Q&A with President Laura Hodges Bethge

[tserface]

3 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I also noticed no one asked why the 20% penalty was added for booking a cruise with a refundable deposit. I guess that’s just us that has an issue with that.

I think that's just a new reality we have to live with these days.  In the old days, I saw people on board booking up a ton of cruises, some even at the same times as others, with the full intention of canceling the ones they decided against.  This, of course, made it look sold out for others who wanted to book.  Having an extra cost for making a cruise refundable makes people think about if they really want to book it or not.  It's sad, but it's just the way it was...
 

[lv2cruisgrl]

We just watched it also and feel they didn't do a great or truthful job in answering some of the questions.  However we were semisatisfied with the webinar. Time will tell if we continue to cruise with them.

[sunlover33]

15 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

 

Not me -   we would never book a cruise for Coco Key.    I'm sure some enjoy it and I respect that BUT not our thing

Not our thing either. We have also booked our first cruise in over 20 years with a different company after sailing with Celebrity or Azamara are going with MSC in the yacht club. We are only elite, (would never be able to reach the lofty heights of zenith)  but sadly Celebrity is just not what it was for us. I just wonder how many more have done so? 

[bikerunner]

8 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just watched the webinar as well. Sure glad no Aqua cabin amenities have changed, although it seems to me in 2022 we got canapés every afternoon in our Aqua cabin and on our 2023 transpacific B3B we were told only Concierge cabins got them. We also got our bottle of bubbly in our Aqua cabin in 2022, but not in 2023, and there was no guidelines given to us at the beginning of the cruise explaining that we had to remember to ask for the canapés or bottle of bubbly. She must have meant there have been no changes to Aqua or Concierge cabin amenities since she took over in June 2023.

 

I also noticed no one asked why the 20% penalty was added for booking a cruise with a refundable deposit. I guess that’s just us that has an issue with that.

Unfortunately, I fear the problem has to with communications from corporate to operations on many of these problems.  They just do not have it conveyed clearly to the ship and the ship management/officers conveying it clearly to staff.  Which I have seen in multiple places of hotels and resorts I have worked at in the past.  Is it somewhat a cover up on mistakes yep.  I have no issues with paying the extra 20% for a refundable, its everywhere else, airlines hotels etc.  Its just always has been part of the cost of cruises.  I have to use it since work can change very quickly for me even if I book a year out.  Ill see what the amenities are in November when I sail again.  

 

I also got the emails for asking for questions, but I also tbh have written quite a few times in the past to the executive office on questions overall.  Answered clearly not to my satisfaction always on how I wanted an outcome but thats another story.  I wonder if that had any to do with it, I have a feeling it was randomly generated who got the emails.  Makes sense not to send it to everyone but a good subset

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by bikerunner

[sunlover33]

22 minutes ago, truckswain said:

My take away is a) Celebrity addressed the hot topics and did so quite well, and b) some people just like to complain and be continually pissed off that things change.

They may have spoken of a few chosen topics but addressed them?  No not at all, this was all corporate spin or smoke and mirrors. People are not complaining, they are unhappy with the changes and voting with their feet. 

[Jeremiah1212]

18 minutes ago, rmedistro said:

They did mention they are evaluating the number of IV cabins for Edge #5 based on feedback.

 

For a ship that comes out in ~24 months it seems awfully late to implement such drastic changes. Edge #5 (Vortex apparently) would go on sale in about a year if not a little sooner. 

 

 

29 minutes ago, Jim_Iain said:

Laura also said numerous times --- we sent out request for questions to our most loyal customers and then --- and a question for a Select Member and Elite Member....   Maybe I didn't listen close enough but only heard one question from a Zenith Member - Andy - about Access to Retreat.   I don't think I heard a single one from an Elite Plus.

 

The request went out at least twice. It wasn't an exclusive Zenith Q&A. 

 

37 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

A few examples...

Cookiegate: They answered something like they charged a fee to keep down the congestion and didn't do a good job communicating it.  That's only part of cookiegate as they simultaneously removed the free cookies from the Cafe.  While free cookies existed in the buffet (and reportedly while the fee cookie was for sale, not the chocolate chip flavor) with all of X's cutbacks, how long would the free buffet cookies last?  For what's worth, I'd be a fan of the fee cookies as long as the free cookies were available.  Not sure why they don't try fee cookies again but leave the free cookies in the cafe

 

Despite this being one of those more ridiculous dramatic episodes to hit social media, I can't recall ever seeing an actual verifiable fact that said they removed the other cookies.  There is so much stuff posted that is an incorrect assumption, enhanced for drama, outright made up or just completely wrong it's nearly impossible to weed through. 

