Dolebludger

I liked the posts above contrasting what used to be good business practices to what they are now. Management goals used to be establishment of regular, repeat customers, and working to expand that base. Regulars cost less to keep (massive advertising isn’t required) and a strong repeat base produces reliable, predictable revenues in the long term which aids long term planning. Now, all that matters is meeting or exceeding quarterly revenue goals, without regard for impact on the longer term. Often, changes and actions that improve quarterly revenues have an adverse impact in the long term. In Celebrity’s case, there is probably pressure on quarterly revenues. While ships are sailing pretty full, many are using FCCs from the pandemic. These produce no new fare revenues. So it looks like Celebrity is panicking — trying to raise current revenue even in little, silly things (I.e., the cookie fiasco). And now the little silly thing is to surcharge guests who have bought AI drink packages. And Celebrity has raised Retreat fares above its real competition, which is the high premium and lux lines. Hopefully, these panic moves will all go the way of the cookie fiasco. And hopefully, Celebrity will stop making panic moves and cuts. Until it does, we all would do well to shop around other lines and select one with some confidence that we will get what we book. In the military we all were taught “don’t panic — that never works out well”. Perhaps those in charge at Celebrity were never taught this — or have forgotten it.

People, we are not much in the way of wine drinkers. I drink beer and wife drinks cocktails on cruises. So, while I do understand wine drinker’s anger over pricing favorite wines over Premium package limits , my personal concern is what beers and cocktails (if any) have been ‘surcharged” over premium package..I asked this before, but didn’t see a comprehensive answer. So I ask, does this mess of pricing popular wines oner premium limits go to wine only, or does it impact beers and cocktails as well ?..

One thing I haven’t see reported — have there been price increases in beers and cocktails so as to remove them from full coverage with the Premium package?

S to S, I have certainly enjoyed your review of these two cruises. I look forward to your summary review of your comparison of the two.

I guess the question is, are you being surcharged for it?

All this is unfortunately very true. Celebrity has missed the demographic of those choosing the Retreat. Cruisers who so chose have been motivated by the fact that the Retreat offered much the same experience as smaller lux ships at what was a lower fare, while also offering access (when desired) to activities and features of a large ship. And the key was the inclusion of products and services in an uncrowded environment. Sad to see it go.

The reason I asked is that, the two cruises on which we visited the Retreat Lounges, I don’t recall seeing a drink menu with prices.

Just a question here. Has anybody actually been surcharged for a drink in the Retreat Lounge?

Of course, there is nothing we can do about all the cuts in service and inclusions, and fare increases, except "vote with our wallets" and book cruises on lines that still offer value. It can be done.

FWIW, we really liked our cruises on in 2018 and 2019 in CS and RS. But, for the future, it seems that things we liked then may no be there now, and the fares now are astronomical and not competitive. I wish this were not true.

To me, a significant problem with what X is doing with the drink package is classification of some rather ordinary wines and spirits as extra cost items. I mention Regent, as it is a lux line, and I believe the Retreat was also designed and marketed as a lux experience. On Regent, almost all beverages are included. The only ones at extra cost are a very few extremely expensive wines and spirits. Certainly nothing that Costco sells is at extra charge on Regent. I have no problem with the system on Regent. But what X is doing is diluting the value of the drink package to the point that it is no longer part of the lux experience.

This reminds me of the $2 (plus 20%) cookie fiasco. And I hope it meets the same fate. It seems that Celebrity is trying to squeeze every last nickel out of the passengers. Management should be ashamed.

Well ,yes. Residential furnishings can be much more fragile than commercial furnishings and still get by. But in a commercial setting, furnishings need to be much more sturdy in all respects. I’m just not seeing that in the Retreat on the Summit.

Welk back before 9/11 all cruise lines (except Carnival) allowed guests to carry on any beverages they wanted. And on RCCL, you could buy spirits cheap in the onboard liquor store for consumption in one’s room. Then, shortly thereafter, changes happened. Suddenly, cruisers on RCCL were prohibited from bringing any beverages onboard. Luggage was X rayed and any drinks were held until cruise end. On board liquor stores wouldn’t allow purchases to be taken to the rooms, but were kept until disembarkation . Then the stores disappeared. Soon. All mass market lines followed RCCL. And so we quit cruising on mass market lines. we confined ourselves to AI lux lines. This means we don’t cruise as often, but come home happier.. I have always believed that the cruise lines used 9/11 as an excuse to X ray and search luggage —not for bombs and guns — but to stop “bring on” beverages from depriving them from revenue from their over—priced on board beverages. Just my opinion. But we haven’t cruised in a line or category that wasn’t AI onboard since early 2002.

