grandgeezer

I think the union is more than willing to keep negotiate with them. It shows because they are only striking at three plants. If it doesn’t show any progress a few more plants will have pickets. If it was me, it would be a complete shutdown, they’ve been dragging their feet long enough. I agree they are asking too much, all they are doing is asking to share in the profits when there is some. Cars can be made anywhere IF they have the facilities, trained workforce, and established supply chain available. Where exactly would this be? As far as the union caring, it is and has always been take care of yourself first.

They can’t give them everything but if they continue to play hardball, they might end up in bankruptcy anyway. This has been brewing for a long time and I’m sure a majority of the union membership has been salting money away, for a long time, just for this. I don’t know what these isolated strikes will cost the automakers, but an article I read said that if the entire 143,000 union membership struck for ten days, it would take a $5.6 billion bite out of the industry. I give the UAW workers all the credit in the world, they found that just complaining didn’t work, so they’re hitting them where it hurts the worst, the wallet. Don’t worry, the government will bail them out again like they did in the past. That’s what they do for big companies based in the U.S. who pay taxes and abide by all regulations.

Just a guess, all bookings made before October 4 will include the tips if booking AI. That is grandfathered in unless you change you reservation in anyway. Starting October 5, the tips should be gone. The question is will the cost go down also or will it stay the same and just say it’s a price increase because of their cost going up or my favorite, supply and demand

You think there be a reason for that? We just get up and leave.

Just on tv, the city of Flagstaff Arizona released that their minimum wages would increase the first of the year. It will be $17.40 per hour. The new rate for tipped employees will be $15.90. This is based on tips and an hourly adjustment to get them up to the $15.90. They do this adjustment every year to somewhat cover at least part of inflation. Why couldn’t the cruise lines do something similar? Answers obvious, just had to ask.

Years ago Celebrity used to contract their production shows out and they were top notch. Somewhere along the line they thought they could do it better and of course cheaper. Wrong! We haven’t cruised since before the shutdown, but what we saw then was mediocre, at best. We usually to B2Bs to bring the daily cost average down since we consider all cost, including airline, hotel, etc. to come up with the actual cost of the trip. In the last several cruises, we only sat the the entire show a couple times. I don’t recall going back the second week to see any of them. At the end we did B2Bs on the Allure of the Seas and MSCs Seaside and never left early and didn’t miss a show the second week.

Not going to happen. To do just about anything cost money. The upper management team get bonuses based on profitability of the company. Currently some cruise lines are finally making a profit after a couple of years amassing a huge debt. They are currently sailing at over100%, or so they say, and pricing is through the roof. It’s only going to get worse, if after they get their debt down to a manageable level, if you think the quality is going to improve and pricing is going to stabilize, or drop, dream on. Once they get their hands deep into your pocket it’s there forever. If enough people say enough is enough and quit sailing, to force their hand, this is the new normal

This is beyond disgusting. First of all tips aren’t guaranteed, they should be earned. And anybody who thinks this is cute or justified falls in the same category as the delivery person. If that happened to me, the video would go to DoorDash, the restaurant, and the local tv stations so the whole area will see what could be happening to them if they ordered food delivered. I’ve seen videos similar to this on a regular basis.

Elite + about 1200 points. Probably done cruising. The only real positive, as we see it, is only having to unpack and pack once, although we visited several different ports. About 12-15 years ago we new at least a dozen, or so couples that cruised several times a year. We know no one who has cruised, even before the shutdown. Everyone said the exact same thing, “we don’t think the product currently offered is worth the price being asked”. Us, at one time we were die hard Celebrity/RCL cheerleaders. Between the start of 2022 through 2016 , we five cruises on RCL and thirteen on Celebrity, and one on HAL. The one on HAL was a fourteen day cruise to Alaska, the middle of August. It went to places like Anchorage, Homer, and others. There was no ports that were repeated. To be quite honest, except for the weather. it was quite nice. Like everybody, we had choices, either lower our expectations and cruise or move on. Took all of two seconds.

That sounds like a personal choice, not a business decision. If it was such a good itinerary, there would be lines doing it regularly already.

What has this got to do with the cruises leaving from L.A.? It was a reply to your comment, nothing was mentioned that would remotely be relevant to your comment.

Couple of pricing, hot off the press, non comped, for November. 11/11. Ocean view $329. Balcony. $429. Concierge $499 11/25. Ocean view.$329. Balcony. $429. Concierge $479 These are both six nighters cruise only. Taxes and tips still be need to be added. I think if you check comparable Caribbean cruises, for the same timeframe, they would probably be double this. Where would you position the ships if they were yours?

Anybody else notice that this goes into affect days after the end of the third quarter? They probably didn’t want the stock to drop based on the earnings reported for that quarter. This will give them time to rethink their position and adjust in time for year end.

Many years ago Celebrity had a presence on the west coast but left for exactly the same reason. What would make them think any different?

