ChicagoPaul - You're more famous than ever

[jcpc]

Great video!!!!

Edited April 10, 2019 by jcpc

[jagoffee]

Nice job, Paul.

[Bo1953]

Yes, it is a great video...

 

Others who have seen it, have different thoughts about the whole advertizing campaign vs. accepting it as a campaign for advertizing.

 

Which, of course, is their right to think that as such. Happy to know someone from CC who was on The Edge and was willing to participate in the promo spot. 👍

 

Thank you and bon voyage

Edited April 10, 2019 by Bo1953

[ipeeinthepool]

6 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

Yes, it is a great video...

 

Others who have seen it, have different thoughts about the whole advertizing campaign vs. accepting it as a campaign for advertizing.

 

Which, of course, is their right to think that as such. Happy to know someone from CC who was on The Edge and was willing to participate in the promo spot. 👍

 

Thank you and bon voyage

 

I'm glad that Chicago Paul like this ship and he did a nice job in the promo spot.   Many of us have had different experiences on the Edge and do not share his enthusiasm for the ship.  I won't argue about that.  But I had to laugh out loud when I watched the passengers in the video.  Those are not the typical passengers that I have ever seen on a Celebrity ship.  All of those Millennials look like the children of the typical mix of Celebrity passengers.  Was there even one person over 50?  I guess the video is supposed to make me feel young if I believe this will be the typical demographic on a Celebrity cruise.

[Bo1953]

11 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

I'm glad that Chicago Paul like this ship and he did a nice job in the promo spot.   Many of us have had different experiences on the Edge and do not share his enthusiasm for the ship.  I won't argue about that.  But I had to laugh out loud when I watched the passengers in the video.  Those are not the typical passengers that I have ever seen on a Celebrity ship.  All of those Millennials look like the children of the typical mix of Celebrity passengers.  Was there even one person over 50?  I guess the video is supposed to make me feel young if I believe this will be the typical demographic on a Celebrity cruise.

I Am, as well, happy that not only CP and others who have made and posted videos, pictures, and postings enjoyed The Edge, overall.

 

I Am happy that I have learned what they did and did not like. Their postings about The Edge and X are not always doom and gloom and despair and disdainment which differentiates them from some posters. They walk me though what I need to look for upon boarding, with enthusiasm for sure!

 

Many advertizing videos online do not always reflect 'Me' in them either, I do not allow them to 'colour' what I can learn to get me to try the product.Then again, it is all in how we watch them and the expectations, for the viewer, wanted from them. Understood.

 

Many voluminous negative posters here on CC drone on about the same aspects of The Edge and X that they did or do not like, rather that be the IV's, lack of bars, food, children aboard or changes X made which do not sit right with long term passengers. Some are valid! I get it, yet how often do we need our memories refreshed about their displeasure(s) even after they have in some instances, long left X as a line of choice?

 

I thank you for your comments, regardless of my thoughts on them. They are valid to be sure.

 

bon voyage

[Fogfog]

EVERYONE in the ad is beautiful, young, well dressed.... WOW

No fatties, no sloppy people, no scooters

These are not Celebrity pax....on a typical day....

AND the ships are more crowded--whether it be the martini bar or pool deck.

 

This is the first time I have seen the ad... it is sleek and certainly aiming at 30s and 40s with well behaved kids

 

I guess ChicagoPaul had some remuneration with Celebrity so all posts are a corp benefit/ad etc

[Bo1953]

58 minutes ago, Fogfog said:

EVERYONE in the ad is beautiful, young, well dressed.... WOW

No fatties, no sloppy people, no scooters

These are not Celebrity pax....on a typical day....

AND the ships are more crowded--whether it be the martini bar or pool deck.

 

This is the first time I have seen the ad... it is sleek and certainly aiming at 30s and 40s with well behaved kids

 

I guess ChicagoPaul had some remuneration with Celebrity so all posts are a corp benefit/ad etc

Yes, he did, an offer to eat at a specialty restaurant of choice aboard, which was not needed, because he already had a comped dinner for another unrelated reason aboard.

