Is Celebrity loosing it's luster? I hope not.

[Tatka]

Cruised recently on Princess Diamond and cant wait to be back on Celebrity.

We did consecutive Celebrity Silhouette and Royal Princess for Christmas and New Year 2016/2017 and found both highly enjoyable and both with great points and not so great.

Overall they are both our #1 lines.

[hcat]

I keep seeing folks mention that some offerings and certain entertainment options that used to be free now come with a fee. Could you possibly be more specific. The only specific reference I've seen so far on this thread was in regards to the gourmet burgers at poolside that are now $9.95 which I think is pretty weird. Are there any good events that you now have to pay a fee for?

 

Wine tasting, elegant tea ( if still offered), some nightime parties, most exercise classes....specialty dining MUCH higher cost, sushi moved to a fee based venue....

 

No more nightime buffet, chocolate buffet or special brunch,..no food at gen Cap Club get together.....

[NLH Arizona]

Wine tasting, elegant tea ( if still offered), some nightime parties, most exercise classes....specialty dining MUCH higher cost, sushi moved to a fee based venue....

What nightime parties? I'm looking at the Celebrity Todays from my January cruise and none of the nightime events, other then port wine tasting, have a fee. Also, there isn't a elegant tea (from what I was told it was not well attended), but they do have afternoon tea with snacks at 4:00 and it is free.

[C 2 C]

A few years ago I started a thread about the "good old times".

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2025143

 

We still cruise on Celebrity about 4 months of the year even though the product is much different than when we first cruised with X over 20 years ago.

 

Is the experience different? Yes

Is it better? No

The ships are larger, more ostentatious, but the intimacy and ambiance is not better.

The entertainment is much worse and excellent more by accident than design.

We miss the dedicated dance lounge aka: Rendezvous.

We miss the fantastic Filipino party bands. On Silhouette the karaoke was better.

 

 

We continue to cruise with Celebrity because the staff is outstanding, and perks for frequent cruisers are the best in the industry.

 

Celebrity continues to provide us with our ocean side condo, our home away from home, warts and all.

[Hlitner]

I might get flamed for this, but we do think that Celebrity has lost some of its luster. Furthermore, we think its a deliberate strategy of Celebrity's CEO...who made it pretty clear (when she moved to Celebrity from RCI) that she was going to make changes in terms of pricing and some onboard services. We cruise a lot (often over 100 days a year) and do not believe in "loyalty." For us, any cruise line is only as good as its current product. On Celebrity, starting in the past three years, we have noticed many cut-backs which vary from tiny things (like taking unlimited bottled water away from Aqua Class) to major (obvious cut backs in cuisine), As a long time cruiser (over forty years) who has been on many lines, we change our own cruising habits to take advantage of the current cruise situation. In the past few weeks we have booked 57 new cruise days (for next year)...which does not include a single day of Celebrity. We will likely book another 50 or so days for 2018....and may not include a single Celebrity cruise. This would be the first time in years that we would not have included Celebrity in our future plans. Why? Because we have had better recent experience on some other mass market lines (HAL and Princess). And for the first time, we are planning on cruising with MSC (in their Yacht Club) which will replace what would have been a Celebrity cruise.

 

Perhaps we are wrong...and perhaps Celebrity is not going down as fast as we think. We do have 21 days on the Reflection later this year...and if that experience proves us wrong we will certainly book more X. But we just noticed a recent post on the Reflection where the poster claimed they had to wait 20-40 minutes every night to get seated in open dining. Was this a fluke? Was it because of staff cut backs? Was it because the MDR has become smaller as the result of Lumanae? We don't know...but will see how it goes when we are on that ship in a few months. Our last 3 X cruises have been in Aqua Class....and after our last 2 cruises (in Aqua) we finally decided that Blu was no longer up to our expectations. Hence for the Reflection we simply booked a Concierge Class cabin and will likely use some of the savings (compared to Aqua) to dine in more of the alternative restaurants. We do think that Murano has always been among the best venues at sea...and we also enjoy Qsine (although this is not a place you want to dine often).. The Tuscan has been hit/miss with usually a big miss. And we have not dined in Lawn for years so we shall see.

