Jeremiah1212

The common thought here is people want better service, better food, better alcohol, more included, less passengers, handsomely rewarded for their loyalty at a cost that is lower than in years past despite higher prices on labor and literally every provision and supply involved, near crushing debt levels and with demand that ultimately warrants and supports a higher priced product, despite doing business with a public company whose purpose is to produce profits above all else. Good luck to any C level person that can make that happen! They will need an award.

Read the post. They aren't losing 100% of their money if they miss the cruise.

Travel insurance doesn't help. For CFAR you lose the cost of the policy, typically still take a 10-25% hit on the loss, and almost always have to cancel within 48hrs of departure. That's even if it's not too late to qualify for CFAR. They already have some protection through Flights by Celebrity. They can either try to get to the first accessible port, or cancel for a full refund or FCC and try again at a later date.

You also have to consider that global volume has gone from 12 million passengers in 2003 to almost 30 million in 2019. By 2027 that’s projected to be almost 40 million passengers globally. Those numbers aren't due to a 2 year lockdown in 20/21.

If this was me I would be trying to cancel everything and rebook something on my own. I haven't kept up with the story this seems to have become so convoluted between FBC, United and Lufthansa at this point there will never be a clean resolution.

AI deals are gone. There are many All Inclusives in Riviera Maya/Cancun that are double their 2019 prices. What I could occasionally get for a little over $4k, consistently get for $5k a week is now selling out at over $10k. The food, service and overall quality of this particular resort pale in comparison to today's Celebrity product. A lot of emphasis on presentation, it's very Instagramable, but the food and drinks are not great by any stretch. Put an $8k Sky Suite next to this product and Celebrity seems like a great deal. Celebrity and other lines are also benefitting to some degree from having Virgin Voyages in the market.

I’m not sure that’s the best metric. The largest change to the booking cycle right now is a big increase with those booking within 6 months of sailing. Which almost always equates to higher prices. This will be even more evident if RCG implements their new inventory controls on Celebrity.

This is the best approach to start with. See if you can change your flight without calling either through the AA app or website. If you can’t DIY just call and say you had a schedule change and need to adjust flights. Don’t mention anything else.

Yes you can. Your other questions, even in answers vaguely, will get the thread closed. Ask on Facebook.

Interestingly, Michael Bayley recently commented that RCI’s top tiers population has grown over 30% in the past year. That’s without an equivalent to Power Up Points artificially inflating the population. Celebrity hasn’t mentioned anything similar but I can’t imagine they are too far off. I’m not sure the loyalty argument holds a lot of weight outside of the 20-30 active posters here.

Only if you book through Flights by Celebrity. If you booked on your own you are out of luck.

First stop is seeing if they can put you on an earlier flight due to the schedule change. Second options is to cancel the tickets all together and rebook something else on your own in the early morning. I would have no expectation they will hold the ship you for. That is very unlikely. If the stars align they may get you to Nassau but that is not guaranteed. More likely scenario is they would just refund you for the missed cruise.

Don't let the negativity this board creates disillusion a year in advance. It's unfortunate that some people decide their expensive trips are terrible before they leave the house. Go, try it, if it's not for you, then move on. There are a few people who are hellbent in making sure everyone who will listen shares their misery. Celebrity has definitely made some blunders and questionable decisions lately, but these are topics that surface on every single board on this site. The grass isn't always greener.

The new Crystal cruising today is a totally different company. Same ships, same name, but that’s it. The new ownership is split between Abercrombie & Kent and a holding company that is run by the former owner of Silversea.

