Celebrity Management needs to properly use public space

[Hlitner]

We will not call this a "rant" but more of a suggestion. The S-Class ships are gorgeous and have many decent interior venues....most of which are underutilized because of very poor Corporate Planning! So lets talk about it. First, we have the newly crowned Sushi place on Deck 5. This replaced the Cafe on 5, and seems to be even more underutilized then its predecessor. The problem is an ala carte menu and the fact that many folks are not Sushi lovers. Most of the time we walked by this place it was near empty.

 

2. Cellar Masters or whatever they want to call it this week :). Originally we think Celebrity had a great idea when they created this concept and put in the wine dispensers. But then they started their drink packages (which could not be used in this room) and the entire concept failed! So now they took out the wine dispensers and the room is even less used...which is a pity since its a beautiful lounge.

 

3. World Bar! What a Disaster! It is located aft of the Art Gallery and not even on some deck plans (take a look here on Cruise Critic). This bar used to be a franchised format of fascinating high end drinks....but Celebrity ended that franchise deal last year and replaced it with their own in-house concept. They have a small menu of specialized drinks which will only attract those with the Premium Drink Package or others with lots of money in their drink budget (some of these drinks can cost you over $15). On our last two cruises this bar is usually empty! When I say empty, I mean without a single customer. It is normally staffed by a single bar tender who is trained to produce these tricky drinks. But on our last 2 cruises the bar tender was unable to produce all of the limited menu because Celebrity did not load the necessary resources (such as dry ice). In over a year they have not added a single drink to the limited menu...and the place is now a waste of space. Management needs to vastly expand the menu of unique drinks and perhaps offer some snacks or something to attract more customers.

 

4, Michael's Club - Must admit we liked this underused venue...but now it is the exclusive domain for the suite folks and perhaps a Zenith passenger (have never seen one on any of our cruises). We miss seeing this place opened to everyone. And since we normally hang out in the Ensemble Bar (just outside) we notice that most of the time this place is not getting much use. Tis a shame...although we do understand that management feels pressure to increase unique venues for those paying the big bucks for suites.

 

5, The Pool area. If we want to be blasted out of our seat by PA commentary on pool games....we can certainly go cruise on Carnival. And whatever happened to having a decent Caribbean band (with a real steel drum) on Caribbean cruises? When in the Caribbean sitting at the pool it makes sense to hear Bob Marley! Not the Eagles (and I love the Eagles). We will give Celebrity some credit for not having hairy leg contests or diving for spoons.

 

Hank

[Fish Lover]

All excellent observations. I also think that they should do more games and activities (not for additional charge) than they do. Passengers love them, they are always well attended...there should be more.

[ghstudio]

All excellent observations. I also think that they should do more games and activities (not for additional charge) than they do. Passengers love them, they are always well attended...there should be more.

 

 

They do lots of activities....there's the watch extravaganza sale, the fabrege egg sale, the grand brown diamond sale, the art sale, the footbed sale. Every day they're are all kinds of similar events.....so what's your issue?

 

 

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[dkjretired]

We will not call this a "rant" but more of a suggestion. The S-Class ships are gorgeous and have many decent interior venues....most of which are underutilized because of very poor Corporate Planning! So lets talk about it. First, we have the newly crowned Sushi place on Deck 5. This replaced the Cafe on 5, and seems to be even more underutilized then its predecessor. The problem is an ala carte menu and the fact that many folks are not Sushi lovers. Most of the time we walked by this place it was near empty.

 

2. Cellar Masters or whatever they want to call it this week :). Originally we think Celebrity had a great idea when they created this concept and put in the wine dispensers. But then they started their drink packages (which could not be used in this room) and the entire concept failed! So now they took out the wine dispensers and the room is even less used...which is a pity since its a beautiful lounge.

 

3. World Bar! What a Disaster! It is located aft of the Art Gallery and not even on some deck plans (take a look here on Cruise Critic). This bar used to be a franchised format of fascinating high end drinks....but Celebrity ended that franchise deal last year and replaced it with their own in-house concept. They have a small menu of specialized drinks which will only attract those with the Premium Drink Package or others with lots of money in their drink budget (some of these drinks can cost you over $15). On our last two cruises this bar is usually empty! When I say empty, I mean without a single customer. It is normally staffed by a single bar tender who is trained to produce these tricky drinks. But on our last 2 cruises the bar tender was unable to produce all of the limited menu because Celebrity did not load the necessary resources (such as dry ice). In over a year they have not added a single drink to the limited menu...and the place is now a waste of space. Management needs to vastly expand the menu of unique drinks and perhaps offer some snacks or something to attract more customers.

