Stateroom free movies eliminated

[rimmit]

1 hour ago, Z'Loth said:

Sorry, it's been a while since I've been on here, so count me as part of the TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read).

 

My gut feeling is that I'm not spending a good chunk of money just to sit in my cabin and watch television. I'm there to see new places in the world, meeting new people, and just disconnect from the rest of the world. 

 

Having said that, there have been technological advances in the past few years that made this more of a minor inconvenience rather than a hardship. You can download movies/TV series to your device for offline viewing on your tablet or smartphone. Here are some links:

• Netflix
• Amazon Prime
• Hulu - Not available at this time
• Plex (Requires PlexPass subscription)

I do know that Netflix offers a "Open Connect" option where their server is located on the ISP premises to better stream their media to subscribers. Perhaps it can be configured for shipboard use through a WiFi network, and "charge up" via a WiFi connection while in port. But, then there is international media rights...

 

I will not go over what I have posted in my previous several posts regarding this matter. Feel free to read back, but I lay it out with some easy to follow analogies why this is a big deal.  The bottom line, is for many reasons, this is a big deal for the majority of people.  Whether you use the service or not is irrelevant.  Not every person uses every service on the ship. At some point something will be cut that you care about, and it's the people like us that will go to bat beside you regardless whether we cared about the service or not.  In that case, not because we cared about whatever service or amenity was cut, but because it is a continued devaluing of a product that used to be great.  Telling people what alternatives there are to the problem is not gonna make anyone feel better.  We know the alternatives. Celebrity shouldn't have made the problem to begin with.

 

 

59 minutes ago, meechee341 said:

I  see this coming....Take away the existing perk and then offer a new package of movie watching for an extra charge.  I believe this will be along very soon. We won't pay for indiv movies or a media package...perhaps worth it to some  We will just go without for a week to 10 days.

 

 

I think this poster was right on the money.  I'll bet that like the drinks packages, Celebrity and Royal will soon offer movie/tv packages to people.  The problem is that ALL the cruise lines (and other forms of travel as well) are moving in this direction.  More and more things are being removed or provided for an additional charge.  It's getting harder and harder to keep loving X.  I always travel with my Microsoft Pro tablet, so it'd be interesting to see if people with computers can cast or use an HDMI cable to hook up their computers.

 

I wonder if they are cutting free in room movies from Royal's ships.  It's beginning to look like Royal is moving far ahead of Celebrity with offering lots to do on their larger ships, perks similar to what Celebrity offers, with many more on board amenities.  It may be time to go back to Royal.

 

As I stated before, that is where I see things going. Everything is becoming debundled to drive the bottom line.

 

And let's not talk about RCI.  We are D+ on RCI, and over the last year we have slowly jumped ship. We've since tried all inclusive resorts, independently traveling, NCL, and back to X after a 9 year hiatus as an alternative to RCI.  RCI has cut so much there isn't much left to cut imo without the ship becoming a danger.  Most of the older ships are rust buckets these days.  The in room entertainment is non existent.  After about a day of intermittent watching you've seen EVERY thing they have to offer.  It becomes an in joke among the passengers on the TA's and repos, about the 3 looping movies they may have and the handful of episodes. They may have 5 hours of content at best and maybe 3 random movies. It's absolutely miserable.  The interactive tv features barely work as well.  If the tv even has interactive features which is based on the ship. We just brought some friends with us on the Oasis this Feb, and while it was an enjoyable time, they definitely complained about the in room entertainment, and thought it was appallingly awful. 

 

The bottom line, if you think X has cut a ton......   you haven't been on RCI lately. There's almost nothing left standing.  I suspect the MDR will be next.

Edited September 15, 2019 by rimmit

[PhoenixCruiser]

7 hours ago, Nymich said:

I can speak for HAL what they have is WAY better when it comes to free in room movies.  

 

HAL also has (or at least they used to) America's Test Kitchen and none of the episodes were repeated throughout the week.

