The legacy of Lisa Lutloff-Perlo

[richsea]

lola2013, fortunately, you do not meet too many people with that attitude on board. Welcome to the masses!

[lola2013]

Thanks Rich...

Fortunately, I have met only wonderful people...fellow passengers and personnel.

Happy Holidays!

Susan

[Iamcruzin]

Booking as soon as a cruise is released is often a good idea. You really need to consider the popularity of the cruise. For example, I booked the Mardi Gras cruise for 2017 the first day. Got a favorite cabin at a good price since it is now 3 times the price I paid and good cabins are long gone. Booked Tokyo for 2018 and expect that to sell out quickly at lower prices than 2 years from now. Of course that cruise has been turned into a Charter in the past and may happen again.

 

I agree your one and done itineraries have to be booked at the time of opening. However 7-12 day Caribbean, Alaska and even Europe not so much. There is a lot of inventory out there especially with the ships getting larger and larger. Also from what I have been reading on CC it seems that the once X Cheerleaders are turning in their pompoms and joining another team.

[TxnAquarian]

Wow...to have a fellow cruiser refer to me and fellow "newbies" as part of a "less sophisticated crowd" has really set me back this morning!!! I switched to Celebrity after sailing several other lines including Cunard, Princess, NCL, Costa and RCCL. Unfortunately, I am not able to sail in a suite, which might perhaps make me a more suitable Celebrity customer according to TxnAquarian (sailing as a single makes that very cost prohibitive), but I am grateful everyday for the opportunity to take such a wonderful vacation (in Concierge class...horrors!), to see new places and make new friends. And those new friends are both seasoned Celebrity cruisers and newcomers like myself.

Sorry, that is not the topic of this thread, but could not let TxnAquarian's snarky remark go without comment.

I agree with those that say Ms. Lutloff-Perlo has not been in the position long enough for me to vote "positive" or "negative."

 

 

I'm sorry that you feel that my comment was offensive. But on our last two Celebrity cruises, we saw people smashing beer bottles on the deck, throwing trash in the pool, guys mooning passengers on the pool deck, some lady taking her top off at the bar....things that we had never seen on any other cruise. And on our most recent cruise in October, several people were kicked off for ill-behavior. If you disagree with me and think this is sophisticated behavior, than so be it. But to me that is the kind of crowd they are attracting lately with last minute fire sales and deep discounts. We don't pay a hefty chunk of change to sail with these kinds of people, which is part of the reason we are moving on to Azamara. Unless you behave in this way, I don't see any reason for you to be offended. We met lots of very nice, respectable people on the cruise as well, but unfortunately the bad apples overly-impacted the experience for us.

 

 

Michael

[ChucktownSteve]

Also from what I have been reading on CC it seems that the once X Cheerleaders are turning in their pompoms and joining another team.

 

You think they've become tired of being fouled out?

[Iamcruzin]

Wow...to have a fellow cruiser refer to me and fellow "newbies" as part of a "less sophisticated crowd" has really set me back this morning!!! I switched to Celebrity after sailing several other lines including Cunard, Princess, NCL, Costa and RCCL. Unfortunately, I am not able to sail in a suite, which might perhaps make me a more suitable Celebrity customer according to TxnAquarian (sailing as a single makes that very cost prohibitive), but I am grateful everyday for the opportunity to take such a wonderful vacation (in Concierge class...horrors!), to see new places and make new friends. And those new friends are both seasoned Celebrity cruisers and newcomers like myself.

Sorry, that is not the topic of this thread, but could not let TxnAquarian's snarky remark go without comment.

I agree with those that say Ms. Lutloff-Perlo has not been in the position long enough for me to vote "positive" or "negative."

 

Best to ignore the snarky comments. It only validates them. I'm new to Celebrity one of the low renters who usually books ocean view. This time I'm in a C2. I hope I don't get a nose bleed being higher up on the food chain. :rolleyes: If you saw the movie Titanic you will notice that the steerage class seemed to be having more fun than first class. It's too much work to pretend and walk around with a stick up your back.

[lola2013]

Thanks for the laugh...we actually downgraded on the next two cruises (HORRORS) since we didn't see the value in Concierge. So it will be plain old verandah for this happy traveler...having a good time no matter what. And I'm seeing that stick stuck somewhere other than up his back.

See you below decks!

Susan

[Orator]

I agree your one and done itineraries have to be booked at the time of opening. However 7-12 day Caribbean, Alaska and even Europe not so much. There is a lot of inventory out there especially with the ships getting larger and larger. Also from what I have been reading on CC it seems that the once X Cheerleaders are turning in their pompoms and joining another team.

