CaroleSS

I'm with ya on that! We usually sail Aqua and buy the AI package, so there is little about Elite that we use. I think the only ones we really use are the discount to upgrade our drink package and the Hot Glass discount (which everyone gets, so not an Elite benefit). But as you mentioned, there is nothing in there that I'd be in a hurry to get!

If it was easy to become Elite, everyone would be there and the benefits would be terrible. As with many things in life, you have to work to get the reward.

"Longboat Key is still as beautiful as ever." It is!

We do that as well......but DH usually tips the garbage folk anytime we put out anything bigger than the "usual". But, my question is still out there? Where does it stop? Who do you tip and who don't you tip?

DH and I are big tippers. You really have to be bad for us to not leave 20%, but my feelings about tipping are beginning to change. The reason......more and more folk are expecting a tip. I see tip jars cropping up everywhere.....at the convenience store, fast food places, I even saw one at my local bank! Tipping has gotten out of hand. Nearly anytime I pay for something, there is the option for a tip! Am I expected to tip the cashier at my grocery store.....they provided me with a service. How about the mailman, the delivery person.....the doctor? Lots of people provide me with a service. Some are paid a salary, some are hourly. How do we know who to tip and who not? I am leaning more and more to paying people a flat rate and eliminating tipping all together. Yes, I understand it is a cultural thing, but many countries have moved away from tipping and I, for one, would be agreeable to the idea. Each of us has our own opinions, these are mine. I do not expect to change anyone's mind, but to simply state my feelings. I will continue to tip as that is the custom, but would welcome cruising where the fare was truly "all inclusive".

looking at things from the other side....... As some have mentioned before, many allergies have cropped up in recent years. This makes eating out difficult for the individual and difficult for the restaurant planning meals for patrons. From the restaurant's vantage point, they must have options for multiple allergens. Planning meals around those has to be difficult (nod to @Cruise a holic) Think about a kitchen that has to feed 3,000-5,000 people 3 times a day. They have to have varied menus to accommodate everyone's taste....that alone is a feat! Now factor in reduced budgets and the plethora of dietary restrictions and you quickly find yourself unable to please anyone! Cooking at home is easy as you know what items you can have and what you can't and you plan your menus accordingly.....but the cruise ship has lots of people with differing tastes and restrictions. While correct labels are helpful, even on this thread the definition of "vegan" is in question. Unfortunately each person with a dietary restriction has to be responsible for ensuring their needs are met. X can't offer the same options and variety you get at home. Flame away, but they can't seem to satisfy people with NO restrictions!

If I think back to many of the food postings, it seems to me that those on the new E class ships report better food than the older ships. Maybe there is something different about the menus, choices, etc which make that true? Maybe X is trying to attract more people to the new ships, so they have higher standards for "things"? We cruise in Aqua, have for quite some time and do so as we enjoy Blu. Our last sailing was our 5th on Equinox and we certainly noticed a drop in the selections and quality of the food. I cannot speak to the food in the MDR as we did not eat there, but did eat lunches in the OVC and did notice the reduction in selections. Did we go hungry, no.....but the decline has certainly been noticeable over the past 5-ish years (to include pre-Covid, so that excuse doesn't work for me). I can understand trying to recoup monies lost during Covid plus the additional costs of things now, but with all the changes, the nickel and diming, the cutbacks, etc.....X is losing its luster for us. More of the sameo-sameo for moreo dollerso 🥺

Aurora used to work in the Executive Office, but has since moved to Social Media. I have had the pleasure to have her assist me in the past and she is wonderful! Very knowledgeable and very helpful. X should be delighted to have her on their team!

The website won't give your your discount. I'm pretty sure you have to call to get it. The discount is 15%, plus any discount they might be offering.

A little while ago (month or so) there was a very long thread about the Blue Chip offers. You might do a search and read the (very long) thread. It has a lot of very good information which might answer your questions, and then some!

Nostalgia......feel like a kid again???? What a crock! My mother used to sing me to sleep at night. Can I get someone to do that for a fee?

Anyone without a backup is a dolt!

