JFontaine

Reminder to all onboard a ship with mechanical issues -put down toilet lid before you flush. Good luck.

I'm not on the site where the survey is, so I seem to not be able to participate in the survey. I wonder the percentage of Crystal cruisers who are like me and don't use that site. Anyway - I've got about 100 days on Crystal and love it (more so after recently trying Oceania) but won't go on a cruise without a casino either.

I've been in a Villa a few times. The last time it took a few meals to determine where we wanted to eat - same restaurant each night. I told the restaurant manager of that restaurant, and his reaction was: Sure, what table would you like. You should be able to get the flexibility you need. As for seats in the theater, the Butlers do reserve seats in the middle on a few nights for Retreat guests. We prefer the far sides in the balcony, where you are sitting extremely close to the stage.

If corporate doesn't do anything before the cruise, I don't see them doing anything after. I'd write a short note to the hotel director before you leave home together with a printout of your confirmation, or even those bag tags. I'd tell him what you would like (let me know if there are any no-shows in higher suites, suite perks that you lost, etc ) and drop it off day 1. Then forget it and just have a great cruise.

Here's my guess on what happened: the OP wasn't the highest bidder, another passenger was. When the company running this tried to charge the winner's card, it didn't go through (stolen and replaced, account closed, etc) and the company went to the next bidder. When the original winner somehow found out, they realized the card was declined and offered to replace it. Since the company running the move up is compensated by a percentage of the sale, they went with the higher bidder. VIPs can be anyone. I once met a VIP (traveling for free in the Penthouse) who owned a company which was a significant vendor to Celebrity. I'd be surprised if any VIP was a last minute booking. I agree that the OP was treated poorly. They should've been offered the perks of the suite, if not the real estate, which I have seen before. It would've cost Celebrity little.

Beer and soda are also available in the fridge, you can stock up your mini- fridge in your stateroom with it or take it to the sundeck if the sundeck requires a beverage package. You can also get mixed drinks and wine in the Retreat lounge most of the day - if you want to take it to the sundeck just ask for the drink in plastic. If you are interested in attending a sailaway ask the Retreat hostess to put you on the list (or for any ship event). I don't care for the sailaways - no seats or shade and the drinks are usually warm and I think they require close toe shoes. There are great views in more comfortable locations. Enjoy your upgrade!

Glad to hear that your husband is doing well.

I'm not a doctor, just doing some internet research. Sounds like ship toilets have plain water plus whatever "stuff" people flush. Other than cleaning fluids for the bowl itself, most ships use a natural process for treating black water for eventual ocean discharge. The worry would be conjunctivitis and it would show up between 12 and 72 hours from exposure, and you did what you could with a high grade eye wash. Hopefully your husband is doing well, and every day should give you more confidence of the worst being behind you. I hope you get treated with kindness/empathy from the ship and good luck to you both.

I would definitely ask for a wheelchair assist to embark and disembark, where you can have long walks up and down inclines and over thresholds with carryon bags and documents and people rushing around. No need to get off to an exhausting, rough start. We tip the wheelchair pusher $5/$10 - there could be more than one, so have small bills handy.

The US State Department has no interest in unnecessarily hurting the most lucrative business in Nassau. They also know who the victims are and where and when crimes occurred. I'd tend to listen to them.

Couldn't move anywhere, ship was full. Didn't complain either, it was a one week cruise and I had to complain about the rollaway (old, small, plastic mattress like in a hospital with no mattress pad - good bedding is my 'thing' and this was just awful) and the lounge chair. And that was my attempt at humor, being old AND clean!

Insignia was refurbished also. Dirty carpets, drapes and bedding could appear on a two year old ship if not maintained. I'm old, but I'm clean.

Which is a shame, right? I love the Summit, which is one of Celebrity's oldest ships. Nothing (for me) to complain about it. Crystal has two old ships, and I love them both. And I had a good experience on Azamara, on the same class of ship (R class). All of these old small ships remind me of what cruising used to be. Anyway, future O cruisers - I don't want to put you off. I think adjusting expectations is a good idea. 'The best cuisine at sea' seems to be an exaggeration to me.

