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Remember When Celebrity Was the BEST Cruise Line?


curtdesilets
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Sadly not everybody has the option to just up and move to another cruise line which is far better eg Viking.

 

If you can't fly then you are restricted to the cruiselines that offer round trips from your home port.

 

As a result some of us are very disappointed that lines that we have enjoyed in the past seem to be downgrading the experience.

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Sadly not everybody has the option to just up and move to another cruise line which is far better eg Viking.

 

If you can't fly then you are restricted to the cruiselines that offer round trips from your home port.

 

As a result some of us are very disappointed that lines that we have enjoyed in the past seem to be downgrading the experience.

 

Not sure we see your point. From your info it appears that you are in the UK...which means you have access to every port in Europe...without having to fly. It is actually a lot harder for some here in the USA. A person that lives in California, that cannot fly, has to settle for the few West Coast cruise options. Otherwise, they might have to travel over 3000 miles to get to an east coast port. But in Western Europe, ports are in a relatively compact area. Consider that Amsterdam to Rome is only about 1000 miles, which is a simple 2 day drive or only about 15 hour train ride.

 

Hank

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On another cruise line post-cruise survey one of the questions was "Did this cruise exceed your expectations?"

 

I had high expectations and the cruise provided what I expected. Thus my answer to the question was "No, it did not exceed my expectations" since it did meet them.

 

 

I think that questionnaire is useless. The CD and staff all tell the passengers to please check off exceeds expectations. Why have it at all? Why not have it already filled out for the passengers to submit if that is what we are suppose to do.

 

I never put down exceeds my expectations and I always write in the comments that I have sailed on Celebrity before and know what to expect so not much will exceed what I have experienced or expect from Celebrity.

 

Happy cruisng 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

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Very fair assessment.

 

Many apologists like to argue that all these changes are fine, since "Celebrity is a business" as though that trumps everything. Prices rise to suit increased profits of the business; however degrading the product at the same time is a degradation of what they are selling. Unless they can change their customer base as well to find one that suits the lower product - and at the same time ditch their false tagline that is currently used - then it's only a way to degrade the business.

 

Everyone seems to neglect to factor in that the price for providing the product has increased over the years and in order to balance that it is necessary balance price increase with changes to the product. Also a factor are industry changes. It isn't corporate greed, it's being financial and market responsible.

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Not sure we see your point. From your info it appears that you are in the UK...which means you have access to every port in Europe...without having to fly. It is actually a lot harder for some here in the USA. A person that lives in California, that cannot fly, has to settle for the few West Coast cruise options. Otherwise, they might have to travel over 3000 miles to get to an east coast port. But in Western Europe, ports are in a relatively compact area. Consider that Amsterdam to Rome is only about 1000 miles, which is a simple 2 day drive or only about 15 hour train ride.

 

Hank

 

Well technically you are correct but there are a considerable shortage of round trip cruises in Europe also. Many start in one port but finish in another.

 

 

Also, of course, as you have already said travelling to a distant port takes rather more than just a day which is all it would do if you could fly.

 

Anyway my point is that it is not always easy to simply move to another cruise line if the one you liked and enjoyed decides to downgrade their offering.

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I guess my "problem" is that we started cruising in the hey-day of cruising. We started on Royal Caribbean maybe 20 years ago. It was a wonderful experience. If I wanted lobster every day for dinner, no problem. They had not one mid-night buffet but two. You could go to multiple restaurant types and the choice of food was just about anything you could want. Back then Royal Caribbean was considered one notch above Carnival.

 

In the years that followed we stayed with RC, but then they started their push for mega ships and we weren't impressed with the crowds. Then came the trend to start nickel-and-diming for everything. We switched to Carnival, and generally enjoyed it because Carnival was budget and was a good value at that. Still, back then they had many of the nice things.

 

Over the years, the large cruise lines made a dash toward the bottom. Charging for everything, Shows went downhill, food went downhill, and then they started charging extra for the better food you always could get.

 

Still Princess and Celebrity were considered "Premium" and since we only took one cruise a year mostly, it took us many cruises to cross them all. Our Princess cruise was nothing to write home about, but there was always Celebrity. Yeah they are "different." After more than 20 cruises we tried Celebrity, and they weren't "different." The shows were 45 minutes and not great, they had one comedian on night late which we didn't attend. The MDR was not great, unless your the type of person to consider a visit to Luby's a "special" experience.

 

So its really sad, because we have finally come to the realization, that the real cruise as we knew it is dead. That magical experience is gone. Maybe we are burned-out, but I don't think so. For the next few years we'll try land-based tours instead.

 

If we do cruise again, maybe we'll try Viking or Oceania. Its a shame we have to go that route to get what Carnival or Royal once had. I doubt we will ever take RC, Norweigian, Princess or Celebrity ever again. I'm still OK with Carnival, because they have stayed the most true to who they are, a budget cruise. Today I see little "premium" in either Princess or Celebrity. Celebrity did have lemon aid, punch, and apple drink for lunch. Maybe that is why it is "premium." If anyone else knows why its "premium" please chime-in. Is it the $10 burgers and dogs? :D Maybe.