https://www.royalcaribbeangroup.com/bio/laura-hodges-bethge/ She assumed the role on May 1, 2023, ascending from executive vice president of shared services operations, responsible for Royal Caribbean Group’s safety, security and environment, risk management and crew movement teams. Her portfolio also included the leadership of supply chain, travel services, port services, workplace solutions and real estate. Prior to that, Hodges Bethge was senior vice president of product development for Royal Caribbean International and led the teams conceptualizing the largest global cruise line’s groundbreaking ships, private island destinations, and new experiences introduced throughout the award-winning fleet, including the first island in Royal Caribbean’s Perfect Day Island Collection – Perfect Day at CocoCay. She also spearheaded the modernization of 10 ships in four years as part of the Royal Amplified program – an investment of more than $1 billion; and the design and construction of six new ships, including Spectrum of the Seas and Odyssey of the Seas. Hodges Bethge’s long history with Royal Caribbean Group began in 2000 leading the fleet accessibility program for Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises, and she has since held several leadership roles within various areas of the business, including hotel and marine operations, sales, marketing, product innovation and investor relations. She was also based in Shanghai as vice president of market development where she oversaw commercial operations for this strategic market. A Florida native, Hodges Bethge is active in her community and serves on the board of Easterseals, a nonprofit dedicated to enriching the lives of people and families with disabilities. She also supports efforts aiding the Police Officer Assistance Trust (POAT), a nonprofit organization that assists officers and their families in times of need. Hodges Bethge holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology, and an MBA in international business and finance, from Florida International University. She lives in Miami with her husband.

Ask carefully! Any snarky or implicitly negative questions won’t see the light of day. FWIW they don’t openly share or mention anything negative to the people selling their products, so good luck. It’s quietly slipped in and you stumble upon it later. My questions would be: 1. What is planned to heed off customer uncertainty due to changes to the product? 2. Is the higher priced and less flexible deposit/cancellation approach actually stabilizing bookings? (I think I know the answer to this and it’s a win win for Celebrity). 3. This won’t get answered - but I’d love to see real data about how many Celebrity passengers were actually begging to go to Coco Cay. I still struggle to see how it fits with the overall product.

RGC doesn't publish them but CLIA has limited numbers available. For somewhat of a baseline, in 2019 there were 8.29 embarkations from Florida ports. In the same year 2.3 million cruise passengers were Florida residents.

No, Constellation will remain in Tampa. Equinox will be at Port Canaveral which is a new homeport. New 7 night sailings on Constellation from Tampa will go on sale next Tuesday. Those new 7 night sailings will replace the previously sold (now cancelled) 9 and 12 night sailings.

Here are actual numbers from 8/17/23 through end of deployment 5/7/25. It's not perfect because the 8/15 updates are not posted, but in reality the shortened Constellation and Equinox cruises are a tiny portion (19-20) of the 912 total cruises this is based on. Filtering by year has almost no impact.

On the late August option I definitely would not prioritize an aft cabin. The last time we had an SV cabin was last year, early September, in Greece/Italy/Turkey. The balcony was unbearably hot. We had to leave the curtains closed all day. I sat on the balcony maybe 10 minutes in 11 days.

This is such an odd sentiment on this board. The reality is the older "loyal" passengers are on an uphill battle. Celebrity started scraping the 14 night Caribbean routes years ago. The older loyalists are no longer filling ships. That customer is diminishing. These people may fit into several buckets. They may no longer be living, physically unable to travel, financially unable to travel, needing to work later in life has eliminated their free time, still unwilling to travel due to COVID, etc. They aren't doing this at the expense of anyone. No one is precluded from cruising by Celebrity because the ads aren't filled with pictures of senior citizens. If the money and passengers were flocking to 21 day cruises, they would offer them.

She isn't a CEO. You need to go up a level to Jason Liberty. Their 3 main goals through year end 2025 are presented plain as day and it has nothing to do with providing more off-menu freebies to Sky Suites.

Not accurate according to anything Celebrity has put out. There is nothing for early 2025 in South America. Swamping Equinox for Eclipse also doesn't make a whole lot of sense. My guess is if there was a South America offering they would bring Infinity back. The year round Med isn't a big seller so far. Since there was nothing mentioned about changes to the Infinity sailing yesterday, this may not be all that likely.

The top market areas (catchment areas) for each type of Caribbean cruise; i.e. the top geographical areas where customers are coming from. The Summit changes are for late 2024 into early 2025, not the current winter 2023/2024 season. San Juan departures are being canceled and the ship relocated to Port Everglades. There still may be a San Juan shoulder season in Oct/Nov/Dec of 2024.