phoenix_dream

But if we have a liquor package, we are actually saving them money when we are lounging in our balconies!

Thank you so much for all the detailed info. I really appreciate it!!

Hi. Was reading this, and noticed you were going to be on a ship I was considering - the 9/14 cruise. My hesitations - first, I am susceptible to seasickness. Do you find a lot more motion on a ship this much smaller? The smallest I have ever been on is Celebrity Horizon and I am hesitant to go smaller. I was tempted by this cruise as I love Alaska and much of the cruise will be in calm waters (coast of California could go either way). Second, I am unclear about benefits. As a fellow Zenith (we met last year at one of the CC gatherings🙂) I am concerned about what will not be included that I am used to. Not sure if we could afford one of their suites. Any advice? They seem to have a good sale going on now, for example with champagne, wine, and more, but I have no idea what "more" encompasses and can't find anything on their website. Any thoughts you could convey would be greatly appreciated!

I can tell you why I don't - the motion. I am very susceptible to motion sickness and I have always found the smaller ships (which comprises the vast majority, if not all of luxury lines) to have a lot more motion. The larger ships also have more variety of things to do, although truth be told since I love to relax onboard I would love to sail a luxury line if they were larger.

I have never felt vibrations in that area. I have, however, noticed more motion, specifically more side to side gentle rocking.

It will be interesting. Right now the ships are filled, but future bookings into next year? Maybe not as much. Credit card debt is at an all-time high. But even more important - the delinquency rate on credit card payments is also going up considerably. So can people keep continuing with the attitude of live now as tomorrow is not guaranteed? That's fine if you can afford it. Apparently many people actually can't but are spending wildly anyway. Sorry folks, but if you're looking for that debt to be eliminated by the government I think you will have a very long wait. It has to catch up to them sooner or later. I'm hoping for sooner!

I agree. Remember when news was actually news and not tainted by the opinion of the newscasters so you could form your own opinion? Those were the days. Thank goodness for local news!

You piqued my interest so I checked this out. Unfortunately all the CS are gone. Aqua Sky was still a good price. Then I checked airfare and hotels. Just not willing to pay $700+ for a flight and close to $400 for a decent hotel room. Oh well. This particular Alaska cruise seems to be quite a bit lower than others. I looked at the itinerary and I think that's why. IMHO the times in port, with one exception, are not very ideal at all. Not saying you couldn't enjoy Alaska regardless but since I never eat dinners onshore I don't like to arrive in mid-afternoon, regardless of how late the ship stays.

Whether it is a long walk is relative. If you are mobility challenged, then yes it is a long walk. If you're sitting at the pool or in a lounge and remembered that you forgot something in your cabin, the walk seems very long indeed. Overall I prefer mid-ship cabins for their convenience to everything. But I definitely love S class ships and would not hesitate to sail in a far aft cabin if it was a desirable one - worth the compromise.

It has nothing to do with feeling unappreciated or disrespected. It has to do with taking away comfort. Maybe you're different, but if I am wanting to spend several hours on my balcony, reading and relaxing, I need to put my feet up. I shouldn't have to rely on pulling over that tiny table to rest my legs. And maybe you are right about the disrespected part. They are certainly disrespecting my intelligence by claiming it is due to safety reasons. When I sail in a suite I pay A LOT of money to do so, and one of the reasons is the nice, larger balcony. These changes make it much less desirable and it's taking away one of the main things I enjoy about cruising. I've already significantly cut down on the number of cruises I have booked, and may cut it back even more.

This is one reason we always make note of what a higher level cabin would cost us when we book, so we can avoid this kind of craziness.

I so very, very much prefer S and M class over E class. So much more of a 'traditional' cruise experience. E class is noisy, crowded, bling over comfort. Would never, ever sail in an infinite balcony as I spend literally hours on my balcony relaxing, reading, etc.. I have (and may in the future due to lack of choices) sailed in E class, but will only do so if I can be in a suite. And even then, will spend the majority of the time in the suite areas.

Agree with the answers, with the caveat that there are some excursions that you cannot cancel and get any refunds at all. They are few and far between but tend to be the more expensive ones.