[1Virgo]

10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

I just watched the webinar as well. Sure glad no Aqua cabin amenities have changed, although it seems to me in 2022 we got canapés every afternoon in our Aqua cabin and on our 2023 transpacific B3B we were told only Concierge cabins got them. We also got our bottle of bubbly in our Aqua cabin in 2022, but not in 2023, and there was no guidelines given to us at the beginning of the cruise explaining that we had to remember to ask for the canapés or bottle of bubbly. She must have meant there have been no changes to Aqua or Concierge cabin amenities since she took over in June 2023.

 

I also noticed no one asked why the 20% penalty was added for booking a cruise with a refundable deposit. I guess that’s just us that has an issue with that.

you are correct about Aqua amenities reduction

 

..Tray with apples and pears on embarkation……gone

..Herbal tea every day in cabin……gone

..canapes …….gone. (used to request cheese tray in place as I could eat that)

..welcome bottle of champagne……nope

..individual small bottles of shampoo, shower gel etc ..replaced by giant bottles others have used

..tote bag with smaller bag, laundry bag ……one tote instead

..sea pass card holder……gone

 

Think you are right. She must have meant no changes since she took over

[truckswain]

6 minutes ago, sunlover33 said:

They may have spoken of a few chosen topics but addressed them?  No not at all, this was all corporate spin or smoke and mirrors. People are not complaining, they are unhappy with the changes and voting with their feet. 

I am curious how much more you wanted them to say about the butlers, cookiegate or Infinite verandahs as examples?

 

And yes of the thousands of people fling celebrity ships there are a small group of people on these boards that have "voted with their feet" and booked with other crusie lines.  Which they like to mention every chance they get.

[Ken the cruiser]

18 minutes ago, jelayne said:

What penalty?  

Do a fake booking on any Celebrity cruise. By default the pricing will be with a nonrefundable deposit, with an option to book it with a refundable deposit.

 

[JDPCruisers]

33 minutes ago, patty1955 said:

Elite Plus here and we never got the email asking for questions.

Same here and did not get an email asking for questions. 

[funredhead]

I liked the webinar.  I think it’s a positive for consumers that X is monitoring these boards and other social media venues to keep a real pulse on what people are feeling.  I think it was a nice shift to hear a president of a company admit that they can do a better job communicating.  And, I love that the power up points program will continue.  Overall, I feel it was worth my time to watch. 

[RichYak]

17 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

I can't recall ever seeing an actual verifiable fact that said they removed the other cookies.

And I specifically recall reading first hand accounts that they did. Right here on CC, probably during Live From... threads. So here we are.

[Jeremiah1212]

1 minute ago, RichYak said:

And I specifically recall reading first hand accounts that they did. Right here on CC, probably during Live From... threads. So here we are.

 

I also recall people posting things that are factually incorrect as I myself witnessed first hand things like the Magic Carpet never moved on XYZ sailing despite having video if it in fact, moving, or they didn't host a Chef's Table when I was there, or such and such venue was never ever open, when again, I was there.... but if you believe everything you read on here good luck! 

[JaneStarr]

40 minutes ago, jelayne said:

The link to submit questions was offered twice that I saw.  It may have been in a marketing email on one occasion.  i'm Elite Plus and had the opportunity to submit a question, although I didn't.

Ditto

[RichYak]

3 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

 

I also recall people posting things that are factually incorrect as I myself witnessed first hand things like the Magic Carpet never moved on XYZ sailing despite having video if it in fact, moving, or they didn't host a Chef's Table when I was there, or such and such venue was never ever open, when again, I was there.... but if you believe everything you read on here good luck! 

I believe only a portion of what I read here on CC. That includes your comments, some of which I find extremely insightful and helpful, but certainly not all of them. 

[Ken the cruiser]

41 minutes ago, tserface said:

I think that's just a new reality we have to live with these days.  In the old days, I saw people on board booking up a ton of cruises, some even at the same times as others, with the full intention of canceling the ones they decided against.  This, of course, made it look sold out for others who wanted to book.  Having an extra cost for making a cruise refundable makes people think about if they really want to book it or not.  It's sad, but it's just the way it was...
 

Sorry, but Celebrity is the only line we cruise with that is doing this when booking a cruise where you select your specific cabin rather than booking a guarantee. Princess, NCL and HAL all offer refundable deposit bookings by default.

[patty1955]

2 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Sorry, but Celebrity is the only line we cruise with that is doing this when booking a cruise where you select your specific cabin rather than booking a guarantee. Princess, NCL and HAL all offer refundable deposit bookings by default.

