Changes in Celebrity in past 7 years

[bbappel]

Our last Celebrity cruise was in 2017. We have booked a cruise for September 2025. What has changed on Celebrity since then? 
What improvements?
What unfortunate changes?

Not a judgment call, just a query so I can manage my expectations.

 

Thanks.

[1Virgo]

Many changes since Covid, as with other lines

.. no welcome glass of champagne 

Positive. Muster Drill can be done in App or in room on tv

Balconies.. Footstools removed and now   loungers removed

Fruit in room, gone

Canapes gone unless requested and only suite class

Seems no matter which category you booked, amenities like shampoo etc are a huge pump bottle

Wines that were in Premium moved to a Plus category, then some back. Do watch though. Some have a $2 + gratuity per glass

There is way more. But focusing on positive. The Staff/crew.  They are awesome

 

If you scroll through, there are many changes. Having said that, we booked 1 more but are considering options

[keesar]

37 minutes ago, 1Virgo said:

Many changes since Covid, as with other lines

.. no welcome glass of champagne 

Positive. Muster Drill can be done in App or in room on tv

Balconies.. Footstools removed and now   loungers removed

Fruit in room, gone

Canapes gone unless requested and only suite class

Seems no matter which category you booked, amenities like shampoo etc are a huge pump bottle

Wines that were in Premium moved to a Plus category, then some back. Do watch though. Some have a $2 + gratuity per glass

There is way more. But focusing on positive. The Staff/crew.  They are awesome

 

If you scroll through, there are many changes. Having said that, we booked 1 more but are considering options

We have had champagne on Beyond and Ascent upon boarding the ship.

 

A big change that I have seen is that the room attendants no longer have an assistant and are responsible for more rooms.  Too many.  Plus there are many inexperienced staff due to the turnover.

[jelayne]

On E class ships the 4 MDRs are better than the 1 MDR ( more menu options).

The production shows have been improved. 
 Check in on the app is fast and easy making boarding a breeze instead of a nightmare. As mentioned muster is soooo much better.

E class ships Retreat area with Sundeck is great.

New loyalty  events added.

Some new activities, eg archery, drawing classes, Deal or No Deal to name some.

 

Unchanged:  excellent crew, great service, visible officers. 

 

 

[1Virgo]

19 minutes ago, keesar said:

We have had champagne on Beyond and Ascent upon boarding the ship.

 

A big change that I have seen is that the room attendants no longer have an assistant and are responsible for more rooms.  Too many.  Plus there are many inexperienced staff due to the turnover.

interesting. we were on the Ascent last week of March. No boarding welcome champagne. really seems things are ship by ship.   agree re inexperienced staff

[jelayne]

53 minutes ago, 1Virgo said:

interesting. we were on the Ascent last week of March. No boarding welcome champagne. really seems things are ship by ship.   agree re inexperienced staff

Our experience has been since the pandemic they do not hand you a glass as you board.  But there have been trays of sparkling wine & mimosas at Cafe Al Bacio and other bars near the boarding area.

[BeasleysMom66]

3 hours ago, 1Virgo said:

Canapes gone unless requested and only suite class

 

Not true.  I sailed on Summit to Alaska in May in a Prime Concierge room and on day 1 my room attendant asked if I wanted them daily.  I said no but asked if I could get a fruit plate instead which I did.  A really nice one too.  Concierge and Aqua still have the option.

 

The foot stools and loungers were gone on Summit (at least on my balcony) but it really didn't make a difference for me.  There is a thread on this forum though that is over 25 pages of people losing their marbles and tying their panties in a knot over it.  

 

No champagne on boarding but I really didn't miss that either.

 

Food quality is definitely not what it used to be.  I did better in the Ocean View Cafe than MDR.  

[1Virgo]

47 minutes ago, BeasleysMom66 said:

 

Not true.  I sailed on Summit to Alaska in May in a Prime Concierge room and on day 1 my room attendant asked if I wanted them daily.  I said no but asked if I could get a fruit plate instead which I did.  A really nice one too.  Concierge and Aqua still have the option.

