You're A Nice Person, But You Can't Have My Jello

[warmwinds]

Yes to all questions!  A cruise is no different from a hotel or an airline - you want to pony up the money to be in First Class or a suite, you SHOULD get something for your money.

 

Such a simplistic concept not even sure why it was asked.

 

 

[Spif Barwunkel]

23 minutes ago, mitz18 said:

 

Seems this is about the third thread you’ve started on this board questioning Celebrity.  I think thou protesteth to much. What are you really after?

Answers: yes; yes; yes

Actually, I'm not questioning Celebrity nor am I protesting. I'm questioning anyone who will listen. Answering, or not, is totally up to the individual and whether or not it seems worthwhile. You, mitz18, are the third person (one on each of my other two threads), who wants to know who I am and what I am all about. You realize that I am certainly not obligated to enlighten anyone about anything. Right? However, this is my last thread so here goes. At the risk of being tedious...…

 

My cruising days go back to Premier Cruise Line and The Big Red Boat. In the years up to now I have been fortunate to sail with several companies, the most recent being Celebrity. The more experienced a cruiser becomes the more aware he/she becomes of the many variables and influences that affect the journey. No cruise that I have taken has been perfect, but every cruise has been extremely enjoyable. Now hear this, and it is important, over all these years, what I've seen, heard, felt and read about - mostly pertaining to my fellow passengers - in a negative light has accumulated to the point where I just wanted to put some queries out there soliciting feedback. I thought about doing it in one thread. That would have been boorishly cumbersome. So, I put it out there in three different versions. Take notice, it's not about footstools or frosted glass or three beans in a five bean salad. It's about the human element, the interaction and consideration between cruisers as well as ships staff and passengers.

 

So there you have it, nothing nefarious, mysterious or with ulterior motive in mind. Thanks to all respondents on all three posts.

I am enlightened and I have a good idea where your heads are. More importantly, I've got nothing else for you.

 

By the way, billslowsky. I can certainly feel you when it comes to that frustratingly unreliable "Ignore Button." But hey, we are our own best ignore button. So if you are reading this, yours must have failed....again. Tech support can't help you with this one.

 

 Four X cruises planned between 1/20 & 2/21. I'm still a go.  

[cruise kitty]

4 hours ago, Hlitner said:

I am going to partially defend the OP.  The "class" complaint has also been an issue on several other cruise line blogs.  In a sense, we are moving forward to the past where Ocean Liners had distinct classes of travel.  We also see it on most airlines where Business and First Class are actually improving while the lowly economy has redefined the term "tight pack" not to mention lousy service.

 

As a very long time cruiser (I started in the mid 70s) I have witnessed many changes in the industry as it matured.  Some have long argued that all passengers should not have to pay for things desired by a few.  You might here this argument on some upscale lines (such as Seabourn, Silverseas and Regent) where everyone gets unlimited drinks.  The non-drinker or light drinker is subsidizing the heavy drinkers.  On Seabourn, the minority of passengers who love caviar (which includes me) are subsidized by the folks that eat little or no caviar.

 

So now we have the return to classes.  Cunard, NCL and MSC have really pioneered the ship within a ship concept.  But this is simply akin to the old First Class in the ole days.  Now Celebrity is refitting ships to accommodate their own version of a ship within a ship with a special deck for suites...not to mention Luminae.  In a sense this is a good thing because folks who are willing to pay for the extra services and higher quality can do that...and those that do not want to pay for that extra stuff can just be jealous :).  Even though we generally do not pay for the suite world....I have no problem with the cruise line's moving in that direction.  

 

As to the thing about frequent cruisers, points, levels, etc...why not!  There are some folks who really get off on this stuff and the perks make them "loyal."    The cruise line gives us a few perks and gets a loyal customer...not a bad trade-off.  Those that want to whine about it can either whine, earn enough of their own points, or buy the perks.  On HAL they have recently implemented a "Club Orange" which is a way that any cruiser can buy the perks that would normally take about 500 cruise days to earn.  A win for the cruise line since they get some extra revenue.  But those that claim to have "worked hard" to get to the high levels are not pleased that anyone can buy into their unique club.  (before I get flamed, I am in many of those higher categories and happily accept the perks).

 

As to the OP, he/she is simply a whiner and/or winnable.  They exist everywhere in the travel world.  If I am willing to pay for a decent Lay Flat seat on a long International flight, some of those in economy who happen to see the rarified world of Business/First Class are jealous and think that it is not fair.  The fact that I might be paying 3-5 times the price that they paid is not relevant.  But that is life.  Those willing to pay for McDonalds can have their Big Mac.  But those who "choose" to pay for a Wagyu Burger at a high end restaurant certainly deserve the better burger :).

