What ship are you jumping to?

[Ken the cruiser]

1 minute ago, billc23 said:

Sounds like a great trip! It has been a while but I always loved sailing Princess. I have been on several Alaska sailings and Princess was by far the best. 

We originally had a 14-day cruise booked on the Celebrity Eclipse, but switched to this PCL cruise when we noticed PCL cruises around the Antarctica Peninsula for 4 days rather than 2 like Celebrity does. We were also able to get the VS for roughly the same price per day as an AQ cabin on the Eclipse.

[TeeRick]

Mentioned this previously for those like us that have cruised in Celebrity suites for years.  We have a different plan at least for the time being.  Booked mid-level suites on RCCL next two cruises.  Some here will gasp!  But we like it.  We are D+ and get drinks and other benefits, and can dine in Coastal Kitchen and use the Suite Lounge.  Kind of like Luminae and the Retreat.  But less expensive.  No butler but who cares.

[TeeRick]

17 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We originally had a 14-day cruise booked on the Celebrity Eclipse, but switched to this PCL cruise when we noticed PCL cruises around the Antarctica Peninsula for 4 days rather than 2 like Celebrity does. We were also able to get the VS for roughly the same price per day as an AQ cabin on the Eclipse.

Ken we are doing 12 nights Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands next year.  Great itinerary.  We got an aft Grand Suite on RCCL.  Very good price compared to an equivalent CS on Celebrity.

[mac_tlc]

5 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Mentioned this previously for those like us that have cruised in Celebrity suites for years.  We have a different plan at least for the time being.  Booked mid-level suites on RCCL next two cruises.  Some here will gasp!  But we like it.  We are D+ and get drinks and other benefits, and can dine in Coastal Kitchen and use the Suite Lounge.  Kind of like Luminae and the Retreat.  But less expensive.  No butler but who cares.

Mid-level.... do you consider that a GS, OS or Crown Loft?? Or basically a Sky Class on Oasis/Quantum class? 

 

We are also D+ and have done all of those, but lately those prices seem to be as bad as a SS on X. I guess it depends on ship/itinerary. The Galveston sailings are cheaper. 

 

We will investigate the Symphony out of NJ for summer 2025 for our family adventure, but may gravitate to Disney for that one. All of a sudden, Disney's prices are not as wacko as they once seemed. 

 

mac_tlc

 

[Ken the cruiser]

33 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

Ken we are doing 12 nights Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands next year.  Great itinerary.  We got an aft Grand Suite on RCCL.  Very good price compared to an equivalent CS on Celebrity.

Sounds pretty cool! We just finished a Galapagos cruise on the Flora (check out the pictures in my below Live From thread) that was totally awesome! But I also have to say the best cabins on the Flora are the cheapest ones, a sky suite with veranda!

 

 

 

Edited January 12 by Ken the cruiser

[HeddaGarbled]

We can’t afford suites, Oceania, Regent etc. For us, the price comparison is Princess, HAL, P&O, Royal Caribbean.

 

If the itinerary was attractive enough, I’d definitely jump but it would be a jump towards rather than a jump away from, if you understand me.

 

I’m very tempted by Celebrity’s new Iceland itinerary for my next cruise.

[Ken the cruiser]

2 minutes ago, HeddaGarbled said:

We can’t afford suites, Oceania, Regent etc. For us, the price comparison is Princess, HAL, P&O, Royal Caribbean.

 

If the itinerary was attractive enough, I’d definitely jump but it would be a jump towards rather than a jump away from, if you understand me.

 

I’m very tempted by Celebrity’s new Iceland itinerary for my next cruise.

If you are referring to this itinerary, we went on a B2B in Aug 2022 on the Summit from NJ to Iceland then back to Boston and had a great time. My Live From thread if you're interested is in my below Signature area. To speed through it, just look at the pictures as they really tell the story.

 

13 Nights Greenland & Iceland from Reykjavik, Iceland | Celebrity Cruises

 

 

[jmdlv1]

On 1/11/2024 at 12:30 PM, tfred said:

This

 

I think the main part of the ship is pretty much the same as before and that was a good product. 

 

The Retreat area (which we stay in these days) is definitely priced too close to the Silver Sea, Crystal and Regent for our taste  We have booked a 2024 Med cruise on Silver Sea for the same price as a equivalent X. Smaller ship, smaller ports and a bigger dining choice. 

