Is Celebrity Sailing On Troubled Waters?

[bikerunner]

In no sense do I feel celebrity is in troubled waters.  Like many pointed out change happens, and some do not like it.  There are many cruise lines out there to make everyone happy for what there looking for.  Celebrity works for me the best especially for the Caribbean cruises which I like to do in the late fall early winter.  Its easier to complain then point out the great things, that is the nature of many.   

[Big_G]

As of late, we've been splitting time between Royal and Celebrity. While there are amenities on Royal that I miss when sailing Celebrity, I think Celebrity's suite experience is a better value than Royal's. Hence we sail both.

[boscobeans]

Sailing into troubled waters??

 

Yes there have been changes in every aspect of the Celebrity experience.

 

Many of which have been pointed out in the original post as well as the responses.     

 

Are they enough to cause disaster to Celebrity? NO, I don't think they will since the majority of policies can be stopped or changed at a moments notice.  All these things depend on the bottom dollar and their financial success or failure, which can be calculated to the penny.

 

The biggest risk Celebrity has taken and one which cannot be easily corrected is in the structural design of its two ships, the Edge and the Apex.

 

No matter what one thinks about entertainment, advertising, foot stools, décor or most things that I consider to be SOFTWARE, the HARDWARE is what I am worried about. 

 

Designing two, Billion dollar plus vessels with an entirely new concept of what has been an important part of cruising for several decades seems very risky. 

 

 Yes a great many passengers say they love the new concept of INFINITE VERANDAS,  but then there are many who state they will never book one, preferring the more traditional concept of a veranda.

 

Only time will tell how financially sound it was to build 2 ships designed from the keel up with only a very small relative percent of accommodations that sport what has been a very popular and sought after design feature, over one that is totally different. Why not put the new IV's on HALF the staterooms and test it out first?

 

Royal Caribbean sails two of its ships now with four separate and different style dining rooms all serving the same menu, relics of the defunct dynamic dining program.  I am sure it would have been much more cost effective not only to design and build but to implement as well and much less confusing than to stick with one traditional MDR.  Although this was an expensive lesson it was changed without too many changes to the actual structural design of the ship.

 

Will the SOFTWARE on Celebrity steer it into troubled water?  Not really because a change in course can easily be plotted and followed.

 

Will the new HARDWARE be successful and keep Celebrity sailing into financially sound seas and will it change the course of ship design going forward? Ask the bean counters. 

 

No matter what you think or like about Celebrity, enjoy each and every cruise, no matter what ship you sail on..

 

[Nymich]

I put my money where my mouth is.  The day after X reinstated the free movies I booked them again.  X does a lot of things right and will do fine with or without me.  I have to gauge what is important to me and that is exactly what I do.  That being said I am in love with no cruise line.  Booked on X, HAL, MSC, VV and Oceania and who knows what comes after that because I will be broke!

[Orator]

Much of the answer to this question will come with the next earnings report and the follow up conference call. There was a sharp reaction to the downside following the last report when RCL reported lower than expected bookings and increased fuel cost . Blamed lower bookings on hurricanes hitting during the prime booking season. 

Personally I believe that Celebrity is healthy and will remain so unless and until market saturation is reached. No problems so long as there are new cruisers to replaced pass passengers who move on. In fact, Celebrity benefits when Elites and above are replaced by new cruisers since the new cruisers don't require additional benefits. 

[Spif Barwunkel]

In keeping with the original intent of this thread, modified to include the many positives Celebrity has to offer (as suggested by mitz18, see post 5), how helpful and important are these discussions? I mention this because Bo1953 (see post 18), makes a very valid and important point. The participants on any given thread are just a tiny fraction of the total passenger count on any given cruise ship, much less an entire fleet. Add to that, if you look at the number of viewers - in some cases thousands -   compared to the number of respondents - in some cases not many - on each subject thread, the difference is quite significant.  Does this indicate that all is well and nothing needs changing, or what might be a valid concern is not worth mentioning and will probably go unnoticed. Those folks who are active on several threads obviously feel that their opinions are important and productive, as they should. And, for sure, these cruise critic discussions have been going for many years.

 

So, in keeping with the original intent of this thread, what are the positives and negatives of these forums? Are they beneficial to you? Are they beneficial to Celebrity....or any other cruise line for that matter?     

