phoenix_dream

wonder if it's one of those things where some ships are doing it and some are not. So much inconsistency in applying benefits on Celebrity!

Have never worn slippers in a cabin or hotel room on over 80 cruises and countless hotel rooms over 60+ years. Never caught warts, tinea or any other infection of any type. You do you, but seems overcautious to me. But then I'm not a podiatrist either.

You're right - it could be something other than adoption like a second marriage. Currently being in a second marriage I should have thought of that. And like I stated, I believe it was handled poorly and should be addressed. At the same time, does it matter that the family was white and the child was black? Would it have been the same if the family was Black or Asian or Native American and the child was white? I'm thinking yes. Is it all racial profiling? One could argue yes. At the same time where is the line drawn when trying to protect all children from horrible suffering? I just don't think it's all as black and white as is being portrayed by some (no pun intended). Again, I think it was handled very poorly and should be dealt with. But hopefully the intention was good, which one expects would be try to stop the sex trafficking getting more and more prevalent these days. Hopefully they can find less intrusive and insensitive ways of dealing with it.

I'm not sure they believe that, but they definitely are trying to sell it as such! Which of course it isn't.

I think this is an issue to consider. I am not defending how it was handled as even if they were attempting to protect a child in danger they clearly didn't handle it well. But sadly there is too much actual sex trafficking going on these days. It also is important to note that this was likely not Celebrity at all, but the port authorities, who clearly need better training in how to handle these situations. Still doesn't make it right, but it's important to call attention where it belongs. As to singling out someone because a white family had a black child with them, it becomes obvious that the child must be adopted, which started this whole debacle. Had it been an all black family traveling with a white child I suspect that the same red flags would have been raised. Obviously no way to know for sure. There is sadly no real way to tell if this was actually an issue of discrimination, of poor training, or even if the port authorities had been notified of a significant increase of such things (trafficking) happening and were asked to be extra diligent in screening their passengers? All else aside, I'm sorry the OP and their family had to go through this embarrassing and insulting process, whether well-intentioned or not.

That is a valid point. The services are reduced but the included grats are the same. Hmmm. One wonders if it all actually goes to the staff. I would never reduce the grats as I do not want to hurt the staff but that is really something that should be looked at.

What in the world is the Suite Tips Team??

Some of this logic is suspect at best. For example, right now on the Celebrity website it says that Decoy cabernet is included in the Premium drink package. Onboard right now it is NOT included, as people are being charged a surcharge for it. So I don't think this falls under the "what you think you paid for" umbrella. It's one thing advertised and another thing delivered. Plain and simple. Black and white.

It really all depends on what is happening on the previous cruise. At times you can enter around 10:30. On occasion (not often, but it does happen) there are Customs issues, or cleaning after a sickness outbreak onboard, or some other issue which delays things. In those cases in the Retreat you most likely would be allowed to enter and wait in the lounge but no guarantees on that.

Curious what you think about the fact that on their website, under Premium Beverage Package, it still shows several wines as included, while at the very same time they are actually no longer included and people are being charged a surcharge? I'm no lawyer but this seems illegal to me (and I'm sure is just a matter of not updating their website in time, but shouldn't that come before the change is made?). I wouldn't bother suing over it, but just curious what the legality is - a slightly different situation as the butler service is written in kind of a grey area but this is a black and white difference.

Grand Cayman is a tender port, so you need to be able to go up and down the stairs to the tender. Once you arrive, presuming you dock in the normal area, you have a very short walk to town and/or taxis. If you dock in the alternate dock then it is a fairly short walk to the taxi area. Other than a beach next door there is nothing else there and you need a taxi to get to town. I am not 100% certain of the other two ports so I'll talk about what I can remember and hope someone with similar issues can provide more accurate input. In both Curacao and Aruba in our last couple of visits the ship docked quite a distance from the town. In Curacao I believe you would need to borrow a wheelchair perhaps to get you to the taxi area. It is an even longer walk to the first nice shopping/casino area - not sure if the wheelchair could be taken that far? I don't recall any golf cart assistance but not completely sure. Honestly can't remember for Aruba for sure but I don't recall seeing any golf carts.

Makes you wonder, doesn't it, how long they will be able to keep some of these folks hired. So very much of the workload was just dumped on them, and they had too much to do to begin with. I remember years ago they had assistants to help them. Granted they had more cabins then, but not twice as many cabins. I predict a potential staffing issue in the future for these positions as there are so many other cruise lines to choose from. I guess time will tell.

I agree. Too often people who report a bad experience are referred to as complainers or people who are never satisfied. At the same time, people who report good experiences are often reviled as cheerleaders. Frankly, I've been accused as both! I report my comments based on my personal experience - good, bad, or indifferent. People can give them as much credence as they care to.

Are you writing this as a joke or to get people revved up to argue with you? Obviously it can't be a legit comment. The "upper suites" already have lots more privileges associated with them so I think they are taken care of just fine, That's as far as I plan to discuss this as the idea is too far out of the realm of reality for me to waste any more time on it.

