goofysmom99

Any GF hamburger buns? Or will I be able to readily find 2 slices of GF toast for the bun? Sometimes you just want to eat with your hands like everyone else!

I'd already booked three cruises on SS for 2025/6 long before the status match. SS repriced the 2026 cruise to include the 10% discount. The fares for the two 2025 cruises have increased so no repricing those. Really couldn't care less about the bubbly (cat sitter will get it) but the laundry will be nice. I left X because of price, food, and service; I chose SS for the price and the hope of better food (shareholder benefit is lagniappe). Solo fare was significantly ($6K) cheaper than a sky suite on X and, blessedly, it will have a walk-in shower. My first SS cruise will be before final payment on the second so I'll see if food and service measure up to my expectations of food and service. If not, Regent will be next.

I was delighted to receive both the 5% and 10% discounts on SS cruise I booked this week. Definitely not messing with any of my bookings that were made under the previous T&Cs because those fares (solo) have increased dramatically.

Pinnacles' humility is legendary.

Jim, I looked up the new (30 May) Terms & Conditions of Venetian Society and canceling and rebooking is specifically prohibited (section 4). However, the 10% discount will be valid for new bookings, including Door to Door and Port to Port, just not Essentials fares.

Same thing happened on my last cruise.

Thanks for that. I made a port-to-port booking earlier this month that is refundable less $250 cancel fee. So, if I cancel that one and rebook (it's still the same price today), I should come out ahead 10% less $250. Yes/no? I also know they give the $250 as a FCC, so I wonder if I could use it to rebook. Probably not.

I'll wait until after the official implementation date before I bug my TA re the 10% discount on my three existing SS bookings.

I'll accumulate points on Silversea, but now I'll get free laundry. Works for me.

A good place to meet folks is Cafe al Bacio. Because it's always crowded, people will invariably ask if they can join me or I'll ask if I can join him/her/them. It's been pretty foolproof for 16 years. I'm still traveling with people I met there over the years. On S or M class ships, you can request a table for 8 for early or late dining. Or, the 2-top tables are so close together, that unless they're particularly antisocial, you can't help but speak with your neighbors. When it's a good mix, it has frequently led to all of us requesting a larger table together each night.

Did they reduce or remove altogether the OBC from booking onboard?

The only "enhancement" I see for a sky suite is the swell butler chat feature. Big woo. Meanwhile X reduced my OBC for booking onboard (repo S1) to $125 from $200, and military discount to $125 from $200. $150 total OBC reduction. Both cuts were blithely explained away = I'm solo and have zenith discount. The onboard booking OBC is supposed to be per cabin, not per person. I'm seriously steamed. I might cool off, but nope, not yet. So since Silversea deposits are refundable right now (less $250 admin fee), I've booked them, too. If I cool off eventually, I'll take both repos; if not, then just Silversea. I so appreciate X's spin managers "giving" me "enhancements" that cost nothing while grabbing my OBCs. Grumble, grumble, grumble.

S-class sky suites beneath the uncarpeted area of Oceanview can be noisy at any time of the day/night. I used to always choose what are now designated AQ sky suites (higher priced). I'm not willing to pay more just to be under the carpeted area of Oceanview, though, so I bring along a little Bose Micro bluetooth speaker on the nightstand and connect it to White Noise app on my phone when I go to bed. It's also my solution for hotel noise (elevators/drunks). Perfect.

I wouldn't base that certainty on something that anyone in future cruises told me. I know first-hand to never rely on their knowledge (frequently wrong so I never ask them anything). I personally doubt X's software could track someone not showing up (it happens to couples, too), but if it scares you, then don't do it. I'm PO'd about the things they're doing to solos that don't show. For example, as a solo, my military discount has been $200 as long as I've been cruising solo (16 yrs since DH died). Three weeks ago, when I changed cabin category on a 2025 sailing (booked onboard last Nov), my existing $200 military discount dropped to $125. They've also dinged me as a solo when I booked a suite with the zenith discount; then they wouldn't honor the military discount at all. My TA, who is also a solo zenith, has questioned Celebrity about these changes/eliminations; evidently, it's the game they've very recently decided to play. I've booked cruises on other lines for 2025 and as it stands now, I guess other lines will be in the cards for 2026. I've tolerated a lot of X's slash-and-burn style of management over the past two years, but I'm finding this military insult difficult to overlook/forgive. 🤬 OK, rant over for now.

