Not to pile on, but it’s bad…

[OysterD]

On 2/16/2023 at 4:26 AM, mayleeman said:

 

X should have increased fares to cover the shortfalls. Trying to disguise what they are doing by adding on fees for what was included has always, in every industry that has tried it, lowered customer satisfaction. It is obviously doing it here.

 

 

I agree with a lot of what you said, apart from this. I'm in the camp that thinks they shouldn't increase fares for everyone to cover the costs of providing a service to a handful of people. I've not used room service before and probably never will. I don't know what percentage of passengers do use room service but based off a very unscientific method of observing how many trays you see sat outside cabins while walking corridors I'd guess it was way less than half of passengers. 

 

Friends recently booked a cruise for themselves and extended family on a Celebrity ship. I had actually encouraged them to think about other cruise lines instead, ones which would have more activities for all their kids. However, in this case it came down to comparing prices on different lines for the week long period when everyone could get off work and school. The headline price of the Celebrity cruise was the most reasonable so they've booked 5 or 6 cabins and saved a good few hundred pounds versus the alternatives they saw.

 

The headline price of a cruise still matters to a lot of people, especially when there are so many comparison websites where you can easily just plug a date and destination in and sort by price. You don't want your cruiseline to appear at the bottom of that list all the time. I told my friends there is now a charge for room service and the response was "that doesnt matter, we'll never use it". 

 

 

[weregoingcruising]

4 minutes ago, OysterD said:

 

I agree with a lot of what you said, apart from this. I'm in the camp that thinks they shouldn't increase fares for everyone to cover the costs of providing a service to a handful of people. I've not used room service before and probably never will. I don't know what percentage of passengers do use room service but based off a very unscientific method of observing how many trays you see sat outside cabins while walking corridors I'd guess it was way less than half of passengers. 

 

Friends recently booked a cruise for themselves and extended family on a Celebrity ship. I had actually encouraged them to think about other cruise lines instead, ones which would have more activities for all their kids. However, in this case it came down to comparing prices on different lines for the week long period when everyone could get off work and school. The headline price of the Celebrity cruise was the most reasonable so they've booked 5 or 6 cabins and saved a good few hundred pounds versus the alternatives they saw.

 

The headline price of a cruise still matters to a lot of people, especially when there are so many comparison websites where you can easily just plug a date and destination in and sort by price. You don't want your cruiseline to appear at the bottom of that list all the time. I told my friends there is now a charge for room service and the response was "that doesnt matter, we'll never use it". 

 

 

We leave our trays in the cabin for room service or our cabin attendant to remove. It helps to avoid the unsightly clutter in the hallways.

[thebutlerdidit]

10 minutes ago, OysterD said:

 

I've not used room service before and probably never will. I don't know what percentage of passengers do use room service but based off a very unscientific method of observing how many trays you see sat outside cabins while walking corridors I'd guess it was way less than half of passengers. . 

 

 

I wouldn’t use trays in the hall as a measure of how many passengers utilize room service. I’ve used room service plenty and never set a tray of dishes outside my door. The dishes can be cleared when the room is serviced. 

[thebutlerdidit]

2 minutes ago, weregoingcruising said:

We leave our trays in the cabin for room service or our cabin attendant to remove. It helps to avoid the unsightly clutter in the hallways.

You beat me to it! 

[jules27556]

10 minutes ago, thebutlerdidit said:

I wouldn’t use trays in the hall as a measure of how many passengers utilize room service. I’ve used room service plenty and never set a tray of dishes outside my door. The dishes can be cleared when the room is serviced. 

Plus it is my understanding the Continental breakfast does not have the $9.95+18% fees.  I can only assume that a tray is used to deliver. So I agree trays may not be a reliable measure of RS utilization.   

[catgirl411]

I have to say that I don’t get the obsession with room service. In over 25 cruises, we’ve had it exactly once. That was this past August when we had our first ever suite and it was breakfast the day we sailed in Glacier Bay. That was glorious and I would gladly have paid a service charge if required.  Most of the cabins we’ve been in don’t have a proper table eat at so we don’t find the experience enjoyable. But to each their own preference. 

