leaveitallbehind

I realize your question was regarding how to book at the double occupancy fare. But what you indicate regarding the solo fare just doesn't make sense. I am not questioning what you are seeing, but whether or not it is truly an accurate fare. Are you getting this fare from the cruise line website or other on line booking tool, or is a live rep issuing it? If just on line, I would call the cruise line and have their rep confirm the fare, or contact a TA and have that agent do the same before I accepted it as accurate. Seeing a cruise line charging more than double for a published double occupancy fare for a solo booking would not be something I would take at face value without confirmation from the cruise line or a TA. Website fare mistakes have been made in the past and this seems to me to likely be a mistake. If you have done so and this is the actual rate from a live rep, IMO I would steer clear of that booking altogether as something is just not right about that. You shouldn't have to resort to a fictitious double booking to get the correct solo fare. Again, I am not challenging you on this - just curious if this is a verified fare.

Thanks - appreciate the correction. But in comparison with other programs I still think their tier level benefits are weak.

I could be wrong and would appreciate if someone knows for sure if otherwise but I think they have discontinued that status match program. And as others have mentioned at least at one time they required a repeat cruise every three years to maintain status. Their benefits are not that strong either and IMO they have one of the weakest loyalty programs as a result.

IMO RCCL has the strongest program with free cruises awarded at certain point levels, free (or discounted, based on tier level) laundry, discounts on cruise bookings (again based on tier level), complimentary drinks that range from 4 - 6 pp per day., etc. If interested, here is a link describing their Crown & Anchor loyalty program: https://www.royalcaribbean.com/content/dam/royal/resources/pdf/crown-and-anchor-society-benefit-grid.pdf

Royal Caribbean and Celebrity. Their programs are also reciprocal in terms of shared benefits based on tier level while cruising on either one. Points earned during a cruise remain with the line you are on at the time, however. There is also talk currently about having the two programs merge as a single program applicable to both with cumulative points. This would benefit the Celebrity loyalists as their program is not as strong in terms of benefits as Royal's. IMO Royal's program is the best in the industry in terms of tier benefits.

I am not answering for the OP but just adding my opinion on your first question by saying with the intensive level and diversity of entertainment on most mass market cruise lines, that would clearly not be acceptable today. Cruise ship entertainment has become a very competitive draw between the lines and to have something far less out of the 70's (as referenced by the OP) would clearly not have a place today on these lines. But there are different boutique, sailing vessel, and smaller scale cruise lines where the entertainment is still somewhat of a sideline with the focus on the cruise itself where that type of entertainment likely has a home.

Back then if that was all they had on board for entertainment, they may have been handled by an entertainment manager as part of the hotel staff who maybe was less visible and did not have the passenger social responsibilities of the more contemporary CD.

Understood. It just sounded like a one time issue that would be resolved. But it looks like that resolution may not come until after the completion of the cruise. Sorry for your issues.

As @mom says says, Cruise Directors are responsible for all entertainment and activities on board. They have a staff which includes an assistant CD and other entertainment and activity directors. Every entertainer, activity coordinator, and ship performer reports through this staff to them, and they in turn report directly to the Hotel Director. Their roles are far broader than just being visible on the ship or mixing with the passengers. Without them, none of the entertainment or activities would exist, so yes, I think they are an essential component on any cruise ship.

It sounds like the issue only recently developed while on your cruise and, although lengthy in its resolution, it is being addressed. If this is a singular situation I'm not sure that would be a bad stateroom to recommend as the noise issue would seem unlikely to repeat.

You should be fine as well because you are on the outside edge of the ship. But as you suggest you can contact your TA and they can check availability for the same category as assigned in alternate locations if you want to move.

Along that line of thought, there are cruise lines that offer dedicated solo staterooms on some of their ships that are somewhat smaller than standard but are intended specifically for solo cruisers and are priced accordingly at a fare that is somewhat higher than a typical per person double occupancy rate, but far less than the standard stateroom rate priced for a solo. NCL and Celebrity are two, for example. This might be an option for a lower total cost on two separate staterooms

That's actually a point I was just about to make. Comparing costs between booking two standard staterooms and suites with 2 bedrooms is like comparing apples to oranges - they may both be staterooms but they differ significantly from each other in terms of total size, included benefits, and perks. To add to the general discussion, there are cruise lines that offer family staterooms that are not suites but have a separate (generally a bunk room) sleeping area apart from the main bedroom. They typically will hold up to 6 and are priced in a comparable scale to standard staterooms.

That's very unusual indeed! Can't answer regarding your hotel experience other than to suggest you were dealing with a "misinformed" hotel employee. But with regards to the cruise industry, "connecting staterooms" is the correct terminology. And with your booking confirmation the stateroom(s) will be shown, which can, as you indicate, be confirmed by looking at the website ship's deck plans and checking for the connecting door icon. And, as with any problem, guest services will have a supervisor on duty to talk with, and failing that, the Hotel Director has full on board authority with issues. The only problem is - as you suggest - once on board, stateroom change options are extremely limited. But you are correct that confirming with your booking, with several terms of clarity, early on is a good idea.

