You Asked. We Answered

[C 2 C]

The reaction to the change also seems to differ based on the ship and port that is cancelled.

 

Equinox people seem to be less upset than those sailing on Eclipse.

 

It's not the overnight for Eclipse cruisers, it's two day times that Eclipse stays in Curacao. They could have over nighted and still made Bonaire only 50 miles away.

[WpgCruise]

 

It is the reason they say they changed: because we asked. BS!!

 

I don't want WpgCruise determining where my cruise goes. He can go anywhere he wants to go, live anywhere he does without making me move... ;)

 

No actually it isn't BS.

 

Celebrity has asked some of us by way of survey "Do we want an overnight on a Caribbean itinerary ?" and indeed some of us said yes. Also asked was "What Islands would you want as options for that overnight" I didn't pick Cartagena but apparently enough did that this is one overnight option Celebrity is offering.

 

I have no idea of the criteria for the survey, but suspect a random sampling

 

And as far as me determining where your cruise goes. You can cancel whatever cruise has changed it's itinerary if it isn't to your liking. I'm not making you do anything. If you don't want to come along for the ride, no problem. Celebrity will just put another head in your bed.

 

Interesting, with all the negative feedback on Cruise Critic I thought surely some must be voting with their wallets and cancelling the impacted cruises. So I looked at pricing for our cruise. Pricing is up over $500 per person for our cabin. It looks like another case of "When All is Said and Done, as per Usual More is Said Than Done"

Edited June 4, 2015 by WpgCruise

[WpgCruise]

Be it 50 miles or 100 miles, the ship is still going to be sailing overnight and burning fuel. If they go 5 knots all night or go in circles, they will still be moving. They cannot just drop anchor out in the middle of the ocean.

 

I agree with Andy and Hiltner. Fuel savings will be huge by overnighting and skipping the next nearby (originally scheduled) port.

 

Show me facts that back up your opinion, or at least a logical argument to support it. If you can't do that, then really what you are putting forward is an opinion and an opinion only.

 

What makes you think on the Aruba, Curacao, Bonaire route the ship doesn't sail 12 miles from the coast and drift most of the night, running what engines it needs for hotel power ? Incidentally while doing so making snappy profits from the Casino, shops and on board services closed while in port ?

 

The argument that Celebrity is making a "ton of money" by overnighting in a port may well be valid, but I've yet to see anyone quantify that argument with facts.

 

Opinions are nice and we're all entitled to them. What we are not entitled to is our own set of facts.

[OzKiwiJJ]

The contract also tells you the ship might not be seaworthy and the food may not be edible..

 

What Celebrity sells is modern luxury that suggests a better experience than the competition.

 

If I order a red car I don't want a yellow one.

The cruises were selling well as originally scheduled.

It is the reason they say they changed: because we asked. BS!!

 

I don't want WpgCruise determining where my cruise goes. He can go anywhere he wants to go, live anywhere he does without making me move... ;)

 

Why on earth didn't they just implement the change on new future itineraries? Instead of changing existing ones which I see as a very big mistake, bad customer relations and contentious. Bad call, Celebrity!

[WpgCruise]

Why on earth didn't they just implement the change on new future itineraries? Instead of changing existing ones which I see as a very big mistake, bad customer relations and contentious. Bad call, Celebrity!

 

I won't argue that point. The communication has also been pretty sad.

 

I suspect that Celebrity saw positive feedback to their proposal for overnight port stays in the Caribbean, but in that they publish their itineraries up to 2 years out, and the feedback was demanding change now, they were put in between a rock and a hard place.

 

If they implement the changes now, they can please those who demand change. For those upset with the change, Celebrity risks the cancellation of their booking. Keep in mind though many will complain, but how many will cancel ? Then the business case has to be made........can they sell new bookings at enough volume and margin to make up for the cancelled bookings as well as generate greater interest in the new itinerary.

 

Time will tell.

 

If you cruise for the ports, I can sympathize the change not being acceptable. If you've been to the ports before, or the ports aren't important the change probably isn't going to matter.

 

Either way, it sure has moved the Board off Drink Packages, Tipping, Formal Evening Dress Codes, and Smoking.

