Fifteen Minutes won't change this

[hcat]

1 hour ago, RedIguana said:

Using the lowest class available to anyone on the ship vs passengers, sure. I believe today's crew cabins would roughly compare historically to second class on the old liners from photos I have seen. Minus a few modern amenities of course.

on the old liners, most cabins were quite spartan..luckily my family was able to score a double porthole view with all beds on the floor..no bunks!

[realnice46]

18 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

For the first time in many, many years this is what I see on the Celebrity website and I'm not sure it will change anytime soon.   High prices, E-class ships, a new definition of Always Included and the lack of longer itineraries have caused me to look else to send my vacation time.  I suspect there are many other cruisers in the same situation.

 

Maybe the new CEO will change the situation.

 

I agree with all the issues you mention. We too are looking at other brands, biggest reason longer Itineraries. I know younger people like the shorter cruises but we are retired and like 2 weeks or more.

 

[NMTraveller]

8 hours ago, hcat said:

Do you really believe anyone  on Celebrity is  actually in steerage clsss..? 

 

Just the IVs.  When you open the window those poor folks do not get any AC.  🤣

[dlh015]

Like most of the others here I'm afraid. I have a cruise on the Apex booked in April and about to be paid for...after that I have a couple cruises booked on other lines.

 

But I decided I just have to see the Apex for myself...and I know my DW will love the ship decor. And, strangely enough, we haven't done the western Caribbean so it's a go for us.

 

But that's it on the X bookings...all the bs of the past year really left a bad taste for us...sure hope things change back to some form of better... 

[Ipeeinthepools]

1 minute ago, dlh015 said:

Like most of the others here I'm afraid. I have a cruise on the Apex booked in April and about to be paid for...after that I have a couple cruises booked on other lines.

 

But I decided I just have to see the Apex for myself...and I know my DW will love the ship decor. And, strangely enough, we haven't done the western Caribbean so it's a go for us.

 

But that's it on the X bookings...all the bs of the past year really left a bad taste for us...sure hope things change back to some form of better... 

 

I hope you enjoy your time on the Apex.

[RichYak]

3 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

Just the IVs.  When you open the window those poor folks do not get any AC.  🤣

You mean, when the captain permits them to open the window… 😂

[Hawkstar33]

Yup. Only because I booked real early, do we have 6 booked till Feb of 2025.  We got the lower prices, and the perks, before SHTF...Unless a miracle happens, will be looking at further options...Just as we reached Elite Plus, and get the extra laundry bag. LOL 

[Ipeeinthepools]

3 minutes ago, Hawkstar33 said:

Yup. Only because I booked real early, do we have 6 booked till Feb of 2025.  We got the lower prices, and the perks, before SHTF...Unless a miracle happens, will be looking at further options...Just as we reached Elite Plus, and get the extra laundry bag. LOL 

 

You gotta love that extra bag of laundry.

[MamaFej]

6 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

FYI, as @Joker54 pointed out, the new CEO is RCG.  When they replaced LLP, they stripped the title of CEO so now Laura is only the new President, not the CEO

"The Boss title got downgraded, so I'm going to downgrade almost everyone's onboard experience! Muahahahaha!"

-LHB, probably

[bjahil47]

We are like you, first time in many years we do not have at least one cruise booked.  The prices are too high and the cutbacks and changes just keep coming.  Although, the RCL stock keeps going up!  It closed today at $ 120.47 which is about $90 more a share than when we bought it during the pandemic. 

[prmssk]

I don't quite relate to this thread and others like it and I think the reason is that I have never been loyal to a cruise line.  I book what fits us in the moment.  I like the variety of what each cruise line offers.  And because I cruise enough lines, I know that Celebrity is not alone.  Cuts are happening everywhere.  Plus maybe I never became completely used to any of those things many of you miss because we have cruised enough other lines.

 

For us, Celebrity is still fairly high on our list when we consider cruise lines.  They still meet a lot of our needs, interests, wants, etc.

 

I hope all of you looking elsewhere find what you are looking for whether it be land vacations, smaller ships, another mainstream cruise line, etc.  There are still a lot of great experiences to be had out there.  

[SkystheLimit]

We have our 15th Celebrity cruise booked and paid for on the Reflection in March.  Future Cruise Credits were the only reason for going ahead with the booking.  Hopefully, some of the drastic changes have slowed but we shall see.  

 

Shortened itineraries and the lack of a true balcony on the E-Class ships are driving factors for us.  We absolutely loved the layout of the original Solstice ships and the wonderful forward facing panoramic lounge.  We have cruises booked but just not on Celebrity after the Reflection cruise.

[Shadow9612]

14 hours ago, 39august said:

What really has kept us on X the past year is the non-smoking casino. 

