Celebrity at a crossroads

[chamima]

38 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

The family/kid thing will always be a hot debate. Celebrity doesn't do much to appeal to families with kids but people still bring them on. Some love it, some hate it. 

 

Some of the first time crowd is partially driven by the cheap prices offered during the midst of COVID. That will eventually wash through. Will they return any time soon? I doubt it. Traveling with kids during spring break season isn't the best time to really get a fully representative experience either. 

 

Ultimately if you are looking for a high brow experience, a mass market cruise line isn't it. Especially during spring break. 

 

15 minutes ago, cruisingator2 said:

I think that we’re seeing a different kind of cruiser lately from websites like urcomped. The casino has been sending out invites left and right and certain companies send out offers for Celebrity almost weekly. So for the cost of taxes and fees some guests are getting a bargain and many are trying X for the first time due to those type offers. I see it on FB all of the time. As ships fill up, offers will slow down. This is now happening on RCI. 

 

 

I certainly hope you're both right.

We didn't sail during spring break or St. Patrick's Day but saw some of the loudest rudest behavior we've ever  experienced.

@cruisingator2 - The loud table of extremely inebriated people next to us in Blu were all talking about their "free" cruise. But also , unfortunately , talked about how many other free cruises they had booked from the casino in the future.

As far as children - they were all well behaved (yes they sometimes ran around but never screamed obscenities or treated others meanly or condescendingly like some of the adults we saw). I'd sail any day with any of the children we saw on this winter's cruises.

Edited March 20, 2023 by chamima

[TeeRick]

2 hours ago, odyssyus said:

you gotta watch out for that band of miscreants eating fried food!.. those ne'er do wells'!

I wonder what would happen if Celebrity offered a second lobster tail for free, but it was fried ?  That would be a dilemma to those fried food naysayers I bet!😃  And no french fries at the Mast Grill?  Mutiny for sure.

[alyssamma]

4 hours ago, Crazy planning mom said:

Posts like these worry me.  We are only going on our 2nd Celebrity cruise next year and we are taking family who have never sailed Celebrity before.  I am overweight although I can certainly stand.  My family members do enjoy drinking and smoking.  We are nice people.  Will we be judged and given nasty looks?

Nope, and while I'm not as experienced as others here with X, I've personally never witnessed any of this behavior. Do I believe it exists? Yes. Do I believe it is "common?" Absolutely not. 

 

99% of the people I've encountered on X have been friendly and easy going. Some were drunk, some were sober. None of the drunk ones were like drunks I've seen on Carnival or RCCL. 

 

Again, does this exists? Is there anecdotal evidence of it? I have no doubt the answer is yes. But it isn't close to being widespread.

 

If you are nice and treat other people as nice, you'll have ZERO problems...enjoy your cruise!

[C4HCG]

2 hours ago, chamima said:

 

 

We are just off of 38 days on the Equinox and I couldn't agree with you more.

The crew couldn't have been nicer or more accommodating and being on the ship that long we got close to some of them - they noticed it too.

I wrote in all 4 of my post cruise surveys that if this is the vibe Celebrity is looking to promote then we are looking for other cruiselines for the future.

 

From what you write,I am assuming you did 4 cruises back to back. So you are saying on all 4 of those you saw this type of behaviour. If so you have had incredibly bad luck. We have done 4 cruises in total and not seen one example of it at all, said in an earlier post worst we’d seen was queue jumpers. On reflection we also had table hoggers in the OVC playing cards at busy times but that was it. Plenty of people drinking lots of alcohol but honestly nobody misbehaving as the OP describes. 

Edited March 20, 2023 by C4HCG

[binro01]

49 minutes ago, dlh015 said:

Nicely put. Variety is, indeed, the spice of life. 

 

Us Geminis know that...right, @binro01 ?

We sure love to keep it spicy and varied. 🙂 

[alyssamma]

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

For a replacement, I have MSC Yacht Club booked for next March

LOL, good luck with MSC. They probably have the worst problems of any cruise line and their YC product has steadily increased in price and declined in perks/qualities post covid.

 

I used to sail them all the time until I found X. Now they are my line of choice, but YMMV.

