Thinking Reflection? If over 50, think carefully

[jelayne]

We were on the recent Reflection TA and are both in the 55-65 age bracket.

 

I can certainly understand the OP's frustration but there were other groups of musicians on board who played some excellent music that was a million miles from what LAX were playing.

 

There was a very good jazz quartet called Capricorn and a female duo called Ear Candy who played a very 'middle of the road' style of music, as well as the excellent Orchestra who played outside the Theatre on a few occasions.

 

Personally, we liked LAX, although I also asked them to play more 'classic rock'. in fairness they did play the Creedence Classic Bad Moon Rising almost every set, and the country staple Folsom Prison Blues on a few occasions. Bear in mind, it was their first cruise and they will hopefully learn to play to the audience on future cruises. bands are generally very good at that, but maybe Alexander did place constraints. Which would disappoint me.

 

I am not a fan of DJ's but I felt what little I saw/ heard was fairly ok. Plenty of older material and a fair bit of Sinatra. thank God they didn't start on the gangster rap !!

 

The biggest problem is the lack of a night club meaning that the Grand Foyer was in use for live music till after 10 every night. Not ideal if you are in the library or games room.

 

We were also on the Reflection WB TA and thought Ear Candy, the quartet and the DJ Dragon we're great. The music coming from the Grand Foyer is always too loud for our taste but we felt that the DJ when he was at the Martini Bar did a great job of adjusting the volume so you could carry on a conversation. Overall excluding the volume from the band in the foyer we found the music to be better than we have experienced on X in a couple of years.

 

As for the CD, not a fan gave the impression that talking to guests or even making eye contact was beneath him.

[ShakeDaddy]

Was on Reflection 10 months ago and not so sure I can relate that the music and entertainment stinks. It was very enjoyable all the way around. Was with some of my family and all together the crew and overall ambiance was very good and fresh. We all enjoyed the cruise.

 

Reading all the Celebrity complaining that goes on and on, one can easily ascertain that there certainly seems to be one common redundant trend. Actually it appears it's not Celebrity, but it's the same old, same old, tired out cruising crowd. As one says, if you don't like the vibe, product and delivery, move on to another cruise line, or take a break all together and go with land based vacations. There are a lot of other choices, try one. :rolleyes:

[c-legs]

Hi PSCruiser,

 

Thanks for sharing your insights with us. I hoped the loud music issue was gone, but with all the recent reports, it seems to be back again. Definitely not what we prefer - but it is what it is. Along with changes like evening chic, there's little doubt that Celebrity is transitioning into a product focused on younger cruisers - which is bizarre, as they currently tend to skew towards older guests. I'm all for them wanting to *add* younger cruisers to the mix. That makes strong business sense. However - Why they feel a need to do a 180 degree turn in their mindset, is puzzling.

 

When it comes to entertainment - I wish Celebrity would figure out a way to cater to everyone. Believe me, it can be done ! We just sailed on Royal Princess, and their entertainment is miles ahead of Celebrity, as they have a huge (and wonderful) entertainment presence, with something for everyone. Their strategy makes perfect sense to me. We enjoyed the entertainment so much, that we booked another sailing at the last minute, and are returning to Royal Princess next week. My plan was to sail on Equinox, but we couldn't make it happen. While I'm very disappointed not to be sailing with Celebrity, we enjoyed our last Princess sailing, and looking forward to sailing on Royal Princess again.

 

Who knows ? Maybe Celebrity's strategy will work, maybe it wont - but with everything going on in the world economically and otherwise, If I were President for a day ? I'd never be willing to take such a big risk at this point in time. I sincerely hope Celebrity knows what they are doing, and it works out in their favor.

Hi,Andy

As usual, you state the case perfectly. If only Madame President at Celebrity would read this.......yeah,right....dream on....

Reconstructing your demographic-driven target audience is one thing....but chasing away your current base before you get to the new one seems to be quie a fool-hardy ill-conceived approach. The only thing it produces is general disenchantement of your current loyal base and nobody yet to fill the soon to be vacated berths...Hmmm...somebody missed a step here.

The ''sound''issue has to be the most annoying one,and at the same time, a poster child exemple of what NOT to do....

