MamaFej

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. 

3 hours ago, Ipeeinthepools said:

 

Isn't it possible that someone regularly drinks both coffee and tea?  I don't think it needs to be an either or.

And one does not have to be a "UK citizen" to enjoy tea. 

The idea that kettles are only provided to UK citizens seems more than a bit off-putting. 

23 minutes ago, jelayne said:

I have always liked the regular cookies, they call to me every time I pass Cafe Al Bacio, and I usually respond.

If they call to you, it would be downright rude to ignore them.

Manners are important. 

18 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

HOWEVER, once we accepted these differences and started appreciating what experiences they were offering onboard, we started to have a much better time.

 

Fast forward to our HAL decision. Same theory. Once we stopped comparing what HAL used to offer for entertainment on their cruises prior to 2018 and focus on the positive aspects of what the "new" HAL currently has to offer, to include very affordable prices for the Vista suite veranda cabins (around $250 +/- pp/day with their Have It All package) for many of their 3-5 week itineraries, we decided to give them another go (in 2026). 😉

I think you've hit on somehting important here, Ken. Cruisers would be wise, going forward, to compare what is, not what was.

The question for purposes of this forum, then, is: why wouldn't Celebrity want to make sure what is is better for their target market than what their competitors are offering, and why wouldn't Celebrity want to make sure what is is consistent from booking time to sailing time? Unless, of course, they are seeking an endless series of one and done customers rather than repeat ones. 

4 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

Methinks that this experiment was to move some of us from the small changes being made to be ready for the big one...

That's what it feels like to me: sleight of hand. "Hey, everybody, look over here!"  Meanwhile, raise the prices at Sushi on Five or somewhere/something else while everyone is distracted.

Ugh. I hate being so cynical. I wish Celebrity would stop giving me reasons to feel this way.

Just now, doghog said:

If that happens I'll be sure start a thread about it. 😉

And people who lack the emotional and/or intellectual capacity to scroll on by things that don't interest them will complain about the thread, thereby perpetuating it. 

4 minutes ago, doghog said:

Will we be grandfathered in as we paid our dues in 1994. 😁$35.00 each. 

Maybe, just be prepared for the retroactive 20% gratuity. Have that $7 handy. 

Each.

22 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

In X's defense, they correctly lower expectations by using the term "relaxed luxury"

 

I now have an image of Hugh Hefner in his pajamas in my head. 

Just what I needed.

Not. 

1 minute ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

I don't think it'll be too bad for them as they'd be used to those who wrongly assume the gelato is free and I don't recall any sign that lists the gelato price.  At least the price is listed for the cookie

I hope you are correct. 

Those poor folks have a fairly dull time until the last two days, when folks suddenly remember: Oh! I need to go get my "free" gelato!

1 hour ago, SkystheLimit said:

I've always felt a little sorry for the person working the gelato counter.  They seldom have any business and they mostly stand around wiping down the counter endlessly.  This charging for a cookie probably won't add to their excitement.

 

Sadly, the excitement added to their shift will likely come from rude passengers berating them for a policy they had absolutely nothing to do with devising. 

17 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

That's why our Singapore to Hong Kong sailing for this coming December is on the newly re-named Solstice of the Seas.

12 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Fingers crossed your itinerary isn't updated to include the Panama canal and Coco Cay

Celebrity took away our 2024 overnight in Singapore to "enhance" our cruise experience. 

I'm hoping they don't take docking in Singapore away from David and his cruise mates, instead making them tender (or swim) to the ship.

27 minutes ago, lostchild said:

That's not smart.   Okay so they want to charge for the previously free pizza because they want more money, okay fine.  What not smart is why sent out surveys?   What did they expect?   "YES!  We would love to pay for things that were free before!"   I also want to know who is that 1 person out of 11 that says, yeah you should charge for it! 😆

I think if you read through this thread and others about concerns with the changing product, elimination of previous inclusions, and unexpected charges, you'll see who those folks are. 

My observations:

Many people don't like it, but understand and begrudgingly support raising cruise fares while keeping the product the same.

Some people don't like it, but understand and begrudgingly support lowering quality and charging extra for previous inclusions, while keeping the cruise fares the same.

A few people are big fans of lowering quality and charging for previous inclusions, while simultaneously raising prices. 

Different people look at the same situation differently. 

11 minutes ago, Mackdogmolly said:

Years and years ago, my parents took my sisters and me and our kids on a family cruise on a Royal Caribbean ship. We had a ball. We all split into various groups and did our own thing during the day and then all met as a big family group for dinner at night. Great memories 

That's one of my favorite things about cruising with a group, including family. You can "be together" without "BEING TOGETHER!!!!" 

Having breaks from one another makes the communal times more special without being overwhelming. 

Over and over again, I'm seeing words like "Trust," "Credibility," and "Reputation" being mentioned on these boards, and not in a positive way.

Time will tell if the short-term money grabs will outweigh the loss of dependability for those who used to be repeat customers. 

2 minutes ago, RichYak said:

It's Facebook. I don't know why people think we can't mention Facebook here.

Exactly! It doesn't seem to matter how many times the hosts tell us it's okay to mention Facebook, we just can't promote their groups, people will continue to claim that we can't. 

29 minutes ago, Boytjie said:

That’s some sad reporting. 

Indeed. "May be" "might be" "speculate..." That's not anything close to resembling actual reporting. 

Someone basically summarized this thread (and what Hubby says is on Facebook) and is getting paid for each view. I'm guilty of contributing.

Oh, well, the author can probably afford a more than a few cookies on their next cruise. 

7 hours ago, Mickey111 said:

Thank you this may be the one does it come with a bag?

I don't see anything in the listing to indicate that. Some of the reviews mention hanging shopping bags from the handles. 

I do recall that there were versions with and without the smal seat. It's certainly not a comfortable seat, as some walkers have, since it collapses so small. It did work for my son for the times he needed it between wheelchair or seat times. The seat on this walker is more for leaning, as seen in the photo, than for actual, comfortable sitting. 

1 hour ago, terrydtx said:

But, are they available 24/7? I might have a cookie craving at 2am! If I call room service that $2 cookie just became $9.95 + 20%🤢

$11.95 +20%. You forgot to include the cost of the cookie. 

I never had a craving during any of my preganacies that was worth $14.34

$14.27, maybe, but certainly not $14.24.