Is Celebrity loosing it's luster? I hope not.

[slidewilson]

We are Equinox right now, and they DO allow smoking. There are several designated areas including one side of the pool, the promenade and other areas. It has been hard to find places to walk

 

 

On Solstice-class ships, smoking is allowed Deck 5 forward (port side), and Deck 12, port side. AFAIK those are the only two places where it's actually permitted. I've seen a smoking section on Silhouette Deck 5 midship.

 

In my opinion, it's much more of an inconvenience for a smoker to find a smoking area than it is for the non-smokers to run into a smoking area. :cool:

[BMT]

Just off the Eclipse. The food was really excellent - chef Paul was back on board!! Nothing overcooked and good selection of dishes. Last September the food was poor. Even the selection in the buffet was better - fish'n'chips every other day in the buffet and also sometimes in the MDR.

 

The service was also excellent - well trained and friendly staff - except for one extremely rude and abrupt lady on Reception!!:eek:

 

However, the entertainment was quite poor as usual. The rock'n'roll show is fine - the other two production shows are dire. Three good headliners - one unfortunate impressionist - act unsuitable for the theatre and as the audience started walking out - (why the houselights were still on I have no idea) - he totally blanked - so embarrassing. Even people in the front row were leaving - so rude!!:o

 

Over three days in St. Petersburg, Russia, the only evening entertainment was a Russian group. On the other nights many passengers were without entertainment, casino, shops etc. Not even a good recent film!! On another two nights there was only one show at 10.30pm - for the older passengers this was too late!! What are they thinking on Celebrity?

 

Perhaps they just don't care about us twirlies!!

[Luvcrusn]

If Celebrity really wants to become a better Carnival, then they are certainly going in the right direction. They are now in direct competition with Royal as well as NCL, MSC and Costa. How many RCI customers will they attract? Quite a few, I'd guess considering the points systems.

 

The only advantage that X has right now is that a lot of cruisers still see them as a higher end brand. That advantage will disappear as more and more ex X cruisers tell others why they left, leaving them to compete for traveler's wallets on a pure cost basis and land based, all inclusive, vacations are always going to be cheaper. (Don't make the mistake of thinking that they are only competing with other cruises)

 

Three years ago because of itinerary DH and I booked a Royal Caribbean 14 day cruise on Legend after many X cruises. It was a BIG reminder why we enjoy X. Definitely there have been changes to X since we started sailing on it, but the service, food, service, specialty restaurants, service, general atmosphere, service...and did I mention service (?) are SOOOO much better on X still. As far as we're concerned there is NO competition with Royal and certainly no competition with Carnival (who in our opinion is like a floating frat party)! I don't get those who seem to spend so much time posting what they don't like about any cruise line. If I were so unhappy with a particular cruise line, I'd simply not bother with them and move on. Why spend hours posting negatively trying to convince others to abandon ship? Speak with your wallet and book what you like is my motto. Why the need to get others to follow. I just don't get it!

[CRZR58]

Three years ago because of itinerary DH and I booked a Royal Caribbean 14 day cruise on Legend after many X cruises. It was a BIG reminder why we enjoy X. Definitely there have been changes to X since we started sailing on it, but the service, food, service, specialty restaurants, service, general atmosphere, service...and did I mention service (?) are SOOOO much better on X still. As far as we're concerned there is NO competition with Royal and certainly no competition with Carnival (who in our opinion is like a floating frat party)! I don't get those who seem to spend so much time posting what they don't like about any cruise line. If I were so unhappy with a particular cruise line, I'd simply not bother with them and move on. Why spend hours posting negatively trying to convince others to abandon ship? Speak with your wallet and book what you like is my motto. Why the need to get others to follow. I just don't get it!

A few points:

• I can't speak for RCI, but Celebrity was way better 3 years ago than it is today.
  
• We won't sail Carnival again either.
  
• We have spoken with our wallets. Our last trip was a 2 week all inclusive that was great and cheaper than 1 week OV when you take everything into account. We've got our eyes on a Windstar trip next.
  
• What's not to get about posting about a product that's going down hill? I get that Companies would love it if folks who didn't like their product would simply go away quietly and not complain, then they could 'pretend' that everyone is really happy. I don't get why other customers wouldn't want to hear opposing opinions, especially before they've booked.
  

[shipshape sam]

If Celebrity really wants to become a better Carnival, then they are certainly going in the right direction. They are now in direct competition with Royal as well as NCL, MSC and Costa. How many RCI customers will they attract? Quite a few, I'd guess considering the points systems.

