Celebrity is turning into a rip off

[Bo1953]

1 minute ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

There isn’t a balance, residents vote to limit ships/people and the government overrules them

Thank you for the follow up, to clarify my comment about balance is in the way of who wants what and when...

 

It is understood, at least by me, that the final decision on what happens in docking is a Government decision.

 

bon voyage

[zitsky]

3 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Thank you for the follow up, to clarify my comment about balance is in the way of who wants what and when...

 

It is understood, at least by me, that the final decision on what happens in docking is a Government decision.

 

bon voyage

Oh they want my money.  They just don’t want me.  Maui is beautiful but I don’t like to go where I’m not welcome.

[truckswain]

On 3/18/2024 at 9:19 AM, Avidcruiser321 said:

We have been on many Celebrity cruises over the years, but last one was pre-Covid.  We were on the second last cruise out of Ft Lauderdale before everything got shut down.  Since then we have been on HAL and Princess.

 

I just want to clarify - Celebrity is not BAD.  Far from it.  It's still great and we always have a great time.  But in our opinion it has slipped back.  Others experiences mat vary! 

 

And the whole point of this post was to vent about the price drop, not the shipboard services.  Hope that helps!.

So last Celebrity Cruise was late 2019, early 2020.  So not on a Celebrity Cruise in 4 years but in your opinion they have slipped back.  Can't fathom how you have come to this conclusion, but it is your opinion, which you are entitled to.

 

 

 

[NMTraveller]

7 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

There isn’t a balance, residents vote to limit ships/people and the government overrules them

The government wants their tax money...

[stevenr597]

10 hours ago, truckswain said:

So last Celebrity Cruise was late 2019, early 2020.  So not on a Celebrity Cruise in 4 years but in your opinion they have slipped back.  Can't fathom how you have come to this conclusion, but it is your opinion, which you are entitled to.

 

 

 

Sadly, since Covid many things are "not the same."  Prices are up, service is down; whether at home, or on a cruise. 

We have noticed on Celebrity in "Blu" that the variety of food on the menu is more limited, and actual size of portions have decreased.  On Princess we noted relatively slow service in the morning "making up the cabins."

But despite this, we are glad to be back at cruising, whether on Holland America, Celebrity or Princess.  

A bad day at sea is still better than a good day at work. 

 

[truckswain]

On 3/20/2024 at 9:35 AM, stevenr597 said:

Sadly, since Covid many things are "not the same."  Prices are up, service is down; whether at home, or on a cruise. 

We have noticed on Celebrity in "Blu" that the variety of food on the menu is more limited, and actual size of portions have decreased.  On Princess we noted relatively slow service in the morning "making up the cabins."

But despite this, we are glad to be back at cruising, whether on Holland America, Celebrity or Princess.  

A bad day at sea is still better than a good day at work. 

 

It is unfortunate that has been your experience.

 

We just returned from a 7 week cruise on the Ascent, Aqua Class, and this would be one of the best cruises we have had (we have have been cruising for 30 years).

 

The food in Blu was exceptional along with the service.  The service on the ship, entertainment and other food venues were outstanding.

 

The price was approximately $800 more than our Apex, Aqua Class cruise in 2022 (we were on the Beyond in 2023, but in the Retreat).  Given inflation and sailing on the newest Celebrity ship, I believe the increase was reasonable.

[JaneStarr]

On 3/14/2024 at 1:09 PM, miched said:

We recently did a MSC in Yacht Club, and the Retreat on Celebrity.   We booked 2 cruises on MSC and none on Celebrity.  We have 2 more already booked on Celebrity but when done we may not book anymore.    

 

On Celebrity we did not see any butlers.   The room attendant took their place.    In the past the butler would see you walking down the hall and would open your door.  See you carrying a drink and would carry it for you and insist on doing that.   We would normally ask for coffee in the morning to be delivered to the cabin.  It seemed to be more of a hassle and the one time we asked for it we felt as if we were annoying them.   MSC provided the service that Celebrity use to.  
 

Celebrity needs to up their game instead making more cuts with higher prices.  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

As of our March 2nd, 2024 Eclipse Sailing, dedicated butlers were returned to sky suites. Our friend in a corner aft Sky Suite had an amazing butler who had just been returned to that position. He had previously been demoted to a cabin attendant when they tried the failed renamed cabin steward/Retreat approach.

[Lois R]

3 hours ago, JaneStarr said:

As of our March 2nd, 2024 Eclipse Sailing, dedicated butlers were returned to sky suites. Our friend in a corner aft Sky Suite had an amazing butler who had just been returned to that position. He had previously been demoted to a cabin attendant when they tried the failed renamed cabin steward/Retreat approach.

