Is Celebrity Running out of Money?

[Denny01]

6 hours ago, Fixit2010 said:

So for example a family of 4, the charge has gone up to $180.  If my local novelty premium restaurant whacked that on the bill, it would not go down well and I would go else where.  The problem is that passengers are a captive audience and yes people will accept that and I get it that celebrity are a business, but I am not in the $10K+ suite bracket, an extra $45 per person on top of the fact that in my booking I have already paid for a meal, is in my opinion taking a liberty.  I am just as entitled to enjoy the facilities on the ship as much as anyone else but I feel the current costs that have been brought in are pricing people out.

As stated by most, the onboard specialty restaurants are additions, you are not a captive. There are ‘alternatives’ including in port. And if you think $45pp does not go down well, stick with the standard dining options. Not sure what more upscale restaurant that I can go to at home that is beyond the chain restaurants that is less than $45pp for appetizers, entree, salad, etc. 

 

Just another subject to grouse about on a vacation to make the expense even more ‘fun’. 

 

Den

[hiccups]

1 hour ago, kelmac said:

Hi Everyone,

 

I thought I might add the cost of my upcoming cruises (per person total with all fees + taxes in inside cabins):

-- Radiance of the Seas (10 nights, Sept 2019) -- $930.14 each

-- Serenade of the Seas (12 nights, Oct 2019) -- $827.46 each

-- MSC Meraviglia (7 nights, Nov 2019) -- $1,451.23 each in Yacht Club inside cabin all inclusive

-- Crystal Symphony (7 nights, Nov 2019) -- $1,782.00 each in OV cabin -- all inclusive, including gratuities

-- Celebrity Edge (7 nights, Nov 2019) -- $1,119.19 each

-- HAL Statendam (7 nights, Dec 2019) -- $619 each

-- Celebrity Reflection (11 nights, Dec 2019) -- $827.47 each

-- Celebrity Reflection (11 nights, March 2020) -- $1,048.97 each

-- HAL Konongsdam (44 nights, March 2020) -- $4,576.00 each

-- Ovation of the Seas (10 nights, Sept 2020) -- $1,040.86 each

 

Enjoy!

Kel😃

Some good deals there!  We also considered a Crystal cruise in November--possibly the same one you booked.  We ended up booking a veranda on Summit instead with four perks, because the price of the cruise with air was a few hundred PP less than Crystal (least expensive cabin on Crystal by the time I looked was more than what you paid).

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

Without a doubt, greed has taken over. All the lines are just about gouging. We've been cruising since 1982 and most of the changes have been for the worse. Charging more for photos, drinks, tours and automatic gratuities while cutting back on food, entertainment and service. Back in the day before the computers took over the lines would send you in the mail a nice cruise packet with your tickets, luggage tags and information  booklets, now you have to print everything and good luck trying to get real brochures.

I often get a 'real brochure' in the mail for X. Can I get one at the local TA, not often... when planning our sailing on The Edge there were no brochures to be found anywhere only leaflets...

 

Then I called X and was able to get one...

 

Bread cost more today than in 1982 and with more choices too... the point?

 

Times change and either we do or we complain about them changing, sometimes too quickly or not quick enough.

 

I Am sure a few of the 5*+ lines still send out the niceties before arriving at the pier..

 

Now you must admit that cruising has come a long way since 1982... and not all of it for the worse, either.

 

I understand your upset yet think about all of the choices we have now in cruising, if something upsets us here, then there is there to run to for a new experience perhaps the same as before or better or worse...

 

bon voyage

[MISTER 67]

4 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

I often get a 'real brochure' in the mail for X. Can I get one at the local TA, not often... when planning our sailing on The Edge there were no brochures to be found anywhere only leaflets...

 

Then I called X and was able to get one...

 

Bread cost more today than in 1982 and with more choices too... the point?

 

Times change and either we do or we complain about them changing, sometimes too quickly or not quick enough.

 

I Am sure a few of the 5*+ lines still send out the niceties before arriving at the pier..

 

Now you must admit that cruising has come a long way since 1982... and not all of it for the worse, either.

 

I understand your upset yet think about all of the choices we have now in cruising, if something upsets us here, then there is there to run to for a new experience perhaps the same as before or better or worse...

 

bon voyage

 

[Bo1953]

6 hours ago, Fixit2010 said:

So for example a family of 4, the charge has gone up to $180.  If my local novelty premium restaurant whacked that on the bill, it would not go down well and I would go else where.  The problem is that passengers are a captive audience and yes people will accept that and I get it that celebrity are a business, but I am not in the $10K+ suite bracket, an extra $45 per person on top of the fact that in my booking I have already paid for a meal, is in my opinion taking a liberty.  I am just as entitled to enjoy the facilities on the ship as much as anyone else but I feel the current costs that have been brought in are pricing people out.