You sound like a polite and considerate person. Unfortunately those on our cruise were not. I didn't have a particular issue with the seat being saved for people paying big bucks for highest level suites. But if that was happening to me (and it would be pretty obvious early on) I would definitely advise the hostess if I didn't plan to dine there that day.

And yet, the website also still shows Decoy and Conundrum as included in the premium package! So not just a poor move overall, but false advertising.

I think my biggest frustration was that there were so many times they just never showed up and the ideal table went empty! That's just not right. I can see them catering to high level suite guests - heaven knows they are paying a small fortune to sail in those - but my real issue was with the guests themselves. Totally inconsiderate.

What I meant was, concern that they would adjust their rules so that suite guests were no longer charged the small upcharges while in Luminae or in the lounge, but not intend to change anything for anyone else. I realize I am sounding (and probably am) a bit paranoid here, but frankly the way they've been handling things these days I can understand why. It's already very frustrating that as a Zenith our perks of premium liquor and Wi-Fi are of no value when booking suites - a separate but annoying issue I didn't want to really get into with this particular thread. I also don't want to seem like I don't care about non-suite or non-Zenith folks. I certainly do. It just seems that there have been quite a few significant sales on drink packages lately which are of no value to us. So as a suite guest we don't get those kinds of discounts per se as the cost of the package is already included in the (sky high these days) price of the suites. So once again, paying more and getting less. But I understand it is an issue for everyone and I hope they look at it that way.

Wondering how many have been contacted after sending an email to the Executive office regarding the recent changes to wine prices vis a vis the premium package, and how that conversation went. I wrote an email and got a call within a day. Had a nice conversation with the woman on the phone about my concerns. Besides mentioning my general displeasure with the new costs and why, I also expressed concern about how these changes are happening. I have heard people say it has even changed mid-sailing. I indicated I thought they should improve their communication so people know ahead of time what they are buying into, regardless of what the change is. One of my concerns is that they may only focus on "fixing" this for suite guests. As a Zenith member who took 30 years and close to 80 cruises to attain that level, I am not happy to see its valuable perk of premium drinks downgraded for those times I am not sailing in a suite (which with current prices may be often!). If they lower the price of the package, offer great sales, etc.., but keep the current wine pricing that's fine for people who purchase the package as an add-on but that doesn't help me (or other Zeniths not in suites) at all! I was told they are in the process of reviewing these changes and the comments coming in, and I was reassured that they value our loyalty and would keep that in mind. So, encouraging that they are quickly responding, and encouraging that they apparently are getting so much feedback that they are reviewing it. Wouldn't it be nice, though, if going forward they relied on focus groups comprising of all types of Celebrity passengers, including (and perhaps especially) those who are the most loyal. Fingers crossed something positive will come out of this.

Don't know about Japan, but typically 2 hours ahead of time. I also would figure 3 in case of any issues getting to port.

That's true. Although on one b2b cruise I was on, the hostess was instructed to always save a particular window seat for a Royal Suite guest. The most frustrating part of all was that literally half the time or more they never showed up and that most-desired seat was left empty! How incredibly inconsiderate and selfish. I've sailed in a Royal Suite (granted, only twice) and they never did that for me, nor would I ever ask or expect them to for that matter.

That's fine if you sail in non-suite cabins or are not Zenith. People sailing in suites often pay tens of thousands of dollars for their cabin - and then to be charged an upcharge for a glass of wine whose bottle sells for $20 or less retail?? That is nothing short of outrageous. And those of us who have finally, finally earned Zenith status (for me 75+ cruises over 30 years), only to find the value of that status once again declining is very, very frustrating. I'm not saying this as an attack on your response, but I think everyone should be concerned about these types of changes being made, and made after booking as well. This change may not impact you personally but it is a disturbing trend and there likely will follow other changes that will impact you. If we just sit back and take it and continue booking and don't provide any feedback it will continue and continue.

Only the new ships and in some cabins on revolutionized ships will you find smart tv's, not all Celebrity ships. In fact on a Sky Suite on Constellation, our TV did not even have the usual movies, access to your account, etc.. And whether streaming will be a breeze definitely depends on the internet on that cruise, which can vary greatly by sailing location as well as cabin location. Granted, with their updated internet it is usually much better than previously, but you definitely cannot always stream successfully.

I agree. How many times would I want to even listen to the same song over and over and over without the crowd participation or some other fun-added aspect. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course and can like or dislike it. For the record, I'm no youngster myself (on the other side of 70) and I have no issue with the sing alongs and love the "so good, so good, so good" and "bamp bamp bamp" singing!

We sailed on Celebrity many times with my youngest son, starting when he was 7. He always had a good time. As he got older he learned about other, more fun (for him) ships such as Royal and he definitely would have preferred them. But all in all he always had a good time. DH and I both worked fulltime so it was nice not to have all the bells and whistles so to speak as it meant we could spend more time as a family. We swam together, played board games (some of which we brought from home), enjoyed the shows (even in his younger years), and just enjoyed some family time. As he got older, he brought our laptop (no tablets back then LOL) and downloaded video games to play and movies to watch. He also brought books and comics for his own quiet time. I'm sure your kids will do fine, as long as expectations are set for the older ones especially.