NevadaCruiser2023

14 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I really don't know, is the E-Class NOT booking well?  It seems only non-suite guests don't like them as suite guests receive a traditional balcony, the best retreat experience and avoids Blu and the 4 MDRs.  I can't wait to hear about what the next class ships will be like and cross my fingers that they won't make a 6th E-Class ship

I think the next class of ships will be the "F" class, to truly represent what they seem to be saying. 

7 minutes ago, drowelf said:

and potentially increase the time required for the meal to be served due to staff shortages.

I think I read somewhere that they would shift the employees working in the buffet to MDR duties during dinner time. 

16 minutes ago, LGW59 said:

a moderator in the making 🙂  

*sniff*, I feel so honored to be at the birth.  

On 1/7/2023 at 10:08 AM, kearney said:

The cruise lines did not sail for well over a year..but had to keep ships moving incurring costs for limited crew, upkeep, some port charges etc. Then supply chain issues impacted supplies and quality of supplies (eg liquor) .. and higher energy costs (although some long term contracts may have helped)... and add to that recent increases in inflation due, in part, to the war in Ukraine ...make running a business difficult and impacting decisions on pricing and product features. I understand the balance they are trying to keep. Unfortunately these same issues impact my personal economics..but I can't raise revenue so I have to focus on the cost aspect.. and this means fewer cruises... and more likely to go with 'cruise only' fares and off season sailing... eg back to hurricane season... Sept-Oct cruises... which can be exciting...

All valid, but and this is an important but.  If you raise the prices for everything, while at the same time lowering the quality of services offered, it's a zero sum game. You may increase your bottom line in the short term, but you're not going to gain loyalty in the long term.  Some of these cruisers can spend 10's of thousands on a single short cruise and may feel shortchanged by the changes happening.  In that case, they'll take that money to a cruise line that still offers what they perceive as value.  They may end up in, say, a smaller cabin with those cruise dollars on another line, but they'll get the experience they seek (sought?) on Celebrity. Creating Shareholder value isn't just bringing more money to the bottom line, it's protecting the brand. 

19 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

Thanks!  This is a very good summary of the cutbacks.  I did not realize that specialty dining was going up also.  I should have guessed.

 

It is a very good view of the OVC in the evenings.

I did hear that some of the justification for reducing the OVC offerings was to cut back on food waste. I would imagine a great deal of food is wasted by passengers taking it and not eating it, or just dying on the buffet line. Dinner time isn't the busiest time for the buffet and most people (ymmv) eat in MDR for dinner, probably why they didn't touch breakfast or lunch.  I do agree, though, that those who booked prior to these changes, are justified in feeling a tad upset.  This reeks of bait and switch.  Celebrity may have smoothed over feelings by saying "we're changing some pricing on the cruise you've already booked/paid for, in order to maintain a sense of fairness, please accept this $xx in OBC, we hope you enjoy your vacation". 

2 hours ago, jagoffee said:

I agree, but my TA always notifies me about a week before the final payment is due.  I think it is a system generated reminder with another invoice attached.

 

How  does the advance authorization work with your TA?  Is it a blanket authorization with you

r CC info that is good forever? Is it a form or just verbal?  I would guess you get an revised invoice showing fully paid, so it is a little reminder.

 

 

The company that my TA UA associated with does not keep my CC in their system.  I communicate with my great TA mostly by email.  I talked to her twice, once when I deposit and again when I make my final payment.  Always do my quoting and ask questions via email.  My preferred method of communication, so I have a record.  
 

It  be nice to be set up automatically.

 

Thanks.

 

How about everyone else?  Something unique about my TA?I like Jelayne’s approach and I have never pushed the issue.

 

 

First time using a TA.  When final payment time came, I reached out to him about 6 days before it was due and mentioned it wouldn't bother me if he went ahead and paid the final payment then and there.  He did and it gave me 6 days of peace. 

7 hours ago, Tulsacoker said:

with a last name of Dahmer ... some people tend to keep their distance 

Or at least the invites to dinner would slow. 

I think I'd probably look the day after final payment is due for the cruise. Some people book, but never follow through, at least that's what I hear. 

On 11/15/2022 at 9:13 AM, hrhdhd said:

Look at the arrows.

Yeah, I just look at what light goes out on the buttons in conjunction with the arrows. I did not know about the dings though.  You always let people exit first.  Although that may not be the rule all over the world. I tend to give people a bit of slack when the crowd is composed of both Americans and non. 

On 11/7/2022 at 5:09 AM, NJRonbo said:

Might as well ask here...

 

Doing a closed loop to Bermuda on the Summit (NJ -> Bermuda -> NJ)

Is a Passport required?

You know, there's probably situations where it isn't "required", as long as everything goes as planned. However, 1 hiccup that requires you to fly back to the US from another Country and you don't have a passport - you'd probably be adding unnecessary stress to an already stressful situation. Get the passport, pay a bit extra for expedited and you'll have it in less than a month, usually. **Your mileage may vary.  The preceding statement was not authorized by any component of the United States State Department or United States Government. Viva la America! 

5 hours ago, WrittenOnYourHeart said:

 

That has not been mandatory on most ships for a while now. Though it never hurts to put it on in the cabin to make sure you know a) where it is, b) that you have sizes needed for all in your cabin, and c) know how to put it on.

