talljules1

I have to say, I don't really care WHY X are doing this. What I do care about is getting less than promised when I booked. And I care about and object to being charged more and more for less and less. Degrade the experience, and it means that the value of cruising (for me at least) with this line disappears. We now sail in the Retreat on Celebrity. Their prices are on the up and up, and have reached the point where they now intersect with other premium/luxury lines. If X are not going to offer the level of service we've come to expect, then it will be time to jump ship and go elsewhere.

Yes, I get that the Ts&Cs mean that X can make changes. These changes are going too far. If the food on board is less pleasant than what I can make at home, then it's not worth it for me.

7 hours ago, Cap_D said:

Reminder:  Even for suites Luminae is barely open for lunch, as it is closed on port days.  And, on E-Class, the Eden Cafe is open for lunch 1-2 times per sailing, each for an hour or so.  On some Apex Caribbean 7-day itineraries it's only open once for lunch.  

I think this is a real disappointment in the retreat. OVC and mast grill is a real step down from luminae (and from porch, sushi on 5 etc) for lunch. Yes, there are burgers and sandwiches on the retreat sundeck - they've always tended to be cold, and it is not a great choice when sailing in cold waters.

7 hours ago, TopoChico said:

I certainly hope someone with your high standing in ship society gets first crack at the nicer lifeboats! The aristocracy shouldn’t have to mingle with the rubes. 

Cashmere life jackets in the retreat, dontchknow?

I think my answer the the OP question has now to be NO.

We enjoyed our 2021 and 2022 cruises with Celebrity, but the rising prices are something else. The put the retreat into the same price brackets as luxury lines, and that's likely where we will jump ship to for 2024. We already have a Christmas 2023 cruise booked with Celebrity, which we look forward to. But for Summer 2023 we've already jumped ship and are sailing in MSC Yacht club (swayed, in part, by a more interesting itinerary).

Because we now sail in the retreat, I guess a lot of the recent changes don't affect us much. But we have been irritated/disappointed by rising prices for specialty dining (we noticed that especially in Sushi on 5 between our May and September Silhouette cruises - a la carte prices rose, meaning we go less for our $35pp allowance, and sake was no longer available by the glass within the drink package. Yes, a first world problem, but it lessened our experience). Also disappointed that for lunch on port days the only choice was either the buffet or mast grill (or some very disappointing bites on the retreat sundeck). 

So, going forward, we will be giving serious consideration to Azamara, Oceania, Silversea etc.

I have no idea what their way out is. Maybe it is just unsustainable. But prices are already on the up and up, and they are reducing what we get for the increased prices. We have a cruise booked for the end of the year, but I have no plans to book any more with X. Constantly charging more and more for less and less is not appealing to me at all. Yes, the lines have their debts. That is their problem - I do not have to let it become mine, nor will I.

None of the options suggested in the thread so far have any appeal to me. For me, it is already on a knife edge - if they are going to reduce the value further of a more and more expensive product, I'd rather just not cruise with them.

3 hours ago, Vagabond Knight said:

What are considered "premium coffees?"  Would it include all of the coffees in Cafe al Bacio that don't contain alcohol, such as typical lattes and cappuccinos? 

 Yes. I think the 'premium coffees' are all those other than the coffee you can get for free at the buffet/MDR.

We had to do tests for our cruises on Celebrity last year. These were rapid antigen tests and we went to our local DAM health. Generally we had the results back by email by the time we got home from the testing centre.

Within 48 hours means that the sample has to be taken within 48 hours (for Celebrity, it means at least 2 days prior to the day of embarkation, not  48 hours from the moment of embarkation). So, a test on Thursday was fine for embarking on Saturday. It is not the time a PCR sample is received by the lab.

Hi all

We're sailing on Virtuosa YC this summer, from Southampton to Iceland/Norway. Our first cruise on this ship, and second on MSC. Our last MSC cruise was a little while ago.

1. What will be the currency on board? Euros? Dollars? GBP? 

2. We gather we get a bottle of spirits in our room (instead of small bottles in the minibar). Is there somewhere we can find the list to choose from? (Or do we need to wait until we get to the room?)

3.  We gather MSC has laundry packages, and we'd like one. So far, can't see this when we look in our account as something to book. Is this something that appears nearer the time?  (We're used to having several bags of laundry included as part of our loyalty programme status on Celebrity)

Thanks in advance.

Jules

Yes, I very much think they're cheapening their product. It has been happening for a while, and now is accelerating. A death by a thousand cuts, it is lots of little things which individually don't really matter, but which in total become irritating. X used to pride itself on 'modern luxury'. Well, it's not that now.