 

 His live blog revealed this.

 

bon voyage

Edited April 11, 2019 by Bo1953

[chicagopaul]

EVERYONE in the ad is beautiful, young, well dressed.... WOW
No fatties, no sloppy people, no scooters
These are not Celebrity pax....on a typical day....
AND the ships are more crowded--whether it be the martini bar or pool deck.
 
This is the first time I have seen the ad... it is sleek and certainly aiming at 30s and 40s with well behaved kids
 
I guess ChicagoPaul had some remuneration with Celebrity so all posts are a corp benefit/ad etc

Regarding payment this could not be farther from the truth. On the Edge cruise I was approached by the hotel director who said they had been reading my live blog and asked if I would be willing to talk on camera for a bit to give a testimonial of sorts that they could use in an ad. I said no problem and happily agreed.

I asked what they wanted me to talk about and they didn’t give much direction except they’d like me to talk about the Edge. So I simply started talking about the time from when we booked the cruise to our time walking on the ship for the first time. There was no talking points, nothing. As a matter of fact they barely edited what I said.

Afterward they offered to comp a specialty dinner for us for my time. I told them it wasn’t necessary and I was happy to do it. This didn’t really matter either way as we already had our specialty dinner comped due to a room mix up on the first day.

Ever live blog I post and even the little website I run with our cruise photos etc has never earned me a penny from Celebrity. I’ve never been given a free cruise, on board credit, or even an upgrade due to my posts. Though I know the ships and corporate read them as they read many live blogs and trip reviews on here.

Last summer Celebrity had an independent blog contest. Some of you may remember that as many on here reached out to me and told me to enter. The contest was to describe your ideal Caribbean cruise on Celebrity. The prize was to be nothing more than posting the blog on the Celebrity website. But after some “professional” travel bloggers complained they shouldn’t work for free they made the prize $1,000 for the top three winners. In full disclosure As you may remember I won this contest and even told everyone here on CC about the prize. I did not hide it.

I understand many bloggers and Instagram people are paid influencers. It’s a massive business and a huge marketing source for many companies. With this being said I totally understand your skepticism along with others when this video aired. I don’t fault anyone for thinking that. But please do know that I am not one of those. At the end of the day I’m not overly concerned what people think of me but thinking I was paid, in my eyes, diminishes the positive experiences I have written about and the amazing crew I rave about. So please know I was more than happy to give this testimonial free of charge. Hanging out with Damian and the production crew while they set up the lighting etc was more than enough “payment” for me.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[lola2013]

Great job Paul.  I've read about your testimonial, but this was the first time I've seen it.

Kudos!

Susan

[mermee]

Thank you Paul!

Your reviews are excellent and informative!

[Ereggae]

Excellent job Paul.  Doing what you do best.

[Bo1953]

33 minutes ago, chicagopaul said:

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Paul - you have to get a Google Pixel 3!

 

LOL and bon voyage

[scottygirl]

Nice job Paul!

[Beachlover1989]

Excellent job!  Both on the blog and your testimonial!  I always appreciate your fresh take on your experiences!  And I love that you're a "glass half full" person and your comments show that.  The people who tend to look for the negative in everything really exhaust me.

[Orator]

Wonderful job! 

[Orator]

2 hours ago, Fogfog said:

EVERYONE in the ad is beautiful, young, well dressed.... WOW

No fatties, no sloppy people, no scooters

These are not Celebrity pax....on a typical day....

AND the ships are more crowded--whether it be the martini bar or pool deck.

 

This is the first time I have seen the ad... it is sleek and certainly aiming at 30s and 40s with well behaved kids

 

I guess ChicagoPaul had some remuneration with Celebrity so all posts are a corp benefit/ad etc

This is a fair observation, but Celebrity is far from alone in using "beautiful people" to entice  customers to use their product. Using people like me would be a turn off to the target audience. 

Bo1953:

Please forgive this question but I'm curious: Are you now a spokesperson for Celebrity? I know in the past Celebrity had people in their office who reviewed and commented on social media. You write well and appear to know the Celebrity product. I think that its great if Celebrity has asked for volunteers or has added staff to clarify policies and keep people informed. 

