Goodbye to Free Burgers and Mast Grill ???

[ChucktownSteve]

Just sad to see that the cuts keep on coming!

 

True but you know what the colloquialism says, "It ain't over till the fat lady sings" :D

 

According to Wikipedia, It means that one should not presume to know the outcome of an event which is still in progress.

[starri]

Am I the only who never actually at the burgers at the Mast Grill?

 

I mean, I understand why this is annoying or even a deal breaker, it's just not something that I'd miss. Now the transition from Bon5 to Son5, that annoyed me.

[champagne123]

Am I the only who never actually at the burgers at the Mast Grill?

 

I mean, I understand why this is annoying or even a deal breaker, it's just not something that I'd miss. Now the transition from Bon5 to Son5, that annoyed me.

This thread is NOT about burgers!!!!! I have been scolded two or three times about it. LOL....;p:loudcry::o

[NLH Arizona]

I would take a look at what was included and compare. You will see a difference.

 

There were things on my first cruise that aren't available on my upcoming cruise, just as there are things available on my upcoming cruise that weren't available on my first cruise. So, it pretty much balances out as far as I'm concerned.

[grandgeezer]

There were things on my first cruise that aren't available on my upcoming cruise, just as there are things available on my upcoming cruise that weren't available on my first cruise. So, it pretty much balances out as far as I'm concerned.

What's available now that doesn't come at a extra cost. Free perks aren't free.

[Ma Bell]

Comparing the cost of cruises 30 years ago to today is like comparing the cost of the first large screen tvs to the cost of one today. Of course they are a bargain today. The true comparison of this product begins about the time they began packages. Anyone who can't see the rise in cost compared to the quality of the product and value received needs to take off the rose colored glasses. I'm still enjoying my cruises but it wouldn't take much for me to change my focus, even with all the extra benefits I enjoy,

[hubofhockey]

There were things on my first cruise that aren't available on my upcoming cruise, just as there are things available on my upcoming cruise that weren't available on my first cruise. So, it pretty much balances out as far as I'm concerned.

 

Yup, the grass is always greener. People will come and people will go. I can think of better reasons to try different lines than the elimination of bad pool grill hamburgers. Quite honestly, most lines have awful burgers at pool grills and I rarely even eat one. I'm more likely to spring $10 for a good one than a no-charge bad one. In days of old, there was no perk added like alcohol beverage packages. Blu and Aqua are new to us as well. Also, I am finding better online cruise discounting on Celebrity than on Princess right now and I don't sweat the small stuff. We'll compare our overall experience to that of other lines and decide from there. We get sick of cruising on the same line over and over again and change is good. That might be what some need here and the pool burger probably means very little.

[ChucktownSteve]

In days of old, there was no perk added like alcohol beverage packages. Blu and Aqua are new to us as well.

 

In days of old, weren't the alcohol beverage costs much less than they are now. It seems they keep raising the drink prices to push people to purchase the bev packages. And moving mid range classic liquor to premium to force the upgrade. Isn't that the new game?

[chamima]

In days of old, weren't the alcohol beverage costs much less than they are now. It seems they keep raising the drink prices to push people to purchase the bev packages. And moving mid range classic liquor to premium to force the upgrade. Isn't that the new game?

 

 

MUCH less!!! I agree.

They still are on Princess (at least so far).

Their drink package covers all drinks up to $10 and that covers almost everything on the ship - including the fancy martinis. Most drinks are around $9.

(And yes, I know their martinis are smaller but if you have a package you can just get another.)

[hubofhockey]

In days of old, weren't the alcohol beverage costs much less than they are now. It seems they keep raising the drink prices to push people to purchase the bev packages. And moving mid range classic liquor to premium to force the upgrade. Isn't that the new game?

Not sure - Our online TA threw in an extra perk (took $300 OBC with the one included) and probably 15% of cruise fare. Our bar bill on Princess was usually $200 or more and we were careful not to spend too much. It all evens out, but I think Celebrity prices are better than Princess' right now and I do price one against the other and consider everything.

[richard1s]

Our first cruise was in 2001 on the Voyager of the Seas. Our balcony cabin was cramped and virtually everything was priced a la carte. But we enjoyed it immensely and were hooked on cruising.

