ChucktownSteve

2 hours ago, RichYak said:

Of course. Celebrity is one brand that attracts a certain class of traveler. That brand is changing, certainly not overnight, but it is changing. Short 3 and 4 night cruises, vaping, Coco Cay, double cheeseburgers in the MDR, etc. These are small incremental changes in a not so good direction. The passengers that this new brand attracts will change along with it.

I refer to it as death by 1,000 cuts.  Celebrity has let us know for quite some time that they want to change their customer demographics by the many things they've done over the past almost decade.  Why is anyone surprised it's still progressing?  Short cruises definitely attract a different type of passenger which we learned we did not enjoy cruising with 20 years ago.  That's why we look for 12 to 18 day voyages. Remember it takes a great distance to turn a large ship. They know the course, we discover it much later.

Haven't they heard the trite expression, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it?"  From reading the threads, it seems that the only department that is working properly IS the ship side.  Or is this another example of making all departments equal to the worst one so it is fair for all departments to fail?

I always take my refundable in cash so I don't reduce my credit card cash back amounts when credited back there.  Now my TA's just send me a rebate check instead of OBRC if it's a larger amount.

I gave up once I hit + because there is a snow ball's chance in you know where that I'll ever be able to reach zenith!  Besides what added benefit is there that makes a difference for the effort or expense on Celebrity?

13 minutes ago, jean87510 said:

you're right.  That one bottle is gold. 😉

Which is really a stupid move since most of the AQ cabins had the bev pkg which INCLUDED water.  Granted they had to walk to a bar to get it.  However why they removed it from the cabin is priceless.

4 hours ago, jean87510 said:

I agree.  AQ is not worth that much.  

But don't you still get that ONE bottle of bottled Aqua PP when you get to your cabin?  *used to be replenished daily before LLP got her hands on it!

On 7/17/2023 at 9:59 PM, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What is a newspaper 🤔😁😉

It's what some people place on the bottom of their bird cage while others use it to wrap the fish they caught.

A TA I used several years ago charged a cancellation fee when I did that same type of change. I agree with Grandma Cruising about ringing AZ and inquiring whether it was their fee or the TA's.

That was the last time I used that TA.

33 minutes ago, gfkcruiser said:

This is addressed on the website.  No music from personal devices  

Discourteous or Disruptive Behavior Prohibited

Pool, deck, and theater chairs may not be reserved, except in cases of disability. Public nudity is not permitted. Guests must be appropriately attired, including while on stateroom balconies if visible to others onboard, other vessels, or the shore. Topless sunbathing is not permitted except on select itineraries and for those itineraries, only in specifically designated areas. For more details on our Dress Code, please contact Guest Relations.

Boom boxes, loud radios, and other noise nuisance(s) are not permitted. Roller blades, roller skates, skateboards, surfboards, bicycles, and similar items may not be utilized onboard. Scooters are not permitted onboard except when used as a mobility aid.

There is a big difference between posting it on their website and enforcing it.  Read the chair hog verbiage. 🤣

16 hours ago, fruitmachine said:

Six weeks ago, after failing to get them to fix the problem on the phone, I sent an email to UK Customer Service to try and get a missing booked cruise added to my account.  At the same time, I raised the issue of missing loyalty points.  

Three weeks ago, they sent an email saying it had been passed to their Loyalty Department "for assistance".

 

Today I chased Customer Service, asking when this would be resolved.

 

This is the reply I got:

 

Good day xxx,

 

Thank you for contacting Customer Service.

 

Unfortunately, I cannot speak for another department on their turnaround time. I do know they have recently undergone a change in system and program. I assume this is the reason for the delay. I do not have any additional information as to when they may reply to your inquiry.

 

Sincerely,

 

Lisa

 

Am I expecting too much for them to own the problem, and either get it resolved or give me a timescale for resolution?

 

I kept filling out their form for incorrect loyalty points and kept receiving their canned it's fixed email even though it wasn't after a several week time-frame.  After the fifth submission, they FINALLY corrected it.  Maybe that's why it takes so long to get responses because they can't fix it the first, second, third or fourth time so it eats up their ability to fix other problems?

6 hours ago, Dr H said:

Alas. Wasn't planning on going anywhere with RC anyway, but thanks for the heads up.

Me either. I have never sailed RCL and have no plans to do so before my sell by date.

10 hours ago, Dr H said:

The Alzheimer's is setting in, I don't remember coke or pepsi (I don't drink the stuff), but I do remember Schwepps tonic water in our little fridge, and Coca Cola owns the company. I don't gamble, but I'd put $5 down on Coke.  Oh, asking for a friend, does Azamara sail with diet tonic water?

Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, cheeseburger.  No Coke, Pepsi.  Reminds me of The famous SNL skit from 1978.  Once you get past the brief commercial...Click for the hilarious skit.

10 hours ago, Dr H said:

 I need to find out how long we can retain it before we need to cruise again with Celebrity. Similarly, while I have no RC plans, I am guessing that I can no transfer my Celebrity status to RC, but again, I don't know. Call Azamara! In the end, status buys you a bag of laundry, and some complementary minutes of slow Internet service.

Unlike AZ and Celebrity which co shared the points from the sailings on either until the full split, RCL and Celebrity do not share points. What you earn on RCL stays there and what you earn on Celebrity stays there.  The only thing is if you are Diamond or higher on RCL and you cruise Celebrity, Celebrity will honor your RCL status as Elite.  And vice a versa you will be Diamond..  But never the twain shall meet with earned points.

7 hours ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

 

Yes, but a B2B is really only one experience:  same ship, same chef, same HD, same CD, same crew.  So you are welcome to post about your one experience – my comment was that it isn't right to take that one experience and make it universal ("usually").

