CELEBRITY are you reading these threads as to how unhappy the customer is??

[Jeremiah1212]

3 hours ago, upwarduk said:

What I can’t understand is that the Edge itineraries have been cancelled and all Edge cruises will now be 7 days ( in the hope that passengers don’t develop COVID-19 while on the cruise). But, they then offer passengers replacement cruises on Silhouette which are either 10/11 day Caribbean cruises.
Really?

Both are cruises sailing out of US waters under the CDC rules.

Why is it ok then for Silhouette to do 10/11 day sailings, but not Edge?

 

They're moving to ships to maximize money. It's a pretty transparent move. 

 

• Edge class command a premium
• 7 night Caribbean cruises sell better than longer itineraries 
• Reduce capacity on the South American cruises with a smaller ship/older

Now you have your most lucrative and efficient ships positioned for maximum guest count. Edge sits in the sweet spot, keep the 9+ night cruises on the newly refurbished Silhouette, swap Infinity for a newly refurbished Summit and bump Infinity to what was presumably a less lucrative South America season. 

[Homosassa]

By the way, my first cruise back in the seventies was in Celebrity. It was known as Chandris at that time.

 

Some of the big chances since that time include the loss of the Greek connection (including the fabulous Greek cuisine), no longer paying to reserve a deck chair, and dressing for dinner (formal) every night. 

[paulh84]

I wouldn't say the customer is unhappy. There is a tiny group of what, maybe 50, frequent posters here that are hyper sensitive and vocal. I think the 'normal' less critical, if you will, customer base doesn't care right now. The public impression is still that cruises are a floating petri dish.

 

My most active cruising friends have come to the realization that things will change and they have written off cruising for a least the next year. No rapid fire bookings, no hours spent arguing with customer service reps, no weekly calls to the travel agent. Cancel everything and rebook when some sense of normalcy resumes. No offense taken to new marketing, no rage about where they will get a complimentary happy hour drink...

[kathynorth]

IMO the frustrations being voiced have more to do with the way these changes have been communicated rather than the actual changes. Too much info in a short amount of time. The redeployment situation is a hot mess with passengers receiving inconsistent information from multiple sources. Some passengers are allowed to rebook without loss of current rate and perks, while others can only rebook at prevailing rates. This left some passengers very happy and others not. 

Edited November 22, 2020 by kathynorth

[grandgeezer]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

GG- Are you sure these volunteer cruises are going to be free?  All I could find in the Q&A was that they might be free but no details released yet.  Nevertheless the volunteers would probably have to at least pay for transportation and hotel stays - who knows.  But of course free comes with a price - to be possibly exposed to COVID amongst other things.  Not for me.

Didn’t they state that the first few trial cruises would be nonrevenue generating cruises?

I was only referring to the cruise being free, I realize probably at least 90% have some type of cost, even if it’s just parking, or a way to get to the terminal and back home again if they live near the port.

I also think the risk of getting COVID isn’t worth it, even free. We are in the high risk age bracket.

[Pinboy]

2 hours ago, davekathy said:

Have you contacted Celebrity with your concerns? 

Excellent point--- In general, If you have a " complaint ", make sure it's " legitimate " and you direct it to the " right " people,------ the ones that can help you. 

The worst complaint I had on Celebrity was------On our last cruise our waiter forgot to bring me the 3 shrimp cocktails I ordered at the same time, etc, etc.

I worked in the Service Industry for " years " and always knew immediately whether someone was just trying to get something for free. 

 

5 hours ago, emmas gran said:

Not that Lisa will get involved she has "people" for that

LOL--- Like she has nothing better to do than to read CC.  Believe me, lots of us  ( ok , me ) wouldn't be spending as much time as we ( I ) do if it wasn't for Covid and the cold weather.

Yea , I know, no one is forcing me , but, it's fun.

 

1 hour ago, LGW59 said:

If you are reading Celebrity and/or Lisa's people, I am VERY happy with your product and AI.  Looking forward to my cruise in May.

If you were a non-drinker or didn't want wifi , perhaps you wouldn't be SO happy with AI ??? 

Hopefully, Management will come to their senses and revisit ( Change ) and offer a choice ??

[basenji56]

1 hour ago, kathynorth said:

IMO the frustrations being voiced have more to do with the way these changes have been communicated rather than the actual changes. Too much info in a short amount of time. The redeployment situation is a hot mess with passengers receiving inconsistent information from multiple sources. Some passengers are allowed to rebook without loss of current rate and perks, while others can only rebook at prevailing rates. This left some passengers very happy and others not. 

This is true.  At the same time, Celebrity cancelled many cruises (understandable) but allowed some customers to rebook without a loss but others only at the prevailing rates.  Then they forced everyone to pay upfront for tips (no problem), drink package and wifi.  Then they reduced the loyalty benefits by calling this an "enhancement."

 

If you want to see unhappy customers, go to the Facebook Celebrity groups.  

 

[LGW59]

2 minutes ago, Pinboy said:

Excellent point--- In general, If you have a " complaint ", make sure it's " legitimate " and you direct it to the " right " people,------ the ones that can help you. 

The worst complaint I had on Celebrity was------On our last cruise our waiter forgot to bring me the 3 shrimp cocktails I ordered at the same time, etc, etc.

I worked in the Service Industry for " years " and always knew immediately whether someone was just trying to get something for free. 

 

LOL--- Like she has nothing better to do than to read CC.  Believe me, lots of us  ( ok , me ) wouldn't be spending as much time as we ( I ) do if it wasn't for Covid and the cold weather.

Yea , I know, no one is forcing me , but, it's fun.

 

If you were a non-drinker or didn't want wifi , perhaps you wouldn't be SO happy with AI ??? 

Hopefully, Management will come to their senses and revisit ( Change ) and offer a choice ??

That is why I said "I" as in speaking for myself.  When I book a cruise I don't say, hmmmm, I wonder how the non-drinkers and no wifi folks will feel about this. 

 

[miched]

I found that contrary to belief not many passengers are members of this forum or really care about it.   When a ship has 3000 passengers and about 100 show up or register for the CC party that should be some indication.  

 

I think that the members on here are a minority of the passengers that for the most part and me being one are trying to find the best bargains and the most for our money spent.  We spend a lot of time trying to get as much as we can.  It is like clipping coupons to save a penny.  Sometimes is it really worth it ?  
 

The other passengers that are the majority don’t care or want to be concerned, or spend the time about things that will cost them a few dollars more.   Since they are the majority that is who X will cater to.   I am sure that X would be happy to get rid of all of us bargain hunters even though we are a minority we help fill the empty cabins  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸

[hcat]

9 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

30 years ago my DH was forbidden to ever cook again. I was not at home when he decided to cook some spaghetti for dinner and apparently forgot he'd left the pan on the stove with boiling water. He burned a hole through one of my good pots (the pan literally melted).

He doesn’t seem to mind not being allowed to cook. Sometimes I wonder if he did it on purpose.😉

Gee that's  like our story too..but in reverse.  I make chicken and tuna salad..but not too  much else..esp if it involves " cooking"

[cl.klink]

11 hours ago, TeeRick said:

So as of a week ago, over 100,000 people have signed up to volunteer on the mock cruises.  Many people out there don't actually care about changes in loyalty benefits.  They just want to cruise.  We all sometimes get lost in the very small cross-section of the cruising population and customer base known as Cruise Critic World.

 

 

If you build it, they will come ...

- Joel

[Arizona Wildcat]

11 hours ago, C-Dragons said:

I'm sure they are currently working on rescheduling hundreds of itineraries for their fleet. This is quite an undertaking. Most cruise ship schedules are done 2 years in advance. Imagine trying to reshuffle almost everything at the last minute when there are still unanswered questions, such as when will they definitely be allowed to get their ships back out to sea, and which ports around the world will allow them in? Things are totally fluid as Covid outbreaks are surging again and will remain that way for the foreseeable future.

If you are not confident that you will sail in Jan. 2021 (which btw I agree probably will not go) you have the option to change now.

For rescheduling the most difficult issue is dockage.  The schedules for ports is organized years ahead.   Will make it difficult to reschedule for ports able to handle 1 or 2 ships a day.  Throw in Key West being gone, how will the vaccination process go and the impossibility of predicting when countries will allow cruise ships and you have an "interesting 2021".

[chemmo]

I think some of the ‘anger’ or discontent expressed in some posts is threefold...

 

General frustration about cancelled cruises and uncertainty about those planned in the next year. This is not a Celebrity specific issue, no matter what line you usually book you are (forgive the pun) still in the same boat.

 

Changes to marketing of the product to include more in the pricing. This simply suits you or it doesn’t. It is frustrating when you find a product that suits you as it is but then changes are made.

 

Increasing costs of cruising and additionally some ships not being refreshed according to the scheduled time scale and some aspects of the new ships dividing opinions...

 

We are Celebrity lovers, but we have felt some frustration this year...The covid caused cancellations we simply accept as unavoidable. However, I totally understand that not everyone gets value for money from a drinks package although we are in the corner of liking one. We are disappointed with some aspects of the new ships, in particular some of the rooms. The RS (our usual choice on S class) is particularly disappointing.

 

There is a point where one has to simply make choices...

 

We will not be cruising on M class ships that haven’t been refreshed.

We will not be cruising on Edge or Apex until their suite prices come within what we see as reasonable for product offered.

We may choose to cruise less frequently if prices are higher and look for alternatives.

 

Nothing stays the same...Sometimes changes benefit us and at other times they get to the point where you do need to reflect on your vacation choices. 

 

[emmas gran]

Thanks Chemmo, I agree totally with your post. Maybe I misread some peoples postings and regret my original post (slightly). 

 

Liz

[chemmo]

1 hour ago, emmas gran said:

Thanks Chemmo, I agree totally with your post. Maybe I misread some peoples postings and regret my original post (slightly). 

 

Liz

 

I don’t think you have misread some posts. I genuinely think some people are angry with everyone and everything at the moment! 

 

I do think Celebrity monitors these boards and other sites too...It doesn’t necessarily mean they will react to comments made. Like all businesses they can’t please everyone all of the time. Going more towards all inclusive is a typical case in point. The popularity of drinks packages (and the income derived) makes two groups of people happy (drinkers and shareholders) but upsets low volume drinkers (especially Elite and above)...

 

The bottom line for all of us is what cruise lines suite us best now not last year....

 

By the time our next cruise comes round I would probably settle for an inside cabin on a Thames tug boat without complaining!

 

 

[Bo1953]

1 hour ago, emmas gran said:

Thanks Chemmo, I agree totally with your post. Maybe I misread some peoples postings and regret my original post (slightly). 

 

Liz

eg - do not regret your post...

 

You and others here on CC get a taste of the lay of the land in terms of 'unhappiness' or 'happiness' with X.

 

While there are quite a few of us not happy with X, it is not absolute or overwhelming, many of us take it in stride and understand there are many who post here has grass which is greener on the other side of the fence... so be it and I trust they do not continually remind us of that, then again I let them vent and smile.. 😎

 

What are your thoughts about your post, in terms of 'unhappiness'? Are the issues overwhelming or just co-incidences or pet peeves which would cause you to abandon ship with one more item piled on? Or in reality just a minor annoyance which once on-board just melts away....

 

Thank you and bon voyage

[Bo1953]

14 hours ago, miched said:

I found that contrary to belief not many passengers are members of this forum or really care about it.   When a ship has 3000 passengers and about 100 show up or register for the CC party that should be some indication.  

 

I think that the members on here are a minority of the passengers that for the most part and me being one are trying to find the best bargains and the most for our money spent.  We spend a lot of time trying to get as much as we can.  It is like clipping coupons to save a penny.  Sometimes is it really worth it ?  
 

The other passengers that are the majority don’t care or want to be concerned, or spend the time about things that will cost them a few dollars more.   Since they are the majority that is who X will cater to.   I am sure that X would be happy to get rid of all of us bargain hunters even though we are a minority we help fill the empty cabins  
 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸

m - I happen to believe that X cares about all of us, except those who take the time to flaunt their policies and regulations no matter how discrete.

 

Like any large business, they understand the need to broaden their appeal in order to keep the gang plank in operation. Will all of their decisions be appealing? No. Is there a chance that some of the decisions will be changed or modified? Yes and No based on previous decision history that I Am aware of and know about.

 

X likes bargain shoppers as that helps them figure out how to best price the sailings (along with their computer system). They just create a new tool to help them price and fill the ships, that is all.

 

Thank you and bon voyage

[Bo1953]

15 hours ago, Pinboy said:

Excellent point--- In general, If you have a " complaint ", make sure it's " legitimate " and you direct it to the " right " people,------ the ones that can help you. 

The worst complaint I had on Celebrity was------On our last cruise our waiter forgot to bring me the 3 shrimp cocktails I ordered at the same time, etc, etc.

I worked in the Service Industry for " years " and always knew immediately whether someone was just trying to get something for free. 

 

LOL--- Like she has nothing better to do than to read CC.  Believe me, lots of us  ( ok , me ) wouldn't be spending as much time as we ( I ) do if it wasn't for Covid and the cold weather.

Yea , I know, no one is forcing me , but, it's fun.

 

If you were a non-drinker or didn't want wifi , perhaps you wouldn't be SO happy with AI ??? 

Hopefully, Management will come to their senses and revisit ( Change ) and offer a choice ??

X provided an option to skip out on AI, that is to book at the 90 day time frame... bare bones pricing.

 

bon voyage

[basenji56]

5 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

X provided an option to skip out on AI, that is to book at the 90 day time frame... bare bones pricing.

 

bon voyage

With ships filled at only 25% to 40% capacity, I don't think this option will be available for awhile.

 

 

[mac_tlc]

My disappointment lies in the seemingly dramatic increase in prices. The Captains Club changes are, unfortunately, the rule as opposed to the exception with most loyalty programs. 
 

The AI change seems to have increased suite prices too —- even though they had the perks included anyway. We have three X cruises booked, all pre-COVID and all on Sky Suites. On average, the current prices for those sailings are up about 45%, and future prices are crazy. $500pppd is too rich for us. 
 

For a non suite, the AI change has raised prices beyond where we find value. 
 

mac_tlc

[emmas gran]

Bo 1953 I'm not unhappy as in really upset, it is a matter that we no longer have choices so it seems. As Elite Plus if not in a suite we were happy with our perks, 240 min each internet Happy Hour and laundry, coffee from Al Bacio  these have all disappeared with the AI . Fortunately our next cruise was booked with these  included so hopefully that stands as we are B2B Aqua and Sky suite. 

Edited November 23, 2020 by emmas gran
addition

[Oceangoer2]

14 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

Bo 1953 I'm not unhappy as in really upset, it is a matter that we no longer have choices so it seems. As Elite Plus if not in a suite we were happy with our perks, 240 min each internet Happy Hour and laundry, coffee from Al Bacio  these have all disappeared with the AI . Fortunately our next cruise was booked with these  included so hopefully that stands. 

My understanding re E+ benefits..... we still have laundry perk.  Included in new pricing are Bev pkg (includes Al Bacio) and unlimited wifi, so no need for happy hour or wifi perk.  Captains party is off so that social event is no more and will be missed by some.  Not a Capts. Club perk but Grats would always be paid either included with payable perks or self paid at end of cruise.  Am I missing something?  The one important detail is those who don't drink, don't use wifi, pay grats themselves would like the option to have a cruise only pkg and not have to pay for benefits others are enjoying and not them......that I understand for sure.  Since amendments are being made as we go along, and X cruisers react to this new program, the company may address this and reinstate that option.  JMHO.

Edited November 23, 2020 by Oceangoer2

[emmas gran]

We always pre pay gratuities if not included in our deal so that does nor come into it, maybe I should have made that clear.

[Pinboy]

1 hour ago, Bo1953 said:

X provided an option to skip out on AI, that is to book at the 90 day time frame... bare bones pricing.

 

bon voyage

That's a reasonable option, however, the choice of cabins would be quite limited as we like to select our cabin long in advance to get the location we like (  Deck 8 or 9 , mid-ship, on the hump ) , plus other factors ( cost of airline tickets, hotel , rental car, etc ) are much cheaper the further out we book. 

I guess we will have to just go without the free gelato and order 3 crème brule instead of the usual 2.

That being said, we truly enjoyed every Celebrity cruise , met some very nice people ( never met that guy with the cowboy hat and loud mouth ), and look forward to meeting many CCers on future cruises.

LOL-- If only our $CAN conversion rate gets better than the 32 % in comparison to the $US,  that will help in absorbing increased prices by Celebrity.

 

 

 

[basenji56]

9 minutes ago, emmas gran said:

We always pre pay gratuities if not included in our deal so that does nor come into it, maybe I should have made that clear.

I haven't heard one person complain about adding the gratuities to the price.  We just hope they actually make it to the crew. And most everyone I know always tips extra.  

 

I understand the gratuities are an issue for cruises from some countries but rarely Americans.