Seriously now-how many of you are REALLY looking at other cruise lines because of the CEO's changes going on?

[commodoredave]

Just now, Cruise Junky said:

Yes, I’m still doing their transpacific on Solstice next year. I didn’t cancel any current bookings, just booked elsewhere for 2025. 

We love the Solstice. Took our 2 children with us on a Med cruise when they were in their late teens. I wrote a funny story about it on my blog which might give you a smile:

https://gentlemansportion.com/2019/02/18/the-old-man-and-the-sea/

[kirtihk]

1 hour ago, Cruise Junky said:

I researched the Azamara board extensively before booking.  It would appear RCL left them in a mess upon the sale. Service onboard is being reported as excellent. The onshore (lack of) service seems to be hitting the reservations that we’re transferred with the sale far more than new ones. But, we’ll see.  

One way or another, every cruise line (including Regent, Seabourn, Ponant, and others) was constrained to decline service since December 2019 in multiple aspects - we first experienced it on a Ponant Le Soleal March 8-24 South Pacific (obviously, Shmandemic) cruise; everyone knows a reason; so, there is nothing to discuss like "who is doing less damage to their image".  It is what it is.  I don't think hopping from a cruise line to a cruise line helps - it's "a dog is chasing its own tail, so to speak" mentality.  Azamara is not an exception: we observed it during our June 24 - July 10, 2023 Intense Norway cruise on Pursuit.

Edited September 13, 2023 by kirtihk

[Ken the cruiser]

55 minutes ago, hubofhockey said:

 

All cruise lines charge as much as they can for cruises.  In the mid 2000's, Celebrity blew Princess out of the water with the introduction of the Solstice class ships and even upgraded the Millennium class to conform.  Their popularity increased and prices went up.  You can now probably get better deals on Princess.  If you the products similarly, they you choose Princess for pricing.  My view is different.  My last cruise was on the Royal Princess, when it was a new ship in the newest class.  I didn't like the ship.  It was glitzy, had tiny balconies, actual long waits for elevators, and the quality of their Sabatinis restaurant tanked when they changed the concept and they also changed the concept of Explorers Lounge, which once had some really good live entertainment and then didn't.  We switched to Celebrity and Aqua Class and still enjoy the concept.  

 

If you value the Princess and Celebrity products equally, then it makes sense to book with Princess.  I can't get there.

Actually, their products, especially when it comes to itineraries, really aren’t that similar if you like longer more well thought out 3-5 week cruises with more sea days included like we do. But then we’re fully retired, so longer journeys work for us. 
 

But as I’ve said in the past, adding a 20% penalty for booking a Celebrity cruise with a refundable deposit as well as charging around $120 pp/day for their AI package (with upgrades to Premium internet and beverages), which is also mandatory for AQ cabins until Oct 4, where Princess only charges $60 pp/day, is really annoying. 
 

Now if you like shorter 5-12 day port intensive cruises, especially in the Caribbean and the Med, Celebrity definitely would be a better fit, especially if you either booked the cruise onboard or with a nonrefundable deposit. 
 

As far as ship designs go, we like booking aft-facing Vista Suites on the PCL Grand Class ships with its huge fully covered balcony along with a separate bedroom area similar to a Celebrity Suite. But our PCL minimum is a Reserve Collection mini suite so we can dine in the Reserve Dining Room, which is similar to Blu but also serves lunch on sea days as well as embarkation day.
 

With Celebrity we used to book sky suites but have recently evolved to booking Aqua cabins on our last few cruises with them on our Constellation, Summit and Eclipse B2Bs. But I will say we had a blast on the Edge B3B we did in Aug 2021, once cruising started back up, followed by a B2B on the Apex a few months later.
 

But everyone has to find their own happy place when it comes to cruising. I know we have definitely evolved over the years. We started with HAL, then Celebrity with a few PCL and Crystal cruises mixed in to keep it interesting. Then once cruising started back up, our first 9 cruises were with Celebrity before we started mixing Princess and NCL into the mix to give our cruising experience some diversity. 
 

But now with the annoying $$$ games Celebrity is playing, we’ll probably pass booking cruises with them, except for the Galapagos cruise we have booked in Dec, for the next 3-4 years until the pent up post-pando cruising demand goes back to normal. 
 

But I’m glad Celebrity, as well as the other cruise lines, are filling their ships as they definitely went through some tough times during the pando. BTW that’s what Eddy Jenkins, an awesome Celebrity CD, calls it. 😁

[kirtihk]

22 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Actually, their products, especially when it comes to itineraries, really aren’t that similar if you like longer more well thought out 3-5 week cruises with more sea days included like we do. But then we’re fully retired, so longer journeys work for us. 
 

But as I’ve said in the past, adding a 20% penalty for booking a Celebrity cruise with a refundable deposit as well as charging around $120 pp/day for their AI package (with upgrades to Premium internet and beverages), which is also mandatory for AQ cabins until Oct 4, where Princess only charges $60 pp/day, is really annoying. 
 

