ken4556

We were towards the front in 7118.

Nope. Have not been on a Princess boat in 33 years. Just curious, what made you think that based on our dinner choices?

We had the standard classic beverage package (as it came with our cruise package), but we only used it for soft drinks. Here is a great reference for the what is included in each package: https://www.celebritycruises.com/content/dam/celebrity/new-images/12_15_23_OB_SP_Drinks-Flyer_V4.pdf

Just returned home from a fantastic cruise on the Celebrity Apex. Unlike some posts on this forum, the sky is not falling; our Celebrity Cruise was excellent as usual. We stayed in a porthole veranda cabin, forward on deck 7. The ship was beautiful and spotless, great mix of ages (no floating retirement home), amazing entertainment, and excellent food. There was music all around the ship in the evenings, production shows were fantastic, and we really enjoyed the game shows in The Club. We ate dinner in the main dining rooms five nights, the Marketplace one night, and the Rooftop Garden one night. All meals we had were excellent and I found the portions the perfect size. We also had the premium internet package and it worked great, with no dropped phone calls nor dropped teams calls. The shipped rocked in the rough seas most of the cruise, but the ship rode very well and we did not see too many people who were seasick. We enjoyed the ports, especially St. Marteen and St. Thomas. Happy to answer any questions you may have.

While this is great program to allow for a inexpensive cruise, it worries me that it just another death nail into the business plan of HAL. At some point, you have to sell cruises at a profit at a price people are will to pay for the experience. Spirit Airlines lost money in the typically the most profitable quarter in the industry. Delta and United made over a billion dollars each. I know so many people, including myself, who refuse to fly Spirit because the have an awful product. It seems from all the promotions that hit my mailbox and e-mail inbox, HAL's only enticement is price. I am not saying that HAL has an awful product. But when HAL cruise are much cheaper than your competitors, who by the way and growing with additional ships, while HAL shed ships and has no newbuilds on order; that signals warning signs to me. Carnival Corp made around a billion dollars last quarter and so did Royal Caribbean group. But Royal Caribbean did it on 60% of the revenues that Carnival Corp did. The last three cruises, and the one next month, were all on Celebrity. For each cruise, we priced HAL too. Each time, HAL was cheaper by a good amount. We choose to pay the extra to go on Celebrity due to better itinerary and, to us, a better experience in the ships and entrainment. I know this group loves HAL and I want them to survive and thrive. But the market appeal of HAL must extend beyond the HAL lovers on this board.

We used to cruise HAL at least once a year, but decided we were tired of all the cut-backs, awful entertainment, and the ship being dead by 10 pm. We decided to try Celebrity and have not been back on HAL. For us, the newer Celebrity ships are nicer, entertainment options that last past midnight, larger portions at dinner (with better free food options), and better Caribbean itineraries have us choosing Celebrity. Celebrity is going to be more money. It has been on every cruise we have compared to HAL. To us, the Celebrity has better value for our cruise vacation. For example, we are tired to going to the same ports on HAL's eastern Carribean itineraries. Half Moon Cay is nice, but the short port hours make the stop almost worthless. Celebrity, in general, also draws a younger, more active, customers. This means fun activities like 70's night and silent disco along with pool music. For example, the Sunset Bar on the Celebrity ships, with its live music throughout the day and evening, is a fun place to relax and have a drink.

Just off the Celebrity Beyond, lobster was offered on the last formal evening in the main dining room with no upcharge. I had the lobster with the Beef Wellington (Surf and Turf) while my brother just ordered two lobster tails. Unlike HAL, I was able to have a shrimp cocktail every night in the main dinning room. One can also get escargots every night too. Both without any upcharges.