It's miraculous that loungers aren't dangerous on the pool deck, the deck above it, or the Retreat sundeck. Yup, "it's a miracle!"

I wouldn't put it at all past them for a lounger to be an add-on purchase, like a beverage package, wifi, early boarding (premium pkg thing), room service, etc. Yup, it'd be an "enhancement." 😆 Cha-ching.

Yes. On the flight from MCO to the hub (either IAD/EWR), I sit by the window, own the middle, and someone else sits on the aisle. I don't upgrade that first leg to coach plus. But on the long-haul, the 767 out of IAD/EWR, I upgrade my two seats to a set of the "2s" in coach plus. Going from Orlando to Barcelona this November, United has a choice of 767-400 (2-4-2) from EWR or 767-300 (2-4-2) from IAD. I actually had booked United business (thru IAD) with FBC when it first came out for $500 less than it has been ever since. But the end of April, when I was checking FBC options (do it every weekend), AA business popped up on FBC through MIA for $1600 less than my UA fare! I dialed FBC on-the-spot. Whew, the good deal was only there 24 hrs before fare went back up to well over $5K. I still can't believe my good fortune - I think first/business for less than $2K to anywhere in Europe qualifies as the holy grail (so I've quit checking).

David, when my DH and I traveled to Europe, except for a very few times we flew in first class, we'd choose an airline/aircraft that had 3-3-3 coach seating configuration. Then one of us would book the middle "extra seat" to have a passport assigned against it. Worked wonderfully and would also give us an extra checked bag which I liked, DH didn't (he used the term sherpa a lot). FBC can only book one seat per cruise reservation passenger, so no extra seats possible through them. If I can't afford business class these days, I'll still book coach directly with an airline, being sure the overseas leg is on an aircraft with 2-4-2 configuration. Then I upgrade my two seats to coach-plus on just the long-haul, overseas leg. It's actually pretty comfortable and usually waaay cheaper than premium economy.

$22-17= $5+1= $6 (still gotta do the math). 😉

I think I remember reading you were able to reprice a cruise or two with the zenith discount? If so, did they adjust/remove the military discount you already had? On the Eclipse cruise I upgraded, instead of keeping the same onboard booking number, they issued a new number altogether and new booking codes.

Military discount and onboard booking OBC are still available in current form to all but zenith and/or solos. It's X staying under the radar while chiseling away at formerly standard discounts/OBCs. Chip, chip, chip.

After booking four cruises elsewhere because I'd lost patience with X's management moves, they finally instituted a cruise-only option for zeniths, so I upgraded an Eclipse cruise (A2 to S1) for next year which I was going to let go. The new invoice came through from my TA and instead of the usual suite $200 OBC for a repo cruise, it's only $125. She asked about it: "I questioned the onboard credit for booking onboard and he said 'this is for a single rate'." I'm still trying to determine how to compute a single rate for OBC. Oh, and they didn't honor the military discount with the zenith discount. Don't know if that's because I'm solo, zenith, or it was just simply arbitrary. I'm very cranky about this on principal. Haven't decided if I'll switch back to A2 or cancel. Grumble, grumble, grumble. BTW, my Eclipse (2010 build) S1 Z-discounted price w/gratuities is $380 more than an identical cruise I've booked on Silversea (2024 build). I'd like to do both, but for sure, not in the S1 now.

My TA is unavailable and I don't know for how long. Meanwhile, there's a cruise I'd like to book. Other lines allow a booking to be transferred to an agent within X number of days. Does Silversea? I'd wait except I need an accessible cabin and there's only one left. TIA

Great photo! (You're on Summit.)

David, I'm curious, were both sauces ordered or did this come sitting in gravy with bearnaise? Thanks.