[Redtravel]

Most recent Celebrity cruise had all kinds of people.  Sadly, many looked like they rolled out of bed and onto the ship.   Pajamas in the MDR for breakfast.  Torn jeans, gym shorts, hats, flip flops, muscle shirts, etc.  were often seen at dinner in MDR.  Before pandemic , you never saw this.  Celebrity accepts everyone, but disregards their own dress codes. It’s more of a come as you are.  Why not?  Guests pay. The more guests, the more profit.  Celebrity is not what it was before the pandemic.  Accept or move on.

[C4HCG]

2 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

Torn jeans, gym shorts, hats, flip flops, muscle shirts, etc.  were often seen at dinner in MDR. 

Really? Sailed both pre and post covid and have never seen one example of this and have often seen people being turned away for not being dressed within the rules.  

[JFontaine]

To the original poster: I can't let this go. You are judging the 'quality of people' by the amount of fried food that they eat (how can you possibly know), and their physical disability ('they can barely stand').   You do realize that you are talking about some very nice people here who are reading your words. Do you care? 

[Tigerfnan23]

Weve done two Celebrity cruises in the last six months and I've gotta say dodging people using walkers was much more of an issue than dealing with passed out drunks.  

[goofysmom99]

I cruised many, many years to reach zenith on Celebrity and have four future cruises, all booked onboard so only $100 deposit each.  I choose Concierge cabins for location, however, I'm becoming disenchanted about X's prices.  I would love to book a higher level cabin so I could dine somewhere other than MDR and OVC.  Checked the prices for next year's 13-night Silhouette TA out of Barcelona.  My C2 cabin solo is $2942; A2 $5850; S2 $10134.  Factoring in the gratuities I'd pay with C2, it would cost me $2674 more (+$205/night) to eat in Blu and $7205 more (+$554/night) to eat in Luminae.  Blu and Luminae have always been lovely, but not that lovely.  So I checked Silversea (all suites).  A veranda (separate shower and tub) all-in for 14-night TA would be $5813.  That's less than Blu and includes butler, minibar, bevs, wifi (not the premium, though), self-serve laundry, excursions, and specialty restaurants (probably left something out).  Plus ALL areas of the ship are accessible to all pax, including forward lounge.  Even with my free wifi and bev, the C2 (MDR) just isn't worth the price to me.  I'm willing to pay more for a better experience but Blu @ $450/night doesn't compare to Silversea's better cabin and benefits @$415/night.  Sooooo, it saddens me to say that I'm jumping ship from X to Silversea next year.  

 

BTW, on one of my February Summit cruises, I did see a younger demographic.  I did notice a few knee-walking drunks but they were happy and harmless.  My favorite moment was watching a couple wearing bathing suits (no coverup) walk through Rendezvous to line up for dinner in MDR the first night....and then stroll back through the Rendezvous after being turned away.  They both stood in front of my chair to dance to the music and I saw things burned into my brain (they boogied there for the rest of the set - I moved).  That was a personal first for me.

Edited March 20, 2023 by goofysmom99

[odyssyus]

14 minutes ago, JFontaine said:

To the original poster: I can't let this go. You are judging the 'quality of people' by the amount of fried food that they eat (how can you possibly know), and their physical disability ('they can barely stand').   You do realize that you are talking about some very nice people here who are reading your words. Do you care? 

Makes you question the veracity of their entire post.  Reminds me of many a fishing story.  I saw 1 drunk, therefore Celebrity is full of drunks.

[DCPIV]

4 hours ago, RichYak said:

I’m not sure why you quoted my Azamara comment after this reply. I made no mention of Celebrity passengers. 

 

Sorry about that!  I only meant to say that we had a great time on our December cruise on the Azamara Onward.  It was our first with Azamara but not likely our last.

[JFontaine]

4 minutes ago, odyssyus said:

Makes you question the veracity of their entire post.  Reminds me of many a fishing story.  I saw 1 drunk, therefore Celebrity is full of drunks.

Exactly. I saw someone sleeping,  but they were probably passed out drunk. 

