Is it time to exit the "X"?

[Cruise till you drop]

2 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Sardonic sarcasm....🤔?  After posting these terms, I thought I'd better google it......

 

"Sardonic and sarcastic both describe someone or something derisive. Sardonic suggests something mocking or cynical. Sarcastic generally has a layer of irony, while sardonic doesn’t."

I’m a fafafafootbal player, durrrhh
 

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/65441632-333f-4f58-8cc1-630d6a61d0ab

Edited June 15, 2023 by Cruise till you drop

[kirtihk]

26 minutes ago, Oceangoer2 said:

I didn't mean Georgia Peaches was being sardonic/sarcastic re her comment "not understanding" yours at all;  it was an explanation for your  somewhat confusing/odd post. 

Thank you for clarification.

 

Again, sarcasm implies (targeting) some sort of pocking on a "respondent".  I always try to avoid that making more irony (sometimes sad reality, sometimes, absurdity, sometimes "black humor") than sarcasm.

[hcat]

23 hours ago, hcat said:

gee.. we are  now  "oldsters".. and been with X  for quite awhile. ( E+ .)

Among the loyalty perks we like are laundry,  internet minutes, a few drinks or parties, gelato, specialty  dining discount.  Not big drinkers or bar goers.

 

But we do spend money on the  X Excursions (only), specialty dining ,   lotsa spa,  now also Kerstase salon,  jewery , perfume shop and tee shirts!

 

So we are not exactly freeloading off our  loyalty perks. We did like QM 2 and may try Connie again..but now booked on E Class.  

 

we are not dumping X  just yet! 

 

By way  of Example:

Booked 3 spa services.  $ 400..and will add a salon  visit on board

Booked 3 excursions...$325

Booked 3 specialty dining dinners at EDEN, FINE CUT and ROOFTOP..altho we are in AQ Class W/ BLu

And there will shopping on board as always but maybe not another hangbag!

 

So we are not freeloading by enjoying our earned loyalty perks! X should be pleased to see us back ..esp as we do not use our alcohol plan anywhere near the max!

 

[KLM3164]

On 6/10/2023 at 5:41 PM, kiterp said:

I am an Elite Plus CC member and this was my twentieth Celebrity cruise. I wonder if it is time to switch to Princess or other similar lines?

If these are your complaints you shouldn’t switch to Princess. We’ve done 5 cruises on Princess since 2021 and the things you don’t like on X are exactly the same on Princess. When I read your post it sounded exactly like threads on the Princess board. 

 

We will be taking our first cruise on X next year and I’m happy to hear that things are similar to Princess as we love Princess! 

[Whinenowine]

3 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

I agree.  Besides the Sky Lounge, I like the 2 story glass wall in the MDR that looks out over the stern (like Century class).  I also like the ocean view mid-ship elevators.  And finally the portholes on the floor of the Oceanview Cafe that look down onto the ocean makes me laugh.

 

Constellation and Infinity enjoying the sun at Nassau on Nov 4, 2022

Funny...I'm not salivating over the 2 story glass wall but rather that 1,100sqft terrace for the PH suite right above it!     😉

 

[Whinenowine]

3 hours ago, Cruise till you drop said:

I’m a fafafafootbal player, durrrhh
 

https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/65441632-333f-4f58-8cc1-630d6a61d0ab

You been playin' the foozball behind my back??!

[mahdnc]

2 minutes ago, Whinenowine said:

Funny...I'm not salivating over the 2 story glass wall but rather that 1,100sqft terrace for the PH suite right above it!     😉

 

 

Our cabins have always been right above it, so I get to salivate from up there!

 

[CruisinShips]

On 6/11/2023 at 8:50 AM, Loracpin2 said:

In the fall of 1997 my husband and I were at dinner on the Galaxy when we heard that Royal Caribbean had just purchased Celebrity.  We all looked at each other and said.....this can't be good!!!

And nearly 30 years later, here we are!

[Georgia_Peaches]

7 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Sardonic sarcasm....🤔?  After posting these terms, I thought I'd better google it......

 

"Sardonic and sarcastic both describe someone or something derisive. Sardonic suggests something mocking or cynical. Sarcastic generally has a layer of irony, while sardonic doesn’t."

Delete...

Just saw your post 177.  So easy for things to get lost in translation ☺️.

Edited June 15, 2023 by Georgia_Peaches

[neverlaysup]

5 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

On the topic, another dynamic I rarely see discussed are cocktail expectations.  When on X 

 

You're ahead of the curve because if X got rid of daily MDR chocolate cake and cheesecake, any day now X will go down to once a day service unless you're in a suite

I will miss the cheesecake, the cake was usually dry and needed a scoop of vanilla to help it out. 