Great post😃 I have a cruise on Eclipse in an aft corner sky suite coming up in the end of May😃

I am pretty low maintenance but glad to know this information.

[Lastdance]

5 hours ago, truckswain said:

It is unfortunate that has been your experience.

 

We just returned from a 7 week cruise on the Ascent, Aqua Class, and this would be one of the best cruises we have had (we have have been cruising for 30 years).

 

The food in Blu was exceptional along with the service.  The service on the ship, entertainment and other food venues were outstanding.

 

The price was approximately $800 more than our Apex, Aqua Class cruise in 2022 (we were on the Beyond in 2023, but in the Retreat).  Given inflation and sailing on the newest Celebrity ship, I believe the increase was reasonable.

I would expect nothing less from a brand new ship by Celebrity.  How wonderful that you were able to spend 7 weeks onboard.  Also, I would definitely agree with AQ not being priced out of the realm of reasonable for prices today either, along with cruising, in the Caribbean, and not Europe.  Makes perfect sense to me!  New ship + AQ + Caribbean + cabin and not suite + Blu- dedicated restaurant + 30 years of experience.🌎

Edited March 22 by Lastdance

[JaneStarr]

19 minutes ago, Lois R said:

Great post😃 I have a cruise on Eclipse in an aft corner sky suite coming up in the end of May😃

I am pretty low maintenance but glad to know this information.

They were in 1666. Butler’s name was Nick, I believe. They are also low maintenance but did host a cocktail party as we cruised through the Strait of Magellan. The butler did a great job! 

 

We were in CS 1618 and had a really amazing butler named Katarina from Montenegro. She was really proactive at finding ways to help us. We were traveling with a total of 16 people in 9 cabins. Only 4 of us were in suites. She helped us coordinate getting off the ship together to meet our private tour guide and transfer. We also had her help in hosting the group during our sail-away from Ushuaia and past the glaciers.Our stateroom attendant, Nyoman, was also incredible. Everything was always kept clean (even the paint chips that kept falling onto our balcony), yet we rarely saw him. He did his job well and was not underfoot.

As far as most of the rest of the staff, they all seemed to be trying hard but they didn’t seem to be experienced. CD, Manuel, was excellent. Didn’t ever see the Captain out and about. Officers weren’t very visible on this 12 night cruise.

We had a great time traveling with friends — old and new — and with our cruise agent.

 

Jane

Edited March 22 by JaneStarr
Typo

[stevenr597]

8 hours ago, truckswain said:

It is unfortunate that has been your experience.

 

We just returned from a 7 week cruise on the Ascent, Aqua Class, and this would be one of the best cruises we have had (we have have been cruising for 30 years).

 

The food in Blu was exceptional along with the service.  The service on the ship, entertainment and other food venues were outstanding.

 

The price was approximately $800 more than our Apex, Aqua Class cruise in 2022 (we were on the Beyond in 2023, but in the Retreat).  Given inflation and sailing on the newest Celebrity ship, I believe the increase was reasonable.

Glad to hear that you had a great experience.  Perhaps it was because you were on the “Edge” Class.  When we sailed on the Reflection, some of the crew told us that Celebrity was putting much effort into this class. 

Our experience was not limited to Celebrity, or even to cruising.  We have noticed higher prices and generally less service in hotels and restaurants.  We do feel that it will be some time to fully recover from the effects of Covid.

But like I said, a bad day cruising is still better than a great deal at work.  

[hcat]

16 hours ago, truckswain said:

It is unfortunate that has been your experience.

 

We just returned from a 7 week cruise on the Ascent, Aqua Class, and this would be one of the best cruises we have had (we have have been cruising for 30 years).

 

The food in Blu was exceptional along with the service.  The service on the ship, entertainment and other food venues were outstanding.

 

The price was approximately $800 more than our Apex, Aqua Class cruise in 2022 (we were on the Beyond in 2023, but in the Retreat).  Given inflation and sailing on the newest Celebrity ship, I believe the increase was reasonable.

We had a week on ASCENT in AQ class  (1/28) . X has stepped  up in quality once again in all areas, at least on this ship.We did not feel  "ripped off",  and felt we received good value for what we paid!

 

only negs were the crowded outdoor pool with loud music always,  and sports/ games all over during  daytime...  golf putting in  EDEN, curling in the Club, Pickle ball set up in Rooftop Garden area (plink plink).  But we managed to find some spaces where we could read and do our daily puzzles.. Cafe Baccio was very mellow..good service.

 

How lucky you were to have 7 weeks on  ASCENT in AQ  Class!  We also enjoyed Specialty Dining but thought BLU was exceptional!