Iamcruzin

Steerage class is used in jest but I know many are easily offended these days. As far a good PR, spin it anyway you want but evidently it's not working if they can't even get Elites to go.

Perhaps this is why they are discontinuing it. Elite is150 days. If you have to go to the bottom of the barrel to get attendees then what's the point?

It's a different generation who buy into these loyalty programs. My generation (Boomer) and my parents generation were brought up to be brand loyal. I don't see these programs lasting unless they really start offering what people want like free WiFi. These programs are designed to make you spend money with discounts for shops and 50% off WiFi. What these cruise lines should be focusing on is those who work remotely and can very well work on a ship. That's the next generation of cruisers. Virgin Voyages actually promotes free WiFi in their ads for those who can't get away from the job. How nice would it be to work all day and not have to come home and cook and clean and actually enjoy a night out every night for a week. If you grab a last minute deal it could be cheaper than staying home. Itinerary wouldn't matter since you would be working.

If you are invited to the most traveled lunch, chances are you already have future cruises booked. No need to prime the pump.

We sail both Celebrity and Princess depending on who has the better price for the same or similar itinerary. They are very much a like.

You can argue the same about the food. The same people have already paid for meals in their cruise fare. They are going to eat lunch some where on the ship. If they go to the buffet and fill their plate too high and can't finish they are wasting food. Having a few officers attend a luncheon costs nothing as they are already being paid for being on the ship. At the end of the day the passenger pays one way or the other and these professional one line cruisers need to be stroked so that they will continue come back. How many threads have been started over the years about adding another loyalty level? They need constant reinforcement.

Overall I find Princess to be less than Celebrity and Royal. I booked Princess for Europe spring 2026 with 40% off and 3rd Passenger free. I decided to invite my son to come along. Celebrity hasn't even released Spring/Summer 2026 yet and Prices for 2025 are too high especially if you add in Drinks and WiFi. I did get a good residents rate for the end of September for a quick 4 night cruise on Reflection.

If the itinerary is good any ship will fill up. People are still filling the M class ships. Also the new cruisers won't know the difference between a balcony and IV.

Oh we do. Last cruise on Royal Caribbean we hit the MDR at 7:00am. We were the only one in there and we were done before it started to fill up at 8:00. This was on the Anthem. What was also nice is that they had a small buffet set up as well with all of the classic breakfast offerings for those who wanted a buffet without the commotion.

Those were the days. It was that or all the windows rolled up while your parents chain smoked. It's amazing that we lived through them.

This nicely sums it up.

It's a window. It's like sitting in the back of a 1970's station wagon with the window rolled down on a long trip. You get the air but you are not outside. Actually I think the station wagon is better because if the other windows are rolled down you get cross ventilation. In the IV, the room gets hot and humid if sailing on a warm itinerary. It's probably better for cooler climates like Alaska. To me it's an upgraded ocean view at a veranda price. It's still better than in interior.

Omelettes or eggs, bacon, pancakes or toast. I can't remember the last time I ate cereals. Cruise ship bagels are worse than Florida bagels. I'm not interested in a charcuterie board for breakfast but it would be nice in the afternoon. We get the drink package so I can get a Mimosa with real Champagne and not made with the headache water they use for the free stuff.

No doubt but I'm not about to accept a down grade if that's what it would be without a fight. That's called bait and switch.

Other than the danish which I can't eat, There is nothing on that menu that says breakfast to me.

To add insult to injury it costs more to pick your own cabin. I would want a refund of the difference in price if they pick it in the end.

I find that the TAs are worse to deal with than the call centers. I try to do everything online so that I don't have to deal with people who don't have a clue. It's not my job to train them.

I recently canceled a cruise on Princess. I booked the cruise online and I canceled it online. Within 24 hours it showed pending on the credit card APP and the credit was posted to my next billing statement. I'm sure that I wasn't the only one canceling a cruise that day.

When I return something to Amazon I get a credit to my card 30minutes after UPS scans the return barcode. The package hasn't even left UPS drop off yet. What's all this nonsense about layers of returns? It's all done electronically. If I cancel before final payment it processes in a reasonable amount of time. This is a clear case of the cruise line hanging on to money util the interest has posted to their account. Insurance companies pull the same crap by denying a claim after it's submitted. This is the reason that the customer service reps are given a canned script to read off of.

I was thinking the same thing.

This is so true. Princess is already running sails for Europe 2026. I got 40% off, 3rd person free and only $99 deposit. Celebrity hasn't even released summer 2026 yet and the prices are still high on fall 2024.

It's a bargain at $45 compared to what Royal Caribbean and Celebrity charge for restaurants.

I don't think a $10 increase is a big increase in terms of today's inflation rate. Everything continues to go up. With everyone buying the unlimited plan you probably can't even book a reservation if you just want to eat there once.

only if you can be seated.

I just booked a Mediterranean Cruise on Princess for May 2026. They were already discounting 40% and offering 3rd and 4th guest sail free on some of the itineraries. They also offered a low $99 deposit. When will Celebrity be releasing Summer 2026 European cruises?