jaywoods678

I completely agree with this. I can't remember all the exact details or reasons, but I have heard on numerous occasions that it CAN be in the cruise lines best interest to cancel - depending on the circumstances and other factors. I've been on too many where the ports were cancelled for not so good reasons and have heard crew members mention that corporate will sometimes make the decision based on fuel costs, tendering (of course, tender ports tend to get canceled more than others), and number of excursions, etc.

I completely agree.

I absolutely agree. Never approach them directly. If they are rude enough to be that loud and inconsiderate, then they are also rude enough to tell you to f*** off and try to fight you if you approach them.

100% agree. We don't use the wi-fi, and we barely drink.

Holland America does too, and it's an amazing island experience.

I completely agree with you. There has to be some kind of strategic reason they don't go there, however I think it hurts them. Even though Holland America owns their incredible private island, Carnival is allowed to go there (Of course, Carnival Corporation owns them) in the summer months when HAL doesn't operate in the Caribbean. Also, even though Oceania doesn't have a whole lot of itineraries in the Caribbean, they are allowed to dock at Harvest Caye and Great Stirrup Cay, both private islands owned by their parent company, Norwegian.

Even though we don't book suites, we always choose our own room even if it costs extra to do so. I am prone to motion sickness, and I hate noise. So, for me, I want a room on the ship that is mid-ship and as low as possible (to reduce motion). Also, I always make sure our cabin does NOT have a door to an adjoining room. That increases the noise level. Plus, I'm a bit of a control freak and always prefer knowing what my room number is.

I'm from the hot and humid South (lived in Georgia and Florida most of my life). We LOVE our air conditioning. I absolutely have to have my AC really cold in my cruise ship cabin.

And that's exactly what the marketing gurus at Celebrity are hoping.

Well one thing that Celebrity does good is marketing. They are marketing geniuses, especially with LLP there. They are also now marketing themselves as Luxury. They are not Luxury. They are a mainstream/premium line. We all know what the true luxury lines are and even the upper premium/luxury lite cruises like Oceania and Azamara. But if one doesn't know better, because of the marketing, they will think they are going to sail on a "luxury" line with a real "balcony" cabin.

I completely agree. They are midway between a standard oceanview and a standard verandah. And the price should align with that. Unfortunately, the prices does NOT align with that, and as usual Celebrity is trying to get a premium for them.

That's what I was thinking. They are definitely not giving you a choice. Almost all of their "balcony" cabins are just oceanviews with a window that opens. There are only a few real traditional balconies.

Completely agree! But a lot of people fall for it.

Completely agree with all of this. So it sounds like they got rid of some of the really bad creepy weird performance art in Eden. At least that is one good thing, but Eden is still a big miss.

Totally agree with everything you said. In regards to the Magic Carpet, it's way to gimmicky. Usually these types of gimmicks are for the mainstream lines (Carnival, Norwegian, & Royal), but not for the premium lines, like Celebrity says they are. It's not even very useful, plus it's very ugly sitting on one side. It's just not very appealing or attractive.

That is so true. She made it VERY clear she no longer wanted us, and she was determined to go after a different market. That's why they turned the music way up on all their ships and started having weird performance art in Eden, not to mention the uncomfortable IKEA dorm room looking furniture. I work at a university with the type of new folks she wants to cruise Celebrity, and trust me they don't even like cruising. They think it's just for old rich racist white people, and they would never give their money to an industry that is so bad for the environment.

Same thing when Carnival bought Holland America.

Totally agree!

Love Oceania. It has replaced Celebrity for us. And, for now, we still cruise Holland America, but it has gone downhill as well.

Oh I completely agree with this. And what's funny is they are still trying to masquerade as "premium lines" (a cut above the mass market ones). I don't know if Princess was every truly premium, but I do believe, based on our past experiences and sailings, that Celebrity and Holland America once were, at least to a degree. Sadly, that is no longer the case for either one of them. To me there is now no difference between the so called premium lines and the mainstream. Holland America, our favorite line, has completely changed.

I do too. Even though we really don't cruise Celebrity anymore, I must say Murano is one of the best restaurants at sea by far, along with some of the specialty restaurants on Holland America and Oceania.

I completely agree with this. I love the S Class ships. They are pretty close to perfect, as well as the M Class. Celebrity completely lost me with the Edge. Now they're just all about suites, loud blaring music everywhere, and weird performance art in Eden. And now their prices are insane. We still cruise with Holland America, but we also love Oceania (Oceania has replaced Celebrity for us).

I completely agree with 100% of everything you said.

On a per diem basis, I now find that Oceania (a true premium line) is the same price and sometimes even less. And for a much better experience.

I agree. And Holland America is in a crossroads as well.