Positivity for Celebrity - Who's with me?

[New Hampshire]

I LOVE Celebrity!! Can't wait until our March Silhouette cruise and while onboard, we plan to book a Mediterranean cruise on the Reflection. None of my sailing on other cruise lines have measured up to my Celebrity experiences, so we don't even think about sailing another line. the Elite benefits are also wonderful!

 

The only less than stellar experiences we've had have involved rude and obnoxious passengers. Those that break the rules or are rude to staff drive us crazy. The one area we have found Celebrity to be lacking is the lack of uniform enforcement of such rules as prohibiting babies from pools and hot tubs, removing children below the permitted age from the spa pool and handling the chair hog situation adequately.

[TeaBag]

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

 

Love your use of the word "whinger"! I haven't heard that one in a long time.

Celebrity is not our preferred cruise line at the moment, it is our only cruise line! We haven't sailed on another line since 1999. We love our trips with them. No, not everything is perfect, but what cruise line is?

[CarolinaMamma]

The last time we cruised was back in the '90s, when we were in our 20s and did not have kids. Now we are in our 40s and finally feel like the kids are old enough to enjoy it. We just booked our Celebiry Alaska cruise for this summer. What amazed me was that, in 15 years, the price of cruising has not gone up much at all, despite the costs of fuel, food, etc. having increased. It is still a great value for what you get. So when I read about things like public spaces being taken away to add more cabins and for-fee dining, I think, "Of course, they have to make money somehow." So, big picture, I am still pleased with the value of cruising and the vast number of things to enjoy on board.

 

Now I really hope they won't decrease the quality of the MDR to the point where we foodies HAVE to eat in the for-fee restaurants, but if they did, I would want to read about that here on CC so I can make an informed decision.

 

I am a planner, and I love reading about which activities,shore excursions, etc. are worth it. I like hearing the good and the bad, and I realize that a cruise line can never please everyone, all the time, so I take everything with a grain of salt.

 

Usually whe I read a completely negative review, I assume that the person who wrote it must approach life in general, not just this particular cruise, with that same negativity. Some people are just like that. When I read a balanced review that talks about the good and the bad, I find it really helpful in making decisions about which ship, itinerary,, cabin or shore excursions to choose.

 

So, overall, thumbs up to Celebirty, AND thank you to all the CC posters who provide honest, balanced opinions. All of the commentary, good and bad, has been helpful in our decisions making process.

 

P.S. I am sad about the loss of piano player in Michael's club, too. Was looking forward to piano sing alongsl I don't think that makes me negative though! Still very excited about our cruise!

[Waihekean]

Have been on the Celebrity board a lot, but have not really noticed lots of negativety. Besides the "you know food used to be better in the MDR" (which also happens on a lot of other boards), I have found that there are a lot of positive, loyal, interesting and helpfull posts on this board.

 

Plus for example in the reviews of my next ship the Equinox, 93% of cruisers loved their experience. Well in my opinion that is pretty positive!

[TomTN]

Great post OP. I also had decided that CC had become a very negative site. Complaining about every thing. Even steps taken to stop the spread of Noro.

 

After 17 cruises(9 on Celebrity) I can say I've never been on the perfect cruise, but most have been fantastic.

 

OP, your post is uplifting.

 

Thanks.:)

[miXterOB]

Thanks for starting a positive thread on this board City Woman.

We are fans as well.

Could not be more pleased with the experiences of sailing aboard Celebrity.

[anniegb]

Love your use of the word "whinger"! I haven't heard that one in a long time.

 

I did think of using girny too :)

 

Annie

[Aqua water]

Positive and negative information is helpful to me when planning our cruises. We have been happy with Celebrity but find it helpful to monitor the information here. One thing that really helped us was having a heads-up on the Noro virus procedure information. It got us to the port early knowing we would wait but we had a chair to wait in and were not standing for hours.

[fleckle]

I believe it mainly has to do with level of expectation. We love Celebrity cruises and book them expecting that we will be happy with the service, the food, the accommodations and everything else. To us that is the norm on a Celebrity cruise.

 

When people get what they are expecting, they are not as likely to comment about it as they are when something disappoints them.

[Cruiser Susie]

Since our first cruise on Celebrity 8 years ago, it has been our line of choice. The staff, the officers, the crew, all work hard to help make our cruises great. I truly do feel special when we are aboard, and appreciate that fact. We were on a Princess cruise between our second and third Celebrity cruises, and looked with longing at the Summit, anchored across from our ship, wishing we were on her instead. We have had wonderful times on all our cruises. Was everything always perfect? No, but the special moments have always far outweighed the less than stellar blips. We have our next cruise on the Equinox in March, and I can't wait.

