Is cruising losing its sparkle?

[grandgeezer]

9 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

That, without a doubt, is the most positive post from you that I've ever seen...😐

I call it like I see it good or bad. Most of the time I try to explain my reasoning because most of the time I’m in the minority, but I have the conviction to speak my mind and not be influenced by the naysayers. 

[Dolebludger]

We have no cruised since before the pandemic. We live in a “tourist town” in the Colorado mountains, and our hospitality industry has gone way down hill due to labor and supply shortages. Four of our better restaurants closed, and the remainder have reduced days and hours open and menu choices. Service is not good, and neither is the food. Vegas isn’t that far away, so last May we tried a very short get away there. Though we stayed in a lux hotel, service was really bad, and prices were really high! Because of our local and near-by experiences, we are concerned that the cruise lines may be having the same problems, though hope they are not. Still, we can’t bring ourselves to book a cruise. Ant advice?

[Georgia_Peaches]

1 hour ago, Dolebludger said:

Still, we can’t bring ourselves to book a cruise.

It's like riding a bicycle!  Find a cruise deal and jump back in!  As with most things post pandemic, you may have to make room for some changes and differences.  I'm about to take my 2nd cruise since the restart.  We waited for the masking and social distancing requirements to be dropped before diving back in.  And now that the vaccine mandate has been dropped, we have some friends who will join us on the next one!  

[swigso]

We too were on the Reflection sailing from Rome 16 Sept and also were in a suite and dined in Luminae. We have cruised so many times on Celebrity the first time on the Summit in 2002 when formal nights were, well formal.

Yes things have changed but then again hasn’t everything. We loved our sailing and it was fantastic to be back on a ship. We found the food and service to be wonderful never met anyone coughing and used the stairs rather than the elevators.

Walked and walked around the ship we love Aruba too but just enjoy being in a different place every day. Whilst we are able we will continue to cruise.  Definitely not losing its spark for us.

 

Edited October 10, 2022 by swigso

[chemmo]

13 minutes ago, swigso said:

We too were on the Reflection sailing from Rome 16 Sept and also were in a suite and dined in Luminae. We have cruised so many times on Celebrity the first time on the Summit in 2002 when formal nights were, well formal.

Yes things have changed but then again hasn’t everything. We loved our sailing and it was fantastic to be back on a ship. We found the food and service to be wonderful never met anyone coughing and used the stairs rather than the elevators.

Walked and walked around the ship we love Aruba too but just enjoy being in a different place every day. Whilst we are able we will continue to cruise.  Definitely not losing its spark for us.

 

So pleased you enjoyed your cruise…Make life continue to sparkle for you!

[swigso]

1 minute ago, chemmo said:

So pleased you enjoyed your cruise…Make life continue to sparkle for you!

Oh we definitely will our glasses are always half full.

always enjoy your posts and I am sure we have met you on a previous sailing.

Take care and stay safe. Happy cruising 

[frito58]

I believe for LONG time cruisers you need to go out be adventurous and try new things to keep it fun , most of our 30 something cruises have been Carnival and Royal Caribbean basically 50/50 over the past 20 years I have now jumped onto Celebrity started booking Retreat rooms which look wonderful and have started booking Norwegian and finding different type itineraries. That’s just my personal opinion. 

[rmalbers]

I think it's because most people have cruised to the places they've wanted to go.  I did a Viking Expedition ship in the US Great Lakes for something new and different (and have another Viking cruise booked). 

[MISTER 67]

Is crusing what is was 40 years ago when the lines couldn't do enough for the passengers and there was no nickel and diming on the ships and some lines even offered free air on US cruises. 

That being said we just disembarked the Infinity on Saturday and it was a great cruise with very good food, wonderful entertainment along with great service. The Infinity is a great ship, just the right size at 91,000 tons with a capacity of 2,100, we had 1,442 on the ship. The ship for being 21 years old was in great shape and was  clean as a whistle. 

