WANTED! Your "Cruise Voice" -- It's your opportunity to be heard!

[LauraS]

Later on this month travel agents specialising in selling cruises and people from the cruise lines will be converging in Dover for a two-day convention looking at the industry. Specifically aimed at improving travel agents’ knowledge of cruise, the Convention will feature guest speakers including Carnival’s chief cruise director John Heald; the executive vice president of marketing, sales and guest programmes at Holland America Line – Rick Meadows; and president and CEO of Celebrity Cruises and Azamara Cruises, Dan Hanrahan.

Opening the Cruise Convention will be Andy Harmer from event organisers, the Association of Cruise Experts (provides cruise training and support for travel agents), and Jo Rzymwoska, associate vice president and general manager for the UK and Ireland, Royal Caribbean Cruise Line.

As part of their opening speech they will be looking at changes that have affected the cruise industry over the last 12 months, and what changes are coming up in the next year.

 

 

So, you are probably asking "What role do *I* play in all this?"....

In order to ensure that the content reflects what cruise fans also think, Andy and Jo would like to hear from YOU, Cruise Critic members as to what have been some of the best (and worst) changes for the cruise industry over the last 12 months, what developments you are most looking forward to in cruising coming up and any changes you want to see from your cruise travel agent.

A selection of your comments will be used as part of the Cruise Convention, and we will report back and let you know what the audience thought.

So please go ahead and share with us -- right here -- what you think the most exciting changes about cruising have been.

 

Laura

[uktog]

Great opportunity for constructive thinking

What I really want to see my TA doing in the coming year is adding value through their knowledge of cruise products, one of the biggest disappointments in recent months has been the lack of current knowledge from TAs and call centre agents of the cruiseline of the actual product each cruiseline offers. They need to be as familiar with the products as cruise critic members!

I think it is a good thing that one change in the last 12 months is that the economic climate has made us much more demanding in what we expect, second best will not do. Therefore I believe the cruiselines are alert to this and are being innovative in keeping up standards and making changes to reflect that whilst keeping an eye on their bottom line - I would cite the replacement of the midnight buffet on Celebrity with two events as a great example of a positive change that has taken place to respond to current economics and consumer demands

Ann

[FinelyCruising]

We cruise Celebrity and find most exciting that the cruise line remains dedicated to providing cruisers with the new Solstice Class ships despite the downturn in the economy and in spite of the concerns of need to act conservatively.

 

The risk that Celebrity has taken to proceed has provided cruisers with a level of excitement that other industries who provide land based lodging and food service and entertainment is not seeing.

 

The sell off of the older ships even with the hue and cry of those who enjoyed those ships has proved smart and the ships that remain are current or are fresh and without concerns of a second rate experience, and the pricing points and offerings while on board are substantial and significant enough so that there is little regret in making any one of the ships in the fleet a choice for what is now tight cash, and the smart cruisers do know what the trade offs are and how to pick what's right for them.

 

Celebrity has done well for themselves in the turbulent past 9 months and I have no doubt that we and they will come out better for it.

 

For new cruisers, TA's and industry professionals have only to point to the recent past performance to suggest that those guests who know better are still actively participating in cruising and have not chosen to opt out.

[Denny01]

Thought some about this so here are my inputs:

1. Agree TA's need to be more knowledgable of the cruise line and the specific cruise experience. I now book directly with the cruise line because it seems I do all the work so why find a TA to do the booking, and maybe get a bit of a discount. I see the extra provided by the TA not worth not being able to directly control my cruise. What would change that? A knowledgable TA that assists me in selecting special items on a cruise such as help in picking tours, beyond the info I can find on the cruise line website. I think getting help from someone with knowledge or access to good info on either private port tours or special ship tours would really help. And a followup after the cruise to get feedback - the times I used a TA, never heard from them after booking unless I called them.

