Has Celebrity gone down hill since the new CEO took over?

[PinotBlanc]

[quote name='Christine Frances']Sorry I don't get it! Before you board you have it all figured out which venues you want to attend at a certain time of the day:confused: And you need a notice as to what time you can attend the above mentioned venue. So your whole cruise experience is ruined if you can't get into one venue at the time you had planned. Really, it is a very big ship and you do not have to plan your day on a daytimer.[/QUOTE]

Do you read the Dailies? Why? Perhaps to plan.

Have you ever planned to meet in a place for sail away or sailing in?

You're satisfied. Good.

Penny

[gskimmel]

[quote name='dkjretired']Well aware of that and Celebrity still does not have any mini suites.[/QUOTE]


Aren't Sky suites basically mini suites? They are larger than the non-suite staterooms but not as large as the full suites (CS and above). They also don't have all the benefits of the full suites.

[vulcan1971]

[quote name='gskimmel']Aren't Sky suites basically mini suites? They are larger than the non-suite staterooms but not as large as the full suites (CS and above). They also don't have all the benefits of the full suites.[/QUOTE]

If you want to compare benefits of a Princess mini-suite to a Celebrity Sky suite, let us know what you find out.

Sent from my Samsung Note 2 on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network

[Barry Shaw]

The poor impression over my recent experience with their online and phone customer service indicates to me that they are cutting down on manpower at the expense of courteous, personal, and efficient, hands-on service to us, their customers.

If the 2 cruises we have booked with them this year are not faultless we shall be looking for better service from another cruiseline next year and going forward into the future.

[beentothere]

[quote name='Fixit2010']A couple of years back, I read nothing but praise for Celebrity. However that was under the reign of the old CEO. Since changing the "big cheese", do you think the service, facilities, the hard sales etc, changes in loyalty etc, has made Celebrity better or worse?[/QUOTE]

My observation is that they are on a combination of cost cutting for the bulk of their activities and going to incur increases for the suite class. But the question is whether the increased revenue that they are hoping to achieve from the price increases may be their Achilles heel.

I don't think they understand their clientele very well in that we filter into several groups. A mission critical group is mine of course: value oriented, service oriented senior and financially comfortable or better.

I have seen no movement to further attract us, even though many of us
cruise two or more times a year. This will be our fourth transatlantic on the Silhouette. The biggest decline I have seen is in the management staff. They
no longer attempt to ameliorate issues but dodge them whenever they can.

We passengers need to not only more firmly notice them of issues, insist on their action to improve, but enjoy the process so we don't raise our stress or emotions

[1MVG1]

Just came back from cruises on the Eclipse and the Millennium. Celebrity is cutting back on everything. The entertainment is horrible and the food is like downtown Las Vegas. They don't even give you ice in your room unless you ask for it. The staff appears upset since they now have to work twice as hard and fend off twice the complaints.

[NLH Arizona]

[quote name='1MVG1']Just came back from cruises on the Eclipse and the Millennium. Celebrity is cutting back on everything. The entertainment is horrible and the food is like downtown Las Vegas. They don't even give you ice in your room unless you ask for it. The staff appears upset since they now have to work twice as hard and fend off twice the complaints.[/quote]
I'd take a stand if I were you. Don't give Celebrity any more of your hard earned $'s and find another cruise line that will be more to your liking.

[wallie5446]

[quote name='1MVG1']Just came back from cruises on the Eclipse and the Millennium. Celebrity is cutting back on everything. The entertainment is horrible and the food is like downtown Las Vegas. They don't even give you ice in your room unless you ask for it. The staff appears upset since they now have to work twice as hard and fend off twice the complaints.[/QUOTE]

Hummmmmm, oh well, our last sailing was so very very bad we just booked our first 11 night sailing in 25 years, on the Equinox this coming Nov.

Keep up the horrible job Mr Baily and we will try and get more vacation time and waste additional hard earned dollars doing business with your company.

