phoenix_dream

I've cruises over 80 times, with more than 70 on Celebrity, including a b2b on Equinox in January of this year. Out of all those cruises, we only had that issue (brown water) once, on a Royal ship years ago. They also told us it was harmless but it was disgusting to look at and I didn't want to drink it. Back then we got a small OBC. As to the toilets, I believe the problems are usually caused by the passengers, flushing down things that should not be flushed. Can happen on any ship. People flush things like tissues and feminine products and it clogs the lines. I've even read on these boards of people bringing their own toilet paper onboard because they don't like the ship's paper. Hello, people, it's specially designed to disintegrate easily so it doesn't block the lines!! If everyone would cooperate the toilet flushing problems would happen much less frequently.

I don't get your point. Some people prefer to sail without kids, so they were asking if Celebrity offers any adults only cruises. No more; no less. Not complaining about kids, not hating kids or anything like that. A simple question deserving only a simple answer, not continued lectures about why it apparently is wrong to even ask that question. This whole thread has turned, unnecessarily and unfortunately, into a complaining thread about people who prefer to sail with only adults.

Wow. Nice response.

Free laundry matters if doing 21+ days of cruising and 3 days before like I often do. And have you priced the premium liquor package and stream internet lately? We are talking a lot of $$$. Far more than "a drink or two".

Why wow? Many people love kids, but prefer not to sail with them.

I always bring tests with me.

Unfortunately there are not always plenty of balcony ships in certain areas if you want to stick with Celebrity. There continues to be so much discussion about this because it is sooooo very frustrating for many of us long time cruisers who worked for years to build status on Celebrity only to have them drastically change one of our favorite parts of the ship on all new ships. And not just partially, but 95% of the non-suite cabins if not more. Now I have the choice- pay lots of $$ for a suite, give up one of my favorite things (a nice balcony), or sail on another line with zero of the benefits I've waited 30 years to get.

When's the last time you sailed? For awhile after restart they had supply issues, but in our cruises within the past year (and there were many) that has never been an issue. Granted, I think their selections, for example of premium package red wine, are very limited but we haven't had any supply issues in over a year. I do think kids would prefer Royal over Celebrity hands down. They see the commercials on tv all the time and they board Celebrity and wonder where the water slides and rock climbing walls are. That said, they do have great kids programs and kids still can have a good time. They are definitely marketing towards the 30-40ish year olds with money to spend and often those folks want to travel as a family. So like it or not, they have to provide a decent experience for kids to make that happen. I've seen a lot of kids on my recent cruises (meaning a lot compared to the Celebrity of old). I think more and more families are cruising these days and they need to accommodate that. And I actually disagree that they want older cruisers. I am one of those and I don't feel wanted at all. Why? The marketing is all geared towards younger people. The new ships are designed for younger people. The benefits of highest level Captains Club are deteriorating. The prices are exorbitant now which drastically impacts those of us who want to cruise multiple times a year. I am a very loyal Celebrity cruiser and will continue to sail when I can afford it as I love the onboard experience. But, for example, this year I am cruising 8 times as I have done the last few years. Next year I have 2 cruises booked because prices are so high.

I've only seen Mass held on Easter Sunday (granted, I never sailed on Christmas or any other Catholic holiday so not sure about those)

I think these words alone make the intent of the insult pretty clear: Eating as much fried this or that as physically possible all while barely able to stand,

She's in great shape. We sailed her in January of this year.

I feel for people who are impacted on upcoming cruises, and I am frankly amazed at what Royal is offering, especially for cruises quite a ways off. Years ago we had a cruise cancelled by Celebrity less than 6 months prior to sailing. We were offered $100 pp OBC and the ability to switch to another cruise of a similar 7 day itinerary. Unfortunately it was during Spring Break and none of the other options were during that time and we had a school kid with us, so we had to just get a full refund instead. Why was it cancelled? Charted by a nudist group. I kid you not. This happens more often than you think (the chartering I mean). For people booked a year ahead of time or more, I guess I am shocked at what people expect in the way of compensation. Disappointing? Yes of course. But realistically if we're talking over a year away there is lots of opportunity to make other plans. And as to airlines, most allow one change right now with no change fee. Granted, it would have to be to the same place, but at least it's an option to book on another line or do a land tour. I know these options are not available for everyone.

Easy to say, but the elevation in prices would be substantial. The way I see it these days cruising is ridiculously expensive right now anyway. I can't imagine what the fares would need to be if they were required, for example, to follow US employment and other related laws.

