Johnny Heedless

Here's a really outrageous idea.... Why not just serve yourself a modest single plate of food plus a beverage (pretty easy to handle with two hands)? And then,if you're still hungry, you can return for a second helping. This idea may help prevent overeating and the extra exercise may further help the calorie differential.

They used to offer Australian Sea Bass which is not the same as Chilean sea bass but Barramundi, which is not to say it is not good. Can't remember if they've had it recently.

 

Mary Lou

Exactly, but slightly understated....

The "sea bass" on Celebrity menus is downright terrible -- the worst thing we have ever tried on Celebrity. Unlike Chilean Sea Bass that is thick, tasty, and firm, the stuff they serve on Celebrity is thin, mushy, very fishy, and nasty. We ordered it twice on our first cruise on Celebrity at two different specialty restaurants and haven't ordered it since.

I was enjoying your review until I read your odd comment about obese people! :eek::confused::mad: I can understand your comment about the card playing table hoggers, but what did the obese people do to merit such an observation and comment? Did you count the number of thin/short/tall/bald/hairy people as well?

I feel sorry for people who are so easily offended.

It was an interesting observation -- one that I'm glad the OP noted. There was absolutely nothing derogatory whatsoever about making that observation.

I'm a bald Hispanic. Had the OP made the observation that, suddenly between cruises, a large number of bald men and/or Hispanics joined the cruise, I would have found it equally interesting and not in the least bit offensive.

Then again, those finding offense with a simple, non-derogatory observation are also probably the same "Elites" that complained constantly. After all, is there much difference between complaining about not being able to use free coupons at the Martini bar and complaining about simple observations?

It never ceases to amaze me how quick people are to complain about things. There's a FREE show on a cruise ship offered in a small venue, late at night, called "Sin City Comedy" that clearly indicates there will be a Burlesque dancer. Yet, despite that, curmudgeons complain? Really?

I've been to daily Catholic Mass in the same venue as Sin City. As I understand it, certain Jewish Holy Day services are held in the same venue as well. Will curmudgeons wander into those free "shows" and complain about its piety or religious focus?

Soon, we'll have folks complaining (if they aren't already) about the gluttony, boozing, and gambling happening on board. God forbid they hear that there are actually unmarried and, heaven forbid, gay cruisers sleeping in the same room as well!

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the card basically gives you 1% back in OBC and not much else.

There are dozens of cards that will give you a higher percentage back (other cards give 2% on places like gas stations and super markets) in regular cash.

Why would anyone regularly use the Celebrity affinity card beyond the initial offer period? Isn't getting regular cash back better than getting OBC?

So they got our business because of it where they might not have and who knows what else they might get revenue from us now that they have us on board the ship. I think win win.

Bingo!

We just booked our fourth cruise in a row on a Solstice Class ship exclusively due to the drink package.

While we love Celebrity and the Solstice class ships, frankly, we're somewhat sick of them.

Unlike many others on this board, we don't particularly have any allegiance to any cruise line. We find that the perks associated with achieving status (Elite, Diamond, Platinum) on cruise lines are not worth the trade-off of having limited choices.

We're dying to try RCCL's Allure or Oasis, Princess's Royal, or NCL's Breakaway -- not because we think they'll be better than Celebrity, but because we just want a change of scenery.

However, when I factor in how much it would cost us to buy a drink package at any of those ships, they just don't come close from a value perspective.

So, for now, as long as Celebrity keeps offering their free drink packages and all the other mainstream lines continue to charge for them, we'll just keep sailing Celebrity. In turn, Celebrity will get all the money we drop on tickets, specialty restaurants (we spent a lot there), and the casino.

Again, win win.

Will the food options in the Gastropub be covered for those who purchase the $29 per day Unlimited Dining Package?

I doubt it. The tapas that were available in Cellar Masters were not included in the Ultimate Dining Package. So, I doubt the new pub items will be either.

Go back through the archives to those days and you will still see posting about the declining quality in food, decrease in service, reduced staff, and talk about how much better it was in these days:

 

LOL!

I guess you're right -- just like parents in the 50's, 60's, 70's and 2014 complained about Elvis, The Beatles, The Ramones, and Drake respectively.

Cruising was so much better back when these guys were running the ship:

You know, back when we were paying 300% more for cruises (not adjusted for inflation) and drinks actually cost real money (instead of being inclusive of your ticket that cost us a third).

The good ole days are still easily available on Azamara, Oceania, and Silverseas; you just have to be willing to pay the same prices as you paid in the good ole days.

In my experience, cruisers on Princess and RCCL are generally older than cruisers on Celebrity.

When it comes to these boards, the age difference seems even more profound. This particular board seems to be filled with very experienced, generally older Celebrity Elites. The Princess and RCCL boards seem to be much more dominated by newbies and less-experienced cruisers. Their boards also have many more young cruisers with school-age children.

While the vast majority of older, experienced cruisers are wonderful and generally easy-to-please, there is a tiny, but VERY vocal minority of curmudgeons -- they're the get-off-my-lawn types that pine for the glory days of cruising when Captain Stubbing and Julie McCoy were running the ship.

