leaveitallbehind

There was no direct reciprocity of tier benefits beyond Diamond and Elite. Levels above that (D+, E+, Pinnacle, Zenith) all shared Diamond or Elite benefits and were capped there. In order to enjoy D+ or E+ (or higher) benefits you had to earn those points with each cruise line seperately. Now if you are D+ on RCCL, you share reciprocity with Elite+, etc., and visa versa

No it is not. RCCL and Celebrity (and Silversea) are separate companies that are wholly owned subsidiaries of Royal Caribbean Group (formerly Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.) They are operated and managed separately and are independent of each other.

Just to be clear, whichever level you are highest on with either cruise line translates to the same tier level reciprocal benefits shared on board the other when cruising on them. For instance, if you are Diamond on RCCL, you would share the Elite benefits when sailing on Celebrity, and visa versa. Whatever cruise line on which you have the highest tier would determine the equivalent tier level on other with which you would share benefits when cruising on them. The old program "capped" the reciprocal benefits at Diamond = Elite, Elite+, and Zenith, and visa versa. The new program now says that Diamond = Elite, Diamond+ = Elite+, and Pinnacle = Zenith in terms of reciprocity of on board benefits. That is all that changed. Nothing changed affecting points earned remaining with the cruise line on which they were earned.

Port Canaveral is a port of call for Symphony sailing out of Cape Liberty NJ on a 7 day Bahamas cruise. It is in port until 8 PM as its regular time.

No comparison between Carnival and RCCL IMO. No interest in cruising with them. RCCL compares more similarly to NCL.

It will also be based on number of ships available for itineraries to the Bahamas. RCCL has significantly more ships based in Florida than Celebrity and likely will dominate activity there based on that. Their ships will likely be there far more frequently.

Touch up to certain areas maybe, but I don't think a standard maintenance drydock would allow for a full ship paint job. I'm sure you will let us know.

And none of their family of cruise lines offer any reciprocity of loyalty benefits between any of them. To my knowledge, RCI is unique with that benefit. And for clarity for @OnTheJourney, they may be cruise lines that are all part of the same parent company, but RCCL and Celebrity are independent companies that operate separately. They are not the same company. The reciprocity of loyalty programs between them, as mentioned, is unique among them in the industry.

If you are taking a cab or Uber/Lyft to the port you could ask them to stop somewhere along the way to pick some up. Otherwise, unfortunately, you won't be able to bring any wine on board for the cruise, and they may limit other beverages at the ports of call.

It would be an interesting concept - and even more interesting challenge - to merge points and have one program for both where total points on either combine for tier changes on both. Either way, even though I am mid level Diamond + / Elite+, by the time I reach Pinnacle or Zenith it would likely be "Weekend at Bernie's" for me - someone would be pushing my former self around on board in a wheelchair... LOL.

No offense intended. Our family including our three children grew up cruising on RCCL and there is nothing better than cruising with your children. But now that they are all adults we prefer the quieter cruising with Celebrity. My comment was intended to address the differences between the mega ship amusement parks of RCCL with a large contingent of children v the adult natured atmosphere of the smaller ships of Celebrity, which IMO should remain. Having some families with children on board Celebrity certainly is welcome. That's a far cry from what you experience with thousands of kids on RCCL. I would hate to see Celebrity become that.

To cover all bases, if you booked a cruise using Always fares, which includes the basic wifi and classic beverage package, you cannot drop those from the booking to get to a Standard fare. Its one fare base or the other, and the one you book with is the one you have to keep. You can upgrade both packages with Always, and those upcharges can be reissued if they change favorably later. To change from an Always fare to at Standard fare, you have to cancel your booking (incurring any penalty that may exist) and rebook at the then prevailing Standard fares. To that you can then add the packages separately. You can then drop and add them if prices change favorably up until 2 days prior to sailing. But if you booked with Always, you can only reprice that if the base fares drop, and then would do so with any penalty that may be incurred based on whether you booked with a refundable or non-refundable deposit.

