There are still many Pros for cruising Celebrity but what are the Cons

[Thameside]

Just returned from a cruise on Constellation out of Tampa. There were still many Pros, but I am going to give you my take on the Cons. I have cruised on Celebrity Silouette twice since covid before this cruise and they were both very similar experiences as before covid only with very reduced numbers onboard.

The ship, especially the cabins, need some work but I expected this as it was due for a refit. Public areas were good generally.
The food overall was not up to standard in Blu, MDR and OVC. I understand the need to cut back on waste but some portion sizes need to be looked at. The standard NY strip was very thin and the rare appearance of Lobster was so small it didn’t have much more meat than a large shrimp and a complete waste of time, especially as they charge an extra $15.95 if you would like an additional one in the MDR. All meat and fish portions were reduced and there was a lack of good vegetables. There is now a charge of $9.95 for room service, other than for continental breakfast, which would be acceptable if you could order from the MDR menu in the evening as before, but you can not and only the limited room service menu is available. OVC was very limited in the evenings, even on this fairly full sailing, but I supposed you could just about get something you found acceptable. Our cabin servicing was well under par, and not vacuumed once during our cruise. It was no where near ready when we arrived onboard and even after a return visit was missing many items including a robe, bath towels, flannels and slippers. Our bags were very slow arriving and even 5 hours after checking in I had to go to the staff elevator to find and retrieve them. It did seem that they were very much under staffed, probably because of the larger number of guests than usual. Our cabin steward was still making up rooms until 2.p.m. some days. 
if this was a taste of things to come, I think my cruising days are over, or I will have to upgrade to one of the more expensive lines and hope that they have not also dropped their standards.

 

 

[Pickels]

6 hours ago, Thameside said:

Just returned from a cruise on Constellation out of Tampa. There were still many Pros, but I am going to give you my take on the Cons. I have cruised on Celebrity Silouette twice since covid before this cruise and they were both very similar experiences as before covid only with very reduced numbers onboard.

The ship, especially the cabins, need some work but I expected this as it was due for a refit. Public areas were good generally.
The food overall was not up to standard in Blu, MDR and OVC. I understand the need to cut back on waste but some portion sizes need to be looked at. The standard NY strip was very thin and the rare appearance of Lobster was so small it didn’t have much more meat than a large shrimp and a complete waste of time, especially as they charge an extra $15.95 if you would like an additional one in the MDR. All meat and fish portions were reduced and there was a lack of good vegetables. There is now a charge of $9.95 for room service, other than for continental breakfast, which would be acceptable if you could order from the MDR menu in the evening as before, but you can not and only the limited room service menu is available. OVC was very limited in the evenings, even on this fairly full sailing, but I supposed you could just about get something you found acceptable. Our cabin servicing was well under par, and not vacuumed once during our cruise. It was no where near ready when we arrived onboard and even after a return visit was missing many items including a robe, bath towels, flannels and slippers. Our bags were very slow arriving and even 5 hours after checking in I had to go to the staff elevator to find and retrieve them. It did seem that they were very much under staffed, probably because of the larger number of guests than usual. Our cabin steward was still making up rooms until 2.p.m. some days. 
if this was a taste of things to come, I think my cruising days are over, or I will have to upgrade to one of the more expensive lines and hope that they have not also dropped their standards.

 

 

Great!  Then there will be room for the wife and I on our next Celebrity cruise. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

7 hours ago, Thameside said:

Just returned from a cruise on Constellation out of Tampa. There were still many Pros, but I am going to give you my take on the Cons. I have cruised on Celebrity Silouette twice since covid before this cruise and they were both very similar experiences as before covid only with very reduced numbers onboard.

