Current satisfaction with Azamara now that new Ownership has had time

[Host Jazzbeau]

8 hours ago, Grandma Gilly said:

Oh dear. I have an Azamara cruise booked next month (have sailed with them many times) but also have a Silverseas cruise booked for next year (have also sailed with them). I was horrified to read your ‘Royal Caribbeanized’ comment!

This is just one of many threads on the Silversea forum noting the cutbacks:

 

[debcip]

@ChucktownSteve and @Host Jazzbeau, can you explain a bit about what you meant when noting “Royal Caribbeanization” on Celebrity and Silversea? Thanks!

[Host Jazzbeau]

With Celebrity, it's the ambience of the Edge class (which apparently will be extended to the older ships) that is loud, edgy, and not classic luxury.  With Silversea, it's the corporatization – everything is dictated "by Miami" so the officers have no authority to add extra touches or make things right on the spot (things that are expected of true luxury cruise lines), plus the cutbacks that have reduced the food to below luxury standards.  This is my take, others may feel differently.

[ChucktownSteve]

For me it relates to Celebrity since I haven't cruised Silversea.  I've been sailing Celebrity since the early 2000's; during the five year terms of the Chandris contract where Celebrity was required to maintain the Chandris standards. After that is when I feel the Royalcaribbeanization began.

In 2005, LLP was named vice president of onboard revenue for Celebrity Cruises, moving from RCL,where her job had the same objectives. She was very successful at it.

 

I relate her method to the same as boiling a frog scenario. Place the frog in cool water and slowly turn up the heat. It won't realize what's happening.  For background, search the term Royal Caribbean double double program. It will explain it better.

 

It began with little things like changing daily bottles of water in Aqua class to only one bottle pp on embarkation. The list is long. Some worked, some didn't like removing the free hamburgers at the pool grill and replacing them with $10 kobe like burgers.

 

Many years ago I attended a food talk by the head chef where he explained the different cuts of meat served on the ships.  He admitted they served the cheapest cuts of meet in the buffet, a little better grade in the MDR and the "best" cuts were sold in the specialty restaurants.

 

If you've sailed Celebrity, have you noticed how many dutch ovens they have used in the buffet with various types of cheap grade meats concealed in heavy gravies and sauces?

 

They also, several years ago, went from a cabin attendant with assistant to just a cabin attendant. There are way too many examples to mention. All were before the pandemic.  But the most recent was switching out the individual butlers in the Sky Suites to butler teams. The immediate fallout was so bad that they are reversing that decision.

 

They had reduced the live music performances; replacing them with ultra loud DJ's permeating multiple decks through the atrium.

Celebrity touted luxury sailings, while only placing at the top end of the mass market lines, but they were actually mimicking the Royal Caribbean line way of business to attract new, younger customers who didn't know the difference.

Those are some of the reasons why after reaching Elite+ I began sailing more of the other lines. Then I eventually stopped sailing Celebrity in 2022 for the time being.  The rapidly accelerated prices combined with the totality of the cuts showed me a better pn/pp value on Azamara and Regent. Sometimes they're even less considering what's included vs. additional costs on Celebrity.

 

These of course are my personal opinions and observations. Other person's opinions will definitely vary.
 

Side note: my last Azamara cruise was December '21. My next is December '24. So I will see then what differences I experience. I am going with an open mind and expect changes in the past three years. I have done three Regent in the meantime.

Edited April 5 by ChucktownSteve

[ChucktownSteve]

I've made it easier for you to see the official Royal Caribbean/Celebrity Double Double discipline

 

https://www.royalcaribbeangroup.com/the-discipline-behind-double-double/

[Vineyard View]

On 4/5/2024 at 12:14 AM, Host Jazzbeau said:

With Celebrity, it's the ambience of the Edge class (which apparently will be extended to the older ships) that is loud, edgy, and not classic luxury.  With Silversea, it's the corporatization – everything is dictated "by Miami" so the officers have no authority to add extra touches or make things right on the spot (things that are expected of true luxury cruise lines), plus the cutbacks that have reduced the food to below luxury standards.  This is my take, others may feel differently.

No disrespect meant. I am curious if you have experienced SS recently with their changes you are referring from corporate vs how it was prior? While we don’t closely follow lines with included excursions (and pricing),  I have read some very positive reviews regarding their new class of ships. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

3 minutes ago, Vineyard View said:

No disrespect meant. I am curious if you have experienced SS recently with their changes you are referring from corporate vs how it was prior? While we don’t closely follow lines with included excursions (and pricing),  I have read some very positive reviews regarding their new class of ships. 

