Celebrity Edge- Major Ship Envy!

[Aquahound]

So you think extra perks that come with booking suites is unethical and results in the non-suite patrons not being treated with any dignity or respect?  

 

Interesting logic. 

[stickey_mouse]

1 hour ago, ronbe65 said:

 

I will put it this way.

Imagine you are on the NA tomorrow.

Below is what you see.

The Crow's Nest is reserved for suite guests only.

Front observation deck is reserved for suites only, and for $$ for others.

Forward sun deck is "suite access" only.

Premium seats in the theater are roped off for suite guests.

And the cherry on the cake: the best part of the beach on HMK is .... reserved for 4-star Mariners ans suite guests.

This board will expload next day.

 

As far as I can tell, the only difference (albeit, it's a big one) between Celebrity and HAL's suite perks is Celebrity's inclusion of a suite-only forward sundeck. If I'm missing something else, please let me know. And I'm still waiting for evidence that Celebrity does not treat its passengers equally or respectfully. 

[Despegue]

1 hour ago, ronbe65 said:

 

I will put it this way.

Imagine you are on the NA tomorrow.

Below is what you see.

The Crow's Nest is reserved for suite guests only.

Front observation deck is reserved for suites only, and for $$ for others.

Forward sun deck is "suite access" only.

Premium seats in the theater are roped off for suite guests.

And the cherry on the cake: the best part of the beach on HMK is .... reserved for 4-star Mariners ans suite guests.

This board will expload next day.

 

Happy cruising!

And that is why we, although Elite Plus, will not sail on X anymore.

On Vacation, I absolutely LOATHE a Class atmosphere, where I am not allowed to enter part of the vessel just because we do not need the space of a suite.

 On a cruise ship, all guests should be treated equal, and access to full amenities ( Small tokens of appreciation like a Neptune Lounge or PG breakfast are fine in my opinion), but X has created a real pyramid of Different class levels and a ship within a ship feeling, which goes completely against their Modern Luxury claim. 

Have you seen their current menus in the MDR?...Spaghetti Bolognese, Pork chop,...truly gone are the days of superiour dining on X. 

No HAL might not be perfect, but at least you do not have to buy a suite to be treated as a valued guest. ( mind you, we do not sail in Suites because we simply do not require the space )

[Despegue]

19 minutes ago, stickey_mouse said:

 

As far as I can tell, the only difference (albeit, it's a big one) between Celebrity and HAL's suite perks is Celebrity's inclusion of a suite-only forward sundeck. If I'm missing something else, please let me know. And I'm still waiting for evidence that Celebrity does not treat its passengers equally or respectfully. 

Seperate restaurants, seperate areas in the show lounge, seperate outer decks, etc.

X is running the “ Seperation policy “ of the cruising industry nowadays.

Edited January 9, 2019 by Despegue
Delicate toes it seems

[stickey_mouse]

3 minutes ago, Despegue said:

Seperate restaurants, seperate areas in the show lounge, seperate outer decks, etc.

X is running the Apartheid of the cruising industry nowadays.

 

Club Orange, anyone? And aren't show lounge seats only set aside on formal nights (not that it negates your point). And yes, I mentioned the outer deck as the only major difference. 

 

And your comment comparing a cruise line's policies and apartheid is distasteful, at best. 

Edited January 9, 2019 by stickey_mouse

[Despegue]

Do you even know what the word Apartheid means? It is Dutch and Afrikaans  for Seperate, and that is exactly what Celebrity is doing right now. Not as a Political racist policy, but nevertheless, seperating as much as possible .

 

 

Edited January 9, 2019 by Despegue

[stickey_mouse]

13 minutes ago, Despegue said:

Do you even know what the word Apartheid means? It is Dutch and Afrikaans  for Seperate, and that is exactly what Celebrity is doing right now. Not as a Political racist policy, but nevertheless, seperating as much as possible .

 

 

 

Then let's just chalk it up to a poor choice of words, and certainly capitalization, on your part. 

[Wishing on a star]

 

Jeez....  is this for real..   My opinion of that main dining room,  and some of the artwork/decor (which happened to be the current topics of conversation at that time) absolutely does NOT mean that I actually dislike the N.S.    I would appreciate it if others did not exaggerate and put words in my mouth.

Especially one who has actually started an entire thread about  Ship Envy of another ship or cruise line.

Do we really need to waste everyone's time with this minutia and negativity???

 

I see this is going on with others here now, as well.

Whatever floats your boat...  (pun def. intended!!!)

 

Having said that...  after about the third time, I simply choose to ignore and not even engage...  Just FYI.

