the penguins

3 hours ago, pward123 said:

Pretty much our experience at the Doubletree at Manchester Airport yesterday, together with dedicated parking spaces. Arrived early and were out before our appointment time.

Similar at Stansted ( Hampton by Hilton) except £6 parking charge. Testn10.40 yesterday, negative result 07.55 today.

11 hours ago, kasijab said:

Those machines disappeared years ago unfortunately ... and I agree with the OP ..the juice we had last month I am sure was not freshly squeezed.

It was on Silhouette in 2019 our last TA 

16 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

I feel very sorry for the folks booked on the Silhouette TA; I'm sure they were really looking forward to it.  (We've had two wonderful TAs on the Silhouette.)   If the reason for the cancellation was indeed the 14-day "ship quarantine," I do hope Celebrity quickly announces where those other 2 days will come from, for the sake of those booked on the possibly affected cruises.  I agree with others above that the 3-day UK cruise scheduled just prior to the TA would be a good candidate (apologies to those affected).   

I was on Silhouette  

16 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

I feel very sorry for the folks booked on the Silhouette TA; I'm sure they were really looking forward to it.  (We've had two wonderful TAs on the Silhouette.)   If the reason for the cancellation was indeed the 14-day "ship quarantine," I do hope Celebrity quickly announces where those other 2 days will come from, for the sake of those booked on the possibly affected cruises.  I agree with others above that the 3-day UK cruise scheduled just prior to the TA would be a good candidate (apologies to those affected).   

16 hours ago, Turtles06 said:

I feel very sorry for the folks booked on the Silhouette TA; I'm sure they were really looking forward to it.  (We've had two wonderful TAs on the Silhouette.)   If the reason for the cancellation was indeed the 14-day "ship quarantine," I do hope Celebrity quickly announces where those other 2 days will come from, for the sake of those booked on the possibly affected cruises.  I agree with others above that the 3-day UK cruise scheduled just prior to the TA would be a good candidate (apologies to those affected).   

I was told by the Head of Security on Sllhoette during our 6 to 14 August cruise that they would be sailing empty across the Atlantic. When I said the TA was still on sale he backtracked and said " perhaps there has been a change" I posted this as soon as we disembarked and cancelled the TA before final payment - clearly he was telling the truth.

2 hours ago, jameslee said:

Is the fresh squeezed orange juice that Celebrity charges $4 really freshly squeezed or is it like the orange juice we buy from the market. I tried the juice from Apex and it seems pretty sweet. Doesn't taste like the fresh squeeze orange juice I drink from home

You can watch them squeeze it in a machine near the espresso machine in the buffet

5 hours ago, pward123 said:

Thanks for responding.

 

Is there anyone currently on Silhouette (or been on recent Silhouette UK cruises) able to confirm the UK position please? 

We didn't do a quiz in August. However there were no restrictions on mingling other than in restaurants, theatre, casino, or gym. You can't move the chairs or tables. Masks must be worn except when eating or drinking. As quizes are short I would assume you must be able to form a team. You can't share tables in the dining rooms with anyone outside your cabin or with whom you don't have a linked booking. You can't link bookings once you are on the ship. Larger groups are split but you can swop within your group on different nights. No restrictions in the cafe Al Bacio or Martini Bar - except you can't move tables and chairs to make bigger groups. Theatre you must leave 2 empty seats between groups/pairs - same applies to sunbeds which you also can't move. 4 people or 1 larger family to a lift. Masks everywhere inside except when eating or drinking. It all worked very well.

3 hours ago, Mark_T said:

Be prepared for it to give a little more yet, strong rumors that both Apex and Silhouette will make the crossing without passengers this time after an Agent briefing yesterday...

 

Not confirmed but news expected today it seems...

Silhouette has gone from the 2021 schedules now just 2022

9 hours ago, SUFTUM said:

You must work for UniLever

Please don't use 4 letter words in your posts - "work' indeed. Now I just do what is on the boss's (Anita's) lists.😍

6 hours ago, cruzzzinma said:

I guess I don’t know what to tell you. I have told you the facts about our upcoming cruises. We are not allowed to post information on specific travel agents. My agent is with a big online TA but not the big box store or the agency everyone is so aggravated with. You need to do some homework to find someone who can give you what you need.

