parallax

The idea of roving gangs of people in the 30s causing all sorts of anarchy is very funny. Of course, they will only be able to be hell raisers during the hours the Kids Club is open.:)

Part of the reason we only go on a cruise every couple years is that the process of booking a cruise is not fun. One is always wondering whether one booked too early or too late. So you have to monitor all the prices all the time. In contrast when we go to Vegas, we have a pretty good idea that our offer will remain constant. The hotels use metrics to determine spend patterns etc. and use prior trips to shape the offers. The cruise lines do not use these analytics so one is constantly looking for a reasonable deal that is offered to the general public.

Although it may not be appropriate to use a title based on a song considering the music debate that has been raging over the last few dates, the one thing that really bothers me is the willingness of board members, and maybe I have been guilty, is to make generalizations about the different generations (Generation X, Millennials, Baby Boomers). When debating a topic, people make gross generalizations about a generation. For example, people from Generation X (my generation) have been informed that they are in the minority and that the Baby Boomers are the dominate clientele (generating the most money) of Celebrity and that Celebrity should direct their attention at them and look at the issues from their perspective. On the other hand, for example, people from Generation X claim the the Baby Boomers reject all change because they do not want their "luxury cruise" experiences ruined.

I don't see the value in these sorts of generalizations. The generalizations distort the issue at hand. My socio-economic position, cultural tastes and interests might be closer aligned to someone from another generation. However, a gross generalization does not provide for this distinction. It results in us versus them scenario.

From now on, I will make an effort to avoid such generalizations. I think there are many issues that merit discussion but I also think we sometimes make mountains out of a molehill.

Ugh, this ridiculous subject again. I would like to thank everyone who speaks on behalf of Generation X (my group) or the Millennials on what we do and don't like when we are going on a cruise. Entertainment is not the reason I select a cruise line.

I believe that for many the complaints is not completely about the levels of music but the type of music. I'm sorry that the soft rock soothings of Celine Dion, Dan Folgelberg and the other soft treacle from the 60s & 70s can't be heard on every venue of the ship. For one, I'm appreciative that there is variety and I support Celebrity's initiative.

Here are some random thoughts on this subject.

1. I think change in this industry is always necessary but it always seems that the cruise lines are behind the curve on what should be changed. They see a trend and try to incorporate it on the ship but by the time implement the trend is dead (see champagne bar, cigar bar, craft beer bar etc.). Gourmet burger places are being done to death so of course that is what Celebrity will sign up to do. Think outside of the box and try to be ahead of the curve. Sometimes new ideas won't work but when they do there is much more upside.

2. While economy of scale on the larger scales do create more revenue, I believe that it creates more mediocrity. The food and service tend to be of a lower quality and the ports of call tend to be less interesting. Count me as a fine of the smaller ships.

3. Changes aren't purely focused on obtaining new customers. Changes are important to get current customers interested and excited. They want to induce people to continue to cruise. For some people, change is necessary for that inducement.

Both my wife and I enjoy cruising but there are some elements of cruising that annoy us. While sometimes I question some of the changes, the only thing I look at is whether it will be a major impact to us during our cruise. Our findings are always no. However, for others, it is Chicken Little and the world is ending. The list of world ending events include:

1. The new cruising caste system with the new benefits to be provided to suite owners.

2. The loud music in the Martini Bar (in other words, music we don't like)

3. Children on Celebrity (this an upscale cruise line after all).

I guess I just don't relate and I find this, and as it the case with other things, completely blown out of proportion.

I guess I don't understand the uproar. So I assume that the same people who are opposed to this concept only fly Southwest and Jet Blue because they aren't comfortable unegalitarian nature of business and first class. While I don't see the value in suites, we are rarely in the cabin, I don't see how this will impact one's cruise. Sure there will be a lost of some space but I don't think it is any different than when an area is closed for a Captain's Club event, etc.

I have been on both cruise lines and hands down Oceania wins. I rather spend 10 days going to more unique ports (Tortola, St. Barths etc) than going to places that all the other cruise lines go to. I find the food and service to better and I prefer small vessels to the mega ships.

I agree that Celebrity has more entertainment options but I find the entertainment to be lacking. I have no interest in seeing the same canned salute to the music of the 1950s and 1960s. On Oceania, we always found ways to keep us entertained. We met some fun people and would gather at a bar for some wine or cocktails. The wine selection on Oceania is much better than Celebrity.

That being said, we are big fans of Celebrity and so you wouldn't go wrong on going a cruise with them. This is a good problem to have.

In June, we are going on the Silhouette that starts and end in Venice. The ship arrives back in Venice the day before we disembark. Can we exit the ship earlier than normal as it has already cleared customs? We saw a 8:00 flight out and were trying to determine if the rules for disembarking were any different if the ship has already been in port for a day.

