Cut backs on Elite Breakfast (Coffee Break)

[helpthejuggler]

;

Sorry, but I stay in " high end" hotels for over 2000 days a year.

 

Try telling that to the kids of today and they won't believe you...;)

Edited May 8, 2014 by helpthejuggler

[baldercash]

I beg to differ with the others who have commented on Kevin's post. I think he has a valid point for folks who are new to celebrity and/or are new here at Cruise Critic. One of the reasons I liked cruising initially was that everyone was equal...it didn't matter if the folks next to you owned a multi billion dollar company or were on welfare..they were just people enjoying themselves. There were options for a reasonable fee, open to all. No one knew what type of cabin you were in, no one cared.

 

I think it's changed a bit...don't nickle and dime these comments...it has changed. We have Blu...and that's not an option for everyone. We have the elite cocktail hour and breakfast..that's not an option for everyone (and on some cruises that can be 1/3 of the ship). now we have a new suite dining room and suite/zenith lounge..not available to everyone. There are areas of the ship where a newcomer is not welcome. That is a different feeling then when I started cruising. Cruising in earlier days had first class, second class, steerage and they were physically walled off so you didn't have to mingle. Now we have suite guests and aqua guests with their own restaurants, etc. No, it's not all equal now...and I can easily understand why someone new could feel like a second rate citizen if they booked a normal cabin.

 

It's far easier to say "oh no, you can just pay and get the same experience" than to put yourself in the place of a new cruiser and do some introspection on how you would feel in today's Celebrity.

 

Thoughtful words,

We did not have a clue about Elite until we hit the level and were pleasantly surprised with the perks when they were awarded to us. That was many years ago now.

We did not sail Royal Carribean until after we had Elite status which allowed us to be Diamond on our 1st sailing. We knew nothing of Diamond but I remember many cruisers we met being upset at the breakfast when they learned it was our 1st cruise.

The fact we were sailing in an inside but with a window onto the promenade which we were excited about may have angered them as well.

 

We have cruised a lot of lines and it will be our 6th on Princess this fall not sure what the perks will be for that but then it is not the reason we cruise.

 

Only flown Business class once as an upgrade, I guess I could afford to do it but am too thrifty to pay. I do not envy or feel slighted by those who do but as stated I could afford to pay if I wanted to so different then not being able to.

[CruisingChick]

Thoughtful words,

We did not have a clue about Elite until we hit the level and were pleasantly surprised with the perks when they were awarded to us. That was many years ago now.

We did not sail Royal Carribean until after we had Elite status which allowed us to be Diamond on our 1st sailing. We knew nothing of Diamond but I remember many cruisers we met being upset at the breakfast when they learned it was our 1st cruise.

The fact we were sailing in an inside but with a window onto the promenade which we were excited about may have angered them as well.

 

We just sailed our very first RCL cruise on Explorer in March. Since we are Elite+ we were awarded Diamond Status on RCL. We also had an Inside Promenade cabin, which we loved.

 

We had the exact opposite experience. All the people we met at breakfast were very nice, no one was angry we were there. Most were curious how we compared the two cruises lines (which is unfair after only one RCL cruise) and what the perks were like on Celebrity.

[chamima]

Sorry, but I stay in " high end" hotels for over 2000 days a year.

Not one of them gives a concept like being introduced by X.

This is ANOTHER cost cutting, perk removing corporate decision by the absolute idiots ruling the Miami office at the moment.

 

We specifically went to the Elite breakfast for the quiet, continental buffet.

Coffee and mimosa you cam have anywhere on the ship.

The small buffet though was the attraction.

 

More reason for me and. A LOT of other Belgian Elites to find alternative lines until Celebrity gets his senses back and a competent CEO and corporate management takes over.

 

 

 

I don't like this change (if it's really a change and not just an experiment on one ship) either but last time I checked there are only 365 days in a year. :confused:

[miched]

I don't like this change (if it's really a change and not just an experiment on one ship) either but last time I checked there are only 365 days in a year. :confused:

 

May be the poster is referring to long years the same as people will claim to work long hours, never could figure out why their hours are longer than 60 minutes.

 

Or it could be that they are on an expense account and that is what they are billing or claiming on their tax form.

 

Could be the new math.

 

Could also be that they are from another planet.

 

 

🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

[baldercash]

We had the exact opposite experience. All the people we met at breakfast were very nice, no one was angry we were there. Most were curious how we compared the two cruises lines (which is unfair after only one RCL cruise) and what the perks were like on Celebrity.

 

This was about 5 years ago and people were unaware of reciprocity between the lines.

We did meet some very nice cruisers as well.

 

We are sailing the Oasis to and from Europe this fall and have almost achieved Diamond+.

