phoenix_dream

Me too. In fact, we love the potatoes on the ship! Our food is also always hot. We usually eat in Blu or Luminae these days but dined many times in the MDR and rarely had issues

Agree 100%. I dislike much of the Luminae menu and the classics are definitely a good backup on Edge class. I would seriously avoid that class of ship if this were to change. I already will only book suites on those ships as they destroyed my real balcony on other cabins. They make me stick to the often wierd Luminae options only and I'm done with that class.

Been on 65+ cruises and never met the upgrade fairy.

For sure. I couldn’t compare before and after as I hadn’t checked, but when second passenger is 75% off and a sky suite is still around $5000pp on the couple of cruises I checked that’s not my kind of sale! I’ll be patient and keep looking. Fortunately I already have a number of bookings for next year.

Says someone with obviously way more money to play with than I have LOL. For many of us staying in a suite, and especially a higher level suite is a real treat, and also for many a once in a lifetime event for which we really have to stretch our budget.

Just turned Zenith after 30 years cruising and 65+ cruises. I can tell you that certainly for us, sailing in suites is not what got us there! I also think the PUP points, while of some value, really don’t do much to get people from Elite Plus to Zenith as the gap is so very large. When all is said and done I seriously doubt they will ever create a middle level. If anything, I would not be surprised if the required points for Zenith rises even further. Let’s be honest, loyalty is not what counts these days. The push is to get people to book suites, and while it irks me, the bottom line is that it is working. As Celebrity is a business, as long as it works it won’t change. And I don’t think the diminishing of loyalty will change either. Again, let’s be honest. From what I have seen, a large percentage of current Zeniths are ‘of an age’, as am I. When it comes to extras such as photo packages, gambling, expensive shore excursions, etc., for many of us it’s ‘been there; done that’. We just enjoy the cruise and don’t need all the extras. The bigger spenders are the younger people with fewer cruises under their belt, especially those in suites.

We've sailed 65+ times on Celebrity and we have definitely seen familiar faces in fellow travelers over the years.

It's hard to predict what they may do if they can't stop there. You may not even find out before boarding - it all depends on timing and what alternatives they have. We were on the 12 night Summit to New England/Canada when the hurricanes were hitting. We had three ports cancelled, one extra sea day added, and two port calls extended to overnights. We did not find out any of these changes until we were onboard, during the cruise (and at two different days). Granted, our situation was developing as we sailed (lucky us) whereas this may be a little more predictable. But there will be multiple cruise lines adjust itineraries if needed so that complicates things. But as was said, first world problems for sure. We made the best of it and felt bad for the areas impacted.

Glad you got it as OBC but that's not really fair either as its use it or lose it. If they made the mistake you should get it refunded directly or refundable OBC

Been on many cruises since restart, with the most recent being September. Can't answer about the whiskey, but there definitely have been shortages on red wine choices. They were already limited on the premium package IMHO unless you bought a bottle for an upcharge. I think there is a supply shortage. I also think they want you to buy bottles so not sure how hard they are trying to get equal quality wines to those you should be getting. Very frustrating. In Luminae they worked pretty hard to give us appropriate substitutes (for example, letting us drink a wine by the glass for no charge which normally would be a per bottle charge). In Blu not so much.

I think that what might be done on a TA, with no reasonable access to emergency health care, will certainly be different than what happens on other cruises where ports are within a days sailing, if that. No matter how some people feel, Covid is not like a simple cold for everyone. Anyone coming down with any illness or medical condition that potentially could result in the need for emergency hospitalization would likely have been disembarked as well.

Celebrity is definitely generally not a party ship, but for a 3 day cruise when colleges aren't in session due to the holidays, be prepared for anything! If it were me I would just enjoy Florida, and I say that as a very loyal Celebrity cruiser who loves their product.