 

2. Since we now cruise once or twice a year, I'd love a TA company that provided a 'package deal' for a number of committed cruises for the next 2 or 5 years. Kind of like a timeshare. I'd agree to commit to a number of cruises at a set SR level or a number of cruise days package I'd commit to and pay at a set level, or monthly or something such as that. Good discounts for me, committed customer for them.

 

Denny

[Host Anne]

Laura ~ please extend our appreciation for this opportunity. I'm posting from personal cruising experience in this post so these are my own cruising thoughts.

 

Things I like

• The trend to reduce smoking on ships, especially on balconies. We love our balcony and the fact that drifting smoke is no longer an issue on Celebrity ships.
  
• Innovations on newer ships - the Sancturary on Princess ships; the Martini Bar and Cellar Masters on Solstice; Flowrider on RCI ships.
  
• Cruising is still a great value!
  

Things I feel need improvement

• Cruise lines internal customer service departments. With computer systems today, customer service reps for the cruise lines should be informed at all times. I'm shocked how many times (and I've personally experienced this over and over again) information can be found on our message boards that the customer service departments are not aware of. You can also get three different answers from three different customer service reps. Just shouldn't happen.
  
• Communication between land based ops and the ship. Again, I'm surprised how often the reservations taken by land based ops for specialty restaurants gets messed up by the time it gets to the ship. Why aren't they all working off the same computer system?
  
• Mass market lines all trying to be alike. Keep the things that make you a unique line and set you apart from the others.
  

THANKS AGAIN for the opportunity to share!

[Andy]

Hello Laura !

 

This is a wonderful idea, and it's great that Cruise Critic, Cruise line Management, and Travel Agents are inviting our members to let their voices be heard !

 

What I feel is working :

 

Cruise lines are listening to their passengers more than ever ! I've seen many of my suggestions, (and other Cruise Critic members) become reality over the past year. It is clear that Cruise Passengers want freedom of choice, and Cruise lines are making it happen !

 

I'm very excited about recent and upcoming Newbuilds. I've had the pleasure of sailing on Celebrity Solstice. What a beautiful Ship ! Solstice raises the bar througout the industry. I'm looking forward to the debut of Oasis of the Seas, and Allure of the Seas, as they will bring a whole new dynamic to Cruising.

 

I'm pleased that Cruise lines are being far more agressive towards itinerary & deployment changes. In years past, when itineraries were announced, Cruise lines stayed with them, for better or worse. Over the last year, we've seen several lines make deployment changes, and I'd like to say Bravo to Management, for being more proactive in this area !

 

What I feel needs improvement :

 

I have to say that Technology is not where it should be. From the Passengers point of view, the most frustrating issue is their websites. Some examples of what should be improved : keeping passengers informed, improved information on Excursions, improved Dining Reservation processing, and enhanced booking information.

 

The internet is an extremely powerful medium, and I feel that most Cruise lines have not scratched the surface of it's potential.

 

Loyalty Programs : I've seen a number of Cruise lines downgrade benefits over the past 12 months, and I find this to be concerning. The downgrading of Loyalty programs is one of the most talked about topics on Cruise Critic. I realize that every dollar spent is crucial, especially in a severe economic downturn. However, I feel that Cruise lines should do everything possible to retain each and every passenger. I strongly believe you should never want to make your customers look elsewhere, as it takes a long time to earn a customer's loyalty... and seconds to lose it.

 

Overall, I feel there has been great progress over the past year. I'd like to say Thank You, to Cruise Line Management, their land-based teams, and the Wonderful Officers & Crew onboard your Ships !

[AKN]

I agree with the previous two posters regarding the need for better communication internally among the various parts: housekeeping, reservations, dining room, etc. I just returned yesterday from a cruise which I had booked late, very late (3.5 days before departure). I'm pretty easy going so I wasn't concerned about anything ahead of time, I figured it would all be sorted out when I arrived at the ship and indeed it was. But it was mildly irritating to find out my stateroom number and my loyalty program number two days prior to departure, but the poor room steward had no idea. Her information still showed another guest in the room, so my room wasn't set up right for my party and my loyalty perk was not in the room. Like I said, it was all easily fixed and no big deal, but this is not the first time similar incidents have happened, especially with dining room seating. It really makes you wonder how antiquated their system is, that all this info can be printed on the Seapass, but they don't tell their own people.