I hope her intent is not to "Royal-ize" Celebrity. Celebrity succeeds because of its own demographic identity, and to attempt to blend that with that of a sister line IMO would be disastrous. RCCL, Celebrity, and Silversea IMO all succeed as part to the RCI family as a result of being different from each other. Everyone has a line they can choose. I do know that with the launch of the A-class ships a younger vibe has emerged, which is not necessarily a bad thing. It is intentionally expanding the age range of the targeted adult demographics to appeal to a boarder and younger, but still adult, overall market. But please draw the line at families with kids! Retain the Celebrity identity. IMO I also think the expansion with Celebrity to include CocoCay as a port of call is to accelerate the ROI from the development there, which was significantly interfered with by the pandemic. If successful it would be good for RCI in general. But it may be a stretch in the long run given the targeted demographics of CocoCay. Time will tell.

As answered, they most certainly can if there is still seating available when the reserved seating is opened to all approximately 10 minutes prior to the show.

CocoCay, with its most recent redevelopment into a huge waterpark, was designed to handle 12,000+ people, which essentially is two Oasis class ships at once. It is rare anymore to only have one ship docked there. There will almost always now be two RCCL ships or one Celebrity and one RCCL ship on any given day. I see no reason why, in an effort to continue to develop additional revenue, that Celebrity won't also follow suit with RCCL on any RCI private development at any given common port of call. I think the long term viability with this for Celebrity will depend on customer feedback and potential sales impact as RCCL and Celebrity have two opposite primary targeted demographics - families and adults respectively. CocoCay is very much developed for families with children. That may wear thin over time with Celebrity passengers, especially as they will be docked there mainly with kid filled RCCL mega ships. It may depend on the resulting "theme" with the Paradise Island venture. Who knows?

Not such a new thing as we have booked Cabanas at Barefoot several years pre-pandemic and was provided access to the restaurant there a few times through the Concierge on board based on our C&A tier. Once even with a Cabana booked at Nellies, where the concierge provided our entire party with wrist bands for access to Barefoot and escorted us over at lunch time. We have also been there by way of the suite route as well. Actually would have thought that ability was curtailed since the restart. I guess not.

As others have clarified this applies exclusively to Labadee and not CocoCay. There is no similar area available exclusively to suite guests there. Unfortunately it is of no value until itineraries once again include Labadee.

Which is a bit of a first for me as I am aware of water and soda being brought on - again at initial boarding - but not canned coffee beverages. But if soda is OK, why not? But I am not sure how they would handle that at subsequent ports of call. Maybe it would depend on how many.

The is IMO the crux of this entire thread. We are only hearing a second hand anecdotal account of something that occurred with a third party, and only that side of the information is being presented without any collaboration. On top of which the OP has determined with the thread's title a conclusive position regarding the liability for the events. IMO this is just controversy to elicit responses akin to clickbait. All of which may likely evaporate into thin air if the true documented facts were to be presented from all parties directly involved. Including your speculative commentary regarding a hypothetical lawsuit.

That would be correct. Just checked our SeaPass cards (yes, for some reason reason I keep them) from our Oasis NYE cruise this year and our cards indicate "Choice". We haven't gambled with any measurable dollars since pre-pandemic, and even then it was less than $100 combined for the two of us for the cruise. Also it apparently works the same on Celebrity where we are "Pearl". Even more curious with them is we rarely have played as their complimentary casino perks are match play, not free spin.

Thanks for the correction. We don't typically gamble but do use our free slot pulls on occasion. I guess that qualifies us....LOL. Worthless as it might be it keeps repeaters coming back I guess.

IMO they include that level for all just as an incentive to ask about and join the Casino program, and everyone is Choice as their entry level tier without "investing" anything. The goal being that if you are a gambler you will join and continue to cruise with with RCCL and spend time in the Casinos. Kind of along the same lines as "Gold" with the Crown & Anchor program, which is the entry level tier you achieve after your first cruise of a minimum of 3 days. The hope is you will keep cruising with RCCL to advance in your loyalty tiers with them.

The main theater limits you to the balcony center back rows, which may not be everyone's first choice. But with the Ice Rink / Studio B it is front and center first few rows facing the "stage", which IMO is best in the house, and the Aqua Theater is the top back rows center, which I also think is very good, unless you want to be closer to the front. We like it as it takes away any issues with having to get there too early to get decent seating and we tend to like the reserved sections locations. But you are correct, it is a personal choice.

Correct and I misspoke. Thanks for the correction.

Thank you for your clarity. I find it interesting that the OP already had drawn the conclusion of malpractice on the part of the medical center through their choice of a thread title. I wonder what qualifications on their part led to that position? I don't profess to have your qualifications but I always thought malpractice was brought by a person's actions, not by a place......