Now if you like shorter 5-12 day port intensive cruises, especially in the Caribbean and the Med, Celebrity definitely would be a better fit, especially if you either booked the cruise onboard or with a nonrefundable deposit. 
 

As far as ship designs go, we like booking aft-facing Vista Suites on the PCL Grand Class ships with its huge fully covered balcony along with a separate bedroom area similar to a Celebrity Suite. But our PCL minimum is a Reserve Collection mini suite so we can dine in the Reserve Dining Room, which is similar to Blu but also serves lunch on sea days as well as embarkation day.
 

With Celebrity we used to book sky suites but have recently evolved to booking Aqua cabins on our last few cruises with them on our Constellation, Summit and Eclipse B2Bs. But I will say we had a blast on the Edge B3B we did in Aug 2021, once cruising started back up, followed by a B2B on the Apex a few months later.
 

But everyone has to find their own happy place when it comes to cruising. I know we have definitely evolved over the years. We started with HAL, then Celebrity with a few PCL and Crystal cruises mixed in to keep it interesting. Then once cruising started back up, our first 9 cruises were with Celebrity before we started mixing Princess and NCL into the mix to give our cruising experience some diversity. 
 

But now with the annoying $$$ games Celebrity is playing, we’ll probably pass booking cruises with them, except for the Galapagos cruise we have booked in Dec, for the next 3-4 years until the pent up post-pando cruising demand goes back to normal. 
 

But I’m glad Celebrity, as well as the other cruise lines, are filling their ships as they definitely went through some tough times during the pando. BTW that’s what Eddy Jenkins, an awesome Celebrity CD, calls it. 😁

Panda is even a better (fit).

Edited September 13, 2023 by kirtihk

[DCPIV]

Just to be a little more clear on where we stand, we still think that Celebrity has a good product at the moment.  The issue is that it seems we now can get the same quality product for less money in some places.  In other places, we can get a better quality product for the same money.  I can't make Celebrity make sense as a choice under those circumstances.

 

Some folks might buy a pitch along the lines of "it's not the best, but it's the most expensive," but I don't.

[hubofhockey]

3 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

 

But everyone has to find their own happy place when it comes to cruising. I know we have definitely evolved over the years. We started with HAL, then Celebrity with a few PCL and Crystal cruises mixed in to keep it interesting. Then once cruising started back up, our first 9 cruises were with Celebrity before we started mixing Princess and NCL into the mix to give our cruising experience some diversity. 
 

But now with the annoying $$$ games Celebrity is playing, we’ll probably pass booking cruises with them, except for the Galapagos cruise we have booked in Dec, for the next 3-4 years until the pent up post-pando cruising demand goes back to normal. 

Agree with all above that I copied.  We don't cruise in the Caribbean.  We live in SWFL 7 months a year and our local beaches or even Sanibel or Marco are just as good or better.  We also don't like big ships because of itinerary limitations and book M class.  For non-refundable, we can use future cruise credit so limits loss on deposits.  Just need to make sure we always have one available to use.  We book Aqua because on M class, choice of specialties is slim to none (won't book the gimmick petit chef, sushi on 5 is light, and steak place is okay) and Blu is decent.  Celebrity has a nice little niche with Aqua.

 

The Celebrity games come from the top.  Most aren't customer friendly.  Right now, I actually believe Azamara is the best deal out there.  I say that even as we canceled with them to move a cruise to Oceania mainly because of itinerary preference and the Sycamore risk.  We do like casual and Oceania and Azamara are good fits.  I'd give Windstar a shot if I could find a good deal online.   We'll keep Celebrity M class in the mix.  

 

 

[C 2 C]

Do a search on a certain website listing cruises 14 days or longer originating out of a Florida port for X, HAL, and any other cruise company.  For cruisers who want to have an extended sea experience will not find it unless they wish to string a number of shorter cruises together.

[bikerunner]

6 hours ago, Cruise Junky said:

I researched the Azamara board extensively before booking.  It would appear RCL left them in a mess upon the sale. Service onboard is being reported as excellent. The onshore (lack of) service seems to be hitting the reservations that we’re transferred with the sale far more than new ones. But, we’ll see.  

That is what I have heard also, I also booked thru my TA, as they pointed out they have a direct line to the shore operations and can get things taken care of much easier than I could. Been using them for many years mainly booking celebrity but gets why I have moved on to Oceana and Azamara, along with Virgin at some point.  The IT perspective is a mess and I completely get it.  

[Traveling Fools]

7 hours ago, commodoredave said:

An Azamazing Voyage to Mediocrity which details a couple's nightmare trying to get mistakes on their reservation corrected for the last 3 months with no resolution

 

I encourage people considering Azamara to take 30 minutes or so and visit the Azamara Forum.  It contains less postings than X's forum. There are a lot less complaint threads and many more positive ones.

 

We are booked on a TA in November with them aboard the "ONWARD", so have been monitoring the goings on there.  

 

All in all, much more upbeat than X's forum.