 

I believe the point we are both making is that cruisers need to be aware of the market and book accordingly. It is important for those who don't have the time or interest to follow booking patterns to find a good TA who can do it for them. A review of past threads on this topic can also be useful. The game of trying to book the very best deal has been played for many, many years and I suspect it will continue for quite some time.

[villauk]

I'm sorry that you feel that my comment was offensive. But on our last two Celebrity cruises, we saw people smashing beer bottles on the deck, throwing trash in the pool, guys mooning passengers on the pool deck, some lady taking her top off at the bar....things that we had never seen on any other cruise. And on our most recent cruise in October, several people were kicked off for ill-behavior. If you disagree with me and think this is sophisticated behavior, than so be it.

 

Michael

 

And that's what happens when you let Sky Suite clientele into Michael's, it just goes to their heads :rolleyes: :D. Obviously, not as though you'd be in one of those 'low-rent' accommodations at the very 'bottom' of the suite offerings :p.

 

Joking aside, I think what you were actually trying to portray was the ambiance of your last 2 cruises has not been to your liking, so you are considering other lines more suited to your needs ;)? I can't say my 2 cruises this year resemble anything like your experiences, but we do tend to take longer cruises with our, deep breath, children :eek:. Perhaps your itineraries and length of cruises were a contributing factor?

[lola2013]

Michael, I appreciate your comment; unfortunately, just because a passenger can afford a higher category cabin does not mean he will be any better behaved than passengers in "lower" categories. Sadly, this has become a "class"-based cruise line. I have never felt it before as much as I do here. And that's why I go on a trip fully intending to ignore those who may look down on my humble stateroom and have a good time regardless. When I went to book my first cruise many years ago, my very wise travel agent told me he'd never put me on a different line (whose name also begins with a "C";) sounds like the beer bottle throwing, shirt raising, mooning passengers made a wrong turn in the cruise terminal.

Susan

[CruisingChick]

The type of stateroom you book has no bearing on how one will behave. We 99% of the time book inside cabins, yet we always adhere to the rules and regulations of the cruise line. After our second cruise in 2001 my DH went out and bought a tux and he has worn it on every Celebrity cruise we have been on. That will now stop since they have gotten rid of formal night. If people are wearing jeans (be they designer or not) my DH does not want to be in a tux, just doesn't jive.

 

Celebrity has lowered their standards so why shouldn't their passengers do the same?

[TxnAquarian]

And that's what happens when you let Sky Suite clientele into Michael's, it just goes to their heads :rolleyes: :D. Obviously, not as though you'd be in one of those 'low-rent' accommodations at the very 'bottom' of the suite offerings :p.

 

Joking aside, I think what you were actually trying to portray was the ambiance of your last 2 cruises has not been to your liking, so you are considering other lines more suited to your needs ;)? I can't say my 2 cruises this year resemble anything like your experiences, but we do tend to take longer cruises with our, deep breath, children :eek:. Perhaps your itineraries and length of cruises were a contributing factor?

 

We used to think length had to do with this, too....and one of this trips was a 7-day Alaska cruise. The other was a 12-day cruise out of Australia, which was apparently the Australian equivalent of Spring Break. We are doing a 14-day out of Abu Dhabi next year....hoping for a more subdued experience.

 

 

Michael

[Bo1953]

We used to think length had to do with this, too....and one of this trips was a 7-day Alaska cruise. The other was a 12-day cruise out of Australia, which was apparently the Australian equivalent of Spring Break. We are doing a 14-day out of Abu Dhabi next year....hoping for a more subdued experience.

 

 

Michael

 

TA - I believe you will...

 

bon voyage!

[Aquahound]

I'm sorry that you feel that my comment was offensive. But on our last two Celebrity cruises, we saw people smashing beer bottles on the deck, throwing trash in the pool, guys mooning passengers on the pool deck, some lady taking her top off at the bar....things that we had never seen on any other cruise.

 

Michael, I know you're getting beat up over your comment, but I knew what you meant...probably because I just disembarked a 5 day Celebrity cruise that had a few questionable people on board. One was a Vanilla-Ice looking drunkard with jean shorts drooping while he stumbled around in a drunken stupor all cruise...one hand holding a beer, the other holding up the front of his pants. Another couple guys looked like they just got out of prison...or were very proud acting tough as through they did....again, pants drooping, wife beaters, f this, f that...the whole show.

 

But truth is, these people are only a few and I'm sure your comment didn't refer to the other Celebrity newbies on this thread. I say that because on the other hand, some passengers aren't nearly as important as they think they are. There's nothing impressive about booking a suite on a mass market cruise line.

