Refurbish-yes,NewDesign- not so great

[MJSailors]

   While my husband and I have platinum loyalty level on Princess,we have taken a few cruises on the Summit to Bermuda. We enjoyed sailing on the Summit and felt very comfortable on that ship. However, while on the Summit last July,we did see the need for refurbishment in different areas of the ship. Namely the Oceanview Cafe where folding chairs were being used for seating at the tables and the worn sofa in our C1 cabin. I think these items are referred to as soft goods when decorating a space. In addition to furniture,we noted that the bathroom was in need of a redo,especially replacement of the tile.

     I was pleased to learn that the Summit was to undergo a refurbishment of the cabins during a drydock in the Spring  of 2019.

Soon after that drydock, I began to see CC postings about the Summit and how the Kelly Hoppen design used in the cabin make-overs was a bit of a fail.

Gone was the coffee table in the sitting area of the cabin, the balcony furniture was replaced with stark,uncomfortable furniture with no foot rests and no loungers and cabin storage space was filled with imitation white  coral and useless vases.

       On some balconies, I think those in the Suite category, there are  white sitting cubes and hard wooden chairs with no armrests that reminded passengers and CC readers of chairs found in a high school classroom. From these uncomfortable furniture choices and lack of storage considerations, one concludes that the chosen designer never had the experience of being a passenger on a Celebrity ship.

      Before beginning any design project or renovations of our home, we interview several crafts people and choose the one who best understands the design changes we have in mind and what renovations would work best for our home.

Certainly,Celebrity had some form of an executive committee who’s responsibility was to hire a designer who could best execute Celebrity’s design vision in a manner that would guarantee passenger comfort. From what I have read on CC , they didn’t do a very good job.

         I have two questions. Will the flawed design choices on the ships that have undergone “Edgification “ be corrected with items that are more comfortable for passengers at a cost to Celebrity that will not be reflected  in future cruise fares?

Also will the additional further scheduled refurbishment of ships be halted until the designs and furnishings placed in these ships are items that are more passenger friendly,reflecting function not form ?

      Thank you in advance for your reply to my questions.

.

 

 

[Champagne Cruiser]

I, too am interested in the answer to this question.  We are Elite, and  after reading the reviews of the Edge and the Edgification, we have no interest in sailing on the refurbished ships. 

[Ox Fan Cruiser]

We sailed on the Edge in January. Our 1st time in a suite.. We had a Sky Suite S3, "between the Rails" veranda. Very large veranda yet it only had 2 low back chairs. Why not loungers? Not even high back chairs. Just those "sit at attention" chairs. For a relaxing vacation we shouldn't have "you better sit up straight" chairs.

 

[warmwinds]

This is a wonderful question, and one I was about to ask myself before MJSailors did so much more eloquently than I ever could.

 

We were the Sky Suite passengers who had the stark hard no arms chairs on our balcony, and also experienced the most uncomfortable little chairs in the Retreat Lounge.  She left out the lack of shade at the Sunset Bar with the new "slats", the small one-person chair/sofa? in the Aqua Class rooms, and many more design choices that were all for show and not for comfort, too many to mention.

 

I am hoping that future Revolutionization of the remaining ships will not repeat these mistakes.  Can you please address our concerns?

[MJSailors]

   Thank you, warm winds, for your post.

I am aware that we have been reminded not to enter discussions with other posters here,but I didn’t know how to get a message to you otherwise.

After sending my post, I realized that I failed to mention the lack of shade at the redone Sunset Bar. My DH and I often frequented that area as it provided a lovely aft view,especially the wake when the Summit was underway. It is unfortunate that it is now so exposed to the sun.

      I echo your request for Ms. Lutoff-Perlo to address concerns posted in this forum.

[Luvcrusn]

@MJSailors, you posed some very valid points and interesting questions. Perhaps you could post these to the sub-forum for Ms. Lutoff-Perlo to answer. I'm very curious to see answers to them.

Edited August 2, 2019 by Luvcrusn
Addition

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

1 hour ago, Luvcrusn said:

@MJSailors, you posed some very valid points and interesting questions. Perhaps you could post these to the sub-forum for Ms. Lutoff-Perlo to answer. I'm very curious to see answers to them.

