critterchick

This phone number might help. I had a question regarding my upcoming cruise on Edge and the regular customer service transferred me over to the Retreat Concierge shoreside. 1-877-RETREAT, according to this: https://creative.rccl.com/Sales/Celebrity/General_Info/CEL_The_Retreat_FAQs.pdf It’s an older publication since it also talks about Zenith not being allowed in the Retreat, and they got their access back some months ago. Good luck and please report back on your success/failure in getting somebody to respond to your questions.

Read again. Our friends’ 20 year old daughter, who has cruise on (at least) HAL, Princess, Royal and Celebrity said that HAL was her favorite. They have some interesting itineraries that the other 3 tend not to. Did the customer service rep consult with the Resolutions department? When the price on our cruise went down by a massive amount we were allowed to upgrade from a Magic Carpet suite to an Aqua Sky Suite, which was priced at less than what we paid. Then a few weeks later the coveted (by us, anyway) Sunset Sky Suites on the stern dropped to below what we’d paid and we were allowed to switch again. Both times I asked for the rep to speak with the Resolutions department - they have a script and zero leeway to deviate from the written policy, but Resolutions can do that if they are in the mood. Maybe I just got lucky twice but it can’t hurt to call again. I assume you were booked one if the Sky Suite classes, which lost their butlers last fall. Apparently the fallout from that decision was bad enough that Celebrity are bringing them back to all classes of suites. They are doing it slowly but the Edge class have them and Solstice/Millenniun class should have them by June (they “should” have them sooner but have to find them).

I check to see if I can upgrade to a higher category for only a few bucks. 🙂 If you ever return to Kahului, rent a car and go explore UpCountry Maui. It’s my favorite place to visit with good restaurants, funky little shops/art galleries/glass blowing studios, etc. We are on the transpacific from Sydney to Honolulu. Prior to final payment, the price of our MS dropped about $4000 -, although we lost the OBC that came with the booking (somehow the prepaid gratuities survived, and I confirmed that twice), we were still well ahead. Well, the day after final payment, he price of the Sky Suites (MS, S1 and AS but not the Sunset Sky Suites) dropped by another $4000 (for 2. Some on our roll call reported success in getting a refund. We had a Magic Carpet Suite and X allowed us to upgrade to the Aqua Sky Suite at no extra charge - the rep initially said that we would only be able to do it if the fare was higher but Resolutions sided with me. The Sunset Sky Suites were deeply discounted about two weeks later, so I called again and “upgraded” (some would say downgraded but we love that wake view), again for no charge. I think they are blocking my calls now, lol. My only quarrel re cancelling Lahaina is that Celebrity waited until November to do so even though it was abundantly clear that it would not happen. Other lines found alternate Hawaiian ports but we have a sail by the Na Pali coast of Kauai. Although it’s stunning, we will likely be too far away to see much beyond a hazy shadow. And now we’ll be clearing immigration at disembarkation in Honolulu, which can be a complete and utter disaster in my experience. I’m glad we didn’t book a noon flight home! We go to Hawaii several times a year and our real target for this cruise was Australia and sailing on Edge, so are not as disappointed as others, for whom Maui was a major attraction. We spent two weeks in Lahaina January/February (the resorts of Kaanapali are in Lahaina; it was “only” Lahaina Town and nearby neighborhoods that were destroyed). The residents were almost universally warm and welcoming and the only ones we spoke with about the situation were our friends.

And sales were down, too….

Hurray! Thanks for the follow up!

Any chance you could ask the Retreat Host when they are coming back and post here? Thanks!

Are you looking at the no perks fare for your Aquaclass booking? Depending on when the group was formed, the AQ cabins may still include all four perks - classic drink package, standard Wifi, gratuity and OBC. If that’s the case and you don’t want the perks, the TA should still be able to change the booking for you to a no-perks fare.

You will stand out in the crowd in a good way. You’re likely to get a few admiring glances and questions about the location of the restrooms - happened to DH every time when he wore his white dinner jacket and red tie/cummerbund (so did the officers), lol.

Yes, they do, for $100 per person.

