Captain's Club

Captain's Club The Captain's Club Hostess was very personable and responsive, with one major exception. She quoted the corporate "party line" regarding Captain's Club vs Crown & Anchor. Celebrity's Captain's Club loyalty program has fewer levels than C&A does. They stop at what they call the "Elite" level, reached after 10 cruise credits (a maximum of 10 cruises), equivalent to Diamond on Royal. For a program that is approximately 10 years old, I consider the top level to be a very modest level. I do not believe that Celebrity really considers this easily attainable level to be particularly special. On the other hand, Royal has two higher tiers: Diamond Plus (175 cruise nights, previously 24 cruise credits) and Pinnacle (700 cruise nights, a new level equivalent to 100 cruise credits). Many C&A members feel that there should be an additional level between the two upper tiers, but Celebrity doesn't even see the need for the tiers that Royal has, let along a higher tier. Royal has terrific benefits at the level of the two upper tiers, in particular, a discount on balcony and suite accommodations and a reduced single supplement for any type of cabin. According to the Captain's Club party line, such benefits are not necessary because the Celebrity product is of a higher caliber and one should expect to pay more for the better product. I feel the opposite is true: Celebrity should do more to attract a higher caliber (i.e., frequent) cruiser!

Programming

Programming I said I wouldn't talk about the ports, and I haven't changed my mind. The ports (SJU, STT, SXM) were ordinary, and my purpose here is to compare the overall Royal and Celebrity experiences. At Sea: The first day, a sea day, I went to three events. There was an enrichment program with 3 sessions (one on each sea day) teaching about and illustrating Improv, facilitated by a woman from Second City in Chicago. I went to the first one and really enjoyed it. The captain had multiple sessions, similar to the Captains Corner or View from the Top on various Royal sailings. The first one, Navigational Secrets, was quite good, albeit more structured than the similar programs on Royal. After that particular session, there was a presentation about new deployment from the Future Cruise Specialist. I guess I'm just a glutton for punishment, even though I had already booked 2 of the new itineraries since boarding. By the end of the day, I felt over-programmed. I was not doing some of the things that I like to do on sea days, which often includes just vegetating - carrying a book all day, and fooling myself by thinking I might catch up on some reading. That's just me, I admit. There are certainly enough things to do (both physical and mental), for those who wish to run around, but I was feeling compelled to participate. I quickly put an end to that and was more impulsive the rest of the trip. In Port: There was quite a difference between the two lines when we were in port. Celebrity has activities throughout the day. They even have trivia games every day, in port or at sea, at the same time every day. So, if you want things to do, you'll be able to participate in that structured environment. Despite the preponderance of activities on port days, later on you'll see that I am suggesting that some activities be moved from a sea day to a port day!