 

The only advantage that X has right now is that a lot of cruisers still see them as a higher end brand. That advantage will disappear as more and more ex X cruisers tell others why they left, leaving them to compete for traveler's wallets on a pure cost basis and land based, all inclusive, vacations are always going to be cheaper. (Don't make the mistake of thinking that they are only competing with other cruises)

 

 

 

Three years ago because of itinerary DH and I booked a Royal Caribbean 14 day cruise on Legend after many X cruises. It was a BIG reminder why we enjoy X. Definitely there have been changes to X since we started sailing on it, but the service, food, service, specialty restaurants, service, general atmosphere, service...and did I mention service (?) are SOOOO much better on X still. As far as we're concerned there is NO competition with Royal and certainly no competition with Carnival (who in our opinion is like a floating frat party)! I don't get those who seem to spend so much time posting what they don't like about any cruise line. If I were so unhappy with a particular cruise line, I'd simply not bother with them and move on. Why spend hours posting negatively trying to convince others to abandon ship? Speak with your wallet and book what you like is my motto. Why the need to get others to follow. I just don't get it!

 

We too prefer Celebrity over Royal but it is because, in general, we like the longer cruises. We have sailed Royal and do like them, just Celebrity better in general. Like Royal's 4 & 5 day cruises too. I too, if I control the decision, have no plans to sail Carnival ever again, but that is just me. I do like HAL and Princess owned by Carnival Corp though and would sail them again.

 

As to why we complain/whine, I do it for a few reasons: First, The cruise lines read many of these threads and my hope is that they might change their policies as to things being discussed. A quick example is someone posting currently on a Royal thread about being charged a corkage fee. Pretty ridiculous IMHO. You are allowed to bring 2 bottles on board, they should drop the aggravating and confusing charge as when it is applied. Secondly, There are times, that others on these threads have a good solution that can resolve the issue or make it better for sure. Thirdly, misery loves company and so do whiners.:)

[Ma Bell]

If Celebrity really wants to become a better Carnival, then they are certainly going in the right direction. They are now in direct competition with Royal as well as NCL, MSC and Costa. How many RCI customers will they attract? Quite a few, I'd guess considering the points systems.

 

The only advantage that X has right now is that a lot of cruisers still see them as a higher end brand. That advantage will disappear as more and more ex X cruisers tell others why they left, leaving them to compete for traveler's wallets on a pure cost basis and land based, all inclusive, vacations are always going to be cheaper. (Don't make the mistake of thinking that they are only competing with other cruises)

 

Three years ago because of itinerary DH and I booked a Royal Caribbean 14 day cruise on Legend after many X cruises. It was a BIG reminder why we enjoy X. Definitely there have been changes to X since we started sailing on it, but the service, food, service, specialty restaurants, service, general atmosphere, service...and did I mention service (?) are SOOOO much better on X still. As far as we're concerned there is NO competition with Royal and certainly no competition with Carnival (who in our opinion is like a floating frat party)! I don't get those who seem to spend so much time posting what they don't like about any cruise line. If I were so unhappy with a particular cruise line, I'd simply not bother with them and move on. Why spend hours posting negatively trying to convince others to abandon ship? Speak with your wallet and book what you like is my motto. Why the need to get others to follow. I just don't get it!

 

If no one ever bothers to post when there have been major changes to a product you can be sure that the day will come when they finally get to the point where you don't like it either. It's one thing to complain about everything all the time and another when you have people who have been very loyal customers, who have always loved the product and recommended it to friends and family, leaving because there has been a significant change. As long as no one ever comments about anything you can be sure they will keep chipping away at a great product until it's nothing special. It's all about the bottom line.

 

Your notion that you just keep moving on doesn't work when there's nothing special left to move on to or it's so out of your price range that you can't. I guess it's also sad but true that you can't miss something you never had.

[ChucktownSteve]

Why spend hours posting negatively trying to convince others to abandon ship? Speak with your wallet and book what you like is my motto. Why the need to get others to follow. I just don't get it!

 

I haven't seen one complainer say, follow me.

 

Have you ever thought that the people complaining really do care about Celebrity and want to continue sailing with them? If I didn't care, I would do as you said you would and just go away without letting them know why I'm not happy any more.

 

When you're upset with a restaurant's meal but don't tell them and never go back, they'll soon be closed should others feel that same way. I've left restaurants and told my DW that they would be out of business in six months. Sometimes I was wrong. Sometimes it took eight or ten months. :D

 

I'm not naive enough to believe that would happen to Celebrity or that the current CEO actually cares about any of this since she is doing exactly what she wanted to do all along. Raise prices, extensively cut expenses and chase off the older demographic who also costs them more in loyalty perks. As one poster said earlier, after a few drinks from the package, service and food weren't so bad after all. :p

 

I witnessed that myself on our last Carnival cruise a few years ago where young people were getting drunk, loud and feeding at the mediocre food trough. I mistakenly thought a brief 5 day getaway from a local port couldn't be that bad. I wonder if that's what Celebrity is trying to attract now?

