Is it time to exit the "X"?

[kiterp]

My recent cruise caused me to wonder about the direction Celebrity is headed. The Summit is a well maintained vessel with staff that is very friendly. The quality of the food was good.

There were, however, several areas of major concern. One, the dress code has become a total joke. Celebrity promotes itself as a "luxury" line but allows its passengers to dress inappropriately in various dining venues. Shorts, which are banned at dinner, were often noticed in the main dining room. Although tank tops and baseball caps are prohibited in the speciality dining rooms, patrons were wearing both when I ate in the Sushi on Five dining venue. Why have codes if they are never enforced? Two,they continue to downgrade the benefits offered to the Captain's Club higher tier members. They have a limited drink menu from 5 - 7 PM at the bars. This means you have about a 30 minute window to enjoy your benefit if you have the 5:30 PM seating. Wow, you spend tens of thousands of dollars for cruises and are given a 30 minute window! Three, they are beginning to recycle headliner entertainment. Three of the acts were the exact same ones we saw on the Constellation in February. Can't Celebrity offer a more diverse selection? Four, the entree selection number has been reduced as well as the serving sizes. Several nights saw only four selections for entrees when there used to be six or seven.

I am an Elite Plus CC member and this was my twentieth Celebrity cruise. I wonder if it is time to switch to Princess or other similar lines?

[suzyluvs2cruise]

5 minutes ago, kiterp said:

My recent cruise caused me to wonder about the direction Celebrity is headed. The Summit is a well maintained vessel with staff that is very friendly. The quality of the food was good.

There were, however, several areas of major concern. One, the dress code has become a total joke. Celebrity promotes itself as a "luxury" line but allows its passengers to dress inappropriately in various dining venues. Shorts, which are banned at dinner, were often noticed in the main dining room. Although tank tops and baseball caps are prohibited in the speciality dining rooms, patrons were wearing both when I ate in the Sushi on Five dining venue. Why have codes if they are never enforced? Two,they continue to downgrade the benefits offered to the Captain's Club higher tier members. They have a limited drink menu from 5 - 7 PM at the bars. This means you have about a 30 minute window to enjoy your benefit if you have the 5:30 PM seating. Wow, you spend tens of thousands of dollars for cruises and are given a 30 minute window! Three, they are beginning to recycle headliner entertainment. Three of the acts were the exact same ones we saw on the Constellation in February. Can't Celebrity offer a more diverse selection? Four, the entree selection number has been reduced as well as the serving sizes. Several nights saw only four selections for entrees when there used to be six or seven.

I am an Elite Plus CC member and this was my twentieth Celebrity cruise. I wonder if it is time to switch to Princess or other similar lines?

I think what's happening on Celebrity is happening on all the mainstream Cruise Lines as they work to recoup lost revenue incurred during the Pandemic. 

[RichYak]

6 minutes ago, kiterp said:

This means you have about a 30 minute window to enjoy your benefit if you have the 5:30 PM seating.

It's a 2 hour window. They don't lock the doors of the MDR and confine you. You can go to a bar between courses and carry in another drink.

Edited June 11, 2023 by RichYak
spelling error

[mahasamatman]

33 minutes ago, kiterp said:

Celebrity promotes itself as a "luxury" line but allows its passengers to dress inappropriately in various dining venues.

 

I don't see how "luxury" and dress codes are at all related. And just because Celebrity bills itself as luxury doesn't make it true. It's advertising - nothing more and nothing less. We all know they are a mid-range cruise line at the exact same level as Princess.

[Coastalrap]

29 minutes ago, kiterp said:

My recent cruise caused me to wonder about the direction Celebrity is headed. The Summit is a well maintained vessel with staff that is very friendly. The quality of the food was good.

There were, however, several areas of major concern. One, the dress code has become a total joke. Celebrity promotes itself as a "luxury" line but allows its passengers to dress inappropriately in various dining venues. Shorts, which are banned at dinner, were often noticed in the main dining room. Although tank tops and baseball caps are prohibited in the speciality dining rooms, patrons were wearing both when I ate in the Sushi on Five dining venue. Why have codes if they are never enforced? Two,they continue to downgrade the benefits offered to the Captain's Club higher tier members. They have a limited drink menu from 5 - 7 PM at the bars. This means you have about a 30 minute window to enjoy your benefit if you have the 5:30 PM seating. Wow, you spend tens of thousands of dollars for cruises and are given a 30 minute window! Three, they are beginning to recycle headliner entertainment. Three of the acts were the exact same ones we saw on the Constellation in February. Can't Celebrity offer a more diverse selection? Four, the entree selection number has been reduced as well as the serving sizes. Several nights saw only four selections for entrees when there used to be six or seven.