While staying on the same ship is easier, there is something to be said for jumping ship so you can experience an Edge class ship - they are very, very different than other Celebrity ships IMHO. Some of the differences I love and others not so much. Edge class definitely has a very big WOW factor, and they tend to get the best entertainment options. It's not really that hard to change. We did something similar last December - Apex to Reflection. Other than the small hassle of packing and unpacking again, the biggest issue (and it was not that big a deal) was that it was confusing trying to find the shuttle bus which would take us from one pier to the other (this was in Fort Lauderdale). No one seemed to know where to tell us to go. We finally found someone who could direct us to the bus. When the bus parked at the new pier, we were unable to enter the boarding area until boarding started for everyone. So we were all left standing outside until then. Ok if the weather is nice I guess and you don't have to use the facilities unless you like Portapotties. I would have thought Celebrity could have come up with a better idea of how to handle these side to side cruises as they are not all that uncommon. So the best plan is to stay on the ship until you have to leave, or the latest time you can to catch the shuttle bus. But at the end of the day, I certainly wouldn't let that stop me from doing it again. As far as staying on the same ship instead - have done that many times as well. But we are older and more into just relaxing and chilling than caring about activities onboard. If you are very into the shows, for example, the production ones will be the same on each cruise. The guest entertainers may or may not. The lounge entertainers often stay, but that varies. The menu is exactly the same, but there is so much variety that for me that is not a big deal. And there is nothing like relaxing on the last night of the first leg while most everyone else is thinking about packing and flights home!

I agree, it should be noted somewhere on the Move Up information pages

OMG stop! Just stop! I don't know if I can take more of these kinds of posts. We've gone from complaining about dress codes, and chair hogs, and whatever else and now we're down to berating the green beans. Where does it end?!?!?!

I don't know why you think multipliers based on status are unfair (I think that's what you are saying?). It is a perk that comes with loyalty and people who have spent alot of time and money with Celebrity. Why shouldn't they have this perk? As long as it is known upfront to everyone that it is the process, I think it is fair. You can bid or not bid; your choice. In the past, it was the higher level CC members who got offers to upgrade, in fact sometimes as a freebee. At least this process allows everyone, at every level, to bid. And when all is said and done, the multipliers are so small, even at Zenith level, as to really make almost no difference at all. I really don't think an extra $10 or $15 added to my bid is going to be what pushes me into the win, although of course on a rare occasion that will be the case.

I have never heard of any loyalty benefits being denied because of not booking directly with Celebrity. Could you please give us some specifics?

I think that's a good guess, although apparently times are different based on where you live. In my area the Below Deck program on Bravo at that time is a repeat. The first new show appears to be very early in the morning the next day I think it is, at 2:30 am! Needless to say I am recording it.

If you're in an inside cabin and get quarantined for 5+ days then how would you feel about them?

Have you tried it? I thought it was ridiculous. Then I tried it once and I am hooked! Try it once if you haven't and then give it up if you don't like it.

One thing I learned the hard way is if you have really bad reception in your cabin, you can report it to the IT guys and they can put a booster (or whatever the technical term is) in your cabin. They don't do this without a lot of convincing, so plead your case if need be. We had to do it once, and it significantly improved our reception. It is very true that some cabins are closer to the "whatever the term is" technical thingies and get better reception than others.

Sometimes you can't win for losin' on these boards as the saying goes. Describe an issue or a problem and you are a complainer who is never satisfied. Defend Celebrity and you get called a Celebrity cheerleader.

I guess it doesn't hurt to be extra careful, but have you ever heard of this happening?

Thank you so much for the detailed info. He is renting a scooter and unfortunately won’t have a wheelchair with him. He can walk short distances with a walker but has diabetic neuropathy in his feet so is afraid to walk too far so his strength has deteriorated. I’ll check out the handicapped tours and see what his thoughts are. Thanks again

First time traveling with a relative who needs to use a scooter. I understand San Juan might be very difficult to get around due to hills and cobblestone streets? I think St. Kitts has a nice little shopping area we can go to. I don't recall the port at Tortola - can anyone help with that? Secondly, are there taxi services or tour companies on these islands who could handle a disabled person using a scooter? He's never been to any of these islands and it would be nice if he could see them. The cruise line (Celebrity) has a very, very limited number of tours with accessibility.