Tom and Ingrid

It's not avoidance because clearly logistics, planning, and a whole lot of stuff outsiders like us can't think of. But the HAL fleet is, as far as i can tell, the same size as the X fleet. If "they" can do it, "we" can do it! I've never spent much time looking at HAL, but honestly, I'd hope the cruise lines all try to learn from each other. Corporate overlap definitely seems to be a potential issue, but X is by far the more logical line vs the RCL ships - especially the new RCL stuff. To some extent, I am a little confused by X at times when they add the short cruises (say 4 days or the like), and knock off some like that 14 night BA-Valparaiso cruise. M or S class for sure for a lot of those with the E class filling the most "exciting" routes. I'd be fine with that.

...that they don't already have or have long ago dropped? The lack of a world cruise option got me seeing the big gaps they have to prevent even building a B2B2B cruise around the world, but then I also heard they dropped one of our favorite routes - the Buenos Aires to Valparaiso (or reverse) we so enjoyed in 2015. I get "political" instability can have big impacts (like perhaps Israel, the Suez Canal, or the East coast of Africa right now), but working around those hotspot areas, there still seems to be some gaps in their geographical options. Especially with many of us (but not nearly all of us) not choosing to repeat ports if possible, it would seem like there are more options out there for them than putting multiple ships in Alaska or the Med or the Carib. They could likely make repositioning sailings also be "world" legs and/or at least open up some places that have never been a Celebrity option or have been, but have been dropped. Where would you see them expand and include? Or are they doing just fine with the current coverage?

You'd think they could plot ONE of those every couple or three years. It doesn't seem too hard to copy the HAL one or tweak it to existing routes and just adding the Africa bit.

I really like how much I have learned from this single thread. Thanks everyone!

Which sort of makes me wonder if one can piece together a B2B2B2... series of Celebrity sailings to create a nice flow for a World Cruise?

We're on Silhouette in July for Norway, so I bet we'll have similar entertainment to you. In general, you'll get two of the bigger cast events - possibly the ensemble "romance bohemians hanging at a bar" Broken Strings show that has been around for a year or so (hopefully that's gone, but maybe not), but you can check the Celebrity site to see if there is more detail. There will 100% be a silent disco (or two) and likely the ABBA sing-along. Probably a R&R band in the theater, but it is not a given they will also be performing anywhere else. We were lucky enough to have a cruise a couple years ago with the band Our Lady Valentine, where we were in the same hotel with the lead singer pre-cruise. We talked with him throughout the cruise, and he indicated that their other non-theater performances were more ad hoc based on the cruise director liking their show and asking them to perform in other places like a late evening pool event. You'll also get the usual mix of magicians. comedians, and/or singer/violinist on the main stage with the more general strings or duos in the various bar areas. We're big fans of those smaller shows in places like Ensemble (on S class) or Rendezvous (on M class).

So, are there essentially 4x the options of the M & S MDRs, or more like 2x as many? I assume you're all fairly familiar with the M & S MDR menu, where there is there are a few appetizers and a handful of rotating & regular entree options. Is the E-class a noticeable larger selection of entrees (and maybe appetizers)?

Big "C"!! Not little "c"! But, yeah. I think I could enjoy that ship.

I've yet to do the Edge-class ships, but I got the impression that with four DISTINCT style MDRs, it would be most fun (for me, at least) to try each first - ie four different restaurants, but therefore four different servers and tables but whatever time I liked). So, for the experienced E-class cruisers, how does the MDRs song and dance play out? Is it the same set time vs anytime decision? And do they divvy folks up randomly to one of the four MDR? Or is there some process where you pick all that stuff out ahead of time? Clearly, to me, the "simplicity" of one MDR on the M & S ships is that you can easily get in the rhythm you like - same servers, same times, same table even - but with four distinct MDRs, wouldn't it mean you "miss out" on options from the other three MDRs when choosing a default or "regular" one just to get the same servers? I sort of get - from @barneyboy - that you could go to the same MDR every day, but order across the four different menus, but are the MDRs so similar that folks do that? Or is there real additional "value" to eating at a new MDR each night or rotating through them? I do think folks here discuss the specialty spots a lot, but the E-class "basic" MDRs seem equally as interesting having never dealt with them yet.