Edited June 4, 2015 by WpgCruise

[ghstudio]

Why on earth didn't they just implement the change on new future itineraries? Instead of changing existing ones which I see as a very big mistake, bad customer relations and contentious. Bad call, Celebrity!

 

Because the focus is on increasing profit NOW....so they apparently decided not to wait until the 2018 season...taking a risk that not too many would cancel. Actually, given that the changes are 2016, I don't have a problem for US passengers....but I have a real problem with the way they are handling the European folks where they can't cancel without losing their deposit. That's just poor judgement and management by someone. Where is the customer advocate in the celebrity management chain??? My guess is that the US HQ folks blindly focused on US policy, never thinking about how the changes effect those outside US....and the celebrity "franchises"/the "celebrity" folks outside the US...who are measured independently on their own profit contribution made some decision not to waive the cancellation penalties and blame the changes on "safety" which makes absolutely no sense since they are stopping in Belize this year which apparently must be safe...(yes, this makes no sense at all). Summary: lack of communications which has become a hallmark of Celebrity management.

 

I am hopeful that before the dust settles, someone at celebrity will focus on this issue long enough to make the logical decision that for cruises where there have been itinerary changes to the new "overnight" itineraries, they will waive cancellation penalties for 90 or 120 days.

 

Of course, HQ is now focused entirely on the new green something campaign....the one that seems to ignore 4 of celebrity ships that don't have any green lawns.

 

Surely there is a Harvard Case Study in the works on Celebrity's unique management style.

Edited June 4, 2015 by ghstudio

[Andy]

Why on earth didn't they just implement the change on new future itineraries? Instead of changing existing ones which I see as a very big mistake, bad customer relations and contentious. Bad call, Celebrity!

 

Hi OzKiwiJJ,

 

Thats a fair point, but I wouldnt go so far as to say it's a bad call. 2018 is a long ways away. I can surely understand why Celebrity wanted to make this happen sooner.

 

In a perfect world, it may have been better to coordinate this with the release of the 2016/2017 schedule, but it's worth mentioning there was a senior management change at Celebrity, and that likely affected the decision making process.

 

I totally appreciate that some are happy, and some are not. Personally, I like the overnight concept very much, as it gives you a chance to see ports from a very different perspective. Azamara has been doing this for some time, and the guest feedback is overwhelmingly positive.

 

I'm truly sorry for those who are disappointed with Celebrity's decision, but from the moment this was announced, I suspected this was one of those decisions where many were going to be pleased... and some would not. As with many corporate decisions, it's incredibly difficult, if not impossible to keep everyone happy.

 

On another note, in an earlier post, I mentioned this was all about the money. As I think about it, I was too harsh. While I feel that profits are a part of decisions such as this, I have zero doubt that Celebrity feels this will improve your cruise experience. I'm very confident it will too. If I've upset anyone or stirred up a hornets nest with my earlier comments, my sincere apologies.

Edited June 4, 2015 by Host Andy

[AtleeH]

From what I understand, it's a bad deal for those who live in the UK and book a cruise to the Caribbean. It's my understanding those folks can not cancel without losing their deposit.

 

If that's the case, then it's a poor decision. Now, if X were to make those folks whole, it wouldn't matter as much.

 

I would probably be unhappy even if I booked in the US, but got certain perks for booking, but lost those perks if I canceled and had to book a different cruise but lost the perks.

 

Hi OzKiwiJJ,

 

Thats a fair point, but I wouldnt go so far as to say it's a bad call. 2018 is a long ways away. I can surely understand why Celebrity wanted to make this happen sooner.

 

In a perfect world, it may have been better to coordinate this with the release of the 2016/2017 schedule, but it's worth mentioning there was a senior management change at Celebrity, and that likely affected the decision making process.

 

I totally appreciate that some are happy, and some are not. Personally, I like the overnight concept very much, as it gives you a chance to see ports from a very different perspective. Azamara has been doing this for some time, and the guest feedback is overwhelmingly positive.

 

I'm truly sorry for those who are disappointed with Celebrity's decision, but from the moment this was announced, I suspected this was one of those decisions where many were going to be pleased... and some would not. As with many corporate decisions, it's incredibly difficult, if not impossible to keep everyone happy.

