Celebrity Keeping, Downgrading M-Class Ships

[Host Jazzbeau]

Celebrity announced today that they will be doing major dry-docks on Infinity and Summit which will involve downgrading the lovely SS United States and Normandie restaurants into Tuscan Grilles [same high prices for cheaper food and less service] and adding something like Princess' MUTS to the top deck [which will make the AQ cabins below it even noisier]. This ends the chance that these ships could move to Azamara [good news for most here, I guess] but also ends the chance that we will sail M-Class again after these changes are completed on the other ships. With the continuing complaints about limited brunch replacing the promised breakfast and lunch in the suites-only Luminae restaurant, it is clear that Azamara will be the only really good cruising option in the RCL family [iMHO, but "I am unanimous in that!"]

 

Here's the announcement on Cruise Critic:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6576

Edited October 8, 2015 by Host Jazzbeau

[florisdekort]

Very disappointing. With the speciality restaurants gone, I will indeed not sail on Infinity and Summit again. Solstice class is way to big for me, so I'm afraid it's more Azamara and especially more Seabourn from here on out.

[ellbon]

Very disappointing. With the speciality restaurants gone, I will indeed not sail on Infinity and Summit again. Solstice class is way to big for me, so I'm afraid it's more Azamara and especially more Seabourn from here on out.

 

i never been on them.. have been on the sister ships. if i am going with that company i would go big only for the cabin itself. i do like the sky suite but he size of the ship is too big.

[Andy]

Celebrity announced today that they will be doing major dry-docks on Infinity and Summit which will involve downgrading the lovely SS United States and Normandie restaurants into Tuscan Grilles [same high prices for cheaper food and less service] and adding something like Princess' MUTS to the top deck [which will make the AQ cabins below it even noisier]. This ends the chance that these ships could move to Azamara [good news for most here, I guess] but also ends the chance that we will sail M-Class again after these changes are completed on the other ships. With the continuing complaints about limited brunch replacing the promised breakfast and lunch in the suites-only Luminae restaurant, it is clear that Azamara will be the only really good cruising option in the RCL family [iMHO, but "I am unanimous in that!"]

 

Here's the announcement on Cruise Critic:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6576

 

Hi Host Jazzbeau,

 

With all due respect, I'm not in total agreement with your assessment, for several reasons. While I'm not overly thrilled with the idea of eliminating Normandie and SS United States in favor of Tuscan Grille, the bottom line is, Tuscan is very popular - offering a wonderful dining experience, and, at a lesser price than the current 2 venues. The last 2 meals we've enjoyed in Tuscan, were some of the best we've ever had on any Cruise ship... with the exception of Azamara's Specialty Dining - which was even better ! Again, not something I'm very pleased about - but it's not due to the menu change. It's moreso due to the 2 current venues being absolutely stunning, and, not knowing exactly what the "New Tuscan" on Summit and Infinity will look like, once refurbished. IMO, this is one of the nicest venues on the 2 ships, and I'm saddened they are about to be dismantled. On the bright side, at least some of the memorabilia will be displayed somewhere in the refurbished Casino, but that's a small consolation.

 

As for the threads on brunch in Luminae.... as best as I can tell, this was only happening on 1 ship. Maybe I'm wrong, but I do not believe this is an actual change in policy. We'll have to wait for additional onboard reports.

 

Regarding the movie screen - I'm ok with it. Most of the mass market lines have it nowadays, and I figured it was only a matter of time before Celebrity offered something like this, so I'm not at all surprised. When I sailed on Princess, MUTS was incredibly popular, so I can see why Celebrity is doing this. I think it's unknown whether there will be a noise factor. Reportedly, they've been trying this out on one of the ships, and a CC member reported being in a cabin below, and there weren't any noise issues.

 

Would any of this stop me from sailing on Infinity or Summit ? No, it wouldn't.

