Oh Where Oh Where Has Celebrity Gone?

[lawgirl]

We are just back from an 11 night Caribbean cruise out of San Juan with 9 ports (inclusive of San Juan). I have submitted a review on CC, but wanted to post a mini-review here.

I know this review may not sit well with some folks. However, I always appreicate frank reviews on this site - good or bad. And I feel as though some folks are perhaps fearful to make any negative comments because of all the harsh criticism they receive from members if a review is not flattering. Nevertheless, I feel everyone is entitled to his or her opinion even if negative. And, I can assure you that I have never heard so many negative comments about a cruise line as on this cruise. Almost everyone to whom I spoke complained - especially about the food. While you may disagree with me, please respect everyone's right to his or her opinion and know that I am writing this with much disappointment.

Our first cruise was on the Celebrity Summit in 2002 (pre-RCI merger). It was the best cruise we have taken - superior to every other line in terms of food and service. We were hooked on cruising. Since then, we have sailed about twice per year with RCI and once with Princess. We were always satisfied, but still wanted to someday cruise again on Celebrity. I had often recommended the line and was very excited when we booked this cruise. We were surprised and disappointed by how much Celebrity has declined.

There were some good things about this cruise. The best part of the cruise was the folks we met - especially from CC!!!! We had an active pre-cruise board and it was fun to meet and talk in person and enjoy excursions and drinks/dinner with new friends!!!!

Embarkation in San Juan was a breeze. (However be warned that cab fare in San Juan is pricier than in NYC!!!) We stayed at the Marriott Casino Resort for two night pre-cruise. Very nice. Lovely pool area.

Our room was an FV on the back of the ship. It was very large with a huge balcony which we enjoyed. There was tons of storage. The room was in OK shape - the bathroom was a bit moldy and the layout awkward at times. As an example, there are no drawers at the desk/vanity area, so you have no where to store makeup or small items and the lighting at the vanity is dim at best. There are no reading lamps by the bed. Small things and really we had no complaints.

The ports were lovely. We did ship excursions in two ports: parasailing in St. Croix and a catamaran snorkel sail in St. Kitts. Both were excellent and seemed to be a good value.

In Dominica we did a "hike" (more like torture) to Middleham Falls. Not for the average hiker or faint of heart. We barely made it back and were sore for days. Be warned this is NOT an easy excursion.

In Grenada we did Mandoos' tour - well worth every penny - great lunch, great guide (Mandoo) and awesomely beautiful island. Lovely.

In Barbados we did the 12 person Ocean Adventure/Silver Moon catamaran tour and swim with sea turtles. This was a nice excursion with a nice lunch but a bit pricey. Not as fun or party-like as most cat. excursions but fun.

In St. Lucia we toured with Spencer - again gorgeous island and wonderful tour well worth the money. Highly recommend Spencer for St. Lucia and Mandoo for Grenada.

In Curacao, DH dove. He said it was very nice. In Aruba we made up a sea day and stayed onboard.

I did have two spa treatments - they had nice onboard specials and the treatments (especially the hot stone massage for $75) was well worth it.

Overall, the ship is in pretty good shape. It could use some refurbishing in the pool area. The library is great. The layout of the ship is a bit awkward and choppy, but not that big of a deal.

Now, the not so good news.

First, the food in the MDR is the worst food we have had on any cruise. A far cry from when Celebrity used to be the best. Almost nightly everyone at our table ate little of their meal. As an example, "jumbo" shrimp cocktail consisted of 3 to 4 bait-sized shrimp on a small plate. The main courses were uninventive, small portions - steak terribly tough. Many commented that they had a hard time finding an entree to eat compared to most cruises where you could hardly chose because everything looked so good. They literally had a "melon" appetizer every single night. How many times can we eat melon? And many entrees were repeated 2 or 3 times on the cruise.

Formal nights were so disappointing. No special events either before dinner or during dinner. Nothing to even identify it as a special night. If I buy a gown and my husband puts on his tux, can't Celebrity at least make an effort????? A party - or even live music while we dine?

They served lobster once in 11 nights - except it was 1/2 of a ROCK LOBSTER tail - not nice big lobster tails. The rock lobster was size of large shrimp (not lobster) , way over-cooked. No butter was offered with the lobster. AND NO ONE CAME AROUND WITH SECONDS OF THE LOBSTER LIKE ON EVERY OTHER CRUISELINE. It was just strange.

There was also no live music any night in the dining room! This is the first time we ever cruised with no live music - again a small cutback which really does make a difference to the feel of the cruise.

We ate in the specialty restaurant three times to avoid the MDR. One night we skipped the meal altogether because it felt so disppointing to dress for dinner and have terrible food. (The Olympia, is fabulous - food and service outstanding. Even in this speciality restaurant we were told there is no longer live music due to recent "cutbacks." The piano just sits there not being played. A shame.)

