Mark_T

Celebrity have got very good at 'boiling the frog slowly', none of these changes really matter... unless they alter something you value...

... and they have just removed the Butlers from the Sky suites it seems so the value is not getting any better either...

... well at least Celebrity are consistent in terms of not giving any notice to those with existing bookings... The ripples from all these recent changes are going to continue for some time I think as it really forces home the realization that there is no aspect of whatever persuaded us that a particular cruise was going to deliver good value for our money, that cannot be removed on a whim...

Yes, I think that would surprise me as both Luminae and the Retreat (both Lounge and sun-deck) are not exactly over-used and they couldn't easily orphan lower suite guests in the MDR while Aqua has Blu, and Blu could not accommodate the additional load... They could eventually make it a paid upgrade option I guess... 🙂

There is no penalty for a 12 night cruise, cancelled more than 89 days prior to departure, as long as it is not in Yacht Club. That is what the table shows for US bookings...

Even Celebrity do not allow customers buying one of the multi-night speciality dining packages to make reservations before boarding...

I guess something like this was inevitable as pretty much all the other changes have not impacted on the Retreat at all... So with the higher prices seemingly not causing a lack of bookings, the door was open to some service reductions there as well...

No, that would be a cancellation, not a change...

This is the cancellation penalty chart from the US T&C... Read the rest of the contract for the full details..

I'm not fond of seafood either, but I had no problem finding plenty of good options each day...

... so in other words they are a cruise line... I don't like many of the things they have done to service levels, product changes and numerous double booking incidents, but sadly they are no different to many other cruise lines in this regard...

No, not in this case.

Having sailed on Celebrity and MSC this year I'd have to say that Celebrity have been scaling back the food service noticeably, to the point where I would struggle to say with certainty that they are even better than MSC, certainly not even close to 'far surpasses'. If price is a factor then Celebrity will also lose out, but they would be a clear winner I think on the entertainment onboard and on the speciality restaurant offerings, so for 'foodies' there would be more higher quality options, just don't expect to get that experience in the MDR or buffet, if outside the Retreat, and even the suite class restaurant, may fall short for some when compared to the equivalent Yacht Club on MSC, especially if price is a consideration....

Easier to say 'no extension cords' than to explain which ones are not a problem and which ones are...

Spa Cafe are mostly working with pre-mix ingredients, they are not starting from fresh fruit, so they don't have the ability to leave out or add a fruit in most cases.

If it isn't offered, just ask if you do care... 🙂 We were only on a 4 night cruise and it was offered. We just traded it for wine instead.

The easiest solution is still to move the elders down to one of the 3 balcony cabins they have on the same deck, a swap of who is where once onboard will be trivial...

Those dates are based on the end date of the cruise though, so you have to make sure the cruise ends before your status expires.

I agree, we've been losing interest in the 'M' ships and our 2025 Japan reservation on Millennium is hanging by a thread at the moment between the attraction of MSC Yacht Club, and the lack of the World Class bar, Murano etc. Adding the World Class bar would make a difference for us.

Agreed, but I am always grateful that we don't have to pay the prices that our US friends do for travel insurance...

Correct, the UK prices are higher because they include the gratuity as it is not legal here, to display a price then add a mandatory gratuity at the point of payment.

Only if they can get insurance with a 'Pre-Existing Medical Condition Waiver' and that seems unlikely as I believe that in the US you usually have to buy the insurance within a short period of the initial deposit...

Yes, we were onboard for the first 4 days of your week as a trial. We don't use the spa facilities so not a negative for us, and the snacks in YC were more than adequate for our needs given how much food there was in general, so no complaints there either. We may try one of the larger ships another time, but our next cruise will be back on Divina next February in the Caribbean.

There are exclusions to that rule, particularly in Butcher's Cut where for example the Tomahawk steak and other high priced steaks cannot be discounted.

I don't think anyone has suggested otherwise, but on an EU ship sailing an EU itinerary, especially in the Schengen zone there isn't even any border control, let alone restrictions on the movement of food between ship and shore... Plenty of other ports where the warning about food is usually given clearly by the ship when in port, so always check, but it is not automatically wrong everywhere...