have to pay $2. This confirms that everything and anything will be charged eventually, Celebrity this could be our death knell.

On 8/10/2023 at 8:24 PM, D. B. said:

To get back to the Penny Pinching on X these days.

 You make a good point about the newer cruisers who won't miss what they never experienced.

 Heck I miss Ice Carvings and It's a Small World parades in the MDR   BUT I still fine a Lot I like about Celebrity that will keep me cruising with  them.

 In the last 2 years we tried 5 different Lines (some Way more $$$)  and some equal.

 The $$$ lines seem to distill all the Fun out of Cursing and the = ones were not offering what we liked on X.

 We are all  Lucky that the Cruise Industry Survived the Covid shutdown and the penny pinching is the pay back. . In that  regard we are "All in the Same Boat"?😎

 

The Covid pandemic as been used by many companies as an excuse to increase prices . In the case of cruising penny pinching is being used to affect  quality and possibly lower standards while being charged more money. I understand that cruise companies want to make up the losses caused by Covid but CEOs ,in my opinion, are using that as an excuse to bring in agendas that reduce the experience of longstanding customers.

Because of the recent changes on our usual cruise line has the experience remained the same on O ? We are looking at alternatives for cruises in the future and O  has a very good reputation  but is that still true?

It’s obvious that the portion size of the meals in the MDR have been reduced based on pictures and anecdotal evidence. I’am not sure if any of the recent cruisers have asked for another main meal due to the portion size and has this ever been refused ? We are on Millennium in November 2023 out of Singapore , there seems to be mashed potato on the menu can you ask for boiled potatoes as an alternative or do you need to pay more for an upscaled meal to get them? While we have yet to experience the new dining reality on X we don’t want it to affect our cruise but it could have an overall impact as to if we sail with them again. 

As the OP it has been very interesting to read the various contributions and points of view. We are due to sail on Millennium towards the end of the year and what we experience will dictate if we cruise with X again. As Elite Plus customers you get accustomed to and expect the same standard we have had before. The removal of butlers in some cabin classes, the $10 charge for hot food room service and reports that beds may not be changed every day are some reasons to suggest all is not well. 

Does the new boss of Celebrity really care about their long established and faithful customers with the raft of changes she is implementing? Perhaps they are aiming for a new demographic of young passengers who have never experienced the quality that Celebrity once was?

Thanks.

Have any of our fellow cruisers done the Spice Route out of Singapore ending in Mumbai? The reason I ask is do the menus in the various dining areas on the ship reflect food from Asia as well as western food ?

10 hours ago, carbon said:

We booked the 10 night Equinox  cruise but have been to all the ports several times before. We have the bevarge package and we might decide to stay on the ship. Has anyone done that, just enjoy the almost empty ship?

You just go and enjoy yourselves with vast quantities of alcohol and have a great time.

We are looking to jump ship from our existing Cruise Line to try another one. If anyone has tried the Haven on NCL how did you find it, obviously it’s going to be in the water, first hand passenger experience is far better and did it live up to your expectations?

We are still processing the information provided by Izzywiz and I would like to ask what inoculation’s were required prior for the cruise ? 

1 hour ago, Izzywiz said:

I hope you find this itinerary as interesting as we did. we have been to this area of the world several times over the years and love it. We haven't been to Penang for many years...long before I made notes... and never to Hambantota.

I write a daily log which includes details about each place we visit. They are a bit lengthy but I'm posting them in case the information is of use to you, I am doing it in sections

Singapore April 2017 Celebrity Constellation - we had an overnight in a hotel before boarding the ship

Day 2. Saturday 1st April 2017.

Dubai to Singapore

Swissotel The Stamford (5*)

A.M. Very cloudy throughout the journey

P.M. Torrential rain with thunder as we landed in Singapore which finally stopped about 17.00

We landed on time (14.00 Singapore time) and we were through immigration quite quickly. Our luggage was already on the carousel so we were out in the arrivals hall at 14.40 but there was nobody from the cruise line there to meet us! We eventually phoned the number on out transfer form and they sent a taxi for us. We got to the hotel at 16.15.

Swissotel The Stamford (5*)

The hotel is situated in central Singapore, very close to Raffles, the Suntec Mall, Clarke Quay and the marina.

