phoenix_dream

So the rumor, as expected, seems to be confirmed as reported by several sources. To say this upsets me is the understatement of the year. If they changed it for sailings from "x" date going forward and allowed refundable deposits that's one thing. But to suddenly pull a promised perk with no notice and no explanation is outrageous. The Celebrity I've known and loved for 30+ years no longer exists. Time to seriously check out other lines.

So theoretically we should get a refund for part of our cruise price paid. That will happen round about the same time I win the current 1 billion MegaMillions lottery.

Don't mean to be rude here, but I couldn't stop laughing at your idea that they could or would start dropping the prices of Sky or Celebrity suites. The CEO has stated he wants to charge more and more and more (I'm paraphrasing). No prices will drop unless (or until) people stop booking. I'm hoping when they start getting their credit card bills in and start needing to pay back their student loans (in the US) that maybe some normalcy will return to pricing.

Many people feel that it is. I confess I am not one of them. But yes, they had bingo for many, many years.

OMG that is beyond belief. I can't even imagine paying what for many is a full years salary on any cruise! If I didn't recognize you as a loyal and credible poster I would think you were making this up!

And none of these laws apply to foreign owned cruise lines.

I would recommend Royal or Disney. Would definitely have one room - a suite if they can afford it, or some type of family cabin considering the ages.

Exactly. I sailed on a B2B Royal Suite earlier this year that I had booked probably a year ago. Our first, and the way things are going will be our last RS. For next year, I am literally paying the same price for Aqua Class. I do not exaggerate. Unbelievable! And if they did decide to Royalize some more and only have them for upper level suites that may be the final straw for me and Celebrity after close to 80 cruises. Considering the extremely high prices for all levels of suites (and astronomical for the higher level ones) if they start cutting perks that's completely unacceptable. I know ships are sailing full right now but this bubble will burst sooner or later. I'm frankly surprised it already hasn't. Disney is already seeing some of the pushback (for price and other reasons). But soon people will be starting to pay real attention to their credit card bills (highest debt in US history) and many will need to start repaying their student loans, so we'll see what happens.

We did a number of Retreat sailings last year and early this year, even once in a Royal Suite. Now, looking at the prices, I can't bring myself to book anything higher than Aqua, and even that is really high due to all included, which frustrates me as I already get most of those perks all included at the Zenith level so I am in essence paying for a perk I don't need. I know, poor me and all that, but it is very frustrating. As a senior I don't know how many more years I will be able to enjoy the traveling I do now, and that also makes it frustrating when the ships are filling up with so many younger folks these days (which I know delights Celebrity). And that is not a slam at younger people, it is what it is, but I don't think many non-seniors realize how much this impacts us, especially the older seniors. Our traveling days are limited (how much we don't know) and we are facing such high prices traveling, as well as crowds everywhere. So much for the retirement we dreamed about.

I know - I so miss the old QSine. I did La Petit once when I was lucky enough to score a Royal Suite because speciatlies are included and it was ok, but definitely a one and done for me! I used to eat at Qsine at least once per cruise before they did away with it.

It would be great to hear how many other Blue Chip cruisers feel the same way. Celebrity claims they were asked to do this by their casino players. Obviously Blue Chip cruisers are the most loyal casino players. Would love to hear if anyone who is a higher level Blue Chip cruiser had ever expressed that desire to Celebrity?

Exactly. Lots of people post comments about the wonderful upgrades, as well as move up wins, they got last year or in 2021. Those were very, very different times. No one should get their hopes up that those kind of wins will continue happening now that ships are sailing at or near capacity (and apparently in some case, even over capacity!). Of course Move-up bids can still work, and maybe even near minimum for lower level cabins, but in the majority of cases there will be no free upgrades and moving up to a higher grade cabin (AQ, CC or above) will require a lot more than minimum on most sailings.

Following. There have been a number of posts about this type of thing but I confess I get very confused with the instructions. If the answer is yes, I hope someone can be very specific about how to do it!

Celebrity does have a chat feature that shows up sometimes but is not always there

They'll keep upping prices until they reach a tipping point where people stop buying. I hope it comes sooner rather than later!!

Thank you.

We have a couple of Chase cards that offer a certain amount of travel insurance. Don't recall the specifics. One is the United Club Card (which costs quite a bit, but we travel often so make good use of the United Club and free baggage), and sorry, I don't recall the other but it is a Chase card.

Are there any car rental companies near the port, or who will deliver to the port? We are in town until 11:00 pm so thinking renting a car for the day would be a nice idea. But I am not seeing any close by. Does anyone have any experience renting a car in San Diego?

We recently sent an email to the Captains Club email address - and got a response that it will take them 30 days to get back to us! Just be forewarned. Despite the aggravation of waiting on hold, if this is important you may want to call instead.

Technically you are not allowed to switch once assigned. Some have reported being able to do so by calling, but you can't count on it.

That's not the point of the question. Some people prefer to sail on more adult cruises. Kids are kids and even well-behaved ones result in a different vibe on the ship. You can't expect them to act like mini-adults, even if they are behaving well. I know, some adults cause more issues than any kids. Again, not the point. And I am not anti-kid. I have three, and I sailed with them as youngsters as well.

I can tell you one reason - they can't fill the ships. Cruised on the LA/Mexico cruise recently and they were giving away tons of free cabins through Blue Chip. On my upcoming two coastal cruises the lower category cabins were less than $50pp per night. Suites of course were full and expensive :(. I don't get it - those cruises are some of my favorites. But I guess people who fly to the US for warmth think of sailing out of Florida first, and California and nearby folks apparently are not all that interested. I guess because they don't have to drive far to experience the ports, or similar ports.

Even with my poor sea legs, I've sailed more than 75 times! I always prefer mid-ship but will pick any location if need be. A lot depends on lsailing ocation as, as you know being experienced, different locations trend towards different sea conditions, as does time of year Also, if I have a lot of sea days I definitely prefer mid-ship so I don't have to worry about it. If there are a lot of days in port it limits the chances of lots of time spent rockin and rollin.

My understanding is that you stick with the night's menu, unless you have dietary restrictions in which case you need to notify them ahead of time

I vote for Equinox for several reasons. First, she is my favorite Celebrity ship! They are also close enough in size and design that I would go for one extra day. I personally couldn't care less about either the Lawn Club Grill or the glass blowing so that is a wash for me. If in Aqua Class, be aware that there are more AQ cabins on Reflection but the Blu dining room is the same size so it feels more crowded than the one on Equinox. But I would be happy on either. In fact I am sailing Reflection in November and Equinox in January!