 

Over the years, many of us (myself included) have speculated about an M-Class ship moving to Azamara at some point. While I think this stops it from happening for Summit & Infinity, I do find it very interesting that Millennium or Constellation are not currently scheduled for any updating. Not much of a surprise for Connie, as she had some work done, a few years ago. However, it's a *much* bigger surprise for Millennium, as she's the oldest of the M-Class, and it makes me wonder why she was bypassed. Inquiring minds would love to know !

 

At any rate, most of the Azamara faithful understandably do not want an Azamara ship in the 90,000 ton range, so I suspect they will be very pleased with today's news.

 

I certainly respect your decision to bypass the 2 ships. That's a personal choice. IMHO, we should wait and see what the final product looks like, before we pass judgement. That's what I plan to do.

Edited October 9, 2015 by Host Andy

[TxnAquarian]

Great post, Andy! Like you said, we need to wait and see what the final product looks like. Jazzbeau has some valid points, as well, but I think that Celebrity is doing what they need to do to stay relevant. I think that both Celebrity and Azamara have a great product for their target markets. We bounce back and forth between both, and I'm sure we will continue to do so after the M-Class upgrades. We started sailing in suites on X when Luminae came along, and Luminae has been nothing but spectacular. The food and service far exceeds anything we've had on Azamara. I don't know where all of these "continuing complaints" are from about the limited brunch in Luminae.....breakfast and lunch is available almost everyday with just a couple of days selected as brunch days. The brunch days work out great for us, because we can sleep in and still eat in Luminae. I'm one of those who just goes with the flow and doesn't get all worked up about changes on these ships. I've enjoyed all my cruises, and if things got really bad, there are a lot of different cruise lines to choose from (Oceania and Seabourn are still on my radar). You made a good point, Andy.....the absence of any news of the Connie or Millie is interesting....hmmmm.....

 

 

 

Michael

Edited October 9, 2015 by TxnAquarian

[excitedofharpenden]

Yes, wait and see is my policy. I'm also sad to see them dismantling the specialties, particularly SS United States. That really is a lovely room harking back to days gone by in a very tasteful way. There is a lot of discussion about Luminae on the Celebrity board and for me a lot of it is just hot air by a vocal minority. I liked what they were doing in Luminae on Constellation. Best to experience it first hand before making a decision.

 

Having said all that, I'm glad an M-Class ship isn't coming to Azamara. Never thought it would. They just don't fit the brand in terms of size.

 

Phil

[uktog]

Me too, very much a wait and see but I very much enjoyed Luminae on my May cruise and look forward to enjoying it again in 2017 on a cruise to location Azamara does not visit at a time that works with my calendar. It is the isolated noise of a few that are impacting on the feedback about Luminae on the Celebrity board.

 

Indeed the negativity pills have been double dosed over there.....

 

I see the move by Celebrity as a sensible mid point option and a recognition that the USP of Azamara (small ships, small places) has to be preserved. Bulking up the Azamara fleet with ships that do not allow this has not happened, I think the Azamara lovers should be very happy.

[florisdekort]

For the RCI Group, the effect of these changes indeed is a strengthening of the Azamara "semi luxury" USP. The removal of by far the most premium dining venue and the addition of movies under the stars to please the Caribbean and Bermuda masses further carnivalizes Celebrity and thus sets Azamara more apart - although still quite far removed from the truly luxury brands such as Seabourn and Silver Sea.

 

As for Luminae, the hype will wear off soon. It has too many tables cramped in (tables for 2 are less than a foot apart), very limited choice (just 3 to 5 items) and the food doesn't come close to the standards in the speciality restaurants they're now closing.

 

I'm returning to Azamara for two cruises in 2016 after two years of absence and look forward to seeing the ships' upgrades and to experiencing how the cuisine has evolved. Unfortunately Azamara's 2017 itineraries offer nothing new, so it's back to Seabourn after that - until the 2018 itineraries come out.

