Not to pile on, but it’s bad…

[NMTraveller]

3 hours ago, BPCW said:

In my opinion, if X knows a ship is understaffed then don’t sell to capacity. I would think the luxury and great service mantras are way more important than some short term additional revenue…

I am not sure why X is downgrading their services and quality of food.  How are they going to sell Celebrity as a premium brand?

 

It seems like a short term monetary gain that will cost them in the long run.

[yknot13]

35 minutes ago, Nachosdelux said:

you would be mistaken.  Celebrity (and most of the cruise lines) are desperate for revenue and cost containment.  

 

I am a long time Celebrity fan, but it is not the same experience (outside of suite class.)  The cheerleaders on this board who defend Celebrity at all costs is ridiculous - "buss your own tables, ask for larger portions", etc etc.  You are paying for an expected level of service and quality which sadly, is no longer reliably there.

Wonderfully stated. Most folks work hard to pay for a vacation with an expected level of service, if one receives less than that then they are disappointed. This ultimately leads to change.

[alyssamma]

On 2/11/2023 at 8:25 PM, buckeye8810 said:

Since the start of the year, I know there’s been a lot of handwringing about the changes Celebrity has made. We just got back from a 10-night Eastern Caribbean…and I can confirm things are worse than before, in literally every way.

 

Ships are more crowded, and there’s clearly not enough staff to accommodate the increase in passengers. Food is significantly worse…and the wait staff was running around like their hair was on fire. Even in Murano, the food was disappointing. Not to mention several people in our group reported stomach issues on multiple days after dinner.
Unrelated, but it seemed like half the people on the ship were coughing and hacking, which probably means Covid was running rampant.

 

All in all, there’s no reason to pay premium prices for Celebrity anymore, because it’s no longer a premium brand. With the changes they’ve made, it’s not any different than NCL. Not saying I wouldn’t cruise with Celebrity again, but there’s no chance I would pay current prices. We felt ripped off, considering when we booked this cruise we were expecting the level of service from years past.

 

 

FWIW,  I'm on the Apex right now...loving every minute of it. The food is amazing, staff is quick and attentive (except slow at the martini bar as always)

 

The ship is kept spotless, plenty of areas to hang with people or to be alone.

 

Also here with friends who are sailing X for the first time...they love it too.

 

No clue where all this negativity comes from. I personally don't find it warranted.

[SusieAV8R]

1 hour ago, dock said:

All these poor reviews are very disheartening.

 

Everyone is upset about understaffing resulting in long wait times for service at bars, not enough roaming bar staff and long wait times during dinner service but I wonder how understaffing would impact safety in the event of an emergency. 

 

This is my concern and making us rethink our family cruise. 
 

 

Another view point:  we cruised X Dec. 27/2022 - Jan 9/2023 on Summit.  No surprise, the ship was at capacity.  We did not eat in MDR or Blu, but we did not encounter slow or overworked waiters where we did eat and we had plenty of time to chat with them and get to town them.  Bar service was generally very good, whether we were in OV or the martini bar.  The food seemed to be the same as pre-covid.  I have no understanding of the complaints about small food portions because I generally felt I had overeaten. 🙂. DH and I had a very positive experience; nothing like those who apparently did not enjoy their cruise.  Go with a positive mind set and make up your own mind.  (We have 60+ days booked on future cruises with X between now and Spring 2025 and are looking forward to our upcoming one in 58 days 🙂  )

[alyssamma]

1 hour ago, dock said:

All these poor reviews are very disheartening.

 

Everyone is upset about understaffing resulting in long wait times for service at bars, not enough roaming bar staff and long wait times during dinner service but I wonder how understaffing would impact safety in the event of an emergency. 

 

This is my concern and making us rethink our family cruise. 
 

 

What type of emergency do you mean? Like the ship sinking? Or do you mean a medical emergency?

[goofysmom99]

3 minutes ago, SusieAV8R said:

 We did not eat in MDR or Blu

Well that leaves Luminae, Tuscan, or Le Petit Chef.  Where did you eat?

[dock]

Don’t mean to be a  pessimist but referencing an emergency if needed to evacuate the ship. 
We have a few kids in our group so the parents are a bit anxious reading the comments about staffing issues .