[Stateroom_Sailor]

1 hour ago, rimmit said:

The bottom line, if you think X has cut a ton......   you haven't been on RCI lately. There's almost nothing left standing.  I suspect the MDR will be next.

 

I'll take your word for it.  We were booked on Liberty of the Seas, and thought a dining package would do the trick, until I read recent reviews of the specialty restaurant downgrades.  Poor cuts of fatty meats and French fries are not my idea of fine dining.  I'm not thrilled to go back to Carnival, but their MDR looked like a significant upgrade over RCCL's uncharge restaurants, plus we'll have limited options out of Galveston.  Royal's MDR was underwhelming and became tedious in 2014, I can't imagine it has gone anywhere better.

[Iamcruzin]

51 minutes ago, Stateroom_Sailor said:

 

I'll take your word for it.  We were booked on Liberty of the Seas, and thought a dining package would do the trick, until I read recent reviews of the specialty restaurant downgrades.  Poor cuts of fatty meats and French fries are not my idea of fine dining.  I'm not thrilled to go back to Carnival, but their MDR looked like a significant upgrade over RCCL's uncharge restaurants, plus we'll have limited options out of Galveston.  Royal's MDR was underwhelming and became tedious in 2014, I can't imagine it has gone anywhere better.

Now they repeat entrees during the week. I have to say that the food in the MDR on Anthem in June was better than my last Celebrity experience. Service on Anthem in the MDR was non existent and one night I actually left the table and walked over to the bar to get two glasses of wine.

Edited September 15, 2019 by Iamcruzin

[haptrav]

I’m on the Reflection now and there are no free movies in the cabin. We couldn’t see how to connect a Roku or similar device to the tv, unfortunately, so we’re watching on an iPad. 

Also, the library is pitiful now- it looks like the ship book inventory is almost gone and most of what’s there now are passengers’ discards; a lot of the books are not in English. 

[hcat]

What is the status of  "no upcharge" in room movies on EDGE?

 

What's being shown elsewhere on the ship?

[haptrav]

12 minutes ago, hcat said:

What is the status of  "no upcharge" in room movies on EDGE?

 

What's being shown elsewhere on the ship?

They have one daily movie shown 4 times in the Celebrity Central on deck 4. today’s is Shazam!  I haven’t been to any- mostly unappealing to me or I’ve been doing other things when they’re shown. 

[Gracie115]

9 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Better book a suite or be ready to pack a chair if you are in a lower category on Princess because Jan Swartz removed the barrel chair fone would sit in to watch a movie.

In fact, we DID book a suite, which are quite lovely.

[Iamcruzin]

34 minutes ago, Gracie115 said:

In fact, we DID book a suite, which are quite lovely.

Enjoy

[hcat]

1 hour ago, haptrav said:

They have one daily movie shown 4 times in the Celebrity Central on deck 4. today’s is Shazam!  I haven’t been to any- mostly unappealing to me or I’ve been doing other things when they’re shown. 

Do not recall there being a Celeb Central on EDGE?????

In Jan, they showed movies  at Rooftop area and in the theater. The  timing did not work for us and we missed them...esp Bohemian Rhapsody

 

Finally, had some replies on my EDGE Movie thread so I refer EDGE movie updates there. Hope to keep that active for awhile!

[rimmit]

8 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

Now they repeat entrees during the week. I have to say that the food in the MDR on Anthem in June was better than my last Celebrity experience. Service on Anthem in the MDR was non existent and one night I actually left the table and walked over to the bar to get two glasses of wine.

 

The bar service in the MDR is nonexistent.  If you do luck out and are able to order a drink it comes right as you are leaving.  The understaffing is very evident.  I regularly walk out of the mdr to get a drink.  I have found I enjoy the X equivalent of all the dishes except the braised beef.  RCI version is one of my favorites.  Really tender.  X was kinda tough.  The Ducks are very similar and I enjoy both.  RCI Steaks in the MDR are basically leather these days.  I have not found the specialty restaurants that much better.   Most like Chops but I was not impressed.

