brfan

If no one can cancel the tips....what incentive is there to provide good service? other than possibly the worry that they won't get the additional tips so many feel obliged to give

What's the incentive for the salaried staff (eg. activities, guest services, etc) to provide good service? Why do people assume service people lack any kind of work ethic and need a carrot on a stick (tip) to do a good job, but salaried people can provide good service without that incentive?

I believer that the current tipped crew will continue to provide good service because they take pride in their work and want to continue to work so they can support their families. Plus they want to provide good service in order to get a good report on the cruise evaluation so they will be assured of a new contract and possible promotions, better assignments, etc.

Will there be bad service at times, of course. They're people not robots, we all have bad days. Plus there will always be a few that may not be suited to a service job, but bad evaluations will quickly weed those out.

We use the ship's phone as our clock and alarm clock. Because it's not lighted it's not very convenient at 3 AM when you just want to know what time it is.

 

I have no idea exactly what the reason is but I can see why there are no clocks. All but the new ships do not have an outlet near the bed; I can imagine a battery powered clock would 'walk' off the ship; the only battery powered device is the TV remote, heck RCI can't even give you a pen, let alone replace batteries in a clock.

Plus adding extra duty for the room stewards who would have to remember to change the clock time every time there was a time change on board and change batteries.

After running the numbers our agent offered us a cruise minus the "smoke and mirrors" .And along with her obc, we can cover our tips and drinks and have money left.

 

Just work the numbers, people. Had we picked the go big..drink package and then decided on tips, (go better ) those $350 tips would have cost us over $400. Where's the sense in that? I can't imagine seasoned X cruisers aren't smart enough to figure this out.:rolleyes:

The issue I see is no one knows how much of the go big price is the cost of that perk. So you still maybe paying $400 for the $350 tips by choosing the tips as the go big perk or maybe more if they've incorporated the drink package cost into the go big price.

We have purchased OBC converted at the C$1.10/US$1 rate for our upcoming RCL cruise and tried to do the same for a cruise on Celebrity next year, thinking sister companies would have the same policy.

However the quoted exchange rate for Celebrity was around $1.30.

 

We booked our Celebrity cruise a little later, but booked in C$ when the rate was around $1.10-$1.15. Has anyone else had any better luck buying OBC for Celebrity cruises

 

I tried the Celebrity boards but couldn't find anything recent about OBC

 

Thanks

You can buy OBC for Celebrity on their website under Gifts by Celebrity. Currently the cost for $25 USD is $30.60.

The cost of the beverage package isn't necessarily the same as its value (to a particular passenger), whereas the gratuities are worth the same to everybody (except those who stiff the crew -- Daddy Warbucks can still tip extra :)). For DW and me the Beverage package is worth very little, so we choose Gratuities and evaluate the cost of the cruise on that basis.

I realize that the perk(s) chosen will the ones of value to the passenger. However, when Celebrity prices the cruise I assume they would add the cost of the most expensive perk to the go big price.

The October 25th Allure Transatlantic is included on next weeks Going, Going Gone Sale.

 

I am guessing they just had the 75 day final payment.

 

They are open for C&A members from Monday, August 17th. Sometimes they have Sat./Sun. sales with the same or better rates.

 

Inside M, N and Q at $399

Ocean-view H, I at $509

Balcony D6, D7 and D8 at $799

JS at $1389

Unless there is also some kind of residency rate, it looks like there is an error for the inside as it's showing as $397 CAD. I wonder if any Canadians will be able to get that rate?

And I was only commenting on your post about paying in the buffet,I stand behind what I said.

Apparently you are missing my point...I'll repeat the poster said you had to pay more for the privilege of not dressing up and I wondered why since you don't have to pay extra to not dress up and have room service or eat in the buffet. I have no idea what you thought I meant. Apparently my sarcasm was missed. :D

They don't, you're either being facetious or misunderstood the comment.

No the poster has been saying the only way to get out of dressing formally is to pay more (either suite, aqua class or specialty restaurants). That is not true.

Exactly folks pay Celebrity for the privilege of not having to wear formal clothes on formal night. Why did Celebrity specifically change the dresscode for those higher paying customers in Aqua and Suites? Because they don't want to wear suits.

When did Celebrity start charging to eat in the buffet in the evening or order room service?

I still don't understand the claim the Go Big hides higher charges. The charges are what they are (and Celebrity like all cruise lines coming out of the Great Recession is planning to raise fares). But Go Big just rolls in the gratuities (if you choose that option), which you had to pay anyway. Since we do Select dining, we always had to pay them as part of the fare -- so this is no change. It actually saves me from doing one bit of math, since I always had to add the port fees + gratuities to figure out what the real minimum cost of the cruise was going to be.