 
 

 

[DingoMom]

1 hour ago, SusieAV8R said:

Another view point:  we cruised X Dec. 27/2022 - Jan 9/2023 on Summit. 🙂

Ms Susie, 

I love your posts, but with all due respect, I believe you were in a suite. And, if not, it appears EVERYTHING changed with ships that sailed AFTER Jan. 1, 2023, meaning that Holiday cruises did NOT have the current cutbacks.

[BermudaBound2014]

5 hours ago, weregoingcruising said:

The older Celebrity ships are staffed with a high percentage of first contract crew members. They’re just learning their duties.

That was not my experience. I sailed on the older Constellation a few weeks ago and not a single staff member I interacted with was new. In fact, Several bartenders were with celebrity pre-covid. Staff on the Connie are a well oiled machine. The best staff I have encountered and I’ve been sailing for nearly 40 years. 

[Cruising89143]

We were on the Solstice on the 12/03 sailing. An older ship…………………… We did not notice any new crew. They “ALL” went through their daily routines as normal. We did not feel that anyone was going through training. They were all professional, friendly and helpful and provided service with a smile. We did not notice anyone overworked or stressed. We also did not see a decline in service or quality overall. We will be back on X in about five weeks. Same ship. We will look for changes and report back. 

[gkbiiii]

16 hours ago, Sphynxlady said:

We are just off a b2b. On Equinox and it was pure joy. This was my 3rd cruise post Covid and first full ship. Crew was incredible and food was good. I am picky but  I never went hungry. We ate at Murano 6 times and both food and service were exceptional. I don’t know any restaurant on land that would give you an extra lobster free. Prices are my affordable max but so are prices at home. I have cruised Celebrity about 40 times and each one was wonderful. Wonderful is a tad different than perfect  Perfect rarely happens  in the real world. Lord willing I will get to cruise next year on the b2b we booked while on board.

Most "all inclusives & buffets."

[mcrcruiser]

The complaints are very similar to  post covid  on Holland America ,who we sail on more now because we can board from San Diego, our local  cruise port . We do have B2B on Soltice  this March  . We will decide  on X  when we sail   how things are in reality . We are Elie +  but candidly  we won't  fly any longer & X rarely sails from the world Cruise Center  in San Pedro ,Ca

[wineoclock]

We will be in AQ in May but are usually in a suite. Can no longer justify higher fares now we are both retired. I’m sure we will notice a difference.

 

The difference being I won’t have cooked the food, served or washed the dishes. I won’t have cleaned the bathroom or made the bed. That alone makes me a happy customer. 
 

However if price is right we will try a move up bid - if we succeed then grand. If not we are happy with our choices. 

[gordylad]

before we have cruised we normally have a look at some reviews and then after we have returned we wonder if the people posting "really bad reviews" have been on a different ship. But I suppose its all about ones expectations and the service they receive. So far we have been very lucky with all our Celebrity cruises because apart from a chicken being undercooked on the first night they have all went to plan....People pay good money for a celebrity cruise so they deserve quality service.

[C4HCG]

9 hours ago, Nachosdelux said:

you would be mistaken.  Celebrity (and most of the cruise lines) are desperate for revenue and cost containment.  

 

I am a long time Celebrity fan, but it is not the same experience (outside of suite class.)  The cheerleaders on this board who defend Celebrity at all costs is ridiculous - "buss your own tables, ask for larger portions", etc etc.  You are paying for an expected level of service and quality which sadly, is no longer reliably there.

Let people judge for themselves whether they are getting the expected level of service for what they pay, and those of us who are waiting to sail before we condemn Celebrity are not cheerleaders, we are people who have enjoyed Celebrity in the past and will form an opinion with first hand experience. I find the insinuation that we are cheerleaders insulting. 

[BPCW]

2 hours ago, C4HCG said:

Let people judge for themselves whether they are getting the expected level of service for what they pay, and those of us who are waiting to sail before we condemn Celebrity are not cheerleaders, we are people who have enjoyed Celebrity in the past and will form an opinion with first hand experience. I find the insinuation that we are cheerleaders insulting. 

I literally just did that and that was the post they were replying to.  I read the negativity towards the changes from people WHO ACTUALLY HAVE CRUISED since they were made. I waited until I had my own personal experience and gave people my honest assessment.  And to me, the changes (at least on the Millennium), were noticeable and not good but not bad enough for me to boycott X or anything dumb like that. But we will certainly shop around because we couldn’t tell many differences between X and RC or NCL that would be worth the premium. 

