E class vs. S class

[Ipeeinthepools]

4 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Ipee, you make strong general statements and assumptions about "most guests".  And "many would argue".  I think you are representing yourself and your views, which is fine.   But not sure how you come to the conclusions and assumptions for others.  In fact, the cruising data currently says otherwise.  Celebrity ships are sailing near capacity even with very high prices.  Retreat or no Retreat.  Whether we like it or not.

 

I guess we'll see how long it lasts.

[TeeRick]

2 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

I understand your point, but I'm not sure that the CC customer is the typical Celebrity passenger.  I'll suggest that most passengers would be equally happy on any one of several cruise lines.

Probably - but who knows everybody's criteria and preferences, and how they view their monetary decisions?  Again, Celebrity is sailing pretty full these days.  Even with a lot of people not CC members this is the case.

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, tfred said:

No line can survive without expanding the potential customer pool

This is very true and the whole idea behind E-Class for Celebrity.

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, tfred said:

X doesnt. think its the same product as others.  Obviously they have to "prove" that but the suites are full so that says something

 

X also doesnt want to poach other lines as their main source.  They need new customers - formally land based hotel stays at resorts in the USA.  The JW Marriott in Marco Island is $700/night for a standard room in January .  Add another $250/day for food and booze and its $7K for a week stay. Sounds pretty close to a cabin for 2 on X. The shows and casino are extras that some value

 

No line can survive without expanding the potential customer pool

We have done mostly land-based vacations since 2020 Pandemic era.  We kind of re-discovered non-cruise options.  And they can be a nice change.  In fact, we can rent a whole house on the beach for a month for less than the price of a single cruise in The Retreat on Celebrity.  We have one lined up this winter oceanfront in FL, a 4BR house and we can have our family and friends visit.  If we took them all on a cruise instead (as we have done in the past) it would be incredibly expensive compared to the house rental.

[Ipeeinthepools]

5 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

This is very true and the whole idea behind E-Class for Celebrity.

 

My prediction is that history will view the E-class as a bad design and will not expand the customer base.  I doubt that the next CEO will order any additional E-class ships.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

3 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

We have done mostly land-based vacations since 2020 Pandemic era.  We kind of re-discovered non-cruise options.  And they can be a nice change.  In fact, we can rent a whole house on the beach for a month for less than the price of a single cruise in The Retreat on Celebrity.  We have one lined up this winter oceanfront in FL, a 4BR house and we can have our family and friends visit.  If we took them all on a cruise instead (as we have done in the past) it would be incredibly expensive compared to the house rental.

But you are in Florida 😱! 

[Ipeeinthepools]

20 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

We have done mostly land-based vacations since 2020 Pandemic era.  We kind of re-discovered non-cruise options.  And they can be a nice change.  In fact, we can rent a whole house on the beach for a month for less than the price of a single cruise in The Retreat on Celebrity.  We have one lined up this winter oceanfront in FL, a 4BR house and we can have our family and friends visit.  If we took them all on a cruise instead (as we have done in the past) it would be incredibly expensive compared to the house rental.

 

Great, I'll stop by in a couple of weeks.

Edited December 31, 2022 by Ipeeinthepools

[TeeRick]

3 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Great, I'll stop by in a couple of eeks.

No problem.  I would enjoy meeting you!  The place we rented does not have a pool.  You will need to use the bathroom or the ocean!☺️

[TeeRick]

6 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

But you are in Florida 😱! 

Yes but is that good or bad to you?

[Ex-Airbalancer]

2 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Yes but is that good or bad to you?

Not a place I have any interested in visiting , 

Dont golf, don’t sit on a beach anymore , not interested in theme parks or shopping 

 

[TeeRick]

12 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

My prediction is that history will view the E-class as a bad design and will not expand the customer base.  I doubt that the next CEO will order any additional E-class ships.

Expensive history lesson with 4 E-ships already and a 5th one on order. After that, a new concept ship will likely be announced anyway- maybe in 2025 or later.  All controlled by Royal Caribbean's CEO.

[TeeRick]

1 minute ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Not a place I have any interested in visiting , 

Dont golf, don’t sit on a beach anymore , not interested in theme parks or shopping 

 

For us we can get out of the Northeast US winter for a significant time period by renting properties or by cruising,  Good combination.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 minute ago, TeeRick said:

For us we can get out of the Northeast US winter for a significant time period by renting properties or by cruising,  Good combination.

I can understand getting away for winter 

a couple of years ago I might have done that , but now I have no interest in heading to Florida 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

6 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Sure, the E-class ships are still the shiny new objects but they really don't offer any additional service or features to the non-suite guest to warrant the higher cost.

Disagree. Here's a list

- The Club

- Magic carpet

- Eden (restraint, Cafe, bar, lounge & theater)

- Tech focused main theater

- 4 MDR with different decor

- Rooftop garden (Solstice class is just a grassy area really)

 

There's more to list, but there's plenty of added features and venues on the E class ships that don't require suite access.

