cruisellama

Agree! . Galveston itineraries become repetitive (limited by time and port location) and this 8-day presented a nice option of PDCC .

Think it could influence a small number of those looking at cruising for the first time.

On the other hand, it directs an industry to repackage an advertising technique for those who aren't willing to read the fine print.

I'm slow, so I just don't understand what the win criteria is on some of these machines. Used to live in Vegas in the 80's & 90s and they were pretty simple back then. Guess I'm too old for all these new "options". I do seem to lose faster.

Gremlins

Fingers crossed the weather cooperates on the itinerary as its supposed to be a very active storm season....

A good number of Celebrity cruisers will buy through an inclusive rate so kinda hides the package in the rate. You would care about losing the 5 drink voucher if you didn't go with the up charged rate. (Except for the high tier happy hour which I think provides pretty weak offerings.)

The point accumulation models are different. One RCL you either earn 1 or 2 pts/ night depending upon non-suite or suite (also solo traveler pick up a point). Celebrity tiers by room class from 3 pts/night up to 24 pts/night depending on the suite level ($$ buys you love). IMO I think points a function $$ spent is pretty fair.

Now the Crown lounge will get really crowded...

. There's a premium offering in the MDR, but have not seen the ability to order it directly from Tuscan, Muranos, or Fine Cut (Edge class) from MDR (but I believe the premium steak ordered in the MDR is actually from one of the premium restaurants). If you're in Retreat class, you can request from Luminae but you pay the uncharge (my wife did it once).

https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/texas/pelican-island-causeway-bridge-galveston-texas/285-7ae769e4-136d-4a6d-bd9b-5778dfa6f1bd

Still see staffing shortages. Initially due to labor pool shortages, now some of it is deliberate. Trying to do more with less and it isn't working - its demonstrably less.

Sailed Azamara just after the sale was announced and early post Covid. Was pleased with the experience. Small ship (Quest) with about 380 crew and around 600 guests, but we sailed with about 300.. Food and service was excellent. Smaller number of people allowed them to be pretty creative in presentation and menu complexity. Even had a mid-night chocolate buffet one night (but it was a holiday sailing). You got to recognize / know much of the crew and even many of the guests. Thought the food was above what was offered by Celebrity. Entertainment venues more intimate. The performers will engage more with the guests as they also carry on additional duties to help with on-board activities. The cruise director and staff are also part of the talent pool. Small ship is easily to get around. Small boutique elevators. Azamara is big on excursions and providing guests with lectures on various destinations. Discussed history, politics etc of the destinations. Offered classes such as water color and cooking classes (included). Basic rates include a basic drink package. No casino or toys. Largest library that I've seen at sea. On board self laundry is also available as many of the cruises are multiple weeks long. Also had a BBQ on deck one night with charcoal grills and real flames one night. Not used to seeing that on a ship. Command crew out and about and seen all the time. Officers would help out in the buffet or outdoor activities - didn't see any egos - just wanted to make everyone happy. Will sail them again. I want to seen if it's still as pleasant as before being sold by RCL. I thought the pricing with the offered perks of drinks and internet to be at a very attractive price point at the time. Starting to research them again for something in 2026. Early pricing is pretty good 2 yrs out.

Agree with your observations. I think they've just optimized routes to maximize revenue, not necessarily guest preferences. When they intersect - there's goodness on both sides. But as a Texas resident, I too would like more RCL options from Galveston. There is an occasional 8, 9, and 11 when meshing between rotations - but they're far and few between and difficult to plan for.

Maybe Allure will rotate to Barcelona the following year , March '27

The cabin upgrades were welcome and nice. Many of the public areas and specially restaurants did not get a renovation. Retreat upgrade from Michaels club isn't spectacular, as they really don't have the space to create the same experience as Edge class. Matching color palette is fine for marketing, but didn't add to service experience.

Vision and Radiance class appear to intersect at the Millennium class for displacement and passenger count. I liked that the M class ships had 3 elevator locations (F, M, A) as opposed to 2 found on later designs.

Early roll call start. Haven't been on a short one like this for many years... But its driving distance to the port.

We've greatly enjoyed Edge class. As with any cruise line, enhancement and experiences can be expanded with a larger and more up to date ships. It's the nature of upgrading a fleet. When Millennium was the only class, we enjoyed that, and following Solstice improved the experience over Millennium class. But with each class, so has the passenger capacity increased; so as the ships get bigger, so do the crowds. At this point, as we sail suite class, and do not favor going back in ship class (M,S). The legacy ship class Retreat experience is far inferior to what Edge class offers (by design) when sailing in a suite. So to us, that's the most notable change that makes Edge class our new preference.

Would agree on the "hand-me downs". But will take what ever we can get.....

I've tried different days and our experience is day 1 tends to be the least crowded and formal nights tend to be the more heavily trafficked. Foods the same.

There are many Celebrity cruisers on this site. You've found the right tab to ask a question. There isn't a Celebrity roll call area like Royal roll calls so if you're looking to join or follow a roll call there's FB, Cruise Critic, or Shipmate. However, there's a good chance you can get informed answers to Celebrity questions here.

Matt has a nice video blog on Youtube regarding Genie service.

Seems some service issue became more prevent with the on-boarding of the new leadership. But not to rule out ability to recruit and retain personnel. May not be able to recruit from certain eastern European countries.