20pluscruises

Received a mailer today for 4 VIP tournaments on the Equinox this summer.

After calling for details, they quoted me $1400+ for two in an inside.....that's more than I pay for a balcony on Princess or HAL in season. Needles to say, I passed.

The new changes are not worth spending $$$$ in the casino. Better off going to a land casino or a land resort with casinos.

$100 on $1200 win.....more on larger payouts....it's good karma!

I do the same $100....but the new machines are not payng out which sucks for the casino team.

Yes, it has been inconsistent from ship to ship/year to year. But at least it’s better than NCL. We got off of Getaway right before going on Silhouette. They have 3-4 casino hosts who basically just sit behind a booth all day and had very condescending attitudes anytime we went to ask them a question.

 

It always baffles me when people go into service-related industries who have absolutely zero interest in interacting with the public.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I'm just guessing, but I think the hosts are none too happy with the new program. My last cruise the host was awful...all cruises before they were awesome! It has to be hurting their pockets.

If I'm reading it right their points are only $1 per point, as opposed to Royal's $5/ point on slots. So Sapphire would be equal to 20,000 points on Royal. Much better than the benefits I've seen for Prime for 20,000 points.

A lot harder to achieve with the new machines.

Wow, so you get $1,000 a cruise and the comp Classic Beverage Package!

 

https://www.celebritycruises.com/things-to-do-onboard/casino/blue-chip-club

That $1000 is a lot less than I use to receive and use to get premium drinks.

Has anyone received the new Exclusive Offers via mail? What a joke!!!! Only one 4 DAY comp. AND I'm Sapphire.

UGH! Hate to be the bearer of bad news....

Just received the new Blue Chip Exclusive Offers via mail. The new offers are not great. Only one complimentary 4 DAY cruise and the percentage off sucks. FYI my tier is just below the top tier. (Sapphire) No longer worth losing that kind of money in the casino - that's for sure! I feel for the casino hosts.

I was also told they will be implementing a new Blue Chip Club in the coming months. How much more can they possibly take away from their casino guests?????????

Luminae was a let down on our last Equinox cruise. We are not picky eaters at all, but had to send several dishes back for being cooked improperly or not being as described. Service was hit and miss. One waiter was actually argumentative with me about the desserts, which I found to be mostly disappointing.

 

We are going back to Aqua/Blu for our upcoming Med cruise because we enjoy the more intimate restaurant with much less cost.

Agree! Loved Luminae on the Silhouette in November 2017- very disappointed with Luminae on the Equinox in March 2018. After the raw lobster we never returned.

The cost of my blow dry was over $60 not including the 18% gratuity. Hair just touches my shoulders. Conditioner was $34.00 (not including gratuity). Maybe someone on board can get the exact price, but it was def over $60 for the wash and blow dry. Now I'm beginning to think the stylist charged me for the long length price. I was told at the front desk I would be charged for medium length hair.

Would you be able to tell me the names of the big production shows?

There is a great band that plays in the bars n the ship...Badass...kinda of jazzy soul. They're fantastic!

By chance were you in there when I was getting my hair blown out? The stylist made me bend my head back like I was in the shampoo bowl because she was so short. I'm not Gumby damnit! I finally had to speak up and tell her either do it from the side or the front or I will finish it myself. My neck had a kink for two days. I also was sold a conditioner treatment not realizing it was an extra $34.00 for conditioner. Wash, conditioner and blow dry for $120. CRAZY!

To be fair....my DH had his haircut by the same stylist and was very happy.

I'm Amethyst as of the initial period of the new program and earned Amethyst already for the next. They take $2000 off any cruise for me plus all the benefits of Amethyst. I'm told there are some cruises they'll comp but only select ones. I'm pretty happy with that and the casino host took off about $750 from my bill on the last cruise. I am trying to get to Sapphire on an 11 day June cruise. If I reach that, I'm assuming I'll still get $2000 off (or more) when I cruise plus the $1000 free play, classic bev package (someone said they'll upgrade u to premium if u have classic already), free wifi, spa and laundry credits plus access to Michael's Club. Oh and 20% discount for friends in another cabin. That's a pretty good reward until the end of 2019. At least I think so.

 

Sent from my SM-G950U using Forums mobile app

When was your last cruise? I'm Sapphire and received $1000 off in March 2018. November 2017 was a sky suite and OBC. The points on each cruise were within 500 points of each other. Please ask for the new changes when you arrive at the casino. I don't want anyone to get taken advantage of.