 

PS:  on the other current topic here. I do not consider Club Orange to be what I would really call a class system.

If I am correct, it is available to anyone, even the cheapest inside cabin.  Right????

We very much enjoyed the Sanctuary on our last cruise on Princess.    Which I do personally consider to be a beautiful and well presented ship....  We did not have to be in a separate area or suite to enjoy this.   

IMHO,  from what I understand about Celebrity, yes, they are pretty much conducting a class system, ship within a ship.  

Edited January 9, 2019 by Wishing on a star

[stickey_mouse]

15 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

 

Jeez....  is this for real..   My opinion of that main dining room,  and some of the artwork/decor (which happened to be the current topics of conversation at that time) absolutely does NOT mean that I actually dislike the N.S.    I would appreciate it if others did not exaggerate and put words in my mouth.

Especially one who has actually started an entire thread about  Ship Envy of another ship or cruise line.

Do we really need to waste everyone's time with this minutia and negativity???

 

I see this is going on with others here now, as well.

Whatever floats your boat...  (pun def. intended!!!)

 

Having said that...  after about the third time, I simply choose to ignore and not even engage...  Just FYI.

 

I didn't mean to put words in your mouth. I just thought you didn't have anything good to say about the ship. It seems you like the new designs, so I stand corrected. Enjoy your cruise. 

[stickey_mouse]

21 minutes ago, Wishing on a star said:

PS:  on the other current topic here. I do not consider Club Orange to be what I would really call a class system.

If I am correct, it is available to anyone, even the cheapest inside cabin.  Right????

We very much enjoyed the Sanctuary on our last cruise on Princess.    Which I do personally consider to be a beautiful and well presented ship....  We did not have to be in a separate area or suite to enjoy this.   

IMHO,  from what I understand about Celebrity, yes, they are pretty much conducting a class system, ship within a ship.  

 

A separate dining location was used by another poster as an example of Celebrity's class system. I was just stating the fact that HAL now has this, too. 

 

And technically, suites are also available to everyone. Can't anyone book one? Imagine combining the cost of Princess' Sanctuary and HAL's Club Orange and adding it to the room price. Voila, suite class. My only point is that accessibility, if you still have to pay for it, isn't really an argument either way.

Edited January 9, 2019 by stickey_mouse

[Stateroom_Sailor]

8 hours ago, Wishing on a star said:

 

Jeez....  is this for real...

Do we really need to waste everyone's time with this minutia and negativity???

 

 

We're going to let you take the prize on a sunny personality, congratulations!  🌞

[Aquahound]

5 minutes ago, ronbe65 said:

You may want to take a look at this post that answers your question.

Suite perks vs Class segregation on cruise ships.

 

So your justification is a thread you started?  

 

Uh, ok.  

[Stateroom_Sailor]

I've been eyeballing Cunard, also a Carnival brand.  You want to talk about class segregation?  There are box seats in the theater for suite guests.  If that fancies some people's ego, or it's chump change with their income, have at it!  I'm not sure it's an ethical issue, any more than first class seats on an airplane.

[decdoc1223]

Hi: Phil and Jan, Jupiter Fl. Unable to get on any spreadsheet for roll call or cabin crawl;. Please add our names to the spreadsheet if one edxists. We willl be at the Connections Party. We are in cabin 7225, late seating.

Pleae add our names to roll call and cabib crawl. Can't wait to meet everyone!😎

If anyone has a link to the spreadsheet, please contact Phil at: sawbones95@aol.com

[KroozNut]

6 hours ago, decdoc1223 said:

Hi: Phil and Jan, Jupiter Fl. Unable to get on any spreadsheet for roll call or cabin crawl;. Please add our names to the spreadsheet if one edxists. We willl be at the Connections Party. We are in cabin 7225, late seating.

Pleae add our names to roll call and cabib crawl. Can't wait to meet everyone!😎

If anyone has a link to the spreadsheet, please contact Phil at: sawbones95@aol.com

 

Ummm, suggest continuing this discussion in the applicable roll call for this cruise. This thread is an entirely different subject and discussion.

[stickey_mouse]

Anybody have a subscription to the Times?

[Stateroom_Sailor]

57 minutes ago, stickey_mouse said:

Anybody have a subscription to the Times?

 

Not me.

 

The Edge is over twice the price, sailing with empty cabins.  Celebrity is already trying to offset this by rewarding their casino players with free cruises, and offering special deals through a specific TA.  Perhaps they'll be more profitable in the beginning, but these prices will have to come down.  It may come down to whether Edge draws in non-cruisers and Millennials like it is intended to.