[Nymich]

4 hours ago, haptrav said:

I’m on the Reflection now and there are no free movies in the cabin. We couldn’t see how to connect a Roku or similar device to the tv, unfortunately, so we’re watching on an iPad. 

Also, the library is pitiful now- it looks like the ship book inventory is almost gone and most of what’s there now are passengers’ discards; a lot of the books are not in English. 

Doesn't seem fair that you booked and paid to have free movies.   ONLY one in her class at Sea with no free movies in the cabin!

[The_Big_M]

14 hours ago, Z'Loth said:

Sorry, it's been a while since I've been on here, so count me as part of the TL;DR (Too Long; Didn't Read).

 

My gut feeling is that I'm not spending a good chunk of money just to sit in my cabin and watch television. I'm there to see new places in the world, meeting new people, and just disconnect from the rest of the world. 

 

Having said that, there have been technological advances in the past few years that made this more of a minor inconvenience rather than a hardship. You can download movies/TV series to your device for offline viewing on your tablet or smartphone. Here are some links:

• Netflix
• Amazon Prime
• Hulu - Not available at this time
• Plex (Requires PlexPass subscription)

I do know that Netflix offers a "Open Connect" option where their server is located on the ISP premises to better stream their media to subscribers. Perhaps it can be configured for shipboard use through a WiFi network, and "charge up" via a WiFi connection while in port. But, then there is international media rights...

 

Thanks. 

 

Please write Celebrity and let them know to update their site to:

a) tell booking passengers they need to subscribe to one of these services in advance of their cruise to have any onboard televisual entertainment

b) sign up to an additional internet service for the same reasons

 

Because as it stands their onboard entertainment is now inferior to any other holiday accommodation alternatives, let alone ones based on a "luxury" theme.

[txflood33]

1 hour ago, Nymich said:

Doesn't seem fair that you booked and paid to have free movies.   ONLY one in her class at Sea with no free movies in the cabin!

 

I actually haven't looked, so you may be spot on. Can you post from X's site or your booking documents where free in-room movies are listed as included in the price?

[phoenix_dream]

I am one who did write to Celebrity to express my displeasure at this change, one of many things taken away from passengers over the past couple of years.  The response I got back was trying to sell me on the movies on M class ships, as well as the movies shown in Celebrity Central or elsewhere on the ship, depending.  Besides the fact that this is besides the point, those are really not substitutes.  On the M class ships, if the weather is nice there are tons of chair hogs just like by the pool.  Good luck finding a seat, and if you are lucky, hope the sun is not shining such that you can barely see the screen.  And also good luck if the weather stinks, or you are on an Alaska or Norway cruise and it is 40 degrees outside and raining.  And the inside movies?  On our last cruise they showed them 2X per day - once in the afternoon while we were onshore and once during dinnertime.  Great substitute, right??

 

They said they tried to call me to discuss and asked that I call them back.  I am debating.  My cynical opinion is that they really don't seem to care what we think.  Their post cruise surveys no longer have an places for you to suggest improvements or express displeasure.  They only seem to want "atta boys".   I still love the Celebrity experience after 52 cruises, but the slow picking away at the experience bit by bit by bit is getting very old.  I am seriously looking into other options at this point.

[TeeRick]

17 hours ago, Cruzinram said:

Do not expect a reversal of this decision. LLP is head strong, and will suck it up. Stubborn would be a good word.

It is possible to reverse a business decision.  It happens all the time in many businesses.  Celebrity is no different.  Customer feedback is the key.  But your words about LLP implies that you know her personally.  Or are they just out of frustration? 

[txflood33]

1 minute ago, TeeRick said:

It is possible to reverse a business decision.  It happens all the time in many businesses.  Celebrity is no different.  Customer feedback is the key.  But your words about LLP implies that you know her personally.  Or are they just out of frustration? 