Solstice Embarkation Sunday, 4/10/11

Contrary to my original plan, I left home later than usual and did not board until close to 1 pm. At that point, I thought cabins would be ready, but they were not. I was planning to try to see the Front Desk Manager, so I thought I'd go there first. When I stepped onto the ship, I asked the first greeter that I saw where Guest Services is located. This was a mistake and was my first disappointment with the service onboard. I was told to go down one deck. Unfortunately, when I did so, I discovered that the way to get to Guest Services was via a corridor which was closed until cabins were available. Then I saw a uniformed young man. (I believe he was part of the entertainment staff). I asked him how to get to my destination, and he confirmed that I could not get there from where I was at that time. I foolishly asked him why the woman I had asked didn't tell me that and I was quite surprised at his answer: "she isn't important enough to know." This didn't sound like the Celebrity I used to know! Not a good beginning! So, I went to lunch. Someone helped me find a table, but that was all the help that was volunteered. I noticed that there was a lack of eye contact on the part of the help. Among other things, this meant it was difficult to request beverages and that's quite different than the service at Royal's WJ. I know I said I wouldn't comment on the food in this blog because it is too subjective, but I have to say one thing at this point. I had forgotten how good their ice cream station is - especially compared to Royal's uninspiring 2 flavors of frozen yogurt! Since I am used to finding many people I know on RCCL ships, I was glad to run into a woman I met on NV a few months ago. I ran into her quite early, during lunch, but my record in this category was actually standing next to someone as we both were checking in - so this meeting was probably an hour later than my record. Next, I went to my cabin. I had a balcony guarantee and was assigned an aft "Sunset Veranda" which is one of my favorite locations. It's generally a long walk to the cabin, but the view makes it worthwhile. (More about the view in a little while.) When I opened the door, it seemed as if the cabin was quite small. It wasn't, but it is 2/3 the size of the Junior Suite I was in on the Navigator very recently. Yet, at almost 200 square feet, it was more than twice the size of the early cabins my husband and I shared! Ironically, when I was on NV recently, I was trying to picture how they would divide a few JSs into single-occupancy JSs, which is something that may be happening on Radiance-class ships starting next month. The NV cabin had two sliding glass panels onto the balcony, a narrow but solid wall, and then a single floor-to-ceiling window. I imagined two adjacent cabins being divided at their respective solid walls, creating 3 smaller cabins which would be long and narrow - perhaps much as 3x long compared to the width. I didn't know I was picturing a SL balcony until I entered one today! I found the closet space to be small and awkward. Then I remembered comments regarding the ship when first introduced: it would be very difficult for 2 women to share a cabin, and close to impossible to do so on a longer trip. There were several pages of information waiting to be read. Instead of a coupon book, Celebrity has a single page of 15 perforated coupons for Elite Captain's Club memebers (equivalent to Royal's Diamond, not D+). There were 3 laundry coupons, 4 spa coupons, 3 casino match plays, and one each for internet, bingo, digital photos, wine discount, and discounts in a specialty restaurant (not for the meal itself). Royal certainly wins this point. There was a letter from the Captain's Club hostess outlining the events scheduled for the week. This served to confirm a disappointment I had already anticipated: the Social Hour is not held on the first day, nor is there one when there is a Senior Officers' Cocktail party, even though the two events are at different times. I found this disappointing because I consider Royal's Concierge Lounge to be an oasis far from the maddening crowds and I certainly missed it later that evening. I was deprived of the opportunity to bond early with other like-minded passengers. Since I only booked this trip 12 days in advance, I did not have a dining assignment imprinted on my card, nor was there any notice in the cabin. Surprisingly, there was nothing in the daily program about how to get/change table assignments. I called Guest Services and was connected to what I believe was a dining room hostess - the line was open, I could hear conversation in the background, but nobody spoke into the phone for about 5 minutes when I hung up. So I went to the dining room and found a host at the podium. I told him I didn't know my table assignment and he told me that the hostess at the podium at the other entrance to the dining room could look it up for me. (I didn't understand why he couldn't look it up just as easily as she, but I kept quiet.) The hostess told me I didn't have a table assigned and I would have to go back to the other podium to get one. Service? Anyway, I decided to use Celebrity's flexible dining (they call it "Select") at 6:45. The boat drill, held in the specialty restaurant areas, was probably more helpful to new cruisers than other drills. Since life jackets have not been required at drills, the drills themselves have become a bit of a farce. At least this drill had a video which served well to explain everything. It was nice to have my suitcase before dinner, even though I had scheduled dinner for a little later than usual. At least that took up some of the time before dinner and I didn't have to keep checking back to see if my bag had arrived. Because there is no Concierge Lounge, there would be no free cappuccino throughout the day - only during the 2 hour Continental breakfast in Michael's - I decided during the first dinner that I would buy the Classic non-alcohol package - unlimited fresh juices, sodas from the bars (not cans), non-premium water, specialty coffees, and specialty teas for $13 per day, plus, of course, the mandatory 15%. I asked my waiter if he could handle it, no, so I asked if he could get a bar waiter, and he said he would. Nothing. Then I asked the Wine Steward. Same scenario. Finally, I flagged down a bar waitress, she said she could do it, but not right away. OK. Done. No surprise that after that the wine steward asked if it was taken care of and, even later, my waiter asked as well. Not impressed! I went to the Welcome Aboard show and found it quite good. I have not been going to Royal's first show for two reasons, most notably because it's been the same show, over and over. Furthermore, Royal has only had one show the first night which means I would generally have to rush, and the theater is usually quite crowded. Point to Celebrity. I'll talk about the shows in detail in a later post. A final word about the view from an aft balcony. I woke up during the night and noticed lighting outside which highlighted the wake behind the ship. Also, there was a bright crescent moon. Would you believe I took some pictures? One last surprise: chocolate on pillow!! Are you listening, Royal?

