Celebrity used to be a step above the rest....Not anymore

[Ex-Airbalancer]

1 hour ago, NMTraveller said:

Royal getting rid of their mid tier makes little sense to me.  If everything is Royalfied it seems like a big step to go from Royal to Azamara.  A much smaller step to go from the old Celebrity to Azamara.

Why would they want them to go to Azamara 🤔

RCG does not own it 

[manmachine]

On 9/6/2023 at 8:39 PM, deliver42 said:

When you leave the YC on MSC your on Carnival.

You’re

[Cachecara]

On 9/5/2023 at 1:40 PM, truckswain said:

Thank you, I did read this post which was extremely detailed.

 

None of what was in that post has significantly impacted my cruise experience.

 

I thought maybe I had missed something.

Same here.  Most of those changes have little to no effect on us. 

[NMTraveller]

1 hour ago, Ex-Airbalancer said:

Why would they want them to go to Azamara 🤔

RCG does not own it 

Ah yes,  perhaps a Freudian slip.  I meant SilverSeas.

 

The more that I think about it,  I suspect RCG will sale the SilverSeas ships...

[zitsky]

1 hour ago, Cachecara said:

Same here.  Most of those changes have little to no effect on us. 

Well Celebrity is not done yet.  Eventually they’ll cut something you care about.  Or add fees.  How about seeing a show for $20?

[3red7s]

I probably have no right to comment on this, since I receive a very good cruise rate through my casino host:  however, we sailed on an alaskan cruise, Seattle to Seattle this past week.  We do the buffet as they usually offer good options. I was disappointed this week as the lunch/dinner buffet was: hot dogs, burgers, fries, pizza, pasta, & many non impressive foods.  The salad dressings and guacamole were noticeably watered down.  Almost like a menu of a family that was trying to stretch out their weekly shopping budget.....Because we sail both RC & Celebrity, I found it difficult to determine which line we were sailing on.  Just my observation & opinion.

 

[RichYak]

8 minutes ago, 3red7s said:

I probably have no right to comment on this, since I receive a very good cruise rate through my casino host:

Sure you do. If the food is low quality, it doesn't matter what your cruise fare was.

[SPacificbound]

1 hour ago, 3red7s said:

I probably have no right to comment on this, since I receive a very good cruise rate through my casino host:  however, we sailed on an alaskan cruise, Seattle to Seattle this past week.  We do the buffet as they usually offer good options. I was disappointed this week as the lunch/dinner buffet was: hot dogs, burgers, fries, pizza, pasta, & many non impressive foods.  The salad dressings and guacamole were noticeably watered down.  Almost like a menu of a family that was trying to stretch out their weekly shopping budget.....Because we sail both RC & Celebrity, I found it difficult to determine which line we were sailing on.  Just my observation & opinion.

 

This was our experience also on our August 2023 sailing Iceland, Greenland and Canada.

 

We're done.

[MamaFej]

1 hour ago, 3red7s said:

I probably have no right to comment on this, since I receive a very good cruise rate through my casino host:  however, we sailed on an alaskan cruise, Seattle to Seattle this past week.  We do the buffet as they usually offer good options. I was disappointed this week as the lunch/dinner buffet was: hot dogs, burgers, fries, pizza, pasta, & many non impressive foods.  The salad dressings and guacamole were noticeably watered down.  Almost like a menu of a family that was trying to stretch out their weekly shopping budget.....Because we sail both RC & Celebrity, I found it difficult to determine which line we were sailing on.  Just my observation & opinion.

 

You have just as much right to say that everything is fantastic, that things are not fantastic, and everything in-between, as anyone else. We can all learn from each other. 

[sonnycruises]

On 8/31/2023 at 11:47 AM, hcat said:

How big is that NCL ship?

 

Based on comments on this thread, I looked at some of the MSC ships and reviews..

I was surprised to see that. the ships are huge compared to X , a bit gaudy and  lots of places where my fear of heights would be an issue . There were neg remarks about the elev system ..where u are  assigned to a specific car and must wait for it to arrive???

 

Can anyone suggest any smaller to medium modern decor ships focused on nice dining choices, spa, t pool and  relaxing spaces?   We like music and shows but bars and  gambling are not our thing!

You just described Viking. We tried Viking Ocean recently and loved it and will have our 4th over Christmas and New Year.

[sonnycruises]

Just now, sonnycruises said:

You just described Viking. We tried Viking Ocean recently and loved it and will have our 4th over Christmas and New Year.

BTW we've had 20+ cruises on Celebrity in Suites.

[Envelope21]

On 9/6/2023 at 8:39 PM, deliver42 said:

When you leave the YC on MSC your on Carnival.

I get the humor. But really, its not quite that bad. We've sailed MSC twice and, although quite different in many respects, it was actually quite nice. I would like to thank all the passengers in the YC for their subsidizing the rest of us who only sail MSC because they are the current price leader. When I'm sailing to the Bahamas, I don't need a butler.

[JaneStarr]

10 hours ago, sonnycruises said:

You just described Viking. We tried Viking Ocean recently and loved it and will have our 4th over Christmas and New Year.

I would recommend Azamara, but not until they get past their growing pains from switching over shoreside operations from RCG. Pre-cruise situation for our 8/22/23 Onward Italy-Intensive sailing was unacceptable. The experience onboard was the best cruise we’ve had in many years.