[Guest 4-2-N-8]

8 hours ago, TiredofTheGame said:

I think all of Cruising has changed for the worst..But if people keep sailing Celebrity...They wont change back to being a Great cruise line

Sort of like, ...

 

We have to destroy the village to save the village.

 

Now where have I heard that before? 🤔 

[HMR74]

22 minutes ago, 4-2-N-8 said:

Sort of like, ...

 

We have to destroy the village to save the village.

 

Now where have I heard that before? 🤔 

before that, if you had a good company you just tweaked things.

 

Management is still responsible for everything.

 

on the room service above--we in the afternoon in aqua when we were tired used to take a drink back to cabin and have shrip cocktail delivered to room, and gave $2-3 to the staff for bringing it.

now its the nickle and diming for room service but I like others think X is discouraging room service which I think is a strategic error.

 

They go back on forth between all inclusive and ala carte  which in my lingo is they are throwing stuff up on the wall to see what sticks.

 

You cannot and should not keep changing policies esp if you had a successful company.

 

I used to feel it was a magical experience once you stepped on board. Everything came together beautifully whether you booked Retreat  or  inside cabins.

 

 

 

 

[HMR74]

Celebrity now has a call back system, so when I called this AM to have them fix a small problem, and was told 30 minutes, it gave me the option to go into the call back system.

 

Of course thats not fail safe.

Last year I used Americans call back at dinner time  and they estimated 3 hours. The call came in at 4 AM, 10 hours later.

 

There has to be a motherload of wasted effort (read $$$ wasted) going on in these businesses. Among other reasons I called in becasue I was slightly  overcharged on upgrading from basic to premium internet. But that "slight" overcharge multiplied by who knows how many customers adds up to some real money.

 

and I also learned that when you upgrade, to get the captains club status discounts, you have to call in, its not tied to your status if you do it yourself on line. But even after I called in and rebooked to get the discount, the system which should be flawless overcharged me by 3.32 but also said I had only 1 device, not the 2 I booked and paid for. Cringe.

Edited February 17, 2023 by HMR74

[rmalbers]

I saw the comment above about room service shrimp cocktail:  That reminds me, the shrimp cocktail now (after Jan 1) contains three small shrimp so if you do that with room service make sure and order more than one, lol! 

[HMR74]

Just now, rmalbers said:

I saw the comment above about room service shrimp cocktail:  That reminds me, the shrimp cocktail now (after Jan 1) contains three small shrimp so if you do that with room service make sure and order more than one, lol! 

LOL, actually we were on Royal thanksgiving with family and 4 cabins where the steward opened the balcony dividers.

 We had 2 of the cabins order the breakfast-saved 20 bucks,  and the kids went to the adults balcony for the meal. And when it can to ordering the hot breakfast we ordered a bit extra of everything and mostly it was all consumed.

 

and rather than putting trays outside the cabine we neatly stacked the trays and other stuff so it was easier for our steward to clean up our cabins. They are on the clock afterall.

[librarylady19]

Just on Reflection last week and this was not my experience. Food in MDR was great, service was on point, cabin steward was efficient and responsive.  Did not have dinner in Oceanview so can't comment on that. Went for lunch once and it was fine (much more choice than on Harmony cruise week before where food was gross in Windjammer). 

[HMR74]

10 minutes ago, librarylady19 said:

Just on Reflection last week and this was not my experience. Food in MDR was great, service was on point, cabin steward was efficient and responsive.  Did not have dinner in Oceanview so can't comment on that. Went for lunch once and it was fine (much more choice than on Harmony cruise week before where food was gross in Windjammer). 

did they serve prime rib on reflection MDR?

[bigbenboys]

We have over 30 cruises with Celebrity. We have done 4 cruises on Celebrity since fall of 2021. We were in Aqua or Suites. Both cruises in Aqua were great. Our Sep 2022 cruise we were in a suite. My thoughts on Luminae was that I must be cruising in suites to much. The food just is not as good as last June on Millie. I did get a very nice one inch thick Prime Rib and it was great. 