[MISTER 67]

1 minute ago, MISTER 67 said:

Is crusing what is was 40 years ago when the lines couldn't do enough for the passengers and there was no nickel and diming on the ships and some lines even offered free air on US cruises. 

That being said we just disembarked the Infinity on Saturday and it was a great cruise with very good food, wonderful entertainment along with great service. The Infinity is a great ship, just the right size at 91,000 tons with a capacity of 2,100, we had 1,442 on the ship. The ship for being 21 years old was in great shape and was  clean as a whistle. We also had a super Captain, Yiannis Kamaratis, he was visable just about everyday including some appearances before the shows in the Celebrity theater. He also said goodbye and thank you to all the passengers as we disembarked the ship.

 

[Lastdance]

3 hours ago, Dolebludger said:

We have no cruised since before the pandemic. We live in a “tourist town” in the Colorado mountains, and our hospitality industry has gone way down hill due to labor and supply shortages. Four of our better restaurants closed, and the remainder have reduced days and hours open and menu choices. Service is not good, and neither is the food. Vegas isn’t that far away, so last May we tried a very short get away there. Though we stayed in a lux hotel, service was really bad, and prices were really high! Because of our local and near-by experiences, we are concerned that the cruise lines may be having the same problems, though hope they are not. Still, we can’t bring ourselves to book a cruise. Ant advice?

You hit the nail on the head; it is all over the place, just in varying degrees.  A lot more stress in planning long vacations overseas, especially b2b's with land stays included.  However, my risk tolerance is still above medium, but that could change in the next month...TBD!  So, I have kinda, sorta made travel into a game because I've always loved a challenge, not to mention the resilency factor of just moving forward without prisoners.

Edited October 10, 2022 by Lastdance

[frito58]

2 hours ago, rmalbers said:

I think it's because most people have cruised to the places they've wanted to go.  I did a Viking Expedition ship in the US Great Lakes for something new and different (and have another Viking cruise booked). 

Oh we are doing something different every cruise now , we heading to Europe/Rome and TA home . Then a Panama Canal cruise , then South America, then back to Europe. It’s something different every time . Same ole thing  bores us to death . May have to try that Great Lakes one some day . 

[Catnip]

21 hours ago, grandgeezer said:

In the eyes of this beholder, cruising lost it’s sparkle long before covid. This beholder’s opinion is based on 47 cruises with almost 500 days at sea, with about 240 on Celebrity and 65 on RCL., none after October 2019.

Agreed, similar opinion for me, based on over 65 cruises. 

[Sam.Seattle]

On 10/7/2022 at 6:11 PM, ShelleyQT said:

 

We just got off the Solstice 6 days ago.  Service and food were spectacular!  Everyone, including staff and guests were so friendly!  Definitely our best cruise yet.  And, I want to point out that we were in a basic balcony cabin, so not in Aqua class or above.

Not to mention based on your signature, this was your 1st Celebrity Cruise!  No more CCL or NCL for you I would assume.  

 

[Maria63]

DH & I have been on a cruise-binge since the first week in September, first the Norwegian fjords on RCI:s Jewel, then b2b in the Med on RCI:s Wonder, and currently on Beyond. In a few days we continue with RCI:s Vision, and then it's over to NCL Epic. The binge will continue in Jan 2023 on RCI:s Spectrum in Singapore, followed by HAL and finally Costa Toscana to get us back to Europe (if all goes acc. to plan).

 

Reason for all this cruising is that we had a LOT of FCC:s due to covid-cancellations. I was very, very reluctant to go at all, we were caught up in the midst of the cancellation-circus in Feb-March 2020 while in Southeast Asia. It left a very bad taste, not just for cruising but for travel in general, due to all the hassle and having to scramble to get home when flights were cancelled all over the place and rules were changing daily.... At the same time the cruise companies waited to the very last minute to cancel, and people were left hanging without knowing if a cruise will go ahead in a few days or not.

