Positivity for Celebrity - Who's with me?

[City_Woman]

I have noticed a number of threads and posts lately that are very negative toward Celebrity cruises.

 

I completely agree with the right to voice and opinion, but I have noticed that the opinions have taken a tone that is frankly turning me off of Cruise Critic.

 

It used to be a place where I could come and share an opinion, share my thoughts good or bad, and see balance. If I were a brand new person lurking the boards to find out about Celebrity - I'd run away. Very bad and sad.

 

That balance seems to be disappearing.

 

The most recent trend seems to be "I don't like "fill in the blank" Celebrity - are you listening - change it or I'll stop cruising."

 

I love Celebrity. I think the cruise experience is terrific. The food is good to great. The entertainment is good to great. The ships are good to fantastic. I prefer Solstice class ships to Constellation - but that doesn't give me the right to suggest Celebrity only have Solstice class ships.

 

Things change - and maybe not the way I like them. Me? I am blessed to be able to cruise at all.

 

I have heard Celebrity monitors these boards.

 

I for one give a shout out for Celebrity! You may not be perfect, but frankly until I can look in the mirror and see a perfect person in front of me, I won't expect perfection from you - I will continue to expect a wonderful vacation experience.

 

For those who are unhappy with changes, current trends, food, service, etc. I'm sorry. Maybe Celebrity is no longer for you - I'm just saying.

 

I hope you respect me enough to have my own opinion and the right to state that opinon.

 

Positivity for Celebrity!

 

Judy

[nps001]

Completely agree!

[GregNVNY]

Your post completely sums up the way I feel as well. I'm with you totally.

 

Discussion can be helpful but I've notice lately a proliferation of negativity (that gets blown out of proportion) towards Celebrity which to me is the polar opposite of reality once I board a Celebrity ship. Even worse, I have noticed that many of the threads turn personal.

 

Its nice to get some information in this virtual forum, but a lot of the discussion to me is useless.

 

I love Celebrity and will continue to include their cruises in future vacation plans.

 

Driving up to Fort Lauderdale today for my cruise tomorrow. :)

[4774Papa]

Ditto,

We just did a great X cruise from FLL thru the Panama Canal down to Valpo, Chile. It was great. The MDR food and service was super.

 

We still like NCL for the freestyle and its specialty restaurants. X is a good change, while more formal, we liked it and signed up for more.

 

X goes to South America, Asia and Australia/NZ, which NCL does not.

[cheriberi]

Thank you for reinforcing our decision to sail on Celebrity for our first cruise. We will be on the Eclipse next month and I have been reading all the reviews I can to prepare for our cruise. I chose Celebrity because of all the positive comments, but lately the negative comments had me second guessing my decision.

 

I realize that not everyone will have a positive experience on any particular cruise line, but I do believe we have made the right choice.

 

I am so excited about our upcoming cruise. I cannot wait until we set sail!

[BridgeMates]

Have to agree with you. After the last 10 years with Princess, we booked two really nice cruises with Celebrity. Then I started reading the cc Boards on Celebrity.....beds no good, food no good, cruise director horrible, etc. etc. Guess what! I thought I had clicked on the Princess board - it's the same thing...... food, beds, decline in service, etc. etc. Any two people on the same cruise can each have a different opinion so we are looking forward to seeing the difference in the two cruise lines for ourselves. I know I'm going to miss the benefits we have with Princess but who knows? maybe we'll go with Celebrity for the next 10 years!

BTW I have learned a lot from cc in preparing for our cruises and won't let the negativity get the best of me. It serves its purpose too. :)

[espmass]

I agree. I have been on several other lines but prefer Celebrity. Sure I see how things have changed through the years but as long as I'm on a cruise, who cares? I guess I'm not hard to please and I do realize that with so many customers not everyone will be happy. I use the boards more for getting general information than for opinions as it seems so many posters nit pick things and opinions are so varied; not everyone likes or even looks for the same things. I have read so many discouraging opinions of the Solstice yet I am thrilled to be on her 2/5 and I doubt I'll see anything wrong once onboard.

[anniegb]

Honestly I think you are all overreacting. Is it just because it is Winter and everyone has the post-holiday blues?

 

Or maybe I just use these boards selectively.

 

I use the tool facility to search for information I require.

 

I ignore the whingers - some folk love a virtual forum so they can whinge to their hearts content.

