mac_tlc

Here is the dress descriptions from the Cruise Compass: Day 1- Casual Day 2- Formal Day 3- White Casual Day 4- Caribbean Day 5- Casual Day 6- Dress your Best Day 7- Caribbean Day 8- Dress to Impress Day 9- Casual Day 6 and 8 seemed to mean turn your baseball cap around 🙄. mac_tlc

That has been our experience as well in all of our SS cruises. How can they charge for a water or beer that happens to be in the minibar when I have the Premium drink package? One of the first thing all of our butlers asked is what we want in the fridge. mac_tlc

We were on Beyond and then Apex too. Sky Suite. We had $1,400 OBC. I thought they were wrong by not price protecting Beyond price, but the decision on Apex is even worse since it’s basically a complete cancellation and restart. They at least could have moved us to new Apex TA, but they want to reset the pricing and force them all up. I just can’t bring myself to book another one right now with X. I am seriously looking at Oceania Vista TA on 11/20/24. At first glance, a Concierge Level Verandah is less than the Sky Suite and a Penthouse Suite is just a bit more. Oh, it’s also 15 days which is three days longer than Apex was. My only hesitation is it’s over Thanksgiving —- but so is the Silohouette option. mac_tlc

I agree. We have a house in Lake Nona and 528 is the straightest highway in FL😂. Its 25 miles dead due east before you have to move the steering wheel, unless you happen to be weaving through traffic at 75mph. Easy drive, if no accidents or smoke. mac_tlc

Our goto in Costa Maya is Maya Chan. Only about 60 people. It's an "E" ticket cab ride but that is part of the fun ! It's either that or stay on the ship. mac_tlc

We have had lunch at Grills or Fishlips, then go to Jetty Park to watch the ships go by so we dont miss any of them. mac_tlc

Yup, saw that. We are most likely taking our $200 deposit back and moving on to some other cruise line. Tired of them cheapening the brand with the cutbacks and screwing the customer every time they change an itinerary. Two TA’s cancelled in six weeks, with one of them being a cruise they offered as an option for the first cancelled one. Time to move on. Before the executive office even responded to my second email, they screwed everyone again with the Apex TA fiasco. They wanted a good time to call me. I said don’t bother, your policies are anti-consumer and I am moving on. Too bad all the PH cabins are taken on the Oceania Vista TA’s in 2024 and 2025. mac_tlc

The money that is lost is now having to find a replacement, if you choose to. Time is the enemy and prices are higher, especially if you booked several months ago. mac_tlc

It’s irrelevant how old the ship is now— they aren’t doing the inspections now. Nowhere did it say they were doing routine inspections on a 3 year old ship. mac_tlc

Exactly. I’m sure it entered into their thinking. So my plan is to not rebook with them but go elsewhere. Viking, Oceania and MSC are on our radar now, for different reasons. mac_tlc

I did notice a few weeks missing from your list, maybe those are the CoCo Cay ones. I agree that CoCo Cay is driving this and other decisions. I think it is becoming obvious where Celebrity wants to position itself. mac_tlc

Unless I misread the post on the other thread, the Equinox itineraries from Port Canaveral do not go to CoCo Cay. Which is surprising. mac_tlc

Apex came out in Spring 2020. 2025 would be 5 years. mac_tlc

I did receive an email for the cancelled Apex TA on 11/9/24: ABOUT YOUR UPCOMING TRAVELS Dear Guest, At Celebrity Cruises, we are passionate about providing award-winning vacation experiences. With this goal in mind, and in accordance with global ship safety guidelines, Celebrity Cruises will be revising Celebrity Apex’s season schedule to include drydock for routine inspection in 2025, instead of 2024 as originally scheduled. As a result of this rescheduling, select Celebrity Apex sailings scheduled to embark November 9 & 21, 2024, and March 8, 2025 through April 26, 2025, will be cancelled. For any payments made toward your sailing, you will automatically receive a 100% refund to your original method of payment. No action is required on your part to receive this refund, which you should see reflected within 30 days after cancellation (cruise taxes and fees will be refunded separately). Please note, any reservation paid with Future Cruise Credit will not be eligible for a cash refund; however, your Future Cruise Credit will be reinstated. If you have pre-booked any shore excursions, beverage, internet, specialty dining, or other onboard packages through Celebrity Cruise Planner, you will be refunded in full to your original method of payment. Guests with hotel reservations booked through Flights by Celebrity will be refunded automatically (you will not need to call in to initiate the process). Guests with independent accommodations or excursions should contact their tour operators directly to make all required modifications. As we never wish to complicate your vacation planning, we sincerely appreciate your understanding. In the hopes that you’ll discover an alternative bucket-list vacation with Celebrity Cruises, we are happy to offer you $200 onboard credit per stateroom, $400 onboard credit for Retreat accommodations, to be redeemed on a future cruise. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Celebrity Cruises at 1-844-418-6824 in North America or (316) 554-5961 worldwide. We look forward to welcoming you aboard soon for an amazing Celebrity Cruises vacation.

