cruisellama
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Posts posted by cruisellama
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4 minutes ago, twangster said:
Every 5 to 10 minutes (or so). As demand and guests vary loads on the trams they introduce some variables for timing but there are several of them continuously doing the circuit around the island. If a bunch of people with mobility issues slow down one tram loading or unloading it might delay it a minute or two.
Thanks (forgot to ask also) - is there a walking/jogging path around the island?
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On 7/3/2020 at 4:02 PM, rjac said:
Looking at cruising the SOS next year. Has anyone here been on her in a Junior Suite (category J4), if so how many bathrooms? Just one or was there also a1/2 bathroom? Thanks!
Yes - only 1 bath in a JS
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On 7/1/2020 at 12:48 PM, nrgMike said:
I wonder if RC has gone over the idea of just opening the ships up as a resort hotel that doesn’t cruise anywhere not sure if that falls under CDC guidelines. I’d be interested in that idea. Just a thought.
Actually before the C19 outbreak Richard Branson was going to introduce the Scarlet Lady in NYC as a restaurant for a weekend. You would pay a fixed fee/pp to get on-board and eat at the buffet. Was a good marketing move but cancelled.
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On 4/11/2020 at 3:51 PM, ellcee said:
This has been my favorite since I'm very cooped up and take my pup out constantly for walks. The first week she just stopped in the middle of the walk and was done.
- ellcee and Ogilthorpe
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On 6/28/2020 at 5:27 PM, Ogilthorpe said:
I've not booked the waterpark or overwater yet, we usually go to Chill Island. There is transportation that runs around the island that is hop on hop off that would take you between the two. $1049 for overwater is the lowest I've seen price wise, i.would be tempted to book for that price. For comparison, we paid $899 for a standard club cabana for feb 2021 and that was a good deal
How often does the transportation run? Are they crowded or run frequently enough to avoid having to wait for a ride?
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No need to leave the suite - has everything!
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On 3/23/2020 at 6:12 PM, JLMoran said:
@bobroo, as far as being able to put the money towards existing ship upgrades and such, I suppose that one way to look at that is they are taking a loan out to make sure those jobs that were put on hold are not just canned altogether, ruining the lives of the shipyard employees and others who are already on a knife edge of surviving this financially. IF that's the case, that's certainly a laudable thing for them to do as a side benefit; though let's be honest, what they absolutely want is to stay as on track as possible for their planned developments.
I actually went back to their investor relations page and found a Form 8-K filed today that actually goes into some very deep details, if you're someone with a degree in finance and/or financial law who knows all the terminology used. But here is a very interesting quote from the very start of that document (emphasis added):
So this is not some general secured loan against everything that RCL owns. This is a loan secured almost entirely by the assets of Celebrity, with a smidge of additional assets from their other lines (probably Azamara more than Royal). The fact the security is only against the "wholly-owned vessel-owning subsidiaries" says to me that's only Celebrity, Azamara, and Royal; they don't fully own Silversea, Pullmantur or the others they're involved with.
The way I interpret this part is that Celebrity's assets alone (not just ships, which are far from liquid collateral, but cash and short-term investments) have almost enough value that they don't need to put up much more as collateral for the loan. Another interesting part of this is that Celebrity's ships are all older, except for Edge and Apex, but they were just all refurbished as part of a monster upgrade program. And the pricing on X cruises is a good bit higher vs Royal, with a smaller fleet, so that subsidiary likely brings in higher profit for paying off the loan.
Azamara? They're even more expensive, but their fleet and the ships it holds are tiny, and do the definition of boutique cruises. Celebrity, I think, might be their main bread and butter for total company income. I haven't read their past 10-K or 10-Q docs in enough depth to have noticed if they break the income and profit down by cruise line, but from what I remember of the 10-k financial charts, they did not. Smart move, so competitors don't know which part to really heavily target.
But, at the same time, they have a plan in place to effectively replace actually having the ships or other material properties as the collateral with a mortgage, presumably on the ships. Not just Apex and Edge. Those are only worth... a couple hundred million? Certainly nowhere near 2.2 billion. No, if there's a mortgage involved with Celebrity I imagine it would have to be for all of the ships in the fleet.
If I'm reading that part right (and boy, is that a big freakin' IF), that means the short-term 2.2B loan could be replaced by a medium-term "mortgage" on some number of Celebrity's ships for equivalent or greater value (after interest). Smaller payments per month because of longer term, so less visible on the quarterly bottom line; but now those rapidly depreciating assets (especially Edge and Apex) became in my mind a bit of an albatross around Celebrity's neck for the next several years.
Lord, what an accounting shell game is at play here!
Scratching my head too. They do need lots of cash to keep things warm. The uncertainty of restart - another quarter, two, a year? No one knows and carrying the debt long term can sink everyone's fleet.
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On 4/1/2020 at 9:27 PM, Andrew72681 said:
Going on our first Celebrity Cruise on Equinox in late May (hopefully post stoppage) and am wondering when Edocs and luggage tags are normally available. We’ve done checkin and have our Xpress passes but edocs don’t show, and even if I click on luggage tags, it says none are available.
We've seen them as early as 90 days out. (After you've paid)
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Anyone with experiences to share? Most curious about the different cabin levels and how to distill from the marketing. Thinking we'd like to try them out once the ocean opens up again.
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On 6/16/2020 at 11:24 AM, JLMoran said:
Oh, and you'll see that there are a few here (myself included) with unusual rank names; those were gifts from the admin for being super-active members for a really long time.
Great rank!
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On 6/4/2020 at 12:33 PM, twangster said:
The CDC has no real authority over states. They can issue "guidelines" and "recommendations" which they did and which were promptly ignored by all states in the motion to reopen.
