jakebloke

I was lucky to get a Sunset Veranda cabin on the Edge earlier last year, as I had no desire to stay in the infinite veranda cabins.   I loved it.  Now when I search for future cruises on Edge or Apex, its very difficult to find any available Sunset, and when I do, they are at a much higher premium than when I booked that first one.  Obviously Celebrity realized the demand was high for a true balcony and thus the increase in price,  

Prices are back up to what they were.  That was a short lived sale.  

Pricing appears to be changing.  I’ve been watching a 5 night cruise in October.....looking at an XL Sea Terrace or the Seriously Suite.  The XL terrace was $2500 per cabin and is now $1875.  The seriously suite was $3900 and is now $2975.  That’s a pretty big difference.  The Cuba loss was a huge loss.  I would’ve been booked months ago if Cuba was in the mix.  I’ve been waiting to see how things look as I’ve been quite torn on some of the ships features, and am glad I waited as things seem to be changing a bit price wise.  Also I know it’s hurricane season and perhaps some of these aren’t selling well and they needed to drop the price.  

Agree...some of the restaurants look nice.  I will continue to watch updates especially as real sailors get onboard and post tours etc.  besides my opinion on the decor (which I understand is subjective), I don’t get a feel that there’s a great connection to the sea unless you’re on the upper/outer decks.  I haven’t ruled her out, I’m just not as thrilled so far as I’d hoped.  

I’ve been eagerly waiting to see actual photos of Scarlet Lady, and now that I have, I can’t help but feel really disappointed.  A few of you posted that you’re even more excited now that actual photos are out, I feel the opposite.  Except for some of the restaurants, everything is very dark and bland...cold even.  There’s nothing about the ship that looks relaxing.  I cringed at the photos of the mega rockstar suites.  People are paying a fortune to stay in these ultra dark boring spaces.  Those cabanas are a joke.  I guess in my opinion the decor of the ship just feels totally off.  There are some great concepts Virgin is bringing to the industry, but they definitely missed the mark on the general aesthetics (not to mention the pools) in my opinion.  Anyone know if Valiant Lady will be an exact twin decor wise?  

I’m a very loyal Celebrity cruiser.  When VV announced some of their features like adults only, I was immediately excited.  One of the reasons we love Celebrity is that there does tend to be far fewer kids on board than other cruise lines.  The main factor that got me excited tho was they were going to Cuba,  So when Cuba itineraries were stripped from us, and the cruises are only 4 or 5 nights, and the cabin designs were revealed, and a tattoo parlor on board, I’m less thrilled.  Still curious, but I won’t book anything until there’s been several cruises behind them and people report back.   I think VV has a lot of potential, but I don’t see them being a huge threat to someone like me with it’s current offerings.  Things could definitely change for VV.  If we start seeing them offering 7+ night sailings and are eventually able to go back to Cuba, perhaps offer drink packages, VV could be an option when looking/comparing various cruises to consider.  

I love it.  It's not an entirely new concept, but it's a great execution.   I actually have several men's bracelets that have a similar nautical look.  Rope and anchor/hook which I mostly wear on cruises, so this will be similar. 

I've gone on a few Pied Piper groups.  My first was with a group of about 100 people in the Caribbean on the Celebrity Silhouette.  We had a nice time with the group.  They had special events and happy hours throughout the week.  I'd say the average age was prob 65+.  My husband and I were 40 so for once, felt like young ones.   The most recent one had a group of 23  and only about 12 people showed up to dinner and the events.  That was on Celebrity Edge in the Mediterranean which I"m sure contributed to the smaller group.  I've never done the Post Thanksgiving cruise, but I know it's their largest group by far and sometimes they fill 1/2 the ship which will definitely give you the feeling you're on a gay cruise......but without the "circuit parties" and dances that Atlantis does.   They don't charter the ship, so it's never a completely all gay cruise and the group does skew a bit older.  We were considering doing this years post Thanksgiving, but we have no desire to go on the massive Allure of the Seas with most likely a bunch of kids on board.  (they almost always use Celebrity which we prefer)

I was looking to book the Oct 25th sailing as it'll be over my husband's 48th birthday. I too had some reservations about demographics etc, but now feeling somewhat relieved.  This is also the sailing that the BearCruise group will be on which I just found out about 5 minutes ago thanks to this thread.    We're not bears, but it's nice to know there will be a group of gay men on board.  I still might wait to hear how things go after a few sailings, but I'm also inclined to just give it a try!!.

I was on 8 a few months ago and it was perfect.   I feel like I lucked out  as it seems they are in high demand.  There's so few standard balconies on the Edge and Apex, and this high demand has just caused them to be more expensive.  Someone else noted they are now higher than Concierge.  Celebrity is obviously capitalizing on the demand.  The aft balconies on any ship are my favorite, but it seems like it will be difficult if I want to sail Edge again, or the upcoming Apex.  

Now the Cuba is unfortunately out of the picture for Scarlet Lady, I'm much more interested in these Mediterranean itineraries.  Something tells me they'll be a lot more $$$ however.  

15 hours ago, daydreamer16 said:

Can I ask? Where is Captain Kate headed next?