About the only thing in life you don't have to ask for is a speeding ticket:)

[Presto2]

After 3 cruises with Celebrity we will be returning to P&O for 2015. We would be looking to Celebrity for another future cruise though, but the many negative reports are putting us off. I think that Celebrity is changing, but not for the better for us --------- shame

[Cruising89143]

[quote name='Presto2']After 3 cruises with Celebrity we will be returning to P&O for 2015. We would be looking to Celebrity for another future cruise though, but the many negative reports are putting us off. I think that Celebrity is changing, but not for the better for us --------- shame[/QUOTE]

So what happened on your X cruises that have turned you off to the product?

[C 2 C]

"where there's smoke, there's fire."

If the number of negative comments significantly increase over the number of positive ones, everyone should take notice.

Personal experiences are much like accidents on the highway. Some people are significantly impacted, others not at all.

Just because one does not personally have a negative experience, one does not have to become insulting to those who report that they did.
Much like judging ice skating, ignore the best and worst post, but the ones in the middle have significance.

[Martinjjd]

My experience with the recent Celebrity Solstice cruise from Sydney to New Zealand was outstanding.I am sure that there are some negative aspects that effect some people but unfortunately more often than not the people with positive feedback do not express it.That may tend to give readers a less balanced view. I am interested to read the specifics of CC positive & negative comments because it all helps in our planning.Some people are hard to please whilst others are easily pleased - that make life & cruising interested.



Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[Lhr1234]

Seems like they're cutting back on everything

[ghstudio]

Generalities like "they're cutting back on everything" aren't helpful...and of course there are many areas where they aren't cutting at all. Personally, I think they've cut the staff to the point where it's noticeable and I believe that's the root cause of most other "cutback" comments. Yes, it's hard to find a sommelier in the MDR or even a waiter/asst waiter at times...and so on. The activities staff has been cut, but I haven't seen anyone talk about what activities have been cut...maybe they had too many staff in the first place. Food is subjective....yes, it's not as good as 5 years ago but partially that's the preparation. There was a period of time that on formal night you got a piece of lobster tail with other seafood...now we have whole lobster tails....that's actually a plus for many. The captain's club program has been improved (IMHO) with the addition of things like the one category upgrade. Yes, the chocolates on the pillows at night are smaller, there are fewer towel animals and you don't automatically get ice or canapés...unless you ask (which isn't that hard...right?).

I think the staff cutbacks hurt the Celebrity experience the most...it's the area we are most disappointed in because of the effect it has everywhere...picking up towels at the pool, cleaning tables in the buffet, getting drinks and so on. But I'd stop short of saying they are cutting everywhere....you have to be a bit more specific about what cuts are bothering you.

[cruisestitch]

maybe not everything, but many of the things I enjoy most are undergoing cutbacks, or outright elimination: live music (A Cappella, string quartets, piano bars, etc.), Activities (severe cuts in Activities Staff), and quiet spots for reading or just watching the seas go by (Michael's Clubs now closed to most passengers means one less venue available on each ship). There are fewer wine stewards in the dining room, waiters and assistant waiters take care of more tables and are stretched thin. Not everything is showing cutbacks. Dining room food is, if anything, better than it was a year ago.

[OBX-Cruisers]

[quote name='~Cruisenut~']I think he has. He has responded to a couple of topics on my fb page. I believe that he is genuinely concerned with this topic and I'm sure that he is kept informed about this thread.

Just as I don't like all the threads and comments about Celebrity, I keep looking, bite my tongue a lot and my eyes do a lot of rolling. It is impossible to please everyone and until there are a lot of empty cabins on many sailings, the direction of the company will not change.

And for those people who quote stock prices... how do you separate Royal earnings from Celebrity? If the stock continues to do well, is RCI or X going in the right direction?[/quote]

You may think or believe that Mr. Bayley replied but it is actually a person that monitors the boards and replies to complaints made on the ship................I know this from experience from my previous complaints about loud techno noise and a certain piano entertainer on the Eclipse that many love and many others can't stand when he was monopolizing the Sky Lounge

[Aloha 1]

In the last 3 years we have seen many cutbacks on both the S and M class ships. Celebrity needs to figure what it wants to be. "Modern Luxury", it is not. X is a mass market line trying to be an Oceania or Crystal without the refinements. Sort of like a so-called "country bumpkin" buying a fancy suit and declaring they're part of the Ho'i Polo'i. Yes, there have been downgrades in the quality and variety of the food on board. Yes, the attention to detail in room cleaning standards and overall service have slipped. However, the biggest mistake has been to let TRAINING slip totally in the fleet. When you have to tell a buffet cook at the omelet station how to make an omelet, you know there are serious issues with crew training, and it shows.

