Activity Staff Reduction (3 Threads Merged)

[baldercash]

Need some clarity on the issue, has activity staff only been cut for the Trans Atlantic cruise or is it permanent and fleet wide?

 

Might it not be just for the Trans Atlantic's which are loss leaders for the cruise lines anyways as they usually offer heavily discounted cabins filled with older non spenders.

I would not be surprised if they implement drink coupons on the TA's to reduce costs of the open bars for Elites regardless of their numbers.

I have spoken to waite staff who don't enjoy working TA's due to the reduced tips from lack of alcohol sales.

 

If X is trying to attract a younger crowd they need much more then trivia and Bingo.

I am willing to wait and see what they do.

 

I am on the Oasis TA Sept 1st and it's return Oct 14th and I doubt they are cost cutting considering the prices they are demanding for those 2 sailings.

Edited April 4, 2014 by baldercash

[Christine Frances]

Need some clarity on the issue, has activity staff only been cut for the Trans Atlantic cruise or is it permanent and fleet wide?

 

Might it not be just for the Trans Atlantic's which are loss leaders for the cruise lines anyways as they usually offer heavily discounted cabins filled with older non spenders.

I would not be surprised if they implement drink coupons on the TA's to reduce costs of the open bars for Elites regardless of their numbers.

I have spoken to waite staff who don't enjoy working TA's due to the reduced tips from lack of alcohol sales.

 

If X is trying to attract a younger crowd they need much more then trivia and Bingo.

I am willing to wait and see what they do.

 

I am on the Oasis TA Sept 1st and it's return Oct 14th and I doubt they are cost cutting considering the prices they are demanding for those 2 sailings.

 

Your Oasis Sep 1st TA is much less expensive that our Equinox Oct 27th:confused:

[MVPinBoynton]

I will keep cruising Celebrity as long as I enjoy their cruising experience and I believe the pricing is reasonable. I have enjoyed every X cruise I have been on and don't think the change to the activities staffing will change my opinion. I would wait to experience something I didn't like before complaining about it.

[phoenix_dream]

I was also on the Silhouette last week and I would be hard-pressed to list anything in the way of 'cuts' since my cruise last year other than the big buffet in the MDR and the A Cappella groups. At the same time, it was not one of my favorite cruises (my 25th on Celebrity, so I have many to compare it to). I honestly cannot put my finger on it, but the cruise seemed a bit bleh. It seems so silly (no pun intended) to say this without being able to be more specific but there it is. Nothing about the sailing makes me look back and say, gee that was a lot of fun, although overall we enjoyed the cruise. The food was good, but not great. The entertainment was good, but not great. The décor of the ship was nice, but no 'wow' factor like the Equinox. The artwork and colors in the room were exactly the same as we had seen on other ships. Service was overall some of the best we have experienced on Celebrity, but in a number of isolated cases it was pretty awful. Example - we traveled with an 85 year old mobility impaired family member. At embarkation, they fought us tooth and nail trying to accompany her to security and check-in since she was in a different cabin from us. When we disembarked, we could not find someone to help her with a wheelchair so she struggled to walk the long distance in her walker. (had we realized how far it was we would have refused to leave without making sure we got one - once we got off the ship and started walking there was no one at all to be found).

 

I know by stating these things I run the risk of being considered nit picky, nothing is good enough for me, I look for problems, etc., etc., the usual litany for someone who brings up negative points. But I obviously love Celebrity since I have sailed with them so many times, and I hope that fact gives me some 'Celebrity cred' to notice a difference between sailings and between ships, without meaning that I am trashing the entire product. It was still a nice cruise, it was still a nice ship, but I can tell you that DH and I both commented that it was just not as good as it could have been, particularly as compared to our many Celebrity cruises in the past. Hopefully this was just an anomaly, or maybe even due to our particular mood at the time. We will definitely sail again (have another X cruise booked) and hope our next cruise is a wonderful as the many prior.

