ChucktownSteve

1 hour ago, hcat said:

How large are Regent ships?  How old?  Is there a nice spa or T pool?

 

we are thinking we may try Cunard again..anyone sail recently?

The two newest ships and the one about to be added are about 750 passengers.

20 hours ago, doghog said:

With RC you tell your cabin attendant if you want morning cabin service or evening cabin service. So if you pick evening you'll be making your own bed in the morning. 

No I WON'T!

1 hour ago, hcat said:

Mashed pot..would not enjoy..

Wouldn't it be easier to roll? 😊

On 8/29/2023 at 5:50 PM, fsdorado said:

What is the equivalent to an Edge-class SkySuite on Oceania and Regent?

 

 

Frederick

One of the three bottom categories on Regent's newer ships but with more inclusions.

On 8/29/2023 at 3:38 PM, QuestionEverything said:

I am on Oceania Insignia right now.

It is the same experience I had on Century in 1994 - premium. Gracious, one class, magnificent high tea, over the top service, high end food with multiple restaurants with large menus.

It is like a blast from the past.

To be clear, Celebrity is not a premium line, it is a mass line.

There is a big jump from Celebrity to an Oceania, Azamara etc.

Very different product offering. I cancelled Celebrity in 2018.

Celebrity used to be the Oceania of the day, it is quite the collapse of a company.

Consumers, there is significant choice in the market, no need to purchase Celebrity, you can move on if you wish.

TY. IMO Celebrity has always been a mass market line. Granted, elevated above their peers but still mass.  Just because they called themselves Luxury, didn't make it true.  They never were a premium line either. I've sailed mostly on Celebrity pre-pandemic but have included both premium and luxury cruise lines since.  It's easy to tell the difference when you've experienced it.

Over a year ago, I realized Celebrity was moving closer to the bottom of the mass market lines; not elevating themselves except for the prices.  Only recently have I observed a huge change in many CC poster's opinions...many of whom used to be cheerleaders. That's the true tell.

17 hours ago, gizmodog said:

Food has gone south, that’s for sure

Hey, please don't disparage the South like that.

12 hours ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

It's already listed on the website as $20 pp/pd but it's currently on sale for 5% off.

OMG! A whole $1 discount? How magnanimous Celebrity has become.

50 minutes ago, hcat said:

Celeb has  had white nights for many years.

Best ever was yrs ago on our Greek Island  Medit cruise.. Pax , staff, officers all in white out on the pool deck..very memorable!

I can understand a white night in the Greek Isles.  However I began sailing XX in 2014, reached E+ but have never seen a white night on any of my sailings.

Azamara's White Night  has been done on all their sailings for years!  I can't believe Celebrity is now mimicking something from the cruise line they dumped.

8 minutes ago, D. B. said:

If you can afford Regent there’s no reason to do Celebrity.

If you can afford Celebrity suites, you can afford Regent. So I agree, no reason to do Celebrity any longer if you find the right itinerary..  That's too bad because I used to really like sailing the old Celebrity.  But times change and so do the direction of companies dependent on the change in leadership priorities.  I'm apparently  not their priority any longer.

1 hour ago, Dolebludger said:

At least, Celebrity gave an announcement that tips would no longer be included as in the past, and gave over a month notice before it would take effect on new bookings. Some inclusions just disappeared, like included mini fridge beverages in CS suites. And including extra cost items on menus — how cheesy. The list of small things gone missing is too long to post here. And massive fare increases are the big problem.

Guess you're good at reading tea leaves?  It appears XX is now targeting the lower tier mass market cruise line passengers who believe they're upgrading their experience from RCL and Carnival. I wonder if they'll still market themselves as "Luxury?"  🤣Switching to mostly seven day cruises confirms that.

1 hour ago, sparkopotamus said:

I am looking at Regent as a possible replacement for Celebrity.  We are Elite Plus and while I hate to give up the perks that come with it, in the same breath I don't know that those E+ perks will continue to have any relevance the way things are going.

on Regent you don’t need the E+ perks. You can send out your laundry daily, Wi-Fi is included for at least one device and I had premiere liquor bottles in the suite and drank premium from the lounges. Specialty restaurants included.  What else did I forget about E+ perks?

