goofysmom99

5 hours ago, markham said:

The nerve of all the nincompoops at RCL! 
 

Firstly, what Silversea customers give a hoot about Celebrity and RCL? And then RCL take their luxury Silversea cruise line passengers, their loyal, longer cruise and highest pay-per-day passengers for a ride, literally so.
 

How stupid is that?! This story is only going one way. Down. And all that appalling but free press,

 

… which leads me to ask if this is a generational thing. No one ie NO ONE in the Silversea demographic needs this nonsense. Was this ultimately a groupthink decision to aggravate guests for some childish, selfish, stupid and ultimately costly marketing event? If so, you get full marks in the race to the bottom for the 2024 Industry Awards contest for destroying brand value.

 

Over to you, RCL.

 

Happy and healthy sailing!

I wouldn't count on outrage making a huge difference.  The CEO of Royal Caribbean Group, Jason Liberty, moved to that position from the CFO side of the house, not hospitality.  His emphasis is and will always be on the earnings/shareholder side of things.  As a stockholder, I'm pleased; as a passenger, not so much.  Love him or hate him, he's the golden boy of the cruise industry which is why he was named chairman of CLIA in January.  My guess is they'll use the photo op to try to rein-in some of the pax who are bailing on overpriced Celebrity suites.  I'm one of them.  As a solo, 18-night 2025 Silver Moon Panama Canal transit was $6650 less for me than a 16-night Summit sky suite.  For two people, SS is still $3400 less than X.  I guess I'm making Jason happy by staying within the Royal family for this cruise. I also think he knows SS has heavy competition.  

I've cruised Celebrity for many years and for the past twelve months or so, every after-cruise survey has included something to the effect:  "Which of these cruise lines are part of the Royal Caribbean Group?"  Same question on the after-cruise survey I completed just a few minutes ago.  Ditto on a couple of Celebrity marketing surveys, too.  Evidently not enough people know SS is part of the Royal Caribbean Group.  I was disappointed but unsurprised to read that SS is doing the 3-ship photo op with such insensitivity to the disruption it causes their customers.  My take is that RCG (Jason Liberty = bean-counter central) is calling ALL the shots for all three lines.  I doubt it's coincidental that Celebrity no longer has a CEO, but a President.  Celebrity has made equally bone-headed management moves since early 2023.  That was why I decided to widen my horizons to SS (and RSSC & Oceania).  Since it looks like RCG wants to Royalize all three of their lines, maybe SS won't be a good fit for me, but I'm going to give it two tries. 

And I've received no-show double points.  Guess it depends on who answers.  Lately I've had to call almost every time to correct from single to double points.  Usually corrected within a day or two.  Most recently, took two calls.

I'm currently on Summit.  First leg, I was charged for room service (always wrote Zenith benefit).  The other seven zeniths were in suites so they weren't affected.  It took two trips to Guest Relations and one to the CC concierge before it finally got straightened out.  I don't even want to remember the boarding screw-up in Miami (they apologized).  All is well now.

Whenever I've taken port intensive cruises like Med, Baltics, etc, I've been so tired after dinner, entertainment never mattered.  TA/TP = maybe.

If you want something lighter, order 1-2 turkey clubs w/out bread and 1-2 salads.  You can construct a decent chef's salad.  Chicken skewers also make good salad add-in.

OK, while I was enjoying lunch here on the Summit, I decided to compare Panama Canal transit cruises on Summit and Silver Moon for TWO people, rather than just myself. 

April 2025, Ft Lauderdale to Los Angeles, Panama Canal transit.

Summit, built 2001, refurbed 2019, 2218 pax lower berth, max 2599, 91000 tons, crew 999

16 nights

Aqua A2, all included price including gratuities:  $15,535

     Cabin plus balcony 232 sq ft (191 + 41) 

     $486 pp/night

Sky Suite S1, including gratuities:  $18,927

     Cabin plus balcony 308 sq ft (251 + 57)

     $592 pp/night

Silver Moon, built 2020, 596 pax, 41000 tons, crew 411

18 nights

Veranda Suite, $15,500 (port-to-port), all inclusive (and excursions)

     Cabin plus balcony 390 sq ft (325 + 65)

     $431 pp/night

Celebrity IS more expensive - an A2 cabin for 16 nights costs the same as a full suite for 18 nights on Silversea!  Blu is good but not THAT good.  And those prices are as of about two hours ago.