So first I had the Beyond 11/1/24 TA cancelled with no price protection, then I moved to 11/9/24 Apex TA, now that is cancelled with no options to move to any other cruise, not even the soon-to-be-announced new Apex TA. I am racking up the OBC, though 🙄 Didn’t take them long to figure out how to get two more ships to go to CoCoCay. I am intrigued by the Port Canaveral deployment. mac_tlc

I got you beat! I’m 2172 away ! 😂😂. mac_tlc

Our two prior family cruises in 2022 and 2021 were Star class, but the prices for this year were ridiculous. I’m someways, this year was better because everyone has their own room and space — although last year in the 4-bedroom Villa Suite was spectacular in every way. We are on Ascent in January, I’ll probably do a LIVE from that one too. mac_tlc

We did find the Diamond lounge a welcome respite from the crowds. Never crowded when we went in —- and the coffee machine was working every time we went in! mac_tlc

On Oasis, while there is a "pool" in the Solarium, it is very small and on sea days is always packed. Its more like a stand-up pool, no opportunity to "swim" at all. The Solarium is also very HOT if you are on a Bahamas/Caribbean itinerary. If you get there early on a sea day you can find a lounger. On Radiance and Freedom class vessels, the pool actually is one. I'm sure lots of folks like it, but it has no attraction for us. On Harmony, they just skipped the stand-up pool altogether. On Symphony they added one back that is smaller than Oasis. The Celebrity E class ships have a wonderful adult Solarium. Enclosed, with a larger pool. Photo below:

Thanks @dbancroft for adding your experiences. With 6700 on board, there are quite a few and it’s good to hear from others. We did not get off in Labadee and unfortunately didn’t win in the casino😂😂. Congrats on your win! We did have Ricardo (DL concierge) in the Suite Lounge last year. It was nice that he recognized us and we him. Is it the epitome of irony that the DL had a smoke smell now that it is next to the smoke free casino 🤔🤔🤔 ? mac_tlc

I feel like I am looking in the mirror😂. mac_tlc

There are no Royal departures from PE between 5/10/24 and 7/15/24.

Yah, that happened a couple times last week too. mac_tlc

Thanks, That is our feeling as well. We had an excellent time with the entire family together. You never know how many more opportunities we have to do that. Next year? Celebrity Edge in Alaska. mac_tlc