 

BTW actually we have moved on for the time being. Our next cruise is on Azamara and the following three are on Oceania. More expensive sure but Celebrity chased me there. As my accountant asked me recently, what are you saving your money for? That next day I upgraded our cabin on one of the cruises. That money could have gone to Celebrity if they really wanted it.

Edited June 6, 2017 by ChucktownSteve

[Luvcrusn]

Wow! Apparently I struck a nerve. That was not my intention. I am still very confused by some on CC that I see posting their discontent on multiple threads. I have never said X is the best cruise line out there, or that others are wrong to feel as they do. I just tried to express my opinion that certain posters on the X board on CC seem so unhappy that I don't get why they keep choosing X for their vacation dollars. I would not be so arrogant to tell anyone to go away and be quiet. I have definitely seen changes to X over the many years that we have sailed. Some I like, some I don't. When the don'ts outnumbers the likes, I'll move on. I'm not suggesting anyone else feel as I do or go away and be quiet. Yes, I will fill out a post cruise survey and also write a letter stating my decision and reasons to the CEO at the time. I will find another place to put my vacation dollar. The world's a big place with a myriad of choices. If it makes those who are unhappy with X or its direction happy to post negatively on multiple threads over months and months, have at it. I just stated I don't get it. Please don't feel the need to explain yourselves to me. Those posters certainly hold no responsibility to explain themselves to me or anyone.

[Ken the cruiser]

From what I'm gathering from this thread as well as some other research is that the mass market cruise lines such as X (Sky Suite), Princess (Club Mini-Suite), and Norwegian (The Haven) are starting to provide a "mini-suite" type cabin with special exclusive dining options as well as other included perks at a price competitive with say a veranda cabin on some of the semi-luxury lines such as Oceania or Azamara or in some cases even Crystal. I know for us we are migrating towards the smaller ships like Oceania, Azamara and Crystal have to offer. However, if we can book a sky suite, club mini-suite or a haven balcony suite and the itinerary and price is right, we are giving these cruise lines a second look.

[WpgCruise]

I don't get those who seem to spend so much time posting what they don't like about any cruise line. If I were so unhappy with a particular cruise line, I'd simply not bother with them and move on. Why spend hours posting negatively trying to convince others to abandon ship? Speak with your wallet and book what you like is my motto. Why the need to get others to follow. I just don't get it!

 

There's an old saying that "Misery Loves Company" and I think what you are seeing is proof of that saying. People want to have their opinion of Celebrity validated be it good or poor.

 

I agree there is no purpose in complaining either to Celebrity Corporate or on this Forum Both are "Good News" only entities, if the news isn't good neither are interested in learning of it.

 

The one good thing I appreciate that does come from negative postings on this forum is other options are put forward to replace the Celebrity experience.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I think constructive criticism is a good thing. My post wasn't tearing up the cruise line up- it was a response to the OP's question about is Celebrity losing it's luster. I won't repeat my previous remarks, but Celebrity was at one time my first choice. Part of that was because of the exceptional children's program, which my son enjoyed immensely. He's 16 now and too "cool" for that now. I haven't abandoned the cruise line, but I have had more fun on Princess and even Norwegian cruise lines in recent years. Celebrity ships are beautiful. The crew is well-trained, and the price is competitive with other lines. Dollar for dollar- I have had a better experience on Princess though in recent years. The entertainment has been better, the vibe onboard has been better and the beds are definitely better on Princess. Norwegian has more comfortable beds than Celebrity as well. I know that representatives of the cruise lines read these posts and I'm sure that when they read the similar complaints, they take note. I'm looking forward to sailing the Summit, after taking a two year break from Celebrity. I chose my next cruise for the itinerary and I've sailed Summit before- so know what to expect. Hopefully, they've made some exciting changes since 2015 and I'm looking forward to trying the Elite breakfast, which I learned about on cruise critic!

Edited June 7, 2017 by rebeccalouiseagain

[Lindacol]

Been traveling with celebrity for many years and it has always been so amazing. Always was clean, good food and good customer service.

We planned a year ago our cruise to Alaska on the Soltice in the aqua class suite 1522 and it was so dirty . Really don't think it has had a good cleaning in a very long time. The ship needs a lot of work and the curtains were so dirty and look very old . Beware of mold in the staterooms. I ended up in the ships clinic needing medication. I do have photos of the mold so

It most likely was partly from the room which the doctor stated , it is documented in the medical records. Also had to pay $200 to be cared for and medication. Friday after we returned to Seattle we

 

 

decided it was so bad we will not be traveling with celebrity again. It is so sad because we sailed the Mediterranean last year and it was so great. Also watch your charges they make a lot of errors . Customer service was so bad ,except at public relations and excursions. The excursions and the nature we were blessed to see were so great . Alaska and Canada were beautiful.So sad because I have always recommended Celebrity to many friends and family as being the best cruise line out there. Always was clean , good customer service and always goes that extra. Hopefully

it was just this ship.

