Are Celebrity cost cutting and penny pinching there faithful customers off the ship?

[chromered7]

Well hot off the press Celebrity are trialing hot cookies in El Bacio but you you have to pay $2. This confirms that everything and anything will be charged eventually, Celebrity this could be our death knell.

[D. B.]

4 hours ago, chromered7 said:

Well hot off the press Celebrity are trialing hot cookies in El Bacio but you you have to pay $2. This confirms that everything and anything will be charged eventually, Celebrity this could be our death knell.

On Summit today. No charge for Cookies.

 I’m going to continue sailing with X because the things I like best are always included and I don’t drink alcohol or stay in suites😚

[LouChamp]

Aloha. Have been blessed to sail with Celebrity countless times since the inaugural of the Meridian in the early 1990s.  We sail on various lines and ships and have migrated to the smaller ships of the higher end lines as we are getting older. That said, if there is a special itinerary then would consider Celebrity but only in the retreat and similar levels on the other mainstream lines. Living NY and Honolulu I try to minimize long lines and crowds when traveling lol! All the best.

[LouChamp]

Aloha again.  I forgot to mention that in my opinion the mainstream lines, higher end lines, hotels, airlines really no longer care about loyalty. They don’t need me and I don’t need them. The flush of new travelers and the younger generations don’t know what they are missing and thus will travel and enjoy. We vote with our money but the reality is we love to travel so we need to reluctantly accept that this is the way it is. Sad and shameful but so it goes.

[odyssyus]

On 8/17/2023 at 9:24 AM, tfred said:

Very few people book 7-8 cruises a year so their marketing strategy money isn’t looking at that 
 

x wants the land resort people who have never been on a ship, have money to spend on a vacation and will buy specialty dinners, spa services 

 

X can do both- keep frequent cruises around with reasonable offers and attract well off “younger “ new customers. Go to any better land based resort and see who is staying there. Your ID say phoenix so go to the Scottsdale Princess and look at that crowd. No one looking for free elite drinks, prime rib and half of the other complaints one sees on this board. That is who X wants and they are going to cater to that crowd because that is where the profit is. 

Look!  someone who gets it.

 

The "I cruise 8 times a year in a suite" people aren't the profit drivers for cruise lines.  Profit is driven from specialty restaurants, drink packages, photo's, excursions etc.  The older demographic just doesn't spend enough in ancillary products compared to the younger generations.  They myth that the younger crowd doesn't have the money, or the time is just a myth.  I have 30 yr olds on my dev team making 200k a yr with 6 weeks of vacation (not counting comp time as well).  They have no loyalty and reward programs are worthless to them (honestly, they are).  This demographic is killing it on the land based all inclusive vacation properties and cruise lines have noticed this.  The cruise line industry is targeting this new source of revenue and changes will continue.  Bingo is something grandma loves, prime rib is overrated, suites have little value to cost, and who really needs a butler...

 

Where does this all come from?  I work for a lodging/vacation company that has both land based all inclusive' s and cruise ships in its portfolio. The data from our 'big data' systems tells us this.

[KKB]

9 Celebrity cruises in the last 10 years. We are 57 & 60.

Certainly others more "loyal" than us.

We sail most mainstream lines, so "low" loyalty on each one.

I do not notice any particular drop in service, food or amenities that affect the quality of my trip.

(last trip was Beyond in April)

Celebrity still has the best product at sea in the mainstream lines, particularly at the Eclass level, imo.

 

[librarylady19]

17 hours ago, chromered7 said:

Well hot off the press Celebrity are trialing hot cookies in El Bacio but you you have to pay $2. This confirms that everything and anything will be charged eventually, Celebrity this could be our death knell.

Host Andy has reported that this was discontinued after guest feedback - he’s on Equinox. 

[hcat]

5 minutes ago, librarylady19 said:

Host Andy has reported that this was discontinued after guest feedback - he’s on Equinox. 

Andy is the best...still looking out for us!

[OBX-Cruisers]

On 8/1/2023 at 3:19 PM, hrhdhd said:

I decided to book a HAL cruise for December after not sailing that line in 10 years. And I'm close to booking a Princess cruise for next May. While I am sure those lines have also had cutbacks, I want to check them out myself to compare.

We considered Celebrity our top cruise choice but will no longer book at the current prices and loss of many perks.  Menus on Royal Caribbean have taken a massive downward change and I read the Princess may have implemented even more drastic cuts than other lines.

Hope you write a comparison of the lines when you complete your cruises.

[D. B.]

We have sailed with Celebrity for 23 years.

in the last 12 months we tried Oceania, Azamara and Princess.

