Celebrity Cruises to Modernize All Cabins and Suites Across Fleet and Add New Sundeck

[shipfriend_max]

 

What is low fare about the pizza and pasta stations? Each time I made the opportunity to avail myself of these stations, they always accommodated my order and desires.

 

It's not that I have a problem with pasta or pizza, especially pasta I do like.

But pizza is something low fare and compared to the former offered Sushi for free, pizza is far less expensive, to me it creates the impression they're just about to reduce more costs and at the same time, they raise cruise faresand gratuities, but you get less.

And the free sushi sat Celebrity apart from many other cruise lines. That's the reason why I find it shameful replacing sushi by pizza...

 

Not sure about the 'extra cost' drinks at sail away, never have encountered this at all. What types of drinks and where was this, in your experience?

 

Some passengers told me from recent Celebrity experiences where they encountered this new method.

Accorind to them, it were common sail away cocktails for 9-10 $ or so.

 

Taste of film experience, well, yes, here in the U.S. we pay to go to the films in movie houses or we can watch them on TV at home, pending on the type of service we have, cable for fee or over the air at no charge. We usually can watch how we want knowing the pending charge or not.

 

Princess Cruises also has the Movie Under The Stars open air cinema, for no charge at all, and alongside they serve you free popcorn, ice cream and cookies... :)

Same is true on Holland America's new Koningsdam, and Nieuw Statendam.

 

I do not think there is any prohibition on the use of the lawn itself, just bring a blanket and sit out and enjoy... only the few cabanas cost. Have you tried that approach yet or you want a cabana with all of the trimmings at no charge?

 

I know there's no prohibition, outside the Cabana areas you still can use the lawn for free by bringing a blanket and relax - that's all nice...

But the space of the free areas get reduced by installing expensie Cabanas.

I do not expect a Cabana for free, of course not.

Holland America and Princess Cruises also have those Cabanas, but in seperated areas - so they are not installed as obviously as with Celebrity.

Holland America and Princess Cruises still welcome the "common" guests very open-minded, who want to have a great cruise experience without those extra cost items...

 

You're right with the MDR portions, of course it's no problem to order some more or extra.

But with all those details I mentioned, doesn't it show a clear direction Celebrity is moving to? The complimentary items get cut more and more...

Holland America, Princess Cruises, and even Royal Caribbean do not do this as obvious as X does.

 

What do you recommend to bridge this gap or leave it behind?

 

 

Holland America or Princess Cruises. They do it quite more moderatly. Of course they also charge you for several things, but even if you do not plan to use those extra cost items, you have a very nice time and feeling welcome with some extras beyond just the necessary basics...

If I get such a welcoming and friendly surrounded service, I am also open minded to spend some money onboard.

 

I have the feeling that P&O Cruises (UK) also would fit well to me. Reasonable fares, and from what I read, I think their vale for money really fits!

Edited October 8, 2017 by shipfriend_max

[Tatka]

I like that Celebrity has committed to a refresh & updating of the ships. I wish I had more confidence that they actually know what they are doing.

 

One of the things I prefer about the M vs. S-class is that there is more usable storage on M. From these artists' renditions, it looks like a lot of that storage is going away. Elegant, maybe. But not terribly functional. For example, a nice lamp table between the bed and couch. Why not instead a bedside table with drawers like on the other side of the bed? Open book shelves above the desk? Like that makes sense in rough waters. No desk drawer(s) to hold chargers and wall warts when they are not being used? I hope they can find designers who actually have ever spent 2 weeks with 6-7 sea days aboard a transatlantic or similar trip.

 

 

I so agree. I miss shelves in closets! 3 drawers overall are not enough! On our Silhouette cruise I had to keep my suitcase unpacked on the sofa. :( Never happened on any other ship.

[ChucktownSteve]

 

Holland America and Princess Cruises also have those Cabanas, but in seperated areas - so they are not installed as obviously as with Celebrity.

Holland America and Princess Cruises still welcome the "common" guests very open-minded, who want to have a great cruise experience without those extra cost items...

 

You're right with the MDR portions, of course it's no problem to order some more or extra.

But with all those details I mentioned, doesn't it show a clear direction Celebrity is moving to? The complimentary items get cut more and more...

Holland America, Princess Cruises, and even Royal Caribbean do not do this as obvious as X does.

.