[Nymich]

4 hours ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

4 hours ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

 

 

So, Is Celebrity sailing on troubled waters, or is it just a slight chop that will soon subside? Let us know what you think! 

 

     

This is the question you asked everyone and that is what everyone has been answering.

 

     

 

[Spif Barwunkel]

12 minutes ago, Nymich said:

 

 

Edited October 7, 2019 by Spif Barwunkel
grammar

[Spif Barwunkel]

13 minutes ago, Nymich said:

 

That is correct and we are still going in that direction. However, there are other factors, as stated, that could affect the validity of a concern or potential problem. Just trying to tie it all together.

[ghstudio]

Not sure the waters are troubled.....but I keep running into past celebrity cruisers who are either trying different cruise lines or are doing other types of travel.  We sailed exclusively Celebrity for 10 years or so....now we have cruises booked on HAL, Oceania and Princess and only two on Celebrity and those two are because we are travelling with friends who picked those cruises.

 

The focus on new (suite) passengers vs repeat passengers seems to be working so far. If new cruiser bookings slow due to recession or whatever, that might be a problem as folks like us have discovered that Princess really is pretty good, etc.

[Cruise Junky]

I think Celebrity are going through a transformation, some will like it and some won't.  Those that don't will find a new home.

[floridatravelersforlife]

Troubled waters is such a subjective descriptor.  If they miscalculated, would they go bankrupt? -no, would they adjust their offerings and thrive - sure.  Celebrity and Royal took a big hit after 9/11 and did ok, by dropping pricing and offering value and promotions  The last six years, they gradually took back some of their  promotions and services which have been discussed thoroughly on this forum.  In general, we long time Celebrity veterans have a limited  runway to cruise and I cannot fault Celebrity to change with it's Customer base.  But for my DW and myself,  we will chase the other Cruiselines that offer up what we want to cling to and pay for.  From our travels we have seen many Celebrity "refugees"  since we voted with our wallet.

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

29 minutes ago, ghstudio said:

Not sure the waters are troubled.....but I keep running into past celebrity cruisers who are either trying different cruise lines or are doing other types of travel.  We sailed exclusively Celebrity for 10 years or so....now we have cruises booked on HAL, Oceania and Princess and only two on Celebrity and those two are because we are travelling with friends who picked those cruises.

 

The focus on new (suite) passengers vs repeat passengers seems to be working so far. If new cruiser bookings slow due to recession or whatever, that might be a problem as folks like us have discovered that Princess really is pretty good, etc.

Just as perspective, this trying new cruise lines thing is not unique to Celebrity. I have seen it on Disney (a pretty much Disney exclusive board for all things Disney - have not really gone on their board here) and when I was sailing on Royal on that one. 

[Mike981]

I tire of the "it ain't what it used to be" and said people are not willing to spend the extra $ for what they want/miss.

[Carnevale]

I have a different view on this as an X newbie.  We are about to do our first X cruise in a few days and I have to say I am worried.  I hope the onboard experience will be  better than what we have experienced so far.  The website is very poor and calls to X produce varied answers.  I am also concerned about the potential of being treated like a second class citizen by having only the classic Bev pkg given what I have read here about problems getting the small martinis in the Martini Bar.  

 

We have sailed 10 different lines to date so X will be number 11. I have never had as many worries about what we will experience onboard with any line in this pre-cruise period.  I am hoping this is all due to a greater tendency to focus on the negative here than on other boards and am planning on embarking with the view that things will be great....at least I sure hope so as we have another X cruise planned for next year.

[tce40]

You'll have a wonderful time!  Please tune out the naysayers.

[dkjretired]

I'm going to be a buzz kill with this thread.  OPs first and subsequent posts all seem like they're written by a Public Relations firm or even Celebrity  seeking information for whatever reason.   Maybe Celebrity, maybe another line, don't know, just seems very fishy to me.  

Edited October 7, 2019 by dkjretired

[tce40]

[Mike981]

38 minutes ago, Carnevale said:

I have a different view on this as an X newbie.  We are about to do our first X cruise in a few days and I have to say I am worried.  I hope the onboard experience will be  better than what we have experienced so far.  The website is very poor and calls to X produce varied answers.  I am also concerned about the potential of being treated like a second class citizen by having only the classic Bev pkg given what I have read here about problems getting the small martinis in the Martini Bar.  