 

That is where this thread is I believe...

[MJSailors]

Luvcrusn-

  Thank you for the compliment.

I posted on the forum dedicated to questions/comments for CEO, Ms. Lutoff-Perlo.

I,along with other CC   posters here,are patiently waiting for her replies.

[Lisa Lutoff-Perlo]

Hello! The decision to begin the Celebrity Revolution was based on the instant popularity of the Celebrity Edge design and deciding to apply the design features to the fleet. Our guests will enjoy stunningly redesigned accommodations,  new sanctuaries for Suite Class guests at The Retreat® Lounge and The Retreat® Sundeck. Updated restaurants and lounges, and new boutiques featuring the hottest designer names. Any flaws in design or construction are addressed on an ongoing basis and are budgeted into our construction fees and are addressed daily on each of our ships. I appreciate your feedback.   Thank you and have a great rest of your day!

[Chicago Girl]

Hi Lisa,

 

While I appreciate your answer, could you please elaborate?  Are you  going to continue putting the uncomfortable furniture on all of the other ships or will you be addressing this specifically because a lot of people are not happy with lack of anywhere comfortable to sit either in the stateroom, on the balcony, or in public areas.?

 

Thank You

[Presto2]

2 hours ago, Lisa Lutoff-Perlo said:

Hello! The decision to begin the Celebrity Revolution was based on the instant popularity of the Celebrity Edge design and deciding to apply the design features to the fleet.

 

We are due on EDGE very soon and look forward to her, but are concerned that initial reviews regarding the design of the cabin were not positive at all. To be honest they have not been great since. Have reviews improved since the early days?

[Bo1953]

19 minutes ago, Chicago Girl said:

Hi Lisa,

 

While I appreciate your answer, could you please elaborate?  Are you  going to continue putting the uncomfortable furniture on all of the other ships or will you be addressing this specifically because a lot of people are not happy with lack of anywhere comfortable to sit either in the stateroom, on the balcony, or in public areas.?

 

Thank You

A lot of people???

 

I do not think 'a lot of people' on CC are representative of most passengers sailing on X, are people here vocal, yes, representative, no.

 

bon voyage

[warmwinds]

Bo1953, have you personally been on a revolutionized ship?  While you may be right that "a lot" of people don't post here on cruise critic, those of us who have tried to sit on the toadstool chairs in the retreat lounge, had only room for one person to sit in an AQ cabin, and suffered from the hard wooden armless chairs on a suite veranda are neither exaggerating nor complainers.  Some of the new design features are lovely to look at but very uncomfortable.

 

I'm happy that  LLP has said these flaws will be addressed going forward.

 

And I do want to thank her for coming on here and answering our questions.

[ShonaTay56]

I'm maybe missing something here but from reading MJSailors question it would appear that she has been on the Summit in the past but has not been on any Celebrity ship that has been revolutionized. If that is the case then she is listening to reviews from other people and we all have to remember that not all people like the same thing. The old saying is very true, 'You can't please all the people all the time'. IMHO Celebrity do a very good job all round. We have done several cruises and prefer Celebrity above the others we have tried but then again this is my personal preference and others may prefer Royal Caribbean or Norwegian more than Celebrity.

[MJSailors]

ShonaTay56

      You are correct that my DH and I have enjoyed a number of cruises on the Summit before the drydock refurbishment that occurred this past Spring.

      We were considering another cruise on the Summit for this Summer,but as I read reviews posted on CC and saw photos of uncomfortable furniture on the balconies, we decided to take a resort vacation in Bermuda later this Fall instead.

      We have enjoyed aft cabins on the Summit-that used to be furnished with two loungers, a large table and comfortable chairs for dining at the table. We enjoy breakfast and late night snacks on those large balconies.

      I saw some photos of the furnishings on those balconies post refurbishment. Gone is  the large table for dining, a rather small table is the replacement. There is also no coffee table in the cabin with the new design choices.

Where is one to have room service ?

