Dolebludger

There are some lines that offer a single supplement less than the full fare for the non-existent second guest. Check with your TA.

All I am saying is if the “Exciting Deals” ad clearly stated it was a price for first-time X cruisers only, X is correct here. If not X is not. But recovery in the US is not as easy as in the UK.

It may just be me, but when I respond to an X email with this language, find a cruise, and do a “test booking” for two, the final price comes up right at twice the stated pp price, with no discount for the second guest. Maybe I’m doing something wrong?

If the ad for “Exciting Deals” stated that the Deal” was for first time cruisers only, X is probably right. Because it was correctly advertised, and was not for the “General Public” and thus not covered by the language of the “Best Price Guarantee”. If the “deal” ad did no so state, it is false advertising and a violation of law. Now getting it enforced is s a big problem. The Justice Dept and state AGs don’t often go after crimes like this. In any civil suit, all cruise lines rely on their T&Cs which usually limit jurisdiction to a certain state and sometimes require binding arbitration. The T&C provisions shouldn’t be binding on a guest if nothing was signed, but who knows? For example, we are booked on another cruise line that has a lowest price guarantee. We saw a lower advertised price clearly advertised as being only for first time cruisers on that line. As we are not first timers on that line, and we’re not upset at all. We forwarded the ad to an adult daughter who would be a first timer there. The difference in this case is the clear wording of the ad. Had it not stated the limitations, I would have been furious..

And we find it unnecessary to book as high as the Penthouse suite level on Regent. Just one level above base suites will get you a suite as good, or better, than Aqua, with more additional inclusions than space and time permits be to post. That is what we book. One of my problems with Celebrity is it has too many levels of perks, inclusions, and eligibility requirements for them (these seem to be constantly changing too).mIt takes a Philadelphia lawyer to figure them out. (I am only an Oklahoma lawyer.) A basic fact we can all understand is that the most basic suites on Regent come with inclusions and perks equal to (or better than) those provided in the highest Retreat level. So comparing Regent PH to X Aqua is worse than comparing apples to,oranges.

No, we had two pre-pandemic cruises in Celebrity suits (CS and RS), one in MSC Yacht Club, And one in NCL Haven. We liked all, except that the Haven on the ship we took wasn’t fully developed. We liked the X suites the best, even though they weren’t entirely separate from the main ships. The food, service, and inclusions were very close to lux line. And I swear, we had included mini fridge access in CS. So, this year when we wanted to cruise again, we checked out Retreat prices and we’re “sticker shocked” as they were more than “lux lines”!. I checked here on CC and found that X suites might not offer the inclusions they once did. If Retreat prices and inclusions returned to pre-pandemic levels we’d be very interested, whether the Retreat area was fully separated or not.

Yes, we like cruises with good space and staff ratios. We like 750 or fewer guests. When they build mega ships, they don’t put in enough exit and entry points to avoid congestions when guests visit ports. Ditto for elevators, seats for entertainment, service desks, lounges, etc. The separate areas that go by names like Retreat, Yacht Club, and Haven worked out well — for a time. But guests still had to go into the crowded main areas of the ship. These ideas used to be less expensive than the smaller “lux” ships. Problem is, they don’t seem to be anymore. Some people like crowded mega ships, and that’s fine. Lots of choices there. Just not for us.

I used to get at least two emails a day from Celebrity. After reading this forum, I hit “unsubscribe”. The language “providing YOUR booking meets certain requirements” clearly refers to Your booking — not the advertised booking.

Since The retreat suite prices now often exceed the fare on Regent for essentially the same itinerary, we go with Regent. They include so much more than Celebrity SS. It might not be the same for every itinerary, but it sure was from mine. We have cruised Celebrity suites and cruised Regent many times. Historically, Regent is higher in price than Celebrity SS suites. Considering all the inclusions on Regent absent in SS suites and the lower price on Regent, this is a no brainer.

I’ve posed this before. We booked a 7 night Eastern Caribbean on the Regent Splendour instead of a Retreat SS cruise to the same places and dates. But the Retreat SS cruise was at a higher price, and was missing inclusions such as, shore excursions,,unlimited valet,laundry service.air,,use of the mini fridge,upscale room service,,hotel,for the night before embarkation, and all tips. Clearly, Regent was the better deal, and we’ve cruised Regent many times before, and we are confident that what we bought, we’ll get. Even the room will be similar to the Retreat SS.

I wouldn’t cancel anything I had already booked at an old price acceptable to me. At the new prices, I would (and did) book on Regent. I saved money and am getting more inclusions. I don’t know who is calling the shots at Celebrity, but I don’t think that person is sober. A “premium (?)” line priced higher than a true lux line? When the old bookings get used up, there will be some vacant ships.

Now Seadream yachts are really small. We never have cruised on them. But we really like the 750 pax ships on lux lines (I.e. Regent Explorer and Splendour). There’s never a crowd, always great food and service. Included drinks, mini fridge contents, shore excursions, specialty restaurants, laundry, and other things. Our next booked cruise is on the Regent Splendour, and it was less expensive than a Retreat Sky Suite for a very similar itinerary. Suites and timing were virtually the same.