As far as activities, this cruise was terribly boring for the active. There were alot of seminars, but virtually no active things to do like line dancing, or dancing by the pool, or pool games (or games of any sort). There are lots of seminars on pain control, languages, etc. However, not all of us want a seminar and some of us prefer something lively! They need a mix of things.

And as for sea days, the band played one hour at the pool - that's it! There was one pool party but it was the oddest thing I have ever seen on a cruise. I am not making this up - ON THE LAST DAY OF THE CRUISE THEY ACTUALLY HAD A BAVARIAN FESTIVAL AT THE POOL FOR LUNCH - it was like a Seinfeld episode. POLKA MUSIC for two hours on a sea day in the Caribbean! Brawts and Bavarian fish - on a Caribbean cruise - this apparently happens every cruise! It did provide excellent laughs because of the sheer ridiculousness of it.

For me, the most disappointing part was the absence of any pre-dinner get-togethers like on all other lines. I have never been on a cruise without a welcome aboard pre-dinner party. However, Celebrity's "frugal" idea of the Captain welcoming us aboard was a champagne toast in the theatre before a show. No appetizers or drinks - no party with mingling - just a toast.

And as for "loyal cruisers" - we are Elite members. The line advertises all of these special parties for Elite members. However, they don't tell you all the parties are in the morning on sea days!!! And they require smart casual dress. Who wants to get dressed up for a morning party in the middle of a sun-filled sea day? Every other line has a pre-dinner party with drinks and appetizers. Again, this is clearly cheaper for Celebrity than having an actual nice evening party like every other line.

And as for the Elite lounge - well, I guess they decided 2nd seating passengers are 2nd rate citizens. The lounge is available from 4 pm to 6 pm - again smart casual. So, if I wanted my free drink, I would have to get dressed for dinner by 4 pm and figure out what to do for 3 hours between the Elite drink and my 8:45 pm dinner time. Given this hassle we did not go to the lounge once. (Which perhaps was Celebrity's plan to save money???) The time would be OK I guess if they didn't require smart causal dressing.

Entertainment was mixed. They had an accordian player (which again seemed a bit sedate and polka-themed) every night in one lounge. There was one small group with a female singer in the Rendevous lounge that was very nice.

Finally, the service - I literally had to make 3 calls and 2 visits to Customer Service to get them to credit me $7.50 for my Elite coupon for pressing 2 garments. The laundry manager had to be called to inspect the coupon - TWICE!!! I don't give a hoot about $7.50 but it was the principle of it all. I guess the $7.50 was, however, very important for Celebrity to get me to pay since they took about an hour of my cruise wasting time on it.

And as for tips - be prepared - tips are now automatic and you are stuck with them if you want them on your sea pass. You either pay the exact amount of recommended tips on your sea pass (not one cent more or less) OR you have to pay cash for all your tips. If you want any adjustment - up or down - you forfeit your right to tip on the sea pass and instead have to tip in cash. We tried again - to no avail - to ask Customer Service to allow us to adjust tips on our sea pass. They were unbending. So, we were caught off guard by this new policy and the inability to change tips and we had to find an ATM for cash tips. More importantly, doesn't Celebrity realize that automatic tipping with no choice to increase or decrease tips is bound to lead to inferior service at least in some cases???

As you can tell, we will not sail on Celebrity again - it is such a shame this great line has fallen so far. While I know this review is harsh, again there were many disappointed cruisers on this ship who may or may not post on CC. I am sure some enjoyed this cruise, but many were surprised by Celebrity's decline. I hope they get their act together. In the meantime, we are booking on RCI or Princess.

[hajekfam]

Originally Posted by lawgirl

Our first cruise was on the Celebrity Summit in 2002 (pre-RCI merger).

Celebrity merged with Royal Caribbean in 1997. So your 2002 cruise was after the merger.

[txsloth]

What ship was this?

[lawgirl]

Sorry - my mistake - the ship was the Millie and I guess I thought the merge was after our cruise, but I was wrong.

[dzcruisers]

Everything you said about the food in the MDR was true on the Infinity on their Seattle to FTL Panama Canal cruise.
We had a great cruise but MDR was a disappointment!

[KODA C]

My BIL and his wife just got off the MILLIE before your cruise,they did the 16 PANAMA cruise.

Thier experience is 100% different than yours.

They had excellent food and the service couldn't have better.

They have cruised before on PRINCESS,HAL and RCCL.

This was their first cruise on CELEBRITY and they can't wait to go back.