Edited June 7, 2017 by Lindacol

[teltrainer]

 

I haven't seen one complainer say, follow me.

 

Have you ever thought that the people complaining really do care about Celebrity and want to continue sailing with them? If I didn't care, I would do as you said you would and just go away without letting them know why I'm not happy any more.

 

When you're upset with a restaurant's meal but don't tell them and never go back, they'll soon be closed should others feel that same way. I've left restaurants and told my DW that they would be out of business in six months. Sometimes I was wrong. Sometimes it took eight or ten months. :D

 

I'm not naive enough to believe that would happen to Celebrity or that the current CEO actually cares about any of this since she is doing exactly what she wanted to do all along. Raise prices, extensively cut expenses and chase off the older demographic who also costs them more in loyalty perks. As one poster said earlier, after a few drinks from the package, service and food weren't so bad after all. :p

 

I witnessed that myself on our last Carnival cruise a few years ago where young people were getting drunk, loud and feeding at the mediocre food trough. I mistakenly thought a brief 5 day getaway from a local port couldn't be that bad. I wonder if that's what Celebrity is trying to attract now?

 

BTW actually we have moved on for the time being. Our next cruise is on Azamara and the following three are on Oceania. More expensive sure but Celebrity chased me there. As my accountant asked me recently, what are you saving your money for? That next day I upgraded our cabin on one of the cruises. That money could have gone to Celebrity if they really wanted it.

 

Bravo, Steve! Agree especially your accountant's sage advice about spending some of your hard earned dollars on what you enjoy. :cool:

[Luvcrusn]

 

Bravo, Steve! Agree especially your accountant's sage advice about spending some of your hard earned dollars on what you enjoy. :cool:

Your post inadvertently quoted me, when the quote you posted was from ChucktownSteve. What I said was nothing quoted in your post. I just offer that as a point of clarity.

[ChucktownSteve]

:)I suspect it was a glitch in CC and the poster didn't catch it. Your post did the same thing that I'm sure you didn't intend either.

[Luvcrusn]

:)I suspect it was a glitch in CC and the poster didn't catch it. Your post did the same thing that I'm sure you didn't intend either.

I think you're right about the glitch. I noticed that just now. In fact I was just going to edit my post when I saw yours. Thanks for the catch.

[teltrainer]

Thanks for pointing out the quote issue. I did "quote" on CC message and it posted yours instead of Steve's. Hope they fix since appears not just happening to me.

[BosoxI]

what "luster" is there to loose [or even lose

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you. This drives me crazy;)

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thank you, thank you, thank you. This drives me crazy;)

 

I hate it when there's loose luster all over the place. Really hard to vacuum up ;p

[C 2 C]

I hate it when there's loose luster all over the place. Really hard to vacuum up ;p

 

You have to apply some windex for the luster to show up.

[npb]

 

I haven't seen one complainer say, follow me.

 

Have you ever thought that the people complaining really do care about Celebrity and want to continue sailing with them? If I didn't care, I would do as you said you would and just go away without letting them know why I'm not happy any more.

 

When you're upset with a restaurant's meal but don't tell them and never go back, they'll soon be closed should others feel that same way. I've left restaurants and told my DW that they would be out of business in six months. Sometimes I was wrong. Sometimes it took eight or ten months. :D

 

I'm not naive enough to believe that would happen to Celebrity or that the current CEO actually cares about any of this since she is doing exactly what she wanted to do all along. Raise prices, extensively cut expenses and chase off the older demographic who also costs them more in loyalty perks. As one poster said earlier, after a few drinks from the package, service and food weren't so bad after all. :p

 

BTW actually we have moved on for the time being. Our next cruise is on Azamara and the following three are on Oceania. More expensive sure but Celebrity chased me there. As my accountant asked me recently, what are you saving your money for? That next day I upgraded our cabin on one of the cruises. That money could have gone to Celebrity if they really wanted it.

 

Thank you for putting my thoughts into words. We have moved on to Oceania, but we miss X after cruising and promoting them solely for 25 years. We spent 2-3 months a year on board and it sad to say good bye.

[richsea]

 

Thank you for putting my thoughts into words. We have moved on to Oceania, but we miss X after cruising and promoting them solely for 25 years. We spent 2-3 months a year on board and it sad to say good bye.

 

Agree, Steve stated what many long time Celebrity cruisers are feeling. I do remember your posts from years gone by. As I recall they were insightful & the voice of reason. I am sure there are others like you; former frequent posters here on the X boards who have "jumped ship" so to speak.

[ChucktownSteve]

I hate it when there's loose luster all over the place. Really hard to vacuum up ;p

 

Just Plain Jazz,

 

"Your" so right to hate that loose luster. ;p