There are metro stations close by and the HOHO bus interchange is at the Suntec Mall.

There is a smaller shopping mall attached to the hotel.

The hotel is a 66-storey high-rise building with a huge impressive lobby area.

 

The hotel was a fairly short walk from the 'Suntec shopping mall so we made our way there and remembered that we had spent a lot of time in there the last time we were in Singapore. We found the large hyper-market and bought some beer, tonic water and nibbles before going back to the food court and finding the local food outlet that we had used last time. We had the 'noodle special' each at S$18 for the two of us. We both had the chicken broth and the noodles. Jim had the chicken and I had the crispy pork cutlet. It was very nice. We followed that with a visit to the yogurt ice cream shop across the way. I had a scoop of mango and a scoop of lemon and strawberry sorbet with a few of the juicy 'popping balls'.........absolutely yummy!!

 

Day 3. Sunday 2nd April 2017.

Singapore....boarding the ship.

A.M. Hot, humid and overcast with some sunny intervals.

P.M. As above 

Sea conditions.

Breakfast was included as part of the hotel package so we went down at 07.30. There was a comprehensive choice of hot and cold dishes which catered for the various nationalities that use the hotel. We had a very cosmopolitan selection!!

After breakfast, Jim went off to the park and I caught up with this diary before going down to the hotel shopping mall for a bit of 'retail therapy'.

The shopping mall was Raffles City and there was a M&S as well as a lot of other good quality shops. There was a large 'food court' in the basement. There was free wifi.

We met up at 11.15 and went up to the 70th floor to take some photos before finalising our check-out at 12 noon. 

The cruise.

Transfer

We had a 20-minute wait for the transfer coaches......there were a lot of other passengers who had stayed at the hotel too.

All suitcases were put in a separate van 

The journey from the hotel to the Marina Cruise Terminal took about 15 minutes.

At the terminal car park, we collected our suitcase from the van and took them to the drop-off point a few yards away.

We then made our way to the main building where we first had to show our passports and cruise tickets before we went through the airport type security scan.

After security, we were handed the 'health declaration' form to fill in.

At this point it was all rather chaotic and there were long queues for the check-in desks so people were being asked to sit and wait to be called. Unfortunately, there were a lot of bolshie people who refuse to sit and then complained loudly about the length of the queue!

Elite and higher tier passengers had priority check-in desks so their lines moved faster. The P&O method of using coloured cards was much better!

Check-in was quite slow because there was a Thailand immigration card and 3 Indian immigration cards to sign as well as the usual paperwork to be dealt with.

Once we had our sea passes, we went through Singaporean passport control and then, having handed our passports in to be held by 'the ship' we were able to board.

There was a small glass of Prosecco or orange juice offered as we walked into the ship's atrium at 13.30. 

We were not informed that the cabins were not ready and had to guess by looking at people sitting around with hand luggage. We waited for an announcement but after a while Jim went down and saw people going into their cabins so we headed to deck 3 and found that ours was ready.

 

 

 

 

 

Singapore January 2020 Fred Olsen Cruise Line - This was a port stop on a longer cruise. 

Mon 27 January 2020. Singapore - 08.00 - 23.00.

A.M. very hot, humid and sunny with some cloudy intervals

P.M. very hot and humid with some prolonged heavy showers

Sea conditions: Calm

·        Beware - Inside the terminal mall, we were told it was S$50 for a taxi to the Botanical Gardens. We walked out to the taxi rank and got a metered taxi for S$9!!!!

Singapore City

·        The city is large and very modern with areas of historical and ethnic interest.

·        Public transport is cost effective and very efficient.

·        There are 2 companies that run Hop-on, Hop-off bus services but neither service the HarbourFront Mall. They are a good way of seeing the city though and can be accessed at other shopping Malls like Suntec and at the Botanical Gardens

·        The majority of retail outlets etc accept credit cards but almost all, if paying in cash, require Singapore Dollars.

·        There are a lot of places in Singapore that merit a visit.......Marina Gardens by the Bay, The Marina Bay Hotel, Clark Quay, Orchard Road, Changi Prison Museum, China Town, Little India and the Botanical Gardens to name a few.

Singapore Botanical Gardens

·        The Gardens are large and beautifully stocked with a huge variety of plants.