 

One comment which has been made and by more than a few is the proposed closure of the piano bars - I love live music as long as it is of a good standard. I will be disappointed if that goes through. To be replaced by what?

 

I have sailed X once and I will cruise again in April.

 

I made a comment on board, on a minor matter, which was addressed and resolved.

 

I will continue to read these boards selectively.

 

My cruise decisions are based on itinerary price and on-board experience.

 

Annie

[beebee]

I have been a long time Celebrity cruiser and while there certainly are many changes to the cruise experience I agree that Celebrity still offers a wonderful experience. I truly believe a cruise is what you make of it. If you go looking for a good time the components on Celebrity are certainly there to provide you with one. If you go with negativity you will certainly find it also. I will never forget the cruise where one of our tablemates at dinner was so upset because he couldn't get roquefort(sp.?)cheese every night as part of his meal.

 

We are leaving on Feb. 11th for a Celebrity cruise and as I sit planning my wardrobe, deciding on what beaches I will visit and what exotic martinis I will have this year on board I am as excited as ever about cruising and happy with my choice to continue on Celebrity.

[Leibe_]

I had such a great time on the Silhouette in October that I have 5 more cruises booked!! The food is very good to great, service fantastic and I love the comfy beds.

Was it a perfect cruise? Of course not but the good far outweighed the couple of not so good incidents.

Folks talk about how much better cruising USED to be. My last cruises were in the '80's and they were not nearly as nice as what I experienced on my October Celebrity cruise. Food wasn't better, never laid eyes on my room steward and, on Carnival, the waiters were very rude. I won't even mention how dirty the ship was.

The only complaint about Celebrity is that they allow diapered children in the pools even though it is prohibited. Very unsanitary and dangerous to the health of the passengers who use the pools/tubs.

[floridacruisers]

Started sailing with Celebrity in April, 1992 on the second sailing of the Zenith. Leaving next week on our 21st cruise with Celebrity so either they are doing something right or there is something wrong with me. I'd like to think it's the former more so than the latter. (I sure hope so:D). Yes, things have changed. Some for the better and some no so good. Tried a few other mainstream cruise lines inbetween and always ended up back with Celebrity.

What I always try to remember is the one constant in life is change. Nothing stays the same (except for politicians:mad:).

 

Celebrity works for me(us).

Phil

[YOW]

We cruised twice with Celebrity last year, Solstice and Summit. Overwhelmingly positive experiences. On our recent HAL cruise we were docked in San Juan next to Solstice -- all we could say was how we wished we were back aboard a Celebrity ship.

[iancal]

Our two most recent experiences on Celebrity-Millennium and Constellation 12 days cruises, were excellent. Especially the Oct. Constellaton trip as we sensed that the food quality had improved.

 

We are not in any way married to any one cruise line but we find ourselves tending to select Celebrity after we have narrowed down our choices.

 

We think that the Solstice ships are the best in their class. Celebrity hit a home run with them.

 

But this does not preclude posters from giving a heads up when Celebrity screws up.... how issues are resolved can be as important of the issue itself.

 

Celebrity, like other lines, is not perfect-especially in these times of staff cutbacks etc.

[dkjretired]

I have been sailing Celebrity since early 90s and am a charter member of this board. Celebrity has of course changed as it had to with the times...

 

The board has not changed much at all, many of the subjects have changed and some of them have not. New subjects come up all the time. There seems to be however a lot of people who forgot the reason they are going on a cruise....I go on a cruise to relax and enjoy myself not to look for rust or anything wrong that I could find....

[Orator]

Just returned from MIL and will be returning Jan.19th for a B2B2B. Then 14 days on Eclipse and then some more. Obviously I like what Celebrity offers. The best feature for me are the fine people who represent Celebrity on the ships. That's what keeps me coming back. That being said: Sometimes we see things happening that need to be reported. It is precisely because Celebrity monitors these pages that I post some things that might be classified as criticism.. For example the often mentioned "X the Rules" campaign that many of us saw as a danger was halted because some of us questioned the idea. Personally, I don't like Celebrity eliminating public space on M Class ships to create more cabins. I know that the company is revenue driving and as a stock holder I appreciate that, but I firmly believe that the ships will lose some of their positive feel because of the lost space. I don't view my comments as "negativity", but rather as positive action to influence change. Some may disagree. I do agree that being negative just to be negative adds nothing to a discussion.