BTW, cabin furniture on Silversea looks comfy, like a real leather chair and sofa, not a dorm room style hard-as-a-rock futon or silly chair-and-a-half (on which I'm sitting as I type).  But that's just incidental to the price disparity.

2 hours ago, mahdnc said:

Here is an interesting article in BusinessWeek regarding the famous Raffles Hotel in Singapore.  The article focuses on their butlers and the importance of service.  The hotel was located just behind the JW Marriott where we were staying.  The link is a gift article that does not require a subscription to read, but it is good for only 7 days.

 

With all the discussions about the changes in butler service for Sky Suites, I found the quote in the last sentence of the article very much on point.

 

Raffles Hotel, Dec 20 2023

 

Holy cow, David!  And here I've been worried about Aqua Class price creep. 🤑

Since they're in a PH, no problem with them having you join them for dinner in Luminae.  Dinner is $36 pp ($30 + 20%).  Either party can pay and a bill will be presented.  

If you don't have a printer, log into celebritycruises thru browser on your phone, pull up your cruise, then boarding pass, and take a screen shot.  Looks just the same as thru the app.  No printer needed.

Silversea's single supplement (25-50%) is making it a better deal for me.  Although SS price has increased since I booked, at the time, Summit A2 for 16-night Panama Canal was $11,100 and  $17,600 for S1 (still is).  Versus an 18-night Silver Moon suite for $9800 which includes butler, gratuities, OBC, bevs, excursions, etc.  And the Moon is a 19 yr newer ship, too.   Nicer cabin, newer ship, two days longer, all inclusive, and $7800 less....hmmm, not a difficult decision to jettison my Summit $100 deposit.

Last time, in 2022, I flew into VCE not realizing just how how far away Ravenna was, especially on a fully packed bus. Ugh. Definitely will opt for Bologna in the future.

Boarded Summit yesterday. Concierge cabin.  Zenith.  Have received wine, flowers, fruit, and chocolates. Dined with friends in Luminae = $30 + $6 tip.  Check.  Then was charged $21.76 for a glass of Louis Jadot Macon Villages chardonnay ($17 and included in premium package).  Even though I had it removed, how do you get to $21.76 from $17??  20% would be $20.40; $18 would be $21.60.  Room service, which for Zenith is included, charged me $12.69.  OK, $9.95 plus 20% should be $11.94.  So where does $12.69 (extra 75 cents) come from?  All the charges have been removed but the numbers are screwy.  BTW, I had printed ZENITH BENEFIT in block letters on my room service hanger.  I didn't contest the Luminae charge but the seared red snapper was so overcooked, it was inedible.  By the time I could speak to waiter, everyone else had finished.  Not an auspicious first day.  Hope the next eight days improve.

Im in a Concierge cabin on Summit.  Ever since X removed the sofa and substituted the chair-and-a-half, the cabins have had lots of empty space on the balcony side if the bed. I had my cabin steward push the night stand and bed up to the edge of the chair and have oodles of room to park and swing around to exit nose first.  The plus is I can use the Euro plug that was behind the nightstand to charge; supplied my own adapter for it.  This is working out great!

I'm currently on Summit with a SNAS scooter in a concierge cabin.  No problem.  The issue is avoiding being hit by the people who don't look up from their phones!  I already had two folks stumble into me....and I wasn't moving!

45 minutes ago, helen haywood said:

Not to discount anyone else’s experience but I will just state again that Special Needs at Sea will not rent you a scooter that will not fit in your cabin as they deliver and leave the scooter in your cabin.  I rented a scooter from them that easily fit in a non accessible cabin on Celebrity Equinox.

Ditto.

12 minutes ago, gordylad said:

Interested in what the "plus one additional offer" is?

Military discount, senior discount, resident discount, etc.

