Celebrity does not value solo travelers' business!

[haikou]

Recently I received marketing emails from Celebrity bragging about special offers. What they didn't say was that these specials were not open to solo travelers. I do not like misleading advertising and the response from a Celebrity rep was less than satisfactory. It is obvious they do not care whether solos travel with them or not. I will stick with Crystal, where by the time you pay double on Celebrity and many of the other premium/mainstream lines, you can enjoy a quieter , upscale experience for not much more(in E and C categories anyway).I had a decent time on NCL in th eleast expensive lower deck interior staterooms and I would sail with them again-why? Because even the stateroom attendants were friendly and seemed to care about me as a person not just a passenger. Not so much with my dealings with Celebrity office people:

 

 

 

shame on you for not making special offers open to solo travelers even when you are having trouble filling staterooms. I guess I will stick to Crystal which values solo traveler business.grr

 

 

Carol Bartolo All cruiselines are the same cabins are based on double occupancy therefore singles pay double wait for a sale for solos

 

..

Carolyn Van Orden Fortunately not all lines have your attitude

 

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Carolyn Van Orden TG for Crystal who year rounds offers only a 25% supplements on the lowest price categories-non of which are interiors by the way, 35% for verandahs and only at PH PS or C levels are you looking at 75% or more supplements. No waiting for sales on Crystal. They actually value our business. Are there limits to the number of single rooms available? Yes but I have seldom encountered them and I do not book particularly early.

Edited December 21, 2014 by haikou

[Lois R]

Crystal vs Celebrity? I think it is apples to oranges......I cannot afford

Crystal so I don't sail with them. Sorry you are so upset. Not sure who

Carol is?:eek:

I have been sailing with Celebrity for 11 years now and am very happy

with the product they provide me. Sounds like you are happy with

Crystal.

We all have different opinions......that is what makes the world go round.

Different strokes for different folks. Even with the lower SS I cannot

afford Crystal.....am I mad? Nope, I will continue to sail with Celebrity:)

I am happy with their product. I guess value means different

things to different people.

Crystal is good for you and that's great.......Celebrity fills my needs and

that's great for me.

Edited December 21, 2014 by Lois R

[zoncom]

Two different products.Singles supps can vary. Best solo buys are low season and Transatlantic usually. Called a large discount agency once for singles rate on a 14N X Caribbean. Got rate, told them I would consider it but did no hold. Called back next day, different agent, same agency. They called X; it was $100 less.My last cruise before Elite. Believe SS was 39% additional.So pricing not written in stone and they (X) do consider your cruising history with line.

[JoePatNYCT]

Two different products.Singles supps can vary. Best solo buys are low season and Transatlantic usually. Called a large discount agency once for singles rate on a 14N X Caribbean. Got rate, told them I would consider it but did no hold. Called back next day, different agent, same agency. They called X; it was $100 less.My last cruise before Elite. Believe SS was 39% additional.So pricing not written in stone and they (X) do consider your cruising history with line.

 

This is good advice. I use 3 different TAs and often get different pricing as a solo. Some merely quote the published rate, some will call and try to work a deal.

 

Welcome to Elite. I really enjoy the cocktail hour!

[mtwingcpa]

Recently I received marketing emails from Celebrity bragging about special offers. What they didn't say was that these specials were not open to solo travelers.

 

Are you saying that the total price paid by a solo traveller for a particular cabin is greater than the total price paid by a couple? Could you please give an example of that?

[CharismaCruiser727]

Are you saying that the total price paid by a solo traveller for a particular cabin is greater than the total price paid by a couple? Could you please give an example of that?

 

 

On Celebrity I've sometimes seen 'special' pricing for guarantee 'X' category. Then when I submit for such as a solo passenger, it's not available! I confirmed this to be true with several in house and outside agents. The way around it is to book a 'phantom' 2nd passenger. Then when they no-show, the port charges/taxes will be credited back.

 

There were times when the Single Supp. was often very low on Celebrity. I haven't seen it recently. The only plus is that if you pay double, you get double Capt Club points and when using a TA, the credits are usually greater.

[Dancer Bob]

Cunard (which in the US is Princess) also does this routinely. Since they include my World Club number, they know I have NEVER booked double occupancy with them, so sending me offers "does not apply to singles" is just guaranteed to really annoy me.

And I recently got a 2-for-1 one deal from Crystal, that when I got a 1-for-1 quote, turned out to be almost double, so Crystal is no better (not that I would travel with them again anyway).