There are many good things about X. The beverage packages are something that should be included for all guests as an example. The cabins tend to be larger and a good price per square foot value. But if you scrimp on training, continue to cut back on quality and variety of food, reduce the things that made X special ( live music performance groups reduced from quartets to duo or eliminated totally), you no longer have a line trying to excel.

Mr.Bayley needs to figure this out soon or risk continued loss of high end revenue to the real "Modern Luxury" lines.

[OBX-Cruisers]

You make several good points but it seems that many of the lines are racing each other to the bottom and trying to maximize profits in the meantime. The biggest crime is how hard the crew have to work and for how many hours daily............It is truly a miracle how so many can remain cheerful but that may change from exhaustion.
It is no wonder why they can only provide ice that some have mentioned as a "loss" only when you request it...............this is NOT a big thing is it?
Towel animals? Also not a huge loss.
However, loss of band members, reducing string quartet to 2 or 3? No more acapella singers? Soon the glass show may be the next to go. Food is still OK in my opinion but is that also next to strive to get to McD standards?

What seems to be happening from what I have read is that there is an intentional goal to create a First Class and Steerage Class of passenger.............the first class will have Blu, Michaels club, beverage and other amenities like priority seating at shows and in the MDR and steerage will get whatever rooms or food is left....................this does not seem smart to me

I have 2 Celebrity cruises booked for 2014 striving to get to Elite status...........that will probably never happen if they tighten up that program which other lines have done.
Celebrity staff and officers are the friendliest of the most of the cruise lines we have been on (RCI, HAL, Carnival, NCL)..........I hope that this continues but may become difficult if the cuts are too extensive and morale suffers. Edited May 6, 2014 by OBX-Cruisers

[Guest debbiejohncruise]

We had a great B2B cruise on the Equinox in Jan for 21 days. We did notice the food quality in the MDR is not like it used to be but loved the food stations upstairs in the buffet room. When I mentioned the food quality not being that great in the MDR and that maybe people are being "prodded" into paying for the specialty restaurants, the passenger I was talking to said "we shareholders love to hear that". Shocked! I said, well maybe the shareholders would like it if I went with another cruiseline? So disappointed as we loved Celebrity, especially because of their no smoking on the balconies policy. We wanted to book another B2B for next Jan/Feb but thinking twice now.....

[downundermatt]

As Elite Members, have seen a marked deterioration, even over three 14 day cruises in 2014 with X.

The most noticeable is the lack of bar staff, most nights just one serving in the Ensemble pre dinner on the Equinox this month. At times the Sky Lounge and the Martini Bar had one server - my theory as many people now have liquor packages, Celebrity know cruisers will drink less if they give up and can't get service.

The Gala Brunch was there in April, but gone by November. We miss the Acapella Groups and the nighttime chocalate.

We barely had a sommelier the last cruise, as our waiter undertook that role - and the skills of the Martini Bar aint what they were previously - maybe we were just lucky on previous cruises.

