It's just odd somehow...

[JeffCoud]

I see any number of posts etc from folks who like to be casual and relaxed, don't like to dress up, don't like to go to the main dining room, actually like a buffet for dinner, routinely have dinner in their room even, etc., so why are they choosing Celebrity?

 

Seems like a huge disconnect to me! There are far more casual/accommodating cruise lines out there for this market segment. I guess maybe the cruise ship is somewhat more transportation to travel on a desired sight-seeing itinerary or something? Like I can see a port-intensive euro cruise with little time to kick back and enjoy the usual cruise ship ambience and the ship is more a place to sleep, transport, and eat decent but not exciting meals. Anyhow, I can't imagine picking Celebrity for a low key dress down casual sort of cruise, it doesn't fit that model very well in my opinion. Anyhow, not slamming anyones's tastes, but these threads/posts strike me as being odd quite often.

 

Jeff

[sptrout]

I agree, and I think one of the main reason is that many new cruisers have no idea what to expect when they book a cruise. They do little to no research inadvance and just happen to pick the wrong line for their tastes.

 

For example, during our last cruise on the Solstice we talked to several people while dining in Blu that had no idea what the perks where of having an AQ cabin. They just booked blindly, and at the last minute. They did not know about Blu (until they tried to get into the MDR), and had no idea what The Persian Gardens was.

[cruise kitty]

Well, you just described us, & our next cruise will be a very port intensive E Med, Last year was a two week TA with the first week being very port intensive. We just aren't that into the whole MDR experience. We'd rather have a big salad & soup at the buffet, & spend the evening strolling the deck together... or even just in our cabin together. But everything else about X suits us, we met the most interesting people in the bars & lounges, watched the ball room dancers every night, had wonderful massages, & great food in the specialty restaurants. On port days we really enjoyed the buffet & sunset bar as we sailed away. We tend to be big lunch & breakfast eaters, & very small dinner eaters, probably my favorite thing was the Concierge breakfast on our balcony every morning, we'd get up at 5, get all ready for the port, & enjoy that breakfast as the sun rose each day... it was wonderful, different people just have different tastes.

[msrizzo]

I'm a first time Celebrity cruiser and I will admit that I didn't know all the "rules" beforehand. I chose Celebrity because it leaves out of Baltimore and a friend of mine recommended it. While there may be things I'd prefer to do differently if I was in charge of the cruise, nothing is a deal breaker for me. I'm not opposed to dressing up for formal night, but I'm not looking forward to doing it on my vacation! But I'll do it. It won't kill me, lol. And I'm kind of looking forward to eating in the dining room every night. That seems very comforting to me....getting to know the waiters and the folks at my table.

[tally10]

The dress code and formal nights have little influence as far as our criteria for choosing a cruise. We have sailed Celebrity for a total of 8 weeks now on 2 ships. We like the service and the Eclipse was brand new. Also the price was right as was the itinerary. We had been to all of the European ports before and they are our favorite places/perfect itinerary and wanted to have our daughter experience what we have seen in the past. We were not disappointed. The non-smoking aspect was a huge plus so factoring in all of this, those were the reasons we chose Celebrity and the Eclipse. The downside for our daughter was that she felt it was a senior citizen cruise, though she loved everything else about it and still corresponds via email and Facebook with a good portion of the crew! Dressing up for formal nights just really doesn't define the product Celebrity offers. It is just a small part of it.

[Shera2316]

What seems odd to me is how worked up people get over what other people are doing... what does it even matter? People choose cruise lines for all sorts of reasons. Just because someone wants to eat in a buffet or likes to eat in their room doesn't mean that they want a casual experience.

 

My husband and I aren't big fans of the MDR because we go on vacation to enjoy time with each other... so a romantic dinner on our balcony is preferable to us than eating in a crowded dining room. Different people like different things. We chose Celebrity because it has a good reputation and has the itinerary we wanted. I don't really see it as that odd...

[DavidYYC]

I'm new to cruising but loved the meals and dining experience and the need to dress.

 

I don't understand paying a fair amount of money and then wanting to slop around in flip-flops and baggy tee shirt, eating pizza - I can do that at home for free.

 

I am with you on the disconnect.

 

If you want to do a certain itinerary - there are countless options. My sister-in-law chose Ocean Village to do a Med cruise this fall precisely because it is very casual.

[Merig75484]

Different people like different things. We chose Celebrity because it has a good reputation and has the itinerary we wanted. I don't really see it as that odd...

 

Hitting the nail on the head, as they say. As with everything in life, there'll always be something I don't/wouldn't want, but on balance I try to maximize those things that I do. Dressing up 'aint one of them and it follows that it's something I won't be doing, notwithstanding the fact that others might!

[IslandThyme]

I'm amazed that no one (unless I missed it) has mentioned the no-smoking policy. That's my first and foremost reason for choosing Celebrity for our very first cruise, through the Panama Canal, which is coming up in just about three weeks..