Wouldn't they roll in the highest costing perk into the Go Big price (likely the drink package)? The Go Big isn't dependent on which perk you pick (at least I haven't noticed a reduction if you pick a lesser costing perk).

As far as future promotions are concerned my guess they will use the same "sale" promotions that Royal used to do with their WOW sales - reduced deposit and additional OBC, no actual reduced price.

You're missing my point. Celebrity allows folks to dress in certain ways either by accepting payment or simply allowing it. If Celebrity allows it then it's nobody else's business. Wear your tux and enjoy your evening with your partner.

Not true at all. The specialty dining has a different dress code by not having formal nights. Blu and the Suite Dining Room also don't have formal nights. It's just the Main Dining Room that has formal nights.

If people not in Aqua class or Suites don't wish to dress formally and don't wish to pay they can always have room service or go to the buffet.

The dress code only applies to the MDR.

I'm already booked in CDN for this fall and next fall. What will be brutal will be the on board spending for next year since I haven't bought the OBC for that one. A premium drink package is now $100/day with tip, way out of reach. I'll just have to be boring and thirsty. ;)

I was hoping to upgrade from an inside for my next cruise. I'd upgrade at the US price but not at the CDN price, it makes the total additional cost way too high just to have a window or balcony.

You can buy OBC through Celebrity Gifts. They are currently charging $30.60 CAD for $25 USD OBC, which is still a better rate than you can get at the bank.

Many of us have thought Celebrity would have done this a couple of years ago. I think we will get some surprises with the restaurants on the new ships along with elimination of formal nights.

I find it interesting that for Royal's Quantum class they did away with formal nights by just having one formal restaurant. All other dining venues on the Quantum class are either casual or smart casual, just Grande is formal all the time (except first evening). Yet people are still complaining about having to dress up to go there. Keep in mind it really isn't all that formal. I think for men they just need to wear a jacket of some kind. But on a regular basis there will be questions posted whether shorts can be worn or is it really formal and then the usual arguments for and against.

So If Celebrity follows suit and has one formal venue and a bunch that aren't formal, there will still be these threads and arguments.

I guess so, but I just think a presence in Miami, with at least one new ship (presumably Q4) would be good to keep up with the competition, who's new ships are only in Miami.

I thought Quantum class couldn't go to Miami as the port isn't deep enough? I also though there was some reason why Quantum class couldn't go to Fort Lauderdale either. I believe this was mentioned in the 2015/16 deployment thread.

I just gave G&G a call and was able to purchase $500USD for $550CAD - a straight 10%. No need for ID and the call was done in no more than 5 minutes.

 

Now if only that email confirmation were to show up... :confused:

If you haven't received your email confirmation, call them back to get it. I had to do that the last time. I'm not sure if they got the email address wrong as you have to give it to them verbally (not sure why can't get it off your reservation).

Yes. Set up your set sail pass as a cash account. This will allow you to withdraw cash at the casino without Royal charging you the usual 5% fee.

Have you experienced them not charging the fee if you have a cash account? The reason I'm asking is anytime I've asked for cash at the casino they just tell me about the charge before even swiping my card. No mention that it will only be charged if I've set up my account with a credit card.

They have added SLUSH a frozen drink bar at the pool, they just repurposed the old "pool hut" where they'd fold towels and sell sundries.

 

Passport bar has become GastroBar where they have more beer colors on offer and a separate for fee menu of food options.

 

Molecular Bar (as on all S-class ships) is becoming World Class Bar, serving a new drink menu, still fancy drinks, just a new concept and menu. Not sure of the timing on Eclipse, each ship is happening over time. It may be done already, I just don't know.

The Molecular Bar became the World Class Bar during the Eclipse dry dock in April. I was on the cruise before the dry dock and enjoyed spending my evenings at the Molecular Bar and it was sad to watch them start to dismantle it the last evening.

I just did a mock booking for the Eclipse 12/13 cruise (5 night) -

GoBig was $1398.39 for a 2D veranda stateroom ($300 OBC)

GoBetter was $1548.39 for same 2D ($300 OBC w/Bev. Pkg)

 

I was surprised as the Bev. Pkg. on a 5 nite cruise is worth $275 ($55/day) and the upcharge to GoBetter was only $150. So, based on that I was not being charged for 2 beverage packages.