I informed our TA that we were canceling our South American cruise for April. I got a final notice the other day for our May cruise. I informed our TA we were canceling May and Dec cruises. We are keeping our Sep 2023 cruise. It is a cruise we have not done before.

It just does not seem like a good time to cruise. We had done the SA cruise before. Same with our New England cruise in May. Our Dec cruise is LA to Chile. 

What we were doing instead. January we did a land vacation to an inclusive resorts in Playacar, Mexico. April going to Las Vegas to see Patti LuPone. June to see friends living in Turks and Caicos. Dec we will visit friends in England for Christmas.

I'm hoping 2024 will be a better year for Celebrity.

[jules27556]

18 minutes ago, HMR74 said:

did they serve prime rib on reflection MDR?

Beef Wellington, filet and other quality beef dishes?  

 

Midwestern girl here with fingers crossed!🤞

[HMR74]

14 minutes ago, jules27556 said:

Beef Wellington, filet and other quality beef dishes?  

 

Midwestern girl here with fingers crossed!🤞

took a while to pull this out of my business memory, but, 

 

"quality"  has 3 parts.

 

1) on beef, 3 levels  prime, choice or select. On fish, its resaurant quality you want.

2) then is it hamburger prime or steak prime whether its NY Strip, porter house, filet, or Prime rib or other cuts , or yes Beef Wellington -,our  last cruise on Royal in MDR we had  Beef wellington, and Prime Rib. and other interesting options.

3) then you have the  quality in preparation-and presentation, and whether its hot when brought to table

Lets face it, Cruise food is institutional. Usually good insitutional but its one big production line.

 

 

[AstoriaPreppy]

19 hours ago, morfred said:

Well I am very happy for you. Unfortunately many (many) others found the opposite to be true. I guess that we have different realities or different standards either of which might be true.

 

Fair. I do live in NY, which is known for having low standards for food and beverage service across the board 😂

[jagoffee]

17 hours ago, Keys Kathy said:

I am trying not to lose faith, but I just looked at a Panama Canal on Beyond in a Veranda. Nothing included is $1650., AI is $4049. an add-on of $218. PP Per night! Basically twice the fair.

 

They send me an advertisement for AI, but that is not where they send me price-wise. 

 

Do you think there is a chance of a snowball in Florida that they will tell us if they fix the problems? I really don't want to book, even with my FR, if it is not going to be better. 

 

I am sad. I really would like to sail again, but DH was so unhappy with the Millie Feb 3-11 that I don't know if I can get him to agree after the last experience. 

What is the date of the Beyond Panama Cruise?  Those numbers do not seem like an Apple to Apple comparison. I want to check it out.

[Married90]

1 hour ago, HMR74 said:

did they serve prime rib on reflection MDR?

How come every time someone states that MDR was great the same question keeps getting asked was prime rib on the menu?   We ALL for at least  the hundredth time is is presently not on the MDR menu .   Give it a break….   Sorry for the rant….

[AstoriaPreppy]

10 minutes ago, Married90 said:

How come every time someone states that MDR was great the same question keeps getting asked was prime rib on the menu?   We ALL for at least  the hundredth time is is presently not on the MDR menu .   Give it a break….   Sorry for the rant….

 

everyone on Cruise Critic:

 

[tfred]

21 minutes ago, Married90 said:

How come every time someone states that MDR was great the same question keeps getting asked was prime rib on the menu?   We ALL for at least  the hundredth time is is presently not on the MDR menu .   Give it a break….   Sorry for the rant….

you forgot OVC dinner and Room Service.   On and On and On....

[Keys Kathy]

I know we were dissatisfied to the point that I really am not looking to book especially with the current prices. If I am going to get Carnival Food, I expect to pay Carnival prices. Beyond that, how will we know if and when they fix it? 

 

I have no desire to constantly check the Celebrity Boards to see what people are saying. 

 

From their website " Where the culinary experience is influenced by global cuisines and designed by our Michelin-starred chef."  I didn't know chefs got stars for pot pie, tough steak, 3 small shrimp in a shrimp cocktail or really bad gnocchi.

 

Also from the website "Relaxed Luxury^sm" 

What is the meaning of luxury food?

