ChucktownSteve

1 hour ago, tgg said:

The phrases "select guests" "select bookings" and "eligible bookings" are used in this offer.  I wonder what those phrases mean.

Thats why I asked if my cruise qualified for the promotion. 
 

one of the reasons I don’t want to pay tooooo early is because my trip insurance broker only writes the covered amount for just the deposit. Then as I pay additional amounts towards the cruise needing the coverage, I have to pay the additional premium which is several hundred dollars or more depending upon the balance due. 
 

two extra months earlier isn’t that big a deal. 

We were on the Navigator and the aft suites had a lot of vibration and noise.  But I was told many people love that ship.  Seems similar in size to the Voyager but can't say.  I'm sticking with the Splendor, Grandeur and Explorer going forward although Mariner was nice too.

I just spoke with an Azamara rep who said I have 91 days to pay the balance to receive the 5% promotion. However I must use it on the cruise I'm paying for.  She said it will probably be a long time promotion because it's been very popular.  I understand that comment plus $4.95 will get me a bitter cup of Starbucks coffee. Drink mine black.

44 minutes ago, travel1light said:

Thanks for all the replies to my post, lots of great information. I am going to look into booking Regent instead of Silversea, just not confident in the overall direction RCL is going.

If you liked the info I supplied and you're going to book a Regent cruise, I can get you $250 off the booking if it's within 14 day of making the reservation.  Let me know. I'll tell you how.. steveL50 hotmail.

10 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

A lot of the discussion has been about suites, what about the average cruiser?  I did a couple of mock bookings for a 7 day Caribbean cruise for the first week in March 2025.  I compared Celebrity to Holland America, two similar cruise lines.  These comparisons are for a standard veranda cabin with drinks, WiFi and a refundable deposit.  Tips are not included.  Fees and taxes are included.  I also compared a new ship and an old ship 
 

Celebrity Ascent March 9th.   $4915

 

Celebrity Equinox March 8th. $4230

 

Holland America Nieuw Standendam March 8th. $3878

 

Holland America Nieuw Amsterdam (older ship) March 9th. $3658

 

The Holland America cruises also include a free dinner at a specialty restaurant, $100 credit for shore excursions and $200 OBC with the current promotion.

 

At least for this situation Celebrity is a lot more expensive but I have found similar comparisons for a lot of other cruises I’ve considered.

So it just shows to go ya, Celebrity IS more expensive whether its a standard veranda cabin or Resort Suite.

8 hours ago, billc23 said:

Wow! What a drastic difference in the passenger to crew ratio. No wonder why Celebrity service cannot compare to Regent or Silversea. A metric I saw a while back was the amount of public space per passenger and that is also very telling of how crowded a ship feels. I do not have the numbers but could probably find them. 

As a caveat,I'm not sure if those crew numbers are still accurate for Royal Caribbean Group's lines. They may not be based upon recent crew cut backs; increasing their bottom line the past couple of years during/post covid.

Look at the uproar over Celebrity's attempt to change to a butler group instead of the promised/booked personal butler.

Also I'm not sure Silversea Medallion suites include the specialty restaurant or excursions since I have not experienced that line.

I've found that the smaller ships tend to be more port intensive which is what I prefer in an itinerary. The more active in port I am, the less likely I wish to stay up later for "entertainment."  Part of the intangibles proposition for me, as Markeb mentioned, is the caliber of other passengers.  Meeting and making new friends is much easier on the intimate ships.

Billc23, the way to determine PSR: Passenger Space Ratio = Gross Tonnage (GT) divided by the number of passengers. Thus Regent Grandeur = 74.39 and Celebrity Ascent  =  43.12.

1 hour ago, mac_tlc said:

 Have been investing early 2026 myself. I can find any price relationship anybody wants 😂😂.

 

I was intrigued by the “$408pppd more than Regent” .

For 2:

Celebrity Ascent - Feb 23, 2026  - 11 nights - CS= $17,849 = $811 pppd

 

Silversea Silver Ray - Feb. 27, 2026 - 11 nights - Medallion Suite= $21,200 = $963pppd

 

Regent Grandeur - Feb. 28, 2026 - 14 nights - Penthouse Suite C= $25,283= $902 pppd.

 

No air in any of those numbers.

 

What am I missing? 
 