I think I've always received wine as a zenith.  On my most recent TA in Nov, I received a parade of food/wine deliveries with personal notes = macarons, chocolates x2, chocolate covered strawberries (I'm allergic but they didn't know that), fancy cheese platter x2, shrimp plate, and two separate special delivery cookie surprises (personally brought by the Exec Chef and F&B Mgr).  Also received wine x2 (1 HD, 1 FBM) and a fruit basket.  I'm grinning about the fruit....absolutely stunning and included a big, beautiful pomegranate.  I've never bought/dealt with a whole pomegranate at home much less in my cabin so I googled what to do with it and gave it a shot.  It was pretty good (and messy).  I did have to track down a suitably sharp knife from OVC.  I'm sure some of the extra largesse and "personal deliveries" were because I'm a zenith, but most were management mea culpas from a mind-boggling succession of food screw-ups (shellfish and gluten) on that cruise.  Several were inexcusable.  Anyway, my balcony neighbors on both sides were quite delighted with all the extra loot I shared.  BTW, the fancy cheese platters looked fantastic.....and included bread and crackers touching the cheeses (that gluten thing again).  They finally gave up and sent a bouquet. 😉

I'm boarding Summit next week B2B; will be on the lookout for wine.

On 2/20/2024 at 5:46 PM, Tweedy said:

 

Thank you.  My sister has so many food restrictions I'm now thinking we do this restaurant when she isn't with us.  It may just be too much for a set menu.

I have lots of food restrictions and have tried Le Petit Chef twice.  For me, it ends up being too much focus on what I can't have, meaning not as much fun, and it's pricey for what I can have.  So agree, it may not be the best choice for your sister.  I find all the other specialty restaurants are a better fit, especially with advance notice.

2 minutes ago, mac_tlc said:

We have done all of the E-class ships. This is the first time in 9 cruises over 4 ships that it felt crowded everywhere.  This is our third time on Beyond.
 

I think it’s a combination of it now being a sea day instead of a port day and perhaps the daily activities are not as robust as a planned sea day since they had to assemble the schedule last minute.

 

 

mac_tlc

I'm considering E-class (maybe a suite) for a TA, meaning lots and lots of sea days.  I'm leaning toward Apex with its fewer suites and where Luminae sounds like it's a bit more special.   

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

If I could find a seat, I could see how warm it is. None to be had. Spa Cafe— full, Mast Grill — full, Retreat deck bar —- full. 
 

 Headed back to room where I knew there were a couple empty chairs..

 

mac_tlc

I looked at your cruise history and you took Apex in 1/22, and now Beyond.  I just did the math on Apex vs Beyond and the Beyond tonnage is 8.5% greater than Apex, but the pax load is 32% greater.  Are the guest spaces a lot bigger on Beyond or is just that there are 939 more pax?  I haven't been on either one, so I'm asking.  I always opt for Silhouette over Reflection because of the added passenger load.  Am I better off booking Apex than Beyond/Ascent?  Since you've done/are doing both, I'm genuinely interested in your take.  Thanks.

On 1/4/2024 at 10:17 AM, kokopelli-az said:

Have not rented a wheelchair out of Galveston; however, have rented many times for cruises, including on Royal Caribbean.  

 

Have you seen Royal's mobility page?   You will need to rent either form Scootaround or Special Needs at Sea.   These are the two vendors allowed to access Royal's ships in the United States.  You might want to compare the cost of renting vs buying.   Of course if you buy (or rent from another company near your home), you will have to bring the wheelchair with you during your travels instead of having it waiting for you in your room or outside the terminal.   If you compare pricing between Scootaround and Special Needs, use discount USCRUISE (from United Spinal) for Scootaround (you might have to call to have the code applied).    

 

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/experience/accessible-cruising/mobility-disabilities

 

Royal will also want you to fill out a Special Needs Form.  

Hi Kokopelli, just an FYI, when I called Scootaround yesterday, was told they don't accept discount codes; that was news to me.  I'm not sure I trust the rep since I've used it successfully in the past.  Nevertheless, thought I'd pass this on to you because you've been so helpful to me personally before.  BTW, I went with SNAS this time because, surprisingly, it was $100 cheaper than Scootaround, even using my past-renter points.  

44 minutes ago, ArgoNereus said:

I find all the deserts too dry for my taste.

Good one.  

On 2/13/2024 at 11:31 AM, LB_NJ said:

What about on Solstice or M class?  I don't like large ships.

If this published information about the passenger loads of Celebrity ships is correct, none of the E and S class ships, except Apex/Edge, are less than 3000 pax.  That leaves you with M-class (where ordering from MDR menu is no problem).  

https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/Flyers/12030112_CEL_FleetGuide.pdf

I'll forego the chef's table in lieu of two nights in Murano with two decent bottles of wine.