[librarylady19]

Thanks for starting a positive post. I have sailed exclusively on X and see no reason to change as every cruise has been a wonderful experience. I like the fact that Celebrity is innovating by Solsticizing the M class ships and adding features that appeal to my age group. I agree with Orator, the staff is top-notch and I was so happy with the entertainment options on our Eclipse cruise.

The worst thing I can say about our last cruise is that we didn't get a fruit basket in AQ but I don't plan on boycotting AQ or starting an anti-AQ thread!!

[4774Papa]

Have to agree with you. After the last 10 years with Princess, we booked two really nice cruises with Celebrity. Then I started reading the cc Boards on Celebrity.....beds no good, food no good, cruise director horrible, etc. etc. Guess what! I thought I had clicked on the Princess board - it's the same thing...... food, beds, decline in service, etc. etc. Any two people on the same cruise can each have a different opinion so we are looking forward to seeing the difference in the two cruise lines for ourselves. I know I'm going to miss the benefits we have with Princess but who knows? maybe we'll go with Celebrity for the next 10 years!

BTW I have learned a lot from cc in preparing for our cruises and won't let the negativity get the best of me. It serves its purpose too. :)

Stuff happens on any cruise and some people are more sensitive than others. Yes, in rare cases, some people may get the shaft, but I have not experienced any major problems on any (4) cruise that I have taken.

[Maggie 1008]

I have sailed most cruise lines from Carnival to Silver Seas. For the price Celebrity can`t be beat ! I am Elite in Celebrity and have never had bad food or service on any of my cruises. If they did more out of the west coast I would never go on another cruiseline. Will try Azamara this spring and look forward to great service. If I had a complaint I would still post on CC.

[ghstudio]

Don't assume that what you perceive as negative posts are from folks who will no longer be sailing on Celebrity or are bitter about Celebrity. Many of us (I hope most of us) who have sailed with Celebrity often respond honestly to questions based on our experience and opinions. When someone asks about Silk Harvest on the Equinox, I give them my honest, baseed on my experience, input which is that I think it's not all that good. That was based on my 11 days on the Equinox in December...but I'm looking forward to B2B cruises on the same ship in April. If someone asks/comments about the Celebrity computer system, I give them my view, having spent many unhappy hours there for preboarding and reservations...it's an awful site, IMHO. I have also waxed positively on Murano and on the Xpedition.

 

Sorry, I can't see everything thru rose colored glasses....I tend to call a spade a spade. If it's perceived as negative, I guess, so be it...but I think cruise critic is a terrific source of honest information...not perfumed information. It's wonderful to have a stiff upper lip and find no fault...but you know, if no one points out the faults, they will never get fixed. (e.g. the select dining queue on the recent eclipse cruise where reservations were completely ignored).

 

I welcome answers and comments both postive and negative...and I try to provide honest, informative and helpful posts. Am I negative...is that negative??? I hope not.

[USVI-4-me]

I've done too much cruising, travelling, and complaining.

 

But, I like to know what to expect when I plan an adventure or relaxing holiday.

 

This Celebrity board has been full of flag wavers saying the same things over and over again.... So, I repeat my complaints and return to learn more.

 

Princess has been an easy back up to my Celebrity experiences but Princess doesn't always go where I wish to explore. Celebrity continues to grab my attention for some reason. I'm not certain why I continue to want to cruise with Celebrity -- but I check the boards for solutions.

 

One solution that I've gotten from the negative comments here is that I need to know what to expect and adjust my expectations to fit my cruise experience. The negative comments are good food for thought . I back burner them and ponder.

 

Recently, DH and I decided against taking the Constellation in the S. Caribbean and against taking b2b cruises on the Reflection for the T/A.

 

Funny things happen, just this morning we've decided to adjust our expectations based on what we've read on these boards, both negative and positive. Now we know just exactly what we want to do and how we'll do it on the Constellation (with the loud muzak) and on the Reflection with its, excuse me, poor grand foyer design and short promenade.

 

So, you see there are benefits from negative and positive remarks.

 

Please, don't direct derogatory remarks against a person for posting what they think as it shows lack of character.