Ok, so I'm not buying it. I've worked in IS for 30+ years and this sort of thing does not happen if your QA team does their job. Ok, it does not happen if your programmers do even the most rudimentary testing! X does a terrible job with these tasks. Regarding fixes.....something like this can be fixed in hours (can anyone say rollback the code using the backup). I've rolled out production code changes overnight, it doesn't have to take weeks. As @Charles4515 says, this is noting new for X's IS team. Their website is and has been terrible for decades. There is no excusing their "glitches" for a multi-million(billion) dollar business. A High School coding assignment would do a better job!

Try Executiveoffice@celebrity.com

The tech savvy generation (ya know, the ones that X is now wooing) won't stand for a horrible website like X has. They know how a decent website operates (many have likely worked on decent ones) and they will equate the horrible website with a horrible ship-board experience.....so will look elsewhere!

You should email this to corporate rather than posting it here. No one from X reads these boards anymore.

Ok, so I did post my question again on the website, but also replied to the email. This is what I said. I'm sure they couldn't care less about my input, but I gave it to them anyway! I also posed some other questions, some of which have been mentioned here and some from other sites. I will report back should I get an answer (not holding my breath tho). ************************* Just in case you didn't get my original question, here it is for a second time....outside your webpage We have seen a great number of cutbacks to goods/services in the last 6+ months. Celebrity used to bill itself as a "luxury" line, but now it is simply "middle-of-the-road". What, if anything, makes Celebrity now stand out from all the other mass market lines, especially at the price point you are asking? Based upon postings on Social Media, all the recent changes have not been favorably received. X is watering down its brand and charging more for it. Your loyal customers are looking at other lines. Is this really what you intended to do? All the recent cuts detract from your brand and people are noticing! You certainly have made my family consider more land-based vacations where we seem to be "wanted". Celebrity appears to not want my business anymore. We usually sail in higher end cabins and spend quite a bit onboard. I'm sure all you want to discuss at the upcoming seminar are the addition of CoCoCay and all the other "fluff" changes, but these things aren't what your loyal, long-time customers want you to address. Please consider some of these questions in your upcoming seminar.

SMH......and we are surprised by this how? The X website has been horrible for YEARS! Good thing the ship personnel are better at doing their jobs than the land based folk!

I'm holding ya to that! 🥰

Ok, I was drinking tea while reading this and my tea came out my nose! 🤪😱😜

@Carol28 Ft Lauderdale and Miami have enrollment centers, so those are very close to you. Both participate in Enrollment on Entry.....But, they only will take you if you are arriving on an international flight....not a domestic flight nor as a walk-in. Enrollment on Arrival (EoA) is CBP program that allows Global Entry applicants who are conditionally approved to complete their interviews upon arrival into the United States; including those entering the United States via a designated CBP Preclearance location. The EoA program eliminates the need for a Global Entry applicant to schedule an interview at an enrollment center to complete the application process.

I think it depends on if it is an initial application or a renewal. We have had GE for many years and, as many have said, getting an appointment was a PITA! We filled out all the paperwork and waited. The first interview was longer than the renewal, but we were approved quickly. It did take a week or two to get our card. Renewal was very easy, say "hi" and off we went. @wrk2cruise has a good suggestion. Try to look for appointments in "not so busy" places while you are traveling. Alas, most of the GE sites are in bigger airports and few and far between, so getting an appointment can take a while. BTW, best money we've spent....getting GE! It has saved us countless hours standing in line! Quick and easy!

Albatrosses are masters of soaring flight, able to glide over vast tracts of ocean without flapping their wings. So fully have they adapted to their oceanic existence that they spend the first six or more years of their long lives (which last upwards of 50 years) without ever touching land. now THAT'S amazing (to me at least)

We've seen flying fish "surfing" off the ships hull before and recently saw a BUNCH of them in Curacao going to a snorkeling spot. They are amazing to watch! Green flash.....just once. I think the atmospheric conditions have to be rights as I watch for it on every vacation. Being from the south, I've been fortunate to see the Aurora Borealis once in my life. Seeing them again is on my bucket list......through the ceiling of an igloo in Lapland!

"She" won't, but someone will. And after enough "why" questions, maybe someone will say to someone, "gee, we annoyed a lot of people, maybe we should say something to someone". But, I live in LalaLand where companies and people care about the customers they serve. What I have found is the "Walmart Syndrome"......for every one person that leaves the store vowing to never come back, two more are walking in the store. Money talks and unless bookings drop, X could care less what I, or other loyal customers, think about the cutbacks. The beatings will continue until morale increases!