47 minutes ago, Guera53 said:

If I was going luxury to spend $1000 pp pn it would be on a ship where it’s all inclusive and everyone is treated the same. Crystal Serenity is my only pov and that was 20 years ago. It was awesome. Here they are back! Wind star looks more inclusive than Regent as Regent charges for tips and Wi-Fi ….anyone thought of posting on twitter? May get more traction from celebrity to be heard. Just a thought.

I paid much less than $1,000 pp/pn and we had either Concierge or Penthouse suites.  My three cruises included gratuities AND Wi-Fi for both of us.

You do realize  that as we share our good Regent rates compared to Celebrity, that this will diminish available inventory and increase our rates when we want to book. 🙂

Regent's largest ships have only about 750 passengers! Navigator has under 500.

Nevermind everyone. Regent is TOO expensive.  Please don't consider them.

2 minutes ago, hubofhockey said:

You pay extra for that experience.  Some pay much more for high level suites on Celebrity and some pay more for Oceania or much more for Regent. 

I keep seeing that people say Regent is much more expensive.  I actually didn't experience that.  During 2021 I booked three Regent cruises that were actually over $100pp/pn than a similar size suite on Celebrity but had much more amenities included.

I was just looking at a 2026 Regent cruise which was a little less than $100pp/pn for a Celebrity suite one year earlier in the same region.  But again Regent included all the premium extras. 

What I found the main difference is pricing Regent without the included air.  A large portion of the "more expensive" is the price for air that the airlines have caused artificial fare inflation because they found they could get away with it by restricting the number of available aircraft.  Additionally, if you're cruising overseas, Regent includes Business class which is much more expensive.

I've personally experienced better quality and value on Regent.

6 hours ago, leyland1989 said:

Off topics but this is a common misconception. 
Commercial Jets are MUCH more luxurious than 50 years ago and better than ever. 
I will take commercial flight today over "The Golden age of air traveling" any time. 

A round-trip transatlantic ticket in the 1960 cost about $600, about $5000-6000 today adjusted to inflation, onboard the Boeing 707 with seat comparable to today's Premium Economy. 

For the same price, you can easily get a business class (or even first class) seat with lie-flat bed, in flight entertainment.  

People are comparing apples to orange when talking about how poorly treated passengers are these days when airfare was 1/10 of what it used to be. A bulk bed in the steerage 50 years ago would cost more than an economy class ticket today, I would still take the economy class seat. 

One of the factors which brings down seat or cabin cost is total occupancy availability.  So comparing cheaper now is apples to oranges also.  In the 1960's, a DC9 carried about 65 passengers. A couple hundred people on a Boeing 737 flight certainly brings the efficiency costs down. 

Cruise ships?  Well 2,000 to 6,000 passengers on one ship sure does affect costs compared to only several hundred.

6 minutes ago, deliver42 said:

They just topped cookiegate by eliminating gratuities from All In.

Let me guess. But they didn't lower the price the way they raised it to include grats and drinks in AI?  That's the worst shrinkflation I've heard of yet!

15 minutes ago, kasowell2 said:

They’re trying to create new revenue which I totally understand. The correct thing to do is create new revenue opportunities not by charging for previously included options. Charging for previously included items such as cookies, room service, extra lobster, etc is just being lazy. Create new experiences and charge for them. I’m not a carnival fan but they created a new roller coaster and charge for it. Stop watering down the experience and give the customer what he/she paid for and give them something extra they want to pay for. The specialty restaurant concept works so create new experiences that people are willing and glad to pay extra for. 

That may be a good concept, however that would take a level of intelligence they may not presently have in the C suite.  It's easy to grab the low hanging fruit for a quick, short term thinking solution.  Maybe they don't yet understand the long term unintended consequences.