Terrydtx, I think you will like Oceania, though we haven’t cruised it yet. It is close to Regent. Historically, it has been less expensive and a little less inclusive — don’t know about now. But our Regent friends who have cruised Oceania all say that Oceania has the best food on the sea. Even better than Regent. So if you are a “foodie” I bet you have found a new home line.

$20,000 pp for 12 nights in a Sky Suite where you can’t have a beer or coke from the mini fridge without extra charge? Some one at Celebrity is —how shall I put it — not sober!

This thread I full of mention of lines that provide many or some of these inclusions in the fare for a price less than Celebrity currently charges. so Celebrity is no longer competitive. Simply stated, if a business has competitors that offer a better product for a lower price, that business needs to make adjustments or eventually cease to exist. This is how the free enterprise system works.

I agree 100% with all inclusive. And I don’t agree that a 20% tip should be added to the price when I am handed a cookie I bought. That is a simple retail transaction that historically is non-tipped. And the cookie should have been included in the first place. We haven’t taken any cruises in this century (ocean or river) that are less than all inclusive. I mean totally. Because when you are on a cruise, you are in a monopoly. If you don’t like the price of things on land, you can’t just walk down the street where prices are better. Celebrity used to offer all inclusive, non-inclusive, and steps in between. You could book any degree of inclusiveness you wanted. Of course, the more inclusiveness you booked, the higher price you paid, naturally. But now, the prices on Celebrity for semi— all inclusive are higher than on lines that offer full all inclusive. That’s why people are leaving Celebrity.

No, deals like that are not made for millionaires. They wouldn’t be millionaires if they bought deals like that!

Boatharbour’s post above emphasizes that we all need to pick an alternative line that fits our special needs and wants. Those differ from person to person. The thing is here, Celebrity wasn’t fitting any of these for many, due to the fact that their fares are higher than competition. I respect those who need gluten free food, as my daughter and several friends do. But on several of the lines mentioned in this thread, you may never visit the buffet. The sit down restaurants are too good. So another question might be, do the restaurant menus label gluten free selections? This daughter was with us on our Regent Explorer Alaska cruise last June, and gluten free selections were noted in all restaurant menus. Don’t know about the buffet, as we never ate there.

As you can see from my information to the left, I’ve been posting here for almost 23 years. I have never seen a customer revolt like this about any cruise line before. We have only two Celebrity cruises under our belts — 4 and 5 years ago in RS and CS suites. Those were great, with a lot of value for the money. So when we were looking for a cruise very recently, we looked on this forum, And as a result we booked on a different line. I don’t put much stock in an isolated negative post, but when the vast majority of posts are negative, there is credibility. I just hope X can clean up its act before it is too late. And it’s getting rather late! The good thing for us is that there are many alternatives that give us better content for less money right now. Does anybody from Celebrity read this forum? I know other lines look at it. I hope X does, and begins corrections.

And the majority of this debt was incurred during the pandemic shutdown at very high interest rates. Cruise line bonds were rated as “junk bonds” as nobody knew who long the shutdown would last. Interest payments must be crushing. This is a reason for the panic we see. What I don’t understand is that it seems only Celebrity is behaving this way. Other lines seem to be holding rather steady with their product content.

Your husband is wrong on the sort of guests on lines that are upscale. They want an uncrowded, peaceful cruise. They may be affluent, but as such, they have nothing to prove to anybody. Most hate formal nights, and most upscale lines have discarded them (except for Silversea). Most allow casual at all times. I hope this helps.

No, it applies to the Retreat and purchasers of the packages who book after Oct. 4. Retreat guests and those who book after that will not have included gratuities. This may be a moot point, as there may be nobody booking X after Oct. 4th!

A poster above asked what would be the equivalent in a Sky Suite on Regent or Oceania. Don’t know about Oceania — never cruised on that line. But have cruised Regent more times than I can count. My recommendation would be any suite except a few. Go to the web site and look at the suites on all ships. All are suites, but one ship has a few window suites (an oldie). And the three newest ships have base level suites that are too small IMHO, so an upgrade is needed. An adequate suite on Regent has 300 sq. ft. Inside area plus balcony. A bit smaller than a Sky Suite, but as the ships are uncrowded, you needn’t spend as much time in the suite. Inclusions you’ll miss in a SS are use of mini fridge beverages, room service without limits, basic shore excursions, nearly equal guest to staff ratio, gratuities, an uncrowded “main ship” environment, no up charge items on the MDR menu, and a generally upscale (but not stuffy) environment. Dress code will always allow casual. There are no lines or crowds onboard, s]and no chair hogs at the pool. Our last two cruises pre-pandemic were in Celebrity suites. They were at less cost then than Regent, and great. Our sole post pandemic cruise was on Regent. No deterioration in perks and service. In face it seems to have improved.

There are posts on other threads here about previously booked guests with AI or some version of it who have received an invoice with grats charged on it. That should only happen for bookings after Oct 4. Other posters have been able to get it corrected, so that they get the benefits to which they are entitled in their package at time of booking. It seems that people in the home office aren’t reading their own memos about the “changes”.

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.