phoenix_dream

Thanks for the feedback everyone

I hear you on your last point. Not a Lean certified professional but managed several corporate wide business process re-engineering projects and I go nuts watching some of the business processes, in ships and otherwise. But my real dream would be to re-engineer government processes!

Interesting. Thanks. I wonder also if the bidding amounts (minimum, middle, etc,) are the same for everyone regardless of their original cabin or are they adjusted to compensate for the fact that higher level cabin passengers are already paying quite a bit more.

We haven't booked lower than Aqua since move up started, and always get all levels of suites except Penthouse. Wondering if you are in a cabin level lower than Aqua, do you receive move up offers for higher cabin levels and all suites, or only up to a certain level?

I've gotten excellent service on every one of my 75+ Celebrity cruises without tipping ahead of time. So I'm guessing you would have had the same without doing it. We do always tip extra at the end.

You're not wrong, but we are not all necessarily able (nor care to) take those kinds of cruises. And if you want to stay with Celebrity, you are generally limited to cruises of at most 11 or 12 days, and those seem to be dwindling in number. And it has been my experience in the past year or so that even on longer cruises (not exotic ones) there are more young people with young kids than ever before, regardless of the time of year. Not sure how they are doing their schoolwork but that is the parent's concern, not mine.

With so many people considering booking lower (than suite) classes and choosing to book specialty restaurants, I wonder what that will do to the ability to book those restaurants at the times you would prefer (or at all), especially on M class ships with so few to offer. I guess time will tell.

I agree they were known for their food. I think the other thing they were known for was their superior service onboard. Will have to wait and see what the butler change for suites does to that service. It's also harder and harder to get a drink in a bar without walking up and ordering it. I usually eat in Blu or Luminae and haven't noticed service issues there....yet. Hopefully they won't also be making cuts to the service aspect overall, in all categories. Not saying the food issues aren't real - they certainly are. I think they believe the new (and younger) people they are luring to their ships won't realize the food used to be so much better than recently with the changes. I realize it's a fine line to walk between recovering from the shutdown and not alienating your customers, but with some of these changes I unfortunately think they are on the wrong side of that line.

It would be a sad state of affairs if you had to give a good tip at the beginning of the cruise to ensure good service wouldn't it.

How about the idea that any gratuity should be a choice and not an obligation. If it is required, it is not a gratuity, it is the price. The worst change was earlier when they raised the specialty dining prices (which previously included gratuities) and then added an 18% gratuity charge on top of that.

This is exactly my thinking. I understand bringing in fresh blood so to speak. A business has to survive. But many of us 55+ have 20+ more years to cruise and if they're like me had wanted it to be on Celebrity. Now for the first time in literally 30+ years I am considering other lines. Not ghosting Celebrity but not sailing as much with the line either. Many of these young people now filling the ships will likely come back, but due to jobs, family, and finances they will definitely not come back to sail as often as I will, with 7-8 or more cruises per year since retirement. It seemed to me, CEO of only my own family (although DH would argue that point!) that the Royal group had a smart thing going before. Younger people and young people with children chose Royal Caribbean for the entertainment aspect and child-friendliness. As their children grew and left the house and they wanted a more restful cruise atmosphere, they graduated to Celebrity. Seems logical and practical to me. And to add to that, Royal keeps building floating resorts, bigger and bigger all the time. And Celebrity keeps adding new E class. After this post-Covid surge ebbs, will they really be able to fill ships on both lines with this business strategy? CEO's in general have a habit of looking only at the immediate future as that is where their bonuses are built. They tend not to look 4-5 or more years ahead as they will often be moving on by then. I guess time will tell.

I know you are not directing this at me personally, but I do have some thoughts on your post. I've spent many, many sailings in everything from inside cabins to ocean view to balcony to sometimes suites when I can afford them. And my take is this - it is not necessarily that those upset are going to miss the butler service. When I sail in a suite I like it for sure, but honestly don't use them much. But it is the principle here - people are paying a lot of money for certain benefits, all of which were advertised at the time of purchase and at least as of this writing are still on the website. And now that benefit is eliminated - no notice, no communication, no price reduction, no option to cancel without penalty (for those who do care if they have an individual butler). I think that says something about the company and how it is operating that is very concerning for ALL passengers, not just suite guests. You might also remember that there was tons of discussion on this site when the buffet went downhill. And tons of discussion when charges were being tested for MDR ordering of filet mignon and lobster. Are people using MDR also supposed to be posting only on other social media so we don't assume they are looking for sympathy? Or maybe are we then to have separate threads only for people to whom a specific change applies? If you don't sail in suites, no one is forcing you to join a thread discussing changes to suites. Just like I was not forced to join a thread regarding the MDR menu even though I rarely lately sail in anything lower than Aqua Class. And to wrap up, this is not about fostering sympathy. I don't know why you would say that. It is about how a business is treating its customers, at all levels.