You can't post your agent but you could at least:

1) post your agents prices for a specific standard balcony on a transatlantic cruise with and without AI .

2) confirm that your agent can give the Simply Sail price on that specific cabin not just on  a guarantee cabin.

Celebrity say it's impossible if it isn't we will have to do more research.

10 hours ago, jelayne said:

We have bookings  made in 2020 and those confirmations looks just like yours.  I think that may have been before AI.  Every booking we have since AI looks just like the one I posted no breakouit.

Our most recent booking was August 2021 and it has the full breakdown. Surely it must be connected to your military discount.

4 hours ago, tomballcruiser said:

If you booked through a travel agent do they have to do this for you or can you submit? 

Agent

1 hour ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Just announced during a TA webinar, the Silhouette and Infinity TA's will be cancelled tomorrow.

Silhouette still on sale in the UK. Whilst on Silhouette in August the Head of Security told me they would be sailing empty. This was denied by the Future Cruise office but it looks as if he might have been right all along.

On 9/13/2021 at 7:48 PM, chanceflight said:

Thanks for the info, but how much are tips pp? and how much is wifi per day if it is bought separately? 

Right now I am quoted $2616 for a E5 veranda vs $3549 for the same cabin with AI. That comes out to $78 pp/day difference.

You have had a lot of useful tips. So please would you answer a question about your quote:

Was the lower price only available as a " guarantee" cabin or were you able to book a specific one? Thanks 

58 minutes ago, jelayne said:

Not sure hen your confirmation was issued but ours don’t v a breakdown.

Here is the Celebrity confimation hen we booked in April for a Oct 21 sailing.

The line m ALL INCLUDED shows 0.00.  All 4 bookings we have made since AI was introduced look the same.

Fascinating, because as you can see from the post after yours their invoice is broken down exactly as ours is.

I don't claim to know but is it because you get a  special deal because you are /were military?

I understood that the military discount was a lot more than the $100 shown so is that Celebrity don't charge you for the AI part?

When you look at the other post that clearly shows the impact of AI pricing.

Perhaps other CC members have more knowledge on military discounts.

2 hours ago, 4774Papa said:

We did Eclipse in 2019 from Chile to San Diego and had members of our group that first met on the TA from Southampton to Miami in 2017.   I miss Celebrity, but won't pay what they are asking now.

Thought so. We did the whole trip from Buenos Aires to celebrate our Golden Wedding. We have cancelled one Celebrity due to price. Booked another with Royal instead. Have one more TA booked on Celebrity for April 2022 to use up a large OBC and unless the AI pricing is dropped that will probably be our last. Geoff and the boss (Anita)

19 minutes ago, 4774Papa said:

You nailed it:

 

All I and many others are asking for is a choice.

Agreed, thanks. I think we have cruised with you either on Silhouette November 2019 or around South America on Eclipse also 2019,

7 hours ago, norn iron said:

Its all a matter of taste, which ever way you butter your bread.

Bread - now that's a whole different subject. My mum's brothers and sisters ran a traditional bakery and we lived above one of the shops - pure joy.

33 minutes ago, norn iron said:

Check out the French Paradox diet, The French eat loads of butter and other rich foods and have amongst the lowest heart disease in the world. 

Doesn't help with the taste

2 hours ago, jagoffee said:

October 10, 2021.  Simply Sail Suite $6019.  Sky Suite $6999.  Since the AI includes so much, I would never book with the Simple Sail rate.

 

I was not questioning the difference in prices that you are seeing.  I was only questioning your assumption that any increased pricing is due to the AI program, since there are many other factors that impact pricing.

It is Celebrity which publishes the breakdown not me - I just report it. When you book with AI it shows as one total but on the Celebrity invoice it gives you the actual breakdown under 5 headings:

Cruise

Grats 

Drinks

WiFi 

Fees and taxes

You can interpret this how you like but around 15% of the increase seems to be on the cruise element and the rest is down to AI.

I am not against packages, and clearly they are great value for some,,good value for others, terrible value for passengers who don't drink and worst value for solos who pay for 2 lots of tips, 2 internet packages and 2 drinks packages.