 

It seems to me that Celebrity wants to be obvious about the in your face Suite experience. They charge substantially more to jump up to that category and I believe it's more of, trying to openly create envy so more people will upgrade. The problem I see is that when it becomes overcrowded with more and more suite guests, will the Suite experience still be as enjoyable? That's why it's so important to "steal" common areas for the exclusive use of higher paying cruisers. More will flow to the bottom line; damn the bottom fishers.

 

From hence forward, inside cabin dwellers will be known as "catfish." ;p

[richsea]

Fortunately there is significant choice in cruise service providers so Celebrity is just one to choose from.

 

For the recent posters who are concerned about trending loss of public space on Celebrity ships, declining service levels, cheapening of food, constant attempts to upcharge, harassing guests on board to purchase, fixation on suites etc - solution - try Oceania.

 

After sailing on Celebrity from 1992 to 2015, just off Oceania Marina.

 

Oceania is what Celebrity used to be and then some - inclusive, not fixated on booze, large cabins with plenty of storage, outstanding included theme restaurants, food quality out of this world, amazing service beyond words, ships designed with views to the sea inside and outside.

 

Everything I wanted and nothing I did not.

 

Glad I looked beyond Celebrity to experience other cruise offerings.

 

Met many first time Oceania guests who were former Celebrity patrons - many, many, many. We all had the same opinion on the "new" Celebrity and we all moved our cruise $ away from Celebrity.

 

With the many changes in Celebrity and the industry in general, reducing loyalty to a service provider can open up opportunity.

 

Every consumer has a choice.

 

Happy sailing

 

Interesting. I am curious as to what type of stateroom you generally book on Celebrity, and a general comparison of the cost between the two brands. It seems like every time I look at Oceania, I am scared off by the large difference in cost.

Thanks.

Edited October 8, 2017 by richsea

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

"NEW RECONCEIVED REFLECTION SUITE"

 

There's only one of these in the fleet (on the Reflection), correct? Any idea if they're giving it an overhaul, or are they going to be adding Reflection Suites on the other ships?

 

Given the two new suite types introduced on the Edge, and the way the fares SKYROCKETED shortly after bookings opened up, I'd imagine that they're eyeing some serious $'s for those new spaces if that's the case. Evidently they feel that there's no shortage of people willing to lay down $20-30K+ for a cruise.

 

I'm all for modernizing/refreshing the aging ships (suites and non-suites alike). We definitely enjoy the Haven area on NCL - which has a more refined, much less crowded feel. I'm willing to pay a premium for that, to a point! :D

 

Tom

[TeeRick]

So they are taking away significant current public space, including the lawn on the S class, to make private space for suite guests.

 

I see us cruising less and less and taking more land vacations.

 

 

 

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Look at the announcement. Take it at face value for now. No mention of S-class ships specifically or "public" Lawn Club space going away. People are jumping to conclusions without any information to back them up.

[ABoatNerd]

Hi richsea:

 

Interesting. I am curious as to what type of stateroom you generally book on Celebrity, and a general comparison of the cost between the two brands. It seems like every time I look at Oceania, I am scared off by the large difference in cost.

Thanks.

 

We choose to only book verandas irregardless of which line; RCL, Celebrity, Cunard and Oceania. Suites are of no interest to us; not interested in the additional space, food delivery's in afternoons nor interested in butlers. We are rarely in our room; always out with the ship and the ocean. But excellent food and service is mandatory for our vacation travel.

 

Everyone has a different set of parameters which they prioritize.

 

We are not price driven in any way - price is a small part of our decision process - we are value for money analysts - so the financial and non financial considerations are evaluated..

 

We completed a Baltic - when we evaluated the Celebrity product versus the Ocean product what stood out was the itinerary - Oceania left and arrived at different ports (Copenhagen & Amsterdam) versus Celebrity same port Copenhagen and the Oceania had 2 additional ports within the same 12 sailing. You have to pay for the additional itinerary benefits.

 

The Oceania veranda was about $1,200 per person more than the Celebrity sailing with a veranda. .

 

The value for that extra $ was outstanding from our perspective; itinerary, food, service, scale of ship etc. We are not comparing apples and apples; Celebrity and Oceania are vastly different products aimed at different target markets. I simply expect Oceania to be more costly and that is not an issue at all. Decisions could be different for someone else.

 

The point is there are many cruise suppliers out there - so depending on what the current operator is offering - perhaps choosing another company would work out.