Yes, this March we are booked in a concierge suite in the eastern Caribbean on the Regent Splendor. After seeing the furniture and trim in the SS in this thread, I used google to see pics of our future suite. It looked nothing like the SS suite, furniture and trim. It looks contemporary, but classy. I know that cruising in the Caribbean is a bit overdone, but we haven’t cruised there for 14 years. And we are old, and airlines aren’t reliable. The longer the flight, the more connections, the greater the chance of being stranded. So we are going back to the Caribbean. The furniture deficiencies in the SS wouldn’t keep us from booking a cruise in one. But other things do.

Well, regardless of what I might use the desk for (if anything), I don’t think the desk and chair look right. The chair looks like those plastic patio chairs that grocery stores sell for $20 or so. The desk (and other furniture) looks like that synthetic wood stuff sold at Walmart. And, that sofa. I don’t know how it works, but it looks like that cheap stuff that has no frame and is only foam rubber. It doesn’t look like what should be in a suite.

Actually, no, the comment is not too harsh. There is a large, open question about how much wiggle room should be allowed in a mandatory contract fine print drafted by any seller when what’s delivered is not quite what was originally purchased. This language in the fine print of the “cruise contract” is supposed to protect cruise lines when they have to change itineraries because of weather and wars. Totally fair. But cruise lines’ interpretation of this has gone way beyond this. And it isn’t just Celebrity. My favorite line now (Regent) is currently involved in a problem of major port cancellations in the west coast of Mexico on its newest ship (the Grandeur). The reason for this is that this ship was designed to hook up to the ports electrical service instead of using its engines to generate electricity in ports. An environmental thing. The cancelled ports (according to Regent’s admission in emails to booked guests) was that the cancelled ports did not have electrical hook up capability. This mess doesn’t affect our Regent booking, so we will go. But if Regent’s handling of this doesn’t satisfy me, it will be goodbye to them too!

I know my posts on this subject are lux lines vs the Retreat. In categories below the Retreat, it looks like to me that Celebrity still offers a good deal, compared with its mass market competition. Actually, the Retreat (and the Yacht Club and the Haven) were set up to offer those who would ordinarily take a lux line 98% of the lux experience for a much lower fare. And we believe that the Retreat did a very good job of establishing itself I that market, pre-pandemic. Now, Celebrity has raised Retreat fares so much that they are higher than our preferred lux line (Regent), while cutting back on too many lux perks to list in this post. I am not angry with Celebrity due to this, because I can just book a lux line with a lower fare than currently on the Retreat. Instead, I feel sorry for Celebrity. It had built up a loyal following for its Retreat product. Now it is sure to loose that following.

Well, the loss of a butler would perhaps wouldn’t be such a big deal if it hadn’t been accompanied by other cuts (tips no longer included, for example), and significant fare increases.

Is this the same in Luminae and Blu?

Is it just me, or do the furnishings in the Sky Suite look a little “Motel 6ish”? I couldn’t tell much about the Yacht Club inside, because it was small with not much in it.

I think the point here is that if a cruise line uses obscure language in their “passage contract” (which is in such small print that I cannot read it) to deprive customers of an advertised benefit when they paid for it, it is time for another cruise line. Cruise lines (and airlines, hotels, resorts, and all travel providers) get away with murder because if obscure and unreadable contract provisions. Thus should not be!

Well, we are RSSC regulars. We cruised it when it had the Paul Gauguin and the Diamond, and last June on the Explorer. Much in between. In about 2018 and 2019 we had two cruises in the X Retreat, and they were really good, and at less cost than Regent for a larger suite. We checked things out lately, and find that the Retreat is more costly than cruising Regent. And find that the Retreat benefits have been cut. So no way on Celebrity! Back to Regent exclusively for us. They have the best price on what we require.

Well, I just think this is a sign of Celebrity trying to go back to its roots as a mass market cruise line. Trying to nickel and dime the guests is a hallmark of mass market lines. Remember who Celebrity’s parent company is — RCCL — the worst nickel and dimer of all !

Yes sixpackeddie, on Regent, the room steward or the room service crew will bring you whatever you want. We just care that this is what happens. We don’t care if anybody has the title of “butler” or not. And on a real lux line, it does happen. It seems that in a line that is not a real lux line, it doesn’t,— even if the price is higher than on a real luxline.