Sadly, this board seems to have quite a few of those impossible-to-please grumps who constantly gripe about the most insignificant inconvenience or less-than-perfect service.

Then again, go over to the HAL board. While the overly-vocal curmudgeons are very much in the minority here, they're all over the HAL board.

One myth it clarified is that revenue comes from other then tickets when it states 75% of revenue comes from tickets and single digit revenue from drinks, shore excursions and other ways.

Revenues and margins are two very different things...

While 75% for their revenues comes from tickets, there is very little margin in those revenues. On the other hand, the remaining 25% of revenue is extremely margin rich.

Companies exist to grow margins, not to grow revenues.

The ship was completely sold out as of last night, so there was no where to go, we considered paying more :)

I love my in-laws; they're wonderful. I have cruised with them a couple times and had a wonderful time. Still, I would hate to be in your position.

Sorry.

You'll just have to make the best of it (and turn up the television REALLY loud).

It is possible, but not likely.

 

Since you will be in Key West on April 20 (Easter Sunday), docking early in the morning, I would suggest the local Catholic parish in Key West. It looks like they have 7 Masses on Easter.

 

http://keywestcatholicparish.org/

I agree; that's a fantastic parish. The Basilica of Saint Mary Star of the Sea is both beautiful and historic. It would be a much better place to celebrate mass than the ship.

And, if you're lucky, Father John Baker, the parish pastor, will say mass. Father Baker is probably the best priest I've ever met.

The last couple of years, I have watched tournament games in Michaels.

Last year wasn't great. The weather outside was horrible and the satellite kept going in and out. But, at least you would get score updates when the satellite was working.

However Celebrity has done the kiss of death in business. Lower your standards but keep the pricing the same. I would rather pay more and I am not talking about spending my money in a specialty restaurant @ $30-40 pp, but hey that's just me.

Kiss of death? Sorry, but that just plain silly. Have you considered the competition for one second?

In a couple weeks (during peak Spring Break times), I'm going on a 7-day Celebrity cruise in the Caribbean. I paid only $1,800 including taxes for an unobstructed veranda room. That price includes unlimited, free booze.

On Princess (Celebrity's closest competitor), that same cruise would cost me $2,600 -- the cruise is about the same price but I'd have to add another $800 to get their booze package.

Similarly, when you consider the booze packages, virtually all mass market cruise lines are more expensive than Celebrity. Even Carnival would cost me $2,100 to get a balcony room for a 7-day Caribbean cruise when I add in $700 for their booze package.

Azamara, Oceania, Seabourn, Silverseas or Regent? Forget about it; their prices are typically nearly two to three times more than Celebrity for similar cruises.

Then, consider the land-based all inclusive vacations. When you add in airfare, I can't find anything where my wife and I can go for a week that is even remotely close to the price of my upcoming Celebrity cruise.

I challenge you to find any ship-based or land-based truly all-inclusive vacation that I can take for a week for less money. When you factor in Celebrity's relatively great quality, none of their competitors come even remotely close.

Anyway, There are a few cruises that appeal to me and the prices look comparable between HAL and Celebrity and I wondered what you prefer and why.

I took one cruise on HAL. The cruise was food was on par with Celebrity. The service was probably notch above.

The age of the passengers on HAL was pretty significantly older than Celebrity. If your parents are in their 60s, you'll be among the youngest on board. Even though we're younger, the relatively elderly crowd didn't bother us at all.

What bothered us was HAL's smoking policy. We had a balcony cabin and our neighbors on both sides seemingly smoked 24 hours a day for the full 7 days of our cruise. This effectively made our balcony completely useless to us -- we would have been better off booking a ocean view cabin. After that experience, we decided never to take a cruise on any line that allows smoking on their balconies.

FWIW, I strongly believe that all CC moderators do a fantastic job, and deserve high praise. Thank you for your insights.

I agree completely. That being said, some moderators (i.e, you and Walt) are exceptional.

Secondly, I have noticed the increasing crabbiness and nasty attitudes of some on the X boards. Not just on 1 side, either. Out of curiosity, I looked on HAL and some others and didn't see the constant complaints and attacks. Not sure what the issues are with X but there is really a difference. We are considering getting flack jackets for the cruise, To be honest, however, if I had never experiences X but had been reading these boards for ideas I might decide to bypass Celebrity entirely and go somewhere more laid back, like w war zone.

Some of this is just the Internet. Anonymity naturally causes people to be less civil and more argumentative. I visit regularly visit a few message boards besides this one and this one actually the most civil.

Some of it the moderators. The HAL moderators seem much quicker at locking threads. Thankfully, the moderators on this board allow lively discussion to continue. I think that's a good thing; we're all adults and should be able to handle a bit of vigorous debate.

Some of it is demographics. Based on my experience having been on a HAL cruise, that line has much narrower demographics than Celebrity. At least on my HAL cruise, virtually everyone was retirement age and above. OTOH, Celebrity attracts a much wider age range. I think many of these threads ultimately come down to younger folks disagreeing with older folks.

Lastly, have you seen some of the smoking threads on the HAL board? Many of their posters have very strong opinions on HAL's smoking policy.