[Bo1953]

Hi richsea:

 

We choose to only book verandas irregardless of which line; RCL, Celebrity, Cunard and Oceania. Suites are of no interest to us; not interested in the additional space, food delivery's in afternoons nor interested in butlers. We are rarely in our room; always out with the ship and the ocean. But excellent food and service is mandatory for our vacation travel.

 

Everyone has a different set of parameters which they prioritize.

 

We are not price driven in any way - price is a small part of our decision process - we are value for money analysts - so the financial and non financial considerations are evaluated..

 

We completed a Baltic - when we evaluated the Celebrity product versus the Ocean product what stood out was the itinerary - Oceania left and arrived at different ports (Copenhagen & Amsterdam) versus Celebrity same port Copenhagen and the Oceania had 2 additional ports within the same 12 sailing. You have to pay for the additional itinerary benefits.

 

The Oceania veranda was about $1,200 per person more than the Celebrity sailing with a veranda. .

 

The value for that extra $ was outstanding from our perspective; itinerary, food, service, scale of ship etc. We are not comparing apples and apples; Celebrity and Oceania are vastly different products aimed at different target markets. I simply expect Oceania to be more costly and that is not an issue at all. Decisions could be different for someone else.

 

The point is there are many cruise suppliers out there - so depending on what the current operator is offering - perhaps choosing another company would work out.

 

Post Rated A++, thank you for the insight.

 

I know we are scared by the pricing and length of the sailings on Oceania, too... LOL Although, I believe Oceania would be a better fit in many ways, My spouse has a 51%+ say in this decision, so X it is for a little while longer! I will enjoy it too... ;-)

 

 

bon voyage

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

...

My spouse has a 51%+ say in this decision, so X it is for a little while longer! I will enjoy it too... ;-)

...

 

Post rated A+++ ! :D

 

Tom

[richsea]

Thanks for your response, ABoatNerd. You are not the first poster here who has remarked that Oceania is very much like Celebrity used to be, hence my interest in them.

Being retired and with finite resources, our decision has to be based upon how many trips or days away we can afford. I would love to try Oceania, but do I want to at the expense of less time away.

As you say, there are other options out there. We have been leaning more towards Princess recently, & while we realize their long timers are complaining just about as much as Celebrity long timers, the fact that we are not as familiar with Princess makes their cutbacks less noticable to us. Don't know if that makes sense, but that's the way we feel. It's always good to have choices!

[Baron Barracuda]

a - Yes, this can be improved for sure. I keep forgetting to write this in on the survey when received after each sailing. I believe if more of us write this in, a remedy will be in place.

 

 

Although, I have never checked to see if the Concierge Desk or Tour Desk has these available, on the way off the ship would be best, even though quite often we have researched before hand, but this little extra may point out things we never thought of or found in planning.

 

bon voyage

 

There is a book at guest relations containing fact sheets for all ports of call. They usually have them printed out but will otherwise make copies for us. St Lucia for example is a four page package containing map, tourist info, internet, currency, taxi rates, car rentals and. attraction and beaches locations with admissions price and distance from port. Remember couple of years back on Eclipse they would hand these out at nightly port talk. That event has now deteriorated into port shopping sales pitch.

[hubofhockey]

If "X" is truly going to hang onto M-class, rather than sell them off, I'd love to see at least one M-class ship devoted to longer, more global itineraries. Or even an annual World Cruise each Winter (available in segments).

I'm retiring mid-2018 and am ready to start shopping for longer and more exciting itineraries than Celebrity currently offers. And I doubt I'm the only one in that position.....

 

How would Celebrity do inside passage in Alaska or even Southeast Asia without M class ships?

[Lastdance]

Laura...dies that mean no refurbish for Reflection in January 2018?

 

 

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[jcpc]

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[molole]

I am not if this is good news to those of us who don't cruise in suites. hmmmm

[DYKWIA]

I wouldn't read too much into this Press Releaseat this stage. The purported upgrades could take several years to complete fleet wide and an indication that it is going to happen in the future isn't any guarantee that a ship won't be sold.

 

With the the Caribbean recently being badly affected by hurricanes, Europe supposedly slow the last couple of years, the promise of shiny new stuff in the future might be a good ploy to generate some booking on older ships

[NantahalaCruiser]

If they make the lawn a private deck for Suites alle other guests can no longer walk outside from the front to the back of the ship. Such restrictions and significantly less public space on the open decks would make the ship unattractive for me who usually books just a balcony room.