 

This is true. Anyone that remembers 'New Coke' knows huge business decisions can be reversed.

[Fouremco]

There are several references to on demand movies on the website currently, but none refer to free on demand movies. Whether or not they previously stated that the movies were free and have been edited to reflect the new reality I don't know. This is one of the longer items on the use of the cabin TV:

 

Relax in Front of the TV – and Put it to Use

Your cruise stateroom comes equipped with a state of the art television that you can use for more than just watching movies. Use your TV to easily order room service and have a meal or dessert delivered to you so you can keep having relaxing downtime in your room.

You can also use your TV to access the ship-specific channels. You can conveniently see the day’s onboard events and activities. You can also watch video recordings of enrichment talks delivered on board by destination experts about ports of call, including sightseeing and shore excursion highlights and shopping tips.

For those traveling in interior staterooms that don’t have windows, you’ll likely enjoy the channel that simply streams a video of the view from the ship’s deck – you can see daylight and the conditions outside without having to leave your stateroom.

Of course, if relaxing is what you have in mind in your stateroom, the stateroom television is also good for it’s main purpose – watching TV shows and movies. Celebrity Cruises has a number of channels you can surf through to find something to fit your mood, or you can get an on-demand movie, order some room service, and cuddle up in your comfortable bedding for a blissful night in during your cruise.

 

 

[Hlitner]

22 minutes ago, TeeRick said:

It is possible to reverse a business decision.  It happens all the time in many businesses.  Celebrity is no different.  Customer feedback is the key.  But your words about LLP implies that you know her personally.  Or are they just out of frustration? 

I am not sure that Celebrity (and LLP) and some other cruise lines actually respond to feedback when it comes to certain business decisions.  While I have been critical of many LLP cut-backs (and price increase) decisions, I also understand that the cruise industry is simply a big business.  Like most US-based public companies the cruise lines have a lot of pressure to improve their bottom line.   If they can please the customers and at the same time add to profits I do think they have an open mind.  But if pleasing the customer means sacrificing some profits...that is a different story.  Since LLP took over Celebrity she has honchoed many cut-back and price increase decisions.   She obviously feels that this is the way to enhance the bottom line.  If it costs Celebrity a lot of long-time customers this is not a big deal as long as there are other's willing to take their place.  If, and when, bookings fall and the bottom line sufffers….then they will pay attention.  Otherwise, I think complaint letters and bad surveys are akin to &&^%% into the wind.  

 

The effective way to complain is to simply take your money elsewhere!  We, and others we know well, have already done this when it comes to Celebrity.  If, and when, Celebrity sees the error of their ways we will quickly increase our bookings with X.  I see the cruise industry as a see-saw where cruise lines are constantly trying different strategies to improve their bottom line.  When it comes to quality, their are up and down trends.  We saw this with Princess which went from high quality to a much lower form...and then retrenched and made many improvements.  When it comes to X we think the past 5 or so years have been all downhill in terms of quality and pricing.  We did notice some improvements on our recent Summit cruise, but from listening to others we do not think this has helped some of their other ships.  And now we have this silly move of taking footstools off the balconies of many higher category cabins?  Why?  That decision has bothered many and not pleased anyone!  And it had virtually no bottom line impact (they already owned the footstools).  It was the same when LLP decided to remove free bottled water from Aqua Class.  That had minimal impact on the bottom line and cost the line some goodwill.  Why?  Even LLP had no explanation when she was interviewed here on CC.  But I do know that DW and I, who had previously booked Aqua Class on many X bookings, did not even look at that option on our last two X bookings.  We no longer thought that Aqua (and certainly Concierge) was worth the extra money.  The menus (and quality) in Blu had waned from the early days of AQ.

 

Hank

[hcat]

16 hours ago, meechee341 said:

"I   see this coming....Take away the existing perk and then offer a new package of movie watching for an extra charge.  I believe this will be along very soon. We won't pay for indiv movies or a media package...perhaps worth it to some  We will just go without for a week to 10 days."

 

 

I think this poster was right on the money.  I'll bet that like the drinks packages, Celebrity and Royal will soon offer movie/tv packages to people.  The problem is that ALL the cruise lines (and other forms of travel as well) are moving in this direction.  More and more things are being removed or provided for an additional charge.  It's getting harder and harder to keep loving X.  I always travel with my Microsoft Pro tablet, so it'd be interesting to see if people with computers can cast or use an HDMI cable to hook up their computers.

 

I wonder if they are cutting free in room movies from Royal's ships.  It's beginning to look like Royal is moving far ahead of Celebrity with offering lots to do on their larger ships, perks similar to what Celebrity offers, with many more on board amenities.  It may be time to go back to Royal.

 

That was my post quoted above. Have given it more thought.. They might add the in room movies  into the  pick a perk menu along with grats, drinks internet or OBC,,,Another dilution of benefits!

[txflood33]

5 minutes ago, Fouremco said:

There are several references to on demand movies on the website currently, but none refer to free on demand movies. Whether or not they previously stated that the movies were free and have been edited to reflect the new reality I don't know. This is one of the longer items on the use of the cabin TV:

 

Relax in Front of the TV – and Put it to Use

Your cruise stateroom comes equipped with a state of the art television that you can use for more than just watching movies. Use your TV to easily order room service and have a meal or dessert delivered to you so you can keep having relaxing downtime in your room.

You can also use your TV to access the ship-specific channels. You can conveniently see the day’s onboard events and activities. You can also watch video recordings of enrichment talks delivered on board by destination experts about ports of call, including sightseeing and shore excursion highlights and shopping tips.

For those traveling in interior staterooms that don’t have windows, you’ll likely enjoy the channel that simply streams a video of the view from the ship’s deck – you can see daylight and the conditions outside without having to leave your stateroom.

Of course, if relaxing is what you have in mind in your stateroom, the stateroom television is also good for it’s main purpose – watching TV shows and movies. Celebrity Cruises has a number of channels you can surf through to find something to fit your mood, or you can get an on-demand movie, order some room service, and cuddle up in your comfortable bedding for a blissful night in during your cruise.

 

 

 

I'm assuming this is straight from their site. This is probably the best piece of info in the thread. There are 2 ways to read that. Consumer point of view and business 'are we vaguely telling them what they get but not promising anything' jargon.

 

Business POV: nothing in there says movies are free

 

Consumer POV: it says we van enjoy movies and mentions on demand....every other place has PPV movies, this must be what they call them...good thing it separates it so I still have free movies

 

I side with the consumer POV. I definitely think free movies is implied and there is a legit complaint. I also think the only people with a true complaint, are the ones that were affected mid cruise and the ones leaving soon with minimal time to adjust...say 3 1/2 months out so the cancellation window isn't closed if this is truly a deal breaker. Everyone else hasn't been affected to the point where they can't make minor adjustments by downloading movies to tablets/laptops.

 

I do side with the cruisers truly affected. I'm not sure what they could offer in the form of compensation...$100 non refundable onboard credit?  I'm sailing in March 2020 and this change wouldn't have bothered me...my my posts a few pages back...but I do see how some may have trouble adjusting on short notice.

 

I will also add a 14 page thread on an internet message board about no more free movies is a bit of an overreaction when you truly put things into perspective. That's why I find this thread amusing.

 

Carry on and remember, I'm on some of yours side 

[TeaBag]

20 hours ago, Gracie115 said:

 

 Why is LLP still "running" this cruiseline?    There is no way this was a "COSTLY" item...just another way to weaken the "X" product.

I would delete the first n and replace it with an i!