 

Disembarkation continues to be a nightmare that also could be fixed with better internal communication. They ask all the pertinent questions regarding departure times and modes before we board, so why don't they have a set time for us to leave the ship, perhaps in a more flowing fashion to reduce logjams?

 

The only good vacation is a cruise vacation, so these are just little things that would enhance the experience.

[OCruisers]

Laura S. ~~~ Thanks so much for this window of opportunity to voice an opinion. :)

 

:) Happily, we've never had anything but wonderful times on Celebrity curises!

 

:( Unfortunately, it's not likely we will book another because of the new very restrictive SMOKING regulations. Not being allowed to smoke in our cabin NOR ... at least on our balcony ... just doesn't work for us.

[d&a Delaware]

There are a lot of observations already posted that I agree with, and some of my suggestions may repeat what has already been said. Some others may also state what Cruise Lines already know, but bears repeating.

• Airfares are increasingly expensive and can make some cruise vacations prohibitively expensive. The trend to home port more cruise ships on the East Coast north of Florida is wonderful, and needs to be accelerated. We have used Port Lliberty, and have a cruise booked out of Baltimore. This makes huge sense for us, and we can cruise more often.
  
• Embarkation and Disembarkation are the most unorganized and unpleasant parts of cruising. These processes do not need to be so poorly managed. Pay attention, make better use of technology, and really analyze and imrove these work processes.
  
• Yes, vast opportunities to exploit the web and other technological capabilities. Web sites are hit and miss, and mostly clunky and unfriendly. Difficult to navigate. Look at the average age of the cruising public, and design web sites for that public. Many of us are not particularly computer savvy, and what is intuitive to you and your web designers is completely not intuitive for us. If Amazon and Lands End can figure this out, you can too.
  
• Customer Service! Customer Service! Customer Service! Do any of you actually try to call your own customer service lines with real questions?
  
• We prefer medium to smaller size ships -- I guess that means fewer than 3000 pax. I would rather sail on a refurbished smaller ship than a brand new mega ship. Century has been my favorite ship. I hope that keeping smaller ships in the fleet can be economically feasible.
  

Thank you for this opportunity.

[Hflors]

Things I like:

 

Smaller ships. Set dining options. I really like the idea that there are NO announcements at all (except the noon announcement by the captain.) I like the areas with quiet and relaxing music, before and after dinner in the evening.

 

I also love most of the little things that I have been given. They have memories attached and I hope the cruise lines continue them. Like the over the shoulder I got a couple of years ago. Its great as a purse when traveling, and so many people have commented on it when they see the X and Celebrity cruises on the outside. I always tell them that Celebrity is my favorite cruise line and why.

 

I know some people will not agree with this but with dh with asthma and emphisima the non smoking in almost every place on a celebrity ship is a god send to us. Thank you Celebrity!

 

Things I think need improvement:

 

Customer service. It seems to me most of the people that I talk with have never been on a ship. I don't mean to sound as if the people are nasty or rude, but they have no idea how a ship is run. The reps need to be taken on the ships and or work on a ship for a few days to meet the people they are going to be talking to. They need to be updated daily on ship info and current trends, sails etc. And last but not least if there is some updated info the reps need to know it asap! How often have we all come to CC and found out about something then call Celebrity or any other cruise for that matter and the rep says. "I don't know, we don't have any info." And you know darn right that Celebrity knows they just have not gotten the word to their reps! I think that is so frustrating!