 

The foot stools and loungers were gone on Summit (at least on my balcony) but it really didn't make a difference for me.  There is a thread on this forum though that is over 25 pages of people losing their marbles and tying their panties in a knot over it.  

 

No champagne on boarding but I really didn't miss that either.

 

Food quality is definitely not what it used to be.  I did better in the Ocean View Cafe than MDR.  

We ve done 2 Aqua and 2 Retreat in the last year and a bit.. I don’t have a reason to lie. In Aqua, NO canapés. I asked. Answer. No. 

 

loungers and footstools may not be important to you, but there are many that enjoy using their balcony. The loungers or footstools and comfortable chairs make a difference

 

 

[the penguins]

4 hours ago, keesar said:

We have had champagne on Beyond and Ascent upon boarding the ship.

 

A big change that I have seen is that the room attendants no longer have an assistant and are responsible for more rooms.  Too many.  Plus there are many inexperienced staff due to the turnover.

All the cabin stewards we have spoken too prefer the new system because:

1) they don't get blamed when the "assistant" doesn't do the job correctly.

2) they each have less cabins to do not more but because the auto grats are not shared with an "assistant"  they earn the same.

[Kmangel]

4 hours ago, jelayne said:

Our experience has been since the pandemic they do not hand you a glass as you board.  But there have been trays of sparkling wine & mimosas at Cafe Al Bacio and other bars near the boarding area.

We didn’t even see trays on our last cruise on Silhouette down by Cafe Al Bacio.  I wish they would bring it back to when we board.  I am not a huge fan of sparkling wine, but it was a nice touch.  Time to put Covid behind us if that is their rationale for not doing it at boarding.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

Balconies.. Footstools removed
 

in a balcony cabin , they did not have footstools , we use to bring a blow up beach ball to use as a footstool

 

[cinnamon]

I’m interested to read these comments. I’ll be on Millenium in September and I haven’t been on Celebrity since 2014. My late husband and I began cruising on Azamara but as a widow that is above my budget now. 
I’m Elite plus but my cabin mate (a friend of over 50 years standing) has no cruise experience so it’ll be interesting to see how she reacts to it all. We only have an Outside cabin so a lack of footstools won’t be a problem. 😉

[horseymike]

11 minutes ago, cinnamon said:

I’m interested to read these comments. I’ll be on Millenium in September and I haven’t been on Celebrity since 2014. My late husband and I began cruising on Azamara but as a widow that is above my budget now. 
I’m Elite plus but my cabin mate (a friend of over 50 years standing) has no cruise experience so it’ll be interesting to see how she reacts to it all. We only have an Outside cabin so a lack of footstools won’t be a problem. 😉

Hope you and your friend have a great cruise 🚢.

 

[NMTraveller]

On E class ships balconies replaced with open/close windows.  Fewer outward looking views.

Edited Monday at 11:23 AM by NMTraveller

[zitsky]

Has there EVER been champagne at boarding?  I’ve only had sparkling wine shortly before Covid.

 

I’ve cruised with Celebrity starting in 2019 so 5 years.  It’s not all perfect but I think it’s overall very good.  We tried Viking and came back to Celebrity.  Food is very good.  Service is excellent.

 

Where else can you get cloth towels in the bathroom or a banana split in Luminae?  I bet no one else has thought of this.  I will miss the loungers and foot stools.

[bbappel]

I should have said this: We will be on Silhouette in a DV. The changes most important to us would be in the MDR and with music in the evenings and activities around the ship on sea days.  I've enjoyed art classes on sea days on some cruises. We did the Riedel tasting on one ship. Has the number/type/quality of excursions offered changed? 

 

[Last Lion]

So if you say pretty please to your cabin steward can he produce a foot stool from a secret storage room?

Edited Monday at 12:50 PM by Last Lion

[Ex-Airbalancer]

3 minutes ago, bbappel said:

I should have said this: We will be on Silhouette in a DV. The changes most important to us would be in the MDR and with music in the evenings and activities around the ship on sea days.  I've enjoyed art classes on sea days on some cruises. We did the Riedel tasting on one ship. Has the number/type/quality of excursions offered changed? 

