RCCL Diamond - First time on Celebrity

[TeeRick]

43 minutes ago, sailingjudy said:

This is something about Celebrity that appeals to us.  We typically sail longer cruises with RCCL and Radiance class is our preferred size of cruise ship. Typically, the longer sailings have few kids, if any.  We tend to avoid the larger ships with all the bells & whistles which attract a younger crowd and lots of kids, although do have current bookings on both Allure and Harmony which will sail during normal school months.  Both the smaller ships and the itineraries offered by Celebrity are appealing.  We are getting a tad tired of sailing the same routes and are looking for somewhere different.  Celebrity appears to fit that niche.

 

Same here.  Just before the pandemic in Jan 2020 we did Celebrity Eclipse (S-Class) from Santiago Chile around the Horn and back up to Buenos Aires.  They do also have cruises that touch Antarctica.  We have also sailed Celebrity Infinity (M-Class) from Miami through the Panama Canal full transit ending up in San Diego.  We have also done Celebrity Solstice (S-Class) from Perth W. Australia all the way around NZ and ending in Sydney.  Celebrity Constellation (M-Class) out of Venice and through the Adriatic region was awesome.  All of these were relaxing two week destination cruises.  Almost no kids on these cruises.   We took Brilliance on RCCL through the Baltics and it was a similar experience.

[sailingjudy]

24 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Same here.  Just before the pandemic in Jan 2020 we did Celebrity Eclipse (S-Class) from Santiago Chile around the Horn and back up to Buenos Aires.  They do also have cruises that touch Antarctica.  We have also sailed Celebrity Infinity (M-Class) from Miami through the Panama Canal full transit ending up in San Diego.  We have also done Celebrity Solstice (S-Class) from Perth W. Australia all the way around NZ and ending in Sydney.  Celebrity Constellation (M-Class) out of Venice and through the Adriatic region was awesome.  All of these were relaxing two week destination cruises.  Almost no kids on these cruises.   We took Brilliance on RCCL through the Baltics and it was a similar experience.

THAT is the cruise I really want to do!  Santiago or Lima around the Horn up to Buenos Aires.  Or the reverse route.  But I do not see it offered on the website right now.  We currently have 10 bookings with RCCL, as far out as April 2024, and had hoped to work in the Round the Horn cruise in Dec2023/Jan2024 time frame.  Plenty of time so I will keep checking Celebrity website to see if such a cruise pops up.  Thanks for all your comments helping me understand Celebrity better.

 

[FrannyK]

3 hours ago, sailingjudy said:

This is something about Celebrity that appeals to us.  We typically sail longer cruises with RCCL and Radiance class is our preferred size of cruise ship. Typically, the longer sailings have few kids, if any.  We tend to avoid the larger ships with all the bells & whistles which attract a younger crowd and lots of kids, although do have current bookings on both Allure and Harmony which will sail during normal school months.  Both the smaller ships and the itineraries offered by Celebrity are appealing.  We are getting a tad tired of sailing the same routes and are looking for somewhere different.  Celebrity appears to fit that niche.

 

I totally agree.

[4774Papa]

7 hours ago, sailingjudy said:

No, I would book the cruise fare only and then add items as desired.  We never buy a drinks package.  On Royal with the free 5 drinks we end up stopping by a bar after dinner and using all remaining vouchers for bottled water and Diet Cokes to take back to the room.  Not having this is a 'drop down' in my husband's opinion, even though not talking about any significant amount of cost. 

We do require WiFi for internet connection 24/7.  I planned to purchase that separately.  And we pay the standard daily gratuities on the onboard account.  I stopped pre-paying grats after all the cancellations due to Covid and dealing with all the refunds.

After reading the comments in this thread it appears that the reciprocity of the loyalty programs is meaningless and that sailing Celebrity must be approached as if sailing a completely new line and starting as a newbie.  I would have expected better from a brand under same corporate umbrella.  Thanks for all the info.

 

Yes, you nailed it and that is why we are looking more at Royal in the future rather than X.

[4774Papa]

20 hours ago, sailingjudy said:

You are correct.  That breaks down to about the cost of a single drink per day.  Looking at this as a totally new cruise line and not getting any perks for loyalty status with the other brand, the cost of the "all included" does look like the best way to book with Celebrity.  Do you know if the WiFi provided with the "all included" package has 24/7 connection?  And if it works well enough for Zoom meetings?  I would expect some loss of signal when down in area of Antarctic.  I kind of doubt the satellites provide good coverage down in that area.

If you don't drink much alcohol and don't use wifi much on a cruise, why pay so much more.   Elite used to get free happy hour and a small amount of wifi time.   X has largely wiped out the loyalty benefits for higher profits.