[TeeRick]

15 hours ago, oskidunker said:

There is pent up demand for cruising. Many have yet to experience the new normal.Lets see how full the ships   are in 2024 with bad food and poor service and high prices. I have 25 cruises on Princess. The last one was awful. Poor food small portions and awful service.  Wont cruise with Princess again. Mega ships not for me. Just took wonderful Oceania cruise. Likely will stay thereafter reading that Celebrity has copied Princess. My one Celebrity cruise in 2022 was great l Thatwas then . This is now. You have to be open to new cruise lines. 

Why do you think the demand for cruising will go away in 2024?  Bookings appear to be strong so far.  

[C4HCG]

42 minutes ago, BPCW said:

I literally just did that and that was the post they were replying to.  I read the negativity towards the changes from people WHO ACTUALLY HAVE CRUISED since they were made. I waited until I had my own personal experience and gave people my honest assessment.  And to me, the changes (at least on the Millennium), were noticeable and not good but not bad enough for me to boycott X or anything dumb like that. But we will certainly shop around because we couldn’t tell many differences between X and RC or NCL that would be worth the premium. 

Yep - I know that and posts from people who have sailed recently I like to read be they good or bad, so thanks for posting.

[manmachine]

I am an old radio guy who worked with a lot of nightclubs.  Old trick:  $20.00 cover, then quarter beers all night.  Part of the old trick:  instead of the five bartenders needed on that night, use 1 or 2.

 

Celebrity:  

 

1.  sell everyone an ‘unlimited’ drink package for a high price.  Even higher for top shelf.  Add tips on top.
 

2.  Sell everyone on prepaying tips.

 

3.  Have available specialty dining packages.

 

Second part of Celebrity trick:

 

1.  Cut back the staff at the bars.  Stock the top shelf in only a few bars, with limited hours.  Claim worldwide labor shortage and encourage extra tipping over and above what was charged already for tips.  ‘Encourage’ means bribes in order to get a drink.  Celebrity makes $.

 

2.  See #1 above.  Also, divert lots of prepaid tips to folks who never, ever were tipped before.  Pocket $.

 

3.  Make available ‘free’ (prepaid) food much worse, especially at dinner (when specialties are open) so folks ‘upgrade’ to speciality in order to get the same quality they got included before.  Also, don’t allow packages to make reservations ahead of time so best specialty restaurants are sold out and package folks have to go to lower tier.  Pocket $.

[TeeRick]

I understand differing opinions on things like MDR food quality and portions and variety since Jan.1 this year.  Seems to be a real thing right now.  And documented cutbacks in the OVC dinner selections for sure.

 

But I did cruise (on Equinox) Jan 21-30.  It was an excellent cruise.  Not just because I was in a suite but some here will say that.  But we were in many non-suite situations on board so I will comment on that.   Many folks here saying that the ships have reduced staff - but how is that opinion documented?  Is it a feeling?  Even if you have not cruised yet this year?    OK  we occasionally waited in line for drinks at the Martini Bar in early evening - quite normal .  On our cruise there was plenty of staff at Cafe al Bacio, every other bar, specialty restaurants, Guest Services, Shore Excursions, etc.  In fact the OCV in the morning and lunchtime had plenty of staff bussing tables, serving coffee, and managing the buffet items. The theatre had staff serving drinks without issue. There were plenty of staff cleaning every public area around the ship constantly.  The restrooms were almost always staffed (at mealtimes) and very clean.  I did not at all notice a dramatic lack of general staff on our cruise.  And I had my eyes open and ready to see it from reading all the comments here.   Is this reporting my experience? - or because it doesn't fit the negative narrative will it be called cheerleading?

[lhcruzin]

16 hours ago, Luvcrusn said:

Definitely it is not "beneath me" to remove plates of previous diners, however, I don't have sanitizer to clean the table, a towel to wipe the table or 2 extra hands to hold my plate of food while I do so. I also don't want to handle another passenger's dirty plates and cutlery and then eat without cleaning my hands, and then my food would be cold and or removed while I was doing it.