 

4, Michael's Club - Must admit we liked this underused venue...but now it is the exclusive domain for the suite folks and perhaps a Zenith passenger (have never seen one on any of our cruises). We miss seeing this place opened to everyone. And since we normally hang out in the Ensemble Bar (just outside) we notice that most of the time this place is not getting much use. Tis a shame...although we do understand that management feels pressure to increase unique venues for those paying the big bucks for suites.

 

5, The Pool area. If we want to be blasted out of our seat by PA commentary on pool games....we can certainly go cruise on Carnival. And whatever happened to having a decent Caribbean band (with a real steel drum) on Caribbean cruises? When in the Caribbean sitting at the pool it makes sense to hear Bob Marley! Not the Eagles (and I love the Eagles). We will give Celebrity some credit for not having hairy leg contests or diving for spoons.

 

Hank

 

Agree about the pool, groups there sing the same set of songs over and over in every venue on the ship. I like Adele but hearing "rolling in the deep" all week reminded me of "it's a small world". This started a few years ago when they got rid of the entertainment in the variou venues.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Just off Silhouette in a Royal Suite, our first.

 

Sushi on 5, didn't like the concept but went for lunch and enjoyed our meal. We were in a RS so did not have to pay for it. Otherwise, lunch would have been $61 for 2 of us, which is way over priced IMO. Sometimes it was busy, other times not so.

 

Cellar Masters, we are wine drinkers. We did not utilize the machines on any of our cruises but always enjoyed wine served by a sommelier. Drink packages could always be used in CM, just not in the machines. I think this has confused many guests.

 

World Bar, see above, we are wine drinkers and even with a premium beverage package did not venture there.

 

Michaels Club, we never went there when it was a cigar bar or piano bar on one ship. Went the few times it was used for Captains Club parties. We have used it on and off since it became a suites only venue. BTW, there was a Zenith CC member on our sailing.

Some times it was busy, some times not but the same can be said for other venues.

 

Pool Deck, we are not likely to sit by the pool, much prefer our balcony or the solarium. If we were pool people we would rather hear Caribbean music.

 

What we observed was the lack of activities not relating to shopping on our B2B cruise. The 2nd week did not even have any enrichment speakers. That being said, we did book another cruise on Silhouette for 2018.

[Hlitner]

Seeing the posts about shopping made me remember an incident 2 weeks ago on the Eclipse. We were docked in Barbados on a Sunday and DW and I stopped at Guest Relations to get some small bills. A lady (in her 50s) was ranting and raving at the staff about the lack of shopping. I mean she was literally red in the face and raising her voice. The issue was that since it was Sunday, she found out that most of the stores in Bridgetown were closed. Her rant was that "the cruise line should make the stores open or open all the shopping venues on the ship (not permitted when in port). We felt bad for the staff,,,,but such is life. We did have a big laugh after she left and wondered what on earth she would buy in the ship's shops...since it was a 14 day cruise and the shops had already been open every evening and sea days.

 

Hank

P.S. I am luck guy because I have a DW who hates shopping as much as moi.

[easyboy]

Good points. Hope Celebrity takes this into consideration.

 

 

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[sandyss]

They do lots of activities....there's the watch extravaganza sale, the fabrege egg sale, the grand brown diamond sale, the art sale, the footbed sale. Every day they're are all kinds of similar events.....so what's your issue?

 

And don't you just love the personal invitations left in your cabin for these special activities!!

[TommyD3]

First, we have the newly crowned Sushi place on Deck 5. This replaced the Cafe on 5, and seems to be even more underutilized then its predecessor. The problem is an ala carte menu and the fact that many folks are not Sushi lovers. Most of the time we walked by this place it was near empty.

 

Were on Equinox for 21 days across Nov/Dec.

Sushi on 5 was actually VERY busy.

Only open for lunch on sea days, but was packed !!!

I agree it is overpriced !!!

Edited December 21, 2016 by TommyD3

[jelayne]

IMHO both Bistro on 5 & Sushi on 5 have been failures. We tried Bistro on 5 on 4 different ships service was slow, food mediocre. I can't eat any seafood so Sushi on 5 isn't an option.

 

Royal has Johnny Rockets, Carnival has both Guys Burgers and a Mexican place (all for a fee) and they seem to work. I would like to see Sushi on 5 enclosed more, add some liveliness and make it a Mexican restaurant or a NY style deli.

 

We grew to love the Molecular bar and on our B2B on the Solstice in Feb/Mar it was busy every night after the 9 o'clock show. Tried the World Class bar on the TA in October-not much that appealed to us on the menu, snooty bartender and no one else there.