Old email from Nov 2007

I prefer Celebrity to RCCL. I think the food is better. I think the ships are better. Most importantly, I think the attitude is better, making their cruises better experiences overall. But, I'm confused. Royal Caribbean treats me better. On-board credits for future cruises: unless it has changed since May, Celebrity is now paying less money for my future loyalty. They will typically pay $50 OBC for a seven day cruise (based on total pricing below $2500), where RCCL has stayed at the flat $100 level for 7 days. In addition, RCCL allows you to transfer an advance booking to a group without losing the future OBC; X does not. Furthermore, RCCL has recently added an extra voucher to use for friends who book the same future sailing from home; X has nothing like that. Finally, their future cruise booking option with no specific reservation allows me to take advantage of "deals" when I'm home. Repeater discounts: Celebrity gives a one category upgrade inside-to-inside or outside-to-outside, not balcony-to-balcony, nor inside/outside or outside/balcony. For what I consider to be the typical booking, this too often is $10 per person - for the entire week!! On the other hand, RCCL's Diamond discount has enticed me to take more balconies. On-board amenities: the Celebrity coupon book is a joke! It has little value. How many times does anybody tour the backstage area or the galley? Bridge tours can be interesting, but probably only once or twice per class of ship. Discount coupons are a little better on RCCL (e.g., small amount of free internet minutes, vs small discount on large internet package). The best on-board amenity is the Concierge Club (aka Diamond on Freedom-class). The cappuccino etc available in the morning and the happy hour set-up are nice, but it's equally important to have such an oasis away from the crowds. X has nothing like this. The best example of what I like about Celebrity above everyone else is their public announcement policy, although I am concerned that this is gradually deteriorating. On my first few X cruises, the only ship-wide announcement was from/by the Captain from the bridge and that was only on sea days. Then the CD was added after the Captain, and, more recently, the CD has been making an announcement as the ship leaves a port of call. On the other hand, RCCL's announcements are more widespread, more often, and more annoying; they sometimes even have announcements in the dining room during meals. Why must revenue opportunities so blatantly interfere with the elements of cruising which were once so crucial? When the RCCL/X merger was announced, the hype promised that the food would improve on RCCL and the entertainment on X would be better. This was true to some extent, to the point that the distinction between the brands became blurry, so there were more changes instituted to re-establish their unique identities. I'm not sure, but I don't think anything was dropped, but rather new concepts helped to refine the separation. Unfortunately, I feel that was the beginning of the Carnivalization of RCCL. My standard comments have included the statement: "If I wanted Carnival, I could take Carnival, for less money." Do they archive the comments cards? The best (worst?) example of the Carnivalesque atmosphere on RCCL which I experienced was on the Freedom OTS a few weeks ago. The "Quest" activity/show is reputed to be a lot of fun. I don't know. I walked out during the juvenile cheer-leading nonsense during the pre-show portion. I understand the economics of these moves, both as a shareholder and as a passenger. But, I'm still confused about the direction I should be taking. I am currently booked on the Constellation (10 nights), Enchantment (4), Century (4), QM2 (6), Jewel (12+12), Navigator (4), and Rhapsody (17+18) from December 2007 through March 2009. I don't mean this as any type of a threat, but perhaps it's time to try Princess and HAL again. In 44 cruises(?), I've been on Princess once, HAL 4 times, and RCCL and X at least 10 times each.

Solstice 04/10/11 --- Celebrity vs Royal

BEFORE I GO In order for you to understand where I'm coming from, you should know some of my cruise history. My first Royal cruise was in October 1998 on the Grandeur. My first on Celebrity was on Mercury (around South America) in February 2002. For a while I took more cruises on Celebrity. As a result I became Elite on Celebrity before I was Diamond on Royal, which was often referred to as CZ (cubic zirconia being an artificial diamond). In November of 2007 I sent an email to my travel agent. Much of what I said then is still valid. This email, albeit somewhat dated, is in the next blog posting. Since that time, I sailed on Celebrity once (12/07), Cunard once (08/08), Azamara once (10/10) and Royal 39 times (2008 - 10, 2009 - 10, 2010 - 14, and 5 so far in 2011). WHERE I AM NOW I reached Diamond Plus in January 2009. Last week I passed the midpoint between D+ and Pinnacle. I passed my most important goal this past November, and now the single supplement is reduced considerably. My next goal (Pinnacle by the time of the Sunshine-class pre-inaugural in 2014) is attainable, but, since the time so far away, I am now open to non-Royal trips. WHERE I'M GOING NEXT So, I saw a price on Celebrity Solstice, Eastern Caribbean April 10, and I grabbed it. The purpose of this blog is to compare the two lines again. Not food nor ports, but rather service and attitude. Clearly, this will only be my opinion. Starting this Sunday, I hope to post daily. Feel free to join me on board.

Starbucks!

Starbucks is across the street from the Marriott Sydney Harbour and they charge $4.50 USD for 24 hours on their WiFi network!

SA0328 - day 16 - Wellington

SA0328 - day 16 - Wellington
I took the 8 hour "Best of Wellington" tour. I was a little concerned about the walking because there would be 1.5 miles but I figured that it would be ok if spread out over the 8 hours. The tour was shown as "mild" and it was just that.
One stop was at the Wellington Cable Car. With 3 of our busses, the boarding was chaotic with much jostling for space. We all seem to have survived.
Another stop was at the Southward auto museum where we were allowed an hour and a half. That was too much time by far. Probably half that would have satisfied most people.
There was a stop at a working farm which is also quite a commercial operation. We saw a sheep shearing demonstration as well as cow milking. There was an informative talk about wool - the types, the animals and the procedures. All 3 busses had lunch, well organized at staggered times. And, of course, there was time for shopping.
The last stop was at a wonderful lookout point with 72 steps to get to the top. I went because I knew I could stop at any point - the steps were not all at once, there was plenty of room to stop or turn around, the goal was always in sight. Well worth the effort.
We returned to the ship a few minutes after the all-aboard time. When I went through the ship's security, I heard a radio transmission from the Captain asking Security for a count. At that time there were still over 80 passengers who had not returned as well as 5 crew members. Perhaps they are now former crew members.