[Host Jazzbeau]

For the RCI Group, the effect of these changes indeed is a strengthening of the Azamara "semi luxury" USP. The removal of by far the most premium dining venue and the addition of movies under the stars to please the Caribbean and Bermuda masses further carnivalizes Celebrity and thus sets Azamara more apart - although still quite far removed from the truly luxury brands such as Seabourn and Silver Sea.

 

As for Luminae, the hype will wear off soon. It has too many tables cramped in (tables for 2 are less than a foot apart), very limited choice (just 3 to 5 items) and the food doesn't come close to the standards in the speciality restaurants they're now closing.

 

I'm returning to Azamara for two cruises in 2016 after two years of absence and look forward to seeing the ships' upgrades and to experiencing how the cuisine has evolved. Unfortunately Azamara's 2017 itineraries offer nothing new, so it's back to Seabourn after that - until the 2018 itineraries come out.

 

Thank you for these insights, which ratify my opinion of the recent changes on Celebrity. RCI had to decide whether to return Celebrity to its original quality point, or to downgrade it to Mass Market Plus. They have obviously chosen the latter -- copying MSC and NCL with their new class system and constant cut-backs for the non-suite cabins. The good news is that this ensures Azamara's place in the RCI pecking order, and should presage new ships to make Azamara even better.

[LOP]

 

As for Luminae, the hype will wear off soon. It has too many tables cramped in (tables for 2 are less than a foot apart), very limited choice (just 3 to 5 items) and the food doesn't come close to the standards in the speciality restaurants they're now closing.

 

 

Our experience in Luminae was just the opposite on our South American Equinox cruise and since we also ate in the specialty restaurant during that cruise (Murano?) I can attest that the Luminae food was superior at that time. The service was equal. We never felt cramped and actually felt there was more space between tables than there is in select dining...now that area is cramped, but RCI really has no choice IMO. Matter of fact we have been disappointed in our last 3 celebrity cruises specialty dining experiences, food quality-wise.

 

The food quality has seemed to have decreased in the Murano style restaurants (regardless the name) in the last 2 years IMO. Although we have always been pleased with the service to say the least.

 

We have only been on 2 Azamara cruises (B2B) and we loved everything about the food quality and are booked on another B2B next year, BUT we just met with some friends overseas last week and they expressed that the Azamara food was disappointing on their most recent azamara cruise and has given them pause to book another and they are big cheerleaders for the line. I was very surprised they had experienced this and have found that they are very objective concerning matters of the palate:D.

Edited October 10, 2015 by LOP

[TxnAquarian]

Our experience in Luminae was just the opposite on our South American Equinox cruise and since we also ate in the specialty restaurant during that cruise (Murano?) I can attest that the Luminae food was superior at that time. The service was equal. We never felt cramped and actually felt there was more space between tables than there is in select dining...now that area is cramped, but RCI really has no choice IMO. Matter of fact we have been disappointed in our last 3 celebrity cruises specialty dining experiences, food quality-wise.

 

 

 

I know this is the Azamara forum, so this will be my last snippet about Celebrity, but you are correct. Luminae is fantastic. We switched from cruising with Regent and Crystal to Celebrity, and the dining experience in Luminae is equal to the MDR experience on those premium lines. Celebrity made a wise move in integrating the suite class, because they have won over our business and I'm sure they are packing in passengers to their suites at hefty prices now. I know food is totally subjective, but I don't know how anyone can speak negatively of Luminae. It was a definite game-changer for Celebrity and we have many upcoming cruises in suites with them. As to the planned changes in the drydock to the rest of the ship, we will see.

 

 

Michael

[maggie.1008]

I just came off the Solstice on Oct. 2nd. My second cruise dining in Luminae. Service was good but very limited choices. Many are ordering off the MDR Menu. Our best meal was in Tuscan Grill followed my Murano. Luminae did offer Breakfast, lunch and dinner. No brunch and we had 6 sea days. Happy to answer any other questions. We will be in AQ deck 11 on the Infinity in May. I hope there is not a lot of noise on deck 12 as I am a light sleeper. CC, AQ and Suites are all sold out on our May cruise already.