[George C]

4 hours ago, Envelope21 said:

I get the humor. But really, its not quite that bad. We've sailed MSC twice and, although quite different in many respects, it was actually quite nice. I would like to thank all the passengers in the YC for their subsidizing the rest of us who only sail MSC because they are the current price leader. When I'm sailing to the Bahamas, I don't need a butler.

I had no problem with the rest of MSc outside the yacht club , nice champagne bar , plus live music in a few places and a sports bar. There production shows were very good.

[Keys Kathy]

I just had the BEST Celebrity Cruise EVER! They upgraded us to a Suite and we had TWO Butlers! They brought us WARM caramel croissants every morning. They served Wagu fillet every night in Lumenia, and every time I sat at a Black Jack table, I won AND it was a $5. table. 

 

The buffet had King Crab at lunch and the burgers were cooked to order, even rare if you wanted it. 

They had a fabulous lamb loin one night and the JVC meatballs with the mozzarella in the center. 

 

And then I woke up.......

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, George C said:

I had no problem with the rest of MSc outside the yacht club , nice champagne bar , plus live music in a few places and a sports bar. There production shows were very good.

What varieties were offered at the champagne bar?

[zitsky]

2 hours ago, Keys Kathy said:

I just had the BEST Celebrity Cruise EVER! They upgraded us to a Suite and we had TWO Butlers! They brought us WARM caramel croissants every morning. They served Wagu fillet every night in Lumenia, and every time I sat at a Black Jack table, I won AND it was a $5. table. 

 

The buffet had King Crab at lunch and the burgers were cooked to order, even rare if you wanted it. 

They had a fabulous lamb loin one night and the JVC meatballs with the mozzarella in the center. 

 

And then I woke up.......

How were the banana splits in Luminae?  Was the ice cream chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or strawberry, vanilla, chocolate?  🙂

[phoenix_dream]

17 hours ago, zitsky said:

Well Celebrity is not done yet.  Eventually they’ll cut something you care about.  Or add fees.  How about seeing a show for $20?

I agree.  And at the same time I think many changes do in fact affect everyone in one way or another.  Prices keep significantly increasing while quality is decreasing.  That affects everyone.  Food quality is declining and options are being limited and/or charged for.  That affects everyone.  Had the trial of vaping gone forward, that would have affected everyone to varying degrees depending on whether you used the casino or just walked through it.  Granted some changes affect some people much more than others, but I really feel its naive to say that everyone is not affected in some way.  People may be more willing to put up with some things than others of course.  I also completely agree that they are definitely not done.  I am hoping sincerely that I am wrong.

[George C]

24 minutes ago, zitsky said:

What varieties were offered at the champagne bar?

There were a few Moët , at that time we had a totally unlimited drink package and we stopped there often it was by the casino a short walk from yacht club this was about 4 years ago . 

[hubofhockey]

17 hours ago, 3red7s said:

I probably have no right to comment on this, since I receive a very good cruise rate through my casino host:  however, we sailed on an alaskan cruise, Seattle to Seattle this past week.  We do the buffet as they usually offer good options. I was disappointed this week as the lunch/dinner buffet was: hot dogs, burgers, fries, pizza, pasta, & many non impressive foods.  The salad dressings and guacamole were noticeably watered down.  Almost like a menu of a family that was trying to stretch out their weekly shopping budget.....Because we sail both RC & Celebrity, I found it difficult to determine which line we were sailing on.  Just my observation & opinion.

 

 

This seems to be a pattern among all mass market cruise lines as the buffet and even MDR experiences are being downgraded.  Good food is no longer "included".  You have to pay for it.  I'll continue to book Aqua Class, but stop booking Celebrity if Blu goes downhill.

[Keys Kathy]

1 hour ago, zitsky said:

How were the banana splits in Luminae?  Was the ice cream chocolate, vanilla, strawberry or strawberry, vanilla, chocolate?  🙂

Actually, it was individual baked Alaska.

[C 2 C]

18 hours ago, zitsky said:

Well Celebrity is not done yet.  Eventually they’ll cut something you care about.  Or add fees.  How about seeing a show for $20?

I'd would finally go to the show again if they gave me $20.00

[deliver42]

I think eventually there will be no Celebrity. Instead, they will tier Royal Caribbean pricewise, but have the same mediocre food. By that time, carnival and MSC will have bypassed them for value, if they haven't already. Don't forget, with Carnival you also get free fights. LOL

[ebtrip]

7 hours ago, hubofhockey said:

 

This seems to be a pattern among all mass market cruise lines as the buffet and even MDR experiences are being downgraded.  Good food is no longer "included".  You have to pay for it.  I'll continue to book Aqua Class, but stop booking Celebrity if Blu goes downhill.

We leave on Saturday on Equinox. Always book Aqua. Hope Blu is as great as it has always been.  Last time we sailed X was January 2920.  Have sailed 4 times on Viking Ocean since then.  They were great. A very different experience than X. As Elite Plus, we have a booking on Azamara,  which will be our second cruise with them, and we are Discovery Plus, so have gotten our Elite Plus perks. 

[FeebeeH]

17 hours ago, Keys Kathy said:

I just had the BEST Celebrity Cruise EVER! They upgraded us to a Suite and we had TWO Butlers! They brought us WARM caramel croissants every morning. They served Wagu fillet every night in Lumenia, and every time I sat at a Black Jack table, I won AND it was a $5. table. 

 

The buffet had King Crab at lunch and the burgers were cooked to order, even rare if you wanted it. 

They had a fabulous lamb loin one night and the JVC meatballs with the mozzarella in the center. 

 

And then I woke up.......

I'll have what he's having...