 

The website needs to be more user friendly. The cabins need to be updated to show where the actual items in the room are and actual pictures need to be shown. So many times there are cabins that do not fit the description of your ordinary cabin in that class, but the website and the customer service reps have no idea that it is so. (case in point are aft balcony. Everyone on CC knows that the balcony are much larger than your standard balcony, check the website and low and behold it shows the standard balcony. Also when you would call the rep would say " they are standard size balconies" ) I think the reps now have gotten the info that they are larger.

 

Loyality programs They need to be kept up. Cruise lines are foolish in my opinion to ignore their loyal customers. These people are their bread and butter. How many times has someone cruised and told someone else about it then that someone else tells someone else and so on and so forth.

 

Helen

[pris993]

More cruises out all west coast ports would be desirable and rotation of ships assigned, i.e., having the same ship cruising out of San Francisco for a year is not acceptable.

 

Beef up loyalty programs. At present only Princess offer something of real value to return passengers.

[Duck Duck Cruise]

BEST CHANGE:

Smoking policy on Celebrity….could be more strict.

 

WORST CHANGE:

Eliminating Hawaii round trip from the West coast.

 

CHANGE WE WOULD LIKE TO SEE:

Eliminate mandatory formal nights. Possibly have the upper dining room for those that wish to dress formal and use the lower dining room for all others.

 

Improve food quality in the main dining room. Currently it is no better than Chili’s or Olive Garden. The Alternative Dining venues should not be the only place you can get a consistently good meal on board.

 

Thank you for this opportunity to be heard.

[spearmint]

I agree with all the comments so far on website improvements and communications within the company so that all representatives are on the same page.

 

I second the idea that loyalty programs , (we have only sailed on Celebrity) should be improved; they have been reduced over the years instead.

 

I also thought that Celebrity should not follow the ways of so many other lines( according to Cruise Critic members) and lower the dress code. Since they did that already, then I think they should not lower it any further. We particularly like the formal nights, and will remain with Celebrity for that reason. Let the other lines do the jeans and t-shirts thing,and keep the formal nights on at least one mass market line. That way, everyone can be satisfied and able to pick a cruise line to fit their wants.

[CruisingChick]

First off, thanks for bringing this to us so we have an opportunity to have our voices heard.

 

Personally, my husband and I are not very happy with the direction the cruise industry is goin gin.

 

My husband and I very much enjoy the "traditional" style of cruising. That's what set it apart from all those "OTHER" vacations we took. We enjoy formal nights and getting dressed up, we are not fans of the lax dressed codes that are being instituted.

 

We also like the traditional dining, with set times and tables. We like to see the cruise industry retain these traditional values and continue to provide excellent service. On our last few cruises we noticed a slip in service and quality of food.

 

Also the loyalty program (at least on Celebrity) is a huge disappointment.

 

Thank you.

[Catnip]

I, too, prefer the traditional dining and sure hope X doesn't do away with it. "Free-style" cruising is not for me!

 

Celebrity's loyalty program needs work and some new "perks" for loyal & long-time cruisers.

 

I prefer the smaller to mid-size ships, although I do love the Solstice.

 

I like the minimum announcements on Celebrity. The endless overhead announcements on other mass-market lines is so annoying.

 

I LOVE their limited smoking policy, and the non-smoking in the cabins and balconies! Way to go, X!!!

[Imagineer]

...thanks for a great opportunity to let our thoughts be known, with the knowledge that industry leaders will actually be receiving our opinions...

...here are some of our considerations:

 

-Travel agents vs booking yourself. We'd never do it ourself, we enjoy talking and planning with our TA, that being said, I believe TA's need to listen more to what their clients are asking for, and not be too eager to push the latest hot deals, from what I've read on these boards the dissatisfaction expressed towards some TA's is a result of not supplying what the clients requested, but what the TA thought they'd like.

 

-Regarding ship size. My wife and I are very fond of the Mercury size ships, and unlikely to travel on anything bigger than ships of the Millenium class. Yes, many have had a wonderful experience on the new Solstice, but there are also many who just don't appreciate being on something with that many passengers.