The signs they not too long ago posted at the casino desk (and I believe on their site) - 4800 points gets you a free cruise are long gone.

Yes. They changed this at the start of the year. We were on a January cruise and discovered this when our incentive was a reduction on a future cruise on a per day basis (like $160 off per day). What’s annoying too is you have to book a NEW cruise after you earn the incentive. You can’t apply it to an existing cruise. But, we also had a big chunk of the charges on our onboard account (around $900 worth) removed by the host at the end of the cruise. We have never had that happen before.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Even with the $900 reduction it's not even close to a sky suite for two. I only had $14.00 on my balance which was taken care of, but didn't get the offer to go shop and spend up to x amount of dollars like the I did the last cruise.

Do you play slots? What did you think of the new machines? This is the second cruise where I didn't see one 1099 hand out. Casino manager was icy cold when I asked abut the club changes, but boy did they soften up when i mentioned the machines seemed different at the start of the cruise. It was weird.

Greetings from day four on Equinox!

Last night was dinner at Tuscan Grill. It was OK. I had the fish and DH had the ribeye. We shared lobster rigatoni and a dessert. Food was average and service was a little slow. Since we were in Puerto Rick until 10:30 PM there wasn't much going on in the way of entertainment. We did get to see a portion of a show called Raegar. They were a country rock duo and were excellent. We actually saw them getting on the ship while in port but I didn't get the impression that they were staying long...so no second show. I would see them again for sure.

Today was St. Maarten. We have been before but not since Irma. I was saddened by the signs of destruction but inspired by the unwavering spirit of the people. We stimulated the economy a bit in a local jewelry store and our sales rep indicated that though it has been a rough period, Irma did not cause a single fatality. The silver lining...

Tonight is a production show and dinner at Silk Harvest. Am looking forward to both.

More to follow...

Christina[/quote

 

Ask for Nino in the Silk Harvest. FANTASTIC waiter and took care of my MSG allergies. I thought for certain I would have that wicked 3 day migraine hours after dinner, but woke up with no headache at all. I'm still shocked because I did mention that I had my Zomig pills for the migraines. There were plenty of options in the appetizer and entree sections. ENJOY!

On embarkation day is the pool area crowded? Traveling with two 18 year olds that will probably want to board the ship and lounge in the sun!

Embarkation day was okay ....the first sea day was the worse I ever seen for chair hogs. I'm not kidding when I say at 8:30 a.m. EVERY chair had been saved - this includes the top deck AND the deck two floors above the pool. Never seen anything like it! Two arguments broke out on the top deck over saved chairs and missing items later found in the bin. I kick myself for not taking a picture....it was insane!!!!!!!!!!!

We have done a Sky Suite in Solstice and three Royal Suites on Summit. In the Sky Suite, we were wondering

what the big deal was about butlers, but on Summit we found out. It may have just been that Juan on Summit was just that much better at butlering and we did have him all three times. Getting ready for a Sky Suite on Equinox, so we'll have another data point.

Fingers crossed you will end up with Melcome and Dominic! They were the best cabin and butler we have ever had on all of our cruises!

Got a confirmation on the next Blue Chip Club tier points accumulation period in a roundabout way today. See the image I’ve attached below which I snipped from a Blue Chip offer email I received today.

 

This is good news for players. By making the tier point accumulation period 18 months instead of 12 it gives that much more time to earn points towards your tier level. I know that many of us assumed that after June 2018 they would revert to a 12 month point accumulation period similar to what NCL operates on for Casinos At Sea.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Just an FYI ....they no longer give free cabins for point total only $$ off. Recently returned from acruise. In Nov 2017 I received a Sky Suite and OBC...this month (within 500 points of Nov 2017 cruise) I received $1000 off. I'm not the first to report this drastic change.

Also, the "earn 4800 points" for a free cabin signs in the casino are gone as is that short lived offer.

Absolutely no insentive to get to Ruby or even stay at Sapphire.

Not sure if this has been posted or not but I just got off Silhouette on Sunday and during this cruise found out they are no longer giving any free cruise certificates? They are now only giving discounts per night on a future cruise. I just sailed them in November and I received a free cruise certificate. I was told by the casino slot host this change was new in the last month?? The discount per night would probably work better for most but what I received was not even close to what I got in November and gambled pretty much the same.

It's true. November 2017 received a sky suite and $300 off my bill. This recent cruise I received (for basically the same amount of points) $1000 off price of cruise. Are they serious?