I understand your question, and no offense taken.  I have followed Silversea for many years and read so many reviews extolling its virtues as a true luxury cruise line.  My only previous experience with a true luxury cruise line was one cruise on (old) Crystal, which was mind-blowing in some ways (the food), but less so in others (the dining room service – this was in the brief period when Crystal finally got up to 100% occupancy, so the passenger/crew ratio was not as favorable as when they were sailing half full...).

 

Anyway, those great Silversea reviews led me to rebook our twice-cancelled Ponant New Zealand cruise on Silver Whisper Jan. 29-Feb. 14, 2024.  I knew the ship was old, and that was no problem [we like the design of older ships, and accept/respect the patina].  I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of Silversea's included shore excursions [but later reports say Silversea is cutting back on this].  But I was very disappointed in the food – nothing was inedible but nothing was very flavorful or memorable, much less delightful [certainly not above the level on Azamara (if even that good) and well below Crystal, which occasionally reached 'orgasmic']

 

That cruise was not so bad that I reconsidered our next two SS bookings:  Endeavour to Svalbard in 2025 and Ray rt Ft Lauderdale in 2026.  But the reports on Cruise Critic in the short time since seem to be getting worse and worse.

[Vineyard View]

Thank you for responding to me. I appreciate these details. As I said, we are not looking to book SS but the comment about the corporatization made me wonder what that was about with respect to Azamara. Seems that there is a good deal of dissatisfaction with several lines. More so than in the past. 

[Host Jazzbeau]

2 hours ago, Vineyard View said:

Thank you for responding to me. I appreciate these details. As I said, we are not looking to book SS but the comment about the corporatization made me wonder what that was about with respect to Azamara. Seems that there is a good deal of dissatisfaction with several lines. More so than in the past. 

I don't know of a single line (except Crystal) that doesn't have major dissatisfaction among its hitherto fan base.  Most cruise lines kept fares low for many years, because of the financial crisis and then Covid.  Now they face such massive debt loads that they have to switch from long-term market-share thinking to short-term 'every cruise covers its cost' thinking – and that means major price hikes along with cost cuts.  I don't know where it's going to stabilize.

[JsMom2]

Azamara just laid off 20% of their shoreside personnel.  Hopefully that will free up revenue enhance the onboard experiences. 

[Ayden]

42 minutes ago, JsMom2 said:

Azamara just laid off 20% of their shoreside personnel.  Hopefully that will free up revenue enhance the onboard experiences. 

Shame when someone loses their job.  Other thoughts come to my mind....perhaps the precruise customer service will be adversely affected once again.

When companies downsize it usually indicates they want to save money, not spend.

Let's be hopeful though.

[Dynacruiser]

52 minutes ago, JsMom2 said:

Azamara just laid off 20% of their shoreside personnel.  Hopefully that will free up revenue enhance the onboard experiences. 

 

Wow, this thread is full of surprises.   How did you find out?    

 

We were just becoming comfortable with better customer service, I hope this doesn't affect their performance.   

 

I know every company needs to be profitable and the cruise industry struggled for several years, but this is not the time to reduce staff.  They already have too many people complaining, they can't afford to lose repeat customers or scare new ones away.

[DS]

58 minutes ago, JsMom2 said:

Azamara just laid off 20% of their shoreside personnel.  Hopefully that will free up revenue enhance the onboard experiences. 

Source of this info ??

[fruitmachine]

1 hour ago, JsMom2 said:

Azamara just laid off 20% of their shoreside personnel.  Hopefully that will free up revenue enhance the onboard experiences. 

Azamara have achieved the recovery they have (remember how dire it was a year ago) with an almost entirely new customer service team.  Now that they will be coming fully up to speed and ability, I suspect a 20% saving in that area will have been simple without a significant adverse impact.  Also, we have no idea how many 'excess' personnel might have been forced on them as part of the buy-out.  They have stabilized the ship, [pun intended] and any company, regardless of ownership, should in those circumstances be reviewing its operations.

[ChucktownSteve]

6 hours ago, JsMom2 said:

Azamara just laid off 20% of their shoreside personnel.  Hopefully that will free up revenue enhance the onboard experiences. 

That statement taken out of context doesn't tell me the true story.