[hcat]

I'm sorry that you feel that my comment was offensive. But on our last two Celebrity cruises, we saw people smashing beer bottles on the deck, throwing trash in the pool, guys mooning passengers on the pool deck, some lady taking her top off at the bar....things that we had never seen on any other cruise. And on our most recent cruise in October, several people were kicked off for ill-behavior. If you disagree with me and think this is sophisticated behavior, than so be it. But to me that is the kind of crowd they are attracting lately with last minute fire sales and deep discounts. We don't pay a hefty chunk of change to sail with these kinds of people, which is part of the reason we are moving on to Azamara. Unless you behave in this way, I don't see any reason for you to be offended. We met lots of very nice, respectable people on the cruise as well, but unfortunately the bad apples overly-impacted the experience for us.

 

 

Michael

 

Seems X may be getting the cruisers they wanted to attract, while insulating suite guests in their cocoon Lower the standards, slash fares, include alcohol, play trashy music (which we hear may have improved) ....and that's what happens. We are locked in here for awhile but testing Az and Princess, and maybe back to Cunard!

[Responder]

We used to think length had to do with this, too....and one of this trips was a 7-day Alaska cruise. The other was a 12-day cruise out of Australia, which was apparently the Australian equivalent of Spring Break. We are doing a 14-day out of Abu Dhabi next year....hoping for a more subdued experience.

 

 

Michael

 

We just got off the Equinox...how about lobby full of younger men...no shirts/shorts, back fully tattooed...holding a bottle of beer of course..

Although I was always in favor of the casual dress mode, how about at 7pm most nights.. people in shorts, sneakers, tank shirts...either going to or coming from the specialty restaurants or packed 2 deep at the bar...screaming and shouting while the jazz quartet was trying to entertain a few rational beings.

Our search has begun but not too confident we will find something more sedate as the lines are courting the younger.."modern luxury" crowd rather than those who have been cruising for many, many years.

[Karynanne]

We just got off the Equinox...how about lobby full of younger men...no shirts/shorts, back fully tattooed...holding a bottle of beer of course..

 

Although I was always in favor of the casual dress mode, how about at 7pm most nights.. people in shorts, sneakers, tank shirts...either going to or coming from the specialty restaurants or packed 2 deep at the bar...screaming and shouting while the jazz quartet was trying to entertain a few rational beings.

 

Our search has begun but not too confident we will find something more sedate as the lines are courting the younger.."modern luxury" crowd rather than those who have been cruising for many, many years.

 

 

I wonder if this behavior is limited to warm weather destinations?

 

I guess I'm fortunate to have never experienced this kind of behavior on previous cruises.

[K.T.B.]

I wonder if this behavior is limited to warm weather destinations?

 

I guess I'm fortunate to have never experienced this kind of behavior on previous cruises.

 

The only time I have ever experienced that was on my very first cruise. It was also spring break and there were MANY 21-22 year olds on board. Even then, though drunk, they were not obnoxiously unruly or loud. They were just partying.

 

Be that as it may, you can have all the money in the world, but that doesn't buy you class. Celebrity might be "cheapening the product", but their prices are not reflective of that. I'm just glad I am not a new person to this nor to Celebrity, because some of these comments would turn me off from ever sailing the line and quite possibly turn me off from the site itself.

Edited December 23, 2015 by K.T.B.

[wwcruisers]

Back to the original topic: the legacy of LLP at X. At this point, I'm afraid that she gets a big "no confidence" vote from me. We started cruising X toward the end of Mr. Hanrahan's watch, and we were amazed at the wonderful quality of food and service -- especially compared to the decline that we'd experienced at RC. We were very unhappy with the direction Michael Bayley took the company -- a drastic decline in food and service, as well as entertainment. Initially, I was quite hopeful when I read Ms. Lutoff-Perlo's CV. It seems that she came up through the hotel-side ranks on X, before her stint at RC. Mistakenly, I thought she might actually do some damage control, now that she was CEO of Celebrity. Doesn't look like that's going to happen, so it may be time for me to seriously look at other cruise lines.

 

And, yes -- I know that the CEO's primary duty is to the stockholders, and she's raising the value of their shares. But that's the point. I'm not a stockholder, I'm a customer -- and, not a very happy one, right now. :(

Edited December 23, 2015 by wwcruisers

[wallie5446]

We just got off the Equinox...how about lobby full of younger men...no shirts/shorts, back fully tattooed...holding a bottle of beer of course..

Although I was always in favor of the casual dress mode, how about at 7pm most nights.. people in shorts, sneakers, tank shirts...either going to or coming from the specialty restaurants or packed 2 deep at the bar...screaming and shouting while the jazz quartet was trying to entertain a few rational beings.

Our search has begun but not too confident we will find something more sedate as the lines are courting the younger.."modern luxury" crowd rather than those who have been cruising for many, many years.

