Just off Constellation -- so many changes with the X brand

[TwoHearts22]

Did Celebrity respond regarding the staff reductions?

 

Did they post?

[hcat]

We are established Celeb cruisers, booked for a future cruise on Connie which we were on quite awhile ago...pre Solsticsizing. We appreciate OPs comments....helps to know what folks report...we too like island bands and will miss them if they are gone for good...

 

Have been sailing on S class since Solstice debut and have noticed the obvious changes ----some good some awful...also follow CC comments as well...

 

so we look forward to our cruise and won't be surprised!

 

also trying Reflection for the first time

[wvufan]

This story doesn't go into specific details but it is relevant. It helps explain why there may be a shift to activities that might enhance revenue. We were on a RCL ship in February, and all the trivia staff pushed drinks.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbean-profit-plunges-cruise-164355910.html

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

[gordiej]

I did my first Celebrity cruise roughly 15 years ago, on the Horizon from NY to Bermuda. And several others back in the day. Then we did a 7-day Carib on the Solstice about 3 years ago, which was great, although the MDR food was not quite as good as I had remembered.

 

Just off the Constellation from earlier this month. Sure, in many ways it just wasn't up to par with my previous Celebrity experiences, but, for the price, I think it was a GREAT deal. And I went in with moderated expectations, partly because it was so cheap (and partly based on what I read on CC). No, there weren't cocktail servers all over you at the pool or theatre. But particularly at the former, it's nice to stand up every once in a while. Other than that, there was really no issue getting service. And sure, maybe one or two bartenders here and there were grouchy, but there were several GREAT ones, particularly at the Martini bar.

 

Overall, we still had a great time and got great value from the trip. (Though our onboard spend was about 80% of our cruise fare...we didn't have a beverage package, and a good chunk of that was bottles of wine, and one or two heavy nights at the Martini bar.) Our meal at Ocean Liners was absolutely fantastic. Free from our travel agent, but would have certainly been worth $90 for two. Blu was a little hit or miss (a couple of big hits and a couple of big misses).

 

Biggest complaint was the quality of the wine at Cellar Masters. I think I was the only one who bought a card that cruise. I literally never saw anyone else use the machines. When I had one wine that had clearly gone bad, the attendant was great about replacing the bottle, he clearly wanted me to be happy. When I remarked there was no Pinot/Burgundy, he said he'd put one in shortly, and he did. But then I started to feel guilty about complaining about some of the other misfires, so I didn't. Particularly that most of the whites were not chilled enough (and frankly the reds at room temp were too warm.) Definitely skip this.

[FortyNinerLiz]

This story doesn't go into specific details but it is relevant. It helps explain why there may be a shift to activities that might enhance revenue. We were on a RCL ship in February, and all the trivia staff pushed drinks.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbean-profit-plunges-cruise-164355910.html

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

 

Interesting article!!! We are about to go on a trans-Pacific cruise, including Hawaii, and I am now very concerned about a huge reduction in activities on sea days. Pushing drinks may be profitable, but it will possibly irritate people who regularly cruise with Celebrity. We do not like being constantly "hawked" by the staff pushing specialty restaurants, etc. We are Elite Plus, but are getting a little tired of some of what is now going on with the reductions in positive on board experiences. Last cruise we were in a CC room and had to 'ask' for ice in a bucket. That was previously a norm in CC rooms. So sad...............

[mpace58]

- Significant reduction in cocktail waitstaff in all venues. Remember when these folks were everywhere at the pool, the Rendezvous Lounge, in the theater pre-show by the dozens? Well, no longer. The precious few who we saw looked overwhelmed and overworked. I think this is a direct result of the decision to go forward with the PICK YOUR PERK promotion whereby the majority of passengers have a beverage package. When this wasn't the case, X had every reason to aggressively push beverage purchases, but now, they have every incentive to reduce consumption.

 

- Gone are the clever specialty cocktail menus everywhere. Remember all the amazing cocktail menus in each venue? Well, they're 95% gone. The ones remaining are boiled down to 2 or 3 pages and are not much more than the essentials.

I noticed the same thing during our March cruise on Equinox. Very few wait staff in venues. I think were 2 in the entire theater. If you wanted a drink during the show, you had better have brought it in with you.

 

I really used to enjoy looking through the bar menus and trying some of the unusual cocktails that you don't see elsewhere. Not anymore. I saw none in the theater. I think there was one at the bar outside the MDR, and I don't recall seeing any at the Sunset bar.

[CABINET]

I have to say that it seems blindingly obvious to me that if you encourage so many passengers to have "free" drinks it doesn't make financial sense to make it easy for them to have a LOT of "free" drinks. Cutting bar staff will both save you money on salaries AND make it difficult for people to get their "moneys worth".

 

Despite being pretty heavy drinkers it has never made financial sense for us to buy a drinks package.