[Gracie115]

Well, you just described us, & our next cruise will be a very port intensive E Med, Last year was a two week TA with the first week being very port intensive. We just aren't that into the whole MDR experience. We'd rather have a big salad & soup at the buffet, & spend the evening strolling the deck together... or even just in our cabin together. But everything else about X suits us, we met the most interesting people in the bars & lounges, watched the ball room dancers every night, had wonderful massages, & great food in the specialty restaurants. On port days we really enjoyed the buffet & sunset bar as we sailed away. We tend to be big lunch & breakfast eaters, & very small dinner eaters, probably my favorite thing was the Concierge breakfast on our balcony every morning, we'd get up at 5, get all ready for the port, & enjoy that breakfast as the sun rose each day... it was wonderful, different people just have different tastes.

 

 

I actually understand your reasoning...and it makes sense....I still like to dress and all and love X for many reasons, one being they ARE a bit more formal than other lines, but the manner in which you describe your cruise makes it understandable why you would pick X and not bother with the MDR. I also rise at 5, if I could just DH up at that hour:eek: we might be doing the same thing!!! Thanks for the enlightenment!:)

[Hibiscus13]

We chose the itinerary - that was the only reason we booked this cruise, it just happened to be on a Celebrity ship. And we chose a Sky Suite so that we can spend time together on our trip, not having to worry about what 2000+ other people are wearing, doing, sitting, eating, drinking....

[dan_and_joe]

What seems odd to me is how worked up people get over what other people are doing... what does it even matter? People choose cruise lines for all sorts of reasons. Just because someone wants to eat in a buffet or likes to eat in their room doesn't mean that they want a casual experience.

 

Very well said. Also, the dress code is such a small part of a cruise, yet people on each side of the debate seem so passionate about it. It's a non-issue for us, honestly.

 

We love X primarily for the service, the food, the adult atmosphere (i.e. generally not a lot of kids on board) and the ship design.

[cruise kitty]

I actually understand your reasoning...and it makes sense....I still like to dress and all and love X for many reasons, one being they ARE a bit more formal than other lines, but the manner in which you describe your cruise makes it understandable why you would pick X and not bother with the MDR. I also rise at 5, if I could just DH up at that hour:eek: we might be doing the same thing!!! Thanks for the enlightenment!:)

 

Thank you, we will also dress up on a few nights, probably at the Tuscan Grill... we may even rent DH a tux & go the James Bond route... Men do look fabulous in tuxes;) It's just nice to have the options.

[DanManBob]

What cruisekitty and shera said....seriously, does the OP really believe that 2000+ people will view the world (or a cruise experience) the same way he does? I suspect if you quizzed our group of 4, you would get multiple views of these topics. Cruisers on a ship are not clones of one another....lol.

 

We ended up on Celebrity for our upcoming Med cruise for these reasons:

 

1. A trusted friend told me to look for a certain minimum ship rating (he knows my wife...lol).

2. We liked the "reasonable" price of balcony cabins, relative to a couple of other lines with similar itineraries during the time of year we want to travel.

3. We loved the itinerary and it was in the month we wanted to travel.

4. One of the lines departs on a date that would cause my friend's wife to be away on a grandchild's birthday (seriously).

 

When we booked, I had no real knowledge of the dress code, the existence or lack thereof of a "full" buffet, what is on the menus in any of the restaurants and so on. Those were of little importance to us. In fact, those types of things were not even discussed when we started our planning. For some, I am sure these are very important.

 

It is likely that we will dine some in the MDR, once or more in a specialty restaurant, and yes, other times at the limited buffet or via room service. Just depends on what we feel like that particular day.

[JeffCoud]

I appreciate people's responses, honestly I do, but nothing much in the responses was all that notable -- other than the smoking policy which I neglected that -- that IS a pretty big difference with other lines these days in that X is stricter than the norm. And of course in my original post I mentioned I could see a focus on something more port-intensive and hence these other X cruise experiences are less important like fancy dinner at night, etc.

 

But good service, decent food, decent cabins, etc., these are all things you can find on other lines quite easily enough, they are by no means unique to Celebrity, as well as other amenities like speciality restaurants, various gym/spa things, etc. I really was just curious that's all. I feel like X is indeed known for certain things but those things are not necessarily an attraction to "x" number of X cruisers. X's marketing profile is far more sleak/stylish (or its trying to be, lol) rather than laidback/casual, so I was just curious as to what made people book X over Y. Their advertising exudes adult sophistication, whether or not that is embodied onboard is another story of course, lol. I definitely don't stay awake at night thinking about such things! lol.... And again not slamming anyone's tastes, I know mine are odd as well, lol lol lol, but I was just curious really!

 

Jeff

[cruise kitty]

I appreciate people's responses, honestly I do, but nothing much in the responses was all that notable -- other than the smoking policy which I neglected that -- that IS a pretty big difference with other lines these days in that X is stricter than the norm. And of course in my original post I mentioned I could see a focus on something more port-intensive and hence these other X cruise experiences are less important like fancy dinner at night, etc.