[Oville]

I was also on the Silhouette last week and I would be hard-pressed to list anything in the way of 'cuts' since my cruise last year other than the big buffet in the MDR and the A Cappella groups. At the same time, it was not one of my favorite cruises (my 25th on Celebrity, so I have many to compare it to). I honestly cannot put my finger on it, but the cruise seemed a bit bleh. It seems so silly (no pun intended) to say this without being able to be more specific but there it is. Nothing about the sailing makes me look back and say, gee that was a lot of fun, although overall we enjoyed the cruise. The food was good, but not great. The entertainment was good, but not great. The décor of the ship was nice, but no 'wow' factor like the Equinox. The artwork and colors in the room were exactly the same as we had seen on other ships. Service was overall some of the best we have experienced on Celebrity, but in a number of isolated cases it was pretty awful. Example - we traveled with an 85 year old mobility impaired family member. At embarkation, they fought us tooth and nail trying to accompany her to security and check-in since she was in a different cabin from us. When we disembarked, we could not find someone to help her with a wheelchair so she struggled to walk the long distance in her walker. (had we realized how far it was we would have refused to leave without making sure we got one - once we got off the ship and started walking there was no one at all to be found).

 

I know by stating these things I run the risk of being considered nit picky, nothing is good enough for me, I look for problems, etc., etc., the usual litany for someone who brings up negative points. But I obviously love Celebrity since I have sailed with them so many times, and I hope that fact gives me some 'Celebrity cred' to notice a difference between sailings and between ships, without meaning that I am trashing the entire product. It was still a nice cruise, it was still a nice ship, but I can tell you that DH and I both commented that it was just not as good as it could have been, particularly as compared to our many Celebrity cruises in the past. Hopefully this was just an anomaly, or maybe even due to our particular mood at the time. We will definitely sail again (have another X cruise booked) and hope our next cruise is a wonderful as the many prior.

 

Or maybe you just need a change of venue, sometimes change is good. We've also done a lot of Celebrity cruises and have not been disappointed. We did way too many Royal cruises and just became bored with the product. We only sail the Oasis Class ships now as they offer sooooooo much.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Oville

[phoenix_dream]

Or maybe you just need a change of venue, sometimes change is good. We've also done a lot of Celebrity cruises and have not been disappointed. We did way too many Royal cruises and just became bored with the product. We only sail the Oasis Class ships now as they offer sooooooo much.

 

You could be right, but I don't think so. I guess we will just have to wait and see how we feel after our next Celebrity cruise. I take between 1 and 3 Celebrity cruises per year and this is the first time I have felt this way about a Celebrity cruise. One cruise we took was really not up to par (a sailing on Summit at Thanksgiving time out of SJU, which was considerably worse than just blah), but that was an entirely different thing, never felt this way before. I truly hope it was just this particular ship on this particular sailing as I really love Celebrity. I have noticed a number of cuts over the years as well as all the trending towards 'for a price' options of which I am generally not a big fan, but until this sailing none of that affected my overall opinion of the sailing. Time will tell.

[Oville]

You could be right, but I don't think so. I guess we will just have to wait and see how we feel after our next Celebrity cruise. I take between 1 and 3 Celebrity cruises per year and this is the first time I have felt this way about a Celebrity cruise. One cruise we took was really not up to par (a sailing on Summit at Thanksgiving time out of SJU, which was considerably worse than just blah), but that was an entirely different thing, never felt this way before. I truly hope it was just this particular ship on this particular sailing as I really love Celebrity. I have noticed a number of cuts over the years as well as all the trending towards 'for a price' options of which I am generally not a big fan, but until this sailing none of that affected my overall opinion of the sailing. Time will tell.

 

We average 6 cruises during the winter months and haven't been disappointed though this year there were some hiccups. We try and mix it up between AQ and CC cabins for a bit of dining variety but will admit on our last cruise only ate in the MDR once. I can honestly say on this cruise I may have had my worst meal on Celebrity, the Dover sole in Murano's. I think most cats eat better fish from a can. Also experienced a plumbing problem in Feb on the Century that took 3 days too long to solve, but in Century's defense, numerous people were doing everything they could to resolve it.

 

I'm not a big Trivia fan and if X moves Zumba inside it isn't going to ruin my cruise.