You seriously don't understand? I suspect you're just being sarcastic but I'll reply anyway. Here's why I do it. I love the bigger cabin. I love the bigger balcony as I spend a lot of time relaxing on mine. I love hanging out in the Retreat lounge when the other lounges are real busy or when I just feel like relaxing there. I love being able to board whenever I want. On E class I love the bar on the Retreat deck. I love having a Retreat deck. I love the service and on M and S class the ambiance of Luminae (the menu not so much admittedly). I love being able to take my reservation requests or problems to the host/hostess in the Retreat lounge rather than standing in line at Customer Relations for long periods of time. Is the Butler a nice perk? Yes, although I don't use him or her a lot. But I am peeved at them for what they are doing to the butler service as it is not what I paid for on my upcoming Sky Suite sailings.

I think expecting us to swallow the koolaid is the most insulting part. I’d almost feel better if they said we think we can provide you just as good a service and save some $$ at the same time. At least that’s closer to honesty. Still don’t believe it’s true though. Fewer people, but the same service. Hmm. I don’t need an MBA to know that doesn’t calculate.

Maybe I don’t have the correct title. I mean the person who manages the Retreat lounge.

Same here. I want more options onboard. I also get seasick too easily to enjoy those much smaller ships.

Come on now, we older folks are not all stuffy🙂. I hate knitting, never play cards onboard, eat at 8:00, never take a nap, and ok, you got me, I’m usually in bed by 10ish. It is true that the luxury lines cater to an older crowd and are designed accordingly. Celebrity used to be that way also, perhaps a little younger demographic. For whatever reason now they feel they need to be Royal 2.0. I understand the need to bring in new clientele. But I think before these changes there was a natural progression. Royal when you’re young and bringing kids with you, graduating to Celebrity when the kids are grown and you want a more relaxed experience. Everyone who’s lucky, gets older. Why is Celebrity trying to push us away then?!? With the huge Royal ships still being built, why build competing experiences? Won’t that soon be a problem filling ships if many of us old folks jump ship and try other lines? Doesn’t make good business sense to me. But I only spent 30+ years working in large corporations. What do I know? (rant directed at Celebrity, not you)

I can speak for myself. I cruise 7-8 times a year and have 80+ cruises completed, the majority Caribbean. I don’t need shore excursions. I am Zenith so already get Wi-Fi and premium drinks. I don’t need another piece of expensive jewelry or expensive photos. I prefer my spa at home. I may use a little OBC on a specialty dinner or a little gambling, but overall struggle to use that non refundable OBC. Would much rather have a cheaper fare. No offense meant to those who desire it, just explaining why some of us don’t find it a good thing.

We had one bad butler. First we addressed it directly with him. No change. We discussed it then with our Retreat hostess and she thanked us for the input and stated it was her job to make sure we were well taken care of, and based on results she did a good job. And in case anyone has doubts, we are definitely not the type to complain or report any little minor issue. This butler was borderline rude and completely unresponsive. Thankfully he was an outlier as the vast majority of all Celebrity staff is outstanding!

A couple years ago I would have completely agreed with you. But having sailed multiple suites this past year my personal experience has been that the demographic has significantly changed. Much, much younger and definitely in the age where they could still be paying off student loans. I don’t recall my exact comments, but I am really talking about the spending sprees across the board. People are racking up credit card debt at an alarming pace. I also have never booked a vacation on credit, but I’m not sure you and I are in the majority anymore. I agree with your last paragraph but interpret things differently. I think when all the debt comes to payment time, that is part of the reason people will no longer tolerate the pricing as they will no longer be able to afford it by jacking up their debt even more. Not the only reason of course, but I think a significant factor.

Agree with all your points. Martini bar area loud and always jammed. Never could find a seat before dinner for a nice drink. Luminae very loud and cavern like. The theater is great, but too small. Every night there was a good show it was 100% full with two rows of people standing in the rear. The pluses- the shows were great, as was the staff, although that’s been true on all Celebrity ships.

Not sure what LLP has to do with this as she is no longer in charge?

Thank you. But it apparently doesn't connect for a number of popular streaming platforms per their Amazon description: Stream videos from popular apps like YouTube, Quickflix, Hulu Plus, IDMB, Family On TV, ABC, NBC, FOX, Microsoft Office, and more. Please note that it does not work with apps that have "HDCP" video copyright protection, such as Netflix, Prime Video, Amazon Video, HBO Go, Hulu, etc.

As frustrated and angry as I am at Celebrity right now (and that is a lot), I really don't believe they will take away access to Luminae. There just literally is not enough space in their other restaurants to accommodate the number of suite guests. If they were to try to do that, I think there would be an uprising across the board, rather than just suite guests, as other restaurants became packed well beyond capacity. As to the Retreat Deck and the lounge - I do sincerely fear that is at risk. Considering that Sky Suites are a large portion of all suites, I personally feel that would be a huge mistake - but then they are not consulting me.

We'll move on when we're ready to. If you don't want to read these posts anymore, then I respectfully suggest it is you who should move on to other threads. There are two reasons there are reactors here - one is that this is just one more way Celebrity is cutting services while their costs skyrocket. That concerns everyone, not just those in suites. Second, it is a very questionable business model where a product is advertised, paid for, and then not delivered. Again, that point concerns everyone, not just those in suites.