 

Marisela

[Orator]

Don't assume that what you perceive as negative posts are from folks who will no longer be sailing on Celebrity or are bitter about Celebrity. Many of us (I hope most of us) who have sailed with Celebrity often respond honestly to questions based on our experience and opinions. When someone asks about Silk Harvest on the Equinox, I give them my honest, baseed on my experience, input which is that I think it's not all that good. That was based on my 11 days on the Equinox in December...but I'm looking forward to B2B cruises on the same ship in April. If someone asks/comments about the Celebrity computer system, I give them my view, having spent many unhappy hours there for preboarding and reservations...it's an awful site, IMHO. I have also waxed positively on Murano and on the Xpedition.

 

Sorry, I can't see everything thru rose colored glasses....I tend to call a spade a spade. If it's perceived as negative, I guess, so be it...but I think cruise critic is a terrific source of honest information...not perfumed information. It's wonderful to have a stiff upper lip and find no fault...but you know, if no one points out the faults, they will never get fixed. (e.g. the select dining queue on the recent eclipse cruise where reservations were completely ignored).

 

I welcome answers and comments both postive and negative...and I try to provide honest, informative and helpful posts. Am I negative...is that negative??? I hope not.

 

I agree with you. All we can hope for is that people express their honest opinion. We have the ability to review past posts and see if the positions of a poster seem to reflect our experience. Just as with film or books critics, I might find some whose tastes seem consistent with mine and some who are polar opposites. That gives me a way to evaluate how valuable a post is "to me". Cruise Critic in many cases also provides an opportunity to

discover how extensive a poster has cruised. This gives me some measure of reliability. I once discovered that a highly negative poster had never been on a Celebrity cruise. That told me to just ignore his posts. No hidden agenda, bias or axe to grind and I welcome your post.

[shorebilly]

The only complaint about Celebrity is that they allow diapered children in the pools even though it is prohibited. Very unsanitary and dangerous to the health of the passengers who use the pools/tubs.

 

I have to agree with you on this one! The rest of our cruise was wonderful! Food, well, I am very spoiled living with a master chef, however, nothing was bad, and I don't go on a cruise to eat. We met great people from all over the world. Beds were comfy, room steward always had a smile on her face, butler was charming! Hi Lawrence!!! Worst part about Celebrity? They want me off the ship after only 12 nights!!:eek:

[Giorgi-one]

Celebrity is our favorite cruise line and I agree nothing is perfect. However, valid criticism should be encouraged. It is very important in maintaining high standards. If everyone on a Celebrity cruise and on Cruise Critic raved about how great the food was I can almost guarantee that in a few months there would be cutbacks in the food on Celebrity ships. It is all about profits. No different than the American Corporations who send our jobs overseas.

[LouisV]

I have noticed a number of threads and posts lately that are very negative toward Celebrity cruises.

 

I completely agree with the right to voice and opinion, but I have noticed that the opinions have taken a tone that is frankly turning me off of Cruise Critic.

 

It used to be a place where I could come and share an opinion, share my thoughts good or bad, and see balance. If I were a brand new person lurking the boards to find out about Celebrity - I'd run away. Very bad and sad.

 

That balance seems to be disappearing.

 

The most recent trend seems to be "I don't like "fill in the blank" Celebrity - are you listening - change it or I'll stop cruising."

 

I love Celebrity. I think the cruise experience is terrific. The food is good to great. The entertainment is good to great. The ships are good to fantastic. I prefer Solstice class ships to Constellation - but that doesn't give me the right to suggest Celebrity only have Solstice class ships.

 

Things change - and maybe not the way I like them. Me? I am blessed to be able to cruise at all.

 

I have heard Celebrity monitors these boards.

 

I for one give a shout out for Celebrity! You may not be perfect, but frankly until I can look in the mirror and see a perfect person in front of me, I won't expect perfection from you - I will continue to expect a wonderful vacation experience.

 

For those who are unhappy with changes, current trends, food, service, etc. I'm sorry. Maybe Celebrity is no longer for you - I'm just saying.

 

I hope you respect me enough to have my own opinion and the right to state that opinon.

 

Positivity for Celebrity!

 

Judy

 

Well said Judy. I love everything about cruising....and am thankful that we can cruise at all!

Mo

[63galaxie]

Personally, I've sailed other lines. The only line that comes close to Celebrity is RCI, but the service and ambiance are consistently heads-above everyone else. Plus, the non-smoking policy is a "deal-breaker" for me. That said, I also want folks to continue posting their experiences, good and bad. It's such great (and free) feedback for me, and for Celebrity too!!