As an engineer, I have a spreadsheet for everything —- except the intangibles.    Ship size, passengers, activities, entertainment, food—- I wish I could have a formula for those. 😂. 
 

That 14 night itinerary is nice. 
 

mac_tlc

Yeah I liked the itinerary too which is why I booked it.  I was seeking the ABCs not two of them.

I did make a fat finger error.  I just rechecked the Silversea web site and the Medallion suite is $12,100 pp or $105pp/pn more than Regent. Thankx for catching that.

I booked this Regent cruise on 2/29/24 which was the last day for that cruise to receive the two category upgrade promotion. I always book when they run that promotion on a Regent cruise I want. 

I paid for the Concierge E and received the Penthouse C suite. Thus I paid $10,949 pp on the 14 night which comes to $782.07pp/pn. Since it's the same price on their website still listed for the Concierge, I didn't think I needed to show the invoice.Too bad you missed the promotion. It may come back though.  As a side note, my TA is rebating me $2,050 on this cruise instead of OBC which I didn't calculate into the cost. 😁

There is an online cruise booking company which I use for ship details (which must not be posted) that shows the size of the ship, with pax and crew numbers. So for your spreadsheet edification...

SILVER RAY

Year Built 2024

Tonnage 54,700 tons

Registry Bahamas

Length 801 feet

Beam 97 feet

Passenger Capacity 728

Crew Size 556

# of Inside Cabins 0

# of Outside Cabins 298

# of Cabins w/ Verandas 286

# of Suites 298

SEVEN SEAS GRANDEUR

Year Built 2023

Tonnage 55,498 tons

Registry Bermuda

Length 735 feet

Beam 102 feet

Passenger Capacity 746

Crew Size 542

# of Inside Cabins 0

# of Outside Cabins 375

# of Cabins w/ Verandas 375

# of Suites 375

CELEBRITY ASCENT

Year Built 2023

Tonnage 140,600 tons

Registry Malta

Length 1,073 feet

Beam 128 feet

Passenger Capacity 3,260

Crew Size 1,400

# of Inside Cabins 131

# of Outside Cabins 792

# of Cabins w/ Verandas 1210

# of Suites 198

1 hour ago, Dolebludger said:

Travel1light, Silversea is an excellent cruise line. It requires more formal dress than Regent, both by code and actual onboard practice. It doesn’t include laundry for all guests — only some. And the air offered in its rates that include it is all economy. But, I have seen some attractive prices on  Silversea recently, so it clearly deserves consideration. 

I just looked at Silversea Ray for an 11 night Caribbean cruise in a Medallion Suite which is 527sf compared to the Regent Grandeur Penthouse at 561-644sf for 14 nights and the Celebrity Ascent Celebrity Suite at 501sf for 11 nights which I posted on the Regent Board. All three overlap with different Caribbean itineraries in Feb 2026.

Silversea is $408 more pp/pn than Regent. The Celebrity suite is $52 pp/pn more than Regent's suite. 

Besides my preferred itinerary on Regent and daily Valet Laundry for every suite, I no longer wish to deal with schlepping formal wear on a Silversea Caribbean cruise. Regent and Azamara don't require Formal nights anymore.

Since RCG now owns Silversea, I'm wondering if they'll apply the same cost slashing to that line that they've done to both RCL and X? That's what made me move from X, my former go to line, to AZamara and Regent at better pp/pn rates, longer cruises and better food IMO.

1 hour ago, Oxo said:

Don't understand your answer.

Booze cruise on Celebrity?

BC from FLL?

LOL

Nope. It's the cheap, short cruises that attract the booze cruize patrons with very little disposable income that can't usually sail a much longer cruise or have the available vacation time..That's why I prefer 14 night cruises.  A different type of patron.  Short Carnival cruises are a good example also. 

Nothing wrong with that if it's what people want.  Just not for my pasture.

22 minutes ago, Oxo said:

Here is one example of X Silly Jan 2025.

Bet a one day cruise would be even cheaper. 🤪

6 minutes ago, frantic36 said:

What's a koozie? I normally take my own well  insulated bottles.

It's a promotional insulated beverage (bottle or can) holder; usually made of neoprene with a printed company's logo handed out for free.It's supposed to keep the bottle/can cold.  In Australia it might be referred to as “stubby holder”.

