MamaFej

50 minutes ago, RichYak said:

For us, being surrounded by only 475 people as opposed to 3000 would be the main appeal. 

Me, too.

As travel was starting up in 2021, my dear friend and travel agent got us a killer deal to join him and his wife, as well as his cousin and her husband on a Winsdstar cruise in French Polynesia: 113 passengers on a ship designed for 300. It was pretty darn heavenly. 

Since then, we've done two Azamara, a Viking, and (another crazy "It's good to have a TA for a friend" deal) SilverSea expedition to Antarctica, with 174 passengers on a ship designed for 296, I think. 

My BIG dream at the moment is to take the three adult kids on an Arctic expedition in July of 2025 to celebrate Hubby's 60th, oldest's 30th, 2 Masters degrees and a Bachelor's degree. We figure we can't take the money we've worked so hard to save and invest with us when we die, so we may as well take our kids with us to spend it on awesome experiences making awesome memories while we are alive. I don't know if I can pull this off and still be able to travel much more with just the Hubby, but I'm working on it. 

There I go, off on a tangent, again. 

1 minute ago, paulh84 said:

This was applicable before the shift to a team. I don’t even know the roles. Head Butler, Butler,  Retreat Host, Retreat Concierge? Retreat Manager? Cabin Steward? Previously if I dial the butlers extension it’s rarely been our assigned butler who answers the call. We have a few months before we are in a suite again but I assume if I stop by the lounge and simply ask who does what and what the expectation should be they can provide some clarification.

I get it. After all, if I had a dollar for every "I'm going to be in a suite, what does a butler do?" posts, I might be able to afford to book a suite. 

I just think that improving comunication would benefit both passengers and X by generating goodwill and decreasing confusion and frustration. 

3 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

Yes, perhaps Celebrity threw us a bone.  But still......

That bone helps those of us who are canceling and rebooking. It helps X because more people will buy ShoreEx and Specialty dining than would have previously. and the WiFi upgrades are pure profit.

I'm not saying everything is sunshine and roses, I'm still looking elsewhere for the future. I'm just saying that X were smart to get some of their customers saying nice things and being happy. They may have even prevented some cancelations. 

2 hours ago, Oceangoer2 said:

Couldn't save anything worthwhile to cancel on my excursions for the upcoming cruise...but did save $98 on dining...Murano and Lawn Club....Tuscan was more $$s.   Good sale on top of the last sale.  Are they trying to send a little kindness our way considering the recent 'hot' topics here on CC?  😉

I said something similar on another thread.

Turning the conversation to a more positive tone is a wise investment.

This conversation reinforces my belief that Celebrity's comunication is dreadful. 

Why should it be so unclear who is responsible for what? Why should anyone in a suite go 9 days without seeing anyone from the Butler Team? Why should "I think the 2 butlers are..." even be a thing?

I am not blaming the posters here for what they are saying. At all. 

Y'all are paying a pretty penny to be in Retreat. You should have a really good idea of what you can expcet onboard, and you certainly should have met members of the team before Day 9. 

I have a sneaking suspicion that a great deal of the negativity on message boards and social media about Celebrity could be avoided with decent communication. 

Perceived value is such an important concept! Each of us has to decide what is valuable to us. That can, and should, change over time. 

I appreciate the folks with bigger budgets talking about their experiences and values. I appreciate folks like @poeticlicensed .  I appreciate the folks with smaller budgets talking about what matters to them, and how they are making decisions. I think we can all learn from each other. That is why I am following a few of these "Alternatives to" threads. 

36 minutes ago, german_navy said:

I am actually glad that it is not only me who is highly frustrated with their "service". We have planned a Transatlantic out of Southampton this November on the Sky after a very nice cruise on this ship in July 2022. This so-called service is so incredibly poor that I have no words. I am German so my English is far away from being perfect. But those people in their call centers are so much worse. I tried to get somebody on the phone in California. No chance. But the whole problem starts at the top of the company. I sent two long emails to Mr. Padgett regarding a personal thing and I have not even received a response. We are loyal Celebrity cruisers (30+ cruises) and whenever I had an issue that the regular agents couldn`t solve it really helped to get in touch with their CEO. They always took care of it. 