Sad, really.....

Cheers

[yorkyred]

Hmmmm... I don't know Queen, I am the same age as you (but maybe more of a fuddy duddy already:D) and I felt like I was maybe a decade or two older than who they wanted on my last X cruise.

 

I did the clubbing thing in my twenties, but then again I was pretty poor back then and certainly did not have the means to vacation three or four times a year as I do now. I'm not really sure who Celebrity is trying to attract??

 

I have several friends who never would have cruised if it weren't for me saying how wonderful it was with Celebrity. I think they are cutting off their nose to spite their face by alienating their current loyal customer base in the hopes that their new desired demographic will magically fill the void.

 

I was always taught that it costs more to get a new customer than to keep an old one, but maybe with the new math that isn't true anymore!

 

Is it really that difficult to provide a variety of styles and volumes? I think that is all people really want.

 

The point you make about the number of vacations you are able to make brings up a question for Celebrity. It would seem a good number of people on here are pretty well off in average terms and have the ability to cruise a good number of times. Now in Britain that does not apply to the vast majority of younger people who would have one main holiday a year and are certainly not in that income bracket. My understanding is most people in the States get less annual leave than we do and won't have the same level of disposable income next to many older cruisers who may be retired after running successful businesses.

[phbr]

Hi Andy-

 

Thanks for your thoughts.....we also are just off the Regal Princes(Royal's sister ship) and the one thing we kept seeing was the wide array of entertainment. There were other things that weren't up to Celebrity's standards....for instance their version of Select Dining was not good...but the entertainment was SO MUCH BETTER!! We tried Princess because they offer some different itineraries from X and suspect we will sail them again because of that....

 

This thread is disturbing...because we are booked on the Reflection Spring TA and certainly hope the current CD is gone by that time if what is being said about him is true....we had such fun on the Eclipse this past April...hoping we can equal that on the Reflection...

 

The present CD, Alexander, is on the ship for 5 months from Oct 23rd, so you should have a different CD on the April TA

[vickykay]

I wpuld think that most of the younger demographic take seven day cruises, as we did before retirement. Kids in school, only one week vacation, cost, etc. It seems that the longer cruises, i.e., two weeks/TA will have an older demographic. Not sure why the music can't be adjusted somewhat to the length of the cruise. Loud music is not going to attract twenty year olds to a TA.

 

We were on the Reflection this past May ( Med cruise) and the music volume was not overly loud and a very mixed demographic. Different DJ but can't remember his name.

[Ontario Cruiser]

We were also on the Reflection TA and found the music in every venue far too loud including the theatre. In the Ensemble lounge at cocktail hour it was extremely hard to have a conversation and yes the entertainment not the greatest I understand that on the 7 day cruises that celebrity is playing to the younger generation. BUT on the crossings they need to cater to the older set. I don't think we will do another one and we are Elite Plus.

So please Celebrity cater to us on the TA's

Ontario Cruiser

[AtleeH]

That sucks.

 

I was hoping Spacey was going to be on the Reflection in January. Spacey was the CD on the Silhouette January of 2015. I thought the entertainment, music wise was quite good, and the average age on that cruise tended to be a little older.

 

The present CD, Alexander, is on the ship for 5 months from Oct 23rd, so you should have a different CD on the April TA

[AtleeH]

IMO, bands make up in volume what they lack in talent.

 

We were also on the Reflection TA and found the music in every venue far too loud including the theatre. In the Ensemble lounge at cocktail hour it was extremely hard to have a conversation and yes the entertainment not the greatest I understand that on the 7 day cruises that celebrity is playing to the younger generation. BUT on the crossings they need to cater to the older set. I don't think we will do another one and we are Elite Plus.

So please Celebrity cater to us on the TA's

Ontario Cruiser

[Soonaddsup]

We were on Reflection in September and having Richard as CD absolutely MADE the cruise special for us. We loved his sense of humour and interesting entertainment choices...having dancers in the lifts as they went up and down (catching unsuspecting riders unawares) was inspired!