The most correct terminology to use with the cruise line representatives when desiring two staterooms next to each other with a common wall with an interior door opening between them is to ask for "connecting" staterooms. (And as @Essiesmom indicates, on certain classes of Celebrity ships this is done via an outer private vestibule, but would still be referred to as "connecting" staterooms).

To answer your original question, RCCL and Celebrity, for two, have suites that have separate bedrooms, with a convertible couch as well in the living room.

I don't know from direct experience, but It would seem to me that by the description of "drinks included while playing in the casino", the expectation is you would be playing at a table or a slot machine in order to qualify for the drinks. I would guess that the free drinks is an enticement to get you spend money gambling. This thread will likely be moved to the Carnival thread for better answers.

If you are unhappy with an assigned location, many cruise lines will allow you to switch to a different one as long as there is availability with the original assigned category. (Ex: RCCL / Celebrity). Their websites, direct representatives, or your TA can assist with confirming availably of alternate locations and making the change. We have done this a number of times via a GTY booking if we preferred a different location post assignment. Many times the pricing of the GTY is worth the booking knowing that alternative choices may be available. Occasionally you might receive a higher category than the base code in a GTY offering, which can be a pleasant surprise. While infrequent, this has happened to us as well with GTY bookings.

Agree, and to your example you have documented data to support the claim. My curiosity is to whether of not the OP has anything similar with their claim.

Not to challenge your perception, but define "a ship full of sick passengers". Other than your subjective observation, what quantitative information do you have to define your experience? Were general announcements made specific to these illnesses on board - in particular covid? High levels of passenger illnesses would generally result in that. Typically, by regulation when 2% of the ship population is reported as ill, that data is reported to the CDC. On a ship of 2,000 passengers and 1,000 crew, that would only be 60 people, as example, which is a very small total of those on board. Measures - which are mandated - are then clearly taken on board to mitigate that: obvious extra cleaning, buffet restrictions (typically no self serve, staff serve only), quarantining of ill passengers, limiting of certain venues, etc. Did any of that occur in your experience? While I am certain you saw a number of passengers that indicated illness, the statement of the ship being full of sick passengers can potentially result in an exaggerated interpretation of the situation. I'm just looking for clarificaion.

Possibly. It would depend on the terms of coverage. Different policies have different terms of coverage defining what is included or excluded.

BTW I enjoy your posts! I hope you realize that I am only trying to clarify my points when I respond - not always as clear as I would hope, I guess. To your comment, no they are not paying out more than they receive. I don't know the pricing you are getting or where you are getting it from - and that doesn't matter. But the mass market cruise lines do not negotiate their fares with TA's - the fare you would get directly from the cruise line is the same fare they would charge through a TA. And any non-cruise line perks or benefits further offered from them would come from their commission. How they manage that internally is up to them, I guess. That being said, there are fares that the public doesn't see and ways that TA's can offer more favorable fares. The most common as I mentioned is with block pricing where a TA has typically a large number of staterooms held that then results in a lower group rate which is not published publicly. There are also incentives offered by the cruise lines to the TA such as one individual fare for every 8 staterooms booked at double occupancy from this block. This can further reduce fares. The TA then provides this lower rate to their individual customers as their reduced rate, and you would be booked into their block. Larger volume TA's can also receive more attractive commission rates based on their volume which can then be used towards more favorable fares and perks as give backs. One last thing on fares. The cruise line's fare to you is made up of three components: the commissionable portion (the amount on which the TA's commission is based), the non-commissionable portion (no commission is paid on this), and the port fees and taxes. The customer does not see that split and any fare confirmation to the customer will simply indicate the total of these two amounts as the cruise fare, with port fees and taxes separate. Some TA's will juggle the numbers and advertise their cruise fare by showing only the commissionable portion, with the non-commissionable portion not indicated. This other amount will be then included in the port fees and taxes portion later as a separate fee. In this manner their fares will always appear to be lower than the published rate - and without doing direct exact booking comparisons with the cruise line it would be hard to decipher what is what. This can be further complicated if they do this with block fares, which are not published and lower to begin with. But at the end of the day, the net combined total will equal the issued cruise fare. This is why it is always advisable to ask the TA for their full and final total invoice with your booking along with the booking confirmation from the cruse line to assure they match.

Which cruise line - Celebrity? WIFI programs run for a period of a few days - also typically consecutively - or for the duration of the cruise. I don't believe Celebrity would allow you to upgrade for a limited period of time from a basic to premium service. If you are going to be using WIFI frequently and you will have the basic service, it may be best to just upgrade to premium for the whole cruise it that will be needed critically at some point. You may want to check with Celebrity or TA (if you used one) for clarification on this, but I don't believe you can.

It's possible that the poster you were addressing is expressing concerns or experiences on some of the smaller lines on which they typically cruise? I don't know. But I do know the policies both with carrying the wine on board and with then consuming it on board with Celebrity, which is the line of concern with the OP and his post. And as pointed out several times by you, me, and others, there is no corkage fee assessed for bringing it on board or consuming it on board outside of bars and dining venues, where if you bring the bottle, they can assess the fee. And on our number of cruises with Celebrity, consuming it anywhere else in a glass is fine - and in our past experience that has included the dining venues.

Note also that new bookings on Celebrity via the Always program no longer will include gratuities - just the classic beverage package and basic WIFI. The elimination of gratuities is a very recent change.