Not so with Princess. So, what else can you expect from the agents in the call center when the communication with the top level does not work? 

Well, we are really looking forward to the Transatlantic cruise but this will most certainly be our last trip with Princess. In fact, we thought about adding three more cruises with Princess while being in Florida. We will not be doing this. Instead we will spend the time on Royal and Celebrity.

 

Your English is fantastic. 

I'm sorry Princess is not responding to you. 

@Ken the cruiser, the canapes (we asked for fruit plates) on Eclipse disappered between our B2Bs in Aqua before you boarded. We disembarked for the 3 day when you got there, then reboarded, in a Verandah for SYD to HNL.

On our trip, we experienced an SS on a Move Up bid, B2B with a  CS that the Retreat Concierge reserved for us due to a no-show (for a small onboard uncharge), a break for a self-drive land tour of NZ, then B2B Aquas, then the long leg in the Verandah. The first two would have been in Aqua without the upgrades. 

We had thought it had worked out  backwards, that it would have been better to work our way up, rather than down. It actually worked out well. We were a bit tired of long meals and being waited on every night, so we split that last cruise between Specialty and the buffet. One night in the MDR was one too many. 

Anyway, we are normally Verandah cruisers on X, and Aqua when we can. We don't need a large cabin, but they're nice when we luck into them. As the suite folks are moving up to Regent and such, we are looking there, but mostly looking at lines in the Azamara range, as they are priced well for our needs. 

We were able to upgade for $2.99 pp/pd on a few 2024 cruises tonight. I canceled a previous sale price upgrade on one, and used the difference form this and some excursion repricing to buy a specialty dining package on one cruise. 

I think X is wise to offer such a helpful sale this Labor Day weekend. It is changing the mood and tone of the Celebrity-related conversation 

On one cruise, we had a lot of OBC (remember the "Indulge" price quirk?) and had booked a bunch of excursions with it during the last sale. I was able to cancel and rebook those, as well as cancel and rebook the WiFi upgrade. The new prices left us with enough to purchase a 5 night dining package. 

Not too shabby.

I'll look at other cruises tomorrow, including the ones we might cancel. 

Thanks to all who've answered questions and to our Land of Enchantment poster for starting the thread. 

17 minutes ago, Bullswood said:

From the reported Celebrity explanation in post #3

 "All Included package pricing was modified to align with the evolving needs of our guests and offer added flexibility when booking."

I have no idea what "evolving needs" means but in any event, this has no mention of a cost saving or simultaneous price rise. So if this statement is not to be regarded as deceptive (or arguably a downright lie) one would expect the price of the AI supplement to be reduced from Oct 4 so that price of current AI benefit = price of reduced AI benefit+tips.

If not and the explanation is proved to be incorrect, does Celebrity really think its average customer (or TA) is that dumb and why not just tell the truth?

I'll say it again: Celebrity may or may not think we are dumb, but they certainly hope we are. 

Are folks getting the OBC reinstated immediately upon canceling? 

I'd like to cancel and rebook a few excursions, but some have only 2-3 spots left. I'm concerned I might lose the spot if I have to wait for the OBC.

Thanks.

6 minutes ago, Cruise Junky said:

Me too. Is there a massive difference in speed? 

In my experience, there is not a speed difference. The advantage of Premium is the ability to stream, to make phone calls, etc. It seems to us that they throttle down speed on video sites and such for the standard internet access. 

We use Premium primarily for being able to talk to family, largely for health reasons. Sometimes we will stream show episodes or a movie.

14 hours ago, wineoclock said:

@MamaFej Celebrity need hire you. Your posts are always measured & talk sense. Something X seems to have forgotten about. 

You are very kind.

Some of my posts demonstrate my twisted sense of humour. Those are a bit less measured and sensical, but I do try to be logical in my more serious posts. 

That U in humour was just for you, by the way. 

I imagine that, if Celebrity had instead decided to include a hot, fresh from the oven cookie with gelato purchase, they would end up selling a lot more gelato, and would not have created the drama. It could have been perceived as an addition, not another cut.