Flash forward to our next cruise on the Celebrity Equinox; after factoring in a generous OBC, premium beverage package and other perks – we will be paying about the same price for this cruise for a significantly larger suite, as we did on the 2001 Voyager cruise in that tiny little balcony. And also included will be private dining venues, outstanding specialized service, Michael’s Club and privileges that will make our vacation experience very special and unique.

 

Factoring in the impact of 16 years of inflation, I think that the cruise industry has had an amazing evolution. In particular parent company RCL has delivered an incredible value while still providing a terrific ROI for stockholders. We have cruised Celebrity for about 10 years and believe that the entire experience has been upgraded in many ways. I believe that under new management, the cruise line has noticeably improved.

 

If anyone is unhappy, the solution seems simple – move on. Or, as you witness here, stay and whine about your displeasure.

[richstowe]

If anyone is unhappy, the solution seems simple – move on. Or, as you witness here, stay and whine about your displeasure.

Good point . And if you are satisfied , stay and whine about those who don't agree with your opinion . :p

[Baron Barracuda]

Rant alert - sorry, but this one's been building for a while.

 

We have cruised Celebrity for about 10 years and believe that the entire experience has been upgraded in many ways. I believe that under new management, the cruise line has noticeably improved.

 

Gee. Been sailing X almost 25 years and have only felt my cruise experience diminish. Must have missed all those upgrades. Can you point them out to me?

 

Suite Class is an upgrade, however only 7% of passengers (but seemingly 50% of cc posters) sail in suites. And that came at a cost to the other 93% of us who lost access to Michaels Club and saw MDR elbow room shrink to an uncomfortably intimate level. CC was initially an upgrade, but X gradually eliminated most of the percs so you can't really call it one anymore. If you like Blu (some do, some don't) I'll give you AQ. Conversion of specialties on M class to Murano certainly wasn't an upgrade, nor nor was Sushi on 5. Really miss free sushi at the buffet. Cuts to entertainment staff have virtually eliminated arts and crafts. Is 86 daily sessions of trivia an upgrade?Taking show production in-house has left us with some very strange shows with unrecognizable music. Cutbacks in housekeeping mean my room might not be made up until late afternoon. Even my Elite laundry perc was cut back from 30 items to 20. And now comes the burger debacle ......

 

Despite all this I've never had a bad X cruise. Just seems each one is a little less special than the one before. Have two more X cruises booked then maybe time to try something new. Hopefully LLP hasn't messed with Galapagos.

[CRZR58]

What's been upgraded over the years that they haven't charged extra for?

 

Comparing the price to 20 years ago is silly. Compare the price to 3-5 years ago and then tell me again how much it's gone down.

[richsea]

Rant alert - sorry, but this one's been building for a while.

 

 

 

Gee. Been sailing X almost 25 years and have only felt my cruise experience diminish. Must have missed all those upgrades. Can you point them out to me?

 

Suite Class is an upgrade, however only 7% of passengers (but seemingly 50% of cc posters) sail in suites. And that came at a cost to the other 93% of us who lost access to Michaels Club and saw MDR elbow room shrink to an uncomfortably intimate level. CC was initially an upgrade, but X gradually eliminated most of the percs so you can't really call it one anymore. If you like Blu (some do, some don't) I'll give you AQ. Conversion of specialties on M class to Murano certainly wasn't an upgrade, nor nor was Sushi on 5. Really miss free sushi at the buffet. Cuts to entertainment staff have virtually eliminated arts and crafts. Is 86 daily sessions of trivia an upgrade?Taking show production in-house has left us with some very strange shows with unrecognizable music. Cutbacks in housekeeping mean my room might not be made up until late afternoon. Even my Elite laundry perc was cut back from 30 items to 20. And now comes the burger debacle ......

 

Despite all this I've never had a bad X cruise. Just seems each one is a little less special than the one before. Have two more X cruises booked then maybe time to try something new. Hopefully LLP hasn't messed with Galapagos.

 

Thanks for your thoughts. I was really looking forward to a rant, but you seem calm and reasonable (& right) to me. The only thing I would disagree with you on is the trivia. As a big trivia fan, I can tell you that there is less than before the drastic activity staff cutbacks of about 5 years ago. Most of the changes have come at an increased cost and a reduction of something that was previously included. I also like Celebrity a lot but less and less with each "improvement".

[richstowe]

I think some loyalists give credit for very positive changes that are not specific to their "brand" . Better smoking policies , many more affordable balcony cabins , lots more dining choices starting with non-fixed dining times , much smoother cruises due to fabulous stabilizers and huge ships, so many more cruises choices and so on and so on .