 

As to Celebrity shows...it has become Karaoke. No more live bands at most shows....and all the tracks are laid down stateside in a studio. Some of the Guest Entertainers are excellent. But other entertainment is not so good...or has totally disappeared. And Celebrity has taken away from most passengers to give to the suites. Michael's is no longer open to the masses. Part of the MDR has been walled-off from the masses. Blasting loud music (noise) in many public venues (and the pool deck) is now OK? Having add on extra charges in alternative restaurants.(i.e. Tuscan) ..where one is already paying extra is another issue.

 

We have enjoyed Celebrity since the days of the long gone Meridian, Horizon, and Zenith. The company positioned itself as the classier more upscale alternative to RCI and did a great job developing a base of frequent cruisers. But now, we are starting to think that LLP could care less about retaining the long term customers....and would now prefer to seek a new younger market....who might spend a few more dollars per passenger day. For us its not a big deal as we simply more on to other lines (we have already cruised on 14 lines over forty+ years). I end this post by hoping that I am totally wrong...that our last two disappointing cruises were just a fluke...and all is fine. We shall see.

 

Hank

[Lorey2007]

Thank you all for your great responses! Personally, I know we'll have a great time on our fall cruise on the Eclipse, especially since I read a thread the other day that explained how to plug our portable dvd player into the cabin's tv. We always take a few seasons of some Star Trek series to

 

Would I be able to watch movies from my laptop that has a DVD drive by connecting it the same way to the cabin's TV? If so how is it connected.

[C 2 C]

Would I be able to watch movies from my laptop that has a DVD drive by connecting it the same way to the cabin's TV? If so how is it connected.

 

In days gone by we would not think of providing our entertainment on a cruise ship.

 

This is just an indication that passengers are providing their own entertainment when alternatives are lacking. I do not mean this as a criticism of your post but as an example of what we do as well, bring our laptops to live as we do at home. We are never bored but Celebrity could do something to entice us to their various forms of entertainment that does not involve watching bartenders mix martinis (even though I do enjoy their product).

 

 

Hank.. I agree but we won't sample other products until we hit the next milestone in February.

Let us know how your cruises compare.

[Ken the cruiser]

Would I be able to watch movies from my laptop that has a DVD drive by connecting it the same way to the cabin's TV? If so how is it connected.

This is exactly what the person said:

 

"I have a Sony portable dvd player which only has AV outputs. I connected these to my AV to HDMI converter box. I removed the Celebrity HDMI plug from the back of the TV (which was in HDMI port 2) and plugged in my HDMI cable from my Sony setup. Voila! Works instantly and perfectly. To go back to the ship's TV, just reinstall the Celebrity HDMI cable."

 

Hope this helps. Seems pretty simple.

[hcat]

What nightime parties? I'm looking at the Celebrity Todays from my January cruise and none of the nightime events, other then port wine tasting, have a fee. Also, there isn't a elegant tea (from what I was told it was not well attended), but they do have afternoon tea with snacks at 4:00 and it is free.

 

Fee charged for Liquid in Solarium , other food and interactive events in the former wine venue...quite a few over the years.... most not popular so perhaps abandoned or now no extra charge ...because of the alc packages.....seems all revolves around alcohol these days. Plus .extra for sushi, the Gastro pub, now pool burgers.

 

Staff hawking stuff all the time...

 

What they do at 4 pm is really not close to being an elegant tea as previously done on X and perhaps still offered to E plus..

 

 

..we still enjoy our cruising but know it is not the same great value as in the past....we enjoy what we can...but miss alot...white nights, special buffets, parties etc.

[hcat]

Agree 100% with Arno and Hank

 

If they ever bring on a Jimmy Buffet style guitarist or a real island band for a Carib cruise, I will jump for joy..The good bands went to other lines. They then had 1 steel drum singer in carib cruises.....then on Reflection, we were greeted upon boarding by NO bubbly, an awful Miami DJ and a bang bang bongo player.. downhill from there but better on our last 2 cruises...

 

But LLP can't ruin our balcony view and love of the salt air, beautiful night sky and the wonderful sea!

