Remember When Celebrity Was the BEST Cruise Line?

Wouw what well attended thread. I was not suprised in the least that Cunard beat X. The refited QM2 is even better then she was before- and I agree with poster who stated that a voyage on QM2 is an experience in itself.

I just ended my Baltic voyage on board Queen Elizabeth with was just great!

X ships are still stunning and well maintained ships - thats " the hardware" - it´s the " software " that drove me to Cunard-all those changes are well known by now- some love them some don´t - so it´s nice to have so many options these days!

Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth are not really Ocean liners- but due to their clever interior designers one feels as if one is transported back in time- with the all the modern achievments!

I come back to X to try the new Edge- then we will see! I agree also with the poster who mentioned that every cruise or voyage ( one never uses the word " cruise" on board a Cunard vessel. LOL) is what one makes of it!

 

In regards to the specialty restaurants, why does this bother folks? You're not forced into dining at them right?

It bothers me because the main dining room used to have service and food quality that only exists today in the specialty restaurants.

It bothers me because the main dining room used to have service and food quality that only exists today in the specialty restaurants.

It is very obvious what they are doing here. Make the buffet and MDR so unattractive, bland and sometimes bad that you are forced to pay the premium for Specialty Dining. I have heard talk that cruise lines (perhaps Celebrity) may give up on MDR dining altogether. The Bean Counters must realize that it is an expensive "free item" to constantly keep a MDR running. But they would have to redesign the ships to get rid of that huge dedicated space. Looks like they are already chipping away though. Isn't Luminae on the M-class ships a segregated part of the MDR?

You can have for fee restaurants on board but that should not take away from the quality and service of the already included food venues on board. As you stated Ocean View was just meh. At one time the food there for lunch was very good or we could go to the MDR for lunch.

But now lunch in the MDR is only served on sea days and the hours were shortened. We have late seating dinner and don't eat lunch until 2 pm. The MDR, when open, closes for lunch at 1:30 pm, as opposed to 2 pm when we first started sailing. But the biggest drawback is the MDR lunch menu which has just gone totally downhill in the past 5-6 years.

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You can have for fee restaurants on board but that should not take away from the quality and service of the already included food venues on board. As you stated Ocean View was just meh. At one time the food there for lunch was very good or we could go to the MDR for lunch.

 

But now lunch in the MDR is only served on sea days and the hours were shortened. We have late seating dinner and don't eat lunch until 2 pm. The MDR, when open, closes for lunch at 1:30 pm, as opposed to 2 pm when we first started sailing. But the biggest drawback is the MDR lunch menu which has just gone totally downhill in the past 5-6 years.

But look on the positive side. At least you don't have to fly to eat meh food. :D

Newer cruiser here that also really enjoyed a recent sailing on the Equinox. We haven't sailed many cruise lines, but we enjoyed Celebrity much more than our first cruise on Carnival.

 

In regards to the specialty restaurants, why does this bother folks?

We are bothered because we have seen over the past 10 years or so what many have already stated, a reduction in quality, preparation, presentation and service in the MDR. There has also been a similar reduction in every other aspect of the entire cruise experience.

I am sure it is hard to understand by some, especially newer cruisers, since the product is still a pretty good way to spend a vacation and about on par with RCCL, HAL or Princess..

It is however way less than what "X" provided when it was "X" and before it began to meld with Royal Caribbean. On our most recent cruise which was on a mid-sized RCCL ship, it would be very hard to find anything that Celebrity had over Royal Caribbean.

If we thought cruising wasn't an excellent choice for vacationing we wouldn't be booked on two that are upcoming. Although we have sailed many time on X , RCCL and a few on HAL, we are looking forward to an adventure,(fingers crossed), on NCL. Due to scheduling and itinerary we booked a 2 week cruise and will try out a new line for us. We have never had a bad cruise, do not intend to have a bad cruise and believe firmly that a cruise is often what you make it. For about the same as Celebrity we booked an aft cabin, 100+ sqft veranda, beverage and specialty restaurant packages.. The added plus is it is leaving from a port within a short car ride from home. We shall see.