 

Edited February 13, 2023 by lhcruzin
Needs edit

[lhcruzin]

Exactly 

[rmalbers]

I think I've caught up on the comments.  I got off EQ last week and here are a few things I've noticed from the comments:  If you have not cruised X since Jan 1st then you really shouldn't rebut a comment from someone that has, it is truly different on X now.  I saw something on training:  I saw numerous people being trained in customer facing positions, a VERY good sign, they are bringing in more crew.  (Having said that, I have no idea if they are losing crew at the same time.)  I really had not seen anyone in training before on X, I think it might have been more behind the scenes, but not now, again, a very good sign.  Another thing I noticed on a detailed Edge review (from after Jan 1), they seemed to have a number of higher quality menu items that used to be on M and S class, not sure it that will change on E class or not but that also might be why there are some different options in some areas, it sure 'appears' like E class hasn't seen the food quality cuts yet, at least going by the pictures in the review.   Oh, another thing from the comments: I can tell that there are a lot of comments from people that have no idea what financial shape RCG is in,  they are not doing these cutbacks for the fun of it, they are doing them do survive, literally.  The change in interest rates is NOT going to help when they go to refinance their debt and need as much cash as they can get their hands on.  

Edited February 13, 2023 by rmalbers

[NMTraveller]

52 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

I understand differing opinions on things like MDR food quality and portions and variety since Jan.1 this year.  Seems to be a real thing right now.  And documented cutbacks in the OVC dinner selections for sure.

 

But I did cruise (on Equinox) Jan 21-30.  It was an excellent cruise.  Not just because I was in a suite but some here will say that.  But we were in many non-suite situations on board so I will comment on that.   Many folks here saying that the ships have reduced staff - but how is that opinion documented?  Is it a feeling?  Even if you have not cruised yet this year?    OK  we occasionally waited in line for drinks at the Martini Bar in early evening - quite normal .  On our cruise there was plenty of staff at Cafe al Bacio, every other bar, specialty restaurants, Guest Services, Shore Excursions, etc.  In fact the OCV in the morning and lunchtime had plenty of staff bussing tables, serving coffee, and managing the buffet items. The theatre had staff serving drinks without issue. There were plenty of staff cleaning every public area around the ship constantly.  The restrooms were almost always staffed (at mealtimes) and very clean.  I did not at all notice a dramatic lack of general staff on our cruise.  And I had my eyes open and ready to see it from reading all the comments here.   Is this reporting my experience? - or because it doesn't fit the negative narrative will it be called cheerleading?

All of the suite posters seem to be happy with Celebrity,  others not so much.

 

This also extends to E class as well.

 

The message of sail in a suite is not for everyone.

 

One could only imagine that X would not short staff luminae or other suite venues.

 

The biggest contributing factor for service, food, cabin from these posts is DID YOU SAIL IN A SUITE ....

 

Suite cruisers did not really have many cutbacks.

Edited February 13, 2023 by NMTraveller

[cwayne]

On 2/11/2023 at 10:56 PM, jelayne said:

For every OMG it is horrible post I find another post on some social media site that I just got off X ship and it was wonderful.  
 
Those of us who sailed just after the restart were treated to the luxury of small passenger loads and full staff.  Now on many ships that passenger load has increased and there are less crew, eventually it will balance out.  I’m not ready to scream “the sky is falling”.

We just completed an 11 day cruise on the Constellation and had a wonderful time and got plenty (too much) good food to eat. I truly do not understand all the "teeth gnashing" over some of these things. I had one woman tell me she was "furious" with Celebrity because there was no paper in the printer in the IT lounge.... We sailed twice last year after the restart, once on the Equinox and a Thanksgiving cruise (2021) on the Constellation and it was a luxury with the smaller passenger load, but we knew that wouldn't last.  I truly do not have time nor waste it on people who seem to take a cruise just so they can complain and as a friend of mine says "pick the flys... out of the pepper".  I like spending time with people who love to laugh and enjoy themselves.  Cruising is like living in a make believe world where everything is provided and you have no stress or worries. My memories are not of what I ate, but of the people we met and the laughs and good times we shared.   We booked a b2b on the Equinox for next January and can't wait as it will be our first b2b. If you're on that cruise please look for us at the martini bar around 4! Happy sailing!

Edited February 13, 2023 by cwayne