We did it on Solstice last year. The wines were fair to middling. There were a couple we liked and a couple we didn’t - those went into the spit bucket and they poured us a little more of the ones we preferred. It was a good way to pass a few hours (counting the post-tasting nap, lol). Belle Glos is one of my favorites. It’s about $50USD here in CA but some friends tipped us off to a sale from a place in Virginia and we laid down a case for about $40USD in 2020. We have one bottle left. ❤️🍷 How do you get 2 bottles of wine from X? We are also Elite + and haven’t heard of that perk…. That’s a good way to approach it - enjoy!

Indeed. If I’d been the OP’s TA I would have asked them if they wanted travel insurance, not recommended it to them. If they were interested I would send them information and ask them to let me know if they want it. It’s not for everybody - many working people are covered overseas by their employers’ plans. Others have credit cards that will provide some coverage. TAs have a conflict of interest because they receive a commission on the policies they sell so IMO aren’t the most reliable source for determining whether it’s appropriate. However, it’s also the customer’s responsibility to read their cruise documentation. The Celebrity invoices clearly state on the first page if a deposit is nonrefundable. Not saying that the TA shouldn’t have been up to date on Celebrity’s cancellations policies (for awhile they were offering FCC on the amount subject to penalty, but that went away in 2022 or early 2023), but we all bear some responsibility for knowing what we’ve purchased.

The only time I will book through the cruise line is when the price is significantly lower than booking direct. That hasn’t been the case since the pandemic - it used to be that one way international air could save a couple of thousand dollars (business class) but I haven’t seen it the few times that I’ve looked. All airlines that I’ve used in the past few years have changed their flights at least once. I try to remember to check monthly up until a couple of months out and then I try to remember to check weekly.

We did a 16 night (maybe it was 15) Japan cruise on Azamara in 2019 and it was spectacular. We had one full sea day and two half days. Our only non-Japan stop was Busan, presumably to satisfy their cabotage laws. The biggest advantage of that size of ship was that we could dock in small towns. Tor example, in Hakodate we could walk to the train station in 10 minutes and were able to visit a not-too-distant park, then return and ride the tram up to the top of town. Millennium was docked at the container port and departed at 5:00 while we stayed until 8:00. Most of our ports had late departures and we had overnights in Kobe and Yokohama. We visited some really small towns and it was brilliant in every way. There isn’t much to do on the ship but the days were so full (and we walk almost everywhere) that we didn’t have the energy to do much but have a cocktail, dinner and stumble off to bed. If only their prices weren’t so high I would go back in a heartbeat. I do love Millennium, though, and I’m sure the cruises are very nice. But being in town and not having to take a shuttle anywhere made the experience even better for us.

I think that gesutres of appreciation are important but they don't have to be monetary. On our cruise to NZ we took a private tour for wine tasting. I wanted to try a Pinot Noir that wasn't on the tasting menu so bought a bottle. The guide asked if she could have a little taste because nobody had ever done that and she'd always been curious. We'd already had enough to drink so I gave her most of the bottle (she put it in the trunk to take home, not consume on the spot, lol). On the same trip we took a cab from our hotel to SYD. When we departed, the cabbie asked, "what about my tip?!?" I said, "I thought you didn't tip here." He said, "but you're Americans!" I just smiled and said, "when in Rome...." I'm afraid that expectations will be higher when we return in April but I will stand firm, lol. I think that they exchange it into their own currency when they send it home. I normally tip in the ship's billing currency (which is almost always USD but have had a couple that were Euro).

We like to combine a visit to Hawaii with a repositioning cruise back to the mainland. Back in the day the repos were up to 14 nights and included a full week in the islands, often with overnights in Honolulu, Lahaina and Lihue, before 5-6 sea days across the Pacific to Vancouver. Now they're down to 8-10 nights and IMO not worth doing on their own, but for those with sufficient time, adding a week on one or two islands could be a great experience (I'd do one but others might want to see more). And Pride of America (with all her reported flaws) is a good way to sample the islands and decide which one calls to you for a return visit. Kauai is also our favorite, but there's plenty to love about Maui as well. UpCountry Maui is far from the madding crowds (except for sunrise/sunset at Haleakala) and offers a great alternative for people who aren't beachgoers. If we weren't locked into a timeshare in Kaanapali (not a hardship!) I'd find lodging there for a week and visit the beaches instead of the other way around. Island hopping by air is not for me anymore. Once upon a time it was easy - you could show up for a flight 15 minutes out and not have to worry about TSA or other potential delays. Now you have to add at least an hour (more with checked bags) and lost too much of your day in paradise.