 

The problem we have is that we like to take a post holiday cruise in January.  X has been an easy choice (we live in south Florida in winter) and a 30 minute drive to FLL is a no brainer - just pick the Saturday you want to leave .  The lux ships have unusual home ports, longer cruises than we want. That said, when Retreat was $6k it was a good value.  At $8k it's ok, at $10k I really question the value. The $2 up charge for drinks is just something  that annoys me and is just tacky. 

If it was just $2.00 that would be tacky.

We like red wine and some are more and not good ones.

Looks like we are going to cancel our Jan.'25 cruise and move to Regent.

With everything included ,it will be about the same cost with less irritation due to the cash grab at Celebrity

 

 

 

 

[C4HCG]

Such a shame, as we are new to Celebrity cruisers relatively who still enjoy the product and find it value for money, our paths will never cross 😢.

 

Have to say though wish they had better summer Caribbean itineraries but hey ho, prefer them to Europe.

Edited January 12 by C4HCG

[MISTER 67]

We alternate between Celebrity, Princess and Holland America. Right now we have scratched HAL off the list as we had 2 cruises that were not the HAL that we have sailed 25 times with. We’re not happy with all the extra charges on Celebrity but they still have a good product and we will for the time being alternate between X and Princess.

[asnaleah]

 

“Our Oceania cruise is a TA from Miami to Lisbon in 2025, as we want to rent a car”

 

We are booked on that cruise and staying on to Southampton. Hope to meet!

[Jim_Iain]

On 1/11/2024 at 12:16 PM, mac_tlc said:

Like you we have not dumped Celebrity but are looking around more. We have also booked two Oceania cruise since X started their series of changes. Deducing from your post and signature, we may be missing you by one voyage in November 2025. We are on the Oceania Vista TA departing Barcelona 11/19/225. After reading so many of your wonderful reviews, it would be great to to meet you and Iain. 
 

 

mac_tlc

It would have been fun to meet you.   We are the Oceania Vista from Istanbul to Barcelona and will then be doing the Equinox 11/21/2025 from Lisbon to Buenos Aires (fingers crossed been cancelled 2X before).   

I'm probably more excited about the upcoming Oceania cruise than anything we currently have booked.

 

[mac_tlc]

13 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

It would have been fun to meet you.   We are the Oceania Vista from Istanbul to Barcelona and will then be doing the Equinox 11/21/2025 from Lisbon to Buenos Aires (fingers crossed been cancelled 2X before).   

I'm probably more excited about the upcoming Oceania cruise than anything we currently have booked.

 

We also have the Vista booked for 11/20/24 out of Rome to Miami. As you, we are really looking forward to trying a new line and smaller ship—- but not too small. 
 

mac_tlc

[Roxydog15]

We have been loyal to X, but just recently tried Regent (our first with them).  750-person size ship so that also contributes to a different experience.  Agree, that depending on the itinerary, R can be about the same price as X. Using deluxe veranda on R vs Sky Ste on X to get closer to cabin size and amenities. So strange.  We booked a Japan cruise with R and did a rough price comparison with X.  It was nearly the same when you factor in the extra costs (including bus class air) on X.  And R for this itinerary includes 3 nites precruise land experience. Go figure.

But, we will still use X on occasion.  We still like a more relaxed atmosphere sometimes, and the lively bigger ship experience.

But for that relatively small difference in price, the R experience is much more elevated.  They even have tablecloths in the buffet, full place settings, and excellent dining. 

[ECCruise]

~500 days with =X= over the last 20= years.

 

We started to migrate away (although we had 4 still booked) a couple of years ago when we felt that it no longer matched our cruising interests (E class left us ice cold). Since then we've done ~150 days on Azamara, a bit less on HAL, 1 sailing on Oceania (after 7 O cruises it will be our last) and 1 Princess down under for the itinerary and pricing (way less than =X= for a suite).  We feel the Retreat prices border on the insane (and we've sailed =X= suites a number of times before the price skyrocketed. 

 

But going forward, have a good many Azamara booked (our first choice) 3 HAL (which we have a new affinity for) a Princess because of a Northern Lights itinerary, and a Swan Hellenic Antarctica expedition).  We do have 1 Millennium B2B in early 2025 at a really good price (which has now more than doubled, taking it far out of what we would ever consider). 

 

We still have a very warm feeling for Celebrity after all these years, and rue that they will never be the same way again, unfortunately. 