We liked Celebrity More and have booked 7 future cruises

[Ipeeinthepools]

We have sailed Celebrity 20 times in the last 10 years and we don't have any Celebrity cruise booked after 2 scheduled for November 2023.  We tried HAL and we like HAL more.

[chromered7]

It almost seems that the CEO is keen to try anything to either maximise profits or test the patience of long standing loyal customers. Although we have predominantly cruised with X we have tried a few other cruise lines but we have always returned to Celebrity. You knew what you were getting and invariably it was always a good experience. We are are cruising , again with Celebrity later this year , but with possibility it could be the last time because there are so many questions to be answered .  Many other cruise lines are also modifying their  cruise experience adding to the dilemma passengers are facing in making the right choice. 

[deliver42]

I used to be loyal to Royal. That stopped a few years ago due to cuts, Then went to Celebrity. Now, between the cuts, which I really don't mind, but combining them with the increased pricing of everything else, from the cruise itself to the on board venues, to the lowering of the classic drink package limits, I'm now looking at all other lines as options.

[Gracie115]

We have cruised Celebrity 20+ times in the last 15 years, another 10 or so on Royal.  Always had one or other booked.  Now have NOTHING booked on either line.  Princess 2024 TA and Viking to Egypt coming up next.  Exciting itineraries, longer cruises, Princess full suite package now superior to Celebrities.  

 

Was excited for just a minute when I realized that Equinox would be home porting out of Port Canaveral late next year....until I looked at pricing..... NO way paying 10K for a 7 night Caribben in a Sky Suite.... YIKES.

 

So we are off to other lines....

[Guera53]

On 8/1/2023 at 1:24 PM, chromered7 said:

Does the new boss of Celebrity really care about their long established and faithful customers with the raft of changes she is implementing? Perhaps they are aiming for a new demographic of young passengers who have never experienced the quality that Celebrity once was?

What would attract a younger demographic on Celebrity? I always saw it as a cruise for more mature ages. How does up-charging speak to a new demographic? Did they survey anyone or much better announce the changes?
 

It’s true eventually no one will eventually remember what cruising used to be. I’m trying to process that in the MDR for the first time ever in any cruise we won’t be getting one night with filet and lobster. Carnival is looking better.

[tikigal]

As a fellow senior cruiser, and almost Zenith level, advertising  just young people

in your brochures or commercials cruising is simply unrealistic. First of all they have to go to work and don’t have the time off that the senior cruiser has.  That point seems to have been ignored as just recently X has been implementing new programs, so the young people can join us in our wonderful adventure.  I don’t begrudge the young adults joining the older crowd, but please don’t forget how your company got here in the first place!

We have been loyal to your company for years, and many of us decades. This is not the time to nor the prestigious company that you are to “ throw us to the wolves”. I have worked very hard to try to get to Zenith with Celebrity. I’ve noticed the changes over the years, but one thing that stuck out was that our music is being erased and replaced with millennium music.

 

It seems the great diversity in the enrichment program of lectures has all but disappeared.It seems you have forgotten about your main clientele all together. I was on a West Coast trip, Alaska to Mexico for a great length of time on the same ship. Our lecture was talking about the FBI and CSI type lectures with fingerprints and robbers and gangsters. What the heck does that have to do with cruising there should’ve been lectures on whale migration lectures on the cities of San Francisco, San Diego, Los Angeles, Mexico, and the wonderful people and culture so we could learn something instead, we learned nothing about that the Pacific Coast.  It should’ve been a precursor to going ashore. Obviously shore excursions is not going to be doing these type of lectures, but a historical lecturer for that particular area should have been boarded and stayed on board. He should still be on board but instead, you have forensic lectures , I just don’t get that and neither did anybody else. There was a lot of disappointment on the lectures.  If I’m interested in CSI, I’ll watch TV.
 

My suggestion to Celebrity is to take heed and advice and get the proper lectures to board your ships for the proper areas visiting. I have to admit I was on the Millennium this summer, and our naturalist lecturer was absolutely incredibly, and out of this world!!!😁

[C 2 C]

Our favourite cruise on Celebrity used to be the Newark NJ 14 day cruise to Quebec.  That itinerary was changed to a 12 day cruise out of Boston.  That has now become an 11 day cruise.  Prices for Boston pre cruise Hotels and parking are outrageous.  We have repeatedly booked HAL cruises out of Quebec and Montreal to Boston B2B and are booking again for 2024 in response.  The quality of food and service on HAL has been great over the last year.  Getting to the port, accommodation cost, and parking fees now determine our cruising plans.  No cruise line is perfect but the experience of HAL and Celebrity is very similar.