 

Sincerely hope your next cruise is better. We're taking my earlier advice and in September doing a two week road trip to Vermont, Quebec (Montreal to Quebec City) and then off to the Maine coast. We're looking forward to something different from cruising.

Edited April 4, 2014 by Oville

[sealevel]

:mad:

 

Playing trivia is a major pastime for us on every cruise.

 

I know that there are many activities that have a low attendance (mostly outside) but on a Transatlantic the Rendezvous or the Ensemble lounge has always been packed.

 

Michaels was hardly ever used as a venue so the switch to Concierge is not a factor.

 

It will be interesting to see if bingo is the only activity where there is no cutback.. ;)

 

Having sailed with Cruisenut and other trivia fans, we would agree this is one of our favourite activities. So let us try to figure their marketing strategy (the quotations are my musings of what might go on in the collective Celebrity grey matter)...

 

1) "repeat cruisers will stay with us for the perks they get" .... partly true although as some have said, we can spend $0 to have NO activities at home! But many repeat cruisers travel on several lines so can easily hop to another line if they see a decline in the cruise experience.

 

2) "we must introduce revenue producing activities to attract new, younger travellers" ... more fancy restaurants and shops seem to be the direction of choice since younger people seem to not have to work as hard for their dollars as more senior cruisers and have more of a spend it while you have it mentality (my viewpoint only). BTW, we noticed that the jackpot on RCCL bingo is higher than that on Celebrity AND that attendance on the latter is lower than the mother corporation.

 

3) "cruisers are as happy sitting by the pool all day reading which costs us nothing" .... yes, some people see a cruise as a do nothing opportunity. Others do not and want more. When we first sailed Celebrity, the first thing we noticed was the number of activities on board compared to RCCL, Princess, HAL. As the saying goes, "You had us at Trivia..." After all, unless you live in the "great white north" like us, you probably do not need a cruise ship to sit by the pool, reading, and drinking under the bright sun... a Florida or California hotel/home provides the same!

 

4) "reduce costs and raise prices to improve the bottom line"... well I cannot complain that my RCCL stock has gone up since 2008, but if the eventual direction is to spend all the attention at getting new cruisers while the repeaters see the same store stock, same shows, and ... as some of our friends remind us "the same meal on day xx" then cruising will become what it was originally viewed as.... a hotel at sea. Room, dining, and some entertainment when you do not "leave the hotel".

 

Can "we" influence Celebrity? I say yes...

Comment cards DO get read, but mainly to evaluate the remaining staff on board.

Forums like this get viewed by people checking out cruise lines before deciding so can influence the future potential cruise market. The cruise lines would be foolish not to monitor them.

But mostly, if you feel you are not seeing the "product" that you like, walk the walk, and take your vacation dollars elsewhere. Then see if they are paying attention. I am sure that someone is tracking the repeat cruisers and if not they do so at their peril.

 

These are just my musings and would be interested on others' take on how Celebrity is marketing/will market to us.

Cheers!

Edited April 4, 2014 by sealevel

[The_Big_M]

I don't think they need to consult anyone with regard to their changes. It is their company and they make the decision. We as customers, either agree with them or don't.

 

Yet a moment ago you wrote: "Celebrity needs to understand all points of view, not just the few that are on here."

 

So which is it? You can't have it both ways.

[The_Big_M]

Might it not be just for the Trans Atlantic's which are loss leaders for the cruise lines anyways as they usually offer heavily discounted cabins filled with older non spenders.

I would not be surprised if they implement drink coupons on the TA's to reduce costs of the open bars for Elites regardless of their numbers.

I have spoken to waite staff who don't enjoy working TA's due to the reduced tips from lack of alcohol sales.

 

There's a reason they are cheaper though. It's not because they're loss leaders, i.e. to attract people by advertising a cheap price then getting them to upsell.

 

It's because they're not popular - less ports to visit, more time at sea so more time required, and if priced at the same per day cost as others nobody would buy them.

 

So they have to discount, sometimes substantially, to get bodies on board, just like other cruises.

 

Given the number of sea days, getting rid of most activities would make them even less desirable as there's then almost nothing to do on board. They'd struggle even more to fill them and have to discount them further.