I am an Elite Plus CC member and this was my twentieth Celebrity cruise. I wonder if it is time to switch to Princess or other similar lines?

I agree, the 2 hour cocktail window is pretty bad, I prefer the way royal does it, 4 drinks on your card per day, doesn’t matter when or what. I think that as most people get the drink package, it makes less of a difference. As for the dining attire, I don’t let what people are wearing bother me.

[dreamer321]

If you read the Princess or Holland America Line board you will read the similar complaints you find on the X board. I sailed on Beyond in January and HAL's Koningdam in May and did extensive research on CC on both lines in preparation for each cruise. There is no such thing as the perfect cruise line.  

 

By the way, I had a wonderful time on both ships despite small deficiencies on both.  That won't let me stop sailing either if I find an interesting itinerary and the value of the cruise is worth it to me.

 

[SPacificbound]

43 minutes ago, kiterp said:

My recent cruise caused me to wonder about the direction Celebrity is headed. The Summit is a well maintained vessel with staff that is very friendly. The quality of the food was good.

There were, however, several areas of major concern. One, the dress code has become a total joke. Celebrity promotes itself as a "luxury" line but allows its passengers to dress inappropriately in various dining venues. Shorts, which are banned at dinner, were often noticed in the main dining room. Although tank tops and baseball caps are prohibited in the speciality dining rooms, patrons were wearing both when I ate in the Sushi on Five dining venue. Why have codes if they are never enforced? Two,they continue to downgrade the benefits offered to the Captain's Club higher tier members. They have a limited drink menu from 5 - 7 PM at the bars. This means you have about a 30 minute window to enjoy your benefit if you have the 5:30 PM seating. Wow, you spend tens of thousands of dollars for cruises and are given a 30 minute window! Three, they are beginning to recycle headliner entertainment. Three of the acts were the exact same ones we saw on the Constellation in February. Can't Celebrity offer a more diverse selection? Four, the entree selection number has been reduced as well as the serving sizes. Several nights saw only four selections for entrees when there used to be six or seven.

I am an Elite Plus CC member and this was my twentieth Celebrity cruise. I wonder if it is time to switch to Princess or other similar lines?

 

I suggest you move o Cunard, it sounds like they would be a better fit.

[NMTraveller]

That is a personal decision.  What line would you switch to?  We now get several of these posts per week.

Edited June 11, 2023 by NMTraveller

[artvlay]

1 hour ago, kiterp said:

My recent cruise caused me to wonder about the direction Celebrity is headed. The Summit is a well maintained vessel with staff that is very friendly. The quality of the food was good.

There were, however, several areas of major concern. One, the dress code has become a total joke. Celebrity promotes itself as a "luxury" line but allows its passengers to dress inappropriately in various dining venues. Shorts, which are banned at dinner, were often noticed in the main dining room. Although tank tops and baseball caps are prohibited in the speciality dining rooms, patrons were wearing both when I ate in the Sushi on Five dining venue. Why have codes if they are never enforced? Two,they continue to downgrade the benefits offered to the Captain's Club higher tier members. They have a limited drink menu from 5 - 7 PM at the bars. This means you have about a 30 minute window to enjoy your benefit if you have the 5:30 PM seating. Wow, you spend tens of thousands of dollars for cruises and are given a 30 minute window! Three, they are beginning to recycle headliner entertainment. Three of the acts were the exact same ones we saw on the Constellation in February. Can't Celebrity offer a more diverse selection? Four, the entree selection number has been reduced as well as the serving sizes. Several nights saw only four selections for entrees when there used to be six or seven.

I am an Elite Plus CC member and this was my twentieth Celebrity cruise. I wonder if it is time to switch to Princess or other similar lines?

I agree, as well as many as cruiser's we have met the same as you with the exception of the not enforced dress code. Yes they should enforce the rules, but they don't want to be bothered.

They are making cuts to increase their bottom line and know that a certain amount of customers will walk. I'm close to that point.

[WestLakeGirl]

The two hour window has been the same for many many years.  Nothing downgraded there.  

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, kiterp said:

My recent cruise caused me to wonder about the direction Celebrity is headed. The Summit is a well maintained vessel with staff that is very friendly. The quality of the food was good.