Agree about the wifi and using airplane mode. Very important to avoid huge cell phone bills. As to luggage it varies widely. Are you in a suite? If so, you will likely get the luggage pretty quickly. If not, you just never know. Depends on the port and also how full the ship is. We've gotten it as soon as an hour or so, and then sometimes not until several hours later. You almost always get it before dinner/cocktail time, but occasionally I've read about it coming even later. If it's getting close to dinner time and you still don't have yours, I suggest asking your room steward to see if they can track it down for you. Please don't bug them about it too early as they are extremely busy on embarkation day delivering luggage and stopping by to meet all of the cabins they support.

On our recent cruises no masks (Caribbean and West Coast US). At the time the crew coming onboard were required to wear them for a period of time. Want to say 2 weeks but I could be wrong about the length of time.

Depends what it is. For pastas in particular, I'm sure there are big pans of the food sitting in the kitchens and they just can take the portions they need. For example, they don't make up lasagna to order as that would take too long. I'm sure they have a pan of it they cut as needed.

Thank you for all the weather detail. I was turning green even reading your review. I've always wondered how I would handle a TA as I am prone to seasickness in rough seas, usually manageable with meds and wristbands unless it gets really bad. I've managed some crossings to the ABC's in the Caribbean that were pretty nasty, but those only lasted one day. Same for a Gulf of Mexico sailing many years ago - we got close to 30', pitching and rolling that time - ugh!! But again, only one day. I don't think I will ever want to chance six days at sea with potential for waves as high as they got on your cruise. I'll stick with cruising for sure (over 80 so far, mostly on Celebrity), but no TA's in my future!

Too early to know, but historically Royal has not been willing to share their specially built spots with Celebrity ships.

I have sailed in both and loved them both. I actually keep notes on my past sailings for future booking purposes and state that I definitely would sail them again. I had a note that 1603 balcony seemed larger, but perhaps that one is taken. They are forward facing so they could be a bit windy when sailing. You might also hear some minor noise from above when the band is playing, but nothing that would prevent me from booking again. These are my favorite AQ cabins on S class.

yes, still canned

Truthfully it was a little bit ridiculous. We had done this before in a different city and it was quick and easy. In San Francisco we had to exit the ship, go around and around on a long walk through the customs area, and then a long walk back and to add insult to injury (ok, that's exaggerating a little) we even had to go through security screening again! Why I don't know. Was it the end of the world? Of course not. But way more complicated than it needed to be? In my opinion yes. We were in a suite so we had an early time assigned. Not sure how long it took to clear the whole ship. We were given a star sticker on our seapass card and once you had that you were able to disembark.

I just wish they had built the E class ships with a mix of regular and infinite balconies - that way everyone could be happy. But in order to get a balcony you have to pay half your mortgage to get a suite or SV these days. I think the fact that all the suites have regular balconies speaks volumes about them being preferred. If Celebrity thought they were so wonderful, why wouldn't they use them for their suites?

For me, a young at heart senior, I would definitely pick Solstice. So many reasons. First, cruises from Vancouver have the best itineraries to Alaska. I don't think it is any more of a hassle than sailing out of Seattle, although prices for hotels a night or two before can be more expensive. Edge class ships do not have regular balconies except in suites or sunset verandas, which is very important to me. I have found Edge class ships not as comfortable, and the demographic on the four cruises I've been on E class has definitely been younger, although there were people of all ages. Solstice also has the nice Sky Lounge at the front of the ship which is wonderful for viewing Alaska scenery. Edge class has no such venue except outside decks for suite passengers. I used to love Seattle, but honestly the last time we sailed out of there (granted, awhile ago soon after restart so it may be better now) the city was not doing well. We stayed near the Space Needle area and I just didn't feel very safe. Lots of empty streets and homeless. Not many restaurants open (again, may be better by now). There are certainly areas in Vancouver I would avoid but overall I would much prefer sailing out of there.

I'm not sure what you mean about Celebrity weathering Covid the best, and I think I answered your question above.

Almost all cruises I have sailed on Celebrity (70+) have two shows in the main theater each night - generally at 7 and 9 but that can vary. Occasionally for various reasons there has only been one show. That situation has primarily been when the ship is in port late, in port overnight, or during the early days of restart when the performers often came down with Covid and needed to be quarantined. But even in those situations there might be two shows - it really varied.