 

The British band who were the house band was called 'Blind Vinyl'. They were so entertaining and talented and mixed up their music to get everyone dancing. They were so great we hunted them out each evening, and when I bumped into their drummer in the OV buffet one evening I told him how much we were enjoying their performance. He was very touched and said it was their first time on a cruise (previously had done ferries!).

 

What a shame Richard is no longer on Reflection. Where is he now?

[mafig]

I always thought that it didn't matter who the CD was (at least to us).

 

But I guess it does if the CD is not a good one.:o

[KKB]

Irregardless of what demographic the CD WISHES was onboard (or Celebrity WISHES to cater to...), the demographic that is ACTUALLY onobard at any given time should be what drives the music choices...

 

We are late 40s/early 50s & have only cruised Caribbean 5-7 days...and have found that December cruises brought in a MUCH older demographic than say our March cruises...entertainment should reflect that...(which line it was didn't matter)

 

A decent DJ can find music that ANYONE requests....

[Savoyard]

A year and a half ago, I was considering a cruise on the Reflection. After reading the then current thread on the loud music and Alexander's attitude, I wrote to Celebrity asking if loud music was the new norm on their ships. "If you don't want our kind on board," I wrote, "it would be good to know before we book."

 

Some weeks later, I got a response from a Customer Service Rep:

 

"Guests who may not have had a pleasant experience... are more apt to write a poor review and find fault with all aspects of their vacation... There has been no material change to the type or quality of entertainment... except perhaps to perfect our techniques."

 

I now have two Celebrity cruises booked (though neither of them is on the Reflection). It's very interesting to read that loud music is still an issue.

[phbr]

I dont honestly think the loudness levels of the music was excessive on the recent Reflection TA.. Standing in or close to the Grand Foyer, it was quite possible to have a conversation over the music. Poolside, the sound dispersed in the open air.

 

I think if you were on Decks 9 or 10, in the Games Room or Library, then the sound travelling up probably would be very irritating.

 

Seeing as the only other suitable venue is the Sky Lounge on Deck 14, it seems Celebrity are putting $ in front of passenger enjoyment by turning the old night club into a Conference Centre, which on the recent TA was used exclusively it seems for the Park West Art Auctions.

 

Dont know its been mentioned before, but part of the Conference Centre on Deck 4 was converted into the new Future Cruise Sales office. It opened during the TA, and the office on Deck 12 closed. The new office is a more convenient location beside the retail outlets.

[gordylad]

I've been reading this post with interest and I sometimes wonder if people have been on the same cruise as me as from my experience the music was kept to a minimum even around the pool area in fact I mentioned to my wife that the dj was playing some mellow music. Being over 50 and this being our second TA I would say if you are over 50 then a TA is for you as the music is nowhere near as loud as on a normal cruise as I believe the age of the guests is taken into consideration by the CD. I would say that there was more noise coming from Ensemble between 5 and 7 every evening from people talking not the music because this is where the Elites [we are those people] hung out.

 

I will stick to my original opinion of Alexander who I found to be an excellent CD full of enthusiasm, friendliness and if responsible for the selection of this years entertainers good on him compared to last years selection of entertainers which was pretty dire [ he was not the CD last year].

 

I would say one thing about this year compared to last year, if you did not secure a bed at the pool by say 8/8.30 am then you would struggle.

[iMedic]

Was on reflection back in February and we both enjoyed Alexander, though both my partner and I are in our early 30s. We both make six figures and don't have kids (just two awesome cats). we're also not an aberration. Celebrity would be smart to get us and others from our cohort aboard.

[Ceeborne]

I was on the same TA Reflection. We thought the LAX band was horrible...so off key they grated on my teeth . I have mentioned this on my post cruise survey. As for the DJ, I liked the music he played. A question of taste. But definitely an improvement from the LOUD electro music that usually plays in the Martini bar.

 

I would like to add that I didn't find the music too loud compared to many other cruises on X. The music in the pool area was softly played. You had to concentrate to really note that that there was sound. Definitely, tame compared with some of our Carribean cruises on X.

[hcat]

Our CD was Joshua..he was bad, but we were told it was his first time...this was last Nov...

He was not very exciting....

