What would make you stop cruising on Celebrity?

[MISTER 67]

I wouldn't be surprised if there is eventually a charge for all meals in the MDR forcing passengers to dine in the more expensive restaurants or in the buffet.  That's when we will just look for other vacation options. 

Edited January 5, 2023 by MISTER 67

[cruisemom42]

I have been a cruiser for a very long time, and I am not going to stop being a cruiser. I do land travel as well, but cruising fills a different bucket for me (and not one that equates to a land-based AI either).

 

I've learned to never say never. All cruise lines have periods where they go up and periods where they go down in my own hierarchy of favorites. I've only ever permanently crossed one line off my list for consideration, although there are a couple more that would not figure very high....

 

I've no loyalty to any line -- well, not to any line still sailing. I've sailed off and on with X since 1997 in the Michel Roux days (definitely an "up") and then loved X all over again with the launch of the S-class ships, they still remain to me some of the most interesting and well thought out interiors of current ships sailing.

 

Right now, almost all lines are having to find ways to tighten the figurative belt. As some others have said, it's a matter of finding which ship still offers the best fit overall, given all available options.  I can't go back in time and enjoy cruises of the past. 

 

Since the restart, X has been at the top of my list, and I've cruised with them four times. This year I have cruises also booked on Oceania, Azamara, and HAL.  I like variety and usually am pretty good at enjoying the differences rather than lamenting them. Will X still be near the top of my list for 2024?  Remains to be seen...

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

18 minutes ago, MISTER 67 said:

I wouldn't be surprised if there is eventually a charge for all meals in the MDR forcing passengers to dine in the more expensive restaurants or in the buffet.  That's when we will just look for other vacation options. 

Issue 1:  The Buffet dinner options seems to be greatly reduced

Issue 2:  Specialty dining reservations can be very hard to come by once on board, lately it’s been 9pm on the last night and no other options besides getting into the no-show list.  Even the no show list presents problems because they call your room and leave a VM.  If you’re not in your room you’ll miss that opening.  Yet whenever you walk by and peak in, it appear only half the tables are occupied 

[Baron Barracuda]

When asked about X my standard response is since our first sailing (Zenith '93) we've never experienced a bad X cruise however under the LLP regime each one now feels a bit less special than the one before.  Just seems every time we board we discover some little nicety we enjoyed has disappeared.  Taken individually none of these losses are deal breakers but collectively they cause me to no longer consider X a premium cruise line.  We recently did a couple of sailings on Viking and found the food and service superior to X at a price that isn't much higher. 

[MarkWiltonM]

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

At least the ship won’t be totally asleep by 9 PM

Oceania ships are exceptionally quiet. Not a lot of activities. Most of the people who cruise with them want that peace and quiet, but it's not going to be to everyone's taste. 

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, MarkWiltonM said:

Oceania ships are exceptionally quiet. Not a lot of activities. Most of the people who cruise with them want that peace and quiet, but it's not going to be to everyone's taste. 

At 63 yo I'll be on my first O cruise in May.  I look forward to being the "youngen on board" and I look forward to being able to run to my room faster that everyone else for my 9:30pm bed time.

[terrydtx]

39 minutes ago, Baron Barracuda said:

We recently did a couple of sailings on Viking and found the food and service superior to X at a price that isn't much higher. 

Both Viking Ocean and Oceania are known for superior food and service and many friends I know who have cruise with either line will agree with me too. We sail in Celebrity suites primarily for the amenity of a smaller and better dinning venue in Luminae. After our cruise last August on the Reflection and the huge disappointments in Luminae, I can no longer say I book Celebrity suites for better food and service. I consider comparing an Oceania concierge level veranda cabin with a Celebrity Sky Suite to be apples to apples. Both Celebrity SS and the A1 veranda cabins on the newer O ships are about the same size. But where O wins out is the huge difference in food quality, plus all 5 specialty restaurants are included with no cover charges. I can if I want, have a whole cold-water lobster every night on Oceania at no extra charge. O has a concierge lounge on the new ships with drinks, snacks and concierge services are included. O now has shipboard Wi-Fi included at no charge. We booked our Oceania cruise with the bonus of wine and beer included with meals, and for $20pp per day we can upgrade to their unlimited Elite drinks package. I booked this week an 18-day South America cruise for 2025 on the O Marina in an A1 Concierge Verandah for $600pp less than   14 day Celebrity Sky Suite on the Equinox. Oceania cost per day $386pp, for a SS on Celebrity is $544pp per day that difference sealed the deal for us.

Edited January 5, 2023 by terrydtx

[SbbquilterUT]

We have Celebrity cruises booked for this year but also have RCCL transatlantic and Viking River.  Next year brings on a Viking Ocean South Pacific and Oceania 14 day - both new experiences that we are looking forward to.  Celebrity pricing has crept up enough to make those new cruise lines interesting to us as well as the smaller size ships and interesting itineraries.  Loved visiting Iceland, Ireland and Norway on the Apex in August but noticed even then reduced selection in the Oceanview during the day and particularly in the evening (seemed to be reheated from lunch with the exception of the stir fry and grilled meat station).  

Edited January 5, 2023 by SbbquilterUT
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[Bill Miller]

"When they pry that Boarding Pass from my cold dead hands."  

[TeaBag]

We have sailed on Celebrity for 29 years with a few other cruise lines in between.  We began to feel the decline when Celebrity introduced the AI pricing.  Someone is gong to say you can book cruise only.  I haven't found it for Aqua class.  I also dislike the way part of the ship is only accessible to suite class (Retreat area).