Again I am not saying Celebrity stinks, and I am sure most on the thread agree with that, but it is just the glaring differences that have taken place have made Celebrity an experience, aside from glitz and glitter, less than what it was.

bosco

But look on the positive side. At least you don't have to fly to eat meh food. :D

Out of our 30 total cruises - 3 have been from NYC and 19 have been from Cape Liberty, NJ. Needless to say if we had to fly to cruise, well we'd most certainly wouldn't have 30 cruises under our belt.

Isn't Luminae on the M-class ships a segregated part of the MDR?

Certainly so on the S class ships.

I've not been on a 'M' class since they were Solsticed.

That's my understanding as well.

 

In the U.K. They sell cruises on other cruise lines, such as Celebrity, in their capacity as a U.K. Travel agent

I also believe that's what Virgin do over here: basically,a TA for other cruise lines.

I also believe that's what Virgin do over here: basically,a TA for other cruise lines.

On June 23, 2015, Branson of Virgin Group announced that three new ships were intended to be built by Fincantieri. The cruise line is scheduled to begin operations in 2020 out of Port of Miami with the delivery of its first ship.

Is this an old post I have found, from the Middle Ages, or have you not looked around?

https://www.virginholidayscruises.co.uk/

I admit I wasn't aware that Virgin had plans to enter the cruise market. That is great news!

That said, I'm not sure why you responded the way you did. Perhaps it's just a personality thing? Cruise Critic is a place for people to share and learn. You knew something that I did not. How much nicer it would have been had you responded... "You'll be glad to learn that Virgin does in fact have plans to enter the cruise market in 2020".

I might also point out that your link is not to Virgin's new cruise line, but is to their existing cruise reservation business where they book cruises on existing lines. The correct link to the new Virgin cruise line, which is called Virgin Voyages, is http://virginvoyages.com/ . Just thought I'd point that out in case you were not aware.

A common issue in many complaints on this board is food. Guess it's true, the way to a man's (or woman's) heart is through their stomachs. Bad food seems to bother folks a lot more than rising prices, and in the past couple of years food quality has definitely gone down. Wondered how much X actually saved through food cutbacks so looked at historical 10k data.

Parent RCCL doesn't publish stand-alone financials for X, so looked at the total corporation's trend in food expenses and passenger counts. To begin with, food is the smallest expense that Royal breaks out, amounting to only 5.7% of revenues, well below commissions 15.5%, fuel 8.4%, payroll 10.4% and marketing 13.0%..

Found that 14 years ago in 2003 RCCL spent $11.97 on food per passenger per day. Fast forward to 2010 and that number was $12.05. It then rose for a couple of years to $13.02 in 2014 before dropping way back down to $12.06 in 2016 (the LLP effect). So, over a 14 year period Royal (and X) held total food costs / day flat despite absorbing 38% cpi inflation. Also, today an unknown but sizable portion of the food budget supports specialty and suite restaurants which didn't exist years ago leaving less for mdr and buffet.

To have kept daily food costs flat after inflation would have cost about $4pp / day or $28 for a 7 night sailing. In the big scheme of things this is a drop in the bucket. X has raised fares by much more than that. Would personally be more than willing to pay $28 to restore food quality to where it was years ago. Would then have no need to consider specialty restaurants.

A common issue in many complaints on this board is food. .. Bad food seems to bother folks a lot more than rising prices, and in the past couple of years food quality has definitely gone down. Wondered how much X actually saved through food cutbacks so looked at historical 10k data.

 

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Thank you for the insight.. spending little more for all my meals ($12.06) per day that Celebrity wants to charge for one burger..

I guess my "problem" is that we started cruising in the hey-day of cruising. We started on Royal Caribbean maybe 20 years ago. It was a wonderful experience. If I wanted lobster every day for dinner, no problem. They had not one mid-night buffet but two. You could go to multiple restaurant types and the choice of food was just about anything you could want. Back then Royal Caribbean was considered one notch above Carnival.

