Celebrity Follows in Paths ofOther Main line Cruise Lines

[cruisemom42]

31 minutes ago, deepcman said:

Lots of food choices but it all tasted the same and for me to pass on sweets, just says it all.

 

.....

 

It was so bad that once we recovered from the Covid that we caught on the ship, I called and cancelled the 6 cruises that we had booked with them.

 

Are you sure COVID didn't affect your sense of taste? 😉

[ABoatNerd]

5 minutes ago, cruisemom42 said:

 

Some of us already do this (as well as independent land travel to other countries) and have been doing it for years.

 

Does not replace cruising. At least not for me.

Indeed. I have seen the worlds places best seen by ship - Norway, Baltic, South America, South Vietnam, South Pacific Tahiti, Iceland and Greenland, the Arctic and Antarctica, so have moved on to land trips. Enjoy the land trips and immersing in locations and geography. It is wonderful you have a wide range of travel options; many people on CC are addicted to cruises, ie as we call it where I work, obedient consumers. Enjoy your travels and great weather always.

[CruiseRQA]

58 minutes ago, ABoatNerd said:

 

It depends upon what you want, but seeing and experiencing the world is better ashore.

I have never viewed cruising as "travel".   To me it's a vacation for relaxation.  Have always found the service on a cruise ship to be better than the best resort hotel.  

[Ken the cruiser]

We used to do our sightseeing around the US in a cabover camper and were stationed in Europe back in the 80s-90s, so we saw plenty of the European countryside. But once we retired and got hooked on cruising, we're now able to see the world and loving it. We realize the "cruising game" has changed again when it comes to getting the most bang for our buck when booking a cruise. But that's been the case ever since we started cruising back in 2012. Here are some of the changes we remember well prior to the pandemic:

 

1. In Dec 2015 when Celebrity changed their Loyalty points rule where you no longer would get the higher cabin's CC points, even if you paid the (reduced) upgrade rate. The reason I remember this is because we paid $650 in total to upgrade from an OV to a RS on a Nov 2015 Galapagos Xpedition cruise and were able to get 180 CC points rather than 50 as the change didn't take effect until Dec 1.

 

2. Refaring a Celebrity booking 3 times in one week about 4 years ago because they continued to lower the price of our cabin category because of their "supply and demand" strategy, which was probably based on a predefined computer algorithm.

 

3. We cruised with HAL 5 times before we realized we could refare a booking if the price had gone down prior to final payment. They later changed that rule to only allow "refundable" bookings, even if the drop in price happened prior to final payment.

 

4. Finding out well after our first Princess cruise that we could get Military OBC added to our onboard account, as we are both retired from the military, even though we directly booked the cruise with one of their reps.

 

5. When NCL changed the "included" gratuities charge for their optional "free" promotional beverage package in Jan 2018 to being an additional charge, which just went up again this month to around $22 pp/day. BTW this is only associated with their alcohol beverage package which does not include bottled (or boxed) water. The current stateroom DSC (gratuities) charge just went up as well to $20 or $25 pp/day, depending on if you are in a regular cabin (Inside to CB) or a full (Haven) suite (which BTW doesn't include the Butler's tip).

 

My point being is that the art of booking cruises is all about learning the ever evolving "rules of the game" each cruise line you want to sail with plays to remain profitable. 

 

Sure, all cruising lines are going through a big $$$ crunch right now, that's a given. And some can complain about the current adjustments the cruise lines are having to make in the dining, service and/or cabin pricing areas, to deal with those until they can get back to a more profitable footing. But that's not going to change anything. 

 

But, at the same time, there are ways to minimize those impacts if you truly enjoy cruising like we do. You just need to develop a strategy to counter theirs.

 

[Bo1953]

17 hours ago, LGW59 said:

It's OK, the pastries at Il Bacio are amazing, I spend more time there than I do in my room

Especially the vegan ones, when they are made... to order. LOL

 

Most of the time I Am in Al Bacio is when I Am having my Oolong tea and a Macallan for my afternoon down time... LOL

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

Edited January 8, 2023 by Bo1953

[LGW59]

32 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Especially the vegan ones, when they are made... to order. LOL

 

Most of the time I Am in Al Bacio is when I Am having my Oolong tea and a Macallan for my afternoon down time... LOL

 

bon appetit and bon voyage

Macallan oh I remember it well.  They did make a foam heart shape on my cappuccino for me and there was no up-charge for doing so, just a gratuity.

[the penguins]

18 hours ago, deepcman said:

I don't want to rain on your parade but got off the Enchanted Princess a few weeks ago and we experienced all the same issues that people are writing on these boards. Staffing shortages, few activities, poor service and poor food quality. Lots of food choices but it all tasted the same and for me to pass on sweets, just says it all. It was so bad that once we recovered from the Covid that we caught on the ship, I called and cancelled the 6 cruises that we had booked with them. Carnival's $28.5 billion debt load is forcing them to cut costs everywhere.

In the end I think you mat be changing 4 quarters for a dollar but live and learn. Good luck

Our main reason for the switch was the price - X's decision at the time to have compolsary AI resulted in us and many others cancelling. X  acknowledged their mistake as early as December 2021 but took until September 2022 to almost completely remove the "compolsary" part. Just Aqua and above now have no choice.

[Germancruiser]

Oh yes- cutbacks started well before Covid reared it´s ugly head. During Covid I strayed- to the German Tui cruises- there simply was no other cruise line sailing - and they sailed out of Germany- so a train ride was suffice to get there. Tui is like X- very very similar.

I needed a cruise and so a i took the opportunity to check them out. Great ships, great food, wonderful staff and I will never go back again- why? To many Germans ( all German in fact) - I prefer a more international group.

 

Then my next try- MSC - not a single American Brand was sailing at this time. They had great offers for their Yacht Club- so I tried that. Loved it. Did a again a few month later.

 

BUT as soon as one leaves the Yacht Club area- you can really feel the difference between X- and MSC.

Feel, hear, see... the difference.

Sometimes outside the YC it felt like a 3 rate camp ground. ( No offence ment for many " Happy Campers")

So even with all the cutbacks- which I find bearable- X- is , in my opinion,  still the best cruise line to choose. So due to Covid I have now three cruise lines to choose from:  MSC ( ONLY YC) , X- and my beloved Cunard.