OysterD

I have a sneaky suspicion that most people are probably in your camp. When debating the pros and cons with friends of placing a move up bid from AQ to a SS on our upcoming cruise the availability of a butler or butler team didn't factor into our decision. We would make use of one. I've mentioned it previously, but who knows better about how much butlers are used - Celebrity with piles of data on butler requests and time they spend on xyz, or anecdotal posts on here about how an individual uses a butler several times a day. I've definitely seen more individuals post on here saying they don't use a butler versus those who have said they do. There have still been no first hand reports on here from anyone so who knows whether those who do make use of a butler will notice any changes or not. For their sake I hope they still receive the expected level of service they desire, and to probably most other people no difference will be noticed.

Perhaps one could take several of the pieces of pre cut tomatoes and re-assemble them, jigsaw style...prior to cutting them back up into manageable pieces to eat.

There are actually machines which peel potatoes. I worked in a fish and chip takeaway when I was younger, we had a machine you would tip a load of fresh potatoes into and a few mins later they'd come out peeled. Basically like a washing machine with a sort of sandpaper type lining is the best way I could describe it! We would then feed them through another machine which cut them into shape. Large commercial kitchens have all sorts of labour saving devices but there are still a lot of very time consuming and boring tasks which must be done manually, the people doing those jobs (and those in the laundry room) definitely deserve decent pay!

Lots of interesting points, some I hadn't thought of. I guess I ranked Luminae a bit lower on my list because in my head I was comparing that perk to already having access to Blu in AQ, but if comparing to concierge or below then I think Luminae would probably definitely feature higher. I think I'd also place a greater value on the Retreat deck on cruises with more sea days - if you're in port 8 days out of 10 then possibly wouldn't get much use out of it.

My friends and I have been happy in AQ and that's what we have booked for our next 2 cruises including Beyond next month, starting to get excited about that now! We were recently discussing the moveup offers that we received for our Beyond sailing and deciding whether we wanted to bother. Decided not to, main reason being there's no guarantee we both would receive the upgrades and it would be a bit crap and pointless if one of us was in AQ and the others in a suite. However, we were debating the extras that come with a suite and whether we thought they were worth it (to us), which got me thinking. There's a lot of discussion of suites on these pages, definitely a disproportionate numbers of posters sail in suites vs standard cabins or AQ, so here's a good a place as any to ask... What are the main features of a suite that get you to part with the extra £€$¥ over a lower cabin, what is it you value the most? For example, is it the slightly larger cabin, access to Luminae, retreat deck (where available), lounge, butler, bath tub, butler to run a bath, extra CC points?! Or just a combination of everything? I think for me, as we were deciding whether to bother with a move up bid, it came down to (in importance, what I'd value the most first) 1. Retreat deck 2. Lounge 3. Luminae 4. Larger cabin All the other features of/whats included with a suite would rank way down there to the point of me not caring whether they were included or not. I will say that personally, the cabin size is largely irrelevant for sky suites/aqua suites, I'm not sure I'd value the 50% wider cabin with most of the rest of it being the same as a standard balcony/IV. However, for our move up offers the min bid for an Edge Villa was stupidly low and in that case I think the cabin size/layout/amenities would then take number 1 spot.

I took a look too and thought the same. There is plenty on the current 7 night menu that I'd be happy with. Actually on day 5 I'd struggle deciding because a few of the mains sound good.... crispy pork schnitzel, French pot pie, calves liver, bourbon glazed pork ribs. Other nights they have fish and chips, Irish stew, pork loin, leg of lamb, masala potatoes, prime rib, lobster, haddock, lamb t-bone, butter chicken (curried), gnocchi... To the OP, what was it you didn't like, was it the choices weren't to your taste or the fact that some of the dishes just come with mash and standard veg - it looks like the standard steak, chicken and salmon that are on every night do but very few of the options which change every night have the standard mash and veg as sides.

Out of interest, can anyone remember the last time when there wasn't a 'sale' on?! As in, has there ever been a time when they've tried selling cabins at what they claim (during 'sales') are full/regular price?

Any reason to be quite so snarky? I had tried quoting both your posts but that wasn't working so gave up and omitted the one where you had said you would only look at 10+ day cruises. Also, as I'm sure you're aware, the Celebrity website doesn't allow you to search by 12+ days, only 10+.

So why don't you book it then? Meanwhile for most people under the age of 65 or 70 it's not even an option.

Just had a quick look and in 2024 out of 313 total cruises available, 152 of them are 10 nights or longer, so roughly half. Not exactly few and far between.

Considering itineraries are largely announced and go on sale 24 to 30 months or so in advance, what/when are you comparing to? Also I'm probably partly to blame! I actually fill out questionnaires and surveys if they send them, including one I remember from earlier this year. Specifically asked what my preferred length of cruise was and I selected between 7-14 nights. 10 to 12 is ideal. I can't do anything longer than 14 nights and I don't know any of my friends also in their 40s who could go away for longer than 2 weeks at a time. I would expect primarily only retired people or school teachers could get away for any longer, obviously with a few exceptions. If Celebrity are marketing to a 'younger' crowd then shorter cruises are a definite way to do that.