By the number of homeless people, too many followed the idea of spending every dollar twice. Granted, there are many reasons for that, immigrant being one of them I would guess a vast majority of them is $$$ related, they must have had the “spend two dollars for ever one dollar philosophy. For example, there is an area called The Zone, where a good share of them camp out in boxes, tents, and other things. If you’re ever in Phoenix, it’s located on Jefferson St., between 7th and 16th Ave. There are only a few businesses there but it’s only a few blocks from the state capital building and a lot of other government ones too. Several months ago the businesses sued the city and the judge gave the city a deadline to clean it up, and extended the time several times. Bottom line, last I heard there are more people living there than when they started. One last point to help explain my logic. My sister, and her husband both had full time jobs but they too went with the spending two for one idea, so they had very little savings. Then the bomb dropped, all the kids were gone and her husband got a big promotion and a 20% raise. Big new house, new cars, travel, etc. Like my dad used to say “Spending money like a drunken sailor on shore leave”. Her company downsized and she lost her job. Because of the debt she had to find a different job and the best thing she could find was as a waitress. They were hanging on by the skin of their teeth then Covid hit, and she lost her job. Today: They lost the house and due to their financial situation, they had to get an apartment as they couldn’t afford a house. They are divorced, in their mid 60s and no retirement in the near future. I have a brother, like me not a financial worry in the world, but we had been warning them for years, the rabbit hole they were digging, but they just ignored us. They didn’t care about their future so why should we bail them out? Maybe the kids are doing something.

According to what I read, just don’t change your reservation for any reason after the cutoff date. Rate adjustments and move ups are two mentioned as no nos.

Our last regular (non suite) cruise was in December 2016, on Celebrity Silhouette, and was supposed to be our last cruise with any line. Sometimes the best is not good enough. In 2018 I started looking at suites to see pricing I could live with. Did the Grand Suite, on the Allure of Seas, for 14 days, and at about $200 p.p. per day all in, we figured we could live with that. We also did 14 days on MSC Seaside, in the Yacht Club, for about the same price and WOW, when had a cruise that we really liked, it’s been a long time since that happened. In 2019 we tried 14 days on the Equinox, against my better judgement, just to find out why it got such high reviews. $300 per person per day. The experience was nice but not anywhere near justifying the cost. We also did another 14 days on MSC Seaside, WOW WOW we have a winner. Fast foreword to 2023 and all prices, for any line, any cabin categories, show anything anywhere near any value to us, no we’ll gladly stay home. Our decisions are based strictly on value, not just the price. The cutbacks, and other changes tell us to save our cash. We did our homework and know the differences in the suite pricing. We have done 84 days in the Oasis class ships, and 230 days on Celebrity so know the ships. What they were earlier and have guessed things haven’t got any better after the Covid shutdown. This is our feelings, and our money, we do not have to justify it to anybody.

Since some of the responses have strayed from the original post……. We live in a retirement community near Phoenix. Our garbage is not picked up by the city but by a private company. Because of the occasional coyote, bobcat, and javelinas canvassing the neighborhood for food. Living within ten minutes of two eighteen hole golf courses does’t help as that is home to most of them. Hence, our garbage cans are in ground, in a metal cylinder, with a hinged top. This is up by the garage, next to the driveway. Garbage is picked up twice a week, even weeks including a holiday. The guys who pick it up have a big barrel, on wheels, and they have to do go up every driveway to pick it up. That’s 52 weeks times twice a week equals 104 times a year. They also pick up recycle twice a month, but that is picked up at the curb which is 24 trips a year. That’s 128 times a year, per home. Bottom line, they do all this for less than tips, for a seven day cruise in a suite. Oh, anything that can’t fit in the can, no food items, can be left at the curb.

It is just that simple. People are willing to pay for the experience that gives them the best bang for their buck, if that means paying more for drink packages and experiences is just part of their evaluation of what led them to go with RCL.

According to all you experts, price is driven by supply and demand. The pricing says more people think RCL is a better deal. Not everybody is willing to pay for the drink packages, internet, or even the obc.

Aren’t the luggage loaders/unloaders the crew? The one poster said all the luggage was on the same rack yet one never showed up at the room.

I worked for a major midwest paper converting operation. We were the biggest fish in the area and sales people were banging on my door to get a piece of the action. Anybody can service the account when things are going good, What happens when things go south? The people we partnered with were true partners our problem became their #1 priority. We had 24/7, including holidays , access to anything we needed. If they were more than an hour away, they would deliver it. They stocked the long lead time items expensive items that we used at least one a year. High volume packaging materials.. They stocked them and delivered them daily based on our need. This is just the tip of the iceberg. No, it was not free, cost analysis were run by accounting and the savings were in the hundreds of thousands of dollars. I don’t remember how they figured the expensive long lead times in, if they did. Burden on our biggest, fastest machine was $50,000 per hour. This was back in the 1990s. That’s why they paid me the big bucks. There were companies out there that were cheaper, but like the cruise lines they want to give you the least they can but still can suck every penny out of you they can. They never got in the door, the phone was never answered, or messages returned.

I’m sure that Enron, Lehman Brothers, Chrysler, the 52% of the 2020 Fortune 500, and many more felt the same way.

What about getting flights back home, in a timely manner? Maybe people have to get back for work, school, or other plans that might have been made? If seen the results of a hurricane first hand and found it very disturbing and distressing, no thank you.

If they are indeed, making changes to Celebrity to make it more like Royal Caribbean, that should tell you which line is the biggest moneymaker for the RCL Group. If it was Celebrity, they would be doing just the opposite.