Bullswood

Those canapés are a real joke. How are you supposed to pick up that stuff (assuming you even want to eat them!) To me, these are what real canapés should be...

I’d agree with the above poster. If you’re not time constrained and especially if you haven’t been to Oz before, it seems a pity to travel half way around the world just to hop on a cruise ship and not get to know the country beyond the embarkation port. Lots to see & do here - plus the Blue Mountains,Hunter Valley wineries and National Parks nearby, not to mention a huge and spectacular land the size of the USA behind us. I think cruise passengers can sometimes get hooked on “peripheral tourism” with 8hrs in port and then off again, sometimes with a bit of fake culture thrown in, so we always balance our cruise travel with long stay forays beyond the coast - not just Miami & Ft Lauderdale but the Rockies and the National Parks on our road trip last year in your fascinating country!

I guess some people must like the canapés but we stopped the delivery after day one because they were so unappealing. The contents were pretty awful anyway but I think you're right about the ceramic tray looking like something you'd use for a dog or cat - it certainly doesn't help the appearance!

Great video - love the mapping (though assume the error was that Suva seems to have drifted away from Fiji).

From the letter quoted above: "However, we are often asked by our guests how they can show further appreciation to our staff. These special acts of kindness and comfort in knowing how you like your coffee in the morning or your preferred cocktail, how you like your meal prepared or having your suite freshened up daily." So daily room cleaning is a "special act of kindness and comfort" which is not a part of the base product and so should be rewarded with a further tip on top of the gratuity included in the elevated fares of this upmarket cruise line? Utterly shocking and probably an embarrassment to the staff too. Having recently been on Celebrity, it seems that the erosion of "inclusions" is RCI corporate policy. I trust we will not receive any such unseemly begging on our forthcoming SS cruise.

Also tried Petit Chef and entertaining, though once is probably enough!

Just off Solstice, Visited Murano twice and both times food & service very good. Tuscan Grille went once and cancelled second visit as neither food nor service impressed.

I think you misunderstood - my point was that any decent person, whether American, Aussie or any other, wouldn't and shouldn't demur at the fixed gratuity on a cruise and that the truly "reasonable-to-exercise" discretion is whether to tip on top of that, so why not just include &/or rename gratuities as a compulsory service charge. As you say, it's a long-standing custom and unlikely to change but as an outside observer, I think it's fair to say from my recent visits that the extent and level of expected tipping does seem to have become the subject of debate within the U.S., as for example in this New Yorker article: https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2023/01/01/has-gratuity-culture-reached-a-tipping-point I much prefer to have basic service charges, taxes, resort fees etc. included as 1) I think it's more honest and 2) I know that no-one is going to do the staff out of their due rewards (as my Aussie countrymen might well do through ignorance if they aren't aware of how certain cruise staff are so inadequately remunerated in their basic salaries).

But does any half-moral customer believe that the lower brand Celebrity & RCL fixed/ auto billed gratuities are really discretionary when they’re well known to be fundamental to getting US employed service staff in all sectors (except airlines for some reason) up to a decent living wage. Obviously the Aussie authorities don’t think so if they require inclusion in the basic advertised price. Reading CC the only genuinely discretionary bit is whether to tip on top of the gratuities, which IMHO is fine to reward exceptional service whether on Silversea,Celebrity or RCL.

Yes I appreciate that but I’m happy to avoid this endless debate and the add-ons, and know that staff are being paid. Do Aussies, UK and EU get worse sevice because it’s non-discretionary? As above, why is Silversea different?

Why does RCL’s Silversea include gratuities in cruise price? Does this ensure better service than pseudo- discretionary as that seems very counter-intuitive. I remember Carnival ceo Micky Ariston being asked to explain US tipping culture on UK tv some years ago and explaining that it ensured an “ exceptional service”. BS of course as it’s simply to move service expense from a fixed cost to a variable cost, so no customers=no staff costs. I’m from Australia so it makes no difference to us as all RCL group cruises booked from here have to do likewise under our “price you see is the price at which you can buy” rules.