[calicakes]

We jumped to Oceania, had 1 amazing cruise( Feb 2022) and 1 ok cruise( Aug 2023).  We're back on X in February, on Edge class.  This will be our first time on Edge.  We'll be in Aqua, although I have move up bids in place for Retreat.  

[MustBCruzn]

On 1/11/2024 at 8:34 AM, upwarduk said:

I want a proper balcony which I will get with Princess.

 

This is exactly how DH and I feel. We really enjoy the E class ships, and sailed the Apex twice in an SV and loved it. That was followed by a cruise on the Beyond in an IV...only because there were no SV's available, and suite prices were rediculously expensive. So we thought we'd give the IV a try since we really liked the itinerary. Well, we're one and done with the IV's. We really disliked the lack of a true balcony. A window that opens just didn't do it for us. We were drawn to the great itineraries of HAL, so we decided to branch out after 20+ cruises with Celebrity. We sailed on the Niew Statendam and the Rotterdam this past summer, and really enjoyed our cruises--the ships, service, and onboard experience were great. We also have a HAL Antarctica cruise booked for January 2025.

[goofysmom99]

After reading this thread earlier today, and the threads about the solo price-gouging, I checked a cruise site where it's easy to plug in where, when, and how many pax to compare fares across most lines.  I was specifically looking for solo supplements.  OK, then I decided to compare cruises I already have on the books with the competition.  The one that made my eyes pop was April 2025 Panama Canal transit.  Silversea Silver Moon (2020 build) 18-night transit out of Ft Lauderdale is $9813 for Superior Veranda vs my Summit April 2025 16-night transit, concierge C1, $7982 (a sky suite is $16K).  Silversea price is port-to-port so no included hotel, air, or driver, but from Orlando, I don't need any of those.  So it's a direct comparison.  $1831 more = gratuities, wifi, excursions, butler, cabin fridge restocked with bevs/alcohol, 24/7 room service, and specialties.  Oh, and onboard washers (I prefer to do my own stuff, believe it or not).  Not much to use OBC for so my TA will send a check.  I'm zenith so, yes, I get comped bevs, wifi, and laundry, but after a disappointing 16-night TA on Constellation in November, once I factor in gratuities and 2 additional nights, it's a wash.  I'm not talking about a sky suite either - it's a wash between a concierge cabin and a comparable veranda on Silversea.  I had my TA put a hold on Silversea this afternoon (Summit was booked onboard so only $100 loss).  

 

My TA, also a zenith, knew exactly what I was talking about.  Seems she and her daughter (also a TA) had just last week switched from X to Silversea for 2025 Alaska because they also discovered they receive more for less $ on Silversea.  Better itinerary, too.

 

I still have three X cruises - two next month and one in November, then nada.  I genuinely hope my November TA on Silhouette isn't my last cruise on Celebrity, but it very well could be.  Makes me sad and mad.  It took nearly 20 years to reach zenith; it's taken just12 months to lose my business and my trust.  If management ever regains sanity, I'll reconsider.  

[NMTraveller]

I am waiting to see what the new Celebrity looks like before I book another cruise with them.  It seems like they try some brilliant money saving feature and then take it back after numerous complaints.

 

Get the staffing levels back to normal,  get the food quality back to normal,  and quit adding additional fees to the cruise and then I might reconsider.

 

Next cruise is on AMA Waterways with zero Celebrity booked.

[Moochi]

I have Virgin Voyages and Oceania booked. No future X booked but I’m not saying goodbye to it. 

[dock]

Booked O, Vista. Summer ‘24.
NCL Prima , Iceland , Summer ‘25.( ambivalent about NCL, but ports are the key for us on this one) 

 

We are also unsure about X as the Retreat product we booked last May is not the product we will be experiencing in a few weeks on Ascent. Will decide about X after complete Ascent cruise. 

 

[billc23]

10 hours ago, goofysmom99 said:

After reading this thread earlier today, and the threads about the solo price-gouging, I checked a cruise site where it's easy to plug in where, when, and how many pax to compare fares across most lines.  I was specifically looking for solo supplements.  OK, then I decided to compare cruises I already have on the books with the competition.  The one that made my eyes pop was April 2025 Panama Canal transit.  Silversea Silver Moon (2020 build) 18-night transit out of Ft Lauderdale is $9813 for Superior Veranda vs my Summit April 2025 16-night transit, concierge C1, $7982 (a sky suite is $16K).  Silversea price is port-to-port so no included hotel, air, or driver, but from Orlando, I don't need any of those.  So it's a direct comparison.  $1831 more = gratuities, wifi, excursions, butler, cabin fridge restocked with bevs/alcohol, 24/7 room service, and specialties.  Oh, and onboard washers (I prefer to do my own stuff, believe it or not).  Not much to use OBC for so my TA will send a check.  I'm zenith so, yes, I get comped bevs, wifi, and laundry, but after a disappointing 16-night TA on Constellation in November, once I factor in gratuities and 2 additional nights, it's a wash.  I'm not talking about a sky suite either - it's a wash between a concierge cabin and a comparable veranda on Silversea.  I had my TA put a hold on Silversea this afternoon (Summit was booked onboard so only $100 loss).  

