CHEZMARYLOU

1 minute ago, buncosquad said:

I would think itinerary and historical demand would also be a factor.

True, but our Beyond cruise is to the Panama Canal, not a full transit, and there are not very many cruises that Celebrity does there. 

2 minutes ago, buncosquad said:

 

I should think the top suites would be a good price on these old(er) ships of theirs.

Not necessarily. Looking at a PH on a Canadian cruise the price is more than we are paying on Beyond and no longer includes gratuities and OBC.

We buy a bottle when we want a specific wine, or something new, that is not available by the glass. I'm just wondering how they will react to my request for 2 bottles of Vevue and a bottle of Decoy in our suite.  Haven't had a problem in the past, in fact on our last cruise our Butler swapped out the standard bottle of champagne for Vevue.

We like the upper level suites so booked when the itinerary we wanted opened up, usually at a good price and no hope of a reduced price before final payment. 

We cancelled a RS on Beyond for a March 2024 Panama Canal cruise in September because we needed to put a new roof on.  At the time we cancelled there were no suites available and our RS was apparently wait listed because it never showed up as available. 

Fast forward to today, there are a number of suites now available but still at high prices based on what we were paying.

I think the FCC have all been used up and people are doing a reality check with pricing.  I know we are because we also cancelled an open passages. We will be looking at other lines or all inclusives after our December 2024 cruise.

2 hours ago, CWatson367 said:

Just back from Reflection and no upcharges in Michael's.. somewhat limited selection but no upcharges

Can you elaborate on the brands you were offered without an upcharge?

1 hour ago, tfred said:

I e-mailed  yesterday and received a call today. The call came from Wichita Kansas so I didn't pick up and they left a VM. I might have if it was a Miami area code but I dont pick up strange area codes 

 

My  email outlined my displeasure of dropping a lot of money on a suite and then getting charged for better spirits and wine 

 

According to the VM, there are no up charges in The Retreat "area". They did not specify if that was the Lounge and Retreat deck as well as Luminae. Sounded like they were reading off a script which is the safe way to do it. 

 

Probably need some on the ship intel to verify but I have seen some posts on FB and they say they are up charged   We are on Apex Sky Suite in two weeks so we will see.   

Got a very generic email in response to my email.  Of course there are no upcharges in the Retreat or Luminae. They just don't have the wines that were included in the PBP a month ago  available in the Retreat or Luminae, thus, NO UPCHARGE. How cynical. 

18 minutes ago, calicakes said:

@Jim_Iain Can you give me the reader's digest version of what happened?  Was it one thing?  Numerous things?  I haven't read the entire thread. 

I too would like to see the short version or a link to the post #. 

32 minutes ago, CruiseRQA said:

Hopefully you are being sarcastic.

 

Removing tips may seem fair to you but the person that hurts in your rebellion against the man is the poor cabin steward and wait staff. 

I don't advocate removing tips but cruisers in a Sky Suite pay the same daily rate as someone in the Iconic Suite but no longer have a butler.  Celebrity needs to adjust the amount of tips for SS closer to Aqua class because that is the level of service SS guests are receiving.

We did a tour to the Salem Witch Museum through Celebrity. One of the worst tours we took and we (along with several other tourists) ended up getting a %age refund.  There was a video that had a lot of information and visuals. The tour through the museum is narrated with very little opportunity to ask questions or linger at a display you are especially interested in. Took about 15 minutes. Think a grade school class going through a small museum, the only thing they did not ask us to do was to hold hands. 

There were other issues with the tour that were specific to either Celebrity or the tour operator but this added to our general dissapointment.

We've sailed in the PH 4 or 5 times, only one was a move up bid.

1 hour ago, sasset said:

Searched, couldn’t find this.

We will be in a suite, with access to Luminae, Blu as well as MDR. Over the course of the cruise we will likely dine in all and, as such, will not have the same wait staff. How are gratuities handled beyond the prepaid?

If you are asking about additional gratuities, when we only dine in a restaurant once we don't give any.  If the majority of our dining is in Luminae we give the Maitre 'd an envelope for the staff since they work as a team. 

Is it April 1st? This is unreal. Maybe someone hacked Celebrity.

5 hours ago, Orator said:

There are strong future sales on all suites. Celebrity would be fools if they didn't get what the market dictates. Prices will only be lowered when demand comes down.

That may be true but our former cruise on Beyond in March was sold out a while ago.  We cancelled our RS in September. Now there are a number of suites available so I guess people are figuring out the price is not worth it.  We also cancelled an open passage a week ago. There were no cruises we were interested in at a price we felt reasonable for the Retreat. Added to this, our CVP was laid off and a new one was never assigned. Just no incentive to book another cruise. And with some of the new changes, such as the $2 upcharge for wines we like even in the retreat we might cancel our December cruise. Heads up for anyone looking for a PH next December. 

We did it on our cruise on Equinox in September. It was midway through the cruise. The food was excellent. We were talking to our Butler about it and  told him I can't eat spicy food, especially at night and were wondering if it was for us. He notified the Maitre D of Sushi on 5 and, except for one dish everything, was fine for me. 

Our only complaint was about the noise.  Dinner started before the entertainment in the grand foyer. By the time we were finishing the main course the music was so loud we had to leave. Had we known we would have requested a table in the back by the windows.  I would definitely book it again

We are booked on this cruise and plan on staying on the ship in the canal. The ABC islands are great. We've been to Cartegena a few times and while we enjoyed it we will probably stay on board. 

Is that the new Luminae burger, can't tell from the picture.  What did you think of it compared to the original?

The tomahawk steak looks delicious. We might have to try it, although I like fillets and my husband likes prime rib.

There was no surcharge and from what I remember the $ paid for the move up was not covered by insurance.

Like you, @Jim_Iain, we are done with buying each other gifts, elaborate decorating and big parties.  We've passed the entertaining onto a nephew and his wife who volunteered to do it. One big family party, coming up on Sunday and we are done. A quiet Christmas dinner for the 2 of us and a neighbor who will be alone for the first time in 39 years and that's it. 

Glad you are enoying your cruise. Safe travels.

I wouldn't pay to dine in Blu, never found it that special.

While I may support quiet areas, who is going to enforce it?  We all read stories of vaping in area that don't allow it, chair hogs, kids in the solarium, etc.

It enters the locks and goes as far as Gatan Lake where it turns around and heads back to the Atlantic side.

When is your cruise?

Never mind, I just saw that it is not working for any cruise.

If not decorated when you sail it will be fully decorated well before you disembark.

You need to call Celebrity to have them applied.

53 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Another email I didn’t get. Grrrr…..

I truly believe they have quit sending us emails once we reach a critical number of sailings or CC points. Looking for new blood. I even signed up under a different email address and don't get promotional emails.