 

-Formal vs casual. We feel that both can be easily accomodated, and as you experiment with the 'Select Dining' option, you will eventually find a workable solution that satisfies both parties. It shouldn't be an either/or scenario, those that desire the formal experience can enjoy it, just as those who wish to have a more informal setting can do so as well.

 

-The smoking issue. Good on Celebrity for their new smoking policy, it's very nice to be able to breathe clean air on your cruise vacation!

 

-Itineraries. I know this is a tough one to deal with, but is there some way to create a bit more variety? If one has a handful of cruise brochures, you tend to see great duplication in the itinerary department, with the only major difference being what price you'll pay based on what level of service you desire and which line you sail with.

 

...thanks again for the opportunity to air our thoughts...

 

cheers,

 

the Imagineers

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I like the no smoking on Celebrity.

 

LOVE the no announcements policy.

 

Much prefer fixed seating dining. We usually travel with a group and that is the one time and place we know we will see everybody. I also enjoy having the same waitstaff.

 

Customer service definitely needs work. Both land on on board. Sometimes it's wonderful, sometimes it's so boneheadedly bad you wonder if you're still on the same ship. If you don't love delivering excellent customer service, do everybody a favor and find some work you love and will therefore do well.

 

I find the M class ships to be the perfect size. Much better flow than the Mercury. The Solstice looks great, but I cannot imagine hitting a tender port with that many people. Or even being on a ship with that many people. So I'll stick with what I like and let those who like the megaships have them.

 

Could you maybe call gratuities a resort charge or some such and make it mandatory? Then we won't have to listen to all the whining about tipping. And your hard-working crew members won't get stiffed.

 

Thanks for soliciting the input!

[tupper10]

Along with all the others I am glad that you asked us our opinion.

 

We love the Millie class ships and no smoking policy. Food is also generally okay given the number of meals that have to be prepared. Some of the staff we have met are the best in the world - others just okay. More consistency in the staff would be helpful vs. the luck of the draw.

 

The move to larger ships in most of the places we wish to go is not a trend we are in favor of. We sailed the Solstice and we won't be going again on this size ship with Celebrity - we may as well pay a lot less and go with another line or we will pay more and go with a smaller cruise line and just cruise less.

 

On all your ships please note there are some people who do not need to hear music all of the time - piped in or with a band. Some quiet time would be nice and deck 4/5 doesn't provide it since usually the crew is cleaning there and on the Millie ships the chairs are very uncomfortable.

 

Dress code: With the limits on airline luggage the formal nights should be optional. I like the idea presented here - those who wish to dress up can eat upstairs or down - one place and those of us who don't can also eat in the dining room. I don't really want to pay 75.00 for an extra suitcase and I don't want to rent my clothes (dresses and tux) either.

 

Info from the crew: Though we love the no announcements policy on some cruises it would be nice to know what people are seeing - by way of example on the Alaska cruises when pods of whales are spotted or dolphins,double and triple rainbows etc. a brief announcement should be made so everyone can take advantage of it. This wouldn't be necessary on the more traditional cruises but for the Alaska and your Antarctica cruises it would be helpful to start this tradition.

 

More lecturers: Not everyone wants to shop or play bingo. A series of lectures on history, geography and other topics would be most welcomed. This was our favorite part of the Solstice cruise along with the glass show.

 

Keep in mind who your loyal passengers are - they are people who like smaller ships and a more intimate experience and were willing to pay a little more for it. If you want to 'go big' I think you are going to win some and lose a lot. I have already seen people moving from Celebrity to smaller ships and taking less cruises because you no longer offer what you did in the past.

 

We are elite members and hardly get any benefits at all. Your rewards are really no rewards at all for your loyal customers. Give real dollar value to those who cruise with you often.