 

My TA, also a zenith, knew exactly what I was talking about.  Seems she and her daughter (also a TA) had just last week switched from X to Silversea for 2025 Alaska because they also discovered they receive more for less $ on Silversea.  Better itinerary, too.

 

I still have three X cruises - two next month and one in November, then nada.  I genuinely hope my November TA on Silhouette isn't my last cruise on Celebrity, but it very well could be.  Makes me sad and mad.  It took nearly 20 years to reach zenith; it's taken just12 months to lose my business and my trust.  If management ever regains sanity, I'll reconsider.  

The  Superior Veranda you may book is far nicer than a Sky Suite, so that should be the comparison price wise! The veranda rooms have better storage, a nicer bathroom, a table to have meals in your cabin or on the balcony, comfortable furniture, and a heavy curtain between the sleeping area/living space. You mentioned all the other inclusions and I will add that the alcohol brands are higher quality, the food has much more variety with higher quality proteins, the public space to passenger ratio is much higher as is the crew to passenger ratio, no segregation/hierarchal system... no crowds, no lines.  

 

Then there are the intangibles: I advise you to go to the Silversea board and read some current threads regarding the Silver Moon, which is currently in the Red Sea and has to alter plans and cancel a few cruises. It is an ongoing situation and the way passengers are being treated reminds me of how Celebrity was 15 years ago.

 

I glad that you, as a frequent CC poster, spelled out the price comparison. More credence than coming from a new-be like me!

 

P.S.  I'll be on the Silver Moon for 32 days beginning in February. 

Edited January 13 by billc23

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Was going to wait until after final payment date before booking our next TA in the fall of 2024 

Couldnt be away end of October since it will be my mom’s 95 th birthday 

In October I was checking price on Celebrity website and saw the Equinox was around $1000 CAD pp with taxes for a basic fee for 12 nights ,end of November , so we book ,

than it dropped again before Black Friday , to $1666 CAD in a V2 balcony for 2 , basic cruise 

With OBC from  the original cancelled Equinox cruise to Argentina, shareholder credit and a bit of OBC from the travel agent it enough to cover tips 

My mom’s uncle who is over 100 said the best thing he did to live a long life was to stop drinking alcohol in his 60’s so I will only drink alcohol between 5-7 😁

Pretty hard to jump ship at that price , when you can travel with a large group cruise friends 

our only problem is find a table in MDR for everyone to sit 🤣

 

 

[upwarduk]

18 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Ken we are doing 12 nights Spain, Portugal, Canary Islands next year.  Great itinerary.  We got an aft Grand Suite on RCCL.  Very good price compared to an equivalent CS on Celebrity.

Hope your weather is as good as ours was on 30/09/23 sailing.

The Bay of Biscay was like a mill pond( actually commented on by the Captain).

We only went on one excursion, as my husband had just had a hip replacement, but as the weather was so good, we had a very chilled cruise.

 

 

Lisbon

 

 

.

 

 

 

 

 

[shipshape sam]

 We haven't jumped, but, really enjoyed our sailing on HAL's Rotterdam in 2023 (11 days) and have now booked a sailing for 2025.  We loved the musical entertainment location/groups that played most nights in multiple sets per night on Rotterdam. Do not know of any other line that has that set up nightly.

 

Secondly, for us, we have booked a couple of Royal Caribbean cruises with our kids and grandkids for 2024 and 2025.  

 

Do not like IV's and will look at an S class ship for a sailing 2024/2025.  Having mention IV category, if other things were great, would sail in IV, but IV is a negative for me and thus a hurdle to get over/around.

 

We also are doing more land based trips with family/friends.  Last 2 were to Dollywood in TN and Universal in FL.  Later this year heading to Key West FL for a week.

 

Still like Celebrity, but there is a lot of choices/options and the competition is very good also.