alfaeric

So we’ve sailed the Allure and Harmony over the last couple of months, and on both ships there was a balloon drop on the first night just as the welcome aboard party comes to its conclusion.

It bothers you so little that you spend time posting about it. Got it. If it didn’t, you wouldn’t notice nor post about it. I’m amused that it bothers people. Hilarious that you give people so much power.

For many of the itineraries, CocoCay replaces Nassau. And give how popular Nassau is on this board…..

Sorry that we bother to get to know the crew and treat them like real people. But I still find it so amusing that you go out of your way to not only notice people wearing their status, but you even project some behavior of theirs. If that’s what you waste your vacation time and money on, it’s yours to waste. Makes me really proud to wear my pin and have a lanyard with my gold card just to bother people like you. It’s pretty awesome how you let me bother you with some really simple triggers.

Status is what people notice. That’s why it seems so common. You just call a jerk rude when they are that way on their first cruise. But if you want to project onto others, it’s your vacation and money.

It certainly does not take status to have a feeling of entitlement. Just look at some of the posts that are started. It’s the person not the status.

We’ve been suggested by crew members to wear the pin all of the time. So it’s not totally because attention. Or more correctly perceived attention. If it bothers you, maybe pay attention to something else- like shorts in the dining room. We have tipped at the end of a b2b if people don’t change. But sometimes they do, so we tip at the end of the first for them.

For us, they are the corner aft JSs. On Radiance and vision ships, they have wrap around balconies.

Just booked a b2b in feb 25 an hour ago here on board. Low deposit that way. And it was some of the cheapest fares for our cabin I’ve seen in a long time.

Just remember to keep an eye on the price over time as you can lower your fare up until final payment time. We, too, have been booking early for years, so….

Just had a meeting for a b2b yesterday, lol. you should have the option to leave before the consecutive cruisers get off and back on- and then meet up with someone who will take you to the rain forest. Start at 8 or 9am and you should easily be back before all aboard. Last time we drove there from Old San Juan, it was 30-40 min in a car.

Hopefully it also means they cancel all RCI cruises, too. To lower the demand and cost to the rest of us.

Sometimes they do, not always. But compared to booking as soon as the cabins come out, the price change has not been better for us. If you are sure they will, we normally book a class lower and then upgrade for the fee we were already happy with.

Has happened more than once to us. But we just took the upgrade. Win because the fare was what we wanted, win because we got a better cabin. Lots easier than struggling to bypass the known policy.

Just reading how upset people are. Pretty obvious how some people take looks so very seriously. Of others, at least. For all of the mad posts about dress code, lanyards, and pinnacle pins, I do hope I’m ruining someone’s vacations. I do my part. lol. If it makes you feel better, I did overhear someone talking about shorts when we walked by them in the MDR on a recent cruise. Made me chuckle that they noticed.

It’s fun to see how men wearing shorts can ruin someone else’s vacation. Just like the pinnnacle pin and people wearing lanyard. Hilarious.

Sorry, but how much you pay for a balcony has nothing to do with your service. You get the exact same service as your neighbor who paid less than half of that and probably got a better location for booking at the right time. Let alone have expectations for a 12 seat restaurant in a 3500 seat dining room. As long as people are overpaying THAT much for a basic balcony, there's no financial incentive to change anything.

Well, there is a lot less "stuff" on Enchantment, that's for sure. There's a tiny "Park Cafe" in the solarium, but for dinner, the pay venues, the MDR, and the WJ is it. Being smaller, it's easier to get around, as we see it. But, being honest, I have no idea if you would be disappointed or not. If your expectations are tons of stuff to do, sure, you will be bummed. If you are looking for something quieter and perhaps being able to do other little games, maybe you would be ok. And maybe you will really like smaller ships- some do. I would lean toward you thinking that the Enchantment is a let down. But if the itinerary is more interesting and has a lot of ports- maybe that is attractive. We just did a side by side on the Allure and then the Radiance- and loved both cruises. Granted, the Radiance isn't the Enchantment- but in terms of stuff, they are very close to each other. It could be a interesting experiment. For us, if the itineraries were the same, we would choose the Anthem, though.

If anyone remembers the view from the Viking Crown Lounge- it's that, but a few decks higher compared to a normal VCL (and it actually used to be the VCL back when the Allure was new). On the ship, if you look down, you can see some of the pool deck and Central Park. But being that high, you also see lots and lots of water.

Just looked up one more thing- there used to be a coffee machine in suites, but apparently no more. That we use more than any other suite feature on all RCI cruises, and the loss of that would be a big deal. And calling the butler to deliver some isn't a real answer to me- I'd rather have it on my own time. For that kind of premium cost, you'd think they'd offer at least the same than the base corporate line. Guess it will have to be a real special itinerary.

Ok, I had to do a mock booking to get to those different suites. Guess we have to try it, but since we normally don't spend the money on GS, it's a pretty big jump to do that. Like around $1500pp extra for a cruise out of Boston next August. And I know we won't do a basic balcony. But the spa, relaxation lounges, butler, and more drinks isn't appealing what so ever. Some are kind of negative. So it's tough to see the value. The only thing of value would be the restaurant, and even that has limitations.

Ok, but on the Celebrity web site, all I see are aqua and retreat, not sky.

Better is subjective. For the cost, I would expect more than just equaling what I can get on an Oasis or Quantum ship. Right now, I can't even get though my 6 free drinks per day, so more certainly isn't better. A dedicated swimming area isn't all that appealing- as it might be used once a cruise for a little while. Soda isn't something we drink. What level of cabin has a coffee maker? Sorry if this sounds like a challenge, but after looking into some cruises that go to Iceland, we want to make sure the value is there. And I still don't understand the suites and whatnot. Someone mentioned Sky suites, and I see no mention of those on the cruises I've looked at- just the Spa Suite and the Retreat Suites. 90% of the time, we sail in JS's, the other 10% GS. Even if the suites don't match up, what's the difference between RCI and Celebrity? It's a pretty big step up in cost to get the least expensive suite.

Which ones are the sky suites? All I'm seeing is aqua suite and the retreat suite. When I look at veranda- that's just a balcony cabin, right? And when I do a quick search on their website, I find aqua suites at 300/person-night and the retreat is more like $450pp/nt. I can't even see a ship that has something other than aqua and retreat suites. When I looked into the concierge suite- that seems barely more than a balcony- can't really see how the concierge is helpful- can't get into a better restaurant. As for the perks- how are they different than RCI? Not counting the butler- that's less than appealing to me. Where should I be looking if it's not celebritycruises dot com?

Just sailed on the Allure in Feb- no USB outlets. Just plugs to put adaptors in. The closest thing to a USB outlet are the clock radios that have the older Apple 30 pin dock adaptor.