        I agree that “you can’t please all the people all the time”. However, from reading other’s reviews ,looking at their posted photos and reading the comments posted  here on this particular  forum I  question whether  in fact form over function was the directive of the Edgification design.

           As for us, the new design, if it remains in place, is not something we would be comfortable with on the Summit. As MsLutoff suggested in her response here, perhaps some of the design features will be changed going forward depending on customer feedback. If that occurs on the Summit,we would gladly return for a cruise to Bermuda from NJ as it is a convenient port for us that does not require a flight.

           Luckily for travelers, there are a myriad amount of choices available to enjoy a vacation and/or discover places in the world. As for us, we are anticipating a cruise on the new Sky Princess in early Spring 2020. We have also considered a cruise on HAL and American CruiseLine river cruises. We may also consider a Celebrity cruise on ships that have not undergone Edgification yet.

           I see from your signature that you have not been on a Celebrity ship that has undergone Edgification. You do have a cruise on the Equinox this coming September. With that in mind, I may suggest a very good review posted on the Celebrity boards by Mr Met. He and his wife recently sailed on the Equinox after the refurbishment. Apparently, not the full Edgification was done to the Equinox,possibly due to time constraints of the recent dry dock. From reading his review, it was apparent that Mr Met and his wife had an enjoyable cruise.

              I do hope you enjoy your cruise in September. Bon voyage!

 

 

 

 

[ShonaTay56]

15 hours ago, MJSailors said:

ShonaTay56

      You are correct that my DH and I have enjoyed a number of cruises on the Summit before the drydock refurbishment that occurred this past Spring.

      We were considering another cruise on the Summit for this Summer,but as I read reviews posted on CC and saw photos of uncomfortable furniture on the balconies, we decided to take a resort vacation in Bermuda later this Fall instead.

      We have enjoyed aft cabins on the Summit-that used to be furnished with two loungers, a large table and comfortable chairs for dining at the table. We enjoy breakfast and late night snacks on those large balconies.

      I saw some photos of the furnishings on those balconies post refurbishment. Gone is  the large table for dining, a rather small table is the replacement. There is also no coffee table in the cabin with the new design choices.

Where is one to have room service ?

        I agree that “you can’t please all the people all the time”. However, from reading other’s reviews ,looking at their posted photos and reading the comments posted  here on this particular  forum I  question whether  in fact form over function was the directive of the Edgification design.

           As for us, the new design, if it remains in place, is not something we would be comfortable with on the Summit. As MsLutoff suggested in her response here, perhaps some of the design features will be changed going forward depending on customer feedback. If that occurs on the Summit,we would gladly return for a cruise to Bermuda from NJ as it is a convenient port for us that does not require a flight.

           Luckily for travelers, there are a myriad amount of choices available to enjoy a vacation and/or discover places in the world. As for us, we are anticipating a cruise on the new Sky Princess in early Spring 2020. We have also considered a cruise on HAL and American CruiseLine river cruises. We may also consider a Celebrity cruise on ships that have not undergone Edgification yet.

           I see from your signature that you have not been on a Celebrity ship that has undergone Edgification. You do have a cruise on the Equinox this coming September. With that in mind, I may suggest a very good review posted on the Celebrity boards by Mr Met. He and his wife recently sailed on the Equinox after the refurbishment. Apparently, not the full Edgification was done to the Equinox,possibly due to time constraints of the recent dry dock. From reading his review, it was apparent that Mr Met and his wife had an enjoyable cruise.

              I do hope you enjoy your cruise in September. Bon voyage!

 

Hi MJSailors,

You are quite correct we have not been on one of the revamped ships as yet but we are certainly looking forward to our 13th Sept cruise on the Equinox. I have been following Mr Met on this forum and also several others on FB who are having a great time, which I am sure we will also.

Unfortunately living in Scotland there are not too many cruise ships that call in that I fancy going on, Fred Olsen and Cruise Maritime. We do have an Azamara cruise that leaves Edinburgh and goes round the British Isles but I don't fancy that as I have been to most of the stops so many times.

Thank you for replying and as I said I am sure that we will enjoy our upcoming cruise on the Equinox. Who ever you decide to sail with make sure you enjoy it.

Regards

Alan