The ship, especially the cabins, need some work but I expected this as it was due for a refit. Public areas were good generally.
The food overall was not up to standard in Blu, MDR and OVC. I understand the need to cut back on waste but some portion sizes need to be looked at. The standard NY strip was very thin and the rare appearance of Lobster was so small it didn’t have much more meat than a large shrimp and a complete waste of time, especially as they charge an extra $15.95 if you would like an additional one in the MDR. All meat and fish portions were reduced and there was a lack of good vegetables. There is now a charge of $9.95 for room service, other than for continental breakfast, which would be acceptable if you could order from the MDR menu in the evening as before, but you can not and only the limited room service menu is available. OVC was very limited in the evenings, even on this fairly full sailing, but I supposed you could just about get something you found acceptable. Our cabin servicing was well under par, and not vacuumed once during our cruise. It was no where near ready when we arrived onboard and even after a return visit was missing many items including a robe, bath towels, flannels and slippers. Our bags were very slow arriving and even 5 hours after checking in I had to go to the staff elevator to find and retrieve them. It did seem that they were very much under staffed, probably because of the larger number of guests than usual. Our cabin steward was still making up rooms until 2.p.m. some days. 
if this was a taste of things to come, I think my cruising days are over, or I will have to upgrade to one of the more expensive lines and hope that they have not also dropped their standards.

 

 

$16.95 + 18%

[MarkWiltonM]

Those are some significant negatives. Food is very important on a cruise. I don't blame you for looking at other options. We cruise in veranda cabins and have found Oceania's fares to be close to Celebrity's or not much more. The food is a bit better and more consistent but it is a small ship without a ton of activities. Depends on what you like. We currently have 3 Oceania and 3 Celebrity cruises scheduled. A couple of those are booked around the same time and will be either/or depending on how our next cruises on the two lines go. 

[JSR]

We have taken many Celebrity cruises though non post Covid. In the past we found the newer the ship the better the service. Not always but in general. They tend to move their veteran  staff to the new ship. 
recently with have tried Silversea and Cunard QM2. We like SS for port intensive cruises, the food is too notch quality however, the dishes lack creativity in the main dining room and speciality restaurants varied from excellent to ok, the cabins are excellent even in the lowest cat., however the entertainment is almost non existent and fair at best and our ‘butler’ aka cabin steward did an excellent job on cleanliness but that was about it as she was spread too thin. . QM2 is a bit beat up inside but was a lot of fun on a transatlantic, food in Queen’s Grill was outstanding. 
After years of sticking to Royal and Celeb we are on mission to expand our horizons. It’s fun. 

[TeeRick]

@Thameside your comments on the food are very similar to what others have said recently - several threads on this here on the Celebrity board.

[D. B.]

I will be on Conne in May for 14 nights and I Hope X makes positive changes by then?

 We have booked our First cruises on Azamara and Oceania this year to see what else is out there after 20+ Celebrity cruises. 2 Of my Favorite things on X are the Entertainment and daytime activities.

 If I'm not impresses with those on other cruise lines I will stay with X even with the changes in other areas.

[cw2go]

@Thameside Thank you for taking the time to report on your experience. I hope you find the vacation style that works best for you. 

 

Patty 

[Arizona Wildcat]

The portion sizes have gotten steadily smaller.   Absolutely agree that the steak barely qualifies.  We solved smaller portions long before covid be stating when ordering exactly what we wanted.  12 shrimp in a shrimp cocktail- appeared without asking again.

Cabin not made up when we board is again nothing new.  We simply go get something to eat followed by finding a quiet place to read.  If on a new ship we explore.  By 2pm at the latest always ready.  And luggage totally varies.  Since Celebrity is not allowed to load luggage onto the ship; arrival times have sometimes been early evening in pre covid days.

Have not experienced your issue with cabin service, I know our steward on our last cruise often waited until 11am for several to go to eat.  So 2pm was when he usually finished - partially because of lots of children and daily bed up & down.

And comparing similar lines - X, Princess, HAL - not much difference.   If short staff or passengers at capacity things are challenging.   The reverse applies as well.

[Thameside]

17 hours ago, Pickels said:

Great!  Then there will be room for the wife and I on our next Celebrity cruise. 

Hmm!

[cementhands]

We’re over 65 now and used to love Celebrity but unfortunately our last 2 cruises on Equionox and Eclipse were boring! Elite status and we enjoyed our perks but the evening lacked activities so we’ve been enjoying NCL recently. Over 20,000 steps a day in dancing activities with live music Latin duo in sugarcane mojitos bar and reggae band and Motown not to mention elaborate nightly theme parties at spice H20 outside.
I’m glad I enjoyed celebrity before all the karaoke and silent disco as that is boring and cheap entertainment. And in 10 years we might be back but while we can move it we’re going to! Move it or lose it!