24 minutes ago, PhD-iva said:

Also, I’m not impressed with the Regent aluminum water bottles; they are not insulated and sweat if you put cold drinks in it. Loses its chill quickly. 

 

Yeah they do if cold liquid. That's why I put them in a koozie. 😎

12 minutes ago, rj59 said:

Making general statements like that really isn't accurate, because it all depends on where and when you book, and what you spend on board. My first 5 X cruises in Solstice cost an average of $300, and a week on Apex cost $650 or so. Even last November/December I booked Mexico cruises on X for $300 or so, although for one I had to book a no-show second guest, to get around the price discrimination. I booked Ascent in January and Beyond next November for around $900, both with a solo discount--you just have to know when and where to book and grab deals when you see them. Next January I have Silhouette booked for $60/nt for a solo cabin. I find similar deals on other lines, like $100/nt for Azamara in Europe and the Caribbean solo, and last month I had a deluxe suite on HAL for $50/nt to Mexico under their standby program. As a solo cruiser, I also have complete control of onboard spending, so I skip packages, I buy e-sim passes for data in every port, and skip most excursions. I also had my first 5 X cruises paid for by buying RCL at $40 to get the OBC, and then selling at $120. No cruise line is perfect, they all have pluses and minuses, as do all ships and all destinations, which is why I'm agnostic about lines--I just returned from a Carnival cruise and last week booked 5 cruises on Quantum of the Seas to Mexico, since the Quantum class reminds me of Edge-class, but without the offensive-to-me closing of so much public space by the Retreat. 

It appears from this post that the most important aspect to you for cruising is price regardless of what you get.  Would you say that's accurate?  You can always find cheap cabins on ships that don't sell because an empty cabin is lost revenue forever. 

Good for you getting the cheap prices.  Many others have different priorities though and are willing to pay based upon value.  Cheapest is not always the best value.

For those who consider food important to their cruise experience as I do, I've attached a sample of Regent's Main Dinning Room, Compass Rose, every day menu. You want lobster, Dover Sole or scallops every night without an up charge? How about a Filet or Veal Medallion? No problem!

Then there's the specialty entree menu which changes daily.

If you download the attached pic, you should be able to enlarge it.

https://www.rssc.com/experience/cuisine/compass-rose

27 minutes ago, Dolebludger said:

Let me comment on the butler situation. On Regent the room stewards have fewer rooms and more duties than on Celebrity. The stewards on Regent do everything a butler on Celebrity does. I’ve cruised the Retreat on Celebrity and Regent in non-butler suites. And every Regent suite has included use of the mini fridge contents of soft drinks and beer (replenished) and spirits and wine are provided to all suites. I believe only the Royal Suites and above on Celebrity have this inclusion. 

I believe you're correct.  What I like about Regent's bar set up is that you request two of your preferred liquor brands. They deliver in liter sizes. Plus they replenish them should you drink the bottle empty. Last cruise I requested three...Walker Black, Grey Goose and Seagrams VO.Not a problem.

Their aluminum refillable water bottles are a nice touch too as a bring on excursions and take home.
 

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

Who do you trust?  The US State Department or Celebrity?

Is neither an option?

@Zitsky,

Before recently booking a Regent Grandeur cruise, I compared it with the Celebrity Ascent. Both are new ships sailing in the Caribbean February 2026 with overlapping dates.  I had a two category suite upgrade during the Regent promotion last month.  I stripped out the included Air and hotel for calculation since I won't be using them.  I priced a Regent Concierge.Suite but booked a Penthouse Suite for the same price. I also prefer 14 day cruises which Regent offered to the Southern Caribbean but Celebrity only had an 11 day sailing. Celebrity used to offer a lot  of 14 day cruises which I booked often.  While the Regent sailing has the ABCs which I wanted, Celebrity doesn't go there on their longer cruise itinerary.

The Regent Penthouse is 561-644 Ft². The Celebrity Ascent Celebrity Suite is 501 Ft² and the Royal Suite is 759 Ft² . Since the CS is priced much lower than the RS and the Regent Penthouse Ft² falls between the two Celebrity, I used the CS size for price comparison.  I also included the cost of gratuities on the Celebrity booking since Regent includes that. Both include Butler, WiFi and premium drinks.  Celebrity includes Luminae but no specialty restaurants.  I've eaten in Luminae; wasn't impressed but was bored with the offerings.The Regent MD, Compass Rose. is (IMO) far superior even with their every day menu of USDA Prime steaks and a wide seafood assortment. Then there are three Regent Specialty restaurants included in every reservation.