- - - - - - -

Regarding New To Cruise/New to Brand cruisers, I hope that the booking information is very clear that gratuities will be added to the folio. We here all know to budget for gratuities (and most, it seems, would like them baked into the initial fare). New cruisers might not know. If they don't find out about auto gratuities until onboard, I forsee plenty of issues, including many of these new cruisers demanding to have gratuities removed. As with many businesses, folks at the top make decisions and folks down the line have to deal with the consequences. 

2 hours ago, Moby Jones said:

It's natural progression. A lot of new Celebrity cruisers arrive from RCL looking for a more upscale experience. Then in the course of time many feel it's time to look for something more upscale than Celebrity. Recent management appointments starting with LLP have probably accelerated that process. 

I have posted about that progression, too. It seems that Celebrity served as a bridge from Royal to the higher end lines. For RCI, that used to mean Azamara, and now means SilverSea. I do not understand why they are seemingly blowing up that bridge, sending their customers elsewhere, rather than keeping it strong and continuing to charge tolls while directing customers to their top line. 

19 hours ago, ChucktownSteve said:

If you can afford Celebrity suites, you can afford Regent. So I agree, no reason to do Celebrity any longer if you find the right itinerary..  That's too bad because I used to really like sailing the old Celebrity.  But times change and so do the direction of companies dependent on the change in leadership priorities.  I'm apparently  not their priority any longer.

There is nothing special about me to anyone but my family and friends. I did, however, feel as though we were becoming the sort of cruiser a line like Celebrity would consider a priority.

PapaFej and are middle-class recent retirees in our 50s, with pretty good savings and reliable pensions. We have sailed with X more than any other line, and have more booked with them. We have brought our young adult kids on cruises, in second cabins, starting nine years ago when they were 19, 15, and 12. We still travel with them once in a while, and are seeking a big adventure in 2025 to celebrate some major milestones. 

In my perhaps delusional view, we are (were?) pretty good candidates for priority market targeting. 

I think we will likely do less cruising than we had anticipated, but on traditionally more expensive lines. 

Disclaimer: I am not a business person. My only experience with worrying about profit was in the context of organizing and working at fundraising events for the non-profit school and community organizaions I've volunteered for over the decades. Small potatoes. 

That said, it seems short-sighted, to me, to squeeze out/diminsh the Premium lines. I see them as potential bridges from the mass market lines to the Premium Plus or Luxury lines. 

Certainly, some cruisers start out crusing the Luxury lines. Most don't. Most never will. 

I would imagine that most cruisiers start at the Carnival or RCCL, etc.  level. If they enjoy that level, they might continue cruising, eventually moving to the HAL or Celebrity level. If they continue to enjoy cruising as their incomes and financial security rise, they may come to move to Premium Plus and then perhaps to the true Luxury lines, some of which are owned by parent companies of Mass Market and Premium lines. 

If, for example RCCL cruisers feel they'd enjoy a more premium experience like Celebrity has traditionally been, but aren't yet ready to go to SilverSea, what might they do? Taking away that bridge won't necessarily keep them on the side of the stream they started on, it may cause them to  eschew cruising altogether in favor of Premium travel experiences elsewhere. Why not keep the bridge, and keep collecting the tolls, even (and especially) if they never cross the bridge entirely?

It also seems to me, that with so many Celebrity cruisers here and on other platforms, talking about jumping ship to lines such as Oceania, Viking, Azamara, and even Regent, Seabourn, Crystal, etc., that RCI would do well to offer a one-time loyalty bump relative to current Captains Club level on Celebrity for SilverSea in order to try to keep cruisers "in the family" so to speak.

 🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️🤷🏻‍♀️

7 hours ago, wineoclock said:

 First world problem? Possibly.
 

Edit: we always tip extra and saw that as a bonus & tipped a bit more accordingly and didn’t really stress about it. We will now have to factor in an additional amount and probably will stress that we are tipping an appropriate amount. 

We are on an Internet forum catering to people who can afford to cruise and have the time to read and post about it. Any concern conveyed here is a First World Problem. 
 

We here are First World residents. There’s nothing wrong with that. Your concerns are entirely valid. 
 

