jaywoods678

10 hours ago, JLS07 said:

I have written and rewritten this post several times.  I know this is likely going to upset some people, and I am sorry for that.

 

Just for some perspective, I am mid to late 40’s, been sailing Celebrity for 12ish years, have a 16- and 10-year-old that have been on every cruise they could have gone on (10 or so for my daughter and 8 for my son).  I have only ever sailed Celebrity (other than one Carnival to Havana).

 

As the title says, I think Celebrity is at a crossroads for which direction they should go.  We have always loved the elegance and higher class on Celebrity, but the last two cruises (both Apex and post covid) have seen a significant decrease across the board.

 

To me, celebrity is currently trying too hard to fit into too many categories, be it the older crowd that doesn’t want kids around (you should see the nasty comments on our spring break cruise’s Facebook page), the family crowd, or the party crowd (never seen as many drunks on all my celebrity trips combined as I have the last two).

 

We have simply encountered a quality of people that we had never seen before on celebrity.  We encountered:  Multiple people passed out on St. Patrick’s Day by the pool (yes passed out - we were watching them start taking shots at breakfast), Eating as much fried this or that as physically possible all while barely able to stand, people who absolutely reeked of cigarettes everywhere, nasty rude people who snapped back at anyone around them (one lady snapped at me when I offer her a seat on a particularly rough sea day).

 

We have two more cruises already booked and paid for over the summer.  I will use those as one more chance to determine if Celebrity is still what we want to continue travel on.  

 

If you have considered moving from Celebrity due to the drop in quality, which lines did you consider as a replacement?

I agree. And Holland America is in a crossroads as well.

19 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

Don't fret, on most Celebrity cruises there are really not that many children and on every other sailing I have been on (70+ so far, including 13 between this year and last) and the children were only allowed in the inside pool when sailing in cold areas, and then only for a period of time.  Maybe that's changing but that's how its been.

I did find your comment about kids and school interesting.  In all my travels, including cruises, I am shocked at how many kids are not in school no matter the time of year.  I know that some areas (not all that many) have year-round schools.  But this never happened pre-Covid to the extent I see it now.  Nowhere close.  I just don't understand it. Are these kids supposedly being "home schooled"?  Are these kids supposedly being given their lessons by their parents while away from home?  Not from what I've seen.  I definitely am not in a position to judge any particular family as I of course don't know their individual circumstances (nor is it my business) - I just find it very strange and concerning.

I've had parents tell me that they take their kids out of school (they like to take their vacation during cheaper times when kids are out of school, so the only way they can do that is by pulling their kids out of school). I was even on an 11 day cruise where the parents said they took their kids out. That means the poor kids were out of school for about two full weeks. And they were not given lessons while on vacation. I guess the parents' vacation is more important than the kids' education.

On 3/3/2023 at 9:04 AM, Bruinboy said:

Yeah, but buried in past posts. I agree with OP. 

 

I agree also.

1 hour ago, buckeye8810 said:

Since the start of the year, I know there’s been a lot of handwringing about the changes Celebrity has made. We just got back from a 10-night Eastern Caribbean…and I can confirm things are worse than before, in literally every way.

 

Ships are more crowded, and there’s clearly not enough staff to accommodate the increase in passengers. Food is significantly worse…and the wait staff was running around like their hair was on fire. Even in Murano, the food was disappointing. Not to mention several people in our group reported stomach issues on multiple days after dinner.
Unrelated, but it seemed like half the people on the ship were coughing and hacking, which probably means Covid was running rampant.

 

All in all, there’s no reason to pay premium prices for Celebrity anymore, because it’s no longer a premium brand. With the changes they’ve made, it’s not any different than NCL. Not saying I wouldn’t cruise with Celebrity again, but there’s no chance I would pay current prices. We felt ripped off, considering when we booked this cruise we were expecting the level of service from years past.

 

 

I completely agree.

50 minutes ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

I’ll try.  People were disappointed that they couldn’t book specialty restaurants onboard  because everything was booked up. These were benefits that were part of a HAL promotion.  You said “too bad you should have booked earlier”.  That seems harsh too a 

or of us.  Where’s the compassion?

I completely agree.

4 hours ago, ChinaShrek said:

The real issue, for some ,is that the HIA promo participants will fill up the specialty restaurants on the ship and the 4* and 5*  Mariners will be unable to book their discounted or free meals. I suspect HAL has done this on purpose. 