[dock]

Thank you for your review. 
It seems to be on par with many others. 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

1 hour ago, cementhands said:

We’re over 65 now and used to love Celebrity but unfortunately our last 2 cruises on Equionox and Eclipse were boring! Elite status and we enjoyed our perks but the evening lacked activities so we’ve been enjoying NCL recently. Over 20,000 steps a day in dancing activities with live music Latin duo in sugarcane mojitos bar and reggae band and Motown not to mention elaborate nightly theme parties at spice H20 outside.
I’m glad I enjoyed celebrity before all the karaoke and silent disco as that is boring and cheap entertainment. And in 10 years we might be back but while we can move it we’re going to! Move it or lose it!

 

100% agree.  X has always been bring your own entertainment because they don't provide much.  Even their one nightly show (same show is shown twice) like the musical Broken Strings, is played fleet wide so if you go on multiple sailings you expect to the exact same show

[Orator]

I believe that the non Suite passenger is no longer important to Celebrity. The demographics of the passengers has shifted toward the "new realities" The bean counted have won! The class system is alive and well at Celebrity. So far they have been rewarded by their shift in focus. I just wonder if they will be winners in there long run?

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, Orator said:

I believe that the non Suite passenger is no longer important to Celebrity. The demographics of the passengers has shifted toward the "new realities" The bean counted have won! The class system is alive and well at Celebrity. So far they have been rewarded by their shift in focus. I just wonder if they will be winners in there long run?

But the vast majority of the passengers on any ship are not in suites.  The non-suite passenger makes up for most of their revenue.  The far fewer suite passengers do give them more profit per cabin than the non-suite passengers.  That is for sure.

[actuarian]

On 2/6/2023 at 11:38 AM, NutsAboutGolf said:

$16.95 + 18%

That amount only applies if you order a second lobster tail in the MDR. You can still order a lobster tail plus a second entree that is not lobster and there is no additional charge for that.  IMHO, the lobster tail plus the lamb chops (or sometimes rack-of-lamb) that are usually available on lobster night make a great combination.

[actuarian]

1 hour ago, TeeRick said:

But the vast majority of the passengers on any ship are not in suites.  The non-suite passenger makes up for most of their revenue.  The far fewer suite passengers do give them more profit per cabin than the non-suite passengers.  That is for sure.

It is certainly true that "the vast majority of the passengers on any ship are not in suites". Nevertheless, I am pretty sure that the largest share of the profit does come from suite passengers. I read an analysis of this that applied to NCL's Haven passengers but I cannot think of any reason why it would not apply to Celebrity also. Similarly, it is well known among accountants that airlines make nearly all of the profit that they make from from long haul flights from the relatively small number of business class passengers. They only break even on the other classes of service.

[NutsAboutGolf]

3 minutes ago, actuarian said:

That amount only applies if you order a second lobster tail in the MDR. You can still order a lobster tail plus a second entree that is not lobster and there is no additional charge for that.  IMHO, the lobster tail plus the lamb chops (or sometimes rack-of-lamb) that are usually available on lobster night make a great combination.

 

Correct, I was correcting the amount.  On lobster night they used to have beef wellington (filet mignon), some are reporting that's now gone.  Reported options on lobster night are Duck a L'Orange, Lamb Provencal, Haddock and Risotto

[Thameside]

Just to confirm that there was filet mignon on the same night as lobster in Blu and it was quite acceptable to have both. One fellow quest in Blu also had two lobster tails without extra charge, but I said before they were tiny and I mean tiny.

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, actuarian said:

It is certainly true that "the vast majority of the passengers on any ship are not in suites". Nevertheless, I am pretty sure that the largest share of the profit does come from suite passengers. I read an analysis of this that applied to NCL's Haven passengers but I cannot think of any reason why it would not apply to Celebrity also. Similarly, it is well known among accountants that airlines make nearly all of the profit that they make from from long haul flights from the relatively small number of business class passengers. They only break even on the other classes of service.

