CalTexCruiser

you can google the Celebrity tour descriptions and often similar or the same tours offered by third parties (e.g., Viator) will pop up and you can read more detailed descriptions and more importantly customer reviews. That's helped me pass on many Celebrity tours, which are more expensive anyway. One tour that appears to be Celebrity exclusive is the Taieri Gorge Train in Dunedin which we booked when Celebrity offered it at 35% off on their recent sale.

We also took advantage of a BCC comp for an April sailing...wouldn't have gone otherwise as the Mexican Riviera is generally meh, but LA is close and it was "free". I will note that a Princess sailing on the Discovery on the same itinerary that we took last October was packed full. Apparently Princess has more loyal customers on the West coast than Celebrity.

@RedkingThere has been quite an uproar on CC recently regarding drastic cutbacks on the Oceanview Cafe buffet, including a report that the buffet on the Apex had shut down 75% of its stations for DINNER (no cutbacks for breakfast or lunch). Have you seen such buffet cutbacks for dinner on your cruise? We are curious as we will be sailing the Eclipse AU/NZ on Feb 16.

If one is used to the Celebrity Suite experience, then the Princess Suite experience will likely be disappointing. Following compares Celebrity's Sky Suite to the lowest suite on Princess: 1) Physical space: Princess wins here because their lowest level suite will be larger than SS (separate living room and bedroom, although the separation is a curtain). 2) Luminae wins hands down, in terms of ambiance, service level, and food. The Club Class restaurant is an extension of the MDR--food is meh in our experience, typical main dining room fare. Service in Club Class is better than MDR, but not to Luminae's level. But Princess' breakfast in Sabatini's for suite passengers is a good benefit. 3) Retreat lounge/sundeck on Edge class is the big winner here. No dedicated sundeck on Princess, and the lounge for suites on the Royal class ships is small and a bit claustrophobic (no window to the sea). 4) Celebrity's butlers if used are wonderful. No butlers on Princess. There is a concierge in the lounge, but the service is nothing like the over-the-top pampering that some butlers can provide. 5) Amenities offered by Princess not available with SS: Princess suites have first night specialty dining, one-time bar setup with mini liquor bottles and beers, unlimited laundry

Yes you are correct. That is why I wear mine when traveling. Now it would appear I'm allowed to also wear it to dinner.

Then that is a truly good deal. My deals are room only.

Definitely true. In fact, we are trying this out on our April Solstice cruise to the Mexican Riviera, where we only pay for: 1. port fees/taxes, 2. grats, 3. 1 streaming Wifi package. We'll be relying on our Elite status to grab as many drinks as we can during HH. This Solstice cruise will follow our Feb Eclipse AU/NZ cruise when we'll be in a Royal Suite, so we'll have a chance to contrast and compare ... LOL

So these free rooms are not so free after all, it would appear.

I believe you would have been processed using code SOL should you have changed your mind

LOL, that's a change I actually like. Too often I tend not to order the pastries because of how large they are and how bloated I know I would feel if I ate the whole thing.

I received free offer for sailings in the Med earlier this year, including on Beyond if one has flexibility on dates and want to sail in Europe they can probably wait and see what shakes out

👍Great news! Once you are underway and crossing the Tasman Sea, could you let us know whether it is just as fast? In NZ as well. Thanks in advance.