The regent bonus' are: included excursions in every port, daily valet laundry returned same day, 746 pax vs. Ascent's 3,260 pax, and a pax to crew ratio of 1.37 vs. Ascent's ratio of 2.32

I prefer more intimate personalized service regardless of which suite you're in since Regent's whole ship is only suites. Therefore the whole ship is the Retreat.

After all that, Regent was still priced $52 pp/pn lower than the Celebrity Suite for the larger Regent Ft²suite.

And that is why I booked Regent over Celebrity for this cruise. Regent was the better itinerary and value to me. YMMV.  However I've found the best time to snatch a booking's best price is when they first release the itineraries.

As a side note: I've taken the air credit on our previous three Regent cruises.

41 minutes ago, chisoxfan said:

So bottom line for us,  we are hoping that the mainstream cruiselines don't overprice and eviscarate their product (which has brought us much enjoyment in past decade(s))  to the point where cruising becomes unnattractive. JMHO

 

Good luck with that.  For us, that mass market cruise line ship has already sailed until they change course back to better quality/value. JMHO.

Here's another consideration.  The person who receives commission on the booking, still receives their full commission on the cancelled cruise.

16 hours ago, Arizona Wildcat said:

Have a couple 4 star restaurants nearby.  Both using potato chips as a garnish on Mac and Lobster andcother dishes instead of panko or breadcrumbs. Guess it is the new gourmet.

I agree a bit strange, but that is what it is.

The "new normal" due to covid and the supply chain? 😆

4 hours ago, markeb said:

 

So many of these have turned into Celebrity, the current Celebrity, not some idolized history of Celebrity, versus a luxury cruise line. With little or no context. Didn't realize until the last few posts that you were 80. That's not a negative, but it provides context. I'm 61, but have potentially life shortening health issues and we're trying to enjoy life while we can. Our views on some of these things are a generation apart.

 

I do still enjoy some late night activity, although I fade a lot earlier than I did in my 20's or 30's. I'd rather hear the Foo Fighters than Sinatra on most nights (not all; Frank is still great). We're game to the notion of small ships, but not sure. The minibar is irrelevant to me. It's about 45 minutes for me to get to Union Station in DC and 3 hours from there to Midtown Manhattan on the train. Nothing in a cruise ship restaurant is going to compare to what I can get in Manhattan. And at some of the per person per night rates quoted in this thread my wife and I can stay in a very nice hotel in Manhattan and actually, believe it or not, eat multiple nights at Michelin 3-Star restaurants. Those aren't the rates I normally spend on a cruise, but that's what I'm comparing in my mind. And most days of the week I'd rather be in Manhattan than on a cruise ship if it's the same money. Or London, Munich, Naples, etc. And I do enjoy cruising!

 

I suspect we'll explore other lines more thoroughly in the future. We have a comfort level with the Celebrity and Royal Caribbean products. We're probably more likely to move laterally, maybe back to HAL, although there's also a memory of a cruise line that's almost certainly significantly different than when we last cruised them. The jump to the luxury lines requires a mental leap and normalizing $15-20K or more for a week long vacation, and we're not yet there.

 

If I'm lucky enough to make it to 80, I suspect my perspective will be more like yours. Who knows, the minibar may even become important! 😃

 

Fair winds and following seas...

I believe I was were you are now. I'm halfway between you two in age.  A few years ago I did an analysis of my retirement account with very conservative returns and very high spending for vacations to see how much would be left at age 92, if I lived that long.  I wound up changing my cruising paradigm. I didn't see why I should leave so much to nieces and nephews. 

Before retiring, I was a workaholic and  planning for retirement. I did take cruises but not as many. Plus the market has been exceptionally good to me. That's when I began elevating to premium and luxury cruise lines. I found I liked it more than mass market lines on large ships.

I enjoy the variety of various itineraries on a cruise while gaining a glimpse of places I've not been before.  So many places to see and so little time before my sell by date.Then I look at cost pp/pn with what's included. IMO, I've also found value at the higher cruise level. 

Those that enjoy destination inclusive resorts or large cities in upscale accommodations do what they enjoy more than cruising. I prefer getting away on the water. It relaxes me more between ports.