 

But now I'm very happy that we are cruising again, and so far we haven't noticed that things would be any worse or significantly different than pre-covid. I'd say that right now cruising feels just as good as before - or perhaps even better now that the masks are coming off the crew, and everyone seems very happy and enthusiastic that things are getting back to normal. So far we haven't noticed any issues with crew-numbers or training & experience of staff. The wine-selection is perhaps a bit limited at times but that's about the only supply-chain related issue we have encountered so far. Once on board, people also mingle and socialize much as before, though a few still wear masks - which is perfectly fine too.

[Nemanoxer]

I recommend everybody to take a break from cruising every now and then. For some unpleasant personal reasons, I had to refrain from it for about 2 years. As well, I felt the sparkle was gone. Why?

Prices went up, quality went down. Also did not like the latest Celebrity Cruises ship class. So, I did some oldschool holidays on land and enjoyed them very much. Recommendable  😉

 

However, early this year Celebrity hit me with a 12 nights cruise on my favourite ship (EQ) in a Concierge Class midship balcony stateroom for a bottom low price, so I said to myself "oh c´mon, one more time...". 

 

What can I say? Food was not really good, and I ended up disppointed with the food. But... Everything else was sweet and nice, especially the Production Shows cast. So, my sparkle is back.

 

I will go on a cruise again. Only issue is - as long as I have to expect average quality,  I will never again pay premium pricing. And that´s my bottom line that helps me decide "will I cruise or not".

[chisoxfan]

1 hour ago, Nemanoxer said:

I recommend everybody to take a break from cruising every now and then. For some unpleasant personal reasons, I had to refrain from it for about 2 years. As well, I felt the sparkle was gone. Why?

Prices went up, quality went down. Also did not like the latest Celebrity Cruises ship class. So, I did some oldschool holidays on land and enjoyed them very much. Recommendable  😉

 

However, early this year Celebrity hit me with a 12 nights cruise on my favourite ship (EQ) in a Concierge Class midship balcony stateroom for a bottom low price, so I said to myself "oh c´mon, one more time...". 

 

What can I say? Food was not really good, and I ended up disppointed with the food. But... Everything else was sweet and nice, especially the Production Shows cast. So, my sparkle is back.

 

I will go on a cruise again. Only issue is - as long as I have to expect average quality,  I will never again pay premium pricing. And that´s my bottom line that helps me decide "will I cruise or not".

Totally agree with you on the value proposition issue. With retirement at hand have been actively looking at cruises by X, HAL, and even Princess but when I get to the reservation 'button' shake my head.

Have also been a bit surprised that cabin availability on many cruises is poor which also is a negative (for booking). I suspect that the cruise system is still working off years of FCC's  (and maybe some pent up demand).

To some extent I have been spoiled by many years of 'high value' cruising options. Cruises every year  and Vegas were high on our list and we extolled their virtues to anyone who would listen. As an aside we used to travel to Disney World every year and stay at their on grounds resorts. Pricing got so outrageous (IMHO) we tired of this and actually tried cruising as an alternative. 

We will travel extensively in the future (God willing) and am sure cruising will remain part of our plans but with a more selective eye. So maybe the sparkle remains in one eye currently.

 

 

[Denny01]

@chisoxfan, you expect us to seriously take the opinion of someone who is a White Sox Fan!?!?! What kind of ‘taste’ does that demonstrate??

 

I root for two teams, the BelovedDodgers and for Any team playing the HatedYankees…..which at times includes the ChiSox.

 

den

[SailingHigher]

We have been frequent cruisers on various size ships and a river boat since 1991. Our recent 9 days on the Beyond have confirmed that the sparkle of big ship cruising is gone for us now that we're entering our golden years. The Retreat was wonderful. The service was great. I cannot criticize Celebrity or the ship (other than to be very disappointed in the Ocean View cafe offerings). Our big problem was the cruise ship induced crowds in each port. We thought "shoulder season" would be different, but that wasn't the case in late September 2022. It was no fun trying to squeeze through so many crowded streets. When four ships with 2,000+ passengers arrive at once, what's the onshore experience likely to be? We love traveling and we love the sea, but if we keep cruising, it's only small ships from here forward for us. 