I agree.

11 hours ago, Hlitner said:

Woah nellie!   Your comment makes little sense.  4 and 5* Mariners earned their benefits by meeting the requirements set forth by the cruise line....a contract of sorts.  That has absolutely nothing to do with "ship within a ship" concepts (we have done a few on other lines).  In fact, even on MSC in their Yacht Club, folks who are Diamond (akin to 5* Mariners on HAL) get extra benefits such as a free meal in a specialty restaurant.

 

The problem is that HAL is simply selling HIA packages that should be "capacity limited."  HAL is well aware of the number of 5* Mariners on a cruise and each is entitled to two meals in the Pinnacle or other alternative venues.  On a short cruise there are simply not going to be enough slots in the alternative restaurants to meet the promised meals for those who booked HIA + 5*,  And both 4 and 5*s are also entitled to a 50% discount in the specialty restaurants.  

 

 

I agree. HIA is great, but they have to somehow limit the capacity. Otherwise they're just not going to be able to accommodate everyone, which is going to leave some passengers unhappy.

4 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

Tough crowd.

Yes, same thing I was thinking. They don't have to be so harsh.

17 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

I’m currently on the Rotterdam and the hostess booking Specialty Restaurants is frustrated.  We are just finishing Day 3 on the Rotterdam and the hostess bookings all of the Specialty Restaurants is frustrated.  The Specialty Restaurants are nearly completely booked with people. Booking Have it All packages before they board and others that are cash paying customers.  The reality is that people show up to book a restaurant from the Have it all promotion or someone with a lot of OBC can’t book restaurants because there isn’t any room.  It seems like HAL has over promised the specialty dining under Have it All and is disappointing a lot of passengers that hope to book once onboard.

I completely agree. We've been on cruises where practically all passengers had the 'Have it all', and it was impossible for us to get into Pinnacle Grill.

7 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

I think that it is the totality of the cuts and how do we navigate around them.

 

Room service menu cuts.

MDR menus cuts.

Nighttime OVC cuts.

Lobster night cuts.

Specialty restaurant price hikes (very high)

 

The quality of food onboard does factor into whether I book a cruise or not.

I completely agree. When you take all the cuts in consideration, it really makes a difference.

On 1/22/2023 at 9:34 AM, Spif Barwunkel said:

Some serious questions. Does it really matter if no lobster is served at any dining venue during your cruise? I don’t know how many different types of lobster there are, but does that matter as well?

 

You book your ideal cruise on your favorite ship, never mind the number of days, and when you get to the point of paying your NRD, a huge banner pops up and covers your entire screen. That banner reads; NO LOBSTER AVAILABLE ON THIS SAILING! Now you are caught between a rock and a hard place. Is lobster still your main concern?

It matters to some, but I think for me it's just another way the cruise lines are cheapening the product. It's taking something we consider nice away. Holland America, which was my favorite cruise line, hasn't had complimentary lobster tail in the MDR ever since the pandemic.

Holland America has cut them out altogether. No free lobster in the MDR during the duration of the cruise, no exceptions. Even Carnival (part of the same corporation), which is a mainstream budget line still has lobster. Holland America, which used to be one of the nicest upper mainstream lines, is nothing like it used to be. They have really cheapened their product.

23 hours ago, REDSTRIPETYPE said:

So before Edge and Apex tons of people used to complain lots about the prices for Murano and Tuscan.

 

Now I see that the prices for specialty on Beyond is 3 times higher plus you  have to book months in advance and nobody is complaining.

 

I don't get it...we booked all 4 just in case for our Nov cruise on Beyond and it cymae to over $600 CAD!

 

Is it really that good?

I never understood why Celebrity's specialty restaurants had such a higher upcharge than their competitors (specifically referring to Holland America and Princess).

On 1/19/2023 at 9:31 PM, jean87510 said:

People don't want to confront as if it's a big group and they are probably drunk, then based on past behavior on cruises on Carnival and in Disney World or Waffle House one just doesn't want to be on a Tik Tok video that of course will be heavily edited in the offenders favor.  I had an obnoxious loud vocal fry millenial next to me on the Allure and I just asked to be moved.  Music however is different.

Exactly.