 

But good service, decent food, decent cabins, etc., these are all things you can find on other lines quite easily enough, they are by no means unique to Celebrity, as well as other amenities like speciality restaurants, various gym/spa things, etc. I really was just curious that's all. I feel like X is indeed known for certain things but those things are not necessarily an attraction to "x" number of X cruisers. X's marketing profile is far more sleak/stylish (or its trying to be, lol) rather than laidback/casual, so I was just curious as to what made people book X over Y. Their advertising exudes adult sophistication, whether or not that is embodied onboard is another story of course, lol. I definitely don't stay awake at night thinking about such things! lol.... And again not slamming anyone's tastes, I know mine are odd as well, lol lol lol, but I was just curious really!

 

Jeff

 

There is not another cruise line in my price range with the pax to crew ratio of celebrity or the pax to space ratio.... the service or the ambiance. To me that is a huge deal.

[FinelyCruising]

I see any number of posts etc from folks who like to be casual and relaxed, don't like to dress up, don't like to go to the main dining room, actually like a buffet for dinner, routinely have dinner in their room even, etc., so why are they choosing Celebrity?

 

 

Jeff

 

What buffet for dinner are you referring to?

[Gracie115]

Thank you, we will also dress up on a few nights, probably at the Tuscan Grill... we may even rent DH a tux & go the James Bond route... Men do look fabulous in tuxes;) It's just nice to have the options.

 

 

Yes we love the Tuscan Grill...what a view at sunset leaving a port....

 

Oh yeah...I like the "Bond" look too....it's the only style tux my DH wears!!:D

[JeffCoud]

What buffet for dinner are you referring to?

 

that's true...they do seem to have recently ended the dinner buffet I guess? There are some things available up in Lido-land at night like maybe pasta and pizza and a few other things!

 

Will be on the Summit next week so I can tell you for sure! But they did used to have one at least.

 

Jeff

[Bridge Maven]

To answer your question - a lot of people decide what part of the world they want to see for a particular cruise and then chose one based on price.

[alicam]

We chose Celebrity Century for our 25th wedding anniversary, and had a royal suite to boot....we decided to really live it up and enjoy ourselves, the tux and evening gown and such....however, it was a very special occasion for us and we are just as happy mucking around in shorts and jeans...but again, this was a special occasion, and we treated it as such

[FinelyCruising]

that's true...they do seem to have recently ended the dinner buffet I guess? There are some things available up in Lido-land at night like maybe pasta and pizza and a few other things!

 

Will be on the Summit next week so I can tell you for sure! But they did used to have one at least.

 

Jeff

 

Yes, dinner buffets are over and done and were over-rated IMHO.

[emileg]

I think one can tell a lot about a cruise line and its "culture" from its brochures. Cunard shows men in tuxedos and women in evening gowns being served by stewards wearing white gloves. Carnival shows "kids" going down the water slide. Royal Caribbean shows "kids" on rock climbing walls. What does a celebrity brochure show us? I don't have a brochure, but the website shows elegantly casually dressed people enjoying themselves in a number of venues.

[Mr. Luckytoo]

I see any number of posts etc from folks who like to be casual and relaxed, don't like to dress up, don't like to go to the main dining room, actually like a buffet for dinner, routinely have dinner in their room even, etc., so why are they choosing Celebrity?

 

Seems like a huge disconnect to me! There are far more casual/accommodating cruise lines out there for this market segment. I guess maybe the cruise ship is somewhat more transportation to travel on a desired sight-seeing itinerary or something? Like I can see a port-intensive euro cruise with little time to kick back and enjoy the usual cruise ship ambience and the ship is more a place to sleep, transport, and eat decent but not exciting meals. Anyhow, I can't imagine picking Celebrity for a low key dress down casual sort of cruise, it doesn't fit that model very well in my opinion. Anyhow, not slamming anyones's tastes, but these threads/posts strike me as being odd quite often.

 

Jeff

 

One reason that account for the 'disconnect' is simple - new ships and price. Lets face it people like to sail on new ships. Plus look at the recent prices for =X= in the Caribbean. It's a LOT less expensive booking aa balcony on Equinox than RCI Freedom or Oasis...

 

Therefore just base on those two criteria you're going to get more new passengers sailing on Celebrity.

 

Now throw in =X='s GREAT non-smoking policy and their reputation for better service there are 4 reasons to switch to =X=. Notice that formal dress isn't in the top reasons? :cool:

[FinelyCruising]

I think one can tell a lot about a cruise line and its "culture" from its brochures. Cunard shows men in tuxedos and women in evening gowns being served by stewards wearing white gloves. Carnival shows "kids" going down the water slide. Royal Caribbean shows "kids" on rock climbing walls. What does a celebrity brochure show us? I don't have a brochure, but the website shows elegantly casually dressed people enjoying themselves in a number of venues.

 

ooooh emileg...you are a trendsetter...hold on tight, we like your style!