It is proposed that luxury foods are those foods that offer a refinement in texture, taste, fat content or other quality (such as stimulant or inebriant) and offer distinction, because of either their quantity or quality. 

 

Heck, they didn't even have mushrooms or cheese quesadillas!

 

So how do you think they will let us know when they have fixed the problem? I can't see them being voted number 1 on anything with the current level of food and service, so we can't count on that. 

 

Your thoughts?

[Keys Kathy]

39 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

What is the date of the Beyond Panama Cruise?  Those numbers do not seem like an Apple to Apple comparison. I want to check it out.

Feb 3 2025. The price is different today. Now it is $2550 for AI. $81 PP PD, which makes sense.

[HMR74]

47 minutes ago, Married90 said:

How come every time someone states that MDR was great the same question keeps getting asked was prime rib on the menu?   We ALL for at least  the hundredth time is is presently not on the MDR menu .   Give it a break….   Sorry for the rant….

dont be sorry,or rant  try to understand the point. Which was quality has various meanings. The deline in quality is dropping expensive cuts. it is going from prime to select say in Luminae, it is the  decline in presentation.

 

all this happening when prices are up substantially. When one buys a Lexus vs Toyota, one expects better materials in the  better qualtiy, eg the brakes have better specs the window glass is better and a bit thicker, bigger better engine.

 

When someone says it was great, the natural question is give me specifics. Whether  prime rib or beef wellington or filet is on menus is a part of the objective rating system vs just being subjective. The sauces used and  what else is on plate. The size of the serving (hot dogsfor example at hot dog stands nation wide can be 8 to a pound or 6 or 4 to a pound.  Ice cream containers getting  smaller, cereal boxes getting smaller,

 

Thats my point. Its not whining. But it is looking at whats the standard.

 

We all understand that Luminae is better, and blu is not necesarily as good as Lumiane but different and better than MDR overall. Specialy dining is a big profit center is what MDR was a longtime ago, split aparet by cuisine and charging full price.

I wil say havng lunch in MDR on sea days is not exciting. Cal it a hash house. Ordered roasted chicken one time and out comes a perfectly white plate with a piece of chicken  and a scoop of mashed potatoe and what was canned vegetable. Blah.Not paying for Blah Not paying for top excellence either but it should be better than it is.

 

Order a burger and they will not cook it medium, they cook them all well done and will not entertain an override. The Lunch Royal Burger in MDR every day  is far better than the MDR  lunch Burger or Mast Grill Burger  on X, perhaps because when its finished they put it on a tray till its served.

 

 

 

Edited February 17, 2023 by HMR74

[catgirl411]

27 minutes ago, Keys Kathy said:

I know we were dissatisfied to the point that I really am not looking to book especially with the current prices. If I am going to get Carnival Food, I expect to pay Carnival prices. Beyond that, how will we know if and when they fix it? 

 

I have no desire to constantly check the Celebrity Boards to see what people are saying. 

 

From their website " Where the culinary experience is influenced by global cuisines and designed by our Michelin-starred chef."  I didn't know chefs got stars for pot pie, tough steak, 3 small shrimp in a shrimp cocktail or really bad gnocchi.

 

Also from the website "Relaxed Luxury^sm" 

What is the meaning of luxury food?

It is proposed that luxury foods are those foods that offer a refinement in texture, taste, fat content or other quality (such as stimulant or inebriant) and offer distinction, because of either their quantity or quality. 

 

Heck, they didn't even have mushrooms or cheese quesadillas!

 

So how do you think they will let us know when they have fixed the problem? I can't see them being voted number 1 on anything with the current level of food and service, so we can't count on that. 

 

Your thoughts?

I’m not sure what you are expecting. You were unhappy with your experience as were others on this (and other threads). There are also people who are happy with their experience. I can’t imagine that Celebrity is going to contact you at some point to tell you they’ve “fixed the problem”. Therefore you are stuck with places like Cruise Critic to see what others are experiencing. In addition, a trusted TA can help you based on what their other clients are saying.  And as for descriptions on the website those are marketing words and should always be taken with a grain of salt.