 

Quasar is/was another wasted space. Converting it to meeting rooms I thought was a strange idea but it has turned out to provide a space for more activities (art classes, jewelry making, etc) that can accommodate 30+ people and our TA roll call was able to use one meeting room for 3 afternoons of games and also a RC wine tasting for 30+ people.

[Cruise Junky]

IMHO both Bistro on 5 & Sushi on 5 have been failures. We tried Bistro on 5 on 4 different ships service was slow, food mediocre. I can't eat any seafood so Sushi on 5 isn't an option.

 

Royal has Johnny Rockets, Carnival has both Guys Burgers and a Mexican place (all for a fee) and they seem to work. I would like to see Sushi on 5 enclosed more, add some liveliness and make it a Mexican restaurant or a NY style deli.

 

We grew to love the Molecular bar and on our B2B on the Solstice in Feb/Mar it was busy every night after the 9 o'clock show. Tried the World Class bar on the TA in October-not much that appealed to us on the menu, snooty bartender and no one else there.

 

Quasar is/was another wasted space. Converting it to meeting rooms I thought was a strange idea but it has turned out to provide a space for more activities (art classes, jewelry making, etc) that can accommodate 30+ people and our TA roll call was able to use one meeting room for 3 afternoons of games and also a RC wine tasting for 30+ people.

 

Would the fact that the world class bar was empty be because not many would have the drink package on a TA?

 

I'd love a true Mexican restaurant.

[BBsails]

Oh Hank, you've hit the nail on the head. I wonder how Celebrity could get the use of public areas so wrong? Seems to me they should get someone in to study the subject across the fleet. Hope they pay attention to this thread. In our 14 =X= cruises we've never used one of the venues that you highlighted and don't plan to under the current configuration.

 

I don't even want to start in on the art auctions. :rolleyes:

 

Betsy

[Oville]

On the Eclipse right now, disembarking tomorrow.

 

We thoroughly enjoyed Michael's Club. Most evenings private entertainment was provided and very enjoyable. I don't think over 10 days there was one time that we were alone in MC. For us it is a very nice perk for staying in a suite.

 

On our cruise I have seen Sushi on 5 busy often. Perhaps the usage changes depending on the cruise.

 

As we did not utilize the pool or Cellar Masters I can't comment. We had a drink at the World Bar but I don't know how busy it was overall as we passed it rarely.

Edited December 21, 2016 by Oville

[DancerOT]

Just a note. Guy's Burgers and Iguana Cantina (the Mexican place on Carnival) are both free. I would love an Iguana Cantina concept on Celebrity - so yummy for breakfast (and other meals).

[Hlitner]

Would the fact that the world class bar was empty be because not many would have the drink package on a TA?

 

I'd love a true Mexican restaurant.

 

Will chime in because our recent Eclipse cruise was a 14 day Caribbean run and the World Class Bar was generally empty in the evening. We visited the World Class on 3 occasions in the early evening. Twice...DW and I were the only 2 customers. On one other visit there were 3 others at the bar. We also walked by the bar many times during the evening and seldom saw anyone. There were an awful lot of folks with Premium Drink Packages on our cruise (easy to see this at the very busy Martini Bar) but few had a desire to deal with the too limited drink menu in the World Class Bar. Part of the World Class problem (besides the drink menu) is the lousy location tucked behind the art gallery. On our many S-Class cruises the Martini Bar does a great business and the Ensemble Lounge sometimes gets a decent crowd (depending on the entertainment). But the World Class is a loser and the concept (and menu) needs some fine tuning.

 

Your idea of a "True Mexican Restaurant" is interesting, but we wonder what this means. Living in Mexico a few months a year (for more then a decade) has taught us that Mexican cuisine is very regional. A Mexican venue that had zero Tex-Mex, and a menu of various regional Mexican dishes would certainly get our interest and business.

 

Hank

Edited December 21, 2016 by Hlitner

[jelayne]

Would the fact that the world class bar was empty be because not many would have the drink package on a TA?

X

I'd love a true Mexican restaurant.

 

That probably was a factor but X had discounted the beverage packages before the cruise and then when we got to the long stretch of sea days they offered a pay for 6 days get day 7 free. So the number of folks with beverage packages increased as we started across the Atlantic.

 

I personally think that not serving anything not on their menu is a big disadvantage. If I want something from the WC menu, DH can't get a gin & tonic or beer there. Unlike the Martini Bar were you can get beer, wine and a lot of drinks not just martinis. In fact on the TA the bartender at the Martini bar would get bottles of DHs favorite wine from Cellar Masters & keep them for him.