 

On another note, in an earlier post, I mentioned this was all about the money. As I think about it, I was too harsh. While I feel that profits are a part of decisions such as this, I have zero doubt that Celebrity feels this will improve your cruise experience. I'm very confident it will too. If I've upset anyone or stirred up a hornets nest with my earlier comments, my sincere apologies.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Hi OzKiwiJJ,

 

Thats a fair point, but I wouldnt go so far as to say it's a bad call. 2018 is a long ways away. I can surely understand why Celebrity wanted to make this happen sooner.

 

In a perfect world, it may have been better to coordinate this with the release of the 2016/2017 schedule, but it's worth mentioning there was a senior management change at Celebrity, and that likely affected the decision making process.

 

 

New brooms sweeping clean? Oops!

 

Yes, I can understand why they wanted it to happen sooner but by doing so they have probably alienated a number of regular customers so that seems like a bad call to me :eek:

 

And, from what I've read, it's the manner in which they announced the changes that is causing the issues, and not allowing people to change or cancel their cruises.

 

Hopefully they won't start changing the Aus/NZ itineraries. I've got too many people to catch up with around NZ on our cruise. ;) Now all I have to do is pray to the weather gods. :D

[miched]

Why on earth didn't they just implement the change on new future itineraries? Instead of changing existing ones which I see as a very big mistake, bad customer relations and contentious. Bad call, Celebrity!

 

 

That is too logical and simple for Celebrity. No one would have any issues with that. I dont think that anyone that requested overnights suggest or requested to do it to a existing booked cruise.

 

As for booking a cruise for the ports for the most part I don't care where it stops in the Caribbean. There are a few that I don't really like and it wouldn't hurt my feelings at all if they were dropped. They are all on the cruises so I don't book any western cruises.

 

Any other cruise is definitely the ports that I want to visit.

 

The changes in itineraries could also be due to contracts with those ports or maybe docking issues. Every cruise line is building larger ships and also adding more to their fleet. St Thomas and St Martin are probably at thier max and some of the other islands may not be able to handle the extra load so they are looking to maximize their resources. If you have space for only two ships I think it is only logical to take the two largest that you can accommodate.

 

No matter what the real reason is it comes down to profits either for the ports or the cruise lines.

 

My opinion is if it is for the enjoyment and benefit of the passengers and what they asked for Celebrity would be better off providing the services and quality that there was in the past instead of the constant cuts and eliminations.

 

happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[ghstudio]

 

 

On another note, in an earlier post, I mentioned this was all about the money. As I think about it, I was too harsh. While I feel that profits are a part of decisions such as this, I have zero doubt that Celebrity feels this will improve your cruise experience. I'm very confident it will too. If I've upset anyone or stirred up a hornets nest with my earlier comments, my sincere apologies.

 

Your original statement was out of character for you, but from my perspective the decision was 80% financial and 20% for a better experience. The implementation schedule was 99% financial.

 

The concept of staying in a port overnight makes a great deal of sense when you are visiting Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi where the ship docks multiple hours from the city. It also makes sense when visiting places where you are docked in the city, there's lots to do in the city and the ship becomes a convenient local hotel. St Petersburg, Hong Kong, Singapore, Istanbul come to mind. But it doesn't make a great deal of sense, at least to me, to stay overnight at the Caribbean ports Celebrity has chosen. Yes, Azamara has many cruises with overnights...but those overnights are in significant cities.

 

The concept of overnights has a great deal of value in some cases....but the key word is SOME. Just adding an overnight somewhere doesn't automatically increase value or even the perception of value.

 

I concur with your original thought...it was done for $$$'s...and the implementation in 2016 was to improve the 2016 financials...not for safety and not "because you asked for it".

Edited June 4, 2015 by ghstudio

[Queen of Oakville]

Hi Everyone,

 

If you ask me, this whole port overnight thing has a different gameplan in mind. What the cruise lines wont say - is that they will save a ton of money on fuel, by skipping a port, and having the ship in port overnight. That has to be a huge add to the bottom line. Of course, they are going to tell you that it's about a great overnight port experience - and it probably is ! But, at the end of the day... it's all about $$$ and profits.

 

Just my .02 cents.

 

 

As far as I'm aware, I'm not affected by any of the overnight issues/missed ports.

 

But I would be upset if the casinos were closed during that time. I don't live in the casino but its definitely part of my cruise enjoyment.