Just returned from a fantastic eight-day Christmas cruise on the Celebrity Beyond. Here is a quick review of our experience. Background This was my 38th cruise and our 12th Christmas cruise in the last 15 years. Most of our Christmas Cruises have been on HAL, but the last four out of five have been on Celebrity. Embarkation We did all our paperwork on-line and through the App and it could not have been easier. No lines, enter the terminal and meet a person with a tablet. Showed our passports and walked on. Sea pass card were in our room. The Ports We really enjoyed the itinerary of an evening stop in San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Marteen, Tortola, and a Christmas afternoon stop in Nassau. We were early into both San Juan and Nassau. Unlike HAL, Celebrity is not afraid to run the ships at a faster speed for passenger friendly port times. The Ship The Beyond is beautiful and well designed. We only had one day where the Oceanview Café seemed crowded, but still had no issue finding a seat. The theater with the huge screens allows was a great venue for the shows, The Club was a great place for the interaction game shows, and we loved the Grand Plaza and all the seating on the multiple levels. We did not make any of the shows in Eden. The Sunset Bar is a great place to visit and there always seemed to be deck chair available. Wifi I purchased the upgraded internet package and it was fantastic. I was able to stream Yellowstone and YouTube while I was working with very little buffering. Other family members used the standard included internet and indicated it was fine for checking e-mails and Facebook. Our Room We had an IV on Deck 7 right by the rear elevators. We love the room, plenty of room and storage. I have mixed feelings on the IV. I missed having a true veranda, but I loved the extra space and the picture window when we did not want to be outside. I would book again and see no need to avoid the IV. Food and Service We ate in the dining rooms all evening except one night we ate upstairs. The first night we did not have the best service, but the service the rest of the nights was perfect. Food was very good. I do wish they had a little more variety of the “theme” specials for each of the four restaurants as they seemed to stay the same through-out the cruise. We ate around 5:30 pm each night, but never saw much of a wait for the dining rooms. Service and selection in the Oceanview were excellent. The design allows easy access to all the stations even when it is crowded. Entertainment This is a major reason we love Celebrity over HAL is having three real production shows with singers and live 7-piece orchestra. The guest comedian and three guest entertainers were also very good. The ship has two bands that played in the Grand Plaza, Eden, and on the Pool Deck. They also music at the Sunset Bar. Fun events like the Silent Disco and deck parties were great to attend. The cruise director and staff were excellent. Captain Kate Captain Kate joined in the middle of the cruise and was in the terminal to say goodbye to all the passengers as we left the boat. She indicated she is on-board for the next three months. Summary We had a fantastic cruise and the Beyond is a beautiful and wonderfully designed ship. It rarely felt crowded and really enjoyed the design and well-thought venues.

I did not mean for this thread to turn into a HAL vs. Celebrity discussions....May I suggest you look at the comparison in a different way. We are all different and place a different value on how we spend our money. I would not spend my money a Mercedes or a BMW because I am not a car guy and do not see the value in spending the extra money. On the other hand, I would never fly Spirit airlines as I find value in paying more money in flying Delta and the experience and perks they offer. If you choose to fly Spirit, that is your choice and does not make you a bad person. I am on the Celebrity Beyond right now. We paid a lot more to sail on this ship than the comparable HAL ship. Why? We found value in the itinerary, the length (8 days) and dates worked well into on vacation schedule and job commitments. We also find value in having production shows with singers, music in multiple venues and latter at night, usable internet, and were excited to try a new ship and sail with Captain Kate. That does not mean we do not find value in taking HAL cruise, we found a better value this year on a Celebrity ship. If you find value in sailing in a HAL ship instead, that is awesome and I hope you have a fantastic cruise. Due to vacations schedules and one part of our family owning and running a family business, taking a longer cruise in October or November is not always an option. I will repeat what I said in my original post...what is HAL thinking only staying in HMC for such a short amount of time? Even if you only go on-shore for a short visit or prefer staying on the ship, you have to admit that this short port time is ridiculous. Merry Christmas!

Looking at options for a cruise next December before Christmas, HAL is offering an Eastern Caribbean on the NA with port times at Half Moon Cay from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. This is in addition to leaving St. Thomas at 4 pm. I have been cruising with HAL since 2008 and every year, it is the same Eastern Caribbean itinerary offered with only St. Thomas and St. Marteen being interchanged. I know many of the HAL faithful will say we do not care about the ports and the early departure times. But someone of us do value the ports we visit. Why even bother to stop at Half Moon Cay for such a short stop? HAL has already lost four cruises now to Celebrity due to better itineraries....and it looks like they will loose number 5. I really starting to wonder if anyone in Seattle cares anymore about the passenger experience they are providing....

Captain Kate did indeed join the ship in St. Marteen on Dec 22. She introduced herself right before sail out. She indicated she is onboard for the next 3 months.

On the Beyond now for the Christmas Cruise. We were told that Captain Kate is joining us today in St. Marteen (12-22) to take over as Captain.

On the Beyond now (Christmas Cruise 12-18 to 12-26) and I upgraded to the premium internet as I had to finish some work projects the first two days of the cruise. The upgraded internet is quick, was able to stream Yellowstone while I was working with only four or five slight buffering pauses during the hour plus show. I am able to watch Youtube without any buffering, make Teams calls, and upload/download files with ease. Other family members have the basic and said it is fine for checking e-mails and Facebook, but is slow checking normal websites.