All I and many others are asking for is a choice.

2 hours ago, cruzzzinma said:

Travel agent often have group rates. A good one will tell you but you sometimes es can ask.

I agree but Celebrity has confirmed that since the introduction of AI no travel now has a deal based on Simply Sail rates - if you know differently please please post as the agent would make a small fortune 

2 hours ago, PTC DAWG said:

Drinks are going to average at least $10 for alcoholic....the specialty coffees, etc...around 5 or so without booze.  

 

Not sure on the price of bottled water, etc...

 

As others have said, don't forget the included room gratuities...$15 or so a day per person.  

 

You do the math.  

If you are Elite or above this could be a very good deal,

As Elite you would get free alcoholic drinks for 2 hours a day plus 90 minutes each free WiFi.

If Elite +  same free drinks plus all lattes, teas and chocolate free all the time and 240 minutes each internet time.

We're you able to get Simply Sail rates with an actual cabin or only as a "guarantee"?

If not Elite you have to allow for all drinks and WiFi from your budget of $62.50 and if you only need 1 WiFi package which at per person per day is around $7  leaving around $55 for drinks

8 hours ago, norn iron said:

Eating Avocado's will lower cholesterol, only you have to eat about 50 a week.

How much marg do I need to consume?

No idea but every little helps and I just prefer the taste,

5 hours ago, jagoffee said:

You are absolute incorrect when you say that Celebrity no longer has Simply Sail rates on any TA.  Here  is just one example: Apex TA, October 10, 2021.

You probably should have said you have noticed any Simply Sail rates on any TA that interests you.

 

of course there is obviously no way that any person is going to ever convince you that any increased pricing  that you see  on any future cruise is anyway impacted by any factor except the  AI program.  
 

Repeating that absurd comment over and over does not make it a fact.

Have just checked the Celebrity  site. No Simply Sail option on the cruise you quoted. Cabin 7158 = £3223 per person is available. Please post your Simply Sail for this cabin for comparison.

I am very sorry you don't like my figures but, as posted before they are Celebrity's figures not mine. I look forward to seeing your figures because if you are correct we will be delighted to start booking with Celebrity again.

Just now, the penguins said:

No AI  (simply sail) rates are only available on a very few cruises (mainly caribbean) and only on guarantee cabins 

Sorry pressed to soon. Some Travel Agents used to have "net rates" that they used to package to give cheaper deals. All these net rates have been removed. One poster claimed that their agent still had this deal on all cruises but when pressed has failed to repost with the details.

1 hour ago, 4774Papa said:

From time to time, our cruise friends have mentioned travel agents to us that offered great deals.   Some of these would be companies that had a warehouse where you could shop for food or other household items in bulk.  However, we have no such store near where we live.  Also, I routinely check the on-line travel agencies.   I found that we could save a modest amount booking with one, but the savings was never that fantastic.   So, we still routinely book direct and have control of our bookings, so when prices drop, we get the drop.  Some of our friends had quite a time when their TA went belly up and they lost their bookings and down payment.   Others have had trouble getting in touch with the TA to get the benefit of price drops.   I am not criticizing your use of a TA.  I am sure you get savings, glad that works for you.

 

Regarding the AI rate and NO AI rate, both seem too high, at least the few that I have seen.   Most of what I see and cruises that I look at (I book early), I don't usually see the NO AI rate.

No AI  (simply sail) rates are only available on a very few cruises (mainly caribbean) and only on guarantee cabins 

57 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Don’t forget that without the drink package you would pay for teas and coffee’s at Café al Bacio, bottled waters, soft drinks, etc.

 

be sure to factor things like that in, as well as gratuities.

You can make life simple:

For whatever class of cabin you are looking at take the prices and subtract one from the other.

The difference is your "maximum" saving.

Now subtract the gratuities - what is left must  cover all your drinks (alcoholic,,water, lattes etc) and WiFi. You will probably find the amount you have is well under $25 a day - Celebrity add $100 per person per day to cover AI but only credit a fraction of it when you select Simply Sail. Plus Simply Sail is only available on guarantee cabins