hubofhockey

I am thinking of booking Green class. Hoping no problems on large suitcases in that class, but I hadn’t heard of this change.

They HAVE to change because their sweet spot is probably 35-55 in age. 35 year olds of today aren’t the same as 35 year olds 10 years ago. As we have gotten older, we have moved to lines that deal better with people a little older. We’ll still go Celebrity, but now Azamara, Oceania, and maybe Viking (some friend love Viking,but doesn’t seem like a fit for us).

You name the cruise line and you'll see similar complaints on all of them right now. Inflation has hit the travel industry hard. The cruise business is very competitive when it comes to pricing and all of these lines are either cutting corners and going for more a la carte pricing, raising prices, or dropping favorable deposit rules to keep ship capacity up or to get customers booking at higher refundable rates. The truth about new customers is not that they are suckers. As people get older, they naturally shift from Royal Caribbean and Carnival to Celebrity. The base is there.

Thank you for the reply to my post. The older ships don't scare me. We are doing Japan on a Celebrity M class ship and have Panama Canal scheduled on Azamara Journey. Of course, that next cruise is short term. O's decision NOT to buy A was a long term strategic decision. It would be nice if they could steal pages out of A's playbook relating to multiple days in port and some of their itineraries. Azamara, itself, makes me nervous and that relates more to Sycamore. Looking at the Marina for Canary Island to Portugal in 5/25. Always wanted to give O a shot and haven't done that itinerary. Thinking of scrapping Panama Canal on the Journey (12/24) and doing 5/25 Marina itinerary instead. There will be other opportunities for the Panama Canal.

Thanks, looking forward to our overnight in Osaka (doing Tokyo and Kyoto before the cruise).

We'll cruise either Azamara or Celebrity and book Aqua on Celebrity (M class). Service in Blu is outstanding and more of a restaurant experience. My issue with Celebrity is their move to make nonrefundable deposits totally nonrefundable. The workaround is booking with FCCs because losing those isn't much different than the Azamara $75 per person penalty. Oceania just put in much tougher penalties. To me, the risk now with Azamara, relates to Sycamore. They need to get their software straightened out many will no longer take them seriously. No upgrade bids, OBC missing, some ports missing on itineraries. How long will this go on for?

Always interesting in seeing first time cruisers points of view for lines I am considering and haven't been on. We really loved our cruise on Azamara and have another booked with them. We have not been on Azamara since it was sold to the PE firm and have to admit that makes me nervous, so would like to put Oceania in our rotation. Heard from Azamara passengers that Oceania has much better dining, so this review is a bit surprising.

Our May 2024 cruise does an overnight in Osaka. The only change Celebrity made was shortening our port time on day 2 from 5 pm departure to 3 pm departure. We're doing Kyoto pre-cruise, but for people hoping to spend a couple of days there, that change is probably awful. Kobe is a 25 minute train ride to Osaka for those impacted. That's a bit inconvenient.

We usually book Aqua, so that's why I would get the FCC. For suites, eliminating the use of FCCs for a deposit forces you to pay through the nose for a refundable rate or be at risk for a lot of money. I am not crazy about Aqua being all inclusive because the imputed charge for WIFI is too high. On some itineraries, including my next in Japan, it's almost a total waste because I can get a pocket wifi device which should work anywhere and get WIFI for both of us for $6 a day. All of the cruise lines need to do a better job figuring out WIFI. I agree that all are having their issues. We loved Azamara and have one booked with them, but they are a small one off owned by a private equity firm and that's enough to make me nervous. Still, the price was great, so we are taking the risk and only have $150 at risk ($75 per person is what they keep if you cancel). I suppose at some point, we'll be looking mainly at Oceania and/or Viking. The industry right now is in flux.

I can afford Regent and expensive suites, but just don’t see value there.

We will pick up a Future Cruise Certificate on our next cruise (May 2024), but the only reason being is the new policy where Celebrity keeps 100% of cruise deposits. The risk in losing a non-refundable deposit is now 100%, so that's $900+. When booking with a FCC, it whatever the cost of the FCC is (not even sure what they are). No way I will pay so much more for a refundable rate on Celebrity. It's less expensive to book more premium lines.

Thanks. I was hoping to tour in the morning in Kyoto) , get lunch near the train station and then get a train in. 90 minutes means 5:30 pm, so 4:30 is probably good. If there is one cruise I am in no rush to get to earlier than I have to, it's this one. 90 minutes means 5:30 pm, so 4:30 is probably good. Even a 1:45 pm gets us to Yokohama station at 3:37.

If loyalty points and tiers were the only things keeping you from doing cruises on more premium lines, then "jump ship" as you call it. I chose Azamara over Viking for Panama Canal (similar itinerary) only because the price difference was $2,000 over 10 days. If pricing were more similar, I'd go Viking even with status on Azamara (which you probably get from your X cruises).

We have a 7 pm departure listed on the itinerary at Yokohama cruise terminal. Trying to plan hotel check out and Shinkansen (bullet train) from Kyoto to Yokohama. Would taking a 2 pm train which arrives at Yokohama station at 3:50 make sense? I am figuring 25 minute taxi to the cruise terminal. That would get me there around 4:30 pm. Does that make sense? Do most people arrive sooner? Thanks.

There was a time when Explorers Lounge was used for live bands, music, etc. It was fun until Princess decided on cutting corners. In any case, everyone has a sweet spot and you found yours.

Thanks. That’s reassuring and I figured that Azamara would do the Panama Canal justice. We actually believe that we’ll be doing more, not less, with Azamara as the mass market lines continue to water down (pardon the pun) their product. We do have a Celebrity M class to Japan plan, but only because time worked better for us.

My choice for Panama Canal was/is between Viking and Azamara, similar Verandah cabins for 10-days. Azamara begins in Miami and Viking begins in Fort Lauderdale. Both end in Panama after a full transit through. Azamara was $5600 for two with $1075 onboard credits through online TA, premium drinks. Viking was $6600. If price point was similar, would have given Viking a shot. $2K still matters to me, but if people feel that Azamara is in trouble or that product is much inferior, I would consider switching (eating the $150 forfeit fee).

You should post on your roll call. Better targeting

This isn’t great to see. I got a great deal on the Journey for Panama Canal full transit late 2024. It’s far enough away that I could look for alternatives. For now, we have some time to wait for the to figure it out. I could probably find something similar on Oceania. As to Sycamore, at $200 million, that was pretty much an asset sale. If things go bad, they could sell off the ships and not lose too much.

Haven’t been on any ship since Covid (first Covid and then a couple of moves). Even though Azamara had the ownership change, overnights and itineraries are still on point. The back office, pre-cruise experience, even before the sale, was awful. At that, with all of their online problems, it probably doesn’t phase me too much. I am hoping to bid for an upgrade, but we’re more than a year away.

Well, he has that reserved British presence about him. Jay is good too.

The reason Princess is at a lower price point is that, at the same prices, more would choose Celebrity. They all charge as much as the market bears. To me, Princess took a bad turn about 10 years ago when they ramped down entertainment and took the solid entertainment out of Explorers Lounge. When that was funded, I loved the Crown and Ruby. Now, I don’t even consider Princess as an option to Celebrity, but obviously there are many who still love the Princess product.

Bembridge is one of the few honest YouTuber cruise people around. Too many of them are either travel agents or love everything.

It depends on what your focus of the trip will be. In April, you won't be sitting out by the pool on sea days or going to beaches. If you're going to sightsee though, that's preferable. It can also be smoldering hot in Venice in the summer (late August).

This is new and RC appears to be doing the same. Cruise line probably should communicate this better to its passengers.