D C

Apologies. I did miss that phrase in the post you quoted.

Take or leave what exactly? At this point, it seems difficult to take Celebrity at their word of offering a premium beverage package.

I disagree. It may be CELEBRITY'S supply chain issue, but there are few signs of a wider supply chain issue. The problem may well be that Celebrity committed to specific suppliers that have been unable to deliver, but that their problem, not a wider problem. They need to roll with the punches and adapt. Simply failing to provide offerings comparable to those for which guests are paying is inexcusable.

That's the direction they're headed. Overpromise and underdeliver!

Design brought to you by Fernando Lamas. "It's better to look good than to feel good!" While the changes to oceanview are nice, and I don't miss shower curtains, I'm looking forward to sailing on a non-Revolutionized M-class.

All I can say is that the Infinity was in good (perhaps not quite new) shape in 2019 and I can't wait to be back onboard this fall. The more people who shy away simply leave a better guest to crew ratio for us.

We've already talked about our next sailing, which is a 9n. We MIGHT do 1 or 2 specialty dinners where we would normally do 3 or 4 on a 7n. The sneaky price increase is putting us off.

That's how they snuck in an 18% price increase without changing the price.

Yes you can be seated together if you walk up, but as mentioned above there may be a wait. Simply plan for that and all will be well. Of course, you can plan a time earlier in the day and contact reservations to see how close they can seat you to the desired time.

Not quite sure what you mean, since they didn't call anything "expensive". We do know that Celebrity's version of expensive/premium is roughly $15-20/bottle at US retail prices. This is where we find the oft mentioned Decoy Cab Sauv. It's clear that some people think this is an inferior, undrinkable wine for whatever reason, while plenty of people think it's a nice Cab Sauv and worth the upgrade package price. Those who consider it "undrinkable" probably shouldn't be stooping as low as the premium package. That aside, no other industry I can think of would be so bold as to say "we know YOU PAID US EXTRA for product A, but we're out of that so we're going to substitute product B that you could have had without paying a premium". The near-universal solution would be to offer the next higher option as it's clearly not the customer's fault that a product discrepancy exists.

LLutoff-Perlo@celebritycruises.com

Really not sure what you're saying here. Are you saying they didn't have the premium package wines, or that you simply don't like the wines offered on the premium package? If the latter, you're going to have a very difficult time with any beverage package, I'm afraid.

If they actually have what you want, yes.

I said nothing to the contrary, not did I suggest X go shopping at Costco. Costco and other retailers have a supply chain Cruise lines have a supply chain One of those supply chains is NOT having an issue getting product. The other one is. That is a problem with the supply chain being used by the cruise lines, NOT a problem with the entire supply chain for that product.

Frankly, I don't buy the argument. My grocery store is stocked. Costco is stocked. Total Wine is stocked. If the cruise companies are unable to secure the supplies they need, THEY have a problem with THEIR suppliers and need to do a better job. AND if they're unable to provide the advertised products, especially on the premium package, they shouldn't be advertising and selling it. Would make a very nice 'bait & switch' case.

Provided by Celebrity or brought onboard by a guest? I hope they weren't pitching a $5.99 bottle of Sauv Blanc as a premium wine.

Wrong glass... sir...

In my phone calls to X, I've been told the price increased to $14 and that it went up to $15. My cruise planner for Nov (Infinity) and Jan (Summit) sailings both say $16.80. Drinks & More is still at $21 on my Summit cruise. Makes it pretty appealing at only $21 extra for a 5n sailing to get $50 in the casino plus the wine tasting event. No Drinks&More listed on my Infinity sailing.

Correct. Not everyone has to upgrade.

We have done so on RCL, not X. Family cruise with 12 of us. Stopped for wine before boarding and simply started stuffing it in whichever bags had room, both carryon and checked. One bottle here, 2 bottles there. Some rooms ended up with none, some with 4-6 bottles, but in all we didn't bring on more than allowed. No issues. It's not like the person scanning carry-ons knows what you checked, or vice versa.

Seriously? What time of day did you call? I also called on Monday and got the "no exceptions, the new price is the price". I proceeded to email both the celebrity engagement center and the "CEO's office". I received a phone call back Tuesday from the CEO's office and their line was "It's still not that expensive".

Price increases are not unexpected. The magnitude of the increase for an upgrade certainly IS unexpected. As the difference between a 'classic' item and a 'premium' item, it's easy for guests to say "has the difference between my classic beer and premium beer offering increased by 40%?" difference in wine price? spirit price? Nope. Had they said "Wow... we haven't increased prices in a while...hey Jim, how much do we need to raise them?" and Jim said "We're going to throw a 40% increase on the upgrade, which is what most people will see" the answer should have been "We can't do that! Not all at once". So you slip in a $1.50 increase now for new bookings, then another $1.50 in 6-9 months, then another. FAR more palatable.

This is essentially it. A different main dining room, access to the Persian Garden (saunas & such), and some slightly different in-room items are the bulk of it. Room locations are often considered to be inferior to others. Blu is loved by some (see below) while others (like us) feel it's all hype and the 'spa inspired' menu is inferior to the MDR menu. There are far better rooms for less $ imho. Look for a normal veranda 'on the hump' with an angled balcony, or perhaps a sunset veranda (long walk, but great view out the rear of the ship).

They wouldn't push them if they weren't profitable 🙂

When did you call? I was told an hour ago (noon Monday the 16th) by a 'supervisor' that "We're under orders that there are no exceptions to the new pricing".