In recent years we've moved to the sweet suite life. But with current pricing, X are pricing themselves out of the market. There's now little difference in price between X and more premium lines, so it is likely in coming years that we will be looking much more seriously at Azamara, Oceania, Silverseas etc. Because if paying that much, and these other lines, with better itineraries, are an option, why stick with X? We get the impression that X are not loyal to their customers, regardless of the loyalty of the customer.

On 1/6/2023 at 5:06 PM, CaroleSS said:

I love my glasses......but yes, they are very delicate and must be hand washed

We have Riedel wine glasses (having been hooked on them by one of these workshops on an early cruise) and we've always washed them in the dishwasher, with no issues.

We've done both - and doing both again this year. 

They are quite different from each other. MSC does the ship within a ship concept much better. The YC lounge is larger than the retreat lounge on S-class ships. We've had good service in both. The food in YC on Preziosa was perhaps not as quite as good as on Celebrity, but it was fine in the YC and we enjoyed it. Perhaps the difference is that outside of the YC, as others have said, the ship is more crowded and rowdy. We vowed we wouldn't sail MSC outside the YC - non YC MSC doesn't compare to non-retreat X.

We've met lovely people on both lines (and that's important to us).

A Deluxe balcony stateroom in YC on Virtuosa is about the same size as a sky suite (but has a shower rather than bath, but also has a walk in wardrobe), and unlike the sky suite, comes with an included minibar and a bottle of spirits and daily newspapers. We will miss the laundry that would come with our Elite+ status. However, MSC YC is MUCH cheaper than the Retreat, so it doesn't matter.  You get premium drinks, wifi and gratuities included in both retreat and YC. We compared a week in the retreat with a fortnight in YC, and MSC was still cheaper - it also has a great itinerary. So, we're sailing MSC YC in the Summer to Iceland and Norway.

I really like Long Island Ice Tea. Never seen it on a menu on X, but discovered last year that they will make them for you.

It seems the strap line for Celebrity Cruises is shifting from "Modern Luxury" to "You probably won't starve".

2 hours ago, Wakepatrol said:

So another words. Nobody will starve to death. Thank goodness 

But, to be fair, "Not starving to death" is not quite the bar we set for ourselves on a cruise.

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

We have posted elsewhere that folks who tend to book the higher priced cabins/suites, might want to explore booking with some of the luxury lines.  Why?  In terms of value they can often be a much better deal not to mention luxury cruising on smaller ships means no queues and higher quality everything.

 

It seems like all the mass market lines (ie. Celebrity, HAL, RCI, etc) have all been doing cut-backs, increased price add-ons, increased booking prices, etc.  Bottom line is that with the mass market lines folks are paying more for less!  This is not surprising with the huge extra debt (taken on during COVID), higher food costs, higher fuel prices, etc).  But with the luxury lines we still see some terrific pricing.  And MSC's Yacht Club still offers a great value (under $500 per person/day) for a luxury experience on a mass market ship.

 

Hank

Totally agree with you, Hank. Indeed, X are pricing themselves out of their own market for the retreat. We love X, but retreat prices have become crazy - so much so that we've booked a 2 week MSC YC cruise this week for about the same price as a 1 week sky suite cruise, and we're actively looking at Azamara, Silversea etc for cruises for 2024+. If the price of a suite in the retreat starts to cost as much as a cruise on a luxury line, it makes sense to try the luxury line.

For our MSC cruise we will likely stay within YC - but the room is same size as a sky suite, there is a YC restaurant (like luminae), lounge  and sundeck - and they are bigger and better appointed.

So very sorry for your loss.

On 1/2/2023 at 4:33 PM, cruisingator2 said:

The new charge is higher than RCI unless RCI raises their RS charge which is currently $7.95 plus the 18% gratuity. The other thing that I don’t like is the smaller martini glasses on X. RCI had the standard glasses and we actually found that RCI had better cocktails and bars than we experienced on the Solstice. Again, RCI may make a change also but right now they haven’t. I know that the cruise lines need cash but there will be no going back once things are back to normal “if that happens”…

YES THIS!! I hate the new martini glasses.

We've cruised to Norway in May before (but not yet on MSC). The weather in Norway is always changeable, and it is sensible to pack layers, including an outer waterproof layer. Expect it to be cold, with snow on the mountain tops. On our 2022 Norway cruise it was bitterly cold - around 1C, with a little snow fall. The scenery, though, is amazing. All 3 of our Norway cruises (Celebrity, NCL, Celebrity) have been from Southampton, and have had a mix of passengers from the UK and USA/Canada. Norway is one of our fav destinations, which is why we're going back again this year.

14 minutes ago, Gordoncruickshank said:

There are still a fair number of cabins available to book in most classes even a couple of suites.

Aha! You are right! It hadn't occurred to me that the sailing would still be open for booking. By my count, 26 Inside, small number oceanview, 46 Veranda/Sunset veranda empty, 2 aqua class, 43 concierge. And a small number of suites.

So, not full at all!

