Our research revealed that Celebrity cruisers are very attached to the cruise line; some very concerned that the untouchables might sail due to the lowering of fares.
Well, we found a good fare and decided to join and possibly lower the IQ, etiquette and economic level of the typical passenger. Oddly enough, we thought at one point that we were on a Carnival cruise.
Nothing wrong with Carnival, but we wrongly assumed it was a vastly different product from Celebrity. Well, not if the bingo was any indication. It was as tacky as ever with the sound machine and unclever comments by those running the show.
A few other thoughts
On several occasions, fellow passengers complained about those who got low rates and claimed that they were subsidizing these low-lifes. First of all dear proud and exclusive Celebrity cruiser, let it be known that Celebrity is very good about adjusting prices when there are drops. So please, don’t claim that you are subsidizing those of us who like a good deal and have no qualms about paying less for a cruise, or any other product for that matter.
It came as a shock to us after reading how cultured the typical Celebrity passenger is when we were sitting in the theatre waiting for a technical problem to be resolved. The guy seated next to us removed his foot from his sandal, placed is foot on the chairback in front of him and proceeded to pick his toes. The woman on the other side of us followed suit. Disgusting.
The women’s locker room at the spa often offered a lotion from the spa to try out. That disappeared one day and when I asked if there were plans to continue that program – a great way to try out products – the spa lady said that it likely wouldn’t happen again because passengers were stealing the products. I am sure that the culprit was one of the subsidized passengers.
The margaritas were large and tasty. Check out this photo of our fellow passenger, Angie.
Speaking of Angie, we met some really great people on this cruise. Our tablemates were wonderful and we immensely enjoyed our cruise. In fact, one day at lunch we sat with a couple who live just a few miles away from us. I am now a member of a local book club because of that.
Although many passengers loved the lecturer, I couldn’t tolerate listening to what happened in our ports decades ago and looking at faded photos illustrating the lecturer’s high position in society.
We really enjoyed the classical guitarist who took ill on the cruise and had to leave us.
Because we were hiking on the Inca Trail after the cruise, we used the gym extensively and for the most part it was a good experience, although sometimes, the temperature was way too high. There is a good selection of equipment and it is well-maintained.
One of my favorite perks on the ship was the free mini-massages and stretching done just outside of the gym. Few people took advantage of it, so there were never any long waits.
The staff took the Attention to Detail form seriously and took care of any problems that we had listed.
We and others were not happy campers when we were told that we needed to take a shuttle in certain ports. In Manta, there was a free shuttle from the ship to the port entrance and it was an easy walk to town from there. Telling passengers that it is too far to walk and recommending that they buy a shuttle pass creates ill-will. Obviously, for those with mobility problems, a shuttle could be a good thing, but for the rest of us, please don’t make us pay for a shuttle that goes less than a mile.
Would we sail with Celebrity again? Of course, especially if other passengers subsidized us.
Sail Away