 

Your customer service staff should know about the rooms on all of the ships - which way the beds face, balconies being blocked, whether bed is near closet or balcony on Solstice class ships. It is incredible to me when I call that your staff does not have all of the information about the ships rooms. The fact that every ship is different should not matter why don't you just give your staff actual layouts of the ships with the room configurations noted. This should not be too hard to do.

[phinn]

Thank you so much for allowing us this opportunity to express ourselves at this time.

 

Like many others on this board, I am very grateful for the No Smoking policy that is in effect, and in particular, on the stateroom balconies. Port side for smokers and Starboard for nonsmokers was creative genius. Most recent cruise there was no smoking in casino after 5:50pm I believe, a blessing.

 

The minimal announcements are very much appreciated. Events are listed in your daily compass so save the overhead for more important matters.

 

In reference to dining, I enjoy both seated and MTD. What I really like is that I have a choice. My only issue with the MDR is early seating is just a tad too early if you have a late port day coming in.

 

Customer Service... This is why I cruise with Celebrity and RCI. I have always had the best customer service onboard I could ask for. What I don't get without asking, I get if I do ask. Always with a smile. You cannot beat that.

 

Another outstanding feature to me is allowing me to choose my own stateroom as opposed to just picking a category. I have to be able to do that in order to cruise with any line.

 

Improvements - Customer Service - I know, on the ship, outstanding. What happened to the people on the phones? How could someone in the Captain's Club not know how many points a particular stateroom gets? How can someone who works in booking not know if Alaska "cruising" pertains to inside passage or not? Please, EDUCATE them. Give them reference books they can refer to.

 

I want to know more about the ships themselves. I would love to see more photos of the ship common areas as well as updated stateroom/balcony pictures. With RCI, there are a lot of blank spaces on nearly every page that could have a picture or two of the ship's common areas. For those who book for the ship itself, this would be a great help.

 

Lastly, it bears repeating, be loyal to those who are loyal to you.

 

Thank You

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Info from the crew: Though we love the no announcements policy on some cruises it would be nice to know what people are seeing - by way of example on the Alaska cruises when pods of whales are spotted or dolphins,double and triple rainbows etc. a brief announcement should be made so everyone can take advantage of it. This wouldn't be necessary on the more traditional cruises but for the Alaska and your Antarctica cruises it would be helpful to start this tradition.

 

On our Alaska cruise, we had commentary from Brent Nixon over the PA about any wildlife sightings and about Hubbard Glacier.

[tom_uk]

I assume that this event is aimed at the UK industry, and that the speakers are representative of their corporations on the widest sense; i.e. John Heald is there on behalf of the whole of Carnival Corp, not just CCL, etc.

 

Here are my thoughts:

 

First, the developments I've welcomed in UK-based cruising in the last year (or so): a) the deployment of more ships from British ports, e.g. Independence of the Seas, and the 'anglicisation' (to a degree) of them during their deployment; b) the growth of on-board themes, e.g. P&O's Tate Talks. More of these, please.

 

Things that I'd like to see in the future: a) more use of regional ports for cruise embarkation/disembarkation - it's a long way from Scotland to Southampton, for example. I know that this is problem for the larger ships both in terms of finding a berth large enough and also having shore-side resources, e.g. terminals, parking, etc, but FOCL have done well with their regional program with smaller ships - there must be some smaller ships that the other lines could use. b) while expanding choice & flexibility, ensure that traditional, formal dining is retained. I understand the cruise lines' desire to introduce flexibility and informality and I welcome this, but not at the cost of losing the traditional way. Some of us prefer it!; c) don't lose sight of the fact that a cruise means taking passengers to sea. I enjoy being reminded of that fact. I would hate it if the Solstice-style 'Promenade' (which is essentially just an access corridor to the emergency equipment) became the norm. I love traditional promenade decks and I would hate to lose them.

 

(I know those last two points make me sound like a real old f**t, but to me they're important aspects of a cruise which I feel are under some threat. If all the traditional aspects of cruising were done away, I would probably stop cruising. Fortunately, the industry is big enough to offer many choices....)

