Cookies now cost $2 plus 20%

[C4HCG]

12 minutes ago, Mark_UK said:

There may be others of course, but at what price? I've never even sailed Celebrity but already after reading all these posts I'd happily pay a little more for Virgin Voyages (though they are actually often cheaper) where there is no upcharge restaurants, WiFi/gratuities included, no nickle and diming whilst also being high quality. 

Anyone reading these posts would feel the same but hold your nerve, take your cruise and you may well love it, or you may not. The negativity on here is astounding - and frankly boring. Judge for yourself when you sail.

[Duanerice1]

10 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

Anyone reading these posts would feel the same but hold your nerve, take your cruise and you may well love it, or you may not. The negativity on here is astounding - and frankly boring. Judge for yourself when you sail.

100% agree.  If you went by these boards you would never cruise.  Out April ABC cruise on the Equinox was one of our best ever.  And yea, they took our free room service away but we lived....  Go and have fun.

 

PS, Virgin is not even on my radar....... My my type of cruise...

[purpleally]

22 hours ago, tigervixxxen said:

Honestly the most hilarious part of that is sign to charge gratuity for someone handing you a cookie. 

How about I pick up a bottle of water on my way out at a port, no one else touches it and I’m charged a gratuity. If you want to add, I know how to subtract

[kirtihk]

23 hours ago, lv2cruisgrl said:

I think at this time anything that is now free, will be a target.  Next they will charge us to get into the shows!

That’s nothing.  What about charging for each door opening to your cabin?  Doors and lock system cost, too, you know. Or, perhaps, each visit to a public washroom?  Shall I continue?..

 

Life is life…

 

Voyage, Voyage!!!

Edited August 24, 2023 by kirtihk

[Tharkhold]

Emma from emma cruises won't be a fan of this...

 

 

Incoming "Classic and Premium cookie packages"... for only 20 & 35$ per person per day.

Edited August 24, 2023 by Tharkhold

[ChucktownSteve]

5 minutes ago, Tharkhold said:

Emma from emma cruises won't be a fan of this...

 

 

Incoming "Classic and Premium cookie packages"... for only 20 & 35$ per person per day.

I sure hope the Premium cookie package includes macadamia nut cookies!!!!

Edited August 24, 2023 by ChucktownSteve

[Tharkhold]

Just now, ChucktownSteve said:

I sure hope the Premium cookie package included macadamia nut cookies!!!!

Crap, forgot they had "fancy nut variations"... Premium would be 50$ pp/day 😉

Edited August 24, 2023 by Tharkhold

[mnocket]

21 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

The masses getting riled up over something, possibly, cannot be confirmed

I haven't finished reading the thread yet, but I'm confused.  Why would you say this can't be confirmed (maybe it already has further along the thread)?  It would be as simple as someone who's onboard posting a picture. 

[Fly and Sail]

I saw this picture in an online group and I think it suits the “Royalization” of Celebrity.

 

[wrk2cruise]

6 minutes ago, mnocket said:

I haven't finished reading the thread yet, but I'm confused.  Why would you say this can't be confirmed (maybe it already has further along the thread)?  It would be as simple as someone who's onboard posting a picture. 

 

It's been confirmed by someone currently on Equinox.   It appears to be Equinox only at this time.  Probably another one of their "pilot programs" (otherwise known as brain farts).  They are going to confirm if there are any no-charge cookies in other locations but they are under the weather today.

[markeb]

29 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

 

It's been confirmed by someone currently on Equinox.   It appears to be Equinox only at this time.  Probably another one of their "pilot programs" (otherwise known as brain farts).  They are going to confirm if there are any no-charge cookies in other locations but they are under the weather today.

I recall the poster saying there were no cookies. I don’t recall them confirming there were cookies for a fee. 

[wrk2cruise]

35 minutes ago, markeb said:

I recall the poster saying there were no cookies. I don’t recall them confirming there were cookies for a fee. 

You are correct I'm getting these crazy change threads confused.   They said they would do the cookie report when feeling better.

Edited August 25, 2023 by wrk2cruise

[markeb]

1 minute ago, wrk2cruise said:

You are correct I'm getting these crazy change threads confused.

I’m pretty sure anyone who could photoshop the Ion pic above could photoshop that $2 cookie sign. If they’re really going to do it, sell them for enough that it actually looks like a premium product! $2 is just insulting. Like 2 Buck Chuck!

[Orator]

Celebrity has charged for specialty items before. Remember hamburgers in the Mast Grill or aged steaks in the Tuscan Grilled? How did that work out?

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, mnocket said:

I haven't finished reading the thread yet, but I'm confused.  Why would you say this can't be confirmed (maybe it already has further along the thread)?  It would be as simple as someone who's onboard posting a picture. 