Ours was in 2016, so surely times have changed but hopefully not too much. We rented mopeds and cruised the island, which was a blast (among other things there).

Years ago we did the Summit NJ-Bermuda 7 night and really enjoyed it. How did you find the crowds? That seems to be the talk these days, and I've been considering revisiting a Bermuda cruise again, but not a ton of sailing options.

Assuming you won the imaginary "Any sailing, any ship, any time, no cost, all included" Celebrity give-away, what would you choose? Ie - no cost, all flights, packages, logistics, excursions, etc. included - what of all the current 24-26 offerings on the website would be your choice? My choice, and I assume for more than a few, it would be the recent additions of the Galapagos smaller vessels. So almost any of those three ships would be great options 🙂 Also, looking at a longer duration, the Tahitian Treasures looks fun combining our desire for a longer trans-ocean type cruise with some remote places we have never been. Having loved both Hawaii and New Zealand, those are nice starting and ending points, too. And at 19 days, that's a rare very long non-B2B cruise for Celebrity. I had never even seen that one, so now I'm actually putting it on my "watchlist" (although the NZ flights are hellishly long). How about you?

Well, "these days" and pretty much as far back as recorded history, too. That's a bit of the "human nature" coming out in many.

Sort of like a Presidential debate, you DON'T answer the question you are asked, but rather answer the "question" you want to focus on. Apparently, some folks like and some folks don't like their balcony doors being open. Go figure. 🤣

It would probably make more sense to add some teeth to the local ordinance? Make it a $1,000 fine per person on the boat/ship? Tiny fines mean nothing to a large business. Individuals are mostly deterred, but a ship with 3k-4k folks aboard would be on the hook for millions not the cost of a "drink package" for a couple.

I think the Hideaway is a different ship(s). Team Earth is on deck 7 of the Eclipse: as opposed to the Silhouette: ...and Reflection:

Echoing what folks say about kids and teens not be a focus of Celebrity. My feeling is teens will find their way while on board. Depending upon the time of year and the specific itinerary, there will a few to quite a few teens on board. How do those folks meet up beyond the specific Celebrity programs (like Teen Club) is probably similar to how they do it at school or the mall or wherever younger folks hang out. Since your kids have done other cruises, they're likely comfortable figuring that out on a ship in a brief period of time. Simple stuff like hanging by the pool, basketball/pickleball courts, the silent disco, Abba sing-along, or other "open" activities likely give them a bunch of options.

Check out the ship specific part of the Celebrity website and you can see the dining options, and also things like the deck plans which help you see where things are laid out. I also forgot to mention the Aqua class (Blu) restaurant and the Retreat class (Luminae) restaurants which you have access to if you are in those. For many, the main dining room is more than enough. For many others, it's all about trying out all the specialty restaurants (for additional cost). There is no shortage of good food especially if it is the first time on Celebrity. After many cruises, you'll know the menus and options (they evolve but not super fast), but at the beginning, it's a lot of choices (and they don't say no to trying more than one thing - two appetizers, two entrees, two desserts).

First Celebrity cruise or just first on Reflection? Essentially, on the Solstice class ships (and to some extent the Millennium class), there is a large main dining room at the lower back of the ship (two floors) where you can eat a relatively nice meal with good service. Also, menus on the S and the M class for the main dining room are pretty familiar across the ships with some variety, but also a lot of "classic" options. At other places on the ship are the SPECIALTY restaurants, and they have their OWN menus - often with a specialty like steak, sushi, etc.. And, of course, you have the buffet at the top rear (Oceanview), which serves food all day and into the late evening, and you could easily eat there anytime. Other smaller food places as well scattered about the ship and plenty of bars (generally no food). The Edge class ships went the route of FOUR main dining rooms with - I think (never gone) their own menus.

