No Celebrity, You Have Not Lost Your Way...

[Brazildan]

I booked a cruise in June to Alaska. After reading the forums I was ready to cancel. Thanks for the positive assessment of Celebrity.:)

[pmcue]

Nice to see that not everyone hates Celebrity. I do think people tend to post if they have negative to say, but not positive. A few weeks ago I looked at other boards, to see if it was just Celebrity. It is not. These boards seem to have become a place to complain, rather than a safe place to ask questions and offer guidance. Too bad.

 

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[Ordinary Chef]

Thanks for an excellent post regarding the "positives" of Celebrity Cruises. We first cruised on Celebrity about 8 years ago, looking for a get away from the cold in Minnesota. It was a 5 day Caribbean cruise on the Century. Although we had cruised before (RCCL, Princess) it had been a number of years and we fell in love with cruising again. Since that time we have cruised each year on Celebrity and as has been said before, each one seems to be better than the last! We are glass half full people so we mostly look at the positives of the cruise rather than the minor changes that seem to be the topics of many of the negative posts. A cruise is what you make of it. There are so many things that Celebrity does very well it seems very trivial to complain about the minor changes that have occurred over the years. I realize that trivial issues are very subjective, but we still believe that a Celebrity Cruise is a great value and experience for the money!

[richard1s]

I booked a cruise in June to Alaska. After reading the forums I was ready to cancel. Thanks for the positive assessment of Celebrity.:)

You are most welcome. Hopefully you will be as pleased with your cruise to Alaska on Celebrity as we were.

 

As I mentioned, we have multiple cruises on 6 mainstream cruise lines. While there have been occasional hiccups, to us Celebrity still ticks every box and delivers a consistently good product. HAL is a close second but doesn’t offer the incentives like Celebrity; plus the HAL demographics can get a little lopsided on some sailings.

[TFLG]

Fear not after reading the other thread I have Emailed Celebrity a link to Google Maps. They promised to use it if they lose their way;)

Edited January 18, 2017 by TFLG

[cachouonacruise]

Thank you very much for the post! I really looked forward to experience X for the first time in May, and to be able to compare to RCL and HAL. Unfortunately, we are non-suite guests, but will experience a verandah for the first time. I wish we will love the X perience enough to book a future cruise on board. P.s Although some negative threads appears on these boards, from time to time, I am very pleased to have received excellent support from CC posters on questions, I had, in addition to having the opportunity to read experiences and posts like this one. Thanks!

 

 

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[varoo]

Nice to see that not everyone hates Celebrity. I do think people tend to post if they have negative to say, but not positive. A few weeks ago I looked at other boards, to see if it was just Celebrity. It is not. These boards seem to have become a place to complain, rather than a safe place to ask questions and offer guidance. Too bad.

It is called exception reporting, which is typical everywhere, not just on internet boards.

 

In everyday conversation, people will comment about having an accident, the car or furnace breaking down, getting a great buy on a purchase, or winning a prize.

 

We don't go around having conversations about things that are just the way we expect them to be.

 

Nobody says the refrigerator is keeping the food cold today, or there is soap in the bathroom, or the toilet does not overflow when I flush it, unless there was a problem previously.

 

 

When we are accustomed to things being a certain way, and then they are changed, that is when we tend to talk about them.

 

Most frequent cruise passengers have certain expectations based on their past cruise experiences.

So naturally there are likely to be more comments about the things that are gradually disappearing or being downgraded than about those that still remain unchanged.

 

People are also likely to comment about new features that exceed their expectations, as we are seeing in the numerous comments about the recent increase in suite class perks.

 

[El Crucero]

I booked a cruise in June to Alaska. After reading the forums I was ready to cancel. Thanks for the positive assessment of Celebrity.:)

 

For every negative review, there are around 500 to 1000 passenger with a positive experience who never post.

 

We have cruised on four different cruise lines. Celebrity is by far our cruise line of choice. We don't cruise in suites, but we feel that Celebrity provides the best value for our cruising dollar.

[meatheadink]

I can sail on whatever line I want to sail on... but X is the best fit for me and my friends; fun, but not crazy nuts (RCL, Carnival, NCL etc) , aesthetically modern and sophisticated; relaxed but modern luxurious. The Crystals, Seabourns and even Oceanas of the world live in a different space - great products, but formality for the sake of pretense - 'traditional' cruising. Cunard I would love to do, but 'let's play dress up on vacation' turns me off. Viking ships I love, but I hear the energy level is lacking. Princess is my 2nd go-to; fun, generally good service, but not near Celebrity in terms of overall service and product, and ships stuck in the 80s design wise.

 

So many people on these do not understand what *modern* luxury means and complain about 'how it used to be'... if you want how it used to be, sail the noted lines above; Celebrity has clearly defined an audience akin to the nicer modern hotels - Cosmopolitan, Palazzo, W, Thompson etc, and nailed it with Modern Luxury.. especially at the prices they charge.

[bookitdanno]

Thanks for the positive side of Celebrity.

 

We cruise often, usually in OV, occasionally in Balconies, never in suites.