·        Entry is free but there is a charge for the Orchid Garden - S$5pp and S$1 for over 60s - which is spectacular and well worth paying the premium.

·        There are smooth pathways that wind through a variety of 'rooms' which showcase specific species.

·        There are several lakes and plenty of open spaces.

·        Seating is placed strategically

·        There are cafes, restaurants, gift shops and toilet facilities at various points around the Gardens.

·        It is possible to borrow a wheelchair at the different entry points but, unfortunately for those with poor mobility, there isn’t an option to hire a mobility scooter or be taken round on a golf buggy.

 

 

 

 

Izzywiz this wonderful information will be invaluable, thank you so much.

We are also from Staffordshire.

We are booked to do the Spice Route cruise in 2023 from Singapore to Mumbai. If anyone has had  any experience of this cruise could you share your information and experience’s? We are spending two days in Singapore before stopping at Penang, Phuket, overnight in Columbo and Cochin and finally overnight in Mumbai. We will of course do the research before going but any personal experience is always very helpful.

Thanks, Gary.

What has been the experience of my fellow cruisers in relation to getting from Ravenna to Venice airport? There was some talk of coach’s being provided by Celebrity, private transfer and using the train. Any help or advice would be welcome.

On 7/31/2022 at 5:52 PM, Shawnkat said:

We board the Reflection in an aft suite in 3 weeks.  Hope our vacation is “ruined” just like yours.  😉 

After reading the comments on this post the reality for us is that compromise will loom large in our future cruise window. We already had a cruise booked for 2023 and all the suites are booked so we are hoping for a cancellation or a bid on a suite, we are definitely ruined.

1 hour ago, Smmessineo said:

Agreed!  I respect those who love suites, but the " once you've gone suite you'll never go back" posts bug me a bit. I think it can scare off new people  who don't know any better. I have found that,  at least as far as Celebrity is concerned , the cruise experience is exquisite whether you are in an interior stateroom or a suite.

We have never had a bad cruise with Celebrity and we have cruised with them many times. I’am not saying that the experience in other cabin’s is lesser in any way all what we were  saying is

1 hour ago, Smmessineo said:

Agreed!  I respect those who love suites, but the " once you've gone suite you'll never go back" posts bug me a bit. I think it can scare off new people  who don't know any better. I have found that,  at least as far as Celebrity is concerned , the cruise experience is exquisite whether you are in an interior stateroom or a suite.

how we felt on our latest cruise . It has taken many years to get to the point where we could afford an Aft Suite and our cruise next year is still Aft but not a suite

The perks of being a suite guest was a voyage of discovery for us. On embarkation we were shown to the VIP Lounge and were given champagne while we checked in . Now this alone made us feel feel very special and we looked at each other with a big smile on our faces. I’am sure that for cruisers who regularly have a suite this may sound really lame but for us first timers it was something we will never forget. 

We have recently got back from our Italy, Croatia and Greece cruise on Celebrity Reflection as Aft Suite guest’s and it has totally ruined how we want to cruise in the future. The level of service has been the best we have ever experienced and the commitment from all the of the staff has been amazing. Our embarkation was seamless and being directed to the VIP Lounge for Champagne set the tone for the whole cruise. A big thanks to all the crew and staff for making this an unforgettable cruise.

Reaching out to the cruisers who like to gamble what stakes are the roulette chips now please.

Has anyone experienced any problems with the metal water bottles?

On 6/24/2022 at 7:56 PM, Fly and Sail said:

 

I think he meant to say designer sneakers (at least that's what I get from it). Shoes like Prada America's Cup look very much like casual dress shoes and I shifted to those for many years now myself. Never had an issue in any setting. Would I wear them with a tux? Probably not. But with a sports jacket and slacks it looks pretty good.

 

Anyway as others said I don't feel like X is enforcing much of a dress code at any venue including Luminae or BLU, let alone the MDR.

Exactly right you never underestimate the class of Prada.

What sort of footware is allowed in Luminae? I only ask because on the none Chic nights would expensive sports shoes be allowed? I will be taking a pair of dress shoes for the chic night’s.

The E class ships look wonderful but we don’t like not having a “real” balcony so it would have to Reflection. We are counting down the days  for our July cruise on Reflection and this time we are in an aft suite and we cannot wait .