[Desertbelle]

I am confused. Is the problem the volume of the music or the type of the music? :confused:

 

I am 64 and I am plenty tired of having my parents big band, Frank Sinatra type music being the prominent music on cruise ships. I am a girl of the 60's and 70's and I love my Rock n' Roll. I also like most of the new music out there. My husband and I have often discussed that most ships seem to be catering musically to a much older group than us....would it kill them to throw in some Beatles and Rolling Stones in the mix? :)

 

I do enjoy some of the string quartets that are often onboard, but I don't want to hear that all the time.

 

Now, if we are talking volume, I am not deaf and I don't need music blasting at a level that doesn't allow any talking in a somewhat normal voice. I would be quite upset if that went on every night all over the ship.

[SaintL]

Honestly you will never make everyone happy.... I was on Reflection in April and notice that the age group was mostly older than me (mid 30s) but they did play a lot of modern dance music which I appreciate and so did many people in thier 40's 50's and even 60s dancing to it in the middle of the cerntrium area. I cant tell you who the cruise director was cause i can care less who they are but there is nothing worst that going to the club to listen to the chicken dance, the dollar dance and electric slide, the moment that comes on I leave, this is why i refuse to go on 3 day cruises anymore because you get that stereotypical cruise music.

 

If I compare Allure of the Seas dance club and Reflections Dance Scene per say, celebrity is much more diverse and modern, Allure thought younger people only wanted to listen to hip hop from the 90s and early 00's barely there was actualy good dance music

[Rob the Cruiser]

I am confused. Is the problem the volume of the music or the type of the music? :confused:

 

I am 64 and I am plenty tired of having my parents big band, Frank Sinatra type music being the prominent music on cruise ships. I am a girl of the 60's and 70's and I love my Rock n' Roll. I also like most of the new music out there. My husband and I have often discussed that most ships seem to be catering musically to a much older group than us....would it kill them to throw in some Beatles and Rolling Stones in the mix? :)

 

I do enjoy some of the string quartets that are often onboard, but I don't want to hear that all the time.

 

Now, if we are talking volume, I am not deaf and I don't need music blasting at a level that doesn't allow any talking in a somewhat normal voice. I would be quite upset if that went on every night all over the ship.

 

Didn't hear any big band Sinatra stuff at Martini Bar on our last three cruises. Mostly 60s-70s-80s middle-of-the-road rock. Beach Boys, Eagles, Steely Dan. No Black Sabbath. It was loud but we like it that way.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Rob the Cruiser

[helen haywood]

I know the band on Reflection is different now but when we sailed on her last December and this January the band was Xtasea and they were fantastic!! All ages dancing. We are 55 and 68 and every night when they played Blurred Lines we were out dancing!! The DJ that played before early seating dinner always played some classics for slower more traditional dancers. So maybe its not really a Reflection "problem" per se but different CDs or different bands...

[Desertbelle]

Didn't hear any big band Sinatra stuff at Martini Bar on our last three cruises. Mostly 60s-70s-80s middle-of-the-road rock. Beach Boys, Eagles, Steely Dan. No Black Sabbath. It was loud but we like it that way.

 

 

That's what I like!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[bigbenboys]

Didn't hear any big band Sinatra stuff at Martini Bar on our last three cruises. Mostly 60s-70s-80s middle-of-the-road rock. Beach Boys, Eagles, Steely Dan. No Black Sabbath. It was loud but we like it that way.

 

I'm 56. I have heard music from the 60s-70s-80s for to many years now. It is time to move on to the 90's to what is playing now. Music is not free (Royalties). I'm sure the more up to date the music is the higher the cost to the cruiseline.

[Patrick IL.]

If that CD told me that about targeting a younger demographic I would have hammered him. Who does he think has the money on board? Its the seasoned cruisers, like us, that have done 15 plus cruises with X. We don't do inside or ocean view or even balcony rooms, its always aqua class and above. Who the heck does he think is paying his salary? I would go directly to the hotel director and have a discussion. Next an email would be going out to my contacts in Miami, that will clean his clock. He'd be working down in the laundry room by the time I was done with him.

Edited November 13, 2015 by Patrick IL.