[hcat]

CruisinShips

 585

September 25, 2006

South Florida

 

#185  

Posted 1 hour ago

"  On 6/11/2023 at 8:50 AM, Loracpin2 said:

In the fall of 1997 my husband and I were at dinner on the Galaxy when we heard that Royal Caribbean had just purchased Celebrity.  We all looked at each other and said.....this can't be good!!!"

 

 

"And nearly 30 years later, here we are!"

 

INDEED!

But  X has not yet been fully Royalized...so not yet time to bail.

[NutsAboutGolf]

I rarely see this discussed, cocktail expectations.  When on board or occasionally here on CC, people seem to get quite upset if they order a cocktail and the bartender doesn't know how to make it.  Usually the bartender will say something like "what's in that again?" or "that's ABC/vodka and XYZ/lime, right?"  I unfortunately see folks acting rudely to the crew on every sailing and don't understand why yet it's a whole different level.  People get "triggered", asking things like "who trained you?", "who's your supervisor?"...Often they're still complaining AFTER they received their drink.  If you took the five seconds to tell them, the situation would be over. I know X often markets something like "bottle of bubbly, coming right up!" and "your bartender will have your favorite drink waiting for you".  There can be quite a wait during peak times yet this isn't exclusive to X, all cruise lines have this issue.  But who knows, RCI has had a robotic arm bartender for over a decade, CCL pour your own beer and NCL pour your own wine; perhaps in a decade they'll be a dozen cocktail dispenser kiosks with one crew member overseeing things

[Vagabond Knight]

20 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

I unfortunately see folks acting rudely to the crew on every sailing and don't understand why yet it's a whole different level.  People get "triggered", asking things like "who trained you?", "who's your supervisor?"

 

Well, some people feel like they have to act all hoity toity, thinking they're impressing friends and others around them, when a bit of kindness and understanding would be much more appropriate. The crew members work their tails off, having to smile through long hours and (fortunately, only occasional) rude passengers.  Most  fellow passengers I encounter on cruises are wonderful, but there are a few who should probably be made to walk the plank (or be made to serve as an "honorary" crew member for a day!).

[Georgia_Peaches]

34 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

I unfortunately see folks acting rudely to the crew on every sailing and don't understand why yet it's a whole different level.  People get "triggered", asking things like "who trained you?", "who's your supervisor?"

Gosh I'm so glad I've never witnessed this behavior as I wouldn't be able to guarantee minding my own business...

[NutsAboutGolf]

9 minutes ago, Vagabond Knight said:

 

Well, some people feel like they have to act all hoity toity, thinking they're impressing friends and others around them, when a bit of kindness and understanding would be much more appropriate. The crew members work their tails off, having to smile through long hours and (fortunately, only occasional) rude passengers.  Most  fellow passengers I encounter on cruises are wonderful, but there are a few who should probably be made to walk the plank (or be made to serve as an "honorary" crew member for a day!).

 

The crew works hard.  From what I've witnessed, it doesn't seem these folks are showing off, I would guess it's more about not respecting them for whatever reason or they seemingly really did get "triggered" aka hit a nerve.  They should absolutely walk the plank...lol

[NutsAboutGolf]

6 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Gosh I'm so glad I've never witnessed this behavior as I wouldn't be able to guarantee minding my own business...

 

Two of the worst I've seen

1) We're at Blu having a nice chat with table next to us which is like a foot away.  The guy from the coupled ordered off the MDR menu, the waiter apologized said they have a rule to only get MDR classics, not the rotationals, the guy replied with "don't be lazy, I want ABC, you get it for me".  There was some back and forth then the M'D came over and said something along the lines of "we'll get it for you THIS TIME but understand we can't get MDR items for the rest of the sailing".  Once the waiter and M'D left the guy tried to talk to us like nothing happened.  We got up and walked and I told them the crew works hard, he said something like I already paid for this food.  The Asst M'D offered to seat us at another table but we passed

2) A pair of older women were complaining to the buffet washy washy girl that their shower water temp fluctuates too much and they want a plumber to look at it.  Girl asked if they asked their cabin attendant, they said we never see them, they're never around, girl said to call guest services, they said the wait is too long.  The pair kept saying along the lines of "we just want to take a normal shower, I don't see why this is so difficult", they were basically begging for her to leave her post to call a plumber for her right now

 

I have more, those were the two most shocking...A common theme is that the passengers get rude after the crew tells them no

[weregoingcruising]

On 6/11/2023 at 11:43 AM, mahdnc said:

 

The pandemic was an opportunity for the cruise lines, including Celebrity, to change how they operate. 