Would be interested to know how full the next cruise (on 29th Sept) is going to be!

hope you are having a great time.

5 hours ago, Alakegirl said:

No, clothes steamers are not allowed.  Here is the statement on the website FAQ

Note - it says nothing about washing machines and tumble dryers.  You'll look a bit odd lugging them up the gangway, though.

On 11/23/2018 at 9:05 PM, vtcruising said:

Date of Cruise:        11th-21st July 2022                                                                                                                                         

 

                                                                                                                                                             

Ship:                      Celebrity Beyond                                                                                                                               

 

                                                                                                                                                             

Cabin #:                   10147                                                                                                                                          

 

                                                                                                                                                             

Deck #:                    10                                                                                                                            

 

                                                                                                                                                            

Cabin Category:      S1 Sky Suite                                                                                                                                                        

 

                                                                                                                                                             

Cabin Location:       Forwards, Starboard side                                                                                                                                         

 

                                                                                                                                                              

Bed Position:          Facing balcony                                                                                                                                         

 

                                                                                                                                                              

Balcony Type:        True balcony, 2 chairs, 1 table.                                                                                                                                          

 

 

Balcony/Window Size:       Floor to ceiling windows,                                                                                                                                            

 

                                                                                                                                                         

Balcony/Window View/Obstruction:           Excellent views, no obstruction                                                                                                             

 

                                                                                                                                                              

Balcony Overhang?:                None                                                                                                                                      

 

                                                                                                                                                            

Magic Carpet Issues?:          None                                                                                                                                          

 

                                                                                                                                                              

Noise Issues?:            None - very quiet                                                                                                                                      

 

                                                                                                                                                              

Wind Issues?:              No                                                                                                                                    

 

                                                                                                                                                              

Connecting Cabin? Where Does it Connect?:       N/A

                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Suite Details:             Well appointed S1 sky suite.                                                                                                                                       

 

                                                                                                                                                              

Advantages/Problems/Comments:           Not far from the forward elevators, so well located to getting to retreat lounge/sundeck.                                                                                                                

 

                                                                                                                                                              

Would You Book It Again?: Yes!

9 minutes ago, Mark_T said:

Sounds like you missed something in Frankfurt, upon arrival on an international flight from a non-Schengen country, you should have been immigration cleared into the Schengen zone.

 

Once that was done there was no further need for immigration until you were leaving the Schengen zone in Munich, which is what you experienced.

Sounds reasonable.  Our arrival and departure gates were side by side (no need to walk anywhere else in the terminal, and no one told us we would need to go through immigration so I guess that's how that happened).

Well, we're back from our first fly-cruise on the Beyond, and it was magnificent.  We noticed something odd - and wonder whether we missed something?!

We flew in to Rome Leonardo da Vinci from Manchester, transiting in Frankfurt.

There was no immigration on leaving the UK, or in Frankfurt (the gate we arrived at and the gate we departed from were side by side).  On landing in Rome we followed the signs from the gate to baggage reclaim (and saw no signs for immigration along the way).  Collected our bags, went through the exit and we were out of the airport!! No immigration! 

On the return trip from Barcelona (via Munich) there was no immigration in Barcelona. Again, no one other than the check in agent asked to see our passports, and that was to issue boarding cards.  In Munich our arrival and departure gates were in different parts of the terminal, and there was passport control in between.  There we did have to show our passports, and the immigration officer seemed surprised/perturbed by the lack of stamps.  (Want to see our residence cards - don't have one!).  In the end he was satisfied when we showed him the flight details for our journey into the EU. He didn't stamp our passports either!

Did we miss something in Frankfurt or Rome?  (If we did I am surprised the flow of the airport allowed us to just walk out of the airport!) Particularly interested in hearing from those who have flown into Rome from the UK recently , but suspect this might also affect people flying in from other countries too.

Well, not so far, because so far we haven't had a fly cruise (all been from Southampton, we're in the UK).  But now I am really worried that we're about to.

I think (whether we get there or not) I have made a terrible mistake, and will learn from it. We are flying on the day on Monday to Rome (from Manchester via Frankfurt, with Lufthansa). At the time of booking I thought we might be being smart.  TA assured us yes, booked with Celebrity and so they get you there. OH was with me when I booked, and didn't stop me either 🙂  And we thought being smart avoiding budget airlines.  And do have a decent transfer window in Frankfurt. And (some) time spare if delayed into Rome.

Of course, when we booked, there were not the issues there are now.  We do at least have early morning and morning flights so that might reduce the risk of cancellation/delay. But we can't change the flights now (and booking new ones would be crazy expensive, and perhaps not with Celebrity), so the flights now are what they are.

Will certainly learn the lesson and fly out a day or two early in future.  Hopefully we will get there (many flights are happening as usual) but I have caused myself unnecessary stress.