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, 4774Papa said:

If you don't drink much alcohol and don't use wifi much on a cruise, why pay so much more.   Elite used to get free happy hour and a small amount of wifi time.   X has largely wiped out the loyalty benefits for higher profits.

Let's stick to the facts.  The Elite level still gets Happy Hour drinks at any bar - just not in the dedicated Sky Lounge. Many prefer this change.  And Elite gets discounts on WiFi and premium drinks upgrades too.  Here is the link to Captains Club benefits.  However if you go for All Included rates- no need to worry much about it.  Except you do get the laundry benefit with Elite.

https://www.celebritycruises.com/captains-club/tiers-and-benefits

[TeeRick]

20 hours ago, sailingjudy said:

THAT is the cruise I really want to do!  Santiago or Lima around the Horn up to Buenos Aires.  Or the reverse route.  But I do not see it offered on the website right now.  We currently have 10 bookings with RCCL, as far out as April 2024, and had hoped to work in the Round the Horn cruise in Dec2023/Jan2024 time frame.  Plenty of time so I will keep checking Celebrity website to see if such a cruise pops up.  Thanks for all your comments helping me understand Celebrity better.

 

They still have them in 2023.  Look at "Patagonia and Argentina" cruises on the South America cruise page.  They go Around The Horn.  They have 2024 too.

Edited June 4, 2022 by TeeRick

[39august]

I  like the 10% off in the spa for Elite. Not a lot, but it does help. We usually have a lot of NF OBC. so I spend some time in the spa. The breakfast is also nice for a break in the usual eggs routine and there are  complimentary bloody marys and mimosas there as well.

[sailingjudy]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

They still have them in 2023.  Look at "Patagonia and Argentina" cruises on the South America cruise page.  They go Around The Horn.  They have 2024 too.

We cannot do this in 2023 because already have RCCL cruises booked during the dates that X will be sailing that route.  And I cannot find it for 2024.  I did find same route with Azamara but not willing to pay that much.  I'll check X every so often to see if the 2024 cruise becomes available.  I thought possibly since Azamara is sailing that route in 2024 that did not want competition between the brands for same route.

[sailingjudy]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

They still have them in 2023.  Look at "Patagonia and Argentina" cruises on the South America cruise page.  They go Around The Horn.  They have 2024 too.

Thank you!  I finally found the one for 2024.  Unfortunately, the dates conflict with another repo booking we already confirmed.  Looks like we will be waiting until 2025 and it will be Celebrity.

[DCPIV]

On 6/4/2022 at 6:12 AM, 4774Papa said:

Elite used to get free happy hour and a small amount of wifi time.

 

On 6/4/2022 at 7:47 AM, TeeRick said:

And Elite gets discounts on WiFi and premium drinks upgrades too.

 

Elite also still gets 90 minutes of wifi.  Take a look at the second page here: https://secure.viewer.zmags.com/publication/a54eb4aa#/a54eb4aa/1

 

(Yes, there's a second page.  Pain in the neck, but it's there).

[TeeRick]

16 minutes ago, DCPIV said:

 

 

Elite also still gets 90 minutes of wifi.  Take a look at the second page here: https://secure.viewer.zmags.com/publication/a54eb4aa#/a54eb4aa/1

 

(Yes, there's a second page.  Pain in the neck, but it's there).

Yup.  Thank you for posting.

[flifish64]

On 6/3/2022 at 8:28 AM, sailingjudy said:

No, I would book the cruise fare only and then add items as desired.  We never buy a drinks package.  On Royal with the free 5 drinks we end up stopping by a bar after dinner and using all remaining vouchers for bottled water and Diet Cokes to take back to the room.  Not having this is a 'drop down' in my husband's opinion, even though not talking about any significant amount of cost. 

We do require WiFi for internet connection 24/7.  I planned to purchase that separately.  And we pay the standard daily gratuities on the onboard account.  I stopped pre-paying grats after all the cancellations due to Covid and dealing with all the refunds.

After reading the comments in this thread it appears that the reciprocity of the loyalty programs is meaningless and that sailing Celebrity must be approached as if sailing a completely new line and starting as a newbie.  I would have expected better from a brand under same corporate umbrella.  Thanks for all the info.

 

As an elite you will receive a free bag of laundry for each of you and a free scoop of Gelato for each of you and $5 coupons to play at the tables in the casino.  You can also use your HH drink time to get water and cokes to take to your room for later use.    You also get one free port day pass to the Persian Gardens.   So not completely useless.

 

 

Hope you reconsider.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

Carol

 

[DCPIV]

On 6/3/2022 at 8:28 AM, sailingjudy said:

After reading the comments in this thread it appears that the reciprocity of the loyalty programs is meaningless and that sailing Celebrity must be approached as if sailing a completely new line and starting as a newbie.