Yeah, I make sure to wear it to dinner the first night, so I'd have no problem with it should the need arise. 

On 9/29/2022 at 3:58 PM, LuAnn said:

Too bad they waited until now to make the change. All the T/As that were to stop there dropped it as a port because of the testing requirement. Lots of people on our R/C not happy with the change..others were as they preferred Lisbon which is what we ended up with. 

Somebody in Bermuda did a cost/benefit analysis and had an Eureka! moment. 

20 hours ago, canderson said:

Tonight's Hold 'Em tournament on Reflection doesn't even start until 9:30.

Is  it a live tournament, or an electronic table?  

4 hours ago, H2OfordCruiser said:

Are there many USB ports in the cabins on the Eclipse? We are also bringing a CPAP machine. Wondering if we will have enough outlets to handle our charging needs.

Bring a travel adapter so you can take advantage of all the outlets in the cabin. 

2 hours ago, Husky1987 said:

Ah yes, I remember those good 'ol days all cash tipping...and the MDR on the last night of the cruise, half empty because people didn't want to face the waitstaff they were stiffing.

Is this before pre-paid gratuities?  Otherwise, I don't think "stiffing" is the proper word to use. 

On 9/14/2022 at 10:49 AM, MarinerAlex said:

Great idea Jelayne. Good to know that they pool tips in the lounge and at Luminae. I think I’ll do this.

 

Do you tip the MaitreD as well? Or would they get a portion of the pooled tips?

 

I have a question. I'm going on Millie in March and Luminae has window tables, of which I'd love to sit. Would a tip to the Maitre'd be appropriate in that situation, or not?  

2 hours ago, FrankZ2010 said:

Some of us don't keep up with the latest news, and we appreciate updates. However, there are always those snarky posters who always have to chime in .

Thanks for the update.

Yes, the post police are everywhere. Live and let live, if you see a post on a subject that's been posted before, move on and you'll find the world hasn't ended because you failed to be a snark. 

On 9/8/2022 at 6:12 PM, amcco said:

It is totally confusing. I’m Canadian and believe me, we wish this would go away as well! 

Well I, for one, will not book a cruise that stops in Canada until they end this theater. I know I'm just one person, but I can't be the only one.  Maybe when the tourist dollars slow, they'll rethink this. 

4 hours ago, cruisequeen4ever said:

I think you’re all right that it’s being over-thought. At the same time, the stakes are high, so people just want to make sure they do it right to get onboard. 

This is about his high as I want my steaks to be.  

14 hours ago, Moonarino said:

$200 for a self- test? Heck no. If you're asking about brand, BinaxNOW is the most commonly available and recognized, any pharmacy should have it (for $25 or less). Walgreens also has at least one other brand, can't remember the name. That one is a little cheaper per test but there's only one test in the box. The BinaxNOW has two per box. My problem with the BinaxNOW test is the dropper for the solution. The tube is hard plastic and small and you have to be sure to get exactly 6 drops (all of each drop) into a little hole. Maybe another brand is a little easier to use.

I just kept all the "free" tests my tax dollars paid for for occasions such as this. 

On 9/6/2022 at 3:11 AM, jaimeandandy said:

So this was the first weekend of sailing under the new protocols.  Who sailed on a 10 day sailing and can share their experience of showing a negative COVID test at check in?  How did you prove the date of your test?  Did they just accept the timestamp on your smartphone?  Did you photograph the test with a date written beside it?  Is anybody showing the picture of the test box with the results to prove what kind of test it was?  Thanks, I'm just trying to prepare for my sailing in a couple weeks.  Wanted to know how strict they are at check in after the change.

You have to stand in a cheesy no-tell motel bathroom with a local newspaper and the negative test. Then you have to take a picture with the date on the newspaper clearly visible with the test in the background.  

If the Cruise Lines deliver anyone a briefcase of money, it'll be to the owners of the tug companies. Or pressure them to settle the strike ASAP.  It's probably costing X money in the form of docking fees to stay tied up to the dock. 

21 hours ago, Denny01 said:

"And I Won’t worry about $25 for a test. Just pretend you spent it on a test you need instead of 2 candy bars onboard!!!"

 

Den

2?  Where'd you find that kinda deal? 

I'm good with the testing removal, I never really thought it was accurate (even proctored) as it's just a moment in time test. I really thought they'd maintain the vax requirement though. I understand the short term economics of not closing off a segment of the population, but long term, one major outbreak traced to unvaxxed pax (I went for the rhyme there) , and the cruise line will suffer in the court of public opinion and lose money in the long run.  That's just my opinion, I could be wrong. 

On 8/17/2022 at 8:42 AM, LadyBerard said:

We're cruising on the Summit repo this Oct. and have quite a bit of on-board credit, so we booked Le Petite Chef.  We've never done it before.  For those of you who have, what do you recommend ordering for dinner?  If you've had something and it wasn't so great, also please let me know.  

 

We booked it for night 7 a while ago......before the menus were out on the app. for different nights.

According to the app, the menu for LPC for my cruise will change on Day 4.  I like the day 4 menu,  so I booked that night.  I think as an experience, it'll be fun.