 

You almost have to do many comparisons and know what each benefit is worth in order to figure out the true cost! It's a lot of work!! :)

The upcharge between go big and better should be $15 USD per person per night. The difference you show is $30 per night, which means solos are being charged double (eg. paying for two drink pkgs, two tips, etc., depending on which perk you pick for the second one). Plus for the go big you are paying double for that perk (as it's built into the price) as you have to pay double as a solo.

According to the CEO solos should only be charged the per person rate to upgrade and not double that rate, but the web site doesn't reflect that. I was wondering if anyone had called Celebrity to book and was only charged $15 per night to go with the go better option.

Has any solo booked and upgraded to either go better or best and not been charged double to upgrade? If you do a mock booking online the cost to increase to the better/best is doubled, but during the CEO's Q&A she said that solos would not be paying double (though I guess we are with the go big as that is incorporated into the price which is doubled for solos).

It is both, it's just that the cost of the promotion is now more obvious than it used to be.

 

But for the purposes of adding perks, it is a promotion and therefore can negate having other perks.

 

This proves out in that you can take BBB or you can book a resident or senior fare, you can't do both.

 

The cost to add BBB is less than the cost to add the individual components to a booked reservation, therefore it is a promotional offer.

But at the moment isn't BBB a permanent thing, with no end date (outside of the end date of cruise availability)? Promos usually only last a short period of time (eg. a couple of weeks or months). I was just thinking, based on some comments, that if people are thinking they'll wait a couple of months when BBB ends and maybe something new replaces it, may be disappointed. The way things are right now they may have to wait until the new deployments come out later this year/next for rest of 2017/18 to see if BBB will continue.

I'm also wondering if Celebrity is thinking that with BBB they won't need to bother with any new promotions (other then the Tuesday sale)?

I have a good TA. I have 4 future Celebrity cruises booked. 3 were booked last January while cruising and transferred to my TA. 1 was booked during a good deal in May with free tips, $600 air credit, and OBC from TA. When making final payment on an upcoming cruise, my TA asked me what I thought of the BBB. I don't think it is good for me. TA said that he has been getting fewer Celebrity bookings. Many loyal Celebrity cruisers have jumped to other lines. The BBB is the most recent perk promotion. What will be the next promo?

I didn't think BBB was a promo but a new way of pricing?

Does anyone know if you can do the same thing with Celebrity?

Yes, you can buy OBC via their Gifts By Celebrity (under the Already Booked Tab). Then select Gift delivered on board. You buy the OBC in $25 USD increments and they are currently charging $30.60 CAD. Unlike Royal you can do the purchase online. The exchange isn't as good as Royal, but it is still better than buying USD from a Canadian bank.

Hi everyone,

I just received the following email from Royal regarding a departure time change out of New Jersey. As I know Royal's email is hit and miss I thought I would share it:

Dear Valued Guest,

We are contacting you regarding your upcoming sailing onboard the Anthem of the Seas between November 10th, 2015 and April 17th, 2017. The ship will now sail from Cape Liberty at 3:00 PM instead of the previously scheduled 4:00 PM departure. Please keep in mind that all guests will need to be checked in and onboard the ship at least 60 minutes prior to the 3:00 PM departure time. This change may also impact arrival and departure times for ports of call you may visit during your cruise vacation. Updated itineraries can be found at http://www.royalcaribbean.com. If you have more than one cruise booked during this time, you may receive more than one message. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Your dining reservation will automatically be assigned to either early or late seating. You should discuss your preferences with your TA and have them make the adjustment.

And if you have Dynamic Choice you will be automatically put into My Time Dining.

Having to change ships would be almost impossible at this point and a PR disaster. I can't believe that anyone at RCCL would be crazy enough to allow this to occur. As for an earlier question of why they haven't posted here, why should they? If you're concerned about the dredging not happening, email the CEO and ask.

I guess if the worst happens and the dredging doesn't get done, Royal will have to determine which will be a worse PR disaster - changing ships and still keeping the Bermuda itinerary or changing the 5 night Bermuda itinerary on the Anthem and going to Halifax instead (or whatever port they can substitute and keep the 5 night length). I'm thinking an itinerary change might be the worse option, based on the anger that happened a few years ago when a ship was diverted to Canada due to a hurricane rather than going to Bermuda.

As to Royal paying for the dredging, I believe they announced a while back that they were going to pay for part of it. However, if it's a case of requiring Bermuda's approval to dredge, then it won't matter how much Royal pays if they aren't allowed to do it.