[Denny01]

35 minutes ago, SailingHigher said:

….Our big problem was the cruise ship induced crowds in each port. We thought "shoulder season" would be different, but that wasn't the case in late September 2022. It was no fun trying to squeeze through so many crowded streets. When four ships with 2,000+ passengers arrive at once, what's the onshore experience likely to be? We love traveling and we love the sea, but if we keep cruising, it's only small ships from here forward for us. 

I know some of the small ships go to less crowded ports, but many of the port calls, no matter the size of ship, have many larger ships and crowds ashore.

 

Life with so many finding and loving cruising. And of course the crowds of non-cruising tourists.

 

Den

[Maria63]

1 hour ago, SailingHigher said:

Our big problem was the cruise ship induced crowds in each port. We thought "shoulder season" would be different, but that wasn't the case in late September 2022. It was no fun trying to squeeze through so many crowded streets. When four ships with 2,000+ passengers arrive at once, what's the onshore experience likely to be? We love traveling and we love the sea, but if we keep cruising, it's only small ships from here forward for us.

This is very true indeed (and one reason why we tend to stay onboard in some of the ports and just enjoy the ship). If you ask me, the popular Med-ports lose some of the crowds only in late fall and winter - but then the weather can be an issue. Going for a smaller and more upscale ship is no guarantee that you'll escape the crowds either. We've had many Med-ports with Azamara, Viking and Oceania parked right next to Wonder, Epic, and the newest MSC & Costa ships. You tend to feel for the folks who perhaps paid a hefty premium thinking they'd get a more exclusive experience in port....

 

There are still interesting regions to explore that are not yet popular cruise-destinations. The Baltics rarely get crowded even in the height of summer, and the Middle-East and East & Southeast Asia can also be visited on a cruise. Even Saudi-Arabia is now slowly-slowly opening up to cruise-tourism. But to visit new regions, one may have to go outside one's usual comfort-zone when chosing the cruise line & ship

[JCruise85]

People have been complaining about cruising standards going downhill since commercial cruising was a thing.

Almost as if things change over time or something.

[Kilroyshere]

25+ years cruising and none since Covid.

 

We're booked for a December X holiday cruise.

 

Pre-cruise communications, information, customer service lines, marketing, reservations, the website/app and the entire booking experience has imposed a lot of stress and uncertainty to what cruising used to be.

 

Yeah, the luster has been diminished pre-cruise planning and we're hoping the cruise itself is not affected so.

[Fartlek]

My wife and I went on a cruise to Alaska in August.  Wonderful trip and enjoyed all aspects of the cruise.  The sparkle was there still for cruising.  The  only problem is on the last night we notice a lot (over 60%) hacking and coughing.  Unfortunately  when we got home we did test positive for covid. We are both very healthy, no underlying conditions, on no medication and  triple vaxed.  The illness was moderate but not mild.  We tested negative after 9 days and most of the symptoms had gone.  HOwever, I have a lingering cough that i absolutely cannot shake.   So as much as we enjoy cruising, the idea of getting sick has taken some of the sparkle away.  Watching facebook pages it seems a lot of people are still getting sick after a 7 day cruise so it probably worse if you are on for longer stay.  For most, the illness seems to be fairly mild and I thought if we got it that it would not be too much to worry about.  Since I'm still coughing after more than a month it will be sometime before I consider another cruise.  

[Kilroyshere]

26 minutes ago, Fartlek said:

My wife and I went on a cruise to Alaska in August.  Wonderful trip and enjoyed all aspects of the cruise.  The sparkle was there still for cruising.  The  only problem is on the last night we notice a lot (over 60%) hacking and coughing.  Unfortunately  when we got home we did test positive for covid...

That's a heavy dose of reality.