 

I also don't believe it's TA only, as that would mean they would have to keep resourcing the same before and after. It's not cost effective to fly people around just for a couple of weeks, and so isn't likely to result in any cost savings, apart from the revenue issue stated above.

Edited April 4, 2014 by The_Big_M

[excitedofharpenden]

My daughter Valentina was a member of the Activities team for over three years and qualified as a zumba instructor just so she could give classes on board.

 

She confirmed to me Celebrity have reduced the teams to just two people, the activities manager and one other! Future zumba classes will be taken over by a contracted company supplying instructors and sessions will be done inside the ship instead of out on deck. Not great news for those crew members affected.

I knew your daughter was part of the Activities team. I haven't met Valentina I don't think, but wish her the best for the future in whatever she does.

 

This is a very sad move by Celebrity. There seems to be cost cutting going on across the ship. Cabin attendants and butlers looking after more cabins, dining room staff serving more tables, Sommelier numbers cut back and very noticeable.

 

Phil

[mcrcruiser]

We are sailing on Century tomorrow on the west coast 7 night cruise .The last time we cruised Century this past October to Hawaii ,we had john ,who is a fabulous Cruise director & his wonderful staff :D. I know john very well having cruised with him at least 3 times & our chats .

 

We certainly will watch for any changes & if John is aboard we will ask him what he knows ;)

 

We did not see any major changes on our recent Silhouette cruises of March 2nd & 9th Eastern & Western Caribbean b2b cruises except the discontinuance of the Saturday Brunch, starting on the March 9th Western Caribbean cruise :o.There was one item that was some what annoying & that was the loud music from the group playing in the atrium near Guest Relations .Only a handful of people were dancing to the fast & loud music & the people in the library were disturbed by the loudness :eek:

 

We have been sailing with Celebrity since 2000 & we avg 2 cruises per year .Our over all experience is 63 past cruises ,including RCCL ,Princess ,Holland & Carnival .

[Stede Bonnet]

On our Silhouette cruise last month, bingo was barely offered and at premium prices too. $39-49-59 per card. Needless to say, attendance was very low.

 

Sue

 

I think bingo just got crossed off my to-do list. I think I expected $10-$20 per card.

[Esprit]

I knew your daughter was part of the Activities team. I haven't met Valentina I don't think, but wish her the best for the future in whatever she does.

 

This is a very sad move by Celebrity. There seems to be cost cutting going on across the ship. Cabin attendants and butlers looking after more cabins, dining room staff serving more tables, Sommelier numbers cut back and very noticeable.

 

Phil

 

Hi Phil

 

Thanks for your kind wishes. Valentina is now working in a recently opened Victoria Secrets store near to where we live. It's great to have her home after so many long contracts away with Celebrity.

 

She really misses the camaraderie but now has friends from all around the world and keeps in constant contact with those still on board.

 

Peter

[NLH Arizona]

Yet a moment ago you wrote: "Celebrity needs to understand all points of view, not just the few that are on here."

 

So which is it? You can't have it both ways.

Yes, Celebrity needs to read and understand each and every comment/opinion that is submitted to them. They should not just consider a few, like those on here (as someone suggested using this site as a focus group), if they are looking for opinions about changes. But the bottom line is that it is their decision and only their decision as to what changes they make; they don't have to ask for or even consider anyone's opinions when making changes.

Edited April 4, 2014 by NLH Arizona

[helpthejuggler]

In the same way that problems during a cruise are best resolved while still on the ship.

 

It must be better to listen to regular (and repeat customers) before they leave to X become ex-X-customers.

 

There will always be some unhappy with any change.

[SixOneTwo]

So the activities staff follow some folks before them, the social hosts, bridge hosts, golf pro, librarian and many live musicians.

 

Not all of these people were "employees," but they did offer services that completed a package of options for passengers... or at least the passengers that have been loyal to Celebrity for the 20 years or so that they've been in business.

 

If they're trying to attract a different demographic, they've obviously done market research. These aren't random decisions. The point of being in business is to bring profits to stockholders. Period.