[teecee60]

[quote name='Barry Shaw']

[B][I][COLOR="Black"]If the 2 cruises we have booked with them this year [U]are not faultless [/U]we shall be looking for better service from another cruiseline [/COLOR][/I][/B]next year and going forward into the future.[/QUOTE]

At least those other 2,000 or 3,000 guests on board will know why, and had better understand just WHO is supposed to be getting "FAULTLESS" service. :rolleyes:


With all the people on this thread leaving Celebrity for greener pastures, next year, I should be able to cruise for $35/day instead of $40/day! Edited December 23, 2014 by teecee60

[johhnnyt]

[quote name='debbiedoesit']We had a great B2B cruise on the Equinox in Jan for 21 days. We did notice the food quality in the MDR is not like it used to be but loved the food stations upstairs in the buffet room. When I mentioned the food quality not being that great in the MDR and that maybe people are being "prodded" into paying for the specialty restaurants, the passenger I was talking to said "we shareholders love to hear that". Shocked! I said, well maybe the shareholders would like it if I went with another cruiseline? So disappointed as we loved Celebrity, especially because of their no smoking on the balconies policy. We wanted to book another B2B for next Jan/Feb but thinking twice now.....[/QUOTE]

My opinion is the quality of the MDR has gone down overall in the past 5-7 years, smaller portions and more importantly the quality of the food being served. Is it related to the "push" on specialty dining? It wouldn't surprise me, it's corporate America we're dealing with, not the love boat. I would much prefer they offer the specialty dining and keep the rates low and cut out acapella groups, trivia, and the nighttime chocolates.
Even the ice thing and the nightly canape change I think is a good idea. Either one you can still have, you just have to ask for it. In hindsight it seems silly that they left canapes for everyone in concierge class, and refilled ice several times a day if it was a wasteful effort.
Dan Hanrahan did a great job while at Celebrity, I'll be forever grateful to him for the Solstice class, and the team concept he made a reality on the Celebrity fleet. I am biased since Dan is a friend of mine.
I think Mike Bayley made changes that were needed to keep Celebrity competitive with their rivals, while still trying to please everyone he could(was especially happy with the revamp of the Captains Club, and the new Michaels Club programs).
Now with the recent announcement of Celebrity's new CEO the very talented Lisa Lutoff-Perlo at the helm, I really look forward to seeing her mark on the brand. Lisa has served in top operational and hotel positions in both Celebrity and RCCL, and she knows her stuff inside and out.
Now with Lisa as the new CEO and Greg Purdy (SVP Operations) and Dondra Ritzenthaler (SVP) sales, I really think they have a unbeatable team.:D

[Mr&MrsBee]

Sorry to put a damper on everone's negativity. Food and service was one of the best ever. Food in the MDR was excellent so why go to the specialty venues. Others on the cruise said the same. Quit playing trivia years ago (watched people cheat so they could win a ballpoint pin), portions are smaller (do you really need more?), you can ask for two, how may people have soup, salad, appitizer, entre, desert at home daily. I bet not many. The elite breakfast and daily cocktail had ample servers. The only thing that could improve (and X can'tfix) are the crotchy old people who push infront of you, take food with their fingers and bitch about everything. Cabin (A1) was spotless, always had ice water. Did we miss a candy on the pillow? How many people in the world don't have a pillow?
Many it is time for cruisers to put on their big boy pant or go elswhere.

[PSU]

What cruise line is perfect? I have been on Royal Caribbean, Oceania and Cunard and if you go on their message boards, they are saying the same things. No cruise line is going to remain the same, costs go up and the cruise lines must adjust.
I have not tried Azamara or Regent yet, but I think the fares are more expensive and I am sure people are complaining about cutbacks there too.
I think that the food on Celebrity is much better than Royal Caribbean. Oceania's food is superior, but there are a lot of things that I don't like on their ships.

[NLH Arizona]

[quote name='Mr&MrsBee']Sorry to put a damper on everone's negativity. Food and service was one of the best ever. Food in the MDR was excellent so why go to the specialty venues. Others on the cruise said the same. Quit playing trivia years ago (watched people cheat so they could win a ballpoint pin), portions are smaller (do you really need more?), you can ask for two, how may people have soup, salad, appitizer, entre, desert at home daily. I bet not many. The elite breakfast and daily cocktail had ample servers. The only thing that could improve (and X can'tfix) are the crotchy old people who push infront of you, take food with their fingers and bitch about everything. Cabin (A1) was spotless, always had ice water. Did we miss a candy on the pillow? How many people in the world don't have a pillow?
Many it is time for cruisers to put on their big boy pant or go elswhere.[/QUOTE]Very well said!