[roxannex]

I have to say that I used to go on cruises and then took a very long break. Now I have two coming up. One is on Princess and one on Celebrity.

 

Initially, I thought they were around the same price, but the Celebrity cruise has turned out to be so much more after adding in the costs for their specialty restaurants and wifi and drinks (and that's just the no alcohol package). We booked one of the all included packages with Princess, and I know that people there were mad at THOSE changes. But we were also upgraded from a mini suite to a penthouse suite at very little charge. 

 

Celebrity appeared relatively similar, but their costs for all the extras were so much more. AND they are constantly changing the costs of the extra. I booked Eden for something like 55 dollars? And now it is has suddenly gone up 77. Le Voyage went from something like 68 to 115 overnight? And there is absolutely no hope for a good upgrade because the cost of the suites is insane.

 

I wanted to try Celebrity because I thought the entertainment would be better than on Princess without as many kids as on RCL. But I don't know if I will do it again. I will be curious to see the differences between the two. The cruises I went on before were RCL, NCL, and Disney. 

 

I had also initially looked at Virgin, but I thought it was pricey. Now I realize it would have been a better deal because so much was included. However, 7 day cruises did not leave from a convenient port. 

 

Edited November 15, 2023 by roxannex

[NutsAboutGolf]

On 8/26/2023 at 5:07 AM, odyssyus said:

Look!  someone who gets it.

 

The "I cruise 8 times a year in a suite" people aren't the profit drivers for cruise lines.  Profit is driven from specialty restaurants, drink packages, photo's, excursions etc.  The older demographic just doesn't spend enough in ancillary products compared to the younger generations.  They myth that the younger crowd doesn't have the money, or the time is just a myth.  I have 30 yr olds on my dev team making 200k a yr with 6 weeks of vacation (not counting comp time as well).  They have no loyalty and reward programs are worthless to them (honestly, they are).  This demographic is killing it on the land based all inclusive vacation properties and cruise lines have noticed this.  The cruise line industry is targeting this new source of revenue and changes will continue.  Bingo is something grandma loves, prime rib is overrated, suites have little value to cost, and who really needs a butler...

 

Where does this all come from?  I work for a lodging/vacation company that has both land based all inclusive' s and cruise ships in its portfolio. The data from our 'big data' systems tells us this.

 

Suites are the absolute profit drivers, this is why every new ship has more suites than the last.  Suites usually cost hundreds if not thousands more than a non-suite.  All the extra fees/ancillary charges like the drink package are a drop in the bucket compared to suites

 

I'll give a specific example and I'm even going to cherry-pick this example in your favor.  I went to a TA site, put the date range from now to Feb, filtered all X sailings, pricing is per person, per night, and before fees and taxes:

 

Cheapest Inside: There are a dozen sailings under $50/night, the cheapest is a 16-night South America repo for $41/night

Cheapest Suite: There are about ten sailings under $400/night, the cheapest is a 6-night Bahama and Cozumel sailing for $312/night in an SS

 

Of course, the suite's hard and soft products cost X more than an inside but roughly $271/night more?  No chance.  This isn't even factoring in the highest-end suites which offer nearly the same experience and cost to X as an SS minus the butler

 

At the end of the day, X would be happier if someone booked a suite than they would if someone booked an inside with a drink, photo, and special dining package

 

 

[weregoingcruising]

1 minute ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

Suites are the absolute profit drivers, this is why every new ship has more suites than the last.  Suites usually cost hundreds if not thousands more than a non-suite.  All the extra fees/ancillary charges like the drink package are a drop in the bucket compared to suites

 

I'll give a specific example and I'm even going to cherry-pick this example in your favor.  I went to a TA site, put the date range from now to Feb, filtered all X sailings, pricing is per person, per night, and before fees and taxes:

 

Cheapest Inside: There are a dozen sailings under $50/night, the cheapest is a 16-night South America repo for $41/night

Cheapest Suite: There are about ten sailings under $400/night, the cheapest is a 6-night Bahama and Cozumel sailing for $312/night in an SS

 

Of course, the suite's hard and soft products cost X more than an inside but roughly $271/night more?  No chance.  This isn't even factoring in the highest-end suites which offer nearly the same experience and cost to X as an SS minus the butler

 

At the end of the day, X would be happier if someone booked a suite than they would if someone booked an inside with a drink, photo, and special dining package

 

 

Is your info about insides compared to suites consided inside info? Can you be sued or indicted for giving insided information?