 

I have to say that I would not be at all impressed if not having a drinks package I was having to seek out bar staff or having to queue up at the bar rather than having somebody serve me at my table. Unless, of course, Celebrity can be certain that every passenger on the ship is on the 123 deal (and has chosen the drink package option) they are really risking making some of their customers very unhappy.

 

Even before this package was so prevalent we found it difficult to attract the attention of a sommelier while dining and so resorted to taking a drink in with us for consumption while perusing the menu and having our starter. If it is going to be the same story in the bars then we will be going elsewhere.

[Cruise a holic]

I have to say that it seems blindingly obvious to me that if you encourage so many passengers to have "free" drinks it doesn't make financial sense to make it easy for them to have a LOT of "free" drinks. Cutting bar staff will both save you money on salaries AND make it difficult for people to get their "moneys worth".

 

Despite being pretty heavy drinkers it has never made financial sense for us to buy a drinks package.

 

I have to say that I would not be at all impressed if not having a drinks package I was having to seek out bar staff or having to queue up at the bar rather than having somebody serve me at my table. Unless, of course, Celebrity can be certain that every passenger on the ship is on the 123 deal (and has chosen the drink package option) they are really risking making some of their customers very unhappy.

 

 

 

Even before this package was so prevalent we found it difficult to attract the attention of a sommelier while dining and so resorted to taking a drink in with us for consumption while perusing the menu and having our starter. If it is going to be the same story in the bars then we will be going elsewhere.

 

We purchase the package or get it free as a perk. On the Silhouette recently in March ( also January 2014) didn't experience what the people on the Constellation did with a lack of drink servers. In fact plenty at venues such as the Martini Bar. Also, I prefer to get my own drinks by the pool and never waited more then 4 minutes at the pool bar nor sunset bar. Perhaps a few sailings were short staffed on the constellation.

 

Still a great deal even if you have three drinks a day- with wine by the glass, speciality coffee, water and soft drinks included! Only "bargain" on the ship.

Edited April 25, 2014 by Cruise a holic

[richstowe]

This story doesn't go into specific details but it is relevant. It helps explain why there may be a shift to activities that might enhance revenue. We were on a RCL ship in February, and all the trivia staff pushed drinks.

 

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/royal-caribbean-profit-plunges-cruise-164355910.html

 

Happy Sails to You

This was the line that got my attention from this article

 

"The company shortened or canceled six cruises during January-March, typically

the strongest season for cruise operators."

 

How does a cruise line shortened or canceled cruises ? I think the answer is that it doesn't.

It may substitute , move or alter its ships schedules but RCCL isn't idling its ships, that's for sure !

Edited April 25, 2014 by richstowe

[cruzinlisa]

We sailed on constellation 3/31 to 4/5 and it was my first time on Celebrity. I really enjoyed it. I have been on 4 other cruises- all on Carnival. My other cruises were great. I don't bash Carnival at all. But this cruise was much better, in terms of little details- like ship decor and service. I have heard a lot of people (even on my cruise) who had been on solstice ships say that the ship was a dump compared to some of the nicer ships, so I have something to look forward to. I would definitely cruise Celebrity again if I found a great deal. We almost booked on board for 2015, but prices were through the roof. We have also been looking at Royal though and I notice that their prices are sky high too.

[Christine Frances]

This was the line that got my attention from this article

 

"The company shortened or canceled six cruises during January-March, typically

the strongest season for cruise operators."

 

How does a cruise line shortened or canceled cruises ? I think the answer is that it doesn't.

It may substitute , move or alter its ships schedules but RCCL isn't idling its ships, that's for sure !

 

Here are some examples

 

RCI had a ship stuck unable to offload/load passengers outside the port at Galveston for a couple of days just last month. People getting off missed flights, people getting on had to find hotels - huge compensation costs for RCCL with refunds etc. http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5798

 

EOS cruise shortened 2 days because of Noro http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5698

 

Azamara cxld sailing http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5756

[dgparent]

 

Despite being pretty heavy drinkers it has never made financial sense for us to buy a drinks package.

 

This does not make any sense to me, if you are a "heavy drinker" by definition the drink package will save you money, if you drink less than 54.00 a day you are not a heavy drinker IMO.

 

 

We just got off the Connie, I never had a problem being served. Sometimes I had to tell them to slow down, they were bringing me beers while I still had 1/2 of one left at the Sunset bar. The only day that the service was a little slow was the 1st when everyone and their brother are out there and they are still figuring out the new cruisers. By the 2nd day they knew my name, brought me a Bud Lite as soon as I walked in and did not even bother with my sea pass card.

[MILD36]

I will not be one to comment on the bars.

I'd like to point out my observations of the X changes.

We were all disappointed to find out that X has discontinued the Brunch on a Sea Day. It was always a highlight of the cruise. When we questioned the staff on board included Guest Relations, they did not know it had been discontinued and started making up stories until someone did check and determined it has been discontinued on all ships.