 

We find our experience is exceptional, and the staff and crew outstanding!.

[dgparent]

Nice to see that not everyone hates Celebrity. I do think people tend to post if they have negative to say, but not positive. A few weeks ago I looked at other boards, to see if it was just Celebrity. It is not. These boards seem to have become a place to complain, rather than a safe place to ask questions and offer guidance. Too bad.

 

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Well it is called cruisecritic not cruisecompliments :)

[florisdekort]

Thank you for an excellent post! [emoji106]

 

 

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[galensgrl]

You are most welcome. Hopefully you will be as pleased with your cruise to Alaska on Celebrity as we were.

 

As I mentioned, we have multiple cruises on 6 mainstream cruise lines. While there have been occasional hiccups, to us Celebrity still ticks every box and delivers a consistently good product. HAL is a close second but doesn’t offer the incentives like Celebrity; plus the HAL demographics can get a little lopsided on some sailings.

 

DH and I had our last 2 cruises with HAL, and we loved them. It truly seems like luxury cruising after 4 cruises with NCL. I am sure we will have more cruises with HAL, but we thought it would be fun to try a different embarkation port, and have wanted to try X as well. One thing I know is we could never get a Neptune Suite for what a Sky Suite cost us for our upcoming cruise. If we could have, we probably wouldn't be trying X. But I am curious to see what we think of X in comparison to a HAL cruise. Something tells me they are about on par with each other, more similarities than differences. Thank you for sharing the positive review.

[wallie5446]

 

 

But for me, I find it amazing that Celebrity can offer the quality product they do at such a competitive price. Particularly in comparison to that first cruise we took back in 2001. In my opinion, Celebrity has significantly advanced the value of their product over the years. For us, each cruise seems better than the last one, with noticeable upgrades to the entire experience.

 

With Celebrity, I feel that I am an appreciated customer and I honestly could not be more pleased to give them my repeated business.

 

May 2013 I asked the question, would you sail Celebrity just for the quality product. Of the 271 that voted way back then :eek: 86% said yes.

 

In the end, it is 12-15 % of the Cruise Critic members are 'critical' of the product.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1845752

[irishayes]

May 2013 I asked the question, would you sail Celebrity just for the quality product. Of the 271 that voted way back then :eek: 86% said yes.

 

In the end, it is 12-15 % of the Cruise Critic members are 'critical' of the product.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1845752

However, I can see a vast difference from 2013 to 2017. I went on a Celebrity Med cruise in 2014 and saw no cost cutting or diminished "modern luxury" feel on that cruise. The one I just completed, is a very different story.

 

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[Mynki]

Haven't "lost their way" but rather decided to follow a different road. I've said this many times before; Their focus has shifted from "Loyalty" to high margin spenders. (which is another way of saying "Suite passengers"). Suite passengers appear from postings to be quite pleased while complaints about cutbacks have been coming largely from non Suite passengers. Celebrity is not alone on the high margin highway as other lines might be causing a traffic jam.

 

After reading hundreds of posts on the subject and chatting with many fellow cruisers I'm of the same opinion.

 

I think there is a higher expectation of quality with Celebrity than there is with other mass market lines. Suite class appears to meet it as the vast majority of comments from suite customers are positive.

 

Disappointment seems to come from some non suite customers who seem to imply that Celebrity is not that different from other lines. The cost cutting that is often discussed seems to affect these these more than suite passengers though so it's understandable on occasion.

 

From what I've seen the loyalty program is simply streets ahead of the competition and the drinks packages make a lot of sense. Who wants to buy separate coffee packages, beer packages and wine packages etc? I've no idea what I will fancy drinking in the future so a package which covers almost everything is almost perfect.

Edited January 18, 2017 by Mynki

[Mynki]

May 2013 I asked the question, would you sail Celebrity just for the quality product. Of the 271 that voted way back then :eek: 86% said yes.

 

In the end, it is 12-15 % of the Cruise Critic members are 'critical' of the product.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1845752

 

It would be interesting to know how many of those 271 who voted have actually sailed on Celebrity and how they voted. I say that as there was a gentleman who I noticed regularly attacking Blu and aqua class on here. When pressed it transpired that he'd never actually sailed AQ! :)

[richard1s]

Sometimes being the best isn't good enough if the bar is set too low. But as long as the lemmings keep blindly following, it's only go to keep going down hill.

My original point is that Celebrity continues to find new ways to improve their product; quite the opposite of what you are saying. In my opinion, they are raising the bar and still offering very competitive pricing.

 

I am not certain why anyone who is happy with a product is a “lemming” and continually lowering their standards to remain satisfied? Personally I have many decades of travel experience so I feel reasonably qualified to at least know what I like.

 

But of course, Celebrity could be exposing passengers to infrasound subliminal messaging on board to alter our perception of the experience. So we only “think we like it”.

[wallie5446]

My original point is that Celebrity continues to find new ways to improve their product; quite the opposite of what you are saying. In my opinion, they are raising the bar and still offering very competitive pricing.