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Everyone seems to neglect to factor in that the price for providing the product has increased over the years and in order to balance that it is necessary balance price increase with changes to the product. Also a factor are industry changes. It isn't corporate greed, it's being financial and market responsible.

 

I think it fascinating some expect the features they want of the Celebrity of old, together with the features they want of the present Celebrity, at a 20 year old price point. Not all of the old features, and not all of the present day features, just the ones they want.

 

It just can't happen, but they want it.

 

The Celebrity of old is done like dinner. You can stick a fork in it.

 

If we want better quality it is available at an increased price on the Premium/Boutique cruise lines but to expect Celebrity to return to a Premium experience is to set oneself up for disappointment.

 

Celebrity is a just fine mass market line offering many features that appeal to the mass market customer. It is for this reason they are able to fill their ships at improved margins.

 

The seasoned Celebrity customer can accept the reality or not. If they like todays product, great, if not well that's just too bad, as Celebrity will put someone else's head in the bed.

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It's not so much that Celebrity couldn't continue to provide great food and service. It's that Celebrity is choosing to increase margins instead. They reduce the quality and availability of the so called 'free' or included food then charge extra for what used to be included. They reduce the number of staff then make the ones who are left work even harder. It comes as no surprise that the overall experience suffers.

They will continue the race downwards until they hit a point were they can't easily fill their ships. If/when that happens, they won't just be able to re-instate the last round of cuts to get their customers back. It will become increasingly expensive to entice the folks they already pissed off. Basically they will only have price to differentiate themselves from their competitors which, hopefully, will mean better prices for cruisers.

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The Celebrity of old is done like dinner. You can stick a fork in it.

The old Celebrity is over done. Please pull the battery out of the smoke detector.

 

If we want better quality it is available at an increased price on the Premium/Boutique cruise lines but to expect Celebrity to return to a Premium experience is to set oneself up for disappointment.

We did just that. We have four bookings on Azamara and Oceania.

Celebrity is a just fine mass market line offering many features that appeal to the mass market customer. It is for this reason they are able to fill their ships at improved margins.

 

The seasoned Celebrity customer can accept the reality or not. If they like todays product, great, if not well that's just too bad, as Celebrity will put someone else's head in the bed.

 

We were looking for a mass market line to fill a void in February to get to the Southern Caribbean. We've never sailed Hal but started looking at them. I found an AFT cabin priced at $175 per day CHEAPER than the least priced available Oceanview cabin on Celebrity for the same approximate date. There were no balconies available. The Hal itinerary has slightly better ports. I can buy a lot of drinks and specialty dining for $175 per day while still getting a nice breeze and view.

 

I don't mind that Celebrity is selling out at higher prices and charging cruisers more nickels & dimes. It doesn't have to be to me though. Because if I'm going to pay the price anyway, I'd rather do it on a line that still cares about their customers with better quality food.

 

I wish Celebrity well and may come back when their attitude comes back to earth. Otherwise I'll take the RCL stock profits and buy cruises on other lines. :D

Edited by ChucktownSteve
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Well technically you are correct but there are a considerable shortage of round trip cruises in Europe also. Many start in one port but finish in another.

 

 

Also, of course, as you have already said travelling to a distant port takes rather more than just a day which is all it would do if you could fly.

 

Anyway my point is that it is not always easy to simply move to another cruise line if the one you liked and enjoyed decides to downgrade their offering.

 

I do not mean to show any disrespect but am just puzzled by your post. Even though we live in the US, we spend a lot of time in Europe (on both cruises and extended driving trips). Getting around Europe is quite easy since you have excellent roads, a decent train system, and plenty of low cost airlines (we understand you do not want to fly). A cruise starting at one port and finishing at another should not be a problem for somebody from Europe/UK. In fact, since you are not dealing with the airlines you would simply have to use the train systems. From our side of the "pond" its a bit more tricky...although the use of "open jaw" airfares is a great aid.

 

I am actually a bit envious of your European transportation options. In the USA we often must fly because of the large size of our country and the lack of a decent train system. But you have an excellent train network and also some decent ferry options.

 

Hank

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It's not so much that Celebrity couldn't continue to provide great food and service. It's that Celebrity is choosing to increase margins instead. They reduce the quality and availability of the so called 'free' or included food then charge extra for what used to be included. They reduce the number of staff then make the ones who are left work even harder. It comes as no surprise that the overall experience suffers.

They will continue the race downwards until they hit a point were they can't easily fill their ships. If/when that happens, they won't just be able to re-instate the last round of cuts to get their customers back. It will become increasingly expensive to entice the folks they already pissed off. Basically they will only have price to differentiate themselves from their competitors which, hopefully, will mean better prices for cruisers.

