Not based on having actually done this (not sure if it even can be done), but I would speculate that if you could wind back to the Cruise Critic boards before COVID, say mid-2019, they would be filled with threads about how cruising just isn't the same and citing some real, or perceived degradation in value (food quality, more crowded ships, increasing prices, reductions in some service, removal of loungers 😉).
Since then, we have had a pandemic which changed the world as we knew it. Somehow, all of the major cruise lines managed to survive (Crystal, although beloved, was not a major line), by taking on debt, issuing equity, or both. Coming out of COVID, demand for travel has exploded, inflation has increased far beyond what we have experienced for many years and the cruise lines have to deal with those increased costs on cruises where the revenue was locked-in up to 2 years prior. Replacing high quality staff has become a global challenge, not just for the cruise industry but for many many others as well.
Personally, I think the cruise lines are collectively doing a fine job under the circumstances. Are prices higher when I look to book a cruise. Absolutely. Has there been some decrease in service and food quality? Yes, but it is still generally very high. Do I still get as much OBC when I book? Nope, but that is just a (necessary) price increase. More OBC requires higher cruise fares. It's as simple as that.
The biggest mistake I think Celebrity is making is the nickel/dime stuff. Increasing already high margin prices for "grocery store wines" so that they exceed the Premium drink package limit detracts enormously from the onboard experience and is why we, like several others on these boards, are looking to other "real" premium lines. Paying $X for a so-called "premium experience" in the Retreat and then being given slips to sign for $1 or $2 plus gratuity for a glass of wine that retails for $15 or less per bottle is glaringly "non-premium."
As others have already noted, our fallible memories often perceive things were much better in "the good old days", but for us, cruising still represents a good value vacation. It just may not be with Celebrity, which is a shame because it is mostly because of what is really a minor (but more major to us and some others) irritant.
One last point. I do get it that this is Cruise "Critic." People are certainly entitled to post their opinions, reviews, etc. and I am not criticizing that. I just think that if you had the same poll 5 years ago, or 5 years from now, the overall response would be roughly the same, that the "value" is no longer what it used to be "back then".
APAD