Back in 1999/2000, I had just been out of law school for a year and my wife and I and another couple decided to go on the Voyager of the Seas. We decided to use the TA who had booked our honeymoon and had also taken care of my the travel needs of my wife's family needs for over 20 years. When we were three or four weeks out from the cruise, we had not yet received our travel documents. Our TA said she was holding out for an upgrade. When it got to two weeks, she called to tell us we had been bumped from the cruise. She said there had been a huge mix up and that RC had accidently failed to apply our final payment. Well we called RC and they said to talk our TA as they would only deal with the TA. She was a certified RC TA. Our TA was still feeding us the same line and it sounded fishy. We went back to RC and they still wouldn't disclose what was going.

The next day our TA called back and informed us that we were booked on one of the older ships that was leaving the same day. We said no way. It was a lesser value, older ship and the ports of call were different. She called back later that RC would give us a free cruise due to the mix. We said ok if they threw in free airline tickets and OBC and provided it in writing on RC letterhead, but she would not give it to us. We informed her that we wanted all our money back. Finally, we got the letter from RC that promise a free cruise, but the airline tickets and OBC weren't mentioned. We decided we would work that out later.

Well the cruise we ending up going on was a disaster. Our friends were upset about what had gone on and it was just not a fun time. When I got back, I went to work to solidify our free cruise and other guarantees. It was like pulling teeth. Eventually, I found out that our TA had never submitted the final payment. RC took the position that it was not responsible and would not provide the other benefits. However, I told them that they were equally responsible because we had no way of knowing that we had a bad TA. They would not respond to any of our inquiries. Each time there response was they would only talk with the TA.

Eventually, RC honored our request. It took 6 months and the resolution came about when I reached out to the RC's legal department. I thought they were paying lip service when I faxed them the documents to review. However, an hour later I got the call that it was approved and was faxed a copy of the certificates. I was shocked. When I thought it about it later that day, it must have scared the hell out them because my coversheet had the Department of Justice seal, my employer at that time, and the cruise line was having issues with the DOJ. It was not intentional and was probably inappropriate but I was too lazy to create my own coversheet.

What became evident over time is that the TA was have financial issues and used our money to pay other expenses. Years later she was arrested for fraud.

Very nice report!

It is sad when the Simpsons in a 15 sec clip can summarize some of the entertainment we see on a ship.

have:)

Sorry for some of the typos in my original post. Some thoughts on the comments that I been provided.

1. I'm not wishing for Celebrity to cater just to Gen X. However, it would be nice if there was some diversity in the entertainment options. Plus, I would say that Gen X has plenty of disposable income.

2. I work in the IT industry and I'm amazed in the inefficiencies of the cruise lines when it comes to taking advantage of technology. I cruise less because the cruise lines are so technology backwards. The cruise lines do not make it easy in booking a cruise.

I think cruise lines are afraid to make change. They are very conservative in their business practice and almost any change meets with an uproar.

There has been much discussion about recent changes and marketing approaches taken by Celebrity and other cruise lines. So it had me thinking of what changes I would like to see. Before I list my proposed changes it might be helpful to provide a little background. My wife and I, both professionals are in early to mid 40s and we have a 6 year old. We have been on 11 cruises (Celebtiy 6, Royal 3, HAL 1 and Oceania 1) and go on a cruise about every 2 years and book a balcony cabin. We tend to spend money on the ship (spa, drinks, speciality dinners, casino and a little shopping) and for a 7 day cruise spend between 1k to 3k.

My recommendations are as follow:

1. Customized offers. In a data driven world, Celebrity should be able to make a customize offers directly to me. Based on past habits (spending patterns, amount of spend, cruising frequency etc), Celebrity should send me an offer that incentivizes me go on a cruise with them. We go to Vegas about one a year and the various casinos/hotels email us a variety of different offers. The hotels where we spend the majority of our time and money send us the best offers. We receive free rooms, dining room credits and sometimes gaming credits.

The cruise industry seems behind in the times in this regard. Maybe because cruising and travel agents are so intertwined. However, I think the system is ineffective and one as a result has to look at travel agencies incentives or wait for special offers from the cruise line. I find this to be very frustrating of having to continually be on the lookout for offers. Plus, I don't feel valued as a customer even though we are in ideal customer to the cruise line. To be honest, I don't want to book with travel agents and I would prefer to book directly with Celebrity but the better incentives lay with the TA.

2. Upgrade you website. I find Celebrity's website to be outdated and not intuitive. The site should be modified to be more user friendly and apply much more content. Cruise Critic flourishes, in part, because it fills in the gaps in information created by the ineffectiveness of the website.

