Ipeeinthepools

This is what LLP should have been building instead of silly E-class ships. A hit for the non-suite guests, not so much for the suite guests. No discussion of a ship within a ship concept. The smoking area by the aft pool is a negative. https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/here-s-why-guys-will-love-sailing-on-holland-america-line-s-rotterdam/ar-AA19Dgif?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=b83613daba4943fc95a5b7eec2a866bb&ei=65

No, they don't have conventional balconies. Please don't take it personally that many of us don't like the IV balconies that don't meet our needs. It's great that you enjoy other features of the ship. The point is the CEO should be held responsible for eliminating the most common type of cabin on the ship and replacing them with a cabin concept that doesn't meet the needs of many cruisers. We will now go to other cruise lines for many of our future cruises. LLP owns that decision and it was an ill-conceived move.

Nope sorry they don't but you know that. I don't count the couple of port hole balcony cabins or the Sunset veranda balcony cabins. Some of don't like to be at the rear of the ship because of the increased possibility of vibrations or the extra distance to walk anywhere. I'm talking about most of the cabins along the side of most any newer cruise ship. I'm sure you can find one, they are the most common type of cabin on most newer ships.

Wow. I think my bucket list is progressing quite well, thank you very much. I was on an expedition ship in Antarctica in December, a B2B2B for 31 days in the Caribbean in February/March, July will be Norway and Iceland and October will be a repositioning cruise on the Edge from Rome to Singapore, so I'm not sure your cop-out comment applies. The first 3 cruises were on other cruise lines and I enjoyed each of them much more than my last cruise on the Equinox. It takes an itinerary as special as the Edge repositioning cruise to get me on an E-class ship. I frankly don't see the need to accept anything less than the best itinerary that I can find on a ship that appeals to me. Unfortunately, Celebrity seldom offers itineraries that interest me on S and M class ships.

Just sail on a different ship sounds reasonable, however the most attractive itineraries are often assigned to the newest ships and sailing on other ships really isn't an option.

Nope, doesn't work that way.

I'm glad they were able to better utilize the open deck space on the E-class ships because the Retreat area took so much space away from the non-suite guests. As far as those bifold doors are concerned, does anyone really close the bifold doors? What's the advantage given that the AC or heat shuts off and makes the remainder of the cabin uncomfortable. A better solution would have been to eliminate the bi-fold doors to better utilize the indoor space and they would need the miniature furniture.

Celebrity probably has a lot of IV guarantee cabins and they are waiting to assign the cabins. 😉

Absolutely not. There was no good reason to completely eliminate conventional balconies. Someone convinced Celebrity management that IV's were the best thing since sliced bread, but there not.

If it's not on CC, it's just not true.

He/she read it on CC.

Probably. What else does she have to do?

And you won't need to worry about the AC shutting off.

Please tell us. What didn't you like?

I'll agree and disagree. Innovation always takes a chance, but there was no need to eliminate all of the non-suite balcony cabins without understanding how many people use their balconies. I'll also agree that IV cabins may be better for people that don't spend a lot of time on the balconies. But the IV's are simply a big miss for anyone that enjoys spending a lot of time on the balcony. Actually, I like the concept as an alternative to an ocean view cabin, I think you could charge a significant price increase over ocean view cabins. But there was simply no need to eliminate all of the traditional balcony cabins. MSC and Royal understood that, it's too bad Celebrity didn't. Someone at Celebrity needs to be held accountable for that decision and LLP was the person at the top.

Ok, I'll go with your analogy. Celebrity's debt is the best car in a bad garage. BTW, the fact that we can discuss Pintos and Gremlins and understand they are cars says a lot about the Celebrity Demographic.

That may well be true but it doesn't change the fact that RC is in poor financial shape. RC borrowed billions to stay in business and doesn't have any new sources of revenue to repay the debt. BTW are those the same financial analysts that were recommending Silicon Valley Bank just a few weeks ago?

You're correct, but it will only be a small number of cabins not completely eliminating the most common type of cabin. MSC also has some but they are not advertised as a balcony cabin. If you have a few of these cabins, I think they could be marketed as an enhanced ocean view cabin. Eliminating the most common type of cabin was just plain dumb.

The issue with the IV cabins is that it wasn't necessary for everything that you may like about the E-class ships. The suites have balconies, so there isn't anything integral to the ships design that prohibit traditional balconies. There simply wasn't any reason to change the signature feature of the most common type of cabin. Just a bad decision.

The best Wi-Fi and internet I ever experienced on a ship was this past December on the National Geographic Explorer (an old ship) on a round trip to Antarctica. I was able to stream programs from Xfinity, make Wi-Fi calls and Netflix even downloaded recent episodes of programs while I was gone. I wasn't even expecting to have much satellite coverage in that area. Contrast that to my HAL experience on the Rotterdam in February were no streaming or Wi-Fi calling was available (or at least I couldn't figure out how to make them work) in the Caribbean. I'm assuming that HAL blocks those applications. I wish HAL would at least allow Wi-Fi calling.

That's a little harsh. In my updated copy of the CC dictionary. Cheerleaders = People who ignore many obvious flaws because they want to validate their own decision to sail on a particular cruise line. Haters = Anyone that disagrees with me.

Really? LLP approved the E-class ship concept that eliminated the most common type of cabin on the ship for an unproved concept of the IV balconies. For years cruise lines saw the importance of balcony cabins and tried to add as many as possible and LLP eliminated those cabins for the non-suite guests. For passengers that actually use their balcony to sit outside by the ocean, the IV balconies are a non-starter and force those passengers to move to other cruise lines. The IV balconies also resulted in the ridiculous miniature dollhouse furniture because nothing else fit on the IV balconies. And tell me again, what's the purpose of the Magic Carpet? Another expensive ill-conceived addition to the E-class ships. While we're on the subject of ill-conceived, has anyone forgot about the Eden concept? All of these issues are still in the E-class ships. Any CEO that alienates a large portion of the cruise passengers should be sent to the exit gates. Unfortunately, the E-class ships will still be around after many of us are gone. Although not unique to the E-class ships, has anyone forgot about Goop? Who takes responsibility for approving that silly program. The fact that LLP is near retirement age only hides these issues. Bye-bye LLP, many of us won't miss you.

Really? I'm really not sure how Royal or Celebrity's financial position compares to Carnival or Virgin but you need to view financial performance on an absolute scale non a relative comparison. All of the cruise lines took on a lot of debt and are in bad financial condition. Even if your correct on a relative basis, Royal or Celebrity would only be the best house in a bad neighborhood.

Seems like she has the title of President.

It doesn't affect my Loyalty Program with Celebrity. I stopped being loyal some time ago.