So, here is my wrap-up and some thoughts, observations, opinions. I'm sure I'll get some rolling eye emojis from some folks but that's ok. Some of these are due to the fact that we were on the only 9 night summer Oasis sailing. Some are impacted by the fact that my DW is in a wheelchair most of the time. I'll try to hit many of the current CC hot topics, so everyone can be equally outraged 🤣. Windjammer - If you read my posts, you know I am not a fan. Not even a little bit. We did end up there twice, which is two times too many for me. Here is where you feel the crowds in all their glory. Too many people, not enough staff, tables that take forever to get cleared, food that is just OK. When we first started cruising, it was a big part of embarkation day. Not anymore - Main Dining Room - It is incredibly loud. Many nights it was impossible to have a conversation with the person across the table. I'll mention my opinion on the dress code, which will probably upset a few. It is more and more beach wear every time we go. Shorts, flip flops, baseball hats that are never taken off (on frontwards and backwards), Muscle shirts (I will not use the other colloquial term as I find it very offensive). You name it, it's there. Many that don't like that aspect of the MDR say it "ruins my meal". I'm not here to say that but I will say I find it in conflict with the decor, ambiance and wardrobe of the hard working servers. I could say more but I will leave it here. We had early seating which is 5:00 - 5:15. It's too early. I'll blame it on staffing but Royal used to have no problem doing a 5:45 or 6:00 early seating, plus My Time at Any Time plus a late seating. Now, all three of them are ill-timed. MDR Food - My faith was restored that Royal knows how to make a good French Onion Soup! On Jewel in June it was awful. Overall, our entire group was happy with the food -- especially the nightly curry which we always had for the center of the table. As compared to the Jewel, much better -- which leads me to the scaled down menus. I guess removing the classics from every night is the issue for us. We always found something acceptable. The temperature was also better than on the Jewel. One thing we did mention to the head waiter was how the apps were served. Often we would have two -- maybe a soup and salad. For the first three nights, they were both served at the same time. Depending on what was ordered, one plate sat getting cold while we ate the other. Not to mention the table for eight got really crowded. After we mentioned it to the HW, the delivery was one at a time (good), but it was accomplished by both being brought out of the galley to the serving area and one sitting there until we finished the first one -- a distinction without a difference. Never had the apps served this way in 49 previous cruises. Seemed odd. Kudos to the HW and bread maker for giving us a special treat on three nights. One of our group mentioned the somewhat famous savory bites. Seem that they did not have the proper flour to make them. We said no problem. They insisted on making some additional bread item every night after we mentioned it - nice touch. Entertainment - I could watch Aqua80 every day. It is great. The ice show cast was spot-on. Never a stumble or fall on the jumps -- great job. We have probably seen this show 10-12 times, but we still really enjoy it. For the first time in 50 cruises, we never went to the theatre. One of the headliners we had seen before. Skipped Cats, although my daughter and grandson liked it. There was no second production show (Boo) and although we had 2 more days than the usual 7-night cruise, they just put the headliners on for an extra show on the two extra days (Boo). There was a plethora of game shows and trivia sessions. Problem is they are REALLY popular. The non-theater non-Aquatheatre venues are all just too small for these activities. They were held in the Schooner Bar, Boleros, Pub, Blaze, Music Hall and maybe others. Additionally some of these venues spill out into the Royal Promenade making it hard to hear the activity. Get there 45-60 minutes early if you want a seat. Really missed having a good cover band. Stateroom Service -- We are not fans at all of the once-a-day service. I won't repeat all the reasons here -- I went into a bit more detail on my Jewel of the Seas Review for our 6/17/23 cruise. These folks had 25 rooms, and looked at their wits end at all times. Twice, our attendant forgot to give us towels when he did the AM service, between 10-11. Once, I noticed it while he was still doing his evening service and got them. The second time, he was already done for the day. For those who always liked once-a -day, good for you -- now we are all stuck with it. (I know, I can book a suite and still get it -- for now). If you have a wheelchair or scooter - Leave a lot of extra time to get an elevator. Here again is where the number of people on board -- coupled with the fact that we cannot take the stairs -- is really noticeable. Most folks were very accommodating as far as making room for us in the elevator, holding the door, asking what floor we needed, etc. But the number of elevators is insufficient for the number of people. We did not experience any youngsters pushing every button ..... Maneuvering down the hallway is a big challenge -- not because of passengers, but because of stateroom attendant carts and those red laundry bags that we began to dread around day 5. Luckily, my wife can get in and out of the chair so "push, stop, get out, fold it up, walk ahead, unfold it, get back in , push" was a frequent event. Try to get a cabin as close to the elevators as you can. Casino - Smoke sucks. It is everywhere -- even on the non-smoking side of the casino. You can smell it as soon as you get off the aft elevators on deck 4. We did try the new non-smoking casino where Jazz on 4 used to be. Its small and never had a lot of people in it. We do appreciate Royal's attempts here, but I fear if the traffic doesn't increase, they will say "see, we tried, no one went" and get rid of it. We did go less frequently than we normally do. Overall - We had great time with the kids and grandkids. Loved Portside BBQ. Kids loved the Splash Zone. We think the Solarium on all O class is a big miss. Loved being 90 minutes from home. We had debarkation number 24, got called at about 7:45, were in the van exiting the garage at 8:04, pulled into the driveway at 10:15. Perfect. I may think of a thing or two when I fill out the Royal Survey later today ----- Thanks again for following along. mac_tlc