There were, however, several areas of major concern. One, the dress code has become a total joke. Celebrity promotes itself as a "luxury" line but allows its passengers to dress inappropriately in various dining venues. Shorts, which are banned at dinner, were often noticed in the main dining room. Although tank tops and baseball caps are prohibited in the speciality dining rooms, patrons were wearing both when I ate in the Sushi on Five dining venue. Why have codes if they are never enforced? Two,they continue to downgrade the benefits offered to the Captain's Club higher tier members. They have a limited drink menu from 5 - 7 PM at the bars. This means you have about a 30 minute window to enjoy your benefit if you have the 5:30 PM seating. Wow, you spend tens of thousands of dollars for cruises and are given a 30 minute window! Three, they are beginning to recycle headliner entertainment. Three of the acts were the exact same ones we saw on the Constellation in February. Can't Celebrity offer a more diverse selection? Four, the entree selection number has been reduced as well as the serving sizes. Several nights saw only four selections for entrees when there used to be six or seven.

I am an Elite Plus CC member and this was my twentieth Celebrity cruise. I wonder if it is time to switch to Princess or other similar lines?

We have found splitting our cruising across multiple cruise lines we enjoy, such as Princess and Celebrity and even NCL if the itinerary is awesome, has really helped to keep our cruising experience a new adventure on each cruise we go on. I will say Princess does have some unique itineraries, and we do have a lot of fun on them, especially when we’re able to book an M1 or higher cabin category. 😁

[mahdnc]

46 minutes ago, WestLakeGirl said:

The two hour window has been the same for many many years.  Nothing downgraded there.  

 

Yes, the two hour window is not new and is something we always managed around because we always had early seating.

 

To me, the downgrading with this is not having a portion of the Sky Lounge set aside for the Happy Hour anymore with the option for others that didn't want to be there to be able to get their drinks elsewhere. The hors d'oeuvres served there were a nice touch, too. It we also nice to talk to the Captain's Club Hostess there and meet other people.

 

I know it wasn't for everyone, but I miss it. 

 

Elite Happy Hour, Solstice Sky Lounge, Jan 1 2020, Tasman Sea

 

Solstice Captain's Club Hostess, Melissa

Edited June 11, 2023 by mahdnc

[jelayne]

The Happy Hour time has been the same for the 10years we have sailed on X.  We don’t go to the shows so that’s not anything that would turn us off, we do enjoy the variety of music in the various venues and that does change.  The menus and food offerings have been cut back and then some things added back, it is a time of flux but we have never gone hungry.

We do agree with the times the dress code isn’t enforced at dinner. I guess we are old fashioned but if we are dining at an outdoor restaurant, fast food place or a run of the mill chain then tshirts, ball caps,  shorts, tank tops are one thing.   When in a restaurant/dining room in the evening with a MaitreD, tablecloths and sommeliers I think the guests should be dressed at least as well as the wait staff. Old fashioned I know.

[Cruise Junky]

The other lines you mention are no better. Princess does not give you free drinks and doesn’t enforce their dress code. Free internet is gone from the perks. Elite you’ll get a mini bar set up in your room, that’s about it.  

[rxlowry]

I wrote a breakup post after my February cruise on NCL Encore so I know where you are coming from. I’m on Summit now and enjoying but it’s my first Celebrity cruise. 
It’s not a luxury cruise like Regent, Seabourn, or Crystal but it’s a step up from NCL to me. Maybe it’s time to try something new?

[sonnycruises]

3 hours ago, mahasamatman said:

 

I don't see how "luxury" and dress codes are at all related. And just because Celebrity bills itself as luxury doesn't make it true. It's advertising - nothing more and nothing less. We all know they are a mid-range cruise line at the exact same level as Princess.

Celebrity suites particularly on Edge class is not mid range in price or quality! Luminae and the retreat are luxury level experiences.

[montythecat]

I share most of the various criticisms of Celebrity which have been

identified which is why we now try and find itineraries we like on the

Pinnacle and Vista Class ships of Holland America. We are Elite

Plus but it doesn’t get us an awful lot apart from tender priority

which is always welcome. On the whole we reckon the restaurants 

and food are superior on HAL. The entertainment has been well

thought out by providing terrific music which suits us rather than

song and dance based theatre productions. To have a rock band,

two pianos and a classical quartet every night is unique. No other

cruise line has been so imaginative. On Pinnacle Class ships you

also get a blues/soul band. I hope HAL keep the classical quartet.

I am aware that there is a possibility they may be making changes.

The Dutch Cafe is another bonus. It is lovely and has interesting 

and good quality snacks and beers. We also much prefer The

Pinnacle Class ships of HAL rather than Celebrity’s Edge Class

which do not have a forward facing lounge for the majority of

their guests.

 

[chemmo]

6 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Yes, the two hour window is not new and is something we always managed around because we always had early seating.

 

To me, the downgrading with this is not having a portion of the Sky Lounge set aside for the Happy Hour anymore with the option for others that didn't want to be there to be able to get their drinks elsewhere. The hors d'oeuvres served there were a nice touch, too. It we also nice to talk to the Captain's Club Hostess there and meet other people.

