Jeremiah1212

Ascent without question.

I received it for 3 upcoming cruises. At the top it says “here are some of the benefits you will receive”. A link to the full list is attached.

Changes will eventually have to take place to accommodate the growing number of members for either program. It’s not sustainable. However, the video he mentions definitely does not insinuate the programs would be outright merged.

That’s only for cruises with a 2025 sail date. Groups with a 2024 sail date will continue to have grats included.

Your experience was definitely a unique one. Virgin does a late pier-arrival time so people can sleep in on disembarkation day. The trade-off is you don't board until after 2pm. It's not worth it on the back end. You end up with an awkward amount of time to waste after a hotel checkout. Or you end up at Bayside Marketplace (🤮).

It may take some time for them to catch up but it clearly says including gratuity.

I don't think it's ever applied that accurately. I imagine if you book without your CC number it gets lost. Our last cruise I was with someone who was RCI Diamond but would have been third Celebrity cruise and he had the star. His partner had no star but was a legitimate first time Celebrity passenger with no RCI status.

Celebrity isn't cutting off anyone. Just like TA's aren't "giving up their commission" to get your booking. No one likes to work for free. There are a number of sources of OBC. There is typically a set percentage that can be offered then several sources from Celebrity. There are essentially promotions for TA's just like there are for customers. For instance if you book a group 10+ months from sailing you get an extra $200. Then most sailings have a point system associated and those points can be turned into customer facing items which can be extra OBC. There are different types if groups but the typical group has a cancelation policy that looks like this. What's the penalty for canceling 75/90+ days out? Nothing.

Big box pricing frequently (if ever?) doesn’t include group rates or accurately reflect what would be included. A site that shows you Group X pricing would be the benchmark. TA’s do not have the ability to create their own pricing. It’s either the prevailing rate or group rates. That’s it.

Their FAQ doc says the $20 is inclusive of the gratuity. At one point it said $24 but it has reverted back.

T/A’s financial stability has near zero impact or risk. If the TA were to fold the reservation goes back to Celebrity. OBC can exceed 10% and tips can be included through the end of 2025 deployment. Also refundable deposits at no additional cost. That adds up quickly.

If anyone truly thought they were going to the time/effort to fundamentally change the pricing and profit structure then turn around and negate those efforts by lowering the prices, well..............🤨

There are some changes planned for Ascent dining. MDR menus should be refreshed, updated Cafe Al Bacio menu, updated Craft Social menu, updated pool bar menus, updated cocktail menus in general, updated wine list (fleet wide), additional Le Petit Chef show with a second new show in 2024.

With the current pricing there are several instances where it is going to be cheaper to book two cabins. Even if the 3/4 person are kids, two connecting cabins is 1000% the way to go.

Ascent has some new offerings. Updated menus in MDR, new Le Petite Chef shows, new tableside items at Fine Cut, updated menus at Craft Social, Cafe Al Bacio and the pool bar. Fleetwide, new wine lists, more updated cocktail menus, Murano will see some menu adjustments and they also emphasized additional training across the entire F&B program.

I suspect there will be multiple posts like this, but without context as to when and what you booked it really doesn't mean anything. As everyone knows the general rule still stands...the earlier you book the lower the price.

Just taking a quick look at pricing (US only) and everything on sale from today to end of deployment. Compared to last week, 89% of base Retreat prices did not change. The few that did go down are close in sailings so this number really doesn't represent anything significant. Aqua (cruise only) decreased by an average of $22pp/pn but some as high as $108/pp/pn and some as little as $2pp/pn. 59% of insides, 60% of OV, 57%, 58% of CC categories had no change since last week. Again these are base rates compared to last week so if you booked any other time, have a group rate, etc. these numbers don't mean a whole lot.

My guess is that cruise is on Exciting Deals.

The US offer will be 40% off every guest for refundable deposits, 30% off every guest for refundable instead of 75% off guest #2 - plus $200 savings for veranda and higher. The weekend of Oct 12-17 the $200 bonus savings will be replaced by $200 OBC. I can’t accurately compare base prices yet.

You both have valid points. I agree that the communication of roles and duties definitely need more clearly defined. This was sometimes valid pre-COVID too, so it's not totally unique or new. The lack of emptied trash cans, etc, like he mentioned, could have occurred in an inside. That's not a suite specific issue. His other gripes were mainly things not offered to Sky Suites, or were exceptions for some that became the expecation. The $8,000 price tag, I'm not sure why that was so prevalently mentioned. In 2023 terms that is far from a high priced cabin on a Med cruise. It was $8,000 not $80,000. I get that people want to agree with him because they want to hear the negativity and they want their opinions bolstered. Celebrity has certainly flubbed some things in the past few months, but to say this is a damning review of the product is a bit of a stretch. There isn't a whole lot of substance there.

The beet salad they serve on a small spoon? It's shocking me to that something so tiny can so incredibly disgusting. It takes like a mouthful of dirt. Generally we've never had a bad Luminae experience but depending on who your waiter/team is can have a marked difference. We've had that same waiter by coincidence on two cruises several months apart who on day 1 of the second cruise told me I would not be eating chicken most meals (since I also am not a fish or seafood eater - with some small exceptions).

If you booked a cruise only rate the only option is to purchase Premium. They no longer sell the Basic package. Once onboard you may see a few options available in smaller increments.

Highly doubt your bid would be accepted. AQ is limited to two people. Other than some rare instances for vip type people, you cannot keep your cabin but take the AQ benefits.

It's because that cruise is on Exciting Deals where rates are restricted to double occupancy. The single supplement is noted but it is currently 200% on all of those cruises. https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/Exciting_Deals/CEL_Exciting_Deals.pdf

Most of the wines by the glass on the premium package are ultimately ~$20 retail bottles. If that's roughly the comparable price point there are very few champagnes out there that are going to fall within that range. My local Total Wine has 1 single sub $30 bottle available.