3. Provide more diverse entertainment. On every cruise, the line up seems to be the same. Comic, magician, and a variety show, which is usually a tribute to music of the 50s & 60s. I'll pass. Can we have some entertainment for Generation X?

I agree that consistent tipping gets you remembered and also results consistent service. At dinner each night, the sommelier would take the time and recommend various types of wine by what we eating for dinner that night. He would always make sure that our wine glasses were always full. After dinner and dropping our daughter at the kids club, we would usually go to the casino bar and they would start preparing our drinks as they saw us walk in. When we were on the Summit, we would go down every morning to Cafe Al Bacio to get speciality coffee, water etc. We usually saw the captain each morning at the Cafe and he liked to talked to my daughter because he girl about the same age. He noticed that we always tipped when we got our drinks and he thanked us for doing that. He mentioned that the bartenders and waitstaff work so hard and that while a few dollars here or there might not mean much to us, it it really appreciated by them.

On our last cruise, we took a wad of singles with us. We had the premium package and gave a dollar tip each time we obtained a drink. I guess it is all our times in Vegas that has us thinking this way. This little extra incentive worked wonders. Every bartender and drink server were appreciative and we never had to wait for drinks. At the end, we gave an extra few dollars to particular bartenders we frequented.

My wife and I are in earlier 40s. We are both professionals and have a good amount of disposable income. Over the last 15 years, we have been on Royal, Celebrity, HAL and Oceania. In June, we are going on our 6th cruise with Celebrity to Italy. We like the balance that Celebrity offers. The food is a step-up, the hard sell on products (drinks, art etc.) is not as evident, the ports of call seem to be a little more frequent and diverse and the Kids Club is a perfect fit for our daughter.

While I agree that sometimes that we wish the atmosphere was more lively (we like the music in the Martini Bar), it is a minor quibble. Our goal is to do some relaxing and exploring. If we want a hard charging atmosphere, we go to Vegas. If we want all the bells and whistles for kids, we go to an amusement park.

I will say that I am somewhat perplexed by how the cruise lines market. With all the data analytics tools that are available, the cruise lines have not been able develop custom offers to cruisers. When we go to Vegas, we receive offers from several hotels on the strip. Some offers are standard offers but others are customized based on the time and money we spent on the property. We can receive free or reduced rate rooms, dining credits and/or free play in the casino.

As someone who usually spends at least $2000 while on the ship, wouldn't I be a more desirable customer than a person who books the cheapest room and has limited onboard spending? Yet, the cruise line does not offer us any additional or custom incentives. Maybe it isn't practical because TAs play such a critical role in the booking process.

I apologize but I'm not sure from the fact pattern who you are claiming that lost your suitcases. It appears that the airline is at fault and that the claim should be filed with them. If it was a domestic flight, I believe you can collect up to $3300. You would need to file a claim with them and see how the process starts to play out before we get to the point where escalation is required.

Wow. This has been a very informative read. I applaud Mel & Ken for their tenacity and openness on this issue. The one thing that is crystal clear to me is that we will be taking off our own luggage when we arrive in Venice in July.

As an attorney for a fortune 100 company, I have the following observations:

1. While it is true that the porters are not employees of Celebrity, they are subcontractors/agents of Celebrity. Celebrity has a contractual relationship with the organization providing the porters.

2. Proving negligence on Celebrity would be next to impossible. For all we know, the room attendant threw the bags into the water. If you don't know what happened, how do you prove negligence?

3. Company policies are not black and white and you don't want them to be (although some on the board wants it this way). There are people within an organization who can approve deviations from the policy for economic reasons, goodwill or a litany of other business reasons. Celebrity is a business and not concerned with having uniformity in the enforcement of its policy.

4. It seems that in the case of Mel & Ken, the company made a poor business decision. They are frequent cruisers who spend big dollars on the ship. In all likelihood, they will no longer cruise Celebrity. The cost of replacing them as a customer will be higher than if they had sweetened the pot. This is one rationale why companies will make exceptions to its policies.

I disagree that Celebrity is not kid friendly. Silverseas and Oceania are not geared towards kids. While it is true that Celebrity does not have all the attractions that one would find on RCL, NCL etc., there are more than enough activities to keep your kids entertained. My issue with the mega ships is that most things are mediocre (food, itinerary, service). I find Celebrity to be a nice middle ground (good food, better itineraries and service) and it works for both my wife and I and our daughter.

I think it is imperative that Celebrity reach out to the 30-40 crowd as it makes economic sense. It is a greater benefit to bring in customers at that age range because of the possibility of having a repeat customer for the next 40 to 50 years.