 

We got off the Equinox on Nov 30th and saw nothing like this. Well some on the Roll Call said I was a tad over the top at sail away.:rolleyes:

[TxnAquarian]

Michael, I know you're getting beat up over your comment, but I knew what you meant...probably because I just disembarked a 5 day Celebrity cruise that had a few questionable people on board. One was a Vanilla-Ice looking drunkard with jean shorts drooping while he stumbled around in a drunken stupor all cruise...one hand holding a beer, the other holding up the front of his pants. Another couple guys looked like they just got out of prison...or were very proud acting tough as through they did....again, pants drooping, wife beaters, f this, f that...the whole show.

 

But truth is, these people are only a few and I'm sure your comment didn't refer to the other Celebrity newbies on this thread. I say that because on the other hand, some passengers aren't nearly as important as they think they are. There's nothing impressive about booking a suite on a mass market cruise line.

 

Thanks for your comment. I meant no disrespect to anyone on here. I never referred to new cruisers, as some on here seem to think. I was referring to the unsavory people we've been seeing on these ships more and more - whether they are X newbies or not, I have no idea. But we certainly haven't seen so much of this kind of crowd onboard any previous years. I don't think I'm better than anyone else....I just don't appreciate spending a lot of money to share a ship with these types of people - as most people would agree. Azamara and Silversea, which we have on the books, will be much more subdued for us.

 

 

Michael

[hcat]

We just got off the Equinox...how about lobby full of younger men...no shirts/shorts, back fully tattooed...holding a bottle of beer of course..

Although I was always in favor of the casual dress mode, how about at 7pm most nights.. people in shorts, sneakers, tank shirts...either going to or coming from the specialty restaurants or packed 2 deep at the bar...screaming and shouting while the jazz quartet was trying to entertain a few rational beings.

Our search has begun but not too confident we will find something more sedate as the lines are courting the younger.."modern luxury" crowd rather than those who have been cruising for many, many years.

 

If we encounter this type of folk on Equinox next month, I will take some all around the ship photos and forward to her...Celebrity is heading in the wrong direction under present leadership......downwardly mobile !

[ghstudio]

We just got off the Equinox...how about lobby full of younger men...no shirts/shorts, back fully tattooed...holding a bottle of beer of course..

Although I was always in favor of the casual dress mode, how about at 7pm most nights.. people in shorts, sneakers, tank shirts...either going to or coming from the specialty restaurants or packed 2 deep at the bar...screaming and shouting while the jazz quartet was trying to entertain a few rational beings.

Our search has begun but not too confident we will find something more sedate as the lines are courting the younger.."modern luxury" crowd rather than those who have been cruising for many, many years.

 

If this was the 12/11 cruise, we must have been on a different ship...the ship we were on was essentially unchanged in demographics despite Celebrity's obvious efforts to attract a younger group. The martini bar was almost empty and the sound levels were low, almost too low, throughout the ship.

 

I actually expected more of what Responder talked about, given that this was a caribbean cruise, but according to the officers/crew I talked with, the crowd is very different on 7 day and shorter cruises. Longer cruises still attract those who have the time and flexibility to take them...translated, that means it's unchanged despite Celebrity's marketing efforts.

[Marelaine]

Michael, I appreciate your comment; unfortunately, just because a passenger can afford a higher category cabin does not mean he will be any better behaved than passengers in "lower" categories. Sadly, this has become a "class"-based cruise line. I have never felt it before as much as I do here. And that's why I go on a trip fully intending to ignore those who may look down on my humble stateroom and have a good time regardless. When I went to book my first cruise many years ago, my very wise travel agent told me he'd never put me on a different line (whose name also begins with a "C";) sounds like the beer bottle throwing, shirt raising, mooning passengers made a wrong turn in the cruise terminal.

Susan

 

You're probably right. They were supposed to be on Cunard.

 

:cool:;):cool::rolleyes:

[hulamoon]

I am not sure why anyone thinks bad behavior and stateroom are linked.

 

Some cruises are more party like, depending on cultures and also short cruises with unlimited drinking packages.

 

I remember the complaints from the infamous doll cruise, and so glad I wasn't on it. It was tough for many passengers and had no drinking among the most difficult passengers. That said, I find shorter cruises with drink packages more party like.

 

I do think the suite class is a double edged sword so to speak. If people must book up to get the same benefits they used to get or a little bit more they are going to say, as we have, now that I am spending this much, is this the best line for me?

 

The evolution since 2011 is quite stunning, the changes have been so big in this short time it's a wonder any of us can keep up. At times I feel for the staff, different rules on different ships and they are the ones to deliver bad news to passengers about benefit changes. I heard this over and over, well on Reflection, we did it this way....and me saying...well the press release says this....

 

Now of course, sometimes it's good news, but there is something to be said about knowing what you paid for, the staff knowing what you paid for, and consistency.