 

I am not certain why anyone who is happy with a product is a “lemming” and continually lowering their standards to remain satisfied? Personally I have many decades of travel experience so I feel reasonably qualified to at least know what I like.

 

But of course, Celebrity could be exposing passengers to infrasound subliminal messaging on board to alter our perception of the experience. So we only “think we like it”.

Ditto!

[richard1s]

Well it is called cruisecritic not cruisecompliments :)

By that same logic, a person whose occupation is a “Movie Critic” would never write a positive review.

[tnfcruise]

With all due respect, richard1s, as a Suite guest, I'd assume you would not think Celebrity has lost their way. Even though I don't sail in suites, I generally agree with your topic title and much of what you state.

 

But, Celebrity not losing their way, doesn't mean there can't be, and shouldn't be, discussions/idea-swapping/experience-sharing regarding areas that might be changed or improved. And, I don't necessarily mean the cruise line needs to make the changes or improve-- we the forum posters can, and do (sometimes[emoji6]), reflect on ideas or suggestions that end up making it better for us.

 

I certainly dislike the out-and-out Celebrity bashing and negativity that often creeps into the most innocuous topics and forums, mainly because those comments tend to derail good conversation. And, if I'm an OP (or just a poster in a derailed forum) I can get defensive and sarcastic, but I do try to swing the conversation back on track.

 

There are also the unhelpful posters that chime in with comments that basically state they're perfectly happy with whatever is being discussed and, therefore, we should be happy, too...and if we're not perfectly happy, we're somehow flawed or need to be taught a good lesson. There's a poster who insinuates self into many Celebrity forums and tries this tactic...it's infuriating and doesn't move the discussion forward, either, and can bring a good conversation to a grinding halt.

 

I'll end my comments with a big [emoji1360]to varoo and his/her post above. And, to varoo's last point, I'll add another example-- I've posted in several appropriate forums about the new Concierge Class embarkation lunch...wonderful new amenity, in my opinion, and I'm grateful for it.

 

 

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[Mynki]

 

 

 

There are also the unhelpful posters that chime in with comments that basically state they're perfectly happy with whatever is being discussed and, therefore, we should be happy, too...and if we're not perfectly happy, we're somehow flawed or need to be taught a good lesson. There's a poster who insinuates self into many Celebrity forums and tries this tactic...it's infuriating and doesn't move the discussion forward, either, and can bring a good conversation to a grinding halt.

 

 

Only one? You must be new here. :)

 

I actually agree we should all welcome a kaizen approach from Celebrity and we, as their loyal customer base can and should make suggestions where appropriate. But I think the OP is discussing those complain for the sake of complaining as opposed to those who offer constructive feedback.

 

How much note Celebrity take of the threads on this forum is anyone's guess. Perhaps if people were to regularly post links to here from Facebook to threads with constructive feedback then who knows what would happen.

[El Crucero]

Let's do the math: M class ships hold about 2,000 passengers so according to your numbers there is only 4-8 passengers who didn't have a positive experience? If you truly believe that, you're delusional.

 

Yes, I admit that some people think I am delusional but I don't have a problem with reading comprehension.

 

Yes, there may be at most 4 people on Cruise Critic (that's what we were talking about) who post a negative review on a specific itinerary compared to those who post a positive review or no review at all. Regarding Celebrity, the positive posts far outnumber the negative posts on Cruise Critic. And if you check the posting history of the negative reviewers, they are usually the ones who complain about everything......grandgeezer.

 

Therefore, I must be a lemming.

[tnfcruise]

Only one? You must be new here. :)

 

 

 

TNFCRUISE REPLY-- Haha, only one who infuriates me. Others, just annoy.

 

I actually agree we should all welcome a kaizen approach from Celebrity and we, as their loyal customer base can and should make suggestions where appropriate. But I think the OP is discussing those complain for the sake of complaining as opposed to those who offer constructive feedback.

 

 

TNFCRUISE REPLY-- Yeah, I got that, and I'm adding that there are many fine topics that turn into stinking miasmas thanks to the chronic-crabby-complainers and the holier-than-thou.

 

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Edited January 18, 2017 by tnfcruise

[Bo1953]

Yes, I admit that some people think I am delusional but I don't have a problem with reading comprehension.

 

Yes, there may be at most 4 people on Cruise Critic (that's what we were talking about) who post a negative review on a specific itinerary compared to those who post a positive review or no review at all. Regarding Celebrity, the positive posts far outnumber the negative posts on Cruise Critic. And if you check the posting history of the negative reviewers, they are usually the ones who complain about everything......grandgeezer.

 

Therefore, I must be a lemming.

 

ec - You have a way of stirring up the pot when it is boiling over already! LOL, I understand your approach and how it can have the wrong rub, but that is fine, as I do as well from time to time...

 

I thank all who post regardless of like or dislike of or about it. Then again, when it is about things which are rehash it gets my ire up and I cannot help myself, sometimes or can I? :)

 

Hey all, bon voyage... and thanks for your input, no matter how much I may 'criticize' or 'praise' or '?' it...