Agreed... A definite plus.

[Smmessineo]

We have b2b next month on Ascent , then b2b2b on Eclipse for Iceland/Canada next summer. Then Xcel, first time  in Retreat , January 2026 . 

We have several others booked, but they aren't definite because the changes to X made us look at HAL and we have cruises booked with them also.

I am happy that the old  MDR menu is back, and a recent  Celebrity Blue Chip casino club change is promising for me, but the cat is out of the bag, and I've now discovered some awesome itineraries on HAL. That's a lot of my vacation $ that Celebrity won't see. 

I guess I appreciate them making me nervous enough to branch out 😆

[hcat]

we have 3 Celeb cruises booked right now..

 

We are quite OK with the IV cabins in E Class..we use it as added space.  We see no need to open and close the bi folds. so ours stay open.  We keep the  window closed except for photos or views  coming into a port.

 

However,  after we complete our ASCENT and APEX sailings, we will probably go back to S Class ships for a change of pace. They have alot to offer if refurbed and kept up to date.  Nicer thermal area, restaurants  and bars we have missed ( LCG), Ensemble Lounge..Passport Bar (?)  Nice ship layout, less walking back and forth.

 

We no longer consider Royal C ...the ships are too large and not a good fit  for us anymore.  If we stray..it will be to Cunard which provides a nice experience  and  a great spa with real T pool!

 

Not everyone is fleeing.. This happens every few years,  but interestingly quite a few return...If X improves the Retreat lounge area, Luminae and the overall  suite experience at the lower end..folks will be back!

[paulh84]

9 hours ago, prmssk said:

I don't quite relate to this thread and others like it and I think the reason is that I have never been loyal to a cruise line.  I book what fits us in the moment.  I like the variety of what each cruise line offers.  And because I cruise enough lines, I know that Celebrity is not alone.  Cuts are happening everywhere.  Plus maybe I never became completely used to any of those things many of you miss because we have cruised enough other lines.

 

For us, Celebrity is still fairly high on our list when we consider cruise lines.  They still meet a lot of our needs, interests, wants, etc.

 

I hope all of you looking elsewhere find what you are looking for whether it be land vacations, smaller ships, another mainstream cruise line, etc.  There are still a lot of great experiences to be had out there.  

 

Cruisers are a unique breed. Everything is very personal. As if a multi billion dollar company has a vendetta against them personally. 

 

Just like we shift and move on with jobs, houses, neighborhoods, cars, etc. your vacation preference probably does the same. No need to return to remind everyone of your departure. I haven't been on a Carnival cruise in 19 years yet still don't feel the need to routinely announce all of the reasons why it's not a fit for me. Move along........ 

[Tierun]

11 minutes ago, paulh84 said:

 

Cruisers are a unique breed. Everything is very personal. As if a multi billion dollar company has a vendetta against them personally. 

 

Just like we shift and move on with jobs, houses, neighborhoods, cars, etc. your vacation preference probably does the same. No need to return to remind everyone of your departure. I haven't been on a Carnival cruise in 19 years yet still don't feel the need to routinely announce all of the reasons why it's not a fit for me. Move along........ 

Cruisers spent lots of time and money building loyalty so it sucks losing those perks to “move along”.

 

DW and I last Apex and Summit back in ‘22. Since then we’ve sailed MSC 4 times using their status match offer, and once on Carnival Celebration. We are booked for Ascent and Reflection in April and May respectively. After that We’re going to try Virgin Voyages and then my guess is we’ll basically sail new ships across the various lines. We’ve mostly sailed new ships since the restart.

[lawk]

I was in the Beyond on a Transatlantic and absolutely loved it. Eden (for relaxation and cocktails) was a pleasure. And don’t get me started on how great the Rooftop Garden is! On a cruise of this nature, it was great to be able to sit close to the windows in my cabin during the day and gaze at the sea, opening the window if weather permitted. I loved it so much I booked another Transatlantic E-class cruise next year. 
it just shows, everyone’s tastes are different and we should be free to express our opinions on this board without facing denigrating comments. 

Edited December 9, 2023 by lawk

[NMTraveller]

On 12/8/2023 at 6:36 AM, 39august said:

NMTraveler I feel the same. You buy one cruise experience and then find the experience you get is NOT what you paid for.  First we lost our much better suite service, now we have lost the two wines that I and my husband most order; Decoy now $19 and Mer Loleil only by the bottle. I have been looking at Holland and if we book any other cruises after Jan. '25, that is where we will go. What really has kept us on X the past year is the non-smoking casino. 

The thing that I notice about HAL is that they have much better itineraries.  I have no need for a 7 day cruise.  If I am going to travel across the country or internationally I want a much longer cruise.