 

I'm not real sure how you come to that conclusion.  The benefits are there, even if you wouldn't take advantage of them in the same way you do on a Royal Caribbean ship.  I don't say that as a Celebrity fanboy, but as someone who's sailed a good bit on both lines (D+ on RC and a few points from E+ on X).

 

You still get a dedicated breakfast and coffee area in the morning, which is nice, and you get your priority tendering (for what that's worth).  You'll get a 30% discount on your internet package or upgrade, which is something you say you would use for certain, and that can be significant.  You get a small discount at the spa--not much but something.  You'll each get one free bag of laundry and one discounted one, and that could be very nice on a long cruise (laundry isn't cheap).

 

It seems like the big issue is the difference in drinks benefit--vouchers v. happy hour.  Indeed, the vouchers are more valuable than the happy hour . . . on a RC ship.  Celebrity really hasn't touched the happy hour issue mostly because of how they are implementing "Always Included."  AI pretty much renders the happy hour moot (as it would vouchers).  However, as you noted, it also doesn't cost much more than the wifi and gratuities put together.  At that price point, I would much rather have the freedom and flexibility of the drink package than the vouchers.

 

Regardless, if you're looking to get away from the quasi-circus and amusement park atmosphere that RC has become over the years but still enjoying something along the lines of a Radiance class ship, then Celebrity is the way to go.  The differences may not sound like a lot on paper, and we felt the same way before taking our first Celebrity cruise.  Let me tell you something, though.  It was like night and day once we got on board.  The whole atmosphere was more calm, more mature, but not at all stuffy.

 

In fact, we sailed on Liberty out of Galveston back in January.  It was our first RC cruise in little while, and we had been on a few Celebrity cruises in the interim.  We both had a great time, but we also got off thinking that it might be a while again before we sailed on RC.  Prices have become nearly identical, but we much prefer what you get with Celebrity.

[sailingjudy]

2 hours ago, flifish64 said:

As an elite you will receive a free bag of laundry for each of you and a free scoop of Gelato for each of you and $5 coupons to play at the tables in the casino.  You can also use your HH drink time to get water and cokes to take to your room for later use.    You also get one free port day pass to the Persian Gardens.   So not completely useless.

 

 

Hope you reconsider.  I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

Carol

 

Thanks for the info.  Honestly, however, none of that means anything to me except the laundry and the ability to get water & cokes to take to the room for later.  No casino and no spa for us and unlikely any gelato.  Someone else mentioned 90 minutes of WiFi but that also is useless to us.  If cannot have  internet 24/7 then we cannot cruise -- regardless of which cruise line -- because my husband works on all cruises.  I have not totally ruled out Celebrity and remain interested in the Around the Horn sailing in 2024.  It will be like being a cruising newbie once again if we sail Celebrity.  I do like the X itineraries.

Judy

[sgmn]

Is there anywhere I can get a decent cup of coffee to take back to my room early in the morning as part of Elite perks?

On Royal Caribbean there's a nice coffee machine in the Diamond Lounge, anything like this?

[39august]

Cafe Al Bacio opens at 6:30 AM. Coffee is available 24/7 in the Oceanview Cafe. My husband likes to go to the Spa Cafe about 6:30- 7 AM and get coffee for both of us with half and half as a big treat.  These are not Elite perks, but available to all. And in my considerable experience with the RCI machines, they are down as much as they are actually working. Also, never saw one available before 6:30 AM. That might have changed since 2018, our last RCI cruise. 

Edited June 6, 2022 by 39august

[cruisestitch]

There is not a self-serve cappuccino machine like in the diamond lounge, but the café al Bacio coffee made by the baristas there is excellent.  
 

 

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, sailingjudy said:

Thanks for the info.  Honestly, however, none of that means anything to me except the laundry and the ability to get water & cokes to take to the room for later.  No casino and no spa for us and unlikely any gelato.  Someone else mentioned 90 minutes of WiFi but that also is useless to us.  If cannot have  internet 24/7 then we cannot cruise -- regardless of which cruise line -- because my husband works on all cruises.  I have not totally ruled out Celebrity and remain interested in the Around the Horn sailing in 2024.  It will be like being a cruising newbie once again if we sail Celebrity.  I do like the X itineraries.

Judy

Judy- just go for the Always Included fare and you should be fine.

[DCPIV]

16 hours ago, sgmn said:

Is there anywhere I can get a decent cup of coffee to take back to my room early in the morning as part of Elite perks?

On Royal Caribbean there's a nice coffee machine in the Diamond Lounge, anything like this?

 

There is an Elite coffee/breakfast in Tuscan every morning.  I don't know what time it opens.