Johnny Heedless is rather "blunt", but there is some truth in elements for what he says. Businesses cannot just focus on past customers. They need to build and move towards future, new audiences of customers. The challenge is to avoid making your existing business "base" too unhappy with the changes and shifts for the future.

I realize I'm rather blunt. But, the constant complaining about by very vocal minority of miserable curmudgeons on this board (and to a much lesser degree onboard) is really tiresome -- REALLY tiresome.

We get it; cruising is no longer as glamorous as it was when Captain Stubbing and Julie McCoy were running the show. We get it; the food sucks relative to your distant glory days. We get it; you don't like modern/loud music, poorly-dressed passengers, or rambunctious children.

So, why the heck are these vocal curmudgeons still cruising on the large, mainstream cruise lines? The food and service are never going to return to the levels of their glory days. The loud/modern music, poorly-dressed passengers, and rambunctious children are here to stay.

Yet, at the same time, their vision of cruising is readily available. Seabourn, Azamara, Silversea, and many others offer the EXACT experience the vocal curmudgeons so fondly remember.

Why aren't they sailing on those lines instead of making of vast majority who really like Celebrity's product so freakin' miserable?</rhetorical>

Thank you for all the helpful advice (except that one commenter...I'd rather get married then be a Dook fan!)

 

I have a ring picked out already (we've discussed what she wants so it is going to be perfect) and to calm everyone's nerves it is a guaranteed yes so we can stop talking about awkwardness if she says no. Trust me on this one!

 

I think the most helpful advice has been ring transportation which I really appreciate! I'm leaning towards upgrading and doing it privately on the balcony. If you have any ideas geared towards this, I'd love to hear them.

I like the balcony idea. I think the complete privacy will make it even more special.

Why not have dinner served to you on your balcony one night? And, then pop the question soon after dinner.

And, I think the few that are recommending not taking the real ring are nuts. I don't get it, but the ring is very important to women. Don't worry about losing it or getting it stolen; that's why you purchase insurance.

Here's my viewpoint....

The faster the all the curmudgeons who complain about the food quality, the loudness of the music, the attire on formal night, and really silly things the lack of flowers or ice water in their cabins move on to other lines, the better.

I rather sail with a ship full of happy people than a ship for of sour, get-of-my-lawn types.

And thank you for the stereotype of older people. As someone who grew up on AC/DC, Van Halen, Heavy Metal and the like, I know loud music. The music on Reflection last week was beyond concert loud. It drowned out voices 10 floors above and filtered into staterooms.

Variety is wonderfull, but so are options. If I choose to have a quiet relaxing vacation and Celebrity won't offer that, than I may have to go elsewhere.

"Beyond concert loud!"

We get it, you don't like loud music, but is the hyperbole really necessary?

I agree it's the $$$. I just want to add another possible motivation for Celebrity -what better way to get rid of all those Elite , Elite Plus pax by driving them off the ship. X doesn't have to front the bennies if the Elites don't sail. Affinity Rewards are treated today as a liability. Delta Airlines just changed its program, which seems to be harbinger of change.

 

All I know, is if my cruising experience is ruined on our upcoming cruises, bye bye Celebrity, bennies and all.

Celebrity is not trying to run off Elites. I'm sure they like the loyalty. What they're trying to run off is Elites who don't like so-called loud and modern music.

I'm sure Celebrity has figured out that those that do like louder, modern music also don't spend much on booze (as on others have posted) or specialty restaurants. They probably spend little in the casino, stores, or the photo studio. They probably don't need internet (other than the freebies) unlike those of us who are still in our working years. They probably spent little to nothing on excursions.

This has less to do with age and Captain's Club levels and everything to do with spending patterns.

People who like louder, modern music ("fun" people based on my perception) are boozers, gamblers, adventurers, and thrill seekers (hence, expensive excursions).

People who don't like louder, modern music ("boring" people based on my perception) sit around all cruise reading their paperbacks and complain about the music, unrestrained children, and dress code violations.

I so wonder the age of these passengers who hate the music. It is becoming amusing.

I absolutely love these threads (along with all the dress code threads). The hyperbole (i.e., the risk of hearing loss) by some posters are really great entertainment.

Here's my theory....

Celebrity is using a oppressively loud techno, the Miami DJs, and other forms of hearing-loss-inducing noise to chase away hyperbolic complainers. It very similar how certain merchants use The Mosquito (described in this article) to chase away anti-social teens from their storefronts.

Celebrity passengers should give CUNARD a try. That line budgets a great deal of money on orchestras, ballrooms for real dancing with an orchestra accompanied by a singer, (Always dance hosts to partner with single ladies) string quartets, harpists, several pianists and a real band in the night club.

No offense, but YIKES! Do they start up a bubble machine right before they wheel out Lawrence Welk's mummified body?

If you haven't noticed, Celebrity seems to successfully marketing towards the upwardly mobile crowd in the between their 30s and 50s. I doubt there many people in their 50s or below that are looking for a vacation full of harpists and string quartets. At least to me, that sounds unbelievably dull.

I guess to each their own.