 

 

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The Reflection is the only S-Class ship with a full front to back walk on the Lawn Deck.

[Saab4444]

The Reflection is the only S-Class ship with a full front to back walk on the Lawn Deck.

 

 

 

With some stairs in between the others currently have it as well.

 

 

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[shipfriend_max]

If they make the lawn a private deck for Suites alle other guests can no longer walk outside from the front to the back of the ship. Such restrictions and significantly less public space on the open decks would make the ship unattractive for me who usually books just a balcony room.

 

Exactly my thoughts - no matter whether the Lawn Club would be the private suite sundeck or any other outside deck.

That's the reasn why I rather dislike the new "Revolution" program...

[lisiamc]

If "X" is truly going to hang onto M-class, rather than sell them off, I'd love to see at least one M-class ship devoted to longer, more global itineraries. Or even an annual World Cruise each Winter (available in segments).

I'm retiring mid-2018 and am ready to start shopping for longer and more exciting itineraries than Celebrity currently offers. And I doubt I'm the only one in that position.....

 

I hope they do hang on to the M class ships, they are my favourites.

 

The longer itineraries would be wonderful, and would really suit me, but they would require deviation from the ideal Celebrity demographic. Cruisers on smaller ships and longer itineraries are typically older, probably retired. We’re not the 40-somethings with high-powered careers, only able to spend seven days away from the office.

 

I hope they do eventually recognise the retired-but-still-active niche in their market, and play to it!

[upwarduk]

hope they do eventually recognise the retired-but-still-active niche in their market, and play to it!

Modern Luxury was created to attract the younger cruiser to the market, as Celebrity realised that their established older clients would eventually die.

I’m not sure how successful it has been.

[TeeRick]

Just back from 14 day Canada/NE on Summit. There was hardly anybody on board under 60 and most much older. Never saw a kid of any age - although that is not unusual given that school is in session. By the way service on this M-class ship was exceptional. I hope they keep M-Class and upgrade them.

[lisiamc]

Modern Luxury was created to attract the younger cruiser to the market, as Celebrity realised that their established older clients would eventually die.

I’m not sure how successful it has been.

 

True, but there’s a lot of us Baby Boomers still left, and a while to go before we’re all dead or past travelling. And for the most part, we’ve got more disposable income than those 40-somethings. And not least, those 40-somethings are going to need a company to cruise with when they’ve retired, too! I can see both groups fitting the same company, with a few tweaks.

[Tom-n-Cheryl]

They've definitely been changing over the last decade, or more. I recall my first sailing on the Constellation in 2008 - on multiple evenings there was a POLKA BAND outside of the MDR (near a champagne bar or similar as I recall). Can't say that's one that I sat around and listened to.

 

Tom

[Jade13]

But I do:

 

I think just why rooms may be "wasted space", there's no reason to transform them into revenue centers.

 

Holland America Line also has those spaces that Celebrity would determine as "wasted" (like forward facing oceanview lounges, or sundecks), and a cruise becomes enjoyable when you just have relaxing spaces where no one cares if they are wasted or not.

 

Further Holland America also has a complimentary oceanview sauna and relaxation room without any extra cost, and many service aspects (like chocolate parades or finger food at the bars for the drinks) that might be "wasted" economically, but they are aspects to get me back onboard.

 

 

 

I also understand that Celebrity tries to upgrade the suite experience by installing new assets - but I the most popular public spaces, open for everyone, should not suffer from it, for example, the forward facing sun decks.

 

When you need to "buy" the permission for such an actual common thing like a forward facing lounge or sundeck, indeed it is nickle and diming.

 

 

 

To sum up, look what Holland AMerica does IN FAVOR of it's public guests:

 

-Chocolate Parade at the second formal night

 

-Small fingerfood items for free available at some bars for your drinks that you buy

 

-A destination guide for guests going ashore individually

 

-Dried fruit at the entrance/exit of the main dining room for free

 

-Public access to nearly all areas including lounges and sun decks with nice views, without harging for it

 

 

to

 

 

 

I haven’t seen a chocolate parade on HAL in years or finger food items at the bar.

 

The dried fruit was just left there on our last cruise a little less than a year ago without the “yum yum” man handling it out.

 

They definitely have more open public space than Celebrity.

 

 

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