Guest Relations needs some customer contact training, may passengers where discussing how rude and indifferent they were and not al all helpful in solving any issue until they complained 3-4 times.

 

The music (or noise) on deck 4/5 is really bad. Had to block out ears to pass through. No one seemed to be enjoying it.

Also, it was impossible to sit up on the pool deck when the "music" was on.

The service in the MDR and Select was very very slow.

The Tuscan Grill and the Bistro on 5 were the best, as usual.

Waiter service at the Captains Club each evening was also poor.

I cruises on the Connie 8 times in 2 years and I think I may have to look for another . Prior to this December we always felt that the Connies'

crew and staff were the best.

[wallie5446]

Here are some examples

 

RCI had a ship stuck unable to offload/load passengers outside the port at Galveston for a couple of days just last month. People getting off missed flights, people getting on had to find hotels - huge compensation costs for RCCL with refunds etc. http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5798

 

Do you know why this happened? There was a stinking OIL SPILL IN THE BAY! This was not an on ship or RCCL caused situation.

[chamima]

Do you know why this happened? There was a stinking OIL SPILL IN THE BAY! This was not an on ship or RCCL caused situation.

 

No, they didn't cause it but it still cost them a fortune!

That was the point of the article - that RCCL had lowered profits because of events this last winter.

[wallie5446]

No, they didn't cause it but it still cost them a fortune!

That was the point of the article - that RCCL had lowered profits because of events this last winter.

 

Insurance Companys for the barge that caused the accident covered almost 90+% of everything. There were 3 diff cruise lines impacted by the spill.

[Johnny Heedless]

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.

[pantoot]

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

 

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:

 

Edited April 25, 2014 by pantoot

[Johnny Heedless]

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.

[SeagoingMom]

Even before this package was so prevalent we found it difficult to attract the attention of a sommelier while dining and so resorted to taking a drink in with us for consumption while perusing the menu and having our starter. If it is going to be the same story in the bars then we will be going elsewhere.

We experienced this problem ourselves 8 years ago on Infinity (our first and so far only Celebrity cruise.) Generally we would not see the sommelier until we were half way through our entree, even after making special requests of our server to find him! We also experienced the excess saltiness of the food, which was mentioned by a poster way back near the beginning of this thread. In addition, we found the specialty restaurant not worth the extra cost (though the sommelier was always available!) We were surprised by these issues, considering we expected a little more from Celebrity than what we would have expected on many other lines.

 

So Celebrity may indeed have changed (declined) in some areas, but it sounds like there are some constants, too. :(

[SeagoingMom]

There has been a good deal of back and forth regarding whether OP's comments were "too" negative , "glass half-full," etc., even to the point of posters stating that 1. "newbies" would be put off by the OP's negative comments, and 2. some who have already booked a Celebrity cruise feel like they might not enjoy themselves.

 

I am in the OP's court regarding this issue.

 

For what it's worth, I personally appreciate all reviewers who are honest about what went wrong on their cruise, because it reminds me that I have to have realistic expectations about all my cruises. I believe it has been my unmet expectations that have caused me whatever sense of disappointment I have felt on a cruise, whereas if I had better known what to expect (especially in terms of negatives) I would not be so open to disappointment. Realistic (or even low) expectations allow me to be pleasantly surprised!

 

Please keep commenting on the less-than-perfect aspects of your cruises. I have a pretty good handle on what can and does go RIGHT on a cruise!

[Christine Frances]

Insurance Companys for the barge that caused the accident covered almost 90+% of everything. There were 3 diff cruise lines impacted by the spill.

 

The tanker caused the accident - it ran into the barge.

 

Here is another shortened cruise http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=5797

[bigbenboys]

I can understand why you would do that but ultimately if more did that then service for everyone else (who had already tipped by buying a drinks package or a cruise that included a drinks package) will just get worse. If they are already receiving a tip and their service isnt the best then we shouldnt put up with it rather than tip them further to encourage them to provide the service they should be offering anyway,

 

 

It is the way some of us roll. I was just in Madeira for 20 days. At dinner every night we tipped. We would have 4 to 10 people at the table and each of us get our own bill. Each of us would tip 4 or 5 Euros. We had a great time. We saw many cruise ships coming and leaving the port. TUI, NCL, AIDA. The TUI was the old Celebrity Mercury. It makes me smile to see her looking so nice. Richard

[CABINET]

This does not make any sense to me, if you are a "heavy drinker" by definition the drink package will save you money, if you drink less than 54.00 a day you are not a heavy drinker IMO.

 

 

 

We would have two pre dinner drinks (usually one from the Martini or Molecular Bar) and then share a bottle of wine with dinner. Sometimes we would also have another drink while watching a show.

 

That is far in excess of the recommended consumption of alcohol (here in the UK anyway) which is why I described us as fairly heavy drinkers. At the end of the cruise we had spent less than the premium (which is what we would have needed for the kind of drinks we wanted) drinks package would have cost us.