I do not think it is pricing many of us out, otherwise bookings would be way down, would they not?

 

Some cruises we eat in Specialty some cruises we do not, no big deal either way, just depends on if we desire to drop the $$ on it or not..

 

bon appetite and bon voyage

[akcruz]

3 hours ago, phoenix_dream said:

I would agree with you - if only that were true.  But unfortunately it isn't.  Have you followed their cruise pricing over the last few years?  Up and up and up and up.  True of all (or most) cabins and doubly true for suites. (and triply true for the new ships!).   Used to be we had a shot at being able to afford a suite now and then - these days it is totally off our radar.  The economy is good and they have to pay for all those new ships somehow, so prices have been skyrocketing and add-on prices galore.  I think also that it is not just 'optional' things that have a charge.  Slowly but surely they are charging for things that used to be free - like gym classes and sushi as two examples, while at the same time taking away so many of the little touches that while in and of themselves are not big things,  add up to a less special experience overall.  And yes, Celebrity is not alone in doing these things but it's a shame.

 

I don't do gym classes on a cruise and the sushi you find in the buffet is fine for me so why should my cruise price increase because you want to use those?  Again, I would rather pay a lower base price and add on what makes the trip for me than have a higher base that includes things we won't ever use.

 

As for price another example, other than the one in my post you partially quoted, our cruise in November is cheaper for an 8 night with all 4 perks included than a 7 night we booked back in 2004, both balconies.  However I will give you that our November cruise is now almost twice what we are paying with no perks.  Found a really good deal a few years ago on a 7 night in February, less than $900 total for 2 of us in a balcony.  There are more deals out there than not if you look.  Of course we aren't locked into summer or school vacations which also makes a difference.

[Cruising89143]

3 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

Without a doubt, greed has taken over. All the lines are just about gouging. We've been cruising since 1982 and most of the changes have been for the worse. Charging more for photos, drinks, tours and automatic gratuities while cutting back on food, entertainment and service. Back in the day before the computers took over the lines would send you in the mail a nice cruise packet with your tickets, luggage tags and information  booklets, now you have to print everything and good luck trying to get real brochures.

 

What hasn’t risen in price? Our last home cost more. Our latest cars were more expensive. Groceries and gas are more expensive this year than last. I could go on and on with this list.

 

Our first cruise was in 1986 on NCL’s Starward out of Miami on a seven day western Caribbean cruise. The ship was 16,000+ tons. No balcony cabins on the ship. The cost for a tiny 110 square foot outside stateroom was around $1500.00 a person. For that you had to eat all three meals in the MDR at a set time as there was no lido dining room and only a small snack bar poolside. No room service on the ship and the entertainment was a far cry from what it is today. We loved it and it hooked us on cruising but no way would I prefer to turn back time to that period of cruising. 

 

Mass market cruise lines have worked to keep the initial cost of the cruises down and now give guests an option as to what they wish to pay for. If you want to go back to the way it was 30+ years ago there are cruise lines out there that will be more than happy to have you but be prepared to pay for it. 🙂

[MISTER 67]

Bo 1953, I did get one in the mail from X also, got one from HAL while onboard in the future cruise office. I also get the yearly Princess Atlas but you need magnifying glasses especially if you're looking at the ships diagram and cabin numbers.

BTW on our last Princess cruise we heard an asst. Maitre D` tell a passenger that don't be surprised that in the near future the lines will be charging for meals in the MDR with only free meals in the buffet.

If you head over to the HAL threads theres a post about HAL testing the waters back in the spring where for a month on some of their ships they charged 10 dollars  for a second entree, seems like there was a revolt by many passengers and I guess the test was a complete failure.

Here's another thing going on with HAL, they are running a BBC video called Planet Earth in the Main Showroom and calling it Entertainment, how cheap is that.

Edited July 20, 2019 by MISTER 67

[bikerunner]

Pricing is yes up some but you can find good deals if diligent. I pretty much have stayed in aqua and concierge since early 2000; I know aqua was not there then. I always broke price down pp per day cost.  Once I find something below 200 pp a day I start considering. Most of my cruises are 10plus days so easier on those.  There’s always deals to be found but it does take time.  

[Denny01]

On 7/19/2019 at 4:58 PM, bcruiser1 said:

They started charging for restaurants on the ship.  First a minimal fee.....