As many people who have posted already, there surely has to have been at least one (1) person on board an X ship who certainly could have confirmed by the time I posted my posit... 

 

bon voyage

[ORV]

4 hours ago, Kelownadon said:

If the $2 cookie is a freshly made, hot out of the oven chocolate chip cookie, I might be persuaded to spend the $2 on occasion. 

With all due respect, and we're all entitled to our opinion, but I feel your attitude toward this is part of the problem. 

[soccermommy]

I’m on Summit right now and haven’t seen the sign or the supposedly hot, fresh cookies. I have seen and eaten far too many free ones at Al Bacio, though. If there is a test on another ship, I haven’t heard of it, but if this is  another cockamamie idea, Celebrity flunked the test.

[Kelownadon]

41 minutes ago, ORV said:

With all due respect, and we're all entitled to our opinion, but I feel your attitude toward this is part of the problem. 

just telling it as I see it. I certainly, in all honesty, would be very tempted to pay $2 for a fresh, hot, out of the oven chocolate chip cookie. If that gives Celebrity ideas, so be it. It is not something that Celebrity is currently doing so get over it.

[Host Jazzbeau]

The cookies in the picture in post #1 do not look fresh hot out of the oven.  Maybe Celebrity needs to take lessons from Doubletree Hotels before launching this new 'test.'

[kwokpot]

6 hours ago, Mark_UK said:

There may be others of course, but at what price? I've never even sailed Celebrity but already after reading all these posts I'd happily pay a little more for Virgin Voyages (though they are actually often cheaper) where there is no upcharge restaurants, WiFi/gratuities included, no nickle and diming whilst also being high quality. 

A sample of the cookies and pastries from Virgin Voyages, all included as part of your cruise fare. 

Edited August 25, 2023 by kwokpot

[mayleeman]

5 hours ago, purpleally said:

How about I pick up a bottle of water on my way out at a port, no one else touches it and I’m charged a gratuity. If you want to add, I know how to subtract

 

At least in your example somebody had to lug the bottles to the departure alcove.

[mahasamatman]

3 hours ago, markeb said:

Like 2 Buck Chuck!

 

Two Buck Chuck would be an upgrade from "Celebrity Vintages".

[HMR74]

Looks like the concept of all inclusive is gone.

 

My afternoon sweet tooth is taken care of at OVC, evening  at El Bacio, with an eclair , or two, and a nice cup, or two,  of decaf premium coffee.

 

So far I have avoided the ala carte aspect, not just for being nickle and dimed, but having to look at a couple of sheets of paper the last day for charges. Which, by the way do add up. Moreso on family trips and on RCL Oasis class.

 

The Equinox cruises I booked for January, group rate cabins, are now 20% higher than when I booked.

 

Cruising, perhaps especially at X,  has lost its Value aspect, although value is a subject of personal perspective.

 

Now, for RCL, and the other cruise lines and businesses, if anybody has noticed, interest rates are up, and banks and other lenders are cutting back on aggregate credit issued (no more easy money courtesy of the Fed)  due to various reasons. Banks are being downgraded  (Moodys, Fitch and S&P) because they are undercapitalized and too heavily leveraged, and somewhat illiquid.

Itmeans future borroong or rolling over debt will not come cheap even if they can get it--capacity is down. .

 

This is all a complex problem with many moving pieces.  Raising prices  and charging for nice warm cookies is a sign of an underlying problem, and yes, I do eat baked cookies at home that are several days old, and same for regular leftovers.

 

I just do not want to eat leftovers, repurposed food,  and junk food when on a vacation. I kind of like the idea of fresh, cooked just before its served, meals. Frankly, in the past when boarding an X ship, things felt magical, If that overall feeling is gone, so am I. It's not personal, it's business.

 

Now, with the various problems, If I was CFO or Treasurer at a cruise or air line I would resign. But I am past retirement age so its easy to say.

 

Nothing out of school, as it is now showing up in the news, but something else always seems to crowd out anything else, but the CDC is talking about a new varient of covid (a dirty word to be spoken here) this year being more dangerous than the prior ones, and it has mentioned masks might be necessry as well as lockdowns. Not that I have serious respect for CDC, and I would not give any odds of any of this occuring, however, with RCL stock back near its 2019 highs, it should do a stock issuuance now (vs replacing old debt with new higher interest rate debt). But, what do I know?

 

Even a serious hint of masks or lockdown would throw Travel and Liesure into shock, as well as others. Just saying.

 

 

 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

Sorry but those cookies do not look worthy of the upcharge.

[NMTraveller]

17 minutes ago, mahasamatman said:

 

Two Buck Chuck would be an upgrade from "Celebrity Vintages".

The Celebrity Vintages should be thrown overboard.  Much like the Boston Tea Party.