[natshala]

4 minutes ago, goofysmom99 said:

I cruised many, many years to reach zenith on Celebrity and have four future cruises, all booked onboard so only $100 deposit each.  I choose Concierge cabins for location, however, I'm becoming disenchanted about X's prices.  I would love to book a higher level cabin so I could dine somewhere other than MDR and OVC.  Checked the prices for next year's 13-night Silhouette TA out of Barcelona.  My C2 cabin solo is $2942; A2 $5850; S2 $10134.  Factoring in the gratuities I'd pay with C2, it would cost me $2674 more (+$205/night) to eat in Blu and $7205 more (+$554/night) to eat in Luminae.  Blu and Luminae have always been lovely, but not that lovely.  So I checked Silversea (all suites).  A veranda (separate shower and tub) all-in for 14-night TA would be $5813.  That's less than Blu and includes butler, minibar, bevs, wifi (not the premium, though), self-serve laundry, excursions, and specialty restaurants (probably left something out).  Plus ALL areas of the ship are accessible to all pax, including forward lounge.  Even with my free wifi and bev, the C2 (MDR) just isn't worth the price to me.  I'm willing to pay more for a better experience but Blu @ $450/night doesn't compare to Silversea's better cabin and benefits @$415/night.  Sooooo, it saddens me to say that I'm jumping ship from X to Silversea next year.  

 

BTW, on one of my February Summit cruises, I did see a younger demographic.  I did notice a few knee-walking drunks but they were happy and harmless.  My favorite moment was watching a couple wearing bathing suits (no coverup) walk through Rendezvous to line up for dinner in MDR the first night....and then stroll back through the Rendezvous after being turned away.  They both stood in front of my chair to dance to the music and I saw things burned into my brain (boogied there for the rest of the set - I moved).  That was a personal first for me.

Good luck with Silversea. I put a deposit of $750 down on a cruise more than a year away. A week later my spouse passed. SS refused to return any of my deposit. They have very stringent cancellation rules and no heart. Be sure to check date final payment is due. I’ll never consider SS again.

[KKB]

DH & I did 2 Celebrity cruises 10 years ago..then we did a Spring Break (took my parents & our teenage children)--THAT was NOT the same. Our cruise was 3/4 FSU students & it showed.

Forget getting in a pool or hot tub.

I heard stories of inappropriate encounters.

Now, we met many lovely young people.

 

THAT BEING SAID--we did NOT encounter this AT ALL on the Apex last March. 

I think your experience was more due to the timing than the line.

THAT BEING SAID--I think ALL cruise lines are cutting expenses & service & quality are suffering a bit.

Perhaps it is more due to labor & supply chain issues (I HOPE SO).

 

BUT if you are looking to change lines, you are going to have to spend the $.

Having done Celebrity,  Princess, Carnival, RCCL, NCL, MSC & DCL I can say that Celebrity is the best by a small step--and Eclass ships take it up another notch. 

You will likely have to go to luxury lines to get a better experience.

(another option is the "Ship within a ship" model--the suite on various lines; but unless you hibernate in the suite area, you still must deal with other passengers)

 

Edited March 20, 2023 by KKB

[Lena11033]

29 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

Really? Sailed both pre and post covid and have never seen one example of this and have often seen people being turned away for not being dressed within the rules.  

 

I saw people in tank tops and shorts on my recent cruise in Blu for dinner - but also these were people that were part of a charter and from a lot of them I talked to they normally cruised on Carnival (not all but the ones I spoke to).

[aggiejd2000]

16 minutes ago, Tigerfnan23 said:

Weve done two Celebrity cruises in the last six months and I've gotta say dodging people using walkers was much more of an issue than dealing with passed out drunks.  

This was certainly the case on the Caribbean cruise we just got off of.  We were on an 11nt on Edge and noticed many more motorized scooters than usual.  Our ship was about 70% full and I would venture to guess that most of the guests were 60+.   It was probably the oldest crowd we've seen and we sailed in June 2022, Thanksgiving week 2022 and Christmas week 2022. 