FYI...before anyone gets too excited reading these savings....we are talking A LOT of points and A LOT more than a few thousand dollars played. (just to give you an idea)

I posted something similar a couple of weeks ago. Was on a Celebrity cruise in early March and was told they are only giving dollars per day off on a future cruise no more free cruises and no idea how they base the dollars off. I was given $160 per day off on a future cruise. In November I had a free balcony for 2. Not even close to the same value.

They're going to lose a lot of customers!

Sadly, it also hurts the casino host and casino staff by losing out on the large tips.

What a bunch of Debbie Downers! Not just serious business attitude there, it is curt, cold and even overtly rude! Whenever I ordered a drink there I felt like a nuisance. Is it too much sun exposure?

 

On day 2 there was a couple at the bar. Lady asked the bartender “what do you recommend?” The guy shrugged his shoulders and mumbled “I dunno...”. Ahh maybe just throw out any suggestion? She asked because a) no menu and b) she wanted to engage you.

 

Last day of cruise and I’m on the starboard side of the bar, wanting a water. My side bartender takes care of other customers, and I’m waiting my turn. Other bartender walks in front of me, makes eye contact and I say “I just need some water and ice when you get a chance.” Port guy is instantly annoyed, points to other bartender and says “ That man, This side of bar. Me....that side of bar.” and turns away.”:( Well excuse me a-hole!! I got his name and will let Celebrity how I felt about all that.

 

 

 

Mast grill guys are the same but also kinda scary!

I agree with you with the one exception at the pool - cocktail waiter Barsillio was excellent! The rest seemed like they just didn't want to be there. The vibe was odd / off. It came across as if they were given their two week notice.

Edited to add...we did not meet every pool crew member. However, the rather large pool butler was standing next to me looking out the window, watched my tablespoon of chicken salad from the spa cafe roll off my dish, quickly looked back out the window and then walked away. Yes, I did clean it up with the cloth napkin once I finished eating the the fruit and cookie. Pool butler wasn't coming back nor did he send someone over.

Thanks for the info. How do you reckon HAL obtained your details in order to offer you that cruise? 😀

I have no idea. We do get other offers (Princess has sent a small casino discount) but this is a first for such a huge discount from another line.

Since DW and I started cruising seriously in 2011, there have been so many threads on this board and many others that are all 'the sky is falling – cutbacks everywhere' :eek: But now the news on culinary, entertainment and shore excursions tends to be about improvements. Not a return to the old menus [couldn't care less about prime rib and baked Alaska] but an update to 21st century adventuresome food and immersive shore excursions.

 

Celebrity Edge will have a record number of dining options [including a record number of included ones] and all new specialty menus. Also new entertainment [especially in Eden]. And the 'Uniquely Celebrity' shore excursions.

 

HAL is touting their new culinary offerings. Now comes this article about Princess:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=8527

with really interesting-sounding shore excursions and new menu items.

 

 

Could this mean that the decade of cutbacks is coming to a close and mainstream cruise lines will again be competing on quality? Hope springs eternal!

Loved Luminae in November 2017. Very disappointing in March 2018. All I could think of is how bad is the MDR if Luminae is this bad? Maybe the difference is due to the Chef on your ship?

Just returned from a Blue Chip Club cruise and wanted to update everyone on the new (not improved) club. Example - November 2017 I received a free Suite and $300 knocked off of my bill at the end of the cruise. This cruise - March 2018 - my points were within a 500 point difference from my November cruise and I received a $1000 off any cruise and $14 (yes, only $14) knocked off of my bill. . This is a HUGE difference from my November cruise. I was told they have changed the rules in January 2018 with no notice to the cruise club members. They have also done away with the 4800 points gets you a free cruise. The signs are gone. My point total would have given me a lot more than the 4800 point free cruise. Very disappointing to say the least.

On a side note...I just received an invite for Holland America whom I have never sailed with for a casino rate - 7 day suite for $500 a person or a 14 day suite for $800 a person.

Not only was The Blu Chip offer a slap in the face....I did not see one person the entire week win a big payout nor did anyone I spoke to (and I asked as many people as I could) see one big payout. Not happy with the new machines.

I do hope your new Club Royale is better than Celebrity's Blue Chip Club.

Hoping someone may know if my favorite casino host *Ralph* is on the Silhouette at this time or in the near future. :) Thanks!

Thanks Wonderman!