 

We have sailed 10 different lines to date so X will be number 11. I have never had as many worries about what we will experience onboard with any line in this pre-cruise period.  I am hoping this is all due to a greater tendency to focus on the negative here than on other boards and am planning on embarking with the view that things will be great....at least I sure hope so as we have another X cruise planned for next year.

 

You will have a great time. Go with the right attitude and go with the flow. Most people who are negative are missing the memory of the 'days of old'.

[Nymich]

59 minutes ago, Carnevale said:

I have a different view on this as an X newbie.  We are about to do our first X cruise in a few days and I have to say I am worried.  I hope the onboard experience will be  better than what we have experienced so far.  The website is very poor and calls to X produce varied answers.  I am also concerned about the potential of being treated like a second class citizen by having only the classic Bev pkg given what I have read here about problems getting the small martinis in the Martini Bar.  

 

We have sailed 10 different lines to date so X will be number 11. I have never had as many worries about what we will experience onboard with any line in this pre-cruise period.  I am hoping this is all due to a greater tendency to focus on the negative here than on other boards and am planning on embarking with the view that things will be great....at least I sure hope so as we have another X cruise planned for next year.

Since you have been on 10 lines you know how to adapt and you will find what you like on X.  No doubts.

[Nymich]

25 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

I'm going to be a buzz kill with this thread.  OPs first and subsequent posts all seem like they're written by a Public Relations firm or even Celebrity  seeking information for whatever reason.   Maybe Celebrity, maybe another line, don't know, just seems very fishy to me.  

Well said it is a bizarre thread imo

[Georgia_Peaches]

15 minutes ago, dkjretired said:

I'm going to be a buzz kill with this thread.  OPs first and subsequent posts all seem like they're written by a Public Relations firm or even Celebrity  seeking information for whatever reason.   Maybe Celebrity, maybe another line, don't know, just seems very fishy to me.  

Even if that was the case...so what?  I mean, does it make the responses less valid?  If X decided to go to the trouble to start a thread as a means to gather information about what's not working (or what is), then doesn't that have the potential to make for a better experience for the customer?  I think the OP is a seasoned cruiser like many of the rest of us who is genuinely trying to start a discussion about a cruise line that lots of people hold in quite high esteem (or not).

I don't think Celebrity is heading for troubled waters but I do think that they have realized the market demographic has gotten younger and in order to attract that market, they are making some changes.  Perhaps they haven't nailed down what works yet, but with feedback, they will. We really enjoy Celebrity's suite product and have gotten to the point that we really only want to cruise in a suite.  Celebrity's suite prices have gotten quite expensive since our first Sky suite in 2015.  Right now, it's the over all pricing for suites that has me comparing Celebrity with other lines in order to see which one will give us the best value and experience for the money.  So far, NCL's Haven has an edge over Celebrity, IMO...and soon I'll have another comparison with MSC's Yacht Club.  

[dkjretired]

11 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Even if that was the case...so what?  I mean, does it make the responses less valid?  If X decided to go to the trouble to start a thread as a means to gather information about what's not working (or what is), then doesn't that have the potential to make for a better experience for the customer?  I think the OP is a seasoned cruiser like many of the rest of us who is genuinely trying to start a discussion about a cruise line that lots of people hold in quite high esteem (or not).

I don't think Celebrity is heading for troubled waters but I do think that they have realized the market demographic has gotten younger and in order to attract that market, they are making some changes.  Perhaps they haven't nailed down what works yet, but with feedback, they will. We really enjoy Celebrity's suite product and have gotten to the point that we really only want to cruise in a suite.  Celebrity's suite prices have gotten quite expensive since our first Sky suite in 2015.  Right now, it's the over all pricing for suites that has me comparing Celebrity with other lines in order to see which one will give us the best value and experience for the money.  So far, NCL's Haven has an edge over Celebrity, IMO...and soon I'll have another comparison with MSC's Yacht Club.  

 

Doesn’t make the responses less valid, but honesty is the best policy.

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 minute ago, dkjretired said:

 

Doesn’t make the responses less valid, but honesty is the best policy.

Not sure if OP is being dishonest but I do agree with you on that.  Point well taken.  ☺️

[GUT2407]

I’m happy to sail with them.