 

We've been on 8 Celebrity cruises and we've never seen rowdy drunks or passed out folks (okay, there was one guy at the poker table but he kinda fell asleep).  As for people stuffing their faces with fried food, well, lots of people do that on a cruise buffet and if I didn't like that, I'd have to stop cruising! 

[chamima]

51 minutes ago, C4HCG said:

From what you write,I am assuming you did 4 cruises back to back. So you are saying on all 4 of those you saw this type of behaviour. If so you have had incredibly bad luck. We have done 4 cruises in total and not seen one example of it at all, said in an earlier post worst we’d seen was queue jumpers. On reflection we also had table hoggers in the OVC playing cards at busy times but that was it. Plenty of people drinking lots of alcohol but honestly nobody misbehaving as the OP describes. 

 

No, not all 4 so I guess I exaggerated.

There were 2 ten day and 2 nine day. The ten day cruises were great. The problems were on the nine day cruises. We thought the first one was an anomaly but then the second one was worse. I don't know if it matters but the ten day cruises covered two work weeks and one weekend and the nine day were basically one work week and two weekends each.

I don't monitor people to see how much they drink but when they are loud and obscene it's hard to miss.

 

*

Edited March 20, 2023 by chamima

[Ellaleah]

36 minutes ago, Redtravel said:

Most recent Celebrity cruise had all kinds of people.  Sadly, many looked like they rolled out of bed and onto the ship.   Pajamas in the MDR for breakfast.  Torn jeans, gym shorts, hats, flip flops, muscle shirts, etc.  were often seen at dinner in MDR.  Before pandemic , you never saw this.  Celebrity accepts everyone, but disregards their own dress codes. It’s more of a come as you are.  Why not?  Guests pay. The more guests, the more profit.  Celebrity is not what it was before the pandemic.  Accept or move on.

Nothing is the same as it was.  I have booked my first Celebrity for next year on the Apex.  I am not one that wants to be dressed up all of the time.  I just was on the Carnival Celebration over New Year’s Eve.  I can’t imagine the telling anyone telling the cruisers on there that they needed to dress.  That being said, I expected this and went with my grandchildren.  I do not have the extensive cruising experience as others on here, but after over a dozen cruises on Holland, NCL, Royal, Carnival, and Princess, I have decided that I really don’t object to a few rules that might keep the guys in “wife beaters” out of the MDR.again, nothing will ever be like it was.  They won’t insist on Tuxes, but just a few rules.

[basenji56]

I think that we will look back at the period immediately post-Covid as being one of the best times.  Ships half full--sometimes 1/3 full.  No lines.  Casual cruisers frightened away.  

 

[JLS07]

Maybe this is just the new normal for cruising. 
 

https://cruiseradio.net/cruise-magician-attack-bad-behavior-cruise/

[C4HCG]

23 minutes ago, chamima said:

 

No, not all 4 so I guess I exaggerated.

There were 2 ten day and 2 nine day. The ten day cruises were great. The problems were on the nine day cruises. We thought the first one was an anomaly but then the second one was worse. I don't know if it matters but the ten day cruises covered two work weeks and one weekend and the nine day were basically one work week and two weekends each.

I don't monitor people to see how much they drink but when they are loud and obscene it's hard to miss.

 

*

Still bad luck, 2 out of 4. We have cruised June and September on our 4 cruises so far, September again this year. As a few on here have said, maybe it’s to do with the time of year.

Edited March 20, 2023 by C4HCG

[MISTER 67]

We started sailing again in November of 2021 and have been on 7 cruises including 3 with Celebrity. We have never seen the kind of behavior as described by the OP. We have seen passengers turned away at the MDR for wearing shorts and tank tops. Our next cruise which will be our 70th is in 2 weeks on the Reflection and as usual I will keep my eyes and ears open and report back on any unacceptable behavior.

Edited March 20, 2023 by MISTER 67

[kearney]

I have never seen behavior like that described ..on Celebrity... but combining spring break and St Patricks day is a deadly combination. In the past I search out when various colleges were having their spring break and then avoided those weeks...plus if sailing in the spring.. I stick with longer itineraries... 10-12 day cruise will weed out a lot of younger folks...although now with remote working..I suppose that strategy may no longer work.