Celebrity losing its way?

[richsea]

Ha! There is a current US slang phrase that can also be employed; Bye Felecia.

 

Someone earlier commented that they were hopeful Celebrity might view these complaints and it would somehow impact them. Have you ever seen a X response to one of these strings? Can you point to any time this tactic has actually worked?

 

Actually yes, I can think of an instance off the top of my head. Shortly after the M clas ships were launched, Celebrity tried to make the indoor solarium an extra charge area of the ship. The uproar here & irate calls ended that ill advised idea in short order.

 

Celebrity also used to have a rep here who would try to help with individual problems, but they left the company & were replaced by a robot who just cuts & pastes blurbs from their website; really useless.

 

This thread only serves to tell them that there are those who disagree with the notion that they are losing their way, which only encourages them to keep on keeping on.

Edited January 11, 2017 by richsea

[xmarksx]

Actually yes, I can think of an instance off the top of my head. Shortly after the M clas ships were launched, Celebrity tried to make the indoor solarium an extra charge area of the ship. The uproar here & irate calls ended that ill advised idea in short order.

 

Celebrity also used to have a rep here who would try to help with individual problems, but they left the company & were replaced by a robot who just cuts & pastes blurbs from their website; really useless.

 

This thread only serves to tell them that there are those who disagree with the notion that they are losing their way, which only encourages them to keep on keeping on.

 

I sincerely yield (seriously) to the man from NY and concede that. I do appreciate your posts and think we can both agree that some of the posted "noise" diminishes more sincere concerns. I think the current posts about luggage valet are a good example of a legitimate beef.

 

Creamer vs. cream, nah.

[richsea]

I sincerely yield (seriously) to the man from NY and concede that. I do appreciate your posts and think we can both agree that some of the posted "noise" diminishes more sincere concerns. I think the current posts about luggage valet are a good example of a legitimate beef.

 

Creamer vs. cream, nah.

 

I definitely see your point. I also see that there are some here who seem to almost take pleasure in finding fault time & time again, as if it makes them feel important. I see some screen names & know without reading what they're going to say. (Guess I spend too much time here!) I also understand that what I may not feel is a big deal, is important to others.

 

As far as creamer vs. cream, to some it may be a big deal, I guess. By itself it does not seem major, but when added to the other small cost cutting decisions made over time, to a long time Celebrity cruiser, its like death by one thousand cuts.

 

To me, Celebrity still provides a cruise experience that we enjoy, but it has been somewhat dumbed down to a point that they are like many other lines out there. We used to cruise Celebrity pretty much exclusively, about 3 trips per year. Now we pretty much shop price between the lines we feel give us what we are looking for.

Edited January 11, 2017 by richsea

[Pushka]

Having just returned on a Princess cruise I was thinking exactly the same as this thread but about Princess. Oh dear. We were looking forward to our next cruise on Celebrity.

[ghstudio]

 

Someone earlier commented that they were hopeful Celebrity might view these complaints and it would somehow impact them. Have you ever seen a X response to one of these strings? Can you point to any time this tactic has actually worked?

 

Do you recall the changes to the drink packages (content and upgrade price) a couple of years ago....this site was quite vocal..."celebrity cruises" participated in the discussion and the policy changed back.

 

There was also a long thread about the compensation when the Century cruise ended abruptly in VilleFranche that ultimately resulted in celebrity changing their compensation for guests.

 

This site does make a difference, or at least it did in the past. The demise of the old "celebrity cruises" who participated and tried to help here and also summarized CC comments and concerns for top management may have changed that. Today's "celebrity cruises" only quotes from their web pages and does not participate in any conversations....no clue if celebrity management even knows what is being discussed on CC....or care.

[dgparent]

My wife and i have not cruised for 2 years due to a move plus we bought a summer place. But I swear the threads on this board have not changed !!

 

We just booked a suite on the Reflection for March.

 

1.We enjoy the drink package - in fact we would not cruise without it.

 

2.We do not really do the activities onboard except a trivia now and then, so those entertainment "cutbacks" have no affect on us, we pretty much keep to ourselves at the casino or the Sunset bar.

 

3.I hate having to get dressed up - in my mind it is not really a vacation if on 2 nights out of 7 they tell you you have to wear a suit to dinner.

 

4. We love the specialty restaurants and can't wait to try Luminae.

 

So from what I have read on this thread, X is improving not declining. To each their own I guess.

[ChucktownSteve]

This site does make a difference, or at least it did in the past. The demise of the old "celebrity cruises" who participated and tried to help here and also summarized CC comments and concerns for top management may have changed that. Today's "celebrity cruises" only quotes from their web pages and does not participate in any conversations....no clue if celebrity management even knows what is being discussed on CC....or care.

 

Do you think the current Celebrity Cruises was hired for just this reason and told not to interject?

 

The ironic thing is that some of the copy and paste information Celebrity Cruises uses from the web site is incorrect or outdated. :D

 

Now if you want to see an exemplary example of a company ambassador, check out Chief Blogging Officer Bonnie on the Azamara board. She is the consummate conduit between their customers and the cruise line.

 

I wonder if that reflects how their respective CEO's value their cruising public?

[harz99]

My wife and i have not cruised for 2 years due to a move plus we bought a summer place. But I swear the threads on this board have not changed !!

 

We just booked a suite on the Reflection for March.

 

1.We enjoy the drink package - in fact we would not cruise without it.

 

2.We do not really do the activities onboard except a trivia now and then, so those entertainment "cutbacks" have no affect on us, we pretty much keep to ourselves at the casino or the Sunset bar.