[Ken the cruiser]

On our upcoming 25 day Eclipse cruise we are in an aft-facing C1 cabin. In Jan 2019 we've booked a 21 day Caribbean cruise on the Reflection in an aft-facing Sky Suite because the price was just too good to pass up. It will be interesting to see the difference with sailing in a concierge class cabin versus a suite class cabin. From what we've read, the difference seems quite considerable, especially when it comes to dinig. From the way it sounds it will be like sailing on Norwegian in the Haven versus in a veranda with the masses.

[NLH Arizona]

Fee charged for Liquid in Solarium , other food and interactive events in the former wine venue...quite a few over the years.... most not popular so perhaps abandoned or now no extra charge ...because of the alc packages.....seems all revolves around alcohol these days. Plus .extra for sushi, the Gastro pub, now pool burgers.

 

Staff hawking stuff all the time...

 

What they do at 4 pm is really not close to being an elegant tea as previously done on X and perhaps still offered to E plus..

 

..we still enjoy our cruising but know it is not the same great value as in the past....we enjoy what we can...but miss alot...white nights, special buffets, parties etc.

I certainly understand that some don't like the changes and would rather have it like it was in the past (when I started cruising), but I don't miss a lot of the things. I went to the elegant tea with some tablemates many, many years ago and there were five people there and I understand that it doesn't really make financial sense to go to all the trouble and cost (1) for five people and (2) to throw food away. I went to the midnight buffet on my first ever cruise (not on Celebrity) and never went back; too late to eat. Went to the lunch buffet once, because tablemates raved about it and all I saw was a bunch of folks that acted like they hadn't eaten in years and food falling on the floor. I've had a burger at the Mast Grill, but I don't cruise for any particular food, well, maybe the French onion soup, I would rather go into the buffet and get something and bring it to the pool.

 

On my last cruise, I was never hawked. I might have been asked once or twice, but a nice "no thank you" and walked away. Were there things listed in the Celebrity Today that hawked items or services, sure, but I didn't have to attend and I didn't.

 

Are there things that I miss, sure, I loved when they escourted you to your cabin, I'll miss the can of diet Coke with the Classic dining package that I would take to my cabin, but I can find my own cabin and I'll make do without a can, but there hasn't been anything big enough to make me dislike Celebrity as much as some on here and they will still be 1/3 of the lines I cruise on and even though some old timers (as in cruising Celebrity for years, not age) don't see the value, I still do.

 

I truly hope that those that have issues find a cruise line that better suits their likes and wants, because everyone should spend their money on something that they truly enjoy.

[ChucktownSteve]

But LLP can't ruin our balcony view and love of the salt air, beautiful night sky and the wonderful sea!

 

I hear she's been working on that. Give her time. :D

[luv2travel06]

We have been cruising for many years, and we both always still get a thrill when we walk up that gangway to board.

I love it no matter what. It is what it is.

Helaine

 

 

Absolutely agree!

 

And...

....still get a thrill when we sail into port, even if it is St. Thomas, where we have been so many times before.

 

....still get a thrill when we sail out of a port toward tomorrow's adventure.

 

....still get a thrill docked at a port as we enjoy our lunch with spectacular views.

 

....still get a thrill watching the sun set into the sea every night even though we live close enough to watch the sun set into one of the Great Lakes every night.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Host Jazzbeau]

Our first Celebrity cruise was on Summit in 2012. They had the famous sea day Grand Brunch -- what a waste! Granted some people seemed to salivate all over it [disgusting allusion intentional :evilsmile:] -- or else they had flown in Coxie's Army for the occasion [historical allusion for those of us who went to school when they still taught history ;p] -- but the food wasn't that good, the range of offerings did not go together well, and the amount of wasted food [both from over-piled plates that didn't earn membership in the 'clean plate club' and what was left on the serving tables at the end] was a terrible use of the world's resources. Frankly I'm glad that one is gone. [A similar event at midnight would have been even worse -- unless I could have gotten the franchise to sell Tagamet and Tums at 1 am!]

[2Fltravelers]

What nightime parties? I'm looking at the Celebrity Todays from my January cruise and none of the nightime events, other then port wine tasting, have a fee. Also, there isn't a elegant tea (from what I was told it was not well attended), but they do have afternoon tea with snacks at 4:00 and it is free.