[stickey_mouse]

5 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

Not me.

 

The Edge is over twice the price, sailing with empty cabins.  Celebrity is already trying to offset this by rewarding their casino players with free cruises, and offering special deals through a specific TA.  Perhaps they'll be more profitable in the beginning, but these prices will have to come down.  It may come down to whether Edge draws in non-cruisers and Millennials like it is intended to.

 

Just curious, how do you know it's sailing with empty cabins? And how many empty? 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

18 minutes ago, stickey_mouse said:

 

Just curious, how do you know it's sailing with empty cabins? And how many empty? 

 

There were suites that were never booked on the inaugural sailing, though people have claimed to upgrade at embarkation.  The January 27th cruise has availability in most categories:  

 

29 Inside

8 OV

15 Veranda

0 Concierge

17 Aqua

22 Suites

 

That's if I counted correctly.  All these people were locked in before some of the negative reviews started flowing, so I expect March to get worse if prices do not come down.

[stickey_mouse]

26 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

There were suites that were never booked on the inaugural sailing, though people have claimed to upgrade at embarkation.  The January 27th cruise has availability in most categories:  

 

29 Inside

8 OV

15 Veranda

0 Concierge

17 Aqua

22 Suites

 

That's if I counted correctly.  All these people were locked in before some of the negative reviews started flowing, so I expect March to get worse if prices do not come down.

 

Interesting. Although sometimes guarantee status skews what is actually there and what is not. And I must reiterate that price is a product of demand. If demand lessens, the price will decrease. And I would call the reviews mixed, not overwhelmingly negative. I know the HAL lovers are so eager to call Edge an immediate failure, but I think it's too early to call. 

[terrydtx]

2 hours ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

The Edge is over twice the price, sailing with empty cabins.

I was looking at some of the Edge pricing for 2020 cruises in the Mediterranean and they are not quite twice as expensive as similar HAL cruises but they are still considerably higher for Verandah cabins.

[bEwAbG]

3 hours ago, stickey_mouse said:

And I must reiterate that price is a product of demand. If demand lessens, the price will decrease.

 

Except so far they're letting cabins sail empty or giving them away to casino players. How is that following the standard supply & demand model if you're creating artificial demand?

[stickey_mouse]

1 hour ago, bEwAbG said:

 

Except so far they're letting cabins sail empty or giving them away to casino players. How is that following the standard supply & demand model if you're creating artificial demand?

 

I'd be interested in knowing how full the ship actually was when it sailed (not how many cabins appeared available online). And yes, they are charging a premium for the initial (and them some) sailings, but people are paying it. If they can charge a premium and still sail at 90% full, they are still laughing themselves all the way to the bank. Demand determines price, but it's not a zero sum game when it comes to cruising. Time will tell how if that demand holds steady or wanes a bit; if the latter, expect prices to decrease. 

[Stateroom_Sailor]

1 hour ago, stickey_mouse said:

 

I'd be interested in knowing how full the ship actually was when it sailed (not how many cabins appeared available online). And yes, they are charging a premium for the initial (and them some) sailings, but people are paying it. If they can charge a premium and still sail at 90% full, they are still laughing themselves all the way to the bank. Demand determines price, but it's not a zero sum game when it comes to cruising. Time will tell how if that demand holds steady or wanes a bit; if the latter, expect prices to decrease. 

 

Currently, 38% absolutely love Edge (4 and 5 Star Reviews).  Some of the 4 star reviews are a bit critical, but I've never seen a happy 3 Star.  Overwhelmingly people seem unhappy with the infinite verandas, the lack of free entertainment, and lounge / bar space, limiting drink access.  Decor, Shows, Magic Carpet seem more mixed. 

 

If they can continue to fill the ships at 90% capacity, at inflated prices, have at it.  In the ultimate supply and demand efficiency, that means they should have built a slightly smaller ship.  Soon we'll have 4 Edge ships, and this market may look very different.

[cruising cockroach]

7 hours ago, stickey_mouse said:

 

Interesting. Although sometimes guarantee status skews what is actually there and what is not. 

 

My sample of HAL and Celebrity bookings is small (2 and 1 respectively).

 

The HAL sailings were both GTY bookings within final payment and I don't recall cabins being assigned until 4-6 weeks before sailing, if not even closer.

 

The single Celebrity sailing was booked a few months before final payment.  Cabin was assigned surprisingly fast (within a few weeks), and nice (booked Cat 12 (worst inside), got Cat 9 (best inside)).  From what I've read, Celebrity tends to assign GTYs early.