8 hours ago, SusieAV8R said:

Is the bedroom separated from the main area in a Regent Penthouse suite like it is with a Celebrity Suite and above?

 I haven't sailed this ship yet but looking forward to it.  But it appears there is a wall between the two.

Here's a link to to a 360 degree virtual tour through Grandeur's Penthouse Suite.  You can drag and "walk" throughout the layout. 

https://www.rssc.com/discover-more/virtual-suite-tours/seven-seas-grandeur/penthouse-suite

7 minutes ago, Liao said:

This is a great summary, appreciate the detail information!  Our next cruise (March 2025) Will make us Elite+ on Celebrity as well.  We just booked:

 

Eclipse - Royal Suite

12 nights - Transatlantic

Total cost - $13,300 (2 pax)

$554/pp/pn

includes:

unlimited specialty dining

room service

butler

premium WiFi

premium beverage package (neither of us drinks alcohol)

twice laundry

gratuities

not included:

excursions (on a TA that's irrelavent)

mini-bar (I don't think)

 

Although we are very pleased with the Celebrity product, at this point we will only do TA's with Celebrity, their Carib. island cruises are way to limited and same old, same old and frankly undesirable to us locations.

 

My travel advisor has been telling us to expand our cruise line option horizons.  Frankly we could not believe the price we got for this cruise, a very similiar itin. on Apex was TWICE the cost and it was for 13 nights. While we no longer have a desire to go to the Carib. Regent certainly seems worth looking into.  Thanks for posting this!

 

 

 

You got a great price on Eclipse. Bookings must have been weak on that sailing.

I've always found the best time to book Regent is when the itineraries are first released and when they do a two category free upgrade. During the pandemic while Celebrity was raising prices dramatically to eat up all those FFC which weren't as prevalent on Regent, Regent was MUCH less pp/pd and an incredible deal. That's why I booked three sailings then.

Unlike dynamic pricing, it appears Regent raises the price at the beginning of each month.  Watch for it.

32 minutes ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

What you listed is not free but included in the price 

 

Yeah I know but that's a copy and paste so it is how they market it.  That's why the word free was in caps.  Marketing. lol  I wasn't going to retype the list.

One thing that makes a difference to me is ship size.  Ascent has 3,260 pax while I prefer the smaller ships which have advantages.  Regent's largest ships are 750 pax with a higher crew/pax ratio.  They also tend to include some ports the larger ships don't include. Being more port intensive means I'm usually not as energetic at night.  Later port times also makes a difference.

When we booked a 2/2026 Regent Grandeur 14 day/ 8 ports Southern Caribbean (including the ABCs) last week, we got a 2 category free upgrade to Penthouse suite; (561-626 SQ FT). Without air or the pre-cruise hotel, it came to $782 pp/pn.

Included are:

 FREE Unlimited Shore Excursions

 FREE Unlimited Premium Beverages, Including Fine Wines and Spirits

 FREE Open Bars and Lounges Plus In-Suite Mini-Bar Replenished Daily

 FREE Pre-Paid Gratuities

 FREE three Specialty Restaurants

 FREE 24-Hour Room Service

 FREE Unlimited Wi-Fi

 FREE Daily Valet Laundry Service

 PENTHOUSE SUITES AND HIGHER INCLUDE: FREE Personal Butler and more

On Celebrity Ascent, also in 2/2026, an 11 night/6 port Southern Caribbean (without the ABCs) in a Celebrity Suite; (501 SQ FT) is $836 pp/pn. It includes the Luminae specialty restaurant only, premium liquor, butler, gratuity and wi-fi.

Since the Regent Penthouse Suite falls between the Celebrity Suit and Royal Suite, (which is 759 SQ FT), I didn’t price the latter because the Celebrity Suite is already more expensive.

IMO, Regent has had the best food I’ve eaten at sea with a wide variety of everyday options of upscale seafood and USDA Prime steak not available on Celebrity without an up charge. Our last three cruises were on Regent totaling 43 nights.  We have three booked on Azamara and one on Regent. 

Celebrity used to be our go to until about three years ago just after we hit elite+ and they shortened many cruises. We like 14 to 18 day sailings.  However too many cuts finally chased us to find other value.

Unlike the title of this thread, in my case, Celebrity is more expensive than Regent.