But which both have the identical menu each night.

I wonder how much most folks know about how an investigation like this one should or would be carried out. Certainly, a small local paper or internet news site, is limited in both their resources and their understanding of all the rules and regulations of many (most) things. A story on - let's say - securities fraud is just as likely to make folks wonder why a seemingly "simple" action was "ignored" or swept under the carpet, but in reality, there is just much more to the story than gets shared beyond a press release. A press release is sadly about all that many "news" stories are built around. Assuming there is "more" to the story, there would or will be more to come out. Conspiracies are very hard to keep quiet, and there is almost always some or many folks willing to discuss what they witnessed or took part in. Sadly, in the internet era, there is usually an "immediate reaction" which often does not end up matching the eventual understanding. I do hope, if there was some mistake or active rule/law breaking, that corrections and barriers are put in place to prevent them from occurring again.

Emma did a short trip on the Explorer 2 and it did look good. I was intrigued by the addition of BALCONIES and not sure when that might have happened. As we were on it in 2004, there were none that I can see in the photos we have, and since we had a room with a porthole, I just thought we were being cheap back then and skipping a balcony 🙂 Here is how she looked in May 2004: vs now:

It has been too long 😞 since we have been there, but you WILL find views all over that island. We had a long morning/early afternoon hike from the port to Oia, where we had a lovely meal at the Skala restaurant overlooking the sea. The meal was delicious, the customer service was nice. And we just relaxed and enjoyed the beauty around us. We would return. The main caveat was we were at the END of the season. In fact, the restaurant gave us a free dessert as they were closing for the season, and did not want things to go to waste. You will not get that. Our seat on the terrace was shared with one or two other couples, so you will also not get that. We even got a little kitten to come sit with us as we ate 😄. We took the public bus back to Fira and cable car down to the tender area, but that timing is likely greatly complicated by more ships in port. Our logistics were easy peasy, but that's a benefit of being late in the season.

I think this remains the "core" point regardless of a needless "generational tag". Long before there even existed the Gen Z, cruise lines (or car companies) had to decide on their target audience(s) and also on a long term growth strategy. There will always be NEW 50 (or 40 or 60) year olds being created simply via aging. The kids in grade school become HS kids become college kids become young professionals become parents become... older folks with disposable income. It is never ending, and cruise lines just need to decide if the historic main target group of 50-70 is better expanded to 40-80 and how to do that. Does courting the 30-40 crowd chase away the VERY LUCRATIVE 50+ crowd? Can you balance younger interests and older interests on a medium sized ship or do you need a larger ship with more "tiers" to differentiate the groups? My bet is that as RCL group builds out their corporate plans - using X and RCL as distinct and mildly overlapping options - X moves upscale (if possible) and RCL focuses on the younger folks and families and mid-aged folks interested in a more active environment. Add in there is a difference between the E class ships and the M & S class ships already. This video - a little dated with the whiplash from price changes - shows how both traditional older cruisers and younger cruisers are wondering where they fit in to X right now. Both have places, but there is some self-awareness required to think through what "vibe" you're looking for in any cruise, vacation, tour, movie, concert, whatever before clicking "buy".

This thread makes me realize how "confusing" the smaller Hideaway Beach vs larger Coco Cay idea is. I've never been there but the gist seems to be that Coco Cay is a large section of beach which is "free" but exclusive to RCL/X folks. The Hideaway Beach is the adults only bit within the larger Coco Cay area and carries with it an entry (of varying cost) that gets folks access to extras like ????. And, if folks skip Hideaway, they can relatively easily find stretches of beach that are quiet and relatively uncrowded - some with lounges and easy access to food and some pools etc.? I'm not sure what the upsell point is except along the lines of the upsell for specialty restaurants or the Retreat? Is there a special Retreat section of Coco too? The list of "free" stuff to do seems pretty long. Adults only at Hideaway seems nice, but if the regular beaches are not crowded, kids tend to blend in anyway.