So yes there have been huge improvements it's just that these are not brand specific .

[starri]

Yeah, to me the smoking policy is a huge upgrade, and I say this as an ex-smoker.

 

Perhaps it's just something that comes from maturity, but current-day X is a product I like a lot more as an almost 40-something than the guy in his mid-20s who went on his first cruise on the Horizon in 2004. Before his first X cruise last year, my husband had only been on Carnival, and from about the first minute we walked onto the ship, he never wanted to do anything else.

[Hlitner]

Yeah, to me the smoking policy is a huge upgrade, and I say this as an ex-smoker.

 

Perhaps it's just something that comes from maturity, but current-day X is a product I like a lot more as an almost 40-something than the guy in his mid-20s who went on his first cruise on the Horizon in 2004. Before his first X cruise last year, my husband had only been on Carnival, and from about the first minute we walked onto the ship, he never wanted to do anything else.

 

If you are simply comparing Celebrity to Carnival...we agree that Celebrity is still the better overall product (but for how long?). But you should consider that there are at least 25 cruise lines (we have been on 14) each of which has pros and cons. Celebrity is in the process of eliminating many of their "pros" and increasing its cons. When DW and I first started cruising on Celebrity (back when they still had the old Meridian) we really liked the line. Over the years they kept improving their product (and their ships) and we were hooked. But since the era of LLP, things have been in a rapid decline coupled with major price increases. We are starting to question the price/benefit of cruising on X...versus several other cruise lines.

 

Hank

[grandgeezer]

I think Celebrity is the best mass market cruise line out there, but sometimes the best of mediocre isn't good enough for some people. The product, as currently offered, does not warrant us paying a premium price for a average trip. That Modern Luxury cruise line, ship has sailed, no pun intended.

[starri]

If you are simply comparing Celebrity to Carnival...we agree that Celebrity is still the better overall product (but for how long?). But you should consider that there are at least 25 cruise lines (we have been on 14) each of which has pros and cons. Celebrity is in the process of eliminating many of their "pros" and increasing its cons. When DW and I first started cruising on Celebrity (back when they still had the old Meridian) we really liked the line. Over the years they kept improving their product (and their ships) and we were hooked. But since the era of LLP, things have been in a rapid decline coupled with major price increases. We are starting to question the price/benefit of cruising on X...versus several other cruise lines.

 

Hank

For a good while, I would say.

 

Perhaps as a remnant from my days as a TA, I'm fascinated by the back-end business of the industry, and in this quiet time before I start my residency, I've been reading quite a bit of the other CC forums just to get a feel for what's been happening on the other lines. Looking over at CCL and RCI, I don't think we're being subjected to nearly so many little cutbacks as those lines have, from Carnival's new one-daily room servicing to RCI's decision to start charging a fee on all room service, no matter the time. And frankly, some of the photos of the food on a few of the other lines are downright unappetizing. I don't necessarily like how large the charges for the specialty restaurants are, but I think at least in the case of Murano, it's a decent return on investment. Tuscan, I'm not so sure about.

 

In any case, this is just unfortunately a model that a lot of the travel industry is going to be trying to follow, given how successfully the airlines have socked a fee onto everything, from checked bags to a halfway comfortable coach seat. There's just some psychological block where we gravitate towards a low price, even if we end up paying twice as much on the backend.

 

I currently find the value for what I get a fair exchange. Prior to the switchover of Michael's, I remember it being fairly empty (and apparently still is, for better or worse) even when everyone could use it. And I personally do not miss the lavish buffets at all, because while they may have been neat to look at, they were so wasteful given how little of the food was actually consumed.

 

If I get to the point that I don't think I'm getting my money's worth, I'll look elsewhere. But I can tell you that when we were looking around to get some ideas for next year (my 40th birthday), the nickel-and-diming turned us off RCI, as much as we wanted to try an Oasis-class ship, or stay close to home and go on the Anthem. However many little cuts X is (or is not) giving us, it's not nearly as bad as its big sister seems to have.

[DYKWIA]

I think some loyalists give credit for very positive changes that are not specific to their "brand" . Better smoking policies , many more affordable balcony cabins , lots more dining choices starting with non-fixed dining times , much smoother cruises due to fabulous stabilizers and huge ships, so many more cruises choices and so on and so on .