We plan to disembark Oasis from her TA on Oct 27th in Ft Lauderdale and board a Princess Panama Canal cruise to LA the same day. We appreciate what is offered by all cruise lines.

 

The perks may enhance a cruise but if that is what makes or breaks it I believe you have a problem.

After cruising for longer then we care to say and doing a few higher end lines like Azamara, Oceania and Crystal and most of the main stream and a few esoteric we enjoy and prefer cruising Aqua class now of all the options we have tried.

The Elite perks may enhance but would not be greatly missed if removed.

 

Change is constant so it is best to embrace it, for those who say they will cruise another line I encourage them to do so as they are naive and not aware of what is offered by other lines or the cost.

They will appreciate X more when they return to her.

Edited May 8, 2014 by baldercash

[wallie5446]

We appreciate what is offered by all cruise lines.

 

The perks may enhance a cruise but if that is what makes or breaks it I believe you have a problem.

 

The Elite perks may enhance but would not be greatly missed if removed.

 

Change is constant so it is best to embrace it, for those who say they will cruise another line I encourage them to do so as they are naive and not aware of what is offered by other lines or the cost.

They will appreciate X more when they return to her.

 

Yes I did some editing, but at the end of the day, this is what it is all about. Well put.

[richsea]

May be the poster is referring to long years the same as people will claim to work long hours, never could figure out why their hours are longer than 60 minutes.

 

Or it could be that they are on an expense account and that is what they are billing or claiming on their tax form.

 

Could be the new math.

 

Could also be that they are from another planet.

 

 

🌊🚢🇺🇸🌅

 

Or it could be that it was just an honest mistake & they mistakenly added a zero.:rolleyes:. In any event, most people would just take it to mean that they stay in high end hotels very often.

[wallie5446]

Or it could be that it was just an honest mistake & they mistakenly added a zero.:rolleyes:. In any event, most people would just take it to mean that they stay in high end hotels very often.

 

:D I do quite a bit of fat fingers on da key board myself:) which is why I too let that one be!;)

[Despegue]

I obviously meant 200... ;-)

[chamima]

I obviously meant 200... ;-)

 

 

 

Thanks.

I really wasn't trying to be obnoxious - just wondered if you were so upset that you were exaggerating.

[NLH Arizona]

So one would believe that Miami is going to listen to the 98%+ that continue to sail, and make adjustments based on their comments, and not the few that don't.

I think Celebrity would also be more apt to listen to those that don't call them idiots!

[Wine-O]

Just got off the Constellation TA yesterday. The Elite breakfast was held in Ocean Liners for Elites, and the Tuscan Grill for Elite+. We had a lot of Elites on board. I really didn't see any cutbacks other than they didn't serve Brie Cheese. Maybe it was a supply/demand issue. They had it on the first leg of the B2B on Reflection last year, but not on the TA.

 

They had all the assortments of pastry, cheese/meats, and fruits. For the first time, I did see a toaster so you could toast your bagel or sliced bread. They did not have a toaster in Ocean Liners.

 

Constellation, I think, is the first ship in the fleet with the new internet sign on. You now don't need to go to the iLounge to sign up -- you can do it in your stateroom, and you no longer have to submit your coupon for credit back to your seapass account. Your Elite internet minutes are tied into and preprogrammed into your seapass account. For Elite, it's 90 minutes, and for Elite+, it turned out to be 240 minutes. :)

 

If anybody is saving the unused internet coupons from a previous cruise for a later date, you can forget it once the new system is instituted fleet wide.

[Guernseycruiser]

Just returned earlier this week from the Silhouette TA. The elite breakfast was held in the Tusan Grill for all Elite, Elite+ and Zenith, as a buffet. There were many passengers entitled to this, and the first few mornings, it was very busy at 8am. When the clocks started to change, it appeared to be more staggered. The choices did not seem to have changed from previous cruises on S Class ships over the last few years. The hot chocolate with amaretto was a good way to start to the day!!!

 

It was a very nice place to eat in the mornings, away from the OVC, however some mornings we chose to eat in Blu. The Captain's club host, Donna, was always present for the first hour of opening, before having to attend her desk, so it was good to be able to have a quick chat with her.

[TeaBag]

Just returned from Solstice TP. Breakfast was in Tuscan Grill for all Elites. I couldn't see any cutbacks to what we were offered. We got blueberries and blackberries along with all the other fruit every morning. The papaya disappeared when we had about 3 days to go, the mango before that. I would really miss this perk if it were to be cut. Love those little bagels (yes, I know they're not real bagels) with the cream cheese and lox washed down with Cappuccino. Wonderful way to start the cruise day.:)

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Good to hear all these reports that maybe the Summit was a one-off experiment. It doesn't seem to have been well received, so maybe it will die a natural death.