 

In the years that followed we stayed with RC, but then they started their push for mega ships and we weren't impressed with the crowds. Then came the trend to start nickel-and-diming for everything. We switched to Carnival, and generally enjoyed it because Carnival was budget and was a good value at that. Still, back then they had many of the nice things.

 

Over the years, the large cruise lines made a dash toward the bottom. Charging for everything, Shows went downhill, food went downhill, and then they started charging extra for the better food you always could get.

 

Still Princess and Celebrity were considered "Premium" and since we only took one cruise a year mostly, it took us many cruises to cross them all. Our Princess cruise was nothing to write home about, but there was always Celebrity. Yeah they are "different." After more than 20 cruises we tried Celebrity, and they weren't "different." The shows were 45 minutes and not great, they had one comedian on night late which we didn't attend. The MDR was not great, unless your the type of person to consider a visit to Luby's a "special" experience.

 

So its really sad, because we have finally come to the realization, that the real cruise as we knew it is dead. That magical experience is gone. Maybe we are burned-out, but I don't think so. For the next few years we'll try land-based tours instead.

 

If we do cruise again, maybe we'll try Viking or Oceania. Its a shame we have to go that route to get what Carnival or Royal once had. I doubt we will ever take RC, Norweigian, Princess or Celebrity ever again. I'm still OK with Carnival, because they have stayed the most true to who they are, a budget cruise. Today I see little "premium" in either Princess or Celebrity. Celebrity did have lemon aid, punch, and apple drink for lunch. Maybe that is why it is "premium." If anyone else knows why its "premium" please chime-in. Is it the $10 burgers and dogs? :D Maybe.

AMEN, AMEN....I totally agree with your statement!!!

Found that 14 years ago in 2003 RCCL spent $11.97 on food per passenger per day. Fast forward to 2010 and that number was $12.05. It then rose for a couple of years to $13.02 in 2014 before dropping way back down to $12.06 in 2016 (the LLP effect). So, over a 14 year period Royal (and X) held total food costs / day flat despite absorbing 38% cpi inflation. Also, today an unknown but sizable portion of the food budget supports specialty and suite restaurants which didn't exist years ago leaving less for mdr and buffet.

One thing you failed to take into account is that the food costs in Laminae, Blu and the specialty restaurants are higher than the MDR and buffet.

Virgin will have their own cruise ships, with the first one debuting in 2020 and that is what I'm excited about.

 

On June 23, 2015, Branson of Virgin Group announced that three new ships were intended to be built by Fincantieri. The cruise line is scheduled to begin operations in 2020 out of Port of Miami with the delivery of its first ship.

Yes, but as you stated not available presently, which is what the other poster (Anon) was suggesting - possibly not realising they currently only act as a TA for other lines over here ;). I'm sure they will be competition for X when they launch and we also are interested in what their new ships will be like.

Yes, but as you stated not available presently, which is what the other poster (Anon) was suggesting - possibly not realising they currently only act as a TA for other lines over here ;). I'm sure they will be competition for X when they launch and we also are interested in what their new ships will be like.

Here is what AnOnymously said: I think that someone did not read the thread or my post, I was being sarcastic when someone posted, only yesterday, that it would be great if Virgin got into cruising !

I was pointing out they are in cruising and have been for many years and the op just had not bothered to do their research before posting such rubbish.

And posted this to prove folks wrong:

Originally posted by AnOnymously Is this an old post I have found, from the Middle Ages, or have you not looked around?

https://www.virginholidayscruises.co.uk/

One thing you failed to take into account is that the food costs in Laminae, Blu and the specialty restaurants are higher than the MDR and buffet.

Agree. But these are RCCL level stats and X only represents 20% of total company berths. Not enough public data to nail this down. Suites eat better, but are just 7-8% of X cabins and I believe a smaller % on Royal. Specialties are cost intensive but also feed relatively small %. Also, from my recent experience, while food on X has gone downhill it's still better than Royal so maybe X's food budget is a bit higher pp than it's siblings. My intent was to illustrate how small dollar cuts can anger so many people and that it wouldn't take a large investment to put food on X back at the head of the class.

DW still dreams of once again having a white-gloved aw carry her tray from buffet to table. I'm not so sure.