 

There is also a wine tasting and tea if you are Elite or higher that is no-fee but the quality of that has diminished.

[NLH Arizona]

There is also a wine tasting and tea if you are Elite or higher that is no-fee but the quality of that has diminished.

Thanks, I didn't bring my elite list home, only the Celebrity Todays.

[The_Big_M]

Our first Celebrity cruise was on Summit in 2012. They had the famous sea day Grand Brunch -- what a waste! Granted some people seemed to salivate all over it [disgusting allusion intentional :evilsmile:] -- or else they had flown in Coxie's Army for the occasion [historical allusion for those of us who went to school when they still taught history ;p] -- but the food wasn't that good, the range of offerings did not go together well, and the amount of wasted food [both from over-piled plates that didn't earn membership in the 'clean plate club' and what was left on the serving tables at the end] was a terrible use of the world's resources. Frankly I'm glad that one is gone. [A similar event at midnight would have been even worse -- unless I could have gotten the franchise to sell Tagamet and Tums at 1 am!]

 

The thing is when they had the midnight buffet, the food was of a higher quality, the dishes were different from those at other times, and they had food art e.g. the ice and fruit carvings and incredible baked goods; it was like a German baked goods village setting. It was another 'event,' and something special to see, not just an eating opportunity.

 

It was more like going out to a dessert place after a nice evening of entertainment. People generally didn't pig out but appreciated the special occasion and treat from what I observed. Lots of photography.

 

I didn't get why they went to the lunch brunch you mentioned; it was the same stuff as in the buffet so there was no real reason to go, but it just resulted in a lot of effort for repeated waste for those so inclined. It seemed to be just an excuse to simplify their food, menu and times, while still "saying" they had the buffet. I agree it was no loss when it went - just go to the oceanview café for the same!

[NLH Arizona]

The thing is when they had the midnight buffet, the food was of a higher quality, the dishes were different from those at other times, and they had food art e.g. the ice and fruit carvings and incredible baked goods; it was like a German baked goods village setting. It was another 'event,' and something special to see, not just an eating opportunity.

Is there any line out there that still has the midnight buffet?

[Ken the cruiser]

Is there any line out there that still has the midnight buffet?

It seems to me HAL still has one that opens at 11 pm for an hour or so, but that's way too late for us to eat.

[wallie5446]

we're curious if there is any truth to what we're generally hearing about Celebrity cruises? Of course no one ever gives specifics, only general feelings of displeasure.

We have sailed Celebrity since 1994, this yr will be our 4th yr in a row with Celebrity, and 3rd straight yr on the Equinox. So I guess we would give specifics that it has not nor is loosing its luster.

EW

[Ken the cruiser]

We have sailed Celebrity since 1994, this yr will be our 4th yr in a row with Celebrity, and 3rd straight yr on the Equinox. So I guess we would give specifics that it has not nor is loosing its luster.

EW

Sounds like you love X. We met a lady on our Crystal cruise last month that has cruised on the Serenity for the last 9 years straight. The only time she has not had a room on the ship is when it either went into dry dock or was charted out and she wasn't allow to stay aboard. When we finally give up the farm, full time cruising sounds like a lot of fun!

[Luvcrusn]

There is also a wine tasting and tea if you are Elite or higher that is no-fee but the quality of that has diminished.

I believe that the wine tasting is also available to Select Captains Club members as well.

[ChucktownSteve]

There have been a lot of misses on Celebrity the last couple of years as evidenced by countless threads and comments (not just from me ;p)

 

Does anyone know who or what's causing all of this. It doesn't appear to be restricted to one ship. There are nuggets of great crew that have to deal with it. However I get the impression even they're getting tired of it.

[tartan cruiser]

I know alot has been changing on all cruise lines but the canned soda on the classic package is the one that really grinds me the wrong way. It seems purely a money grab. Especially when you have to pay full price for a can of soda. Part of the appeal of the drink package is to not have to haul soda on board. I can get all the beer and mixed drinks I want at 2 -3 times the price of a can of soda but can't get a $3 can. Just leaves a bad taste in my mouth.(No pun intended from fountain soda).