Thank you, OP, for reminding all of us that we have many reasons to celebrate Celebrity and the simple fact that we are able to go on a cruise, period, and the fact that we are able to sail again on Celebrity is even more of a reason to look forward to our next cruise.

[TamaLee]

Oh thank God. I thought I was the only one. We decided to try Celebrity since they offered a PC cruise during my birthday. I have found the board so far to be filled with a lot of negative comments and, sorry to say it, people who are full of themselves.

 

I was concerned that we had made a bad decision. I even considered switching to Royal when they announced this week they would do a PC cruise during the same time period.

 

Hopefully the easy going fun loving people will be on my cruise while the complainers stay home. :D

[ghstudio]

Why do you want to go on a Politically Correct (PC) cruise???

[bonsat]

i am a loyal customer of celebrity. i am generally more than satisfied with every cruise i have been on. in fact, on my last cruise, i booked my next one--constellation, 4/21. i am very much looking forward to my usual terrific celebrity experience.

 

that said, i am recently off the transatlantic on the solstice, which for many and sundry reasons, did not live up to our expectations. i don't consider writing an honest review or adding my honest opinion on a thread to be complaining. many people consider this to be whining. i am just voicing my disappointment of a sub-par cruise. they can't all be perfect, and sometimes they are not even good. it does not mean i am disrespecting celebrity.

 

won't stop me from anticipating an excellent vacation on my next cruise.

[lightning bolt]

Why do you want to go on a Politically Correct (PC) cruise???

 

I believe she is going on a Panama Canal cruise. :)

[Lois R]

Why do you want to go on a Politically Correct (PC) cruise???

 

I think the poster might have been referring to a Panama Canal

itinerary...PC....

[pris993]

We will be elite after our next Celebrity cruise in March on the Eclipse. We are also elite on Princess, 3 Star on HAL, just completed two cruises on Cunard. We have cruised on about 8 different lines over the past 30 years.

 

We are very positive about cruising and are realistic about what one might expect on the various lines we cruise on. Since we do cruise on different lines we can't help compare and contrast. No line is perfect including Celebrity. We see Princess, HAL and Celebrity lines as being very similar.

 

We do think it is helpful in selecting a ship to hear what others have to say both positive and negative. We have not been impressed with the MDR on Celebrity. For that reason we are in AQ class and will try BLU on our next cruise. We do like the buffet on Celebrity.

 

We will continue to be honest about our experience on Celebrity and any of the lines we cruise. I prefer to hear folks honest opinions whether they are positive or negative.

[bighairtexan]

I think there is a difference between nasty complaints CONSTRUCTIVE criticism (i.e.:I'll miss the piano player, diapered kids should be kept out of the pools, critiques of AQ vs MDR). We all have opinions. I prefer AQ to the MDR (I know. I must not be a foodie and obviously have an unsophisticated palate) *SIGH*

 

Lately I've seen a lot of attacks that I see directed at a poster w/ a differing opinion.

 

And I see more whining, complaining and sense of entitlement. I used to read the general Celebrity board several times a day. Now it's a lot less... maybe once a week if that; though I do post a lot on my roll calls.

I often feel like I want to pull a "RODNEY KING" .... "I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?"

Not sure why disagreements and differences in opinions have to break down into such wheeling negativity.

[redhot1]

Thank you for such a positive point of view. I agree with you. It seems some one will make a coment and then the snarky and unkind comments follow and it is pointless and unproductive. Unfortunately things do happen on cruisaes and sometimes we have a bad expierence but a lot of the negative things are no more than a persons point of view and many of the things said have nothing to do with cel in reality. So again thasnk you for a honest point of view.:)

[jackdiamond]

I think there is a difference between nasty complaints CONSTRUCTIVE criticism (i.e.:I'll miss the piano player, diapered kids should be kept out of the pools, critiques of AQ vs MDR). We all have opinions. I prefer AQ to the MDR (I know. I must not be a foodie and obviously have an unsophisticated palate) *SIGH*

 

Lately I've seen a lot of attacks that I see directed at a poster w/ a differing opinion.

 

And I see more whining, complaining and sense of entitlement. I used to read the general Celebrity board several times a day. Now it's a lot less... maybe once a week if that; though I do post a lot on my roll calls.

I often feel like I want to pull a "RODNEY KING" .... "I just want to say, you know, can we all get along?"

Not sure why disagreements and differences in opinions have to break down into such wheeling negativity.

Please refresh my recollection, was not he again prosecuted for another crime? Or was he eventually murdered? Please assist me, since I do not recall, but my recollection was that his ultimate place in "history" was not of the highest order.