So yes there have been huge improvements it's just that these are not brand specific .

 

Good point re more affordable balcony cabins. If you look up the cruise lines that are sailing older ships (20 years plus) , where balcony cabins are limited to very limited, the prices those cruise lines charge for a balcony can be eye wateringly expensive - comparable in price to a suite on Celebrity. 8 nights British Cruise on Fred Olsen's Boudicca - just under £8000 for 2 on a ship over 40 years old, with all that entails.

 

My wife joked last night (well I hope for the sake of our marriage she was joking) let's do two weeks at Butlins Skegness (British Holiday camp in an old fashioned sea side town) - very basic canteen food , very very very basic accommodation (glorified huts) went on line out of curiosity and the price for 2 (half board, no drinks package or credit)........£3000. Suddenly Celebrity, even with the cutbacks, looks very good value for money !

Edited May 29, 2017 by DYKWIA

[caribill]

But since the era of LLP, things have been in a rapid decline coupled with major price increases.

 

Pricing depends very much on the timing of the booking.

 

We booked two cruises for later this year a year in advance.

 

 

Since then for the first cruise we have had two price reductions and the addition of an amenity. The current price is 27% higher than when we had out most recent price reduction.

 

The second cruise has increased in price 100% since we booked it. So what looked like a great price to us probably looks like a major price increase to someone booking that type cabin today.

[chamima]

For a good while, I would say.

 

Perhaps as a remnant from my days as a TA, I'm fascinated by the back-end business of the industry, and in this quiet time before I start my residency, I've been reading quite a bit of the other CC forums just to get a feel for what's been happening on the other lines. Looking over at CCL and RCI, I don't think we're being subjected to nearly so many little cutbacks as those lines have, from Carnival's new one-daily room servicing to RCI's decision to start charging a fee on all room service, no matter the time.

 

 

 

If I get to the point that I don't think I'm getting my money's worth, I'll look elsewhere. But I can tell you that when we were looking around to get some ideas for next year (my 40th birthday), the nickel-and-diming turned us off RCI, as much as we wanted to try an Oasis-class ship, or stay close to home and go on the Anthem. However many little cuts X is (or is not) giving us, it's not nearly as bad as its big sister seems to have.

 

 

Why are you comparing Celebrity to Carnival or RCI?

Isn't it supposed to be a step up from those lines?

If you compare it to Princess or Holland America or MCI I think that's a fairer comparison and those lines aren't instituting new fees or making any major cutbacks that I'm aware of.

 

I think it's smart for each cruiseline to have a "budget" line (RCI) where you pay less for basic service and then pay for amenities and then also have a more upscale line where you pay more in the beginning and the amenities are included.

Until recently that's what I thought Celebrity and RCI were doing.

Just not so sure any more. :(

[RedneckBob]

WOW!

 

Who knew a topic about charging for a hamburger could bring out so much discussion.

 

I put my 2nd two cents in. I wish Krystal would bring back the 10 cent burger. Last time they had it was 55 years ago.

 

Actually I can't believe Celebrity charges me anything to board their ships. They should be happy just to have the privilege of my company.

[hubofhockey]

Why are you comparing Celebrity to Carnival or RCI?

Isn't it supposed to be a step up from those lines?

If you compare it to Princess or Holland America or MCI I think that's a fairer comparison and those lines aren't instituting new fees or making any major cutbacks that I'm aware of.

 

I think it's smart for each cruiseline to have a "budget" line (RCI) where you pay less for basic service and then pay for amenities and then also have a more upscale line where you pay more in the beginning and the amenities are included.

Until recently that's what I thought Celebrity and RCI were doing.

Just not so sure any more. :(

 

I am paying much less for Celebrity, especially when you consider perks, than I would be for a comparable Princess cruise. Quite honestly, if you want to talk about cutting corners, talk about the lack of a central staircase on Princess newest class of ships or the tiny balconies. They had also planned on dueling glass pianos. All were were cut from final plans of the Royal Princess when the ship came in over budget. Waiting for elevators and then getting on very crowded elevators is no way to spend a vacation. You can complain about bad pool burgers all you want. If these are bad problems, I'm good with them. We'll be on our first Celebrity cruise in six weeks. I'm looking forward to the change. For future cruises, we have another booked with Celebrity and will try Oceania or Azamara down the line as well.