[Oville]

Would the fact that the world class bar was empty be because not many would have the drink package on a TA?

 

Good point, thanks.

Edited December 21, 2016 by Oville

[MVPinBoynton]

I agree with you Hank. I have wondered the same things. The main people we saw on Sushi on 5 were officers and staff members on our two recent cruises on the Silhouette and Constellation.

 

Cellar Masters is a lovely wasted space. We only had the World Class Bar on the Silhouette TA; which I am sure reduced the number of people with drink packages, since it was a wasteland.

[hvsteve1]

I was also on Dec. 3 cruise and liked the Beatles show. I saw the Beatles live as well as a few tribute groups and these guys were right up there. The Tenors of Rock were also very good.Considering they are the resident show at Harrah's in LV for the next year, I don't consider us as "shortchanged". Saw one of the two comics and he was very funny working the audience. Production shows ranged from "eh" to pretty decent. Keep in mind, folks on the lower end cruise lines tend to be there to eat, drink and see shows. Pax on the more upscale lines tend to see fine entertainment at home and don't count on a cruise to be their chance in life to see a "Broadway" show. They are also not staging shows for 5,000 passengers so the budget may be a bit different.

 

So far as Sushi on 5, we ate there and were very pleased. But we tend to have substantial OBC and don't gamble so use it up on food and such.

 

Cellarmasters was usually empty. The Silhouette and Reflection still have the enomatic machines though we had heard on CC they were being pulled fleetwide. I think when people walk in and see the place full of machines looking for $35 and $45 glasses of wine not covered by the drink package, they walk out without realizing there is wine (and beer) hidden away that they can order. Part of the blame goes to the people staffing the room. I walked in several times and was ignored, even though I would have been the only customer. If people were approached and asked if they would like to order, they might stay.

 

We had an S2 aft on deck 12. Most suites on 12 will be under something on deck 14 (they apparently forgot to install a deck 13 :rolleyes:). If aft, you are under Oceanview Cafe or the outdoor tables. We heard tables and chairs scraping the deck most of the time, but pretty much ignored it, though the noise might have disturbed some people. Other cabins might have you under a recreational area or, if you're lucky a retail space or open hallway area.

[Host Jazzbeau]

I agree with all your points except one: I think Michael's club is quite successful in its new role as a Suite benefit. The Suite Concierge is stationed there, they have low-key music some evenings, the bartender is always there to provide a quick drink on the way into the shows, and in general it is a quiet place to escape the noise everywhere else on the ship. It's part of what makes us willing to shoulder the high fares for a suite.

[Oz_Steve]

Agree about Michael's, great concept. All valid points about the other venues as well. I was on Eqinox last year and they had changed Cellar Masters into an English style pub (with some pay for food) and it was doing great business. They had opened it up as well which I think helped.

[vickykay]

Would love to see Cellers turned into an English Pub type of venue.

[groryjm]

4, Michael's Club - Must admit we liked this underused venue...but now it is the exclusive domain for the suite folks and perhaps a Zenith passenger (have never seen one on any of our cruises). We miss seeing this place opened to everyone. And since we normally hang out in the Ensemble Bar (just outside) we notice that most of the time this place is not getting much use. Tis a shame...although we do understand that management feels pressure to increase unique venues for those paying the big bucks for suites.

 

I tend to be on your wavelength with most of your points. I am however affraid I have to strongly disagree re Michaels.

 

Michaels club to us is one of our favourit bars when we cruise on X. Its exclusivity adds to our enjoyment and the way staff in MCs bend over backwards to fulfil our needs is a real plus.

 

It is the perfect place to get your morning coffee and read the dailies before setting off for an adventure in port. An excelent venue for a pre dinner cocktail with the officers or some other special private entertainment before dinner and a great place to catch up with new found friends at the end of the day with a fine cognac or calvados :cool:

Edited December 21, 2016 by groryjm

[D C]

Agree about Michael's, great concept. All valid points about the other venues as well. I was on Eqinox last year and they had changed Cellar Masters into an English style pub (with some pay for food) and it was doing great business. They had opened it up as well which I think helped.

 

Michaels is one of my great disappointments with Celebrity as a non-suite guest.

 

The suite-only change happened between my first and second cruises with X, and I'd taken a liking to the atmosphere and drink selection in Michael's, particularly the craft beer. Was quite shocked to find I was persona-non-grata on the same ship a year later.

 

Would love to see Cellers turned into an English Pub type of venue.

 

That would be awesome!

[groryjm]

 

Would love to see Cellers turned into an English Pub type of venue.

 

That would be awesome!

 

That's what they did on Equinox with the Gasto Bar:cool: