What do you consider a "nominal charge"

[nycmode]

If Filet Mignon is included, then I'd say $15 or so ... if not then more like $10? Just my opinion

[macruisefan]

$25 seems more than nominal....which I have always thought should be replaced with "Exorbitant" rather than nominal. But the marketing department might not like that word.

 

I also laugh at how they call their internet fee nominal.

 

For a relative comparison, I have stayed at the Motel 6 for my kids dance competition at Disney Land. Wifi is something like $2.99 per 24 hours unlimited. What is Wifi on Celebrity? $150 for ...so many minutes.

 

Now granted a Celebrity ship is way classier than a Motel 6, and the ship is moving which has additional connectivity challenges, But I have to think both companies are making money on Wifi, and how much more is Celebrity making on their's??

 

I still buy it, but know that it is exorbitant rather than nominal.

 

:)

 

You're really comparing internet fees at a land based hotel to those on board a ship requiring satellite connection?:confused:

[jackdiamond]

It is just a matter of semantics. What difference does it make as to the nomenclature, since it is only the amount which should be of concern.

[Cruise Arizona]

You're really comparing internet fees at a land based hotel to those on board a ship requiring satellite connection?:confused:

 

 

yeah having a bad day I guess?:o

[Wineart]

There have been some interesting responses to my question. IMO, a "nominal" charge would be small (like the $5 Bistro on Five charge), so I was surprised to see that Celebrity considers $25 to be a nominal amount. I'm not questioning whether the specialty restaurant lunch is worth an extra $25. Perhaps it would be better if Celebrity just called it an "additional fee" or something similar because I personally thought nominal was misleading and was curious to see if my perception was different from others.

[macruisefan]

$25 for lunch, menu, table service, high quality.....

 

Find a restaurant where that would not be considered "nominal" and I'm there!

[Bridge Maven]

$25 for lunch, menu, table service, high quality.....

 

Find a restaurant where that would not be considered "nominal" and I'm there!

 

macruisefan, there is a big difference, though. At a land based restaurant you are paying for the entire meal, but at a specialty restaurant on a cruise you are paying the difference between the meal included in your cruise fare and the specialty restaurant. In fact, not all that long ago Celebrity referred to the cost of their specialty restaurants as a service fee.

[bubbasqueen]

OK. I'll validate your perception. You did a good job of voicing how I would feel. When one reads reviews of a ship that several people were on and they had an entirely different experience, one says, "What did I miss? Am I really that difficult to please?"

I"ll just state that nominal, which means to me a small amount of money, would be from $5 to $10 tops. I never begrudge the waiters their tips. I was a waitress for five years in the past.

Frankly, for $25 each my husband and I can go to some pretty good restaurants where we live.

[Taxguy77]

Considering I would pay $40-50 on a comparable lunch in DC, $25 is nominal from my perspective.

 

Here it would be $25 - $30, so way above nominal.

[hcat]

extra lunch charge for Bistro (& Porch ?) are about $5 (we add extra tip) --that's nominal for lunch at those spots but for table service at Tuscan I'd pay $10 if I decided to eat there...... & would not expect any added gratuity at those rates.......

 

We just booked Lawn Club Grill for dinner & were suprised at the $40 charge pp but are hoping there's some type of discount offered once we board...if not maybe we'll cancel it.. seems alot for a BBQ steak dinnner...

 

As pointed out already..the cruise fare does include meals so this upcharge should not be covering the cost of the entire meal--just the extra touches!!!

[shipshape sam]

Maybe Celebrity means nominal in reference to the service/product provided, not the location/time.

 

Johnny Rockets is around $5 on Royal Caribbean for a hamburger/fries/etc, which to me would not be considered nominal. If they served steak and charged $5-10, that would to me seem nominal.

 

I view nominal as covering their basic/base cost to provide the service/product, thus the actual $cost would depend on what was provided. To be clear, I am not suggesting that nominal cost = all their costs and for sure no profit.

[Bridge Maven]

macruisefan, there is a big difference, though. At a land based restaurant you are paying for the entire meal, but at a specialty restaurant on a cruise you are paying the difference between the meal included in your cruise fare and the specialty restaurant. In fact, not all that long ago Celebrity referred to the cost of their specialty restaurants as a service fee.

 

Regarding my previous post quoted above - there are probably two ways of looking at the price of a specialty restaurant at sea.

 

One is the difference between what the meal in the main dining room would cost and what the meal in the specialty would cost at comparable land based restaurants. That would pertain to people who think the food in the main dining room on a Celebrity ship is very good, but are willing to spend a nominal amount for an even better dining experience.

 

The other is to think of the main dining room as a gift card for a land based restaurant where they refuse to eat, even though it won't cost them anything. So in that case a person would be willing to go to a more expensive restaurant that they like and pay the entire amount, even though they could have had a meal for free. Since a number of people have posted that they think the food in the main dining room has slipped, but they don't care because they eat at a specialty restaurant every night, that analogy is very appropriate for those passengers.

 

In either situation, the concept of comparing the price of a specialty restaurant with a comparable land based restaurant is relatively new since Celebrity itself use to refer to it as a service fee/surcharge.

 

One thing I find interesting is that Celebrity has a reputation for having the best main dining room food of any mass market cruise line, but has the highest surcharges for their specialty restaurants.

[robsaw]

"Nominal" means we don't want to publish it because:

- it is too much work to go an update all the places we published it

- we don't want to discourage you from planning to avail yourself of services with "nominal" charges because they are nominally quite significant.

[Sloop-JohnB]

Dictionary.com defines it as...

 

(of a price, consideration, etc.) named as a mere matter of form, being trifling in comparison with the actual value; minimal.

 

Going with MAGIC MIKE's quote here... I'd say that lunch for $ 25 per person at Murano's is "nominal" vs the the standard pricing for Dinner in that Restaurant at $ 40 per person.

 

Not all Cruisers are going to want to lay out $ 80 extra dollars, when they can get a similar experience with a high-end Lunch or Champagne Tea in the same venue (both valued at $ 25 per person). I have seen several postings where past Reviewers felt they got a real deal when they snagged a Lunch Reservation at the lower rate than Dinner !!

 

--- --- ---

 

As for the posting where OXO "did the math"... sorry your numbers are a bit exaggerated. First off the Champagne Tea only happens ONCE in a 7 Day Cruise... (not twice... so it would $ 50 for a couple not $ 100)

 

Second, you cannot be at all those venues at the same time... you have by my count tallied for probably too many meals for the days you are on a 7 Day Cruise.

 

But in any case... what does it really matter. The way that Celebrity is structured now is that one buys a basic cruise, and purchases WHATEVER (IF ANY) EXTRAS that one chooses. Something for everyone IMO.

 

I like it this way... EVERYONE can pick and choose as they see fit / meets their interests or budget.

 

Cheers!

[Oxo]

As for the posting where OXO "did the math"... sorry your numbers are a bit exaggerated. First off the Champagne Tea only happens ONCE in a 7 Day Cruise... (not twice... so it would $ 50 for a couple not $ 100)

 

Second, you cannot be at all those venues at the same time... you have by my count tallied for probably too many meals for the days you are on a 7 Day Cruise.

 

But in any case... what does it really matter. The way that Celebrity is structured now is that one buys a basic cruise, and purchases WHATEVER (IF ANY) EXTRAS that one chooses. Something for everyone IMO.

 

I like it this way... EVERYONE can pick and choose as they see fit / meets their interests or budget.

 

Cheers!

Thanks for the correction. I guess I was $50 off on the Champagne Tea. So, I owe you $50. LOL

What do you think you would spend on that 7 day cruise?

[Orlandocruiser]

"Nominal" means we don't want to publish it because:

- we don't want to discourage you from planning to avail yourself of services with "nominal" charges because they are nominally quite significant.

 

You know that is the very reason we don't even look into those things that have an unpublished "nominal" fee. Being somewhat paranoid here but I think they don't publish the charge hoping that people will be ashamed to admit it is too expensive when they show up to partake of whatever it is. They don't want you to know ahead of time and thus lose the "buzz" over something you wouldn't even consider if you knew how much it cost.

[shoreham01]

I think some people are forgetting that they have already paid for food once. Its all very well to say that a meal is far more expensive 'where I live' but we are not eating where we live, we are eating on a ship where we have already paid for food. I do not think $25 is a nominal amount, I think $5 is a nominal amount.

For us, we would rather not eat in speciality restaurants, we prefer to put that money towards our next cruise.

[The_Big_M]

I think some people are forgetting that they have already paid for food once. Its all very well to say that a meal is far more expensive 'where I live' but we are not eating where we live, we are eating on a ship where we have already paid for food. I do not think $25 is a nominal amount, I think $5 is a nominal amount.

 

While I agree that we have already paid for 'food', the specialty dining rooms on Celebrity are a step above. It's just like some restaurants on land charge higher prices than others because they have a higher grade or service.

 

No problems if you are happy with the main dining room - which does already provide good food and service. However, I don't agree that because you've paid for 'food' that means that all possible food and service are necessarily covered.