But usually they do. 😁

If you sailed Azamara, at least once before the split, you should be Discoverer+. You also have an Azamara Circle account number. It is the same number as your Celebrity Captain's.Club. They both shared the same member number.

52 minutes ago, uktog said:

Well I understand a ship will sail at 50% capacity today. Last minute ex UK flights to Athens return from Venice over  £2000 economy for 2. Perhaps if Azamara recognised that in their cabin pricing and had a responsive service team a travel agent could engage with (the quote was £7k for a veranda) they might sail with a few more guests. 

As they say, an empty cabin is lost revenue forever!  I realize Azamara doesn't want to discount at the last minute because that sets up a pattern for some cruisers to always wait.  However how can they turn a profit with so many empty cabins?  If they furlough staff, they may not be available when needed. 

Supply and demand curve is real.  More people will book as the price declines.  There has to be a happy middle ground or sweet spot. I hope to see AZ get financially stronger, not weaker however not on the backs of much higher pricing.

1 minute ago, M109 said:

Thanks Chuck but I am aware of how things work with regards to booking cruises after 20 odd years of cruising. It can work the other way as well as long as you are prepared to wait it out.  That last cruise was booked 2 months out and I got it hugely reduced because it was nowhere near full. Flights cost more but as we live in the UK it’s fairly easy to get a last minute flight. Funny enough the flight to Athens was quite expensive £200 odd one way but the flight back from Istanbul was only £85. It was still a big saving on what Azamara wanted to charge for a flight arranged by them.  PS the ship was offering people who could stay on board the next cruise back to Athens at £900.

Understand. Thankx.   From the U.S., flights a little less than 1 year out are outrageous so waiting to buy last minute flights make the cruise a non starter regardless of how cheap the cruise is. You have the advantage living closer.

I prefer grabbing a specific limited availability cabin, aft facing, which sell out quickly.  If you don't mind cabin position, then waiting until the last minute for a possible sharply cut rate makes sense for some..

35 minutes ago, M109 said:

ChucktownSteve we were in a club balcony on deck seven and the £3000 is for one person.  Currently advertised Azamara in the Med in Sept this year 11 days club balcony is £5000 each.  Under no circumstances would I pay anywhere near that amount for what I just enjoyed but had issues with.  We had no problems with service but then the ship was only just over half full, but the food was very average to say the least and at that sort of price I would want it to be top notch and would not be expecting to pay extra for the two restaurants.  Maybe my expectations are too high but Azamara food used to be amazing.

The closer you get to a sailing date, the higher the rate. Similar to hotels, as cabin inventory diminishes, the price increases.  If you want to get the best prices, you need to look at itineraries when they're first released and the ship is virtually empty.  I always do that. The down side is you need to wait a year or two to enjoy the cruise. 

No matter what sales the cruise lines have after that, I've never been able to get a lower price because they've raised that much.  That is unless a sale comes out just after booking.

As an example, you can get a 12 night med cruise in a club veranda V2 for £323.31 pp/pn Sept 2025 or £3880 total pp/pn.

18 hours ago, M109 said:

 I would put the quality of the food at Celebrity level after this trip, so I will need very good prices to come back again and certainly will not be prepared to pay over £3000 for a 12 day cruise. 

So I can put your statement in perspective, is that £3000 per person or for two?  And which cabin level do you prefer for that price?

Food quality, properly prepared with variety are important to me as well as a port intensive itinerary we haven't experienced yet.  That is why we selected Azamara.  I wasn't impressed with the food and service on my December 2021 Quest cruise but realize it was just coming off Covid. There were supply chain issues and a lot of new crew who hadn't had a chance to be properly trained. I also felt that RCG was dropping the ball on caring which was later confirmed by them unloading Azamara

But the time for those excuses is past.  Now we will be sailing under the new owners. I waited to give them a change to get their feet wet... The time since AZ severed with RCG has not been impressive.  They are however getting better so I'm glad we waited.

I don't mind paying a premium price if I receive premium food and service.  I truly hope that is what we will be experiencing on our two upcoming Onward sailings. Otherwise we'll need to keep looking for a line that suits us better. Deep inside though I want our go to line to be Azamara.

I have optimism that Sycamore and the AZ head office are paying attention to what their base customers are telling them.  Please don't let us down by becoming another Celebrity.

I'm sorry but you don't need to be sold on Celebrity.  IT'S A COMP'D CRUISE!! Take it or leave it. 

Sounds like more bragging than really wanting to know about Celebrity. But Summit is an old, worn ship which has a strong following.  You won't like it though as a high roller.

My question to you is how are you only RCL Diamond with 26 cruises?

you might also consider finding a U.S. single to triple outlet plug-in. I take one of those as well as the EU adapter

.

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

There's a 99% chance the offender(s) will be a guy regardless if they're straight or not...So all you have to do is put this speedo on, approach the offender(s) and say the following two statements..."Put on its Raining Men next" and "So, where can I find you later tonight?"  Either you just made them uncomfortable enough to leave or they'll be attracted to you and therefore honor your request to turn off the music...You might even get a free drink out of this 🙃

 

Who's cabin would you be spending the night in then? roflmao

When someone is obnoxiously playing their phone intruding on my ear space, I usually go to YouTube to find the Hombres from 1968 for their song Take My overwhelming Love. Then I put it on full volume.  That works every time. 🤣

When people are speaking loudly on their speaker phone, I act as if they're talking with me and have the conversation loudly back with them stepping over who they're speaking with.

2 hours ago, norn iron said:

There is an old Chinese proverb I learnt many years, (and I'm addressing your concerns as worries)

 

"if you worry you die, if you don't worry you die, so why worry"

So you also like good Chinese food?