 

 

edited: I quoted the wrong post - but does anyone have an answer on the casino issue?

Edited June 4, 2015 by Queen of Oakville

[wwcruisers]

Let me start by saying that none of my currently booked cruises are affected by this change -- but, it has gotten my attention. Although we have been happy to book cruises that feature an overnight stop (San Francisco and Bermuda), this is a different situation. For us, the Caribbean islands that we have not visited are the "short list". We now book our Caribbean itineraries, based on getting to visit an island that we have not been to. If that island was suddenly cut from that itinerary we would be very unhappy. And yes, we do have the ability to cancel a booked cruise if the changes are not to our liking. I'm not arguing that the company doesn't have the right to change (or even eliminate) an itinerary this far out -- they clearly do. But, just because you can do something, it doesn't mean that you should.

[ghstudio]

As far as I'm aware, I'm not affected by any of the overnight issues/missed ports.

 

But I would be upset if the casinos were closed during that time. I don't live in the casino but its definitely part of my cruise enjoyment.

 

 

edited: I quoted the wrong post - but does anyone have an answer on the casino issue?

 

I've been on lots of cruises, but I have never seen a ship casino open until the ship is in international water.

[Queen of Oakville]

I've been on lots of cruises, but I have never seen a ship casino open until the ship is in international water.

 

Exactly my point. I'd love to know numbers on how much the casino brings in on an average day. they've lost 1/10th of their casino revenue by shutting down (I believe this only affects 10 day cruises). i'd be upset if I booked a 10 day cruise and there was no casino to enjoy for one of those 10 days.

[CruisingChick]

I've been on lots of cruises, but I have never seen a ship casino open until the ship is in international water.

 

Except now at night when docked in Bermuda the casino can open at 9 PM (since last year).

[Queen of Oakville]

I've been on lots of cruises, but I have never seen a ship casino open until the ship is in international water.

 

That's very interesting. I wonder if something similar has been worked out for the overnight stops. Seems odd the would cut off a revenue stream. Unless the fuel costs are more than the casino revenue (if that is the reason).

[Oxo]

I was one of the people surveyed by Celebrity about overnights in the Caribbean.

 

I think it's a great idea and said so. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity.

 

I'm going to give it a try because I was one of the complainers who asked Celebrity to change up their Caribbean offers. It gets pretty dull going to the same places every year.

 

And yes indeed, we're on one of the cruises (Feb 1 2016) that as had a port cancelled, and an overnight now on the schedule.

 

So, now we know who to blame! LOL

This is always a routine answer. 'You asked for it and we listened.'

Well Celebrity, we are asking to reduce the price of the Specialty Restaurants back to $35 instead of $45 or $50. Waiting for an answer. LOL

[CruisingChick]

Well Celebrity, we are asking to reduce the price of the Specialty Restaurants back to $35 instead of $45 or $50. Waiting for an answer. LOL

 

Yes, we are waiting.

[Bo1953]

So, now we know who to blame! LOL

This is always a routine answer. 'You asked for it and we listened.'

Well Celebrity, we are asking to reduce the price of the Specialty Restaurants back to $35 instead of $45 or $50. Waiting for an answer. LOL

 

 

... Or, if you wait until you board, it may be cheaper than advance purchase.

[Snit13]

I was one of the people surveyed by Celebrity about overnights in the Caribbean.

 

I think it's a great idea and said so. I'm really looking forward to the opportunity.

 

I'm going to give it a try because I was one of the complainers who asked Celebrity to change up their Caribbean offers. It gets pretty dull going to the same places every year.

 

And yes indeed, we're on one of the cruises (Feb 1 2016) that as had a port cancelled, and an overnight now on the schedule.

 

Funny, I can't remember receiving a proxy granting you permission to vote for me in a Celebrity survey. I guess another super senior moment. I would have voted not do implement until next cruise offering. No big deal for those of us in USA but from what I have read on the numerous threads those who live in Europe are not able to cancel or change without penalty. Doesn't seem fair, sort of a double standard and they are being punished for living in countries I love visiting.

[yukongold]

Kind of like the companies who respond "our research shows that our customers WANT the new improved smaller packaging at the former larger packaging price".

(OJ, ice. Cream, Yogurt, etc.)

 

Now that's funny!:D