phoenix_dream

Wow - this is amazing and concerning all at the same time. Makes me fear for the future of the M class ships, which I love. I also have concerns about the continual crowding of many of the ports, which has caused some to completely eliminate cruise ships stops as of late. As it is there are some so crowded you can barely walk around them, especially when one of the monster, floating resorts are docked there with you. Sometimes progress is good. I guess we'll have to wait and see if all these new ships bring welcome changes, or more port restrictions and crowds. It would be nice if it brought some prices down for sure!

For reasons that have been explained, they could not handle it when you disembarked. Once it has been paid for, however, you should be sent the link. I don't think they promise to send it immediately though. You mention contacting Celebrity daily by phone, emailing, etc.. What you didn't tell us is what they said to you when you contacted them? You don't say what day you disembarked, just when you sailed, so it's not clear how many days have passed since they were paid for? When you contacted them did they give you an expected timeframe? I'm not sure of the promised timeframes in these situations. If you got a timeframe, has it passed and by how long? Your best bet is to use the email given above. Ranting here doesn't reach Celebrity, as I don't think they read these boards anymore. I hope your photos get sent to you and are all you hoped for.

I agree with the first part, but I personally like to have a bar of soap for cleansing my face rather than using body wash. I don't care what they have at the sink, but I want a bar of soap for the shower. I will bring my own if need be, but it's nice to have the option.

The Bigelow products.

I don't necessarily agree. I completely understand it's function, purpose and efficiency. And I don't like it. It has nothing to do with being a new concept or that it is different. I spend lots of time sitting on my balcony and relaxing when I cruise (which is often - 6-10 per year since retirement). I cannot get that same experience in an IV cabin. So unless I can afford a suite I don't sail that class. For those who cruise differently, and don't use their balcony much, it could be a nice change. But my point is that not everyone who dislikes it doesn't understand it. We have good, solid reasons for not liking it. I also don't happen to prefer the design or ambiance on E class ships overall, but that is a personal preference as well. I will still sail them as I love Celebrity overall, but they are not my first choice for sure. Sorry for the rant, but I get tired of people implying that the reason I don't like something new is because I can't handle something new, or don't understand change. I am an intelligent person who has the right to have my own likes, dislikes, and opinions overall. There are many new things Celebrity has done over the years that I am a big fan of. IV's are not one of them.

On this class of ship the balcony cabins are all the same size so that is not a factor. I personally would not pay much extra for Concierge, and in fact would only pay a little extra if I were able to secure one of the so-called hump cabins. Those are my favorite locations. Unlike some above, we love Blu and that is why when we can't afford a suite (which is most of the time lately) we always book Aqua Class. They also have some hump cabin locations, which are considered "Prime" Aqua Class these days and cost a little extra. If you are spa people, that perk with Aqua Class is nice also although we don't make good use of it. We book it primarily for Blu.

Not trying to be rude here, honestly, but FYI the city is El Segundo, not El Segunda. We stayed at the Doubletree San Pedro. They have a free shuttle to the cruise port, which as has been said is in San Pedro, not Los Angeles.

Thank you. To confirm, this was Bonaire Cruisers?

I would answer differently depending on how it was pre-Covid and how it is now. Used to be at that time very few children. However, this past year we cruised in January and February into early March on several ships, and I could not believe the amount of children, including many of school age, onboard regardless of whether school was in session or not. Are their parents just taking them out of school? Are they homeschooling them from the ship? I honestly was very surprised. The most we saw was on Apex, which at 7 nights was a couple nights shorter than our other cruises. I think the newer ships are attracting more young people with kids as management hopes they are. Don't get me wrong, it's not like there were tons of kids - just way more than I am used to having sailed that time of year for 30ish years. And this is not a judgement - just an observation.

I'm following this thread as we are on the same cruise early next year. I have a question about the carts. Their website says they will deliver the cart to the port for people with disabilities. But when I messaged them, they said what you are talking about, that the non-disabled person had to go get the cart and bring it back. Do you know if they had the option to have the cart delivered to the port or is their website promising something they can't deliver?

There is no one correct answer to this question. It really depends on how the bookings are going on a particular cruise. Often the first day discounts are better than standard pre-trip discounts but you are taking a chance on availability if you wait.

Yes, they still offer the Classics menu in Luminae, including the french onion soup. Don't remember seeing prime rib on the menu. They will try to prepare requested dishes if notified the day before, depending what those dishes are. For example, we had no issue getting filet mignon if requested the day before. We also were able to get items off the main dining room menu, if requested the day before (note - we did not ask for these things daily - just if there was no menu item we liked). Also note - these answers are as of now. There's no promise that Celebrity won't continue to delete menu items like they're testing on Equinox, although even those don't apply to Luminae..........so far.