 

3.I hate having to get dressed up - in my mind it is not really a vacation if on 2 nights out of 7 they tell you you have to wear a suit to dinner.

 

4. We love the specialty restaurants and can't wait to try Luminae.

 

So from what I have read on this thread, X is improving not declining. To each their own I guess.

Almost certainly is for suite guests, not so for the rest of us though.

 

This will be the first year for a long while that we won't be embarking on a Celebrity cruise - only three NCL ones for us this year.

 

We do plan to be back on board in 2018, but only a fill in between an MSC b2b and an NCL transatlantic.

 

Ironically that should elevate us to Elite Plus, a status we look less and less likely to be enjoying in the future!

 

 

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[chamima]

Do you think the current Celebrity Cruises was hired for just this reason and told not to interject?

 

The ironic thing is that some of the copy and paste information Celebrity Cruises uses from the web site is incorrect or outdated. :D

 

Now if you want to see an exemplary example of a company ambassador, check out Chief Blogging Officer Bonnie on the Azamara board. She is the consummate conduit between their customers and the cruise line.

 

I wonder if that reflects how their respective CEO's value their cruising public?

 

 

 

I think the current Celebrity Cruises that responds on here is an entry level employee and may rotate between the very knowledgeable (said with tongue firmly in cheek) reps who answer the phones.

 

Host Andy - who was absolutely wonderful and seemed to be able to get answers sometimes - was hired by Crystal Cruises so yes, there are lines out there who are responsive to the public.

 

(And re:the post above - Celebrity DOES seem to value their suite guests at least. Too bad for us we sail in the lowly, but not inexpensive, Aqua.)

[ISABELLA]

My wife and i have not cruised for 2 years due to a move plus we bought a summer place. But I swear the threads on this board have not changed !!

 

We just booked a suite on the Reflection for March.

 

1.We enjoy the drink package - in fact we would not cruise without it.

 

2.We do not really do the activities onboard except a trivia now and then, so those entertainment "cutbacks" have no affect on us, we pretty much keep to ourselves at the casino or the Sunset bar.

 

3.I hate having to get dressed up - in my mind it is not really a vacation if on 2 nights out of 7 they tell you you have to wear a suit to dinner.

 

4. We love the specialty restaurants and can't wait to try Luminae.

 

So from what I have read on this thread, X is improving not declining. To each their own I guess.

Passengers traveling in suites are minority and not effected much by cut backs, except if you have breakfast or lunch in OV.

[ISABELLA]

From the article mentioned above...

 

 

This statement is quite interesting..."Celebrity Cruises’ president and CEO Lisa Lutoff-Perlo took top honors: She and Celebrity were named the number-one woman-led business in Florida for 2016..." I guess some of us are looking at different things and comparing those to the way we remember it being .

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Named by whom?

[jagoffee]

Having just returned on a Princess cruise I was thinking exactly the same as this thread but about Princess. Oh dear. We were looking forward to our next cruise on Celebrity.

You should continue to look forward to your July cruise on the Silhouette. It might not be as good as your QM2 upcoming cruise, but you should really enjoy the Silhouette.

 

I am looking forward to your comparison with your recent Princess cruise when you return.

[DAKing240]

Do you recall the changes to the drink packages (content and upgrade price) a couple of years ago....this site was quite vocal..."celebrity cruises" participated in the discussion and the policy changed back.

 

There was also a long thread about the compensation when the Century cruise ended abruptly in VilleFranche that ultimately resulted in celebrity changing their compensation for guests.

 

This site does make a difference, or at least it did in the past. The demise of the old "celebrity cruises" who participated and tried to help here and also summarized CC comments and concerns for top management may have changed that. Today's "celebrity cruises" only quotes from their web pages and does not participate in any conversations....no clue if celebrity management even knows what is being discussed on CC....or care.

 

The feedback of Cruise Critic, along with comments across all social media, was always insightful and helpful. While I may not be at Celebrity any longer, I long for the day to rejoin the community in an official capacity.

[kevinyork]

Do you recall the changes to the drink packages (content and upgrade price) a couple of years ago....this site was quite vocal..."celebrity cruises" participated in the discussion and the policy changed back.

 

 

 

 

 

I remember that as I started that thread when on The Eclipse on the 2nd sailing since they cut back their Classic Package offerings. It had a big impact and lad to the unhappy readers of that thread also venting on Facebook. The Celebrity rep on here intervened within 48hrs saying they would be back with some news and after 4 days the changes were reversed. Feedback from customers is vital and for the cruise lines to have access to all the information and views of their customers on CC must be priceless.

 

 

Interestingly, Royal, having sold cruises with a free Deluxe drinks package or having had passengers who bought that package for their cruise, seemingly have started to add drinks at higher prices than the package covers and charge the price difference, mainly cocktails by the look of it. People who got the free package or bought it knowing the price limits and the drinks that were included are now seeing cocktails priced above the package dollar level. (For our two Royal cruises the UK site says the package includes all cocktails and yet recent changes mean some are outside of the package). I would have thought that as a company they might have learnt their mistake.

 

 

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[CelebrityMan]

This site does make a difference, or at least it did in the past. The demise of the old "celebrity cruises" who participated and tried to help here and also summarized CC comments and concerns for top management may have changed that. Today's "celebrity cruises" only quotes from their web pages and does not participate in any conversations....no clue if celebrity management even knows what is being discussed on CC....or care.

 

...yes, it would be nice to know that they care.

 

 

CM