2 minutes ago, Mark_K said:

Considering that it only lasted 2-3 days before it was discontinued, maybe it wasn’t very far up in management.

Maybe that person should be re-positioned into a cabin attendant slot...or perhaps a member of the Resort Team.

2 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

For those who care about trivia.  The RMS Titanic wasn't special nor did she bring any new innovations as she's a clone of her sister ship, the RMS Olympic.  She was #2 of 3 in her class which was a luxury Ocean Liners and she didn't even sail full on her maiden voyage.  The Olympic, was like the X Edge and The Titanic was like the X Apex; about 99% the same

As you pointed out, after the Olympic’s maiden voyage in June 1911, slight changes were made to the Titanic’s design.  Wasn't the Titanic then touted as "Unsinkable"?

Here's a simile: White Star touted the Titanic as "unsinkable"..Celebrity touted itself as "Luxury".

So I guess Celebrity quickly nixed the $2 cookie test because they didn't want to go down as non luxury?  Pay no attention to the Resort Team behind the curtain.

On 8/25/2023 at 8:36 AM, HMR74 said:

Which ship is the test ship for new and exciting things?

At one point it was the Titanic. 

1 hour ago, Host Jazzbeau said:

I would also favor the Dec. 3 voyage.  Caribbean itineraries on most cruise lines are either East or West (often alternate weeks) so it's almost impossible to avoid going to the Mexican ports over and over.  But Cartagena and the ABC islands are not so easy.  I'm not sure how the flights affect you; from a US perspective starting in Miami is much easier too.  [But it is confusing, as the itinerary and the map are quite different!]

This is the itinerary I got from another website. I find it intersting that your itinerary shows the at sea Dec 7 for the same hours as mine shows Bonaire.  Which do you suppose is more accurate?  AZ IT or the other website? lol

11 minutes ago, Werangels said:

Thank you.  They both sound good to me, that’s the problem 🤦‍♀️🤣🤣.  

I'm presuming you're talking about the 12/3 and 12/13?  Actually I changed my mind.  I like the 12/3 better because it's one night longer and of the two overnights.  The ship acts as your hotel but you can do a lot in two days you don't do on just a port of call.

I really despise Mexican ports after we were held by armed Federales at one of their ports in 2017 for local political reasons, while on a local tour not purchased through the port. We were released one hour later after they proved their point to the tour operator. I don't trust the politics there.   I also prefer the ABC Islands.

18 minutes ago, Werangels said:

Hi

 

I’m looking to book one of the December 2024 Panama Canal trips.  They visit different ports and I wondered if anyone would help me choose which to go for please?  Which would you choose and why would you make that choice?

 

I tried to cut and paste the itineraries but it didn’t work so sorry they are not listed. 

 

Thank you.  

I think you should go with the second itinerary. But you should be U.

13 minutes ago, kiwichick62 said:

Exactly!  And the thought that some bean counter thought it a good idea to experiment with charging for cookies and adding a gratuity on top of that shows how out of touch they are.  Higher prices for a reduced product then getting nickel and dined once you are aboard, not what I call relaxed luxury.

 

We booked our cruise for next May back in February.  What is on offer has eroded since then.  My concern is poor food choices in the MDR,  to good for our 13 night cruise.

 

if it a very noticeable change from our Celebrity cruise from 2019 it will be our last.

Two of the things I learned while running my businesses was that price didn't matter if you had very strong customer service that elevated you above your competition and gave your customers things that had a high perceived value with a low out of pocket cost.  Celebrity I believe is doing the complete opposite.

They've been cutting the services and crew while charging for the low perceived value items like water, soft drinks and cookies among other items while at the same time rapidly increasing cruise fares.. The long term problem with that is once you chase off a customer, it takes a long time and a LOT of money to attract them back.  It's cheaper to keep a customer than to replace them.

Even manufactures understand that they  first reduce the amount in the package, then later raise the price before going through the cycle again without changing the size of the packaging to fool the naive consumer.