 

You can only make so many cuts in programs before your brand changes. And perhaps that's what they're doing.

 

We've all been loyal customers to other businesses that have changed their brand to something we don't like. (Case in point: Banana Republic.) So we just stop patronizing them. This is a risk any company changing their brand makes. But NOT evolving your brand is a risk also.

 

The big stockholder-pleasing question is: who has the money to sail? THAT is the passenger they need to be attracting.

[blueboro]

What we have found on cruises on X, Princess and HAL over the past 3 years is that a vast majority of "activities" are actually sales pitches to buy something...teeth whitening, art auctions, spa services, etc. Just give me a balcony, good food, good service and passable entertainment and I will be happy.

[Andy]

Hi Phil

 

Thanks for your kind wishes. Valentina is now working in a recently opened Victoria Secrets store near to where we live. It's great to have her home after so many long contracts away with Celebrity.

 

She really misses the camaraderie but now has friends from all around the world and keeps in constant contact with those still on board.

 

Peter

 

Hi Peter,

 

I'm happy to hear that Valentina has found other employment. Please wish her all the best of success in her future endeavors. Her bubbly personality will be missed onboard X's ships.

[smtcan]

We have cruised frequently with Celebrity over the last few years and on cruises with several sea days we enjoy the activities, like trivia and choir and also the enrichment speakers.

 

I must admit that I find it hard to work out how cutting three or four activity staff can make a big saving on a ship with 2,000+ passengers. I would think that it would be less than $5 per passenger, and given the wildly fluctuating prices this could easily be recouped with out passengers noticing.

 

I will be ready for people with far more knowledge of business telling me I am wrong, but that is how it seems to me.

[C 2 C]

Yes, Celebrity needs to read and understand each and every comment/opinion that is submitted to them. They should not just consider a few, like those on here (as someone suggested using this site as a focus group), if they are looking for opinions about changes. But the bottom line is that it is their decision and only their decision as to what changes they make; they don't have to ask for or even consider anyone's opinions when making changes.

 

Do you remember the tag line "X the rules"?

 

I think they do respond to "opinions" on this board otherwise they would not bother monitoring them. Of course there are many decisions that are made without consulting the masses but favourable opinion is very important to them.

[C 2 C]

A friend presently on board Reflection commented that the CD is expected to be more involved with trivias.

 

One of our favourite CDs, Allan King, used to host an evening difficult trivia.

It was always well attended and showed that trivia was more important than handing it over to the newest activity staff.

If different people are hired for new programs there may be a positive change to activities on board.

If one of the staff is now outsourced i.e.. Zumba, there may be another hire for a yet unannounced new program.

[NLH Arizona]

Do you remember the tag line "X the rules"?

 

I think they do respond to "opinions" on this board otherwise they would not bother monitoring them. Of course there are many decisions that are made without consulting the masses but favourable opinion is very important to them.

1. You are assuming that they changed their tag line because of the complaints on here. There are many more things that go into changing a decision, other than just listening to a few that don't like it. 2. I think they listen to each and every customers that emails them, phones them, writes to them or posts on here, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they do what those customers want. For example, the many, many complaints about the changes in the Captain's Club on here - Celebrity listened, but kept it the way they planned it.

Edited April 4, 2014 by NLH Arizona

[keithm]

The Activity Staff on Silhouette has been given 2 weeks notice and will be sent packing prior to the Trans Atlantic cruise on April 20.

 

This was directly relayed to DW and myself by an Activities Staff member on last weeks (3/23 to 3/30) Western Caribbean cruise.

 

Looks like there could be a lot of holes in the sea day schedules on the cruise from Fort Lauderdale to Rome this month.

I hope they didn't cut Ron Banks on the Eclipse. He was great with the dance & Rumba classes.

[CruisingChick]

What we have found on cruises on X, Princess and HAL over the past 3 years is that a vast majority of "activities" are actually sales pitches to buy something...teeth whitening, art auctions, spa services, etc. Just give me a balcony, good food, good service and passable entertainment and I will be happy.

 

My DH has been complaining about that on our past 3 - 4 cruises and also on our recent Explorer of the Seas cruise last week.