Agree. But these are RCCL level stats and X only represents 20% of total company berths. Not enough public data to nail this down. Suites eat better, but are just 7-8% of X cabins and I believe a smaller % on Royal. Specialties are cost intensive but also feed relatively small %. Also, from my recent experience, while food on X has gone downhill it's still better than Royal so maybe X's food budget is a bit higher pp than it's siblings. My intent was to illustrate how small dollar cuts can anger so many people and that it wouldn't take a large investment to put food on X back at the head of the class.

 

DW still dreams of once again having a white-gloved aw carry her tray from buffet to table. I'm not so sure.

Ah, gotcha.

Btw, tell you DW they still do that on Oceania in the buffet. I don't think they wear white gloves though.

To have kept daily food costs flat after inflation would have cost about $4pp / day or $28 for a 7 night sailing. In the big scheme of things this is a drop in the bucket. X has raised fares by much more than that. Would personally be more than willing to pay $28 to restore food quality to where it was years ago. Would then have no need to consider specialty restaurants.

Excellent point, and completely agree.

I'd suggest food stands out as you want to enjoy your cruise.

Sadly, there were three nights where I didn't really eat any dinner at all (including the last night) on my last Celebrity cruise, and even the others it was mostly very 'average.' That was probably the most negative lingering memory, but it's very significant, especially at the increased prices Celebrity charge.

I may as well pay less for a similar experience with a 3* cruise line.

A common issue in many complaints on this board is food. .. Would personally be more than willing to pay $28 to restore food quality to where it was years ago. Would then have no need to consider specialty restaurants.

Exactly how we feel.

Although they say that Corporate or at least someone at Celebrity monitors CC, I find it hard to believe since the food quality topic has been going on since the Michele Roux influence ended.

They know as well as most of us that an extra, relatively minor, few dollars added to a cruise could solve the entire problem of not only MDR quality, but for an extra dollar or two staffing in the MDR could be returned to where your horseradish might be offered before you finished you prime rib.

I know people are dying to cruise on the Edge, and dying to experience the EDEN venue, or looking forward to sitting on a platform off the side of the ship that goes up and down.

Flame on, but neither of those sparks our interest in the slightest. I cannot imagine how many millions either of those two additions cost to dream up, design, produce and how much they will cost to operate and maintain, both in dollars and staff hours.

If Celebrity wants to go the route of RCCL with flow riders, North Star attractions, Giant Giraffes and Pink Bears they can do so but why must this be a teeter totter balancing act where when the amusement park glitz and glitter goes up the quality of dining and other services goes down?

It may be a new age demographic or a attempt at bringing into the fold new and younger passengers that Celebrity is fishing for.

Are they forgetting that many of us and our fellow cruisers WERE YOUNG ONCE, and we signed on to see what EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS was all about, and WE LIKED IT, and we have been loyal to Celebrity for years, even with the downward trend we have all seen.

When we first started cruising we invited a much younger couple to accompany us on a Caribbean cruise. They had just graduated college and lived the typical Ramen noodle dorm life for the past 6 years (post grad degrees).

When they took their first step onto the Connie and were greeted with a glass of sparkling wine, had a steward take their carry ons and escort them to their stateroom, GUESS WHAT?? They were hooked for life and have been repeat cruisers now for the past 15 years.

On that cruise we didn't once go to the specialty restaurant, the MDR staff, food and ambiance made EVERY night special and the best enticement to book another cruise while on board.

Do they monitor these boards??

One thing for sure is they don't pay attention to one of the most frequent and seemingly most important issues that make up so many threads on CruiseCritic and other forums.

OMO

bosco

Exactly how we feel.

 

Although they say that Corporate or at least someone at Celebrity monitors CC, I find it hard to believe since the food quality topic has been going on since the Michele Roux influence ended.

 

They know as well as most of us that an extra, relatively minor, few dollars added to a cruise could solve the entire problem of not only MDR quality, but for an extra dollar or two staffing in the MDR could be returned to where your horseradish might be offered before you finished you prime rib.

