skubapooh

We don't necessarily desire an ultra-small ship. We've been ok on Celebrity ships in the 3000 pax range. The challenge is that going to any other mainstream line usually means a doubling of that capacity. We are definitely not interested in the 6000 pax ships with the waterslides and go-karts on the deck, that type of thing. We're not seeing a lot of options in the 2000-3000 pax range. Seems like things tend to either be really big or really small. Maybe I am missing some obvious options in my research.

Destination-wise, we love to cruise Europe and the South Pacific. We're also interested in expanding into some more exotic destinations in the future like Africa and Arabia, but those aren't our bread and butter.

I'm shopping for a new cruise line and I'm finding it a bit overwhelming. My husband and I have been loyal Celebrity cruisers for the last 10 years. We've always sailed in their Sky Suites (entry-level suite product) and were very happy until just recently when they brought on a new CEO who has started axing amenities and raising prices at the same time. For what they're charging now, we no longer feel the experience is worth it so we're looking to make a move to a new line. We're used to sailing on mid-sized ships (~3000 pax capacity). We wouldn't be interested in going larger and are thinking of trying out some of the smaller lines focused on a more premium experience.

Some things about us:

- We're a couple in our mid-40's with no kids (we're not against sailing on lines with kids, but it's not a consideration for us).

- We aren't that interested in ship "entertainment" but do enjoy enrichment lectures and destination-specific presentations.

- We are independent and generally plan our own excursions. We rarely join the ship excursions so the Regent-style all-inclusive experience would probably be wasted on us.

- We don't need ultra-luxury, but we like to feel "taken care of" on vacation and good food is important!

- We don't need a huge cabin. Something in the 300 sq ft range would suit us fine but we wouldn't go much smaller.

- A bath tub is a must-have for me (this seems to be really hard to find unless you upgrade to one of the largest suites).

- The price-point we're comfortable with is in the range of $1500/night for both of us with drinks, gratuities, wifi included (we don't consider airfare in this).

I've been scouring the various forums and cruise line websites trying to find a good match for us but have come up empty so far. I'm hoping y'all can help me crowdsource this problem. We'd appreciate any recommendations or direction this group might be able to provide.

We've been on 8 Celebrity cruises in a suite and have never really figured out how to effectively leverage the Butler, now known as "Retreat Host". I know some avid suite cruisers who swear by this service but we've just never really gotten into a rhythm with it. I'm curious what services people's butlers/retreat hosts have done for them that make a sailing extra special.

Maybe we just never know what to ask for but the most our butlers generally do is come running to open the door for us as we're approaching our cabin. 😄 

4 hours ago, PTCruizer said:

Back from our Jeep 4x4 tour in Limassol Cypess. I’ll do a more thorough review after the cruise but It wasn’t all that I thought it would be.

Anxious to hear the Cypress Jeep tour review. We booked that one too in two weeks. If it's a dud, we may want to re-evaluate options.

23 minutes ago, wrk2cruise said:

I look at it as nearly $100 pp/pd so in my opinion very borderline worth it.  Just remember a min bid is probably not very likely to get the upgrade either.  From what I've seen the MoveUp min bid amounts haven't been a deal.

 

If it's the 7/3 sailing, they haven't been selling cabins for over a week so I'd assume it's at it's capacity cap which I would think would include a cap on the number of suites they want to book to avoid overcrowding in Luminae and the Retreat.   I doubt there will be much MoveUp activity.

The MoveUp offers seem to be quite steep. Just a couple years back we were offered a Sky Suite to Royal Suite upgrade on a 12 night cruise for $450 per person. Now THAT was worth it. Ever since they've rolled out the MoveUp system, there don't seem to be many deals to be had.

Looks like Greece has just dropped their outdoor mask mandate:

https://sports.yahoo.com/greece-ends-mandatory-face-mask-162227429.html

Hopefully the cruise ships aren't far behind...

For the record, I don't intend to challenge the rules. I'm simply trying to understand how the crew is interpreting them in terms of enforcement. If I am lounging on the deck with a drink and a book, would they expect me to pull up my mask between sips while I'm reading. From the pics people are posting, it looks like folks are able to spread out quite nicely since the ship is at 25% capacity. If I am outdoors, yards apart from another person on the deck, would the crew want me to pull up my mask? I don't want them to feel burdened to do so, nor do I want to be burdened either. I just want to understand expectations so I can decide if I can comply or not.

We're booked on the July 9th Apex sailing and just got the email yesterday regarding the mask requirements indoors AND outdoors. We're pretty disappointed since we were thinking we'd have a reprieve from the masks while onboard since the cruise is fully vaccinated. We're considering cancelling.

Would love to hear from anyone sailing how strict they are on enforcing the mask requirements, particularly outside. I don't have a problem masking up in the theatre, but lounging on the deck in 90 degree heat, that's rough.