[Bo1953]

14 minutes ago, Orator said:

This is a fair observation, but Celebrity is far from alone in using "beautiful people" to entice  customers to use their product. Using people like me would be a turn off to the target audience. 

Bo1953:

Please forgive this question but I'm curious: Are you now a spokesperson for Celebrity? I know in the past Celebrity had people in their office who reviewed and commented on social media. You write well and appear to know the Celebrity product. I think that its great if Celebrity has asked for volunteers or has added staff to clarify policies and keep people informed. 

O - What is the reason you ask forgiveness? I only speak for my point of view. If one agrees, fine, if not fine.

 

I learned early about writing to be understood and be clear about my thoughts, regardless if the thoughts were correct or not, yet be clear, as well, when in college several courses outside of the required 'standard' writing classes helped me further hone my still imperfect skills. LOL

 

I Am not, nor am I affiliated with X in any capacity other than a passenger, same goes for CC, not affiliated in any way other than a member.

 

X or CC, I can be hired for these purposes, though! LOL

 

Thank you for the kind compliments and bon voyage

Edited April 11, 2019 by Bo1953

[Mike981]

And to think this thread was started to congratulate Paul and now it's turned into questioning his ethics and who Bo really is. 😕

Having worked in advertising for MANY years I can tell you that 99.99999% of the time what you see/hear is not going to be what you experience.

Paul taking the high ground (if that's what you want to call it) is commendable. But should it matter?

 

[jcpc]

12 minutes ago, Mike981 said:

And to think this thread was started to congratulate Paul and now it's turned into questioning his ethics and who Bo really is. 😕

Having worked in advertising for MANY years I can tell you that 99.99999% of the time what you see/hear is not going to be what you experience.

Paul taking the high ground (if that's what you want to call it) is commendable. But should it matter?

 

Mike981:  Thank you.  After reading some of the "not so nice" comments I wish I hadn't even started the thread.  My intent was definitely to CONGRATULATE Paul.

Paul:  I am so sorry that I even started this thread and that some people are just mean-spirited.  

Bo:  I am sorry that someone actually got the impression that you were a "plant" for Celebrity on Cruise Critic.  I, for one, appreciate your contributions to threads and at no time did I ever think you worked for Celebrity!!

 

jcpc

Edited April 11, 2019 by jcpc

[Orator]

2 minutes ago, jcpc said:

Mike981,

Thank you.  After reading some of the "not so nice" comments I wish I hadn't even started the thread.  My intent was definitely to CONGRATULATE Paul.  Paul:  I am so sorry that I even started this thread and that some people are just mean-spirited.  

jcpc

Glad that you started the thread. There are always a few who question motives.

 I had a question about Bo1953 and some recent posters found it inappropriate or took away from the thread. Well, threads often have a life of their own and take off in all directions. Report a post to the Moderators if you believe that that post hijacks the thread. They have the final authority to remove offending posts.   I simply was interested if Celebrity returned to social media monitors. I would like to see that. Once again I believe that what Paul did as a volunteer was wonderful.

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, jcpc said:

Mike981:  Thank you.  After reading some of the "not so nice" comments I wish I hadn't even started the thread.  My intent was definitely to CONGRATULATE Paul.

Paul:  I am so sorry that I even started this thread and that some people are just mean-spirited.  

Bo:  I am sorry that someone actually got the impression that you were a "plant" for Celebrity on Cruise Critic.  I, for one, appreciate your contributions to threads and at no time did I ever think you worked for Celebrity!!

 

jcpc

j - no worries at all... I understood your intentions, for sure.

 

I wish I worked for X, it is easy being here, for sure (dodging computer keys) LOL

 

I, like CP to be sure, are fine and will continue to be fine.... we understand there will be distractors... otherwise I would cry at the Martini Bar! NOT...

 

Please know that we are not thin skinned either and can take on the best of them... Especially when warranted.

 

bon voyage

Edited April 11, 2019 by Bo1953