Things will continue to change everywhere.

[chemmo]

On 6/15/2023 at 10:37 PM, Georgia_Peaches said:

Gosh I'm so glad I've never witnessed this behavior as I wouldn't be able to guarantee minding my own business...

On the one occasion we really did witness real rudeness to staff followed by “I am going to complain about you…” (a suite guest to the suite concierge) we didn’t mind our own business. The suite guest had wanted to bring the four other (none suite) family members travelling with him into Michael’s Club. The concierge explained that it wasn’t possible (and did point out how busy the lounge was) but she would invite the full family to the helipad sail away and she could also arrange for the full family to access a galley tour too if they were interested…You can imagine the response “I spent $xxx on this cruise, your job is to make me happy, how can you expect us not to all drink together….”
 

We immediately reassured the concierge we had overheard the unreasonable request of the suite guest and her polite responses. She was clearly shaken. We later left a message for the Hotel Director and asked for him to contact us (pre suite manager days). When he came to see us we explained exactly what had happened and how politely, kindly and calmly the concierge had behaved and how we felt the guest had been both unreasonable and abusive…He was very grateful for the feedback we assume the complaint had arrived. The concierge spoke to us later to thank us minimising the incident with “These things happen” and “Sometimes it comes with the job…”

 

There are definitely times on a cruise to mind your own business and times to support the hard working staff. 

[Georgia_Peaches]

2 hours ago, chemmo said:

There are definitely times on a cruise to mind your own business and times to support the hard working staff. 

Thanks for sharing that story. I’m glad you spoke up on behalf of the concierge. I would have done the same in a New York minute. But that’s not the kind of minding my own business to which I was referring. In the scenario you described I would have found it difficult not to say something to the rude guest right there on the spot, thus not minding my business. Your approach is definitely better. 

[chemmo]

1 hour ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Thanks for sharing that story. I’m glad you spoke up on behalf of the concierge. I would have done the same in a New York minute. But that’s not the kind of minding my own business to which I was referring. In the scenario you described I would have found it difficult not to say something to the rude guest right there on the spot, thus not minding my business. Your approach is definitely better. 

My husband was ready to do so…I just felt it would escalate the situation more, the guest would then have started arguing with us too. As the lounge was fairly full the best scenario happened, the guest stormed off. 
 

One of the reasons we do love Celebrity is situations like this are rare…I could recall several on RC…

[Vice]

Frankly, I could care less about what other people are wearing in the MDR or any other resturaunt for that matter. Nowadays, lots of folks don't want to dress up on vacation. 

[hcat]

1 hour ago, Vice said:

Frankly, I could care less about what other people are wearing in the MDR or any other resturaunt for that matter. Nowadays, lots of folks don't want to dress up on vacation. 

but those who do,  still appreciate Celeb.. Standards are modernized so folks can be relaxed in dress but not "shabby".

  other cruise  lines in your history  may be geared differently

[Vice]

To clarify, I always dress slacks and a polo for dinner but It doesn't bother me what other people are wearing. 

[C 2 C]

On 6/14/2023 at 11:47 AM, C-Dragons said:

I agree.

We have never chosen a cruise ship based on forward facing viewing areas. 😉

Personally, we prefer watching and listening to the wake from the Aft.

Some people want to see where they are going, others where they've been.

[C 2 C]

On 6/14/2023 at 10:12 AM, Vagabond Knight said:

 

Serious question... why is Connie your favorite?  We're booked on her for a cruise next spring.  We've been on several other Celebrity ships and were surprised to see how few specialty dining options are available... no Murano, no Porch, no Lawn Club.  Does it have anything in the way of activities or entertainment that the others don't?

We've cruised on every class of Celebrity ship and Connie is also our favourite.  A forward observation lounge, a Rendezvous lounge with a stage and a dance floor, 3 banks of elevators, fewer decks to climb for those who wish to have some exercise prior to eating, the sweet 16 and those absolutely incomparable cabins at the back of the ship.  I could say the same about the other M-class ships but we have wonderful memories of all the ports we have visited and the masters who have captained this ship.  It's not about the glitz of the new builds but about the comfort similar to enjoying your favourite jeans or most comfortable shoes.  Even the nick name evokes a familiarity unique to Celebrity.