[commodoredave]

2 minutes ago, Traveling Fools said:

 

I encourage people considering Azamara to take 30 minutes or so and visit the Azamara Forum.  It contains less postings than X's forum. There are a lot less complaint threads and many more positive ones.

 

We are booked on a TA in November with them aboard the "ONWARD", so have been monitoring the goings on there.  

 

All in all, much more upbeat than X's forum.

I agree with you to a point. However, as Azamara has far fewer ships and capacity than X, one should expect there to be fewer negative threads on the Azamara board. The bottom line is that while there are fewer complaints than X, there are still to many for the “luxury “ line they claim to still be. 

[kirtihk]

11 minutes ago, commodoredave said:

I agree with you to a point. However, as Azamara has far fewer ships and capacity than X, one should expect there to be fewer negative threads on the Azamara board. The bottom line is that while there are fewer complaints than X, there are still to many for the “luxury “ line they claim to still be. 

Nobody is perfect (from an experience for last 2 years) - not Azamara, not Celebrity, not Regent, not Seabourn, not Ponant, nobody…

Edited September 13, 2023 by kirtihk

[commodoredave]

1 minute ago, kirtihk said:

Nobody is perfect. Not Azamara, not Celebrity, not Regent, not Seabourn, not Ponant, nobody…

So true. 

[kirtihk]

1 minute ago, commodoredave said:

So true. 

I modified a little my post.

[commodoredave]

2 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

I modified a little my post.

I guess you’re not perfect either! 😜

[NutsAboutGolf]

4 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

Nobody is perfect (from an experience for last 2 years) - not Azamara, not Celebrity, not Regent, not Seabourn, not Ponant, nobody…

 

A far more valuable question to ask you, rank them all, from the closest to perfect to the furthest from perfect

[kirtihk]

Just now, commodoredave said:

I guess you’re not perfect either! 😜

Of course, not!

[kirtihk]

4 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

A far more valuable question to ask you, rank them all, from the closest to perfect to the furthest from perfect

All right: as of today, - Seabourn, Regent, Ponant, Azamara and Celebrity (on par), Norwegian (just returned from 7-day New England and Canada cruise on Escape).

Edited September 13, 2023 by kirtihk

[cruisemom42]

34 minutes ago, Traveling Fools said:

We are booked on a TA in November with them aboard the "ONWARD", so have been monitoring the goings on there.  

 

And I'll be on Onward the month before (October) on BTB Med itineraries, both very interesting and unique. If that experience goes well, I'll be waiting with money in hand to book several more cruises with them.

 

[kirtihk]

8 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

All right: as of today, - Seabourn, Regent, Ponant, Azamara and Celebrity (on par), Norwegian (just returned from 7-day New England and Canada cruise on Escape).

I should add: we had a South Pacific cruise on Ponant Le Soleal on March 8-24, 2020 (obviously, Panda cruise) - that was the best cruise, but now as all cruise lines, Ponant went down.

Edited September 13, 2023 by kirtihk

[commodoredave]

18 minutes ago, kirtihk said:

All right: as of today, - Seabourn, Regent, Ponant, Azamara and Celebrity (on par), Norwegian (just returned from 7-day New England and Canada cruise on Escape).

I would add Silversea after Regent.

[kirtihk]

28 minutes ago, commodoredave said:

I would add Silversea after Regent.

I wrote “from my experience” on purpose - therefore, I cannot evaluate other cruise lines.  You must be correct, anyhow.

[aggiejd2000]

We've been looking to book Virgin for awhile but have hesitated because of their limited itineraries.  BUT, they've just released some new itineraries so we're just trying to decide which one to try! 

[NMTraveller]

Getting ready to book my first 2025 cruise.  It is not going to be on Celebrity...  They have priced themselves out of the market and sunk to mediocrity.

[Stockjock]

Just returned home from a Greek Isles cruise on Infinity and for the most part it was an enjoyable experience.  But the cutbacks are evident, especially in the MDR, in terms of food quality, or lack thereof.

I still like the brand and Celebrity, and MSC, will continue to be our preferred choices, but while MSC has stayed about the same, or improved, Celebrity has dropped a few notches and has gone from being a premium cruise line to a pseudo-premium cruise line, in my view.  Much of my future booking decision making, going forward, will come down to pricing.

My next 3 cruises will be MSC (World Europa), Celebrity (Ascent), and Oceania (Sirena), in that order.  I have not been on an Edge-Class ship yet, and I am hopeful that Ascent will be a big step up from Infinity in most ways (although perhaps not the food, unfortunately).

Edited September 14, 2023 by Stockjock

[Gordoncruickshank]

We have just booked three b2b 7 night cruises in the YC on MSC for 2025 as we could not justify the cost of a similar suite on Celebrity. We have done 25 Celebrity cruises over the past 10 years with one Msc YC in 2019 the only non Celebrity cruise. We have two more booked in Feb next year.

 

If we had booked the two Celebrity cruises we looked at for 2025 we would have reached Zenith but the extras that brings are just what you get in a suite anyway so what are we losing that is of value to us.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Gordoncruickshank