4 to do the work of 16 is not what was said. The quote was there will be 4 butlers remaining (presumably for upper suite cabins) and the SS are served by a team (who won't be referred to as butlers as has previously been stated multiple times). It's like Chinese whispers. Someone is told something on a ship by a butler, relays that message either in part or fully, but isn't clear exactly what is meant. Someone reads that message and (presumably because of inherent bias due to all 5000 posts hes made on the subject being complaints) takes the pessimistic view, jumps to a conclusion that there will only be 4 people in total doing the work 16 used to, and then everyone just keeps reiterating that, even though nobody has a clue!

I was curious because that pricing seemed extreme, so had a quick look. There is an 11 night Apex cruise from Southampton to Iceland and back next June, its £1,422 pp for an inside; £1,893 for a veranda and £4,043 for AQ (which I admit does seem steep). The most expensive Apex 11 night European cruise next year is next Sept and is £1,936pp for an inside, £2,338 for an IV. Can't see anything close to being $6000pp for an inside! 10 night wise on Crystal, there are 3 or 4 European (either Med or northern europe) itineraries next year but they are all priced the same and are all advertised as from £4,200 pp for an ocean view cabin, so more than double the most expensive Apex inside cabin price.

That's not even a close comparison. I picked a random weekday date for a crowne plaza in ft lauderdale in Oct and it is $75pp for a night in their cheapest room. No balcony. No view. Nothing included. You're somehow trying to compare a no frills hotel chain bog standard room with nothing included to a sky suite, they're not at all comparable. I would say a fair comparison would be looking at a resort like Sandals, all inclusive with similar standards. $3824 for 2 people on 8 night sailing of Beyond in the Caribbean in September 2024, that's in a standard IV cabin with all included. The same 8 nights in a sandals resort in St Lucia is $6348 for 2 people in their cheapest room, no view.

Agreed. All we can hope is that the customer service rep who responded on twitter has as bad a grasp of what's going on in the company as he does on the subtle differences between bare and bear! Can't stand plastic bottles, they're a menace to the planet. If they do revert back to plastic by next month then I'll have to take a refillable bottle with me and forfeit the 2 bottles a day brought to the cabin.

And this is why they're changing to a team service approach, whenever you cruise your butler was too busy with your multiple requests a day to get to any of the other cabins he was supposed to be servicing hahaha

They're a business, not a charity. I can't think of many/any businesses who think hmm so people are willing to pay 500 gold coins for our product, and we will almost completely sell out at that price...but a few people who bought our product at 400 gold coins 2 years ago might be a bit miffed...let's only charge 400 this year to so as not to annoy those few people. Nope, that's not how it works. Businesses charge what markets will pay, that's how its always been and always will be. If too many people think they're charging too much for their product and they stop buying it, then the price will drop. But X and other lines aren't at that point, so the prices are what they are. If you don't like it go elsewhere or don't cruise, someone else will pay for that cabin you were looking at.

I think people keep forgetting that AQ prices are AI by default so of course will be considerably more than the most expensive concierge cabin.

Maybe you're confusing Celebrity with Silversea or something of the like? Your description bears little resemblance to reality! If your parents are in their late 70s they will be at the top end of the age scale on board and while there are no water slides or go karts, there are plenty of activities and entertainment aimed at us younger folk. You say you've always given Celebrity a miss because of your perception of the typical X cruiser, I'm curious if you've cruised with them at all and if not what you based your assumption on? Genuinely curious because I've never gotten that impression and I always find it intriguing how people form opinions about things like this. Edit... thought I'd throw a photo in here from last year, time around 11pm, note how everyone hasn't retired to bed yet hahah

Really? Not happy with already having posted the same thing on a bunch of other threads, including one dedicated to that topic and another where the OP wanted a more lighthearted and proactive discussion, you now drag up a thread from 3 years ago to say the same? If you want a ship that has no smoking or vaping anywhere on board either inside or out, buy or charter a yacht.

I know the MSC board on here isn't quite as busy as the Celebrity one, but I do find it interesting how there currently isn't even a thread started over there about the $5 charge for a second main course. That to me would be a pretty huge thing, surely the ability to have a second main course if you like (or getting an extra one to share for the table) is a mainstay of cruising hahah. Meanwhile over here we had 40 odd pages of moaning, rumour and conjecture about a potential renaming and minor adjustment of roles for butlers...something nobody has even experienced yet!

Actually I thought of that but then thought to myself hold on have I only thought of that because I've seen it somewhere... lo and behold it is an 'excursion' offered by X at least on our upcoming cruise. We didn't book it because it was sold out pretty early on. Its a good idea tho! Name of tour below....

Another vote for an escape room type thing. Tbh they could just leave one of the pointless shops as they are, lock me in and hide the key, and I guarantee I'd be out of there in record time. Something I'd also be interested in would be dinner with captain/senior crew maybe. However, I'd imagine that would sell out very quickly so how about having tickets for that raffled off instead. Might have to limit that to cruises longer than 7 days or something - can't expect the captain/senior crew to be doing that every 3 nights when they turn Reflection into a booze cruise short trip only ship next year.

OK thats 3 of the unnecessary overly expensive shops I can think to get rid of and replace with... Culinary masterclasses. How to create Daniel Boulud signature dishes yourself. Maybe turn one into a dancing class studio. Offer various styles throughout the cruise. Turn one into a mock up of the bridge and have a simulator in there. See how easy it is to dock the ship (a friend just off first X cruise with his family commented how nice it was to see senior crew members around the ship so frequently, unlike other cruise lines. He did wonder who was left up on the bridge driving the thing though, but figured computers do most of it now!). A simulator might help keep the liability insurance down a tad.

Welcome to the future of everything I think!