Lowering the standard we have become used to (yes even the TP someone wrote about) and raising prices chases us away for now.

We have enjoyed Celebrity in the past on our 35 cruises but we have no more booked.

We loved Azamara in July and have 3 more booked.

[blade3]

Eliminating the 6:00 Traditional Dining with the same waiters every evening may be a deal breaker. We'll see on our 1/7 Apex cruise. Our reservation states we have 6:00 Traditional dining, but have learned through Cruise Critic

(no notification from Celebrity- a sore point with me) that it's been eliminated. We have 52 cruises with various lines and enjoy the special little services of having the same waiters, and reward that with extra gratuities the last evening. We'll see how it all works out in just 2 days!

 

 

 

[C-Dragons]

54 minutes ago, Bill Miller said:

"When they pry that Boarding Pass from my cold dead hands."  

Best response! 😁

 

[TrueCruiseaholic]

21 minutes ago, blade3 said:

Eliminating the 6:00 Traditional Dining with the same waiters every evening may be a deal breaker. We'll see on our 1/7 Apex cruise. Our reservation states we have 6:00 Traditional dining, but have learned through Cruise Critic

(no notification from Celebrity- a sore point with me) that it's been eliminated. We have 52 cruises with various lines and enjoy the special little services of having the same waiters, and reward that with extra gratuities the last evening. We'll see how it all works out in just 2 days!

 

 

 

Yes. On Edge class, it is all open seating now. The only way to guarantee the same waiter is to go as early as possible. If it says the dining room is open at 5:30 that means it opens at 5:15 with people lining up at 5 or earlier. Late seating guests do not have, to my knowledge, a guaranteed way of having the same waiter every night. On Edge class, the expectation is that guests do not dine in the same restaurant every night (would get different waiters by default obviously).

[jakebloke]

If they start building ships with waterslides and go-karts and climbing walls and ice-skating et,, I'll be looking elsewhere.  I'd actually be in favor of Celebrity coming out with a line of adults only ships. 

[PTC DAWG]

2 hours ago, MarkWiltonM said:

Oceania ships are exceptionally quiet. Not a lot of activities. Most of the people who cruise with them want that peace and quiet, but it's not going to be to everyone's taste. 

I understand..choices are good. That just wouldn’t be my choice..but it may be many others choice. 

[PTC DAWG]

7 minutes ago, jakebloke said:

If they start building ships with waterslides and go-karts and climbing walls and ice-skating et,, I'll be looking elsewhere.  I'd actually be in favor of Celebrity coming out with a line of adults only ships. 

I’d be for that. 

[paulh84]

2 hours ago, Baron Barracuda said:

When asked about X my standard response is since our first sailing (Zenith '93) we've never experienced a bad X cruise however under the LLP regime each one now feels a bit less special than the one before.  Just seems every time we board we discover some little nicety we enjoyed has disappeared.  Taken individually none of these losses are deal breakers but collectively they cause me to no longer consider X a premium cruise line.  We recently did a couple of sailings on Viking and found the food and service superior to X at a price that isn't much higher. 

 

To be honest, any product/brand/vacation/resort that you have used consistently for 30 years is going to lose its sparkle. Eventually enough is enough, no matter how much you enjoy it....

[C-Dragons]

8 minutes ago, jakebloke said:

If they start building ships with waterslides and go-karts and climbing walls and ice-skating et,, I'll be looking elsewhere.  I'd actually be in favor of Celebrity coming out with a line of adults only ships. 

No worries. Amusement rides will never happen on X.

That's "sister" Royal's attraction. 😉 

 

[Mike981]

My wife and I have been talking about looking at other lines since our January 2020 cruise. Now add in that so many cruise lines are not giving the same service/food/experience they are known for, but their prices are still high or much higher, we are doing another staycation in a couple of weeks. It sure would be nice to get away from this tough Minnesota winter, it is only the fifth of January and we already have our yearly snow fall total of 47 inches. 

 

For those that continue to sail away, only the best wishes.

[LGW59]

6 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

 

To be honest, any product/brand/vacation/resort that you have used consistently for 30 years is going to lose its sparkle. Eventually enough is enough, no matter how much you enjoy it....

used consistently for 30 years is going to lose its sparkle.  This is exactly what my ex told me...

[zitsky]

I'd stop if they got rid of Aqua class.  It's nice having your own restaurant, access to the spa, etc.  We did an NCL cruise 5 years ago.  We got to use the suite restaurant and that made it all the more special.

[dlh015]

1 hour ago, jakebloke said:

If they start building ships with waterslides and go-karts and climbing walls and ice-skating et,, I'll be looking elsewhere.  I'd actually be in favor of Celebrity coming out with a line of adults only ships. 

Agree on both points...

[C4HCG]

39 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

 

To be honest, any product/brand/vacation/resort that you have used consistently for 30 years is going to lose its sparkle. Eventually enough is enough, no matter how much you enjoy it....

Spot on. We loved Orlando and did the long trek there for 20 odd years from the UK with kids. Then it got to the point when we got bored with some of the parks, was like going to the local shops. That said we still visit every year, just selective with the parks and drive down to Fort Lauderdale for our cruises. 

[Ken the cruiser]

We now cruise on Princess and NCL as well as Celebrity, depending on the itinerary. By doing this we will hopefully keep the excitement going while avoiding the "burned-out" phase which would seem inevitable for us if we only cruise on one line.

[upwarduk]

I don’t like the pricing adverts make you think the 2nd guest is getting 75% of. 
No.

When you go on to the 2 nd page of a booking, both passengers have highly inflated prices.

Then the 75% is taken off, so you go back to the original price.