 

What makes you think they are controlling costs over increasing margins? You're making assumptions. Do you think it is a simple matter to balance all the factors involved and still produce a product that people will buy and meet their fiduciary responsibilities? Do you really think this can all be boiled down to a few conclusiory sentences? You are delusional.

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It's not so much that Celebrity couldn't continue to provide great food and service. It's that Celebrity is choosing to increase margins instead. They reduce the quality and availability of the so called 'free' or included food then charge extra for what used to be included. They reduce the number of staff then make the ones who are left work even harder. It comes as no surprise that the overall experience suffers.

They will continue the race downwards until they hit a point were they can't easily fill their ships. If/when that happens, they won't just be able to re-instate the last round of cuts to get their customers back. It will become increasingly expensive to entice the folks they already pissed off. Basically they will only have price to differentiate themselves from their competitors which, hopefully, will mean better prices for cruisers.

 

Agree. How long would you continue to patronize a favorite restaurant or hotel where each visit you pay more but receive less. Might stick around and pay more if excellent service continues, but not if service slips or experience is otherwise cheapened. And once a long-time customer makes that hard decision to leave they may never come back.

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What makes you think they are controlling costs over increasing margins? You're making assumptions. Do you think it is a simple matter to balance all the factors involved and still produce a product that people will buy and meet their fiduciary responsibilities? Do you really think this can all be boiled down to a few conclusiory sentences? You are delusional.

 

Why do you always have to be so nasty and what makes you think you know any more about what they're doing than he does?

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What makes you think they are controlling costs over increasing margins? You're making assumptions. Do you think it is a simple matter to balance all the factors involved and still produce a product that people will buy and meet their fiduciary responsibilities? Do you really think this can all be boiled down to a few conclusiory sentences? You are delusional.

 

While I do agree with many of the points you make, I wonder if your credibility might be enhanced if some of the statement were more diplomatic.

 

Calling anyone delusional may leave many with the opinion your posts are not worthy of consideration.

 

Just sayin

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While I do agree with many of the points you make, I wonder if your credibility might be enhanced if some of the statement were more diplomatic.

 

Calling anyone delusional may leave many with the opinion your posts are not worthy of consideration.

 

Just sayin

 

Very true. Anyone can be a little snippy at times but when it's all the time it damages one's credibility.

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What makes you think they are controlling costs over increasing margins? You're making assumptions. Do you think it is a simple matter to balance all the factors involved and still produce a product that people will buy and meet their fiduciary responsibilities? Do you really think this can all be boiled down to a few conclusiory sentences? You are delusional.

 

You are the delusional one. They ARE controlling costs while also increasing margins.Haven't you noticed the change in the MDR to cheaper cuts of meat that have to be "crock potted" to become tender? Haven't you noticed the smaller plate portions? Haven't you noticed the new size of the shrimp in their shrimp cocktails? Haven't you noticed the substantial increased use of cheap vegetables such as carrots and potatoes? Haven't you noticed the reduction of seafood items on the menus?

 

Do you really think this can all be boiled down to a few conclusory sentences as you have done as well? I have used specific supporting evidence upon which my conclusion is based:

 

There are three things a restaurant must have to satisfy customers and remain in business. Quality service, quality food and reasonable prices aka value. The restaurant can survive with only two of the three. However when only one attribute remains, the customer seeks other restaurants. It doesn't have to be based upon reality but the consumer's perception that makes it their reality.

Edited by ChucktownSteve
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What makes you think they are controlling costs over increasing margins? You're making assumptions. Do you think it is a simple matter to balance all the factors involved and still produce a product that people will buy and meet their fiduciary responsibilities? Do you really think this can all be boiled down to a few conclusiory sentences? You are delusional.

 

Lisa, is that you?

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Everyone seems to neglect to factor in that the price for providing the product has increased over the years and in order to balance that it is necessary balance price increase with changes to the product. Also a factor are industry changes. It isn't corporate greed, it's being financial and market responsible.

 

No. To balance price increases, it is done with... price increases. Not price increases plus product cutbacks.

 

You only see cutbacks where the supplier is not able to increase prices. Clearly that is not the case here.

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We started cruising Celebrity in 2001 and are Elite PLus. Over the last 5 years we gave feedback to Celebrity (along with 100's of others as far as I can count) that the product was suffering. We voted with our pocketbook three years ago and haven;t sailed Celebrity since. We will still sail Celebrity, but in our minds Celebrity is relegated to the "disneyland" cruise itinerary when we sail with our grandchildren. NO more month long cruises on Celebrity, just the cheap 3-5 days.

 

Ten years ago, when the Solstice Class was announced, someone asked the CEO about concern about overcapacity. He blew the question off as nonsensical. Boy I bet Celebrity wished it had a clawback clause in that dude's contract. He was dead wrong. The ranking is accurate.

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