 

How can TAs help me: err, give me lower prices! I'm someone who enjoys doing lots of research (I suspect that most CC'ers are the same) so by the time I'm contacting a TA I know all about the ships & itineraries and I've narrowed it down to a couple of cruises or so, and price/availability are likely to be the determinants between them. I don't really look to my TA for information - I will already have researched all the info I want. To me, they're very largely a booking conduit. This may not be what they want to hear, but I'm not sure how they can add much value to my cruise - other than by reducing the cost or helping me get the cabin, etc, that I really want. I'd welcome their response.

 

(I suspect that I'm not the sort of passenger the cruise lines want: I prefer certain traditional aspects, I don't really bother with spas, gyms, etc, and I don't often go on excursions, so the cruise lines aren't making a lot of money from me in those areas. On the other hand I am quite happy to run up a significant bill for wine....)

[Ma Bell]

Cruisers do want freedom of choice, but that doesn't mean all the cruiselines should be the same. Please keep your identity or you will lose many loyal Celebrity cruisers. The more traditional approach to cruising has always been an attractive option for many of us. It would be disappointing to see Celebrity become just another mainstream cruiseline.

[dhindo]

Thank you for the chance to go directly to the top.

 

I have enjoyed my cruises on Celebrity Cruise Lines a great deal.

 

The restrictive smoking policy is fantastic.

 

The lack of announcements for Bingo or some other no-event is very welcome.

 

I have a couple of suggestions though about itineraries. I would like to see Celebrity bring back the Australian cruises and the Hawaiian cruises from the west coast. We on the west coast love the Hawaiian cruises, but our only good option is Holland America.

 

About food. I have noticed that Celebrities quality of their food has slipped, it really is not what it used to be.

 

Customer service is hit & miss. Some people are very knowledgeable and others don't know that they are on a ship.

[elvnga]

I welcome this opportunity to share my opinions. I have been on 6 cruises with Celebrity since 2000. I have enjoyed everyone of them but I do have a few ideas. In March I attended a conference on the Solstice and it was great. The ship is stunning and very enjoyable. The flow is great and I did not feel the crowds as much as on the Millinium class ships. Frankly I am more interested in the ship than the ports in the Carribean and did not even get off in one port. I only spent an hour or two off in the other two. In Europe I would want a smaller ship to get into smaller ports. There the goal is sightseeing and I care less about the ship. However I am really looking forward to a transatlantic on the Solstice this fall. I think 6 days at sea should be just the amount of time I need to experience most of the ship.

 

I liked that there were quiet places to be found on the top decks all day as an alternative to poolside chaos.

 

Please add a self serve laundry. It is not needed for a week, but any longer itinerary and I really want to be able to do some laundry. Given the current difficulty bringing bags on planes, we need to be able to clean some clothes. I don't like handing off my clothes for someone else to clean either. I have spoken to people who enjoyed the laundramats on Crystal and Silversea. That is one place for people to talk about all their good experiences on previous cruises. Celebrity is not "above" self serve laundry.

[WereCrusin09]

:mad: I'm not an avid traveller but I can tell you what made me choke was the non existence of crusie packages that include Airfare, particularily to the Mediteranian.

With a no refund and assurance and no gurantee policy and having to pay 100% in full in advance for AIR-fare that costs more then the 11 night crusie ship package. Then having to be penalized by the same Airline because my choice was to tour more of Italy then just my arrival airport location in Rome, was informed I didn't qualify for a round trip fare because I wanted to see Venice and depart from there on my short Itinerary. Let me explain I live in the US of A I fly to Italy I must leave Italy is the way I see it, I'm not that good of a swimmer to make it home any other way. This is a trip of a Lifetime and once I've made it, Airfare in my opinion in the future will decide my choice to stay at home and travel the states by motorcycle,car, or mobile home. That or my next cruise will be a transatlantic crossing and the Hell with the airlines.:cool: