On the Edge Now…Cutbacks. 🙁

[kirtihk]

On 7/7/2021 at 9:50 AM, lux4me said:

We are sailing currently on the Edge.  We LOVE being back at sea,   But unfortunately the cutbacks are noticeable. No shows in Eden except for a band at night.   Ship is sailing with 60% crew. 15 min wait for an omelet at the buffet in the am. .  Lack of variety at the buffet (breakfast and lunch) while areas of buffet closed(sandwich station gone, no pasta station).  Dishes served at dinner with missing items.  Some dishes are still very good, others very pedestrian.  Service has been very hit and miss,  I know they are back for 2 weeks.  They are trying,  but the fact is I paid full price,  and the onboard product is not quite ready, especially for the rates Celebrity is asking.
 If anyone has any questions will be happy to answer

 

As I previously wrote a few times, the Eden show was the best part of the cruise we went on the Edge in April 2019 (14-night Atlantic crossing).  I went to the show every night!  I participated in that show a few times, too (even after I broke 5 ribs when coming back to the ship in Lisbon).

 

I don't blame the cruise line at all for what's happening now.  What can we expect from any business and industry?  As an expression says, "it's easy to ruin, but so hard to rebuild".  Companies have nothing to do with the problem (I don't understand how anyone might think the opposite).  The cruising was developed over decades; can we expect it to be the way it was before March 2020 2 weeks after the "demolition" was accomplished?

Edited July 9, 2021 by kirtihk

[ipeeinthepool]

15 hours ago, lux4me said:

I totally agree and learned my lesson posting an opinion on here.  
The people who respond to an opinion with “ I take your opinion with a grain of salt”, or elude you are looking for something need to think.  You have no idea who I am. You don’t know me  I could be a travel expert for Condé Nast or I could be a person on their first cruise.  Either way an opinion is one person’s perspective, and should not be fluffed off or disrespected the was it is constantly done here.  People jump out of their skin over what they may not want to hear.    I’m done with Cruise Critic 

 

Bye.  👋. Enjoy your future cruises 

[talljules1]

Thank you, OP.  For what it's worth, I didn't see your post as complaining - and I think it is useful to hear about the bad as well as the good.  Thank you for sharing your experience.

 

We don't expect perfection, but we do expect things to be up to standard. We have had niggles on every cruise (and every cruiseline).  I think the best one was the cabin steward walking in on us having, um, grown up time despite the 'do not disturb' sign on the door.  (Not sure whether I am most upset he just walked in, or that he didn't join in - lol).  Looks like you did the right thing, which is to raise it issues with staff on board at the time - we've found that usually leads to a good and rapid resolution.

 

Useful to know the journey might be more bumpy than usual for our forthcoming cruise.

 

 

[publicpersona]

I will add also that we were pleasantly surprised with the entertainment. We weren’t sure what to expect in one of the first sailings, but the featured performers (singer, magician, and Motown tribute group) were excellent! We didn’t see the comedian first night but others said he was good.

 

The production shows (one of which is upcoming tonight) are just OK for me. I haven’t liked the newer Celebrity/Royal shows that rely more on canned music, original and forgettable songs, and have no theme or story. But again pleasantly surprised that they were being performed at all under the circumstances.

[Bo1953]

9 hours ago, casone said:

We sail on July 10 and we’re told to arrive at 3:30 for a health screening. They seemed very strict about not coming early. Does anyone know how strict they are about this now?

If you chose to arrive at a different time, please come back and let us know the experience.

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

16 hours ago, lux4me said:

I totally agree and learned my lesson posting an opinion on here.  
The people who respond to an opinion with “ I take your opinion with a grain of salt”, or elude you are looking for something need to think.  You have no idea who I am. You don’t know me  I could be a travel expert for Condé Nast or I could be a person on their first cruise.  Either way an opinion is one person’s perspective, and should not be fluffed off or disrespected the was it is constantly done here.  People jump out of their skin over what they may not want to hear.    I’m done with Cruise Critic 

I do not believe that a 'travel expert' would be bailing (or at least announce it) because of one (1) thread or would they?

 

Sorry you were overwhelmed with the differing styles and types of comments to your comment(s).

 

bon voyage

[Bo1953]

2 hours ago, Shadow9612 said:

@lux4me Thank you for your thread and thoughts.  As some others have eluded to here, all opinions are valid and welcome.

 

I've been on Cruise Critic for some years, but rarely start a thread or state my opinions for exactly that reason - not wanted to be slammed or flamed by others for having an opinion which differs.  

 

I have been tempted to stop reading CC for that reason and have thought about leaving (like you said in your post). 

 

However, I have gained (and to continue to) wonderful insights, knowledge, and ideas from many positive posters.  I am grateful for what I've learned from the people who are truly here to help others.  

 

So, I encourage you to stay, cruise past the negativity (pun intended), and don't hesitate to post whenever you feel like it.

 

Just my 2 cents 🙂

s - are these new cents or FCC's from X which you need to use before they expire?? LOL

 

Thank you and bon voyage

[Shadow9612]

3 minutes ago, Bo1953 said:

s - are these new cents or FCC's from X which you need to use before they expire?? LOL

 

Thank you and bon voyage

I can't stop laughing.

 

If they were FCC, they probably already expired.  LOL

 

Keep in mind, those 2 cents were Canadian Funds 😉

 

[Bo1953]

Just now, Shadow9612 said:

I can't stop laughing.

 

If they were FCC, they probably already expired.  LOL

 

Keep in mind, those 2 cents were Canadian Funds 😉

 

Worth even more!!!  LOL

 

bon voyage

[cricketts]

34 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

I will add also that we were pleasantly surprised with the entertainment. We weren’t sure what to expect in one of the first sailings, but the featured performers (singer, magician, and Motown tribute group) were excellent! We didn’t see the comedian first night but others said he was good.

 

The production shows (one of which is upcoming tonight) are just OK for me. I haven’t liked the newer Celebrity/Royal shows that rely more on canned music, original and forgettable songs, and have no theme or story. But again pleasantly surprised that they were being performed at all under the circumstances.

 

What time are the shows scheduled?  I've read many comments that they are good!

[publicpersona]

2 hours ago, cricketts said:

 

What time are the shows scheduled?  I've read many comments that they are good!

 

This will vary by ship and sailing, of course, but there are almost always two shows to accommodate those who eat early and late. For this sailing, all the main theatre shows were at 7 and 9 PM.

[cricketts]

3 minutes ago, publicpersona said:

 

This will vary by ship and sailing, of course, but there are almost always two shows to accommodate those who eat early and late. For this sailing, all the main theatre shows were at 7 and 9 PM.

 

Thank you!  We've made our dining reservations accordingly!

[The_Big_M]

22 hours ago, Bo1953 said:

 

 

Sorry you were overwhelmed with the differing styles and types of comments to your comment(s).

 

 

But not sorry that people tried to dismiss the complaints and turn it back on the poster.

[TennesseeNationVol]

On 7/7/2021 at 9:50 AM, lux4me said:

We are sailing currently on the Edge.  We LOVE being back at sea,   But unfortunately the cutbacks are noticeable. No shows in Eden except for a band at night.   Ship is sailing with 60% crew. 15 min wait for an omelette at the buffet in the am. .  Lack of variety at the buffet (breakfast and lunch) while areas of buffet closed(sandwich station gone, no pasta station).  Dishes served at dinner with missing items.  Some dishes are still very good, others very pedestrian.  Service has been very hit and miss,  I know they are back for 2 weeks.  They are trying,  but the fact is I paid full price,  and the onboard product is not quite ready, especially for the rates Celebrity is asking.
 If anyone has any questions will be happy to answer

 

We just disembarked from the same cruise. Our glass is much more half full. We had an amazing time and service was excellent and the entertainment better than expected given the limited start up notice time. There were some items in more limited availability in OVC. We were more than thrilled to be back on the second US cruise to sail and felt the price was great for the quality of the vacation experience. We have 14 more cruises booked between now and Mid 2023. If you have started to travel lately, you will notice that all hotels and larger venues are having challenges with wait times and adequate staffing. Celebrity Edge did a great job having staff trained and adequate to support a premium cruise vacation experience. Sail away, sail away, sail away!!!

[Sam.Seattle]

On 7/9/2021 at 6:03 AM, slanik said:

We just got off the Millennium on July 3rd.  The crew was fabulous.  You will love them.  They are so friendly and helpful.  They were all lined up as we disembarked, waving to us.  It almost brought tears to my eyes.

Nice to hear!  Looking forward to my B2B on Millie in August. 

Cheers!

🥤

[KKB]

Cutbacks or just an industry that has been shut down for 15 months getting back up to speed?🤷‍♀️

Cutbacks or just the occasional hiccups that inevitably occur in the mainstream service industry?

Not criticizing the OP--I think it was the presentation that put some people off.

Probably the difference between glass half-full vs. half-empty folks.

Edited July 10, 2021 by KKB

[Denny01]

I find it curious when an OP critiques a cruise or a Cruise Line, which is quite acceptable, but when posters disagree or point out their in their opinion, the complaint is either weak or minor, that is considered being a ‘hater’ or inferring we shouldn’t be criticizing the criticism. That doesn’t seem to wash. 

 

If you are going to criticize, I’d expect you’d understand others will disagree and may even point out your criticism is unfounded or minor. 

 

I believe it’s been stated here (I quit reading back) or another post that the ship is 60% crewed. The deck/ship jobs are most likely 100% compliment because it doesn’t matter how many passengers are on board, the ship needs a full team to sail it. So the reduction is obviously in the customer-focused jobs, which means there are some functions that will not be provided or reduced in time or efficiency. 

 

So when the main complaints are over certain things not being available, and the complaint is the customer paid full price, And it is assumed most fully understand what occurs when a business has been shutdown for 18+ months and is just restarting, there will be issues. 

 

It’s good posters let us know what isn’t being provided or what is not being properly/fully supported, but somehow it always gets back to money, which really shouldn’t have been the point, In My Opinion. 

 

Den

[Oxo]

With the shortcomings identified what $/% would you consider a fair price reduction? 

What Category Cabin and price did you pay so we can evaluate your cost reduction. 

Thank you! 

Will you cruise Celebrity again? 

[Bo1953]

11 hours ago, The_Big_M said:

 

But not sorry that people tried to dismiss the complaints and turn it back on the poster.

You are correct, if anyone read it that way...

 

bon voyage

[Hlitner]

Wow, what an enlightening thread :).  I would offer words of encouragement to the OP and suggest ignoring the flaming that is very common throughout CC (not just on the X board).  For those that got upset with the OP's post I would suggest that the idea of CC is not to criticize those who post their opinion but it is fair game to disagree with their analysis.  But cutting through all the flaming here I think there is some disagreement on what to expect on these early cruises (we have seen this on other boards).  If a cruise line is charging their normal (or even increased prices) should folks have a right and expectation that the line is up to their usual standards?   I think a good argument can be made that if cruise lines are not ready to resume operations at their normal quality they should be discounting the price to reflect a lesser product.  

 

Hank

[cangelmd]

Hoo boy - I think we’ve demonstrated a few things, mainly that the tone of anonymous internet posts as read, may or may not be the same as what was intended by the original poster.

 

I think most, in not all of us fell a little guilty, (maybe ashamed) that we are ruminating and complaining over vacations when people around the world are suffering and dying for lack of vaccinations. Having said that, we can go on vacations, land and sea, and help support a travel industry that has been decimated over the last year.

 

Facts and knowledge about what is happening on board is helpful to all of us sailing soon - thanks to the OP and other recent posters. It’s just human nature to want to “fix” what is right now unfixable and to notice little things that were important to the you and made the cruise special.

Whether or not the cruise line should charge less because of a diluted experience is an opinion that many people may share, but it’s not going very far!

[George C]

On 7/9/2021 at 10:16 AM, publicpersona said:

I will add also that we were pleasantly surprised with the entertainment. We weren’t sure what to expect in one of the first sailings, but the featured performers (singer, magician, and Motown tribute group) were excellent! We didn’t see the comedian first night but others said he was good.

 

The production shows (one of which is upcoming tonight) are just OK for me. I haven’t liked the newer Celebrity/Royal shows that rely more on canned music, original and forgettable songs, and have no theme or story. But again pleasantly surprised that they were being performed at all under the circumstances.

I walked out on a couple of the main shows , I am used to rccl entertainment and there main shows are definitely better . But what I loved was they had entertainment starting at one or two on the afternoon by the martini bar and also at eden , there were two different solo guitar players, one was outstanding, there was also a duo playing and a couple of small groups, they played 45 mins sets then about 30 mins later another one would preform . Loved the bartenders at the martini bar served great drinks while juggling bottles , after a couple days we no longer had to show then our cards to get a drink. Suite perks were great also retreat bar and really great bartenders also, and food and service in Luminae was really great. 

[TeeRick]

1 hour ago, Hlitner said:

Wow, what an enlightening thread :).  I would offer words of encouragement to the OP and suggest ignoring the flaming that is very common throughout CC (not just on the X board).  For those that got upset with the OP's post I would suggest that the idea of CC is not to criticize those who post their opinion but it is fair game to disagree with their analysis.  But cutting through all the flaming here I think there is some disagreement on what to expect on these early cruises (we have seen this on other boards).  If a cruise line is charging their normal (or even increased prices) should folks have a right and expectation that the line is up to their usual standards?   I think a good argument can be made that if cruise lines are not ready to resume operations at their normal quality they should be discounting the price to reflect a lesser product.  

 

Hank

Hank a number of good points and I usually agree with your posts.  So here I will disagree a bit and offer my thoughts.  It seems that any alternative thoughts will be considered flaming now by some?

 

Anyway I think it is a difficult thing for many reasons for a cruise line or ship to operate the first cruises- with the pandemic still raging worldwide- at their usual standards.  It is not happening on land yet.  Lots of shortages and lack of labor to bring provisions to the ships.  Fuel price spikes.  Life nowhere near pre-pandemic times.  Cruise ships face these difficulties too.  In addition to all of the capacity limitations, redesign to accommodate COVID positives,  entirely new procedures, testing. All expensive.  A very tall order.  But people are choosing to cruise for the most part knowing this and many posters here have confirmed that and have adjusted their expectations and are just happy being back to this limited early cruising.  That is exactly what it is.  Limited early cruising.  OK then if that is not acceptable, wait a bit to cruise later.  Reduction in price might be helpful and appropriate- but is not happening on these early cruises as long as people keep them in high demand and need to use L&S and deposits.  Theoretically the L&S gives you a lower price (carried from before) and the FCC is a 25% bonus on what you paid.  So each can be considered "discounts" as well as the "price guarantee" program and the "Cruise with Confidence" program with very late cancellations allowable.   If you believe that cruise lines should not cruise until they are up to their usual standards then none of us will be cruising for a very long time and cruise lines will go out of business.  

[JamieLogical]

For those talking about "full price", what exactly is that on a cruise. Prices vary ship-to-ship, week-to-week based on demand. So what's to say what "normal" or "full" prices is? Especially post-COVID with pent up demand and limited capacity?