[Buranogal]

Agree with you all. As long as I dont have to shop cook make beds Im in heaven. I do wish I got to have towel animals tho seem to miss out on that little plus..minor detail tho I can live with Liz

[miched]

.

 

 

We have only sailed on Celebrity 2 times out of 30 plus cruise. Our first was in April on the Sostice and it was the best cruising experience we ever had. We decided X was for us. We sailed on the Silhouette in Nov. That cruise was no where close to the one on Solstice and we were in AQ both times. Many others on that cruise were also disappointed with various things about that cruise. Even though it didn't meet our expectations we signed up for 6 future cruises.

If that was my first experience with X I doubt if I would cruise with them again. If that was my first and only cruise I would have been pissed and since X is supposed to be above the rest I doubt that I would take another cruise.

 

I think what is happening is that many that have cruised X are experiencing what seems to be a falling off of what they are use to. Is this being negative? I don't think so, they're just voicing their opinion on how they feel things are changing and not in a good way.

 

There is just too much competiton from the other lines and the gap is closing. X could become the next GM, or Sears of the cruise industry. Once you lose your customers it is hard to get them back.

 

 

 

 

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[4774Papa]

.

 

 

We have only sailed on Celebrity 2 times out of 30 plus cruise. Our first was in April on the Sostice and it was the best cruising experience we ever had. We decided X was for us. We sailed on the Silhouette in Nov. That cruise was no where close to the one on Solstice and we were in AQ both times. Many others on that cruise were also disappointed with various things about that cruise. Even though it didn't meet our expectations we signed up for 6 future cruises.

If that was my first experience with X I doubt if I would cruise with them again. If that was my first and only cruise I would have been pissed and since X is supposed to be above the rest I doubt that I would take another cruise.

 

I think what is happening is that many that have cruised X are experiencing what seems to be a falling off of what they are use to. Is this being negative? I don't think so, they're just voicing their opinion on how they feel things are changing and not in a good way.

 

There is just too much competiton from the other lines and the gap is closing. X could become the next GM, or Sears of the cruise industry. Once you lose your customers it is hard to get them back.

 

 

 

 

.

We just finished a great Infinity cruise. The MDR food was great and our waiter was perfect. We did talk with another passenger that did not have such a great waiter and it made a difference. Still, we liked X, while they are a bit on the Formal side, but the food is soooo good. We also like NCL for the freestyle concept, and we like their entertainment.

[DavidYYC]

We just got off the Eclipse yesterday - it was wonderful, just like the Equinox was in Summer 2010.

 

All I saw was 2800 people having a ball, and another 1400 or so working incredibly hard for those 2800.

 

When push comes to shove all I care about is today and me. I don't give a hoot about how marvellous Celebrity was 30 years ago. I find that sort of negativity ridiculous and will consciously try to avoid the whiny threads and continue to promote the many many excellent things that I see in Celebrity in the year 2012!

[Giorgi-one]

.

 

 

We have only sailed on Celebrity 2 times out of 30 plus cruise. Our first was in April on the Sostice and it was the best cruising experience we ever had. We decided X was for us. We sailed on the Silhouette in Nov. That cruise was no where close to the one on Solstice and we were in AQ both times. Many others on that cruise were also disappointed with various things about that cruise. Even though it didn't meet our expectations we signed up for 6 future cruises.

If that was my first experience with X I doubt if I would cruise with them again. If that was my first and only cruise I would have been pissed and since X is supposed to be above the rest I doubt that I would take another cruise.

 

I think what is happening is that many that have cruised X are experiencing what seems to be a falling off of what they are use to. Is this being negative? I don't think so, they're just voicing their opinion on how they feel things are changing and not in a good way.

 

There is just too much competiton from the other lines and the gap is closing. X could become the next GM, or Sears of the cruise industry. Once you lose your customers it is hard to get them back.

 

.

 

W have been on Solstice and Equinox (twice) and thought they were all good. Food could be better but that is true on all Mass Market cruise lines including Cunard. We are going on Silhouette in a few weeks. What specific problems did you have with your Silhouette cruiise?

[Germancruiser]

I agree also- I have some issues with X myself ( loud music since Solstice Class came out, no prommenade deck....) but I would go so far as to totaly change cruise lines. The only one I considered was HAL- and after I read some about them ( Yow´s cruise experiences) I dout that will ever happen. Anyway- these boards are called cruise CRITIC not for nothing. A critic goes both ways- to tell the good and the not so good.... well nohting exept the sinking of the ship our man over board, loosing ones luggage or getting ill during a cruise would earning the name BAD!

Michael