I think this is my favorite part of this thread! Celebrity started these restaurants 20+ years ago with a fee many felt wasn’t ‘minimal’. Heck, there were almost as much grousing about the cost of the specialty restaurant on the Mercury 21 years ago when we first cruised as here. You can’t believe all the complaints about how much X was gouging us. And tons of very similar threads to this when I first got on CruiseCritic.

 

Den

Edited July 20, 2019 by Denny01

[sgmn]

2 hours ago, isdoo said:

eh?  What insurance company? No idea what you mean.

Travel insurance

[isdoo]

10 minutes ago, sgmn said:

Travel insurance

Appreciate that, but it has never been obligatory to have travel insurance. 

[Presto2]

On 7/19/2019 at 9:58 PM, bcruiser1 said:

We've cruised Celebrity for several years, and they are becoming more desperate in their attempts to separate you from your wallet. Here's an example:        They started charging for restaurants on the ship.  First a minimal fee, and now they are up to $45 per charge per person.  Then they have an "add on" menu at their premium restaurants.  Which means you can buy additional items over the $45 that you're already paying:   They started charging for room service after 11:00pm.    Then they added an upcharge items on their regular dinning room menu.

 

Today, they told me that my deposit is non-refundable.  REALLY???  Are they running out of money?  Why would I book a trip for next year, without the comfort of knowing that I can cancel if need be.  It wouldn't be something that I'd want to do, but seriously, life happens, and tomorrow isn't a promise to any of us.

 

To be fair, if I do want a refundable deposit, I can choose two perks for $1000 extra, and then I can get my deposit back if we can't go.  Classy!  Huh?

 

 

 

We can never cancel any holiday in the UK without loss of deposit... can't understand what the point of one is otherwise. Welcome to the UK world ...... not necessarily a good thing though ......

[bcruiser1]

On 7/19/2019 at 2:58 PM, bcruiser1 said:

We've cruised Celebrity for several years, and they are becoming more desperate in their attempts to separate you from your wallet. Here's an example:        They started charging for restaurants on the ship.  First a minimal fee, and now they are up to $45 per charge per person.  Then they have an "add on" menu at their premium restaurants.  Which means you can buy additional items over the $45 that you're already paying:   They started charging for room service after 11:00pm.    Then they added an upcharge items on their regular dinning room menu.

 

Today, they told me that my deposit is non-refundable.  REALLY???  Are they running out of money?  Why would I book a trip for next year, without the comfort of knowing that I can cancel if need be.  It wouldn't be something that I'd want to do, but seriously, life happens, and tomorrow isn't a promise to any of us.

  

To be fair, if I do want a refundable deposit, I can choose two perks for $1000 extra, and then I can get my deposit back if we can't go.  Classy!  Huh?

 

 

 

Thanks for some of your feedback, some helpful, and some … well you know.

 

Some of you mentioned that I should read the small print.  Actually, this cruise was booked on board. and you can bet, we did read the fine print.   When we booked the cruise the deposit was refundable.  We didn't want the upgrades they were offering and didn't take it. When we found out, before our final payment date-- and today, it's still before that date, that we were unable to take the cruise, I called our travel agent to change our booking.  We rebooked a different cruise that we were interested in taking.  Everything stayed the same, EXCEPT the deposit being refundable, vs non refundable.  We're talking two hundred dollars, per person, not the $900 deposit that would have been on a new reservation for each person.

 

On one hand, Celebrity almost turns summersaults because we're members of its Captain's Club, and they want us to continue booking with them, by offering perks, special rates, etc.  For this coming cruise, if I want a refundable deposit, I can  purchase  the extra perks at about $1000 per person, we can have a refundable $200 per person.  So it would cost me $2000, to get back $400.  Not a smart business decision on my part.  And, we want to go on the cruise, we don't want to cancel; that's not how we book our trips.

 

I'm sure all of the cruise lines are doing what they can to make money, and we've cruised on most of them, with exception of MSC.  We have high status on Celebrity,  Princess, and Holland America.  Profit is the bottom line-- I get that.  But, to me this latest move to a Captain's Club "valuable member"  has sunk the image of the company to a new "low."  This feels like a desperate move. 

 

Like all of the other up-charges, food, etc., it's a choice.  If I want to go to one of the restaurants, or buy something special on the cruise, I do.  And, it should be a choice.  I have no issue with that.  It just seems like each time we are on-board the company finds something else to charge for.  It's too bad that cruise lines  have gone the way of the airlines.  That isn't a step up, and it doesn't speak well of the industry. 