We are also people who care about the wonderful, hard-working folks from developing nations who do so much to make our First World traveling experiences fantastically memorable. 
 

When the First World executives in Miami make decisions that deteriorate the onboard experience, especially those that have to do with tipping, it doesn’t just serve to move folks higher up in the Captains Club along to upmarket or other lines, it likely serves to reduce the amount of tip money the amazing crew receive. It also almost surely serves to make sure that crew members get berated for decisions they have no control over. 
 

I imagine we’ve all seen crew treated disrespectfully or worse by passengers. Some of us have immediately and vocally stood up for those crew when the passengers are particularly obnoxious. I hope I’m wrong in surmising that crew are in for some rough times ahead. 

28 minutes ago, Robert de Beaumont said:

They have a selection of ports, but the Tokaji and Sauternes are not offered these days — not since Covid.  More’s the pity! The 20 yr port is nice though. 

20 minutes ago, zitsky said:

Can anyone answer OP’s question about dessert wine?  I would also like to know.

 

@zitsky, I think you missed the post before yours as it is on the previous page. 

My experience has been the same. And the 20 year Taylor's Tawny can be hard to find. 

I really miss the Tokaji! 

It has nothing to do with the onboard experience, but it appears that Celebrity has also cut their advertising photo graphics editing budget.

We're supposed to believe that this tail appeared without any disturbance to the surrounding water?

Maybe it's just a fluke.

I know, I know... go sit in the corner and think about what I've done.

19 minutes ago, JLMcruise said:

We were on Celebrity Millie for 2 weeks earlier this month. One night, I set my alarm for 2:00am so I could check in for our Oct 1st cruise leaving Honolulu. I went to Guest Relations in my PJ's and they gave me a computer so I could check in. Needless to say -  I forgot my glasses. A crew member saw me struggling to read the computer.  She turned off her vacuum and offered to help me because I could not read our passports or the computer screen.  She helped me enter all the needed info so we could get the boarding time we desired. After - we had a good laugh at my insanity to do a 2:00am check in!! Don't worry about all the negativity on Cruise Critic. Go with an open mind and a pleasant disposition. The crew will do everything to make your cruise a great one. Can there be bumps in the "road" yes - not enough that it ever turned a cruise into a bad one. Have fun and enjoy!

Aloha! Thanks for the reminder. We just checked in. 

Celebrity does have some truly awesome crew members!

32 minutes ago, NMTraveller said:

I will round the numbers to make it easy but:

 

The Celebrity advertised rate for a cruise is $2000 pp.  This does not include AI or OBC.  You can book it on their website.

 

Book the group rate from a TA and it is $2000 pp and they throw in the AI package and $500 OBC.

 

This is just one example.  YMMV.

1 minute ago, Cruise till you drop said:

Sorry still not buying this.  I assume the numbers you showed are close to real and rounded to the nearest $100.  Otherwise you should have said “made up numbers” 

In the past, people have come to this board with requests to "Tell me about Celebrity" when they were considering booking with X for the first time. Lots of helpful people gave helpful answers.

Celebrity is the line I've sailed with the most, and my answer to them, as well as to IRL friends who would ask, was that Celebrity was "Classy without being stuffy." It was a little upscale without being over the top. Food was good, service was very good, but not overbearing. It was an excellent fit for us. 

However, with increasing prices and decreasing quality and services to all but the highest suites (which are selling at prices that make my eyes water) I feel that a more appropriate current response would be that Celebrity is "Stuffy without being classy." 

I am not in any way saying that those who are sailing in those higest suites are stuffy, I'm only saying this is the feeling Celebrity is giving me. This is about X, not their customers.

11 hours ago, JeanieC,Aston said:

Hi.

Kettles are not only provided to UK citizens.

Many nationalities sail from Southampton,,they all get kettles. 
If you mean all ships wherever they sail from should have kettles in the cabin I agree,,,or you are able to ask for one…….which I think you can.

You do get a good choice of tea and coffee with the kettles,,,I always get a glass of Lactose free milk from OV for my coffee.

Thanks, I figured that was the case. I should have made it clearer that I was referring to the earlier post that said that kettles are for British citizens.