However the CDC DOES have authority over cruise ships. Theme parks and similar have to deal with local or state government agencies which often are small departments that are understaffed and underfunded. Theme parks are not directly regulated or controlled by the CDC.
So it seems with states largely ignoring the CDC they went overboard creating policy for the one thing they can sink they teeth into - cruise ships.
Guessing the CDC oversight is because cruise ships deal with international clientele , itineraries across boarders, etc. Theme parks are located in a single state and subject to the home state rules and regulations for food and health safety. A cruise ship touches more than the port it calls home, but every port it touches and anyone who comes in contact with the ship's compliment.
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I use cruiseline.com. You can select any cruise for a price alert. You'll get an email if the price drops from the date you set up the alert. I've saved $$$ with this automatic feature but getting the updated rates and working through my TA or when I don't use a TA, the cruise line directly. Works as long as we have not made the final payment.
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2 hours ago, twangster said:
It costs a lot of money to move a ship to a new home port and that cost goes up with distance. A new ship may be more efficient but if another ship is in the right place at the right time and can start carrying guests right then, in the bigger picture it might be more cost effective to let that ship sail.
Empress carries 1,600 and it never feels crowded. At 50% capacity that 800 guests. Very easy to manage 800 on that ship and that ship is paid for (no loan payment) so the fact that it might burn more fuel per guest mile doesn't mean it makes her less cost effective versus a new ship especially if she is in the right place.
Some foreign countries might feel more comfortable with just 800 arriving on a ship versus 3,000. Oasis at half capacity is 3,300. From this perspective it may be small ships have a place as well.
At the end of the day it's not just one factor such as fuel efficiency that will drive the return to cruising. There's a lot of factors in play.
Actually being on a ship at 50% capacity could be a good deal. Less lines, more space, no need to hog deck chairs - probably better service.
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A ghosting regular
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On 6/30/2020 at 5:35 PM, Ampurp85 said:
i think it depends on the ship, date and ports. Obviously they can fit more people on an Oasis class, so maybe they push people to sail in balconies or higher. This would only be in the beginning of the restart I believe, so 2021 should be regular sailings.
They can social space on the larger ships. I'm curious on operations cost. Read one place that the newer ships are more efficient from a fuel perspective. Guess you pick the ships that you can make the most profit with the lowest number of people. I'm sure they'll fill the sub-capacity ships - lots of penned up demand to get back on the seas.
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I would guess they focus on keeping the higher priced rooms. Balcony/Concierge/Suites as they have a higher margin. I think those with "outside" air will get priority. Will be interesting to see what that translates into capacity - 50%, 75%? If you get on-board with the lower loading, obviously no fighting over deck chairs. It could end up being a more pleasant experience with a better passenger to crew ratio. If shuttering lower deck cabins, the ships would not need as many in housekeeping, so could save some labor.
This will be very interesting.
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Three major classes in service from small to large: Millennium (Millennium, Infinity, Summit, Constellation), Solstice (Solstice, Equinox, Eclipse, SIllouette, Reflection)and Edge (Edge, Apex). Then there are 3 smaller explorer class ships that sail the Galapagos.
Passenger loadings about 2,200 for M, 2,800 for S, and about 3,000 for E-class. So not close to the Oasis or Quantum class. Celebrity is lower key, demographic is a little older. Service has an uptick in elegance as there are less passengers and a slightly better guest/crew ratio. The S-class ships have a lawn area on the top deck. M-class have 3 elevator areas so less congestion moving through decks. Edge is a game changer. It really focuses on diversity of dining opportunities, theater and art. MDR is split into 4 different venues with their own specialties, plus a number of specialty restaurants that are over the top. Branded with the Magic Carpet, which is a moveable deck extension that serves as a bar and restaurant depending upon the weather. Its pretty cool, but you find out not very practical because of the wind restrictions for its use. It is nice sitting out there on the evenings when its in bar mode.
After sailing a number of lines, we've settled on RCL family. Tend to sail Celebrity because of how they package "perks" like drink packages, internet, gratuities, OBC etc. If you book an entry suite with Celebrity you get all the perks. On RCL you have to go up to Star level on Oasis to get everything. Celebrity doesn't have toys, but is fine for families. Think RCL does a better job for all ages.
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Will make for unique tan lines
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Edge is a great ship, and offers new ways of enjoying cruising. Very well laid out. Believe the cuisine is the most diverse and high quality on Celebrity. The MDR is split into 4 smaller main dining rooms, each with a specialty entree (Med, French, Italian, Continental), but they also have a large common menu thats served in all of them. In order to enjoy all 4 dining rooms, you want the Select (anytime dining). If you take the set dining schedule, you'll only be able to rotate through 3 of them. The special restaurants are also very good. Eden very unique - like Wonderland on an Oasis class ship. Steakhouse also excellent. There's entertainment throughout the ship, lots of art, and plenty of deck space. Virtual balcony is is like a sunporch. The window does slide down, but its not a full balcony experience, more like a sun porch. Balcony is separated with a set of doors. If you open the window, the A/C is turned off. When you close the window, the A/C is restored. In terms of experience, if you've had a balcony in the past, you'll notice a different feel to the room, if you haven't you won't really care. Very smooth ride. Edge class has a new bow design that makes the ship very slick and smooth during the cruise.
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On 7/2/2020 at 9:51 AM, FionaMG said:
Somebody just posted this link over on CC.
It's a bit long-winded but then anything and everything that comes from the EU is.
Masks will leave bad tan lines
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Does Coco Cay have a "Captain of the Island" or a RCL Governor (General Manager) who is directing operations? Seems like it has many of the same features of the ship without the engines and hotel side of things.
Is this a crazy idea for coco cay?
in Shore Excursions
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Thanks again. That works.