 

This leads me to ask the question...Is Celebrity running out of money?  Is desperation to make more money taking over? 

By the way........I don't think this was a poor title choice, because it addresses the issue.  It got you to read, and respond. 

 

[Cruising89143]

49 minutes ago, bcruiser1 said:

This leads me to ask the question...Is Celebrity running out of money?  Is desperation to make more money taking over? 

By the way........I don't think this was a poor title choice, because it addresses the issue.  It got you to read, and respond. 

 

 

 

The short answer of which you already know is “no” Celebrity is not running out of money. They’re simply doing what the other cruise lines are doing.  Again other cruise lines like your Princess moved to NRD. Are they also running out of cash? 

 

I have never known a deposit go from refundable to non refundable unless someone makes the change.

 

Sounds like X may no longer be a choice for you. You posted this on your roll call.....”Were booked on this cruise.  Hopefully the ship won't be a disaster.  I saw posts saying that it was held together by duct tape”.  Not a positive attitude going into a cruise. We’re booked on the same ship the month following you and excited to be onboard.

 

Make your feelings known to the management if you’re unhappy.

[bigbadandugly]

On 7/19/2019 at 3:03 PM, Fixit2010 said:

 

OK fine.  Though I do wonder how many people would still eat at their local restaurant on land if they  increased their cover charges by the same percentage.

 

That's totally irrelevant. We're talking a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean.

[ak1004]

2 hours ago, MISTER 67 said:

 

Here's another thing going on with HAL, they are running a BBC video called Planet Earth in the Main Showroom and calling it Entertainment, how cheap is that.

 

This show was accompanied by a live orchestra of 20+ musicians in a 360 theater. It was one of the best shows we have seen on any cruise ship. Their entertainment in general is much more special and unique than Celebrity. Far from cheap.

[MISTER 67]

12 minutes ago, ak1004 said:

 

This show was accompanied by a live orchestra of 20+ musicians in a 360 theater. It was one of the best shows we have seen on any cruise ship. Their entertainment in general is much more special and unique than Celebrity. Far from cheap.

The thing is it was on the schedule for our last 3 HAL cruises and I don't remember anywhere close to 20 musicians plus some of them were from the Lincoln Center venue.

You must have seen it on one of their newer ships, the older ships don't have the 360 theater.

Edited July 20, 2019 by MISTER 67

[bigbenboys]

11 hours ago, oneputt18 said:

RCI is not the parent company of Celebrity, the parent company of RCI and Celebrity is RCCL . RCCL has six brands, Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International,Azamara, TUI Cruises, Silversea and Pullmantur Cruceros.

I didn't know that Royal owns 50% of TUi Cruises. If I remember right Celebrity Mercury went to TUi.

[Denny01]

What was posted by the OP in post #64?. Their initial post starting this thread had: “Today, they told me that my deposit is non-refundable.  REALLY???” and in post #64 they state they changed their reservation from a refundable to a non-refundable knowingly because they didn’t want the upgrades. 

 

I give up. That’s what I get for joining this thing. 

 

Den

 

 



[Loucat]

oneputt18-Talk about splitting hairs? I am sure all that read the post by cruisingator2 knew they meant Royal Caribbean.

[oneputt18]

42 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

I didn't know that Royal owns 50% of TUi Cruises. If I remember right Celebrity Mercury went to TUi.

 

Mercury is TUI - Mein Schiff 2.

[ak1004]

1 hour ago, MISTER 67 said:

The thing is it was on the schedule for our last 3 HAL cruises and I don't remember anywhere close to 20 musicians plus some of them were from the Lincoln Center venue.

You must have seen it on one of their newer ships, the older ships don't have the 360 theater.

 

Yes it was on Koningsdam.

[Cruise it or lose it]

I think we will all run out of money before Celebrity. LOL

 

[ak1004]

To be fair, all mass market lines charge more and more for things that used to be free or much cheaper. But it feels like Celebrity is taking it too far sometimes. $320 for internet? It was $100 on our last Princess cruise, and the Internet was much faster. $4 for a small bottle of water?? $50 for a specialty restaurant? Yes, some things are choice, like specialty restaurants, but internet is a necessity for many people. Plus sometimes I have a feeling that their food in MDR is so mediocre on purpose to encourage you to book specially restaurants.

 

So yes, we all have choices, and many of us making a choice to move to a luxury line like Oceania or Crystal. Yes, it is more expensive, but the difference might be less than you think. And at least you don't have this constant dime and nickel feel.