NMTraveller

Very very windy. It does not reverse the fuel savings of the IVs, but it does have some extra drag and is definitely not aerodynamic like the IVs.

I have been told by others that the younger generation likes the loud and shouty vibe on the Edge and others. 🙂 🙂 He even mentioned more intimate settings vs. the loud and crowded Martini Bar on Edge. He gets it. His mental age is more advanced than his physical age 🙂 Now the older guys on Edge are just too hard of hearing to hear the loud and shouty vibe. 🙂 We went to a Steakhouse in Vegas called the STK. This was the loudest and most obnoxious steakhouse I have been to. This steakhouse was mostly frequented by the younger generation. In my review I said it was a nightclub masquerading as a steakhouse. I am not sure why anyone would ever come back but they were fully booked. Our server messed up our order because she could not hear. It was an expensive steakhouse and one that we do not intend on going back to. The same for the Edge and the total lack of intimate venues as well as a forward looking view. You can like the noise and big crowds or choose the quiet and more separated/intimate venues. Sophistication and quiet vs loud and shouty. Having said all of this, there is a very large number of Celebrity cruisers who prefer the S class over E class. Again it is different for suites who have the retreat and they can escape to some normalcy.

I believe it came from the news media and their mantra that you were going to die if you did not wear a mask. Totally inexcusable in my opininion. Fear mongering.

Agreed. The message was not sent out. If you go into a paint store they sell N95s. The same for the medical industry. They are proven. Surgical masks have gaps. This is not rocket science. There is still fear mongering regarding masks and other aspects of Covid. Fear is a powerful master. If you need one choose the N95. If you are not wearing N95 why are you wearing one? I don't understand the person wearing a mask down over the nose either. Just wearing one to wear one. As I said earlier our medical community does not require them (except for the usual). Why are the cruise workers required? Don't put arbitray rules on the cruise workers when the medical community does not have these rules. Don't treat them as second class citizens.

The last time I went to the doctors office there were zero mask requirements for staff or for patients. At least nothing out of the normal. So not sure why you insist on masking the cruise staff? They can and should decide for themselves. Perhaps this is part of the reason why the cruise lines are having staffing issues. Rules for thee, but not for me.

Carnival has a lot of debt and it takes a lot of money to service their debt. That is the problem with CCL. It will take them quite a bit longer to get out from under their debt. Who wants to wait?

Regarding the Bigelow tea it is no charge in the rest of the ship as it is not an upgraded tea. If they are going to offer it in Al Bacio there should not be a charge. IMHO

Yep. I concur with your observations 110%. My only surprise is that someone in the younger demographic noticed these observations. I would note that the suite guests seem to rank the ship higher than the non-suite guests.

Hmmm. If a cruise line disappears it would be CCL. RCCL would pick up the CCL passengers. RCCL is the premium brand. CCL has too much debt. I would not hold RCCL but would not bet on it going away...

Too much debt... Did anyone say this? Yes they did... Duh??? What did Wall Street say? Ahem the same... Risk vs reward. CCL is high risk/reward. Place your bets... Not to mention the Federal Reserve putting the brakes on ... The sinking of Carnival happened several years prior with the shutting down of the cruise lines and the cruise lines borrowing LARGE LARGE amounts of money. I for one hope that they stay afloat, but will not purchase shares as I do not gamble. For those that do I wish the best.

Rubbish. The queen would not approve...

My fear is that the same people that DICTACTED that they wear masks will tip them less when they make their own decision. The crew should have never been treated as lessers than the cruisers in this matter. For me it does not matter if they do or don't and I prefer the workers freedom to choose. Just make the rules the same for the cruisers and the workers. I don't understand the cruisers going out on excursions and migling with hundreds and expecting the crew to be masked.

The crew should be treated like normal human beings and not second class citizens. I am not sure why some prefer to have the crew masked when they are running around without one? Why the disparity? It is about time that the crew should be able to make their own decisions one way or another.

They are selling, but the cruisers complain about them once onboard. Perhaps part of the reason Royal is putting a lesser number of them on their ships. I normally don't hear many complaints once onboard but this is the number one complaint.

These are all gone on Celebrity's new E class. It seems that HAL has the nicer newer ships. Not to mention the IVs on Celebrity E class. Celebrity botched them unless you are in a suite.

Edge has jumped the shark ... It is kind of difficult to advertise as a coffee/tea specialty shop serving Bigelow and Folgers.

It sounds like it is due for a refurbishment that it never got. Just book the Rotterdam... 🙂 Anyways one year I booked a last minute cruise during the Christmas holidays. It was on the Westerdam right before it went in to be refurbed. For the price it was one of the best cruises I have been on. If you are not getting an excellent discount I would book something else. The fact that it is not ship shape means that there is some wear. Perhaps not a lot of wear, but not up to the standards everyone is used to.

The fact that HAL still has the Crows Nest and the Edge does not make it a better ship IMHO. The same for the IVs. Time to try a new HAL ship.

I would disagree. I am not all that familiar with the new HAL ships and the new Princess ships. I am familiar with the E-class. The smoking in the HAL casino is just a minor point if you don't gamble. On my last Celebrity cruise there were not many people in the casino. I don't see the downside of a smoking casino for the few that do gamble. I would have liked to see a comparison of Celebrity E-class vs HAL Rotterdam. New ship to new ship. I suspect that the Rotterdam may be a better ship if it has forward facing views and not the Infinite Verandas. Perhaps HAL is building better new ships than Celebrity for non suite guests... Given that Celebrity is shortening itineraries and making them less ideal HAL wins the itinerary competition.

Now to answer the OPs question. Pre covid the servers on Celebrity were top notch and relentless. They were above the standards on land. If your glass was half full they would ask you if you wanted a refill. I hope that they staff up their ships. The complaints were mostly few and far between. I would give Celebrity another chance when cruising is back to normal. Just curious what other lines you have cruised recently? How did they do as far as service and staffing?

I had always thought that the itineraries were better on the smaller ships. How did the itineraries compare? Smaller ships normally get closer to the attractions vs a long bus ride. Perhaps not much difference on an Alaska cruise, but a gigantic difference on an Eastern Med cruise and others.

There are other vacations where you do not have to worry about testing and what the covid requirements are. Also no loss in service quality for these other vacation types. Too many negative reviews lately for cruising when most reviews are normally positive. Many of the land vacations and resorts are back to normal. Picking a cruise vacation used to be an easy choice... Next year plans are for a European land vacation, and then if cruising comes together by Christmas 2023, a cruise.

From following this board it sounds like most of the ships are not staffed up to normal levels yet and are a big hit or miss. Give me a ring when cruising is back to normal...

If you have followed Celebrity you will note that they are cutting their longer more desirable itineraries as well as getting rid of their forward lookinging views and true balconies (E class) unless you are paying for a suite.. I have not followed Princess as much lately, though one of my favorite cruises was with them through the Panama Canal on one of their smaller ships. I most likely will try HAL once again next.

1. The Beukenhorst Koffie is the best coffee that I have had at sea. It is well worth the wait on HAL, though we normally get a cup at the Pinnacle. S class has a nice sitting area/ coffee shop, but on E class it is always full.