Did you have any ship internet for last days? We are waiting to depart and no connection so pretty concerned about our “premium” purchase. Stii using own shore connection.

Yes, even adding the $25 taxi fare in this case, the shore excursion mark-ups are breathtaking where overnight accommodation is involved (so the Bangkok overnight as well). I think those who booked the Halong seaplane flight also found that 100% or more was being added by Celebrity. That is in addition to a perhaps 10-15% agency commission that they would presumably already be getting from the operator ex the advertised retail price to the public. Perhaps it’s to compensate themselves for not having those guests on the ship spending buckets of money in the bar,casino, art sales & spa for 24hrs? On the other hand, some of the short bus tours & transfers were competitively priced in the recent sales.

We’re assuming it’s available as otherwise we wouldn’t be discussing price? And no, if they’re playing “ we can mess you around with just about anything if you look at the small print” games, let them find the relevant excuse, it’s not my job!

Could you not just buy the solo package on board if you're thinking the second guest might not make it?

I'd just take a dated print out/screenshot or just show the waiter the website at the time you order - I suspect they couldn't/wouldn't argue the point if it's in stock and clearly shown as included on a current document.

As above, you need to calculate whether a package is worthwhile with a lot of shore days etc. Also the per glass prices are often high for mediocre wine compared with bottle prices (see lots of other threads on this forum), probably to encourage people to take the package, and ridiculously so compared with on-shore supermarket prices. Don't forget that you can bring 2 bottles of wine per stateroom plus apparently as many soft drinks that you can hand carry when you first board, though they'll charge you corkage if you drink in the restaurant.

Yup, it's the same on the cruise price for Aussie customers - any advertised price here has to be final with no compulsory or de facto compulsory items (e.g. gratuities) to be added later.

Whatever is in the small print isn't always enforceable if it can be construed as an unfair contract under the applicable law (which in Australia, for example may include post-contract changes to Ts & Cs). Interesting that in the ongoing White Island case RCL has unsuccessfully tried to prevent Aussie passengers suing in Florida because they fear higher penalties. Anyway, I think the issue is that particularly for premium passengers, there's now confusion about what exactly the Celebrity product is at the upper/top end. Causing brand confusion is simply bad corporate policy. The Retreat brand has been damaged not just by recent chiselling of product but by arguably dilutive changes such as putting far more suites on the new ships.

I thought I'd query with Celebrity and just received the following email. Quote: " Thank you for reaching out to us, I am happy to help. Celebrity Cruises offers a wide variety of beverages on our vessels. We serve Coca-Cola products but allow guests to carry on any non-alcoholic drink of their preference, including bottled water, even if that particular selection is also offered on board. Regarding limitations, guests are only permitted to bring aboard what they are able to personally hand-carry onto the ship. Kindly note that any personal beverages you bring aboard must be stored in your stateroom, and your room’s minibar can hold a very limited number of items. In terms of alcoholic drinks, on embarkation day, guests are allowed to bring a maximum of two bottles of wine or champagne with them per stateroom. No other alcoholic beverages are permitted to be carried on. Kindly note, there is a $25.00-per-bottle corkage fee for guests who choose to consume this alcohol in any of the ship’s bars, lounges, or restaurants. This corkage fee does not apply to those who have a Classic or Premium Beverage Package. We look forward to welcoming you onboard Celebrity" Unquote

Correct. Just ensure passports valid for 6 months after your stay.

Try celebritydestinationsteam@celebrity.com

Just noticed in our pre-departure FAQs that under "Prohibited Items" are included "Alcoholic and Non Alcoholic beverages" with a footnote that: Alcoholic beverages that are purchased in ports-of-call or from shops onboard will be stored by the ship and delivered to you on the last day of the sailing. Alcoholic beverages seized on embarkation day will not be returned." Is including non-alcoholic beverages anything new? Is bringing a couple of dozen sodas/mineral waters still being accepted in practice?

No problem - just thought I’d mention in case you’d paid for an extra night in the hotel in SIN. Bon voyage!

Looking forward to this! By the way, on your trip plan, doesn't UA1 on 16th arrive HKG on 18th due to the overnight+date line?