On a cruise I love to sit out on my balcony for hours relaxing, reading, etc.. I am Zenith so already have premium alcohol package so they actually save money when I am in my cabin and not out drinking! I am furious with them for removing the footstools. I am furious with them for replacing nice comfortable reclining chairs with uncomfortable cheap little chairs. I am furious with them for taking away loungers. Safety my you-know-what. I had a stop recently next to the newest Royal floating city. Guess what - there were footstools on many (all??) of the balconies. So they're safe on Royal, which has tons more kids on it, but on Celebrity they are unsafe?? Do they think we are too old and feeble to know how to use them? This is getting absolutely ridiculous. Cabin, and especially Suite prices are through the roof and they keep downgrading the experience with unbelievable "reasons"! Where will it end?

I agree the answer is maybe. I've had a bottle of liquor confiscated, and then broken before returning to us. They gave us some cheap c**p in its place.

Curious - do they always get comped cruises if they spend that much? And what type of cabin - inside, balcony, suite?

I always tip extra at the end for great service. Some people do; others do not - a personal decision. I do not tip the dining room waiters every day. I do give the bartenders or cocktail waiters a tip with every drink. Be advised that in some cases tips are pooled. For example, if you tip your waiter the tip will be shared with others in the dining room (at least for Blu and Luminae - not sure about the main dining room). Sommeliers are usually tipped separately. The tip you give to your room steward will be shared with behind the scenes workers as well.

After reading this thread all I can say is wow! It amazes me how much $$ people are willing to spend to gamble on the ship, where the odds generally are horrendous compared to land casinos. As has been said, there is no "free" cabin of any sort. You are definitely paying for it. That said, if I could gamble $10,000 or so and know for sure I would be offered a Sky suite I would go for it as booking one outright definitely costs more than that (assuming the offer is for a couple - not clear on that point)

I've been on a couple. The advantages are usually some extra events. Also, you will likely find the best live entertainment on these cruises as they want to impress the higher ups. Service will also likely be spectacular - a step up from what is already excellence. We also got a nicer tote bag noting the occasion. Years ago (not happening anymore) we got a little gift of some sort in our cabin every single night.

It is EXTREMELY rare these days. If you are a first timer, there is a slight chance it could happen to you. Anyone else, forget about it, unless you luck into some kind of special circumstance where they ship needs your particular cabin for some reason. It happened quite a bit during early sailings after restart for people who were booked in the quarantine section. Those days are past thank goodness. Once Move Up started, the upgrade fairy went on hiatus never to return. Even in the olden days when it happened with some frequency, it generally only happened to people who were brand new to Celebrity, or nearly so. I've sailed 80+ times since 1992. It has never happened to me.

This is likely exactly the issue. They built these new ships with no helicopter pads - better I guess to have more income producing areas than to prepare for a passenger or crew emergency. Anyway............I'm guess that's the issue.

I don't know the exact itinerary but I can describe my many experiences on Alaska cruises. The only really rough seas we've ever had were crossing the bay of Alaska - I don't think you do that on this cruise? The Inside Passage has always been very calm. Occasionally the seas might be a bit worse than calm heading up/down from Seattle, although honestly we have yet to find that to be the case.

Not sure why you had to shout it, but you are not limited to embarkation day for soft drinks. You can bring them on at any time while in port. I have not cruised extensively outside of US ports or Caribbean, so perhaps a particular port may have a different restriction, but generally speaking you can bring on soft drinks or water any time

Lately, there are many more kids on Celebrity, period, as they are trying to attract a younger crowd. Will definitely be more on shorter cruises.

I do have kids - three of them, now grown into fine young men. I was always a very careful, watchful parent. Actually probably over-diligent. But sometimes stuff happens. If you had kids you would know this. Off the top of my head I can think of three instances where despite "watching kids" if not for a very quick interruption very bad accidents could have happened. So scary I remember them to this day and they were NOT due to negligence or lack of being a caring parent. Parents are human and even with extreme care and careful attention all it takes is literally a split second for things to change. No one, no matter how careful, no matter how caring or diligent, can ever 100% 24/7 every single second of the day ensure no accidents happen. Please don't preach to parents until you have been one.