 

I'd argue that there are less added suite features from revolutionized Solstice class ships to E class. They all have the lounge, luminae, and sundeck. Albeit, the location and size of these venues has changed, but not anything more.

[Gracie115]

34 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Not a place I have any interested in visiting , 

Dont golf, don’t sit on a beach anymore , not interested in theme parks or shopping 

 

 

There sure are a lot of Canadians here that would disagree.  

[Ipeeinthepools]

13 minutes ago, NorthStarStateCruiser said:

Disagree. Here's a list

- The Club

- Magic carpet

- Eden (restraint, Cafe, bar, lounge & theater)

- Tech focused main theater

- 4 MDR with different decor

- Rooftop garden (Solstice class is just a grassy area really)

 

There's more to list, but there's plenty of added features and venues on the E class ships that don't require suite access.

 

I'd argue that there are less added suite features from revolutionized Solstice class ships to E class. They all have the lounge, luminae, and sundeck. Albeit, the location and size of these venues has changed, but not anything more.

 

Lol, I wouldn't pay a penny for any of those things.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

9 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

 

There sure are a lot of Canadians here that would disagree.  

Wintering in Florida is the same as a discussion on what is better E-class or S&M Class of ship😉 

Been to Florida, been on E-class, I just think there is better places to spend my money 

But if the price is right I would go again 😁

 

 

[NorthStarStateCruiser]

59 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Lol, I wouldn't pay a penny for any of those things.

That's fine. Your original statement was that there aren't additional venues/offerings for non-suite guests on E class ships vs. S class. Whether you personally enjoy those offerings doesn't negate the fact that there are indeed more.

[southernbreezes]

3 hours ago, TeeRick said:

We have done mostly land-based vacations since 2020 Pandemic era.  We kind of re-discovered non-cruise options.  And they can be a nice change.  In fact, we can rent a whole house on the beach for a month for less than the price of a single cruise in The Retreat on Celebrity.  We have one lined up this winter oceanfront in FL, a 4BR house and we can have our family and friends visit.  If we took them all on a cruise instead (as we have done in the past) it would be incredibly expensive compared to the house rental.

Who does the cooking and cleaning and how about a bartenter, bulter. If my wilfe and were to go out to breakfest, lunch, dinner it could be expensive.

Edge Class ships for me, loved Edge next is Apex.

We all got spoiled with the low prices cruising is still the best value out there.

My hotel in Amsterdam is $650.00 a night no food or drinks, hotel in London $600.00 a night, Fort Lauderdale hotel $400.00 plus resort fee plus parking.

[SHIP TRAVELER]

On 12/24/2022 at 4:58 AM, rachiem said:

Another thing we noticed (in our personal experience)...

We've had a Sky suite on both ships...we didn't use the Retreat lounge once on the Edge. It was always empty with no atmosphere.

The S class lounge was accessible straight from boarding the ship and was always our first stop when getting back on board.

The Retreat sundeck on E was excellent though.

I agree with your comments about the Retreat lounge.  It was uncomfortable and lacked atmosphere.  I missed the sit down bar.  The snacks were nice but not inviting enough to make the trip up worth it during happy hour.  We missed easy access to beers from the cooler that we had on S class.  To us the Sun deck was way too sunny and sometimes too windy.  We got a shady spot one day but there was nothing happening, no visible activity, we might as well have been in the AC in our cabin or on our veranda.  There were no people to watch like at the Solarium pool.  I know I am in the minority but we used the Solarium pool area instead of the sundeck on most days.

[SHIP TRAVELER]

I guess I should have said also that we enjoyed other things about the E class when we were on the Apex earlier this year and we have a cruise booked on the Beyond but not in a suite.  We actually want to try the new four dining room concept and the IV.  We don't spend a lot of time on the Balcony on S or M class so we think the larger room might work for us.  We won't know until we actually try it.  We like Eden, the Club, and the roof top garden and some of the special things for Captains Club Elite on the Apex.  We are looking forward to another taste.  My DH likes the M class best so go figure.

[SRQbeachgirl]

4 hours ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Not a place I have any interested in visiting , 

Dont golf, don’t sit on a beach anymore , not interested in theme parks or shopping 

 

 

It's a shame that's all many people think about Florida. We have incredible museums, art scenes, historic sites and districts, symphonies and theatre, wildlife and nature preserves...and the list goes on.

 

Oh well, more opportunity for us Floridians to enjoy all of it.

 

3 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

 

There sure are a lot of Canadians here that would disagree.  

 

Right??? A bunch of the houses in our neighborhood are owned by Canadians. This place is empty in the summer. But at least we can eat at our favorite restaurants half the year without needing reservations!