[rimmit]

42 minutes ago, Hlitner said:

I am not sure that Celebrity (and LLP) and some other cruise lines actually respond to feedback when it comes to certain business decisions.  While I have been critical of many LLP cut-backs (and price increase) decisions, I also understand that the cruise industry is simply a big business.  Like most US-based public companies the cruise lines have a lot of pressure to improve their bottom line.   If they can please the customers and at the same time add to profits I do think they have an open mind.  But if pleasing the customer means sacrificing some profits...that is a different story.  Since LLP took over Celebrity she has honchoed many cut-back and price increase decisions.   She obviously feels that this is the way to enhance the bottom line.  If it costs Celebrity a lot of long-time customers this is not a big deal as long as there are other's willing to take their place.  If, and when, bookings fall and the bottom line sufffers….then they will pay attention.  Otherwise, I think complaint letters and bad surveys are akin to &&^%% into the wind.  

 

The effective way to complain is to simply take your money elsewhere!  We, and others we know well, have already done this when it comes to Celebrity.  If, and when, Celebrity sees the error of their ways we will quickly increase our bookings with X.  I see the cruise industry as a see-saw where cruise lines are constantly trying different strategies to improve their bottom line.  When it comes to quality, their are up and down trends.  We saw this with Princess which went from high quality to a much lower form...and then retrenched and made many improvements.  When it comes to X we think the past 5 or so years have been all downhill in terms of quality and pricing.  We did notice some improvements on our recent Summit cruise, but from listening to others we do not think this has helped some of their other ships.  And now we have this silly move of taking footstools off the balconies of many higher category cabins?  Why?  That decision has bothered many and not pleased anyone!  And it had virtually no bottom line impact (they already owned the footstools).  It was the same when LLP decided to remove free bottled water from Aqua Class.  That had minimal impact on the bottom line and cost the line some goodwill.  Why?  Even LLP had no explanation when she was interviewed here on CC.  But I do know that DW and I, who had previously booked Aqua Class on many X bookings, did not even look at that option on our last two X bookings.  We no longer thought that Aqua (and certainly Concierge) was worth the extra money.  The menus (and quality) in Blu had waned from the early days of AQ.

 

Hank

 

I have stated before that RCI have reacted to changes that were more in favor of the passenger than the bottom line in the past. Examples I listed before were the changes to the concierge lounge access for Diamonds.  Such a large outcry they created an lounge for just the Diamonds and in the meantime created a Diamond event just to appease the Diamonds that got kicked out of the CL until th Diamond lounge was built..  This was very pricey, and costs them a ton of money in refits, alcohol and staffing and food.

 

They upgraded their pizza after years of complaints about the pizza.   They realized they cut too much at that point and had to reinvest in their pizza as it was becoming pretty sad.

 

They tried to take away the free days of internet for D and D+.  This was reversed in less than week due to the onslaught of complaints for the D and D+ crowd.  This costs then 1-2 days of internet per person per cruise with each D and D+ pax.   That is a sizable amount of revenue.

 

While X is technically not RCI it is part of the same overall company and RCI cares less about the experience than X does even.  Every call matter.  Every email matters.  There is just a critical mass that they need to hit.  Where that is, who knows.

 

It is a long shot at best,  but it’s better to try and fail than not try at all.

[Jim_Iain]

1 hour ago, txflood33 said:

 

This is true. Anyone that remembers 'New Coke' knows huge business decisions can be reversed.

 

Or -  Remember when they discontinued the little chocolates on your pillow.   After years of downgrading from Cova Chocolate (very premium) to those little squares to Nothing.     There was such an outcry that Celebrity reversed their decision and re-instated.    In the case of the chocolates -  how much would they have been saving?

[Cruzinram]

Was considering our annual Caribbean this fall with X but booked HAL instead. I did this after the announcement regarding the in Cabin free movies. We have sailed X since 1995 are Elite Plus and have 35 cruises with X. I have been considering the change for some time due to all changes, and this pushed me over the edge. We will miss X, but are moving on...Oh and will not recommend X to friends and neighbors.