Both of my Oceania bookings have refundable deposits and I picked my cabins. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

6 minutes ago, Jeremiah1212 said:

Despite this being one of those more ridiculous dramatic episodes to hit social media, I can't recall ever seeing an actual verifiable fact that said they removed the other cookies.  There is so much stuff posted that is an incorrect assumption, enhanced for drama, outright made up or just completely wrong it's nearly impossible to weed through. 

 

The Traveling Gamblers spoke about it as they spoke to the F&B manager, without a picture, that's about as credible as it gets.  F&B Manger said the reason the free cookies were removed was to reduce Cafe congestion and that it was "bad timing" 

[Ken the cruiser]

52 minutes ago, bikerunner said:

I have no issues with paying the extra 20% for a refundable, its everywhere else, airlines hotels etc.  Its just always has been part of the cost of cruises.  I have to use it since work can change very quickly for me even if I book a year out.  Ill see what the amenities are in November when I sail again.  

Nope. Not the case when booking a cruise with Princess, NCL, HAL, or Oceania (according to @patty1955).

 

But that's OK. We've made our decision and have booked our next 20 cruises through 2025, except for our upcoming Galapagos cruise, with Princess, NCL, and HAL. Maybe we'll book a Celebrity TA in 2026 if they decide to offer them at a fair price. We'll see. 

 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Ken the cruiser

[Schmoe38]

57 minutes ago, jelayne said:

The link to submit questions was offered twice that I saw.  It may have been in a marketing email on one occasion.  i'm Elite Plus and had the opportunity to submit a question, although I didn't.

If I recall correctly, the request for questions came out originally in an email format. Shortly thereafter, a second email came out indicating there had been an issue with the original submissions and could we kindly re-submit.

 

[lv2cruisgrl]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

The link to submit questions was offered twice that I saw.  It may have been in a marketing email on one occasion.  i'm Elite Plus and had the opportunity to submit a question, although I didn't.

Yes we got 2 emails also asking us for questions.  I asked when will they redo the older ships!  Some of them really need it!

[RichYak]

So I thought this was a good Q/A. From a PR perspective, this was obviously damage control and there was lot of corporate-speak. There was a fair amount of disingenuousness: "We didn't take away butlers", "We didn't take away free chocolate chip cookies--it was for nostalgia", "We're offering for-fee entrees in the MDR because that's what you want." And who really asked for gratuities and OBC to be removed from All In? It certainly wasn't me.

 

That said, they also met a few points head-on. Addressing the IV concerns directly makes me think that maybe there have been plans for more balcony cabins on Edge 5, particularly in CC and AQ where there are currently zero.

[mjfship]

I think Laura's presentation was impressive as she addressed the numerous concerns highlighted on this forum. It is evident that she received excellent coaching, and I applaud the marketing team for their deep dive into producing the webinar.  They definitely did their research and went straight to Cruise Critic for material.   It was also good to pair her with Andrea, they came across as relaxed and likable.  Time will tell, however, I think this strategy garners a solid ‘A’ for communication.  Let’s hope this positive trend continues. 

[bikerunner]

6 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Nope. Not the case when booking a cruise with Princess, NCL, HAL, or Oceania (according to @patty1955).

So there is the option of booking for with them, personally will never go on another NCL or Princess I do have an oceana booked but my travelmate booked that one so have no idea what terms are.  You have your options out there to book.  So its frustrating that Celebrity does this but it has always been that way as long as I booked celebrity I think.  Don't know because always booked Refundable or made sure it was so never bothered to look at NR fares.   Every business is not run the same, but at this point Celebrity is running it how they think is best for business at this point and this gets them more revenue and I have not seen anything that there occupancy onboard has been low.  Yes they have made some bad moves and I am done with them for other reasons for how corporate handled certain things, after my next 2 cruises as my vacation style has changed, looking at smaller ships Azamara Oceana etc and river cruises over the next 3 years.  

[Cap_D]

1 hour ago, cruisingator2 said:

I would take Coco Cay over some of the other Caribbean ports.

Agreed. I'm in the camp of a nicer beach experience would be terrific.  But, CocoCay is only one way to accomplish that, and doesn't work for me.  So far, the itineraries that include CocoCay skip the weeks when families have vacations as the island is filled with RC passengers.  And, at 2k and up for 3 people in the Retreat the commitment to food quality and passenger satisfaction has to be shown to be going on the right direction.  The Beyond is all summer sailings when other parts of the world are more desirable due to extreme temps and weather issues.  Winter to Easter is the peak for family vacations to escape cold temps, although in 2025 Easter is later.  Meanwhile, just for comparisons Disney has two islands (and definitely has thought of how to optimize guest experiences, no experiments with cookies just to toy with people), and so on.  So CocoCay is looking overbuilt and used. 

Edited September 26, 2023 by Cap_D