ChucktownSteve

I once brought a Costco case of water on board. I slapped a luggage tag on it which later showed up at my cabin intact.

I am so glad you're having a wonderful experience. We found that we also enjoy the smaller ships. Better service, better food, better itineraries and it's like welcome home when returning from an excursion. Out of our last five cruises within 14 months, only one was an E class with about 2,000 souls. The others were 750 and less. Our next two are on AZ. Too bad you didn't get an Azamara cruise under your belt before the split. Your current AZ level would have been carried over to Discoverer+.

So @ghstudio, Howz the cruise going for you so far?

Yep, I would be giving back 3% credit card cash back. That's why I use two TAs who do rebates. 😁

Is that like up to 75% savings? 😁

The web site itinerary shows: Wed 14-May TO Thu 15-May 2025 Venice, Italy Docked 8:00AM (May 14) 10:00PM (May 15) The itinerary on my booking confirmation shows: 14 May 2025 VENICE, ITALY 08:00 AM 15 May 2025 VENICE, ITALY 10:00 PM

In addition to the AZ OBC, we're getting a similar rebate instead of ROBC since I didn't want to carry that after the international cruise.

My TA told me in an email that We're getting $1,200 OBC for a World Class suite but the booking confirmation only says OBC coupon for each of us with no actual $ amount.

So what good is an overnight in Venice, which we have on our booked cruise, if it's not really Venice? Edited:OK I"m confused. All ports on the itinerary show an anchor symbol which I presumed meant anchored but apparently not. Do I need to bother my TA for more accurate info?

😠

If there are non refundable payments other than the cruise, the insurance should cover it i.e. hotels, air, tours etc. That's how I pay my trip insurance costs. As anything goes to payment, I increase the coverage amounts to cover it until all out of pocket is covered. I have been able to transfer some policies on trips I cancelled or moved to another trip once. I don't know if some companies will continue allowing more.

I thought they might have begun letting select smaller ships dock in Venice. Guess not.

We have not sailed in the Club World suite previously but have one booked. Would you mind explaining what the Best of the Best is or other things we might experience that isn't explained on the web site?

I hope you have a wonderful sailing! Will you actually be disembarking in Venice or a nearby port?

I totally ignore all the sales hype/promos on the cruise lines we sail. When I find an itinerary I like, I call my TAs and let them tell me the price along with perks and the rebate they'll give me. Then I decided on if it's a pp/pn price I wish to pay for the selected category.

Good suggestion. I go for the rebate whenever I can. After all how many Mary Francis purses can I buy my wife with the cruise line OBC? Good thing she uses them. On our last cruise she got five or six. I lose count.😁 PS I call that making a deposit in her emotional bank account so I can take the debits which I know will be coming up.

Bo, IMHO it's not so much that many of us want to get the cheapest fare but the best value for the amount paid. Otherwise we would go to MSC, RCL and Carnival for the cheaper fare. That's why I believe a lot of the people we see saying they're moving on from Celebrity are selecting Oceania, Azamara, Viking or the real luxury lines. In some cases they may also be less expensive now than Celebrity. However I believe it's more about the experience, itineraries and food than price. bon appétit

You ever heard of the Golden Rule? He who has the Gold, RULES. In this case it's XX, the double cross company.

It actually started long before that. Remember when unlimited bottles of water were changed in aqua class to one bottle the first day? How about when they went from a cabin steward and an assistant to only one steward doing away with the assistant? Countless other cost cutting measures too. They've been heading down this path since LLP was transferred from RCL in 2014 and now the new CEO has to beat her cost cutting record. in a statement announcing the change, Laura Hodges Bethge said "I look forward to building on the incredible achievements of Lisa and this world class team, as we continue to break boundaries and chart new courses in the industry,"

Yeah, that's the ticket!

But that would cost Celebrity MONEY!

Contact at least two or three TA's. Then when they give you the info including OBC, go back to the two best quotes and ask, Can you do any better on the OBC or added perks please? That's a start to learning how. 😁

We're booked on the Azamara Onward for May 8, 2025 from Athens to Rome. You might like that one. Port Location Arrive Depart 08 May 2025 ATHENS (PIRAEUS), GREECE 09:30 PM 09 May 2025 SYROS, GREECE 08:00 AM 06:00 PM 10 May 2025 SANTORINI, GREECE, GREECE 08:00 AM 10:00 PM 11 May 2025 MONEMVASIA, GREECE 08:00 AM 05:00 PM 12 May 2025 ARGOSTOLI, GREECE 08:00 AM 06:00 PM 14 May 2025 VENICE, ITALY 08:00 AM 15 May 2025 VENICE, ITALY 10:00 PM 16 May 2025 KOPER, SLOVENIA 07:00 AM 05:00 PM 17 May 2025 SPLIT, CROATIA 08:00 AM 09:00 PM 18 May 2025 DUBROVNIK, CROATIA 08:00 AM 10:00 PM 19 May 2025 KOTOR, MONTENEGRO, MONTENEGRO 09:30 AM 06:00 PM 21 May 2025 SORRENTO, ITALY 07:30 AM 06:00 PM 22 May 2025 ROME (CIVITAVECCHIA), ITALY, ITALY 06:00 AM The earlier you book, the lower the price you'll pay for the same cruise. I usually book when itineraries are first released. I have never been able to grab a lower price during any subsequent sales promotions. I would suggest finding a good travel agent who will also tack on additional OBC or cash rebate. Make the TA's compete for perks. Then make sure they don't charge a change or cancel charge. If they do, I wouldn't use them. I got burned before on that once!

Next time you're on a Celebrity ship, why not ask that question of the Restaurant Manager?

They didn't have up charges in the MDR then. Just because they're now allowing you an up charge, IMO that doesn't mean it's the same quality as the specialty venues. It could be the cuts you previously received for free in the MDR.