 

Hank 
"

 

You do realize that there's one thing the internet hates, & that's common sense, right ;)

 

I think you've given a good, logical rundown of the direction most cruise lines are taking.   I've happily traveled in guarantee balconies, concierge class, aqua & suites.  Been happy with all of them, as I received exactly what I paid for :)  Going in a suite again in May, because we enjoyed the perks & privileges.  We're not retired, so we only go on one big trip a year, so for now suites make sense,   when we can go more often I'll have no problem just going back to Aqua or balconies.   

[Hlitner]

17 minutes ago, cruise kitty said:

 

You do realize that there's one thing the internet hates, & that's common sense, right 😉

 

I think you've given a good, logical rundown of the direction most cruise lines are taking.   I've happily traveled in guarantee balconies, concierge class, aqua & suites.  Been happy with all of them, as I received exactly what I paid for 🙂  Going in a suite again in May, because we enjoyed the perks & privileges.  We're not retired, so we only go on one big trip a year, so for now suites make sense,   when we can go more often I'll have no problem just going back to Aqua or balconies.   

If only it were true :).  Trust me that it can be difficult going back.  The first time we booked an outside cabin we realized that we did not want to go back to inside.  Then we booked our first balcony and were hooked.  We recently started trying the suite life and although we can still go back to a regular balcony, we do miss the suite life.  And its even worse with the airlines.  We spent most of our lives flying in the lowest cost economy seats.  Then we decided to try lay flat business class seats on an excellent airline.  Now, DW does not want to take any more long flights in economy...and darn it.....I completely agree.

 

The one time we loved "going back" was when we went back to a regular balcony after several cruises in Aqua.  When we did the regular balcony we also purchased a dine package for 14 out of 21 meals.  Instead of dining in Aqua we found ourselves happily dining in Murano (10 times), Qsine, and the Lawn.  We ate in the MDR on the chic/formal nights when it had great menus.  That cruise, food wise, was amazing!  Now we would only consider AQ if they gave it to us as an upgrade.  Otherwise it would be a balcony or perhaps a suite (for the right price).

 

Hank

[Carole2313]

My answer Yes Yes Yes!  My husband and I started with inside cabins, moved to balcony’s and now only cruise in Suites.  We paid for and love our Butlers, the Retreat Decks and Luminae but we don’t walk around with crowns on our heads.  In the public areas everyone is the same.  Nobody knows where anyone else sleeps.  Why are you starting this trouble?

[MightyMike]

The criticism is not unique to the cruise industry. It's everywhere. There seem to be fewer and fewer places where people of different backgrounds (economic and otherwise) mix. I agree that the experiences on cruise lines are starting to look more like the days of ocean liners. If one takes advantage of priority embarkation, priority tenders, exclusive dining options, exclusive lounges, exclusive sundecks, and priority disembarkation, then they can pretty much experience the entire cruise without interacting with (or perhaps even seeing) those who paid the more general fare.

[hurwitz5]

W have sailed on 20+ Celebrity cruises, including 4 cruises this year (1 seven night cruise, 1 eleven night cruise and 2 fourteen night cruises).  We have sailed in an inside cabin 90% of the time.  We can afford to spend more money for higher level cabins, but we are satisfied with our inside cabin, the service, the food and entertainment.   We are Elite and enjoy the perks: 1 free bag laundry per person, 1 free dry cleaning item per person and some free pressing, 90 free internet minutes each, and unlimited free drinks between 5:00 and 7:00 pm.  All in all, we find our choice a good value.  We also can go to Elite Breakfast.  The Elite benefits increase our enjoyment with the vacation.  I’m not envious of suite guests.  Everyone pays what they can afford and/or what they feel is important to them.  If a suite guest is paying 5 - 7 times what I’m paying - that’s their choice.  I don’t begrudge suite passengers who paid a big premium for the benefits of Luminae., Special lounges, special seating, butlers, etc.  

We are just happy to be sailing on a Celebrity ship.  We enjoy the product and feel well taken care of by the staff and crew.  We have met many nice people on board.  We don’t discuss who is in which type of cabin. We 

 

[cardiffman]

If you want a place where people can't buy a higher level of service, there's always the DMV.

Anyway we are all welcome in Cafe al Bacchio and we can all have coffee there together.

[hcat]

6 hours ago, cardiffman said:

If you want a place where people can't buy a higher level of service, there's always the DMV.

Anyway we are all welcome in Cafe al Bacchio and we can all have coffee there together.

If we can find a seat!

[Georgia_Peaches]

On 10/11/2019 at 7:27 PM, Jim_Iain said:

They still have it.   Just hover over the persons name or emoji and select Ignore User.  

Im confused about what happens if you ignore a user.  Do you still see the thread but not their contribution to it?  Or does any thread the user is in just go away...

[CHEZMARYLOU]

If you ignore a user you do not see any of that person's posts, unless someone quotes it in a reply.

[Luvcrusn]

33 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Im confused about what happens if you ignore a user.  Do you still see the thread but not their contribution to it?  Or does any thread the user is in just go away...

You can also remove users from your ignore list if you change your mind.