I sailed the Edge in early July and Captain Kate was on board a couple of nights.  While I'm not exactly sure what they were doing, I did see them set up cameras for filming.  They closed off the Martini Bar area for a few hours as well as the Magic Carpet one evening and were set up like a movie set.  My assumption is they are going to heavily market The Edge with some new material and Captain Kate will be a part of that.    I guess we'll find out soon enough.  

On another note.  I sailed Equinox last August and absolutely loved Captain Kate.  I usually don't care who the captain is, but she just brought a different personality (at some times quirky) which I appreciated.  She seems to have established a bit of a following with almost 83K followers on instagram so I guess it makes sense to use her in some marketing.  

They used to use the word "free" on the website which is misleading and actually not accurate.  I distinctly remember searching for cruises and different pricing and seeing them use "free" and thinking how is it free when I'm being charged another $400 per person?  I don't see it now, so  I think they've finally stopped using the term.  Which is good.  It's still a strange pricing strategy. I guess we just need to accept that the base fare you see will likely be several 100+ dollars more if you want something as little (or large) as a refundable deposit if you need to cancel.

Thanks for the info.  Has anyone asked to have a lounger brought down on the Edge?  I may just bite the bullet and get some of these inflatable ones. 

It definitely looks like there is more than enough room for 2 loungers in these balconies.  I've asked for someone to bring loungers on previous cruises and they always have without much problem.  The only cruise line that gave me some pushback was Celebrity.  They told me they were reserved for Suite guests.  In the end, the cabin steward brought some down.  Has anyone who's been on the Edge asked for loungers?   I'm on the Edge this summer with only one day at sea, so it won't be the end of the world if they can't provide, but it would still be nice.

Has anyone done the Day in Nice and Eze discovery excursion through Celebrity?  I'm curious to find out how much time was spent in each place and any other info.  Thanks.

One of the ports on my cruise this July is Villefranche.  I do want to see Nice and I do want to see Eze.  After doing quite a bit of research, I’m thinking of taking an Uber as soon as we get off the ship (port as I know its a tender port) to Eze and then if timing works out taking the Bus back from Eze Village to Nice or if the timing isn’t great walking the trail all the way down and catching the train back to Nice.  Has anyone done this or something similar?  

11 minutes ago, grandgeezer said:

To us, it's not about the cost, but the value for such cost. Because of this, we have never tried even the entry level suite on Celebrity. We have done a Grand Suite on the Allure of the Seas and the Yacht Club Deluxe Suite on MSC. Less money and we thought it was the greatest thing since sliced bread. We are doing MSC again in October.

That is it in a nutshell.  My experience in a S1 suite on the Silhouette did not provide the value that we paid.  It was a beautiful spacious cabin (probably the nicest cabin of all the cabins I've stayed in) but that was it. Even if I wanted the butler service, he was never around. I wouldn't spend the money on one again.   Now my experience on NCL's Jade suite was amazing.  Very attentive staff and concierge that made us feel special....but I won't go into that here.  

Now that the Edge has been up and running for several weeks, does anyone have any definite info on the Sunset Veranda? Which ones are larger etc?   I was initially intrigued by the Infinite Veranda when I heard the description way back when (most of us prob were intrigued at some level).  But now that I've seen actual videos of these cabins, I can say I have no desire to book one.  I don't think they are being as well received as Celebrity was hoping.  This only means the SV cabins may be more in demand.  :(

Just a question. How about insurance?? Pretty sure your car insurance wont cover any offroading on unpaved road. Did they make you sign a waiver? Just curious.

I was also wondering about this. I’m not overly concerned, but I guess you never know what could happen.

I'm so glad I came on here today. I had a reservation at the Intercontinental for Nov 3, and read a post above that they were canceling reservations until Dec1. I didn't get anything from the hotel notifying me so I called them directly and sure enough, they need to cancel. Ugh. Not sure why they hadn't contacted me. Immediately called Casablanca and was able to get a room. So thank you fellow cruisers for the info.

My cruise on the Summit is 12/2. Ritz Carlton Carolina was supposed to open today. When I called on Saturday they seemed confused why I was calling and just said they were closed. Amex called them and they advised they hoped to open 11/1. I made a backup reservation not far and called that hotel first. They say everything is working and they are opening 11/1. I will be checking back in a week. The man was very pleasant on the phone. I had to prepay this one so I don't feel like doing a 3rd backup just yet.

I was supposed to stay at Ritz Carlton Nov 3. It took forever to find out any info on an opening date. Finally I was told they plan to open by the end of the year. The website also states they are not taking reservations until after 12/31.

My cruise on the Summit is 12/2. Ritz Carlton Carolina was supposed to open today. When I called on Saturday they seemed confused why I was calling and just said they were closed. Amex called them and they advised they hoped to open 11/1. I made a backup reservation not far and called that hotel first. They say everything is working and they are opening 11/1. I will be checking back in a week. The man was very pleasant on the phone. I had to prepay this one so I don't feel like doing a 3rd backup just yet.

I was supposed to stay at Ritz Carlton Nov 3. It took forever to find out any info on an opening date. Finally I was told they plan to open by the end of the year. The website also states they are not taking reservations until after 12/31.