 

Absolutely agree.  @TeeRick is welcome to provide more context.  While suite guests have more dedicated crew, X is still paying a minimal amount for labor unlike US Airlines.  Every single X ship gets more and more suites, the yet to be named (rumored to be Pinnacle) 5th E-Class has only had two details released, that construction has started and it will have the most suites on an X ship.  Why would they increase suite staterooms if they're less profitable?  Why even partner with MoveUp is selling discount suites is less profitable?  We also have to remember that most reduced capacity sailings still sail with nearly fully booked suites

 

 

[NutsAboutGolf]

40 minutes ago, Thameside said:

Just to confirm that there was filet mignon on the same night as lobster in Blu and it was quite acceptable to have both. One fellow quest in Blu also had two lobster tails without extra charge, but I said before they were tiny and I mean tiny.

 

Yes, this is accurate for those dining in Blu.  On a typical 7 night sailing in Blu you can expect Filet Mignon twice and no additional charges for multiple lobster tails.  In AQ despite having an expanded clean cuisine room service menu, you still pay the room service charge of $9.95 + 18%, which seems like no one put any thought into that one and just greenlighted the RS fee for every stateroom but suites.  AQ should be excluded from the RS fee

[Married90]

1 hour ago, Thameside said:

Just to confirm that there was filet mignon on the same night as lobster in Blu and it was quite acceptable to have both. One fellow quest in Blu also had two lobster tails without extra charge, but I said before they were tiny and I mean tiny.

Yep but not any more for the rest of us in steerage.  Why do I get the feeling that we have come full circle to the days of the titanic with first, second, and third class passengers.  The class systems at its best...  🙂 

[NutsAboutGolf]

21 minutes ago, Married90 said:

Yep but not any more for the rest of us in steerage.  Why do I get the feeling that we have come full circle to the days of the titanic with first, second, and third class passengers.  The class systems at its best...  🙂 

 

I feel like it's been that way for a while now, you have suite guests who get the Retreat and Luminae, AQ guest who get Blu and spa access and everyone else

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Absolutely agree.  @TeeRick is welcome to provide more context.  While suite guests have more dedicated crew, X is still paying a minimal amount for labor unlike US Airlines.  Every single X ship gets more and more suites, the yet to be named (rumored to be Pinnacle) 5th E-Class has only had two details released, that construction has started and it will have the most suites on an X ship.  Why would they increase suite staterooms if they're less profitable?  Why even partner with MoveUp is selling discount suites is less profitable?  We also have to remember that most reduced capacity sailings still sail with nearly fully booked suites

 

 

I honestly wish they would put the 5th E-class ship on indefinite hold and just work on current problems.  To me building another ship is insane right now.

[mpdog42]

On 2/6/2023 at 7:30 AM, Pickels said:

Great!  Then there will be room for the wife and I on our next Celebrity cruise. 

 

On 2/6/2023 at 1:08 AM, Thameside said:

Just returned from a cruise on Constellation out of Tampa. There were still many Pros, but I am going to give you my take on the Cons. I have cruised on Celebrity Silouette twice since covid before this cruise and they were both very similar experiences as before covid only with very reduced numbers onboard.

The ship, especially the cabins, need some work but I expected this as it was due for a refit. Public areas were good generally.
The food overall was not up to standard in Blu, MDR and OVC. I understand the need to cut back on waste but some portion sizes need to be looked at. The standard NY strip was very thin and the rare appearance of Lobster was so small it didn’t have much more meat than a large shrimp and a complete waste of time, especially as they charge an extra $15.95 if you would like an additional one in the MDR. All meat and fish portions were reduced and there was a lack of good vegetables. There is now a charge of $9.95 for room service, other than for continental breakfast, which would be acceptable if you could order from the MDR menu in the evening as before, but you can not and only the limited room service menu is available. OVC was very limited in the evenings, even on this fairly full sailing, but I supposed you could just about get something you found acceptable. Our cabin servicing was well under par, and not vacuumed once during our cruise. It was no where near ready when we arrived onboard and even after a return visit was missing many items including a robe, bath towels, flannels and slippers. Our bags were very slow arriving and even 5 hours after checking in I had to go to the staff elevator to find and retrieve them. It did seem that they were very much under staffed, probably because of the larger number of guests than usual. Our cabin steward was still making up rooms until 2.p.m. some days. 
if this was a taste of things to come, I think my cruising days are over, or I will have to upgrade to one of the more expensive lines and hope that they have not also dropped their standards.

 

 

Thanks you for your honest review!