Edited December 22, 2014 by Dancer Bob

[haikou]

But fortunately I love sea days and often the itinerary is unimportant to me as there are so many things to do on board and you get to know passengers that return again and again so that it is like coming home to a family of sorts. Big ships just cant offer that kind of intimate experience., at least from my cruises to Alaska on Carnival and NCL. And I am glad you like Celebrity, but I am telling those who have an interest in Crystal, the ocean crossings and quite a few other cruises, are very comparably prced and imho a better value as drinks are included, no nickel and dimingor announcements trying to sell you something, ,etc .By the time you pay double the fare for a stateroom on the mainstream lines, you can get a stateroom on Crystal -only 2 midsized ships which carry 930+/- and 1060+/ passengers, with a high staff t passenger ratio. the Symphony +the Serenity, and they have NO interior staterooms, most have some sort of view in the least expensive rooms on decks 7 and 8, with a few obstructed by the tender boats and those are lower priced than non obstructed ones. Yes to each his own. But I have registered with multiple websites as a solo traveler and I do not appreciate getting emails for offers that do not apply to me as a solo traveler.

 

The only time you will pay double the price (ie the same as if there were 2 in a room) , is if a cruise has sold very well and you are booking late or are trying to secure the top categories PS(sometimes 75% ss?) and or CP. They do limit the number of staterooms for single occupancy but that is the same as any othe rline. But if you book reasonably early like 9 months to a year out or more, that is not usually an issue and I have always gotten my 25% ss rate. Demand has risen so I have t book earlier than I used to to get my desired category, which is good since those of us who love Crystal want them to build a 3rd ship as they have been discussing. Likely changes on the new ship would be a larger dining room to have true open dining, and larger staterooms in the lower categories. Many people prefer a more casual dress code and they are looking at that too .I personally love formal nights and to dress up as I never get to at home, and many fellow Crystal lovers do to. I will dress above and beyond the minimum as it adds to the ambiance of the evening:)

Edited December 22, 2014 by haikou

[haikou]

Cunard (which in the US is Princess) also does this routinely. Since they include my World Club number, they know I have NEVER booked double occupancy with them, so sending me offers "does not apply to singles" is just guaranteed to really annoy me.

And I recently got a 2-for-1 one deal from Crystal, that when I got a 1-for-1 quote, turned out to be almost double, so Crystal is no better (not that I would travel with them again anyway).

 

The most frequent complaints I hear are the lack of true open dining(can't be done on this size of s ship as the dining room cannot hold all the passengers should they come at the same time if fully booked) and for those used to traveling in suites, the size of stateroom category e-a, and sometimes even the PH rooms, becomes an issue vs a vs the luxury line comparables Seabourn and Regent. In the other category staterooms Crystal is still larger

than most premium lines.

 

Again thank good ness we have choices.

Edited December 22, 2014 by haikou

[Dancer Bob]

My Serenity review was posted 01/13, "Disappointing". I found the open dining good. But the cabin was no larger than I'm used to elsewhere, my travel agent was shocked when I showed him the pictures and dimensions. Nightlife was seriously disappointing, hardly better than Holland America. A snobby and pretentious bunch, someone on a tight budget won't fit in.

Crystal's 2-for-1 deal turned out to be around $3900 for a 15-day TA. Instead, I'm doing 32 days on Costa, Caribbean (a dance group, with a group surcharge), then TA to Italy, for about $4200 plus maybe $350 hotel service charges and probably less incidentals (my shareholder OBC pays my bar bill, and more). More in total but per day, far better value. I'm leery of intimate, larger ships are more likely to have a critical mass for the activities that interest me.

[haikou]

My Serenity review was posted 01/13, "Disappointing". I found the open dining good. But the cabin was no larger than I'm used to elsewhere, my travel agent was shocked when I showed him the pictures and dimensions. Nightlife was seriously disappointing, hardly better than Holland America. A snobby and pretentious bunch, someone on a tight budget won't fit in.

Crystal's 2-for-1 deal turned out to be around $3900 for a 15-day TA. Instead, I'm doing 32 days on Costa, Caribbean (a dance group, with a group surcharge), then TA to Italy, for about $4200 plus maybe $350 hotel service charges and probably less incidentals (my shareholder OBC pays my bar bill, and more). More in total but per day, far better value. I'm leery of intimate, larger ships are more likely to have a critical mass for the activities that interest me.

 

There are definitely a few of those types aboard the world cruise segments especially, but by and large I have really enjoyed siting at a table of 8 solo travelers, and have made a number of friends, one whom I keep in touch with 5 years later, and will be seeing on my cruise.this spring. I am most assuredly poor, have no savings to speak of and use my credit cards to pay for my trips. Fortunately I have no mortgage, but I am as hand to mouth as they come and simply choose to spend beyond my means many would say, because I love the sense of family I get on Crystal and have never felt on any other line. They know your name by the middle of the first cruise and always sincerely welcome you back.I love paddle tennis and few other lines offer it. Crystal makes maximum use of public space so that you never feel crowded(well unless everyone comes back from a shore excursion shortly before departing a port and then there is sometimes a bit of a line for the Trident grill but it doesn't last long.For those who return again and again to Crystal, fo rmost of us/them they would rather have a lot of public space and forfeit lrge room size as they spend little time in their rooms other than to sleep and change clothes