In the fall I cruised in an Owner's Suite (their top) on Oceania Insignia (older, smaller ship) after many, many top suites on Celebrity. Disappointed to say we didn't like anything about it - food, service, management, entertainment or suite; but Oceania has its fans so because we didnt like it doesn't really mean anything. Here's an example: the MDR was always crowded, bright and loud, and guests were seated in sections, when one section or row was filled, the next section was used. Then a waiter went from table to table taking orders on an ipad type device (presumably sent right to the kitchen) and served by runners. We never saw our waiter again, so if you needed anything, good luck. Our suite had a bath and a half, and it said it was for 3, but the living room couch didnt open, and I slept in a foldup rollaway that nobody bothered to fold up for the cruise. I asked for a lounge chair for the balcony (there was none) and was told "no" twice until I wrote a letter to the Hotel Director. I asked for ice with turndown and was told to call room service - something fairly routine on Celebrity. My suite was dirty - carpet, sheers, bedskirt were filthy. They did give me some nice gifts to take home (bag, embroidered towels, hats, Bulgari gift set). We absolutely loved Crystal (prior to new management) and look forward to trying it again.

In some (maybe all?) of the top suites, the beds cannot be separated.

Yes, I did miss the update post that these were gummies. Thank you.

Dronabinol is a prescription drug with synthetic THC - and COULD be what this person uses. It is FDA approved and very much legal. People should not give unequivocal statements about what is allowed on board unless they are an official with Celebrity. What happened last year or last month might not be the policy today. This is serious stuff. Good luck to the original poster and her family.

Your butler has been wrong a couple of times. I'd ask the Retreat manager if they can arrange the ship (behind the scenes) tours you would be interested in (without a fee). Have fun.

Thank you for the report. Small point, am I reading this correctly, that there's no food available from 1:30 when lunch closes until 7:30 dinner, other than the occasional wine and cheese? 7:30 dinner seems late for us early risers. Thanks

Beautiful photos. (I looked at some others of yours, and your favorites - they brought me great joy - thank you!)

@Sthrngary Not to derail this conversation, but you keep raising the point about insurance. Ive been cruising often over 35 years, and have only bought insurance twice, for specific reasons. I do use an expensive credit card which has some insurance (relatively new feature in last 15 years, never tested by me), but the policy is very comparable to low cost separate insurance (does not contain Cancel for Any Reason, which adds significantly to the cost of insurance). My point is I've easily saved more than $100,000 in insurance premiums. There isn't much that that bucket won't cover. As for the rest of your post, I learned things from the OP's post and some of the responses. I thank her for raising the issue.

I am surprised at some of the harsh comments. It seems to me that the OP is quite right to question this unfortunate situation, especially because other similarly priced cruise lines are being more generous in their resolution. It could be that Azamara or Regent (or whoever is issuing FCC) has business interruption insurance that covers these costs, and Oceania might decide to buy it in the future if passengers protested being dragged near a war zone (or lose their cruise fare) - rather than throwing up their hands and saying 'that's what the contract says'. Business interruption insurance would add a small amount to the cruise fare. It could turn out that you benefit next time.

@Mark_UK In the US if your parents had cruised Celebrity before and played in the casino they might be eligible for a reduced price or free cruise (based on prior play), with offers getting more generous closer to sailing. Would a call to the Blue Chip Club desk be useful? Maybe someone from the UK could respond if the program is available there. Here they would be able to apply the future cruise certificate to a casino rate, I believe. They often don't need a lot of casino play to qualify - often a few minutes at the slots is enough.

It is not new. They start with the highest level suite on that ship and move down the top suites until the 10 are gone. You would only get an offer if your reservation is linked to a non-suite cabin. If I recall correctly it is about $100 per person per day and does not include specialty restaurants.

The cruiseline knows almost exactly what will be available in two weeks. They know how many people will book within days of a cruise (not many) and how many will cancel (more than will book last minute). They have decades of data and computer models. I agree, they likely won't offer anything on a sold out cruise.