And in a bit of good news, the train has commenced weekend-only service. The full daily schedule will resume on March 2. We are visiting in April so fingers crossed that everything goes according to plan!

The climate is quite different, for starters. Hawaii has lovely tropical breezes and in the spring, winter and fall isn’t too humid. I find it more laid back than the Caribbean - no merchants imploring me to stop into their shops. The water is cool - loads of lovely fish but our friends from Florida do complain that it’s chilly. I think it’s fine. The scenery ranges from white or black sand beaches to rugged mountains and volcanoes. Plants and flowers are similar. I just prefer the vibe of Hawaii, plus it’s relatively close for us living in LA.

Never mind....

I could swear that I changed 19 to 10, which is the deck we’re on. I actually don’t think we can go wrong with any wake view! We’ll lift a glass (or three) to you as we contemplate our great good fortune.

We are on Deck 19. What did you like about 11? I was looking for something with cover but it appears that there isn’t much on any of the decks except maybe 12 (which is taken, maybe that’s why). Thanks for any insight! I replied too quickly - sorry to see that you had to cancel and happy to see that your DH is on the mend. We’re on the TP prior to the Hawai’i cruise and it looks like the lower categories sold pretty well. The jump to the retreat was insane, particularly since the Sky Suites lost their butler service (I hear from a reliable source that they’re coming back, maybe to Edge before we sail). Several on our Roll Call reported that their RoyalUp bids were accepted - I’d love to see the math that says that it’s more profitable to overprice a category and then have a bidding war than to just offer something at a reasonable price in the first place. We’re going on the Queen Elizabeth to Alaska over the summer. 10 nights in Queen’s Grill for less than the price of a 7 night cruise on X or Royal in an SS or JS ( on Royal, which don’t don’t get full suite perks). RCG are Wall Street darlings but so was Lucient Tecnhologies back in the day (poof! Went the stock after being overvalued for years).

LOL, I can be as half-empty as the rest of them. But some things just aren't worth stressing over for more than a moment. But good things come to those who wait. Today they dropped the price of the Sunset Sky Suites, which is what we wanted all along to a little bit less (under than what we're paying (originally an MS). And they were willing to let us "downgrade" from the Aqua Suite (which really didn't have any benefit that we value, since access to Blu is still on a space available basis with those and we don't go to the spa). We kept our prepaid gratuities and OBC. And AS were showing sold out so now they have another one to give to a Move Up or upsell. Win-win!

He created the chicken tagine recipe, too.. I'm sure CT food is better, but I think the price is insane. I might try it if I had OBC to spend, but wouldn't pay out of pocket.

I had a chat with our butler from a cruise last year and he confirmed that they are coming back to all ships; he’s just waiting for his assignment. He was reassigned to a night shift duty, basically the Night Agent (for those who have watched that series). He’ll be happy to be back at the job for which he trained.

We have never done it - we’ve done many Chef’s Tables on Royal Caribbean and the food there was stupendous (on the last one pre-pandemic we had a Michelin-starred chef cooking for us). It includes wine, although they have dumbed down (cheapened) the wine list to mediocrity - the food deserves better. In Luminae, there is a signature Daniel Boulud dish, chicken tangine, that’s meant to whet our appetites for the CT. It’s a horrible dish - dry and with little flavor. The waiter twitched when I ordered it and suggested the pork chop. He had one ready for me after my first bite. So there’s nothing to lure me to try an entire meal prepared by him. And the price is ridiculous, IMO.

We were happy with the price we paid at the time of final payment. Of course we’d rather have the extra money in our bank account but it’s not happening so no point in wasting energy fretting about it. Over the years we’ve come out ahead way more often than not.