 

I know it wasn't for everyone, but I miss it. 

 

Elite Happy Hour, Solstice Sky Lounge, Jan 1 2020, Tasman Sea

 

Solstice Captain's Club Hostess, Melissa

We invariably cruise in a suite with access to the Retreat Lounge and a drinks package but I miss the cocktail time in the Sky Lounge too. Whilst we didn’t go every night we would enjoy it a couple of times per cruise. We simply liked the venue with the views and by the nature of it being filled with other regular Celebrity cruisers you always enjoyed chatting with others. We had many happy conversations about cruises past and upcoming. I must confess I tried to avoid the hot nibbles, just too tempting when you are about to go and dine…

Edited June 11, 2023 by chemmo

[NutsAboutGolf]

7 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Yes, the two hour window is not new and is something we always managed around because we always had early seating.

 

To me, the downgrading with this is not having a portion of the Sky Lounge set aside for the Happy Hour anymore with the option for others that didn't want to be there to be able to get their drinks elsewhere. The hors d'oeuvres served there were a nice touch, too. It we also nice to talk to the Captain's Club Hostess there and meet other people.

 

I know it wasn't for everyone, but I miss it. 

 

Elite Happy Hour, Solstice Sky Lounge, Jan 1 2020, Tasman Sea

 

Solstice Captain's Club Hostess, Melissa

I’m sure the main reason for the change to most bars was to reduce staff and as a bonus, they save a few bucks by eliminating the hors d'oeuvres

[Mark_T]

MSC is delivering better value and suite class experience for us these days.

 

About 50% of the Retreat price and, in our opinion, a better level of service.

 

We still have a Japan cruise booked with Celebrity in 2025 in a Concierge class cabin, but it is certainly possible that we will replace it with MSC before we get there as it is on Millennium, and the non-suite experience on the revolutionized M class ships really isn't that great these days. (no Murano, no World Class bar, loss of the forward upper deck to  the Retreat Sun Deck)

[C4HCG]

10 hours ago, kiterp said:

My recent cruise caused me to wonder about the direction Celebrity is headed. The Summit is a well maintained vessel with staff that is very friendly. The quality of the food was good.

There were, however, several areas of major concern. One, the dress code has become a total joke. Celebrity promotes itself as a "luxury" line but allows its passengers to dress inappropriately in various dining venues. Shorts, which are banned at dinner, were often noticed in the main dining room. Although tank tops and baseball caps are prohibited in the speciality dining rooms, patrons were wearing both when I ate in the Sushi on Five dining venue. Why have codes if they are never enforced? Two,they continue to downgrade the benefits offered to the Captain's Club higher tier members. They have a limited drink menu from 5 - 7 PM at the bars. This means you have about a 30 minute window to enjoy your benefit if you have the 5:30 PM seating. Wow, you spend tens of thousands of dollars for cruises and are given a 30 minute window! Three, they are beginning to recycle headliner entertainment. Three of the acts were the exact same ones we saw on the Constellation in February. Can't Celebrity offer a more diverse selection? Four, the entree selection number has been reduced as well as the serving sizes. Several nights saw only four selections for entrees when there used to be six or seven.

I am an Elite Plus CC member and this was my twentieth Celebrity cruise. I wonder if it is time to switch to Princess or other similar lines?

Sounds like it’s the right time for you to try a change. Luckily we’ve not yet had to spend tens of thousands on a cruise and whilst I know they cost that for certain suites, the day we get quoted that for a non suite is the day we will stop cruising.

Edited June 11, 2023 by C4HCG

[Mark_K]

Personally, I consider free drinks for two hours, available in most bars, to be an upgrade over three drink tickets only usable in one venue.

 

Also, looking at some recent press material Celebrity doesn’t define itself as “luxury” but as “relaxed luxury”. 

[deliver42]

The dress codes on all mainline ships are suggested only. It's the same on Princess, HAL, etc. You will find more dress up on HAL than the other lines. All the lines also have their cutbacks. The grass isn't always greener on the other side. Good luck with your next choice.

[basenji56]

2 minutes ago, Mark_K said:

Personally, I consider free drinks for two hours, available in most bars, to be an upgrade over three drink tickets only usable in one venue.

 

 

What line has three drink tickets usable in one venue?

 

I know that the Royal Diamond benefit is four drinks usable in all venues all day.

 

[Mark_K]

Just now, basenji56 said:

What line has three drink tickets usable in one venue?

 

I know that the Royal Diamond benefit is four drinks usable in all venues all day.

 

That is what Celebrity’s perk for Elite status was before they went to the current one.  Three drink tickets only usable at a happy hour event usually held in the Sky Lounge, although if I remember correctly, there were also canapés, etc.