 

I know people are dying to cruise on the Edge, and dying to experience the EDEN venue, or looking forward to sitting on a platform off the side of the ship that goes up and down.

 

Flame on, but neither of those sparks our interest in the slightest. I cannot imagine how many millions either of those two additions cost to dream up, design, produce and how much they will cost to operate and maintain, both in dollars and staff hours.

 

If Celebrity wants to go the route of RCCL with flow riders, North Star attractions, Giant Giraffes and Pink Bears they can do so but why must this be a teeter totter balancing act where when the amusement park glitz and glitter goes up the quality of dining and other services goes down?

 

It may be a new age demographic or a attempt at bringing into the fold new and younger passengers that Celebrity is fishing for.

 

Are they forgetting that many of us and our fellow cruisers WERE YOUNG ONCE, and we signed on to see what EXCEEDING EXPECTATIONS was all about, and WE LIKED IT, and we have been loyal to Celebrity for years, even with the downward trend we have all seen.

 

When we first started cruising we invited a much younger couple to accompany us on a Caribbean cruise. They had just graduated college and lived the typical Ramen noodle dorm life for the past 6 years (post grad degrees).

 

When they took their first step onto the Connie and were greeted with a glass of sparkling wine, had a steward take their carry ons and escort them to their stateroom, GUESS WHAT?? They were hooked for life and have been repeat cruisers now for the past 15 years.

 

On that cruise we didn't once go to the specialty restaurant, the MDR staff, food and ambiance made EVERY night special and the best enticement to book another cruise while on board.

 

Do they monitor these boards??

 

One thing for sure is they don't pay attention to one of the most frequent and seemingly most important issues that make up so many threads on CruiseCritic and other forums.

 

OMO

 

bosco

Bosco, agree totally with your post. When we stepped on Millennium back in August 2002 we were hooked. I believe that was really when Celebrity was at it's peak. We were lucky enough to get to enjoy if for a few years.

We have only sailed one S Class Ship - Silhouette. We were not blown away as we were when we first stepped on Millennium. As a matter of fact there were things we did not like about the ship. To this date that is the only S Class ship we have sailed.

Now maybe at 59 years old I am a dinosaur to Celebrity but DH and I had planned to spend our retirement sailing on Celebrity ships. That plan does not seem so certain any longer.

Now maybe at 59 years old I am a dinosaur to Celebrity but DH and I had planned to spend our retirement sailing on Celebrity ships. That plan does not seem so certain any longer.

LOL. You may be a dinosaur but then I am truly a fossil at 71. My wife and I started cruising when I was in my mid fifties.

We remember boarding the Zenith in 2001 and being amazed at how huge it was to us..

Now that I have enough sea pass cards to play poker with, all but two are from Celebrity and Royal Caribbean, we have decided that if given a comfortable stateroom, a large veranda, a good sized casino and a ship that manages to bring us to and from a warm and sunny itinerary we can take care of ourselves.

Going against all reason, or at least the advice gleaned from this board comparing one line to another, we have booked with NCL. With beverage package and specialty dining package, a perfect 14 day cruise length from a port a mere 3 hour drive from home, I am sure we will manage to find something that approaches what is now standard MDR fare on Celebrity. If not we will have learned a lesson.

OMO

bosco:)

Keep in mind that in the beginning Celebrity also did everything right. Then they grew, then they got taken over by another company, and then they got greedy. The rest is history. I hope Viking keeps it's great product - we'll see.

So true about being greedy. They seem to care only about the suite passengers and tend to ignore the rest of us. Loyalty seems not to matter anymore. We have committed to trying other cruise lines. The concept of Viking is interesting. We will explore that also.

Going against all reason, or at least the advice gleaned from this board comparing one line to another, we have booked with NCL. With beverage package and specialty dining package, a perfect 14 day cruise length from a port a mere 3 hour drive from home, I am sure we will manage to find something that approaches what is now standard MDR fare on Celebrity. If not we will have learned a lesson.

OMO

 

bosco:)

I would be very interested to hear about your NCL cruise and how it compares. Having the dining and beverage packages I am sure will help make it a good trip.