 

For excursions, sign in and check the excursions link for your sailing 

 

[cruisegirlppp]

7 hours ago, BeasleysMom66 said:

 I sailed on Summit to Alaska in May in a Prime Concierge room and on day 1 my room attendant asked if I wanted them daily.  I said no but asked if I could get a fruit plate instead which I did.  A really nice one too.  Concierge and Aqua still have the option.

 

The foot stools and loungers were gone on Summit (at least on my balcony) but it really didn't make a difference for me.  There is a thread on this forum though that is over 25 pages of people losing their marbles and tying their panties in a knot over it.  

 

 

In Concierge on the Silhouette in May- we had canapés every day and footstools with our chairs...it really does seem to vary ship to ship.

[Spif Barwunkel]

When you step foot on to Silhouette in 2025, it will be eight years since your last X cruise. No doubt there will have been changes, and even between now and 9/25 more will follow. We have noticed changes/differences not only from ship to ship but also from cruise to cruise. Those circumstances have never been a factor in determining whether or not we enjoy our Celebrity cruise. If your enjoyment is based on factors mentioned in these responses, perhaps you have cause for trepidation. I would echo the statement made by jelayne in post #4, unchanged is excellent crew, great service, visible officers. You will enjoy your next X cruise. Silhouette will see to that.   

[hcat]

when I saw the  question..first reaction was do not go there.. too much has changed to itemize.  Major Plus is a new Class of Ship..E Class 

 

 Still a nice experience, but the "Royalization" of X is almost complete..esp with the changes to Crossover Perks between the 2 lines

( better deal for Royals but  many do not agree over the drinks)

 

We still choose X diff  now!

[1Virgo]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

Has there EVER been champagne at boarding?  I’ve only had sparkling wine shortly before Covid.

 

I’ve cruised with Celebrity starting in 2019 so 5 years.  It’s not all perfect but I think it’s overall very good.  We tried Viking and came back to Celebrity.  Food is very good.  Service is excellent.

 

Where else can you get cloth towels in the bathroom or a banana split in Luminae?  I bet no one else has thought of this.  I will miss the loungers and foot stools.

years ago we saw the champagne bottles.  But, gone now

[the penguins]

3 hours ago, Last Lion said:

So if you say pretty please to your cabin steward can he produce a foot stool from a secret storage room?

We used to offer the room steward $20 for 2 footstools paid on delivery - never failed. The price was good for us and recognised the extra work involved especially as we asked on Boarding Day.

We would still make this offer but since adding the request to "Assistance Form" we haven't had to.

 

[Last Lion]

Good to know. Thanks. Do you believe it possible to order a single lounger on an Edge class veranda instead of those two uncomfortable looking chairs?

[bbappel]

Thanks everyone. My expectations are that we will have a great time, whether there are 2 of us, 4 of us or 10 of us,  We are planning to travel with Bob & Linda (Ken's fraternity brother & his wife). They have booked the cruise.  We've known him for over 60 years and her for 10 by 2025. And we are hoping a few other "brothers" join us (thus the 10).  

I'm hoping there will be some fun activities, though we have aged out of trivia. Our first cruise was on Celebrity Summit in 2002 - it was my husband's "retirement" cruise. My "retirement" cruise was in 2012 to the Caribbean. It was on Eclipse I think.  

I was just curious if there was anything that would be great. I loved it when they introduced the dining on the lawn - I don't recall the name. 

I have noticed seemingly greater class distinctions being made. One thing I loved about my first Celebrity cruise was that we were all treated great. People who booked suites had a nicer cabin and probably got invited to Captain's tables and all, but there wasn't a significant difference in available space. Now it is very different. 

Despite that, I know we will have fun. It is difficult not to have a good time with Ken & Bob. They laugh often. And tell great stories. And Linda and I enjoy each other's company, feeling as if we've known each other for the same 60 years.