As one of those who does not like the change, I can tell you my reasoning. Not everyone will agree of course and that's fine. I don't intend to debate it; just want to share my view. First of all, every cruise line has a different vibe to it. Celebrity has always been a bit more classy and laid back than Royal Caribbean, which in my opinion doesn't track with a stop at an island amusement park (which is how I view it). Celebrity has also been more of an adult cruise line - don't get me wrong there is nothing wrong with having some kids onboard - I sailed X with my son as a child. But it is not designed with a whole bundle of activities like Royal ships. I am concerned this change will bring a lot more families with young children onboard and overall the ship is not designed for large groups of kids. It just isn't, nor was it meant to be. And finally and probably most important, this is yet another move that seems to follow/mimic Royal - the latest before this being the attempt at menu deterioration and up-pricing for the better food options. I liked the idea of having a choice - a certain vibe on Royal and a different vibe on Celebrity. My favorite was obviously Celebrity. I don't want it to turn into Royal 2.0 but it seems to be trending in that direction. Makes me concerned about what's next. For the first time in literally 30 years I am considering other options (for these and other reasons, like pricing).

Interesting that if the cabins were trashed so badly that information never made it to Cruise Critic where it would normally generate quite a bit of conversation. Or am I not remembering a thread? Or was it just one or two cabins?

I can tell you how I define it. Suite prices for the cruises we considered are literally double what we paid last year for similar cruises. But they keep filling them so it won't change unless that does.

But consider that if you’re letting your door slam in retribution you are also disturbing your neighbors on the other side, right? And across the hall if there are cabins there.

I agree it is all about the $$ as it is with all businesses. But I think that translates directly to age and status. The younger crowd are the ones (more often these days) paying the prices of the expensive suites, buying photo packages, buying shore excursions, etc.. Those of us older and higher level CC status have mostly been there; done that and don't spend as much onboard. Not all of course - some got to Zenith or Elite Plus fairly quickly by sailing in high level suites for example. But I don't think that describes the majority. So I think at the end of the day we are saying the same thing - I just maybe didn't explain myself well. Bottom line - it is the bottom line that matters.

That's a good point. At the risk of sounding like the boomer than I am, it seems that today's younger crowd seems to enjoy a much more casual experience and (I'll really annoy some here) doesn't seem to care as much about following rules as those of us older folks do (or at least a large majority of us). To me it's a matter of respect. But not everyone thinks the same way I do.

Here's a quote from their website. I don't have personal experience but it seems like it would be no problem: Also this it a great solution for people with mobility problems or wheelchair users to get around the island. You can strap your wheel chair on the golf cart.

If "more included amenities" is something that's important to you, then E class ships are definitely the way to go. They have beautiful Retreat decks and Retreat Lounges designed specifically for suites rather than converted from Michael's Club. That said, overall I much prefer M or S class ships to E class. They are much more comfortable to me, and often much less crowded. We sailed a B2B on Connie last year in a sky suite. The room was spacious, as was the balcony which we loved. The furnishings were older, although in some ways I find them more comfortable. Two particular downsides - the tv was old, small, and did not even have online interaction like S or especially E class. No movies whatsoever (not sure if it was just our cabin or all cabins). The bathtub/shower combination was a mess - my 6'3" husband could not even stand up straight in the shower. And the bathroom was much smaller and less nice than the one we had on Apex. All that said, for that kind of money difference I would have no hesitation picking Connie over Beyond. In fact, perhaps you can consider going with Connie in a little higher level suite, keeping in mind as others have said that if you have unlimited specialty dining the options are much fewer on M class.

I think the issue about caring is that those of us at the highest level Captains Club (Zenith or high Elite Plus) are not generally in their desired demographic. They want the younger crowd, the ones who are willing to splurge on high suite prices, buy photo packages, pay for shore excursions, gamble, etc.. Many of us in the higher levels are of an age that we don't do that much anymore. I know this is of course not true for everyone, but I think it describes a large percentage of Zenith and high level Elite Plus passengers.

I sailed Equinox on a B2B this past January. Had a wonderful experience. Full disclosure - I was in Luminae so cannot honestly comment about the food in the MDR, although we did order off that menu several times and had no issues. This was, granted, before the very recent cut-backs. As to dress - I have to say I did not see any of what you are talking about. I am NOT saying you are incorrect in what you saw - just maybe reassuring you that this is not usually the case and certainly was not like that in January. It's interesting (and discouraging) that it could have changed so much so fast.

All of this math talk made my head hurt 🙂 but it got me to wondering how my beginning cruise prices compare to todays. In the early 2000's we began sailing Celebrity. We were paying in the neighborhood of $1200 for an outside cabin on a 7 day Caribbean cruise. In those days there were no balconies on ships like Horizon so other than suites outside cabins were it. No perks were included. In today's dollars, that converts to somewhere in the neighborhood of $2000. I just checked a 7 night outside cabin on Apex in February. The price for that cabin would be approximately what I paid over 20 years ago. Now some of the niceties we enjoyed then are gone (dessert tray in MDR, champagne on arrival, etc..) But it was interesting that I could get the same type of cabin, on one of the newer ships, for the same cost as 20 years ago. Of course, the really high prices these days are in suites and CC and AQ so the comparison doesn't apply across the board. But it was interesting to compare.

Yes, I agree, but I think that is how they determine the starting bid.

I think some of it is very clear, as actual menus have been posted (including on FB pages). There are still questions of course, but some of the changes are quite clear.