KC

[Meena]

Just a quick reply to your review. This is exactly how my husband and I felt when we took the Century Med cruise in October of 2008. We took it the year before and loved it (we've taken 17 Celebrity cruises, so we sort of thought we knew what to expect), but this cruise, every meal in the DR was awful. Meat was tough, no presentation, desserts were terrible. That having been said, we just did the Solstice (we wanted to give them one more chance and it was a new ship) this past October and were pleased with the service and meal selection, etc. There was no music playing any night in the DR either, I guess this was cut back all over. Now, we are looking at the Century next Oct, but I'm really afraid to book this. I've read current reviews about the Century on CC, but after reading your review, I see the improvements have not been made on all ships. I'm sorry you were not able to enjoy the food, which is a huge part of the experience, but I can fully sympathize with you.

[jayoldschool]

can't Celebrity at least make an effort????? A party - or even live music while we dine?

They served lobster once in 11 nights - except it was 1/2 of a ROCK LOBSTER tail - not nice big lobster tails. The rock lobster was size of large shrimp (not lobster) , way over-cooked. No butter was offered with the lobster. AND NO ONE CAME AROUND WITH SECONDS OF THE LOBSTER LIKE ON EVERY OTHER CRUISELINE. It was just strange.

There was also no live music any night in the dining room! This is the first time we ever cruised with no live music - again a small cutback which really does make a difference to the feel of the cruise.

Lobster has ALWAYS been rock lobster. They don't come around and offer seconds. It isn't Sunday night supper at Mom's place. If you want more, just ask. I don't ever remember live music in the MDR. Personally, I am thankful for that. I wouldn't want to listent to loud music while trying to carry a conversation with my table mates. There is plenty of live music throughout the ship in the various lounges. Easy to find before getting to the MDR for late seating.

[Meena]

Just another thought, I think all of the great food that was served years ago on Celebrity is now in the speciality restaurants. If you want that food, you have to pay for it.

[uktog]

So sorry to hear you did not have the culinary experience you have enjoyed in the past. I am getting a little concerned to see so many posts from X regulars highlighting issues with the new menus
Thanks for you honest and well written post

[caliber35]

Sadly, it seems that Celebrity has relegated the M Class ships to their second class. All their attention seems to be focused on the Solstice Class. Also, I have always heard poor remarks on the cruises sailing from San Juan. Two years ago, I sailed on the Constellation and it was first class all the way. Last year I sailed on Solstice when she was brand new, and felt it was one of the best cruises I've had with Celebrity. So my advice might be to try one of the newer ships from a homeland port. That is where Celebrity seems to be focusing their best efforts.

[sasset]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Lobster has ALWAYS been rock lobster. They don't come around and offer seconds. It isn't Sunday night supper at Mom's place. If you want more, just ask. I don't ever remember live music in the MDR. Personally, I am thankful for that. I wouldn't want to listent to loud music while trying to carry a conversation with my table mates. There is plenty of live music throughout the ship in the various lounges. Easy to find before getting to the MDR for late seating.

There was live music most nights in the Main Dining Room on each of our Celebrity cruises over the past eight or so years, although our most recent was back in April 2008. It has been the harpist, but usually a string quartet. They set up near the stairs on the upper level as I recall.

[Gracie115]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Lobster has ALWAYS been rock lobster. They don't come around and offer seconds. It isn't Sunday night supper at Mom's place. If you want more, just ask. I don't ever remember live music in the MDR. Personally, I am thankful for that. I wouldn't want to listent to loud music while trying to carry a conversation with my table mates. There is plenty of live music throughout the ship in the various lounges. Easy to find before getting to the MDR for late seating.

I don't know about anything else but on EVERY X cruise we've been on there has been live music in the MDR. It's not a rock and roll band, usually a piano, violin, other string instrments. It is usually very pleasant although not necessary to enjoy the MDR experience. Did not know X had cut this out, Royal also stopped doing this I believe this year. Based on what I'm reading I guess I'm glad my next X cruise is on the new Solstice.

[dzcruisers]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

Lobster has ALWAYS been rock lobster. They don't come around and offer seconds. It isn't Sunday night supper at Mom's place. If you want more, just ask. I don't ever remember live music in the MDR. Personally, I am thankful for that. I wouldn't want to listent to loud music while trying to carry a conversation with my table mates. There is plenty of live music throughout the ship in the various lounges. Easy to find before getting to the MDR for late seating.

This Sept. was our first X cruise in 10 years with no live music in the MDR. It was never loud or obnoxious, always quite tasteful and definitely quiet background music. It helped create the ambience of fine dining.

I agree that the food that used to be in the MDR is now in the specialty restaurants. They have made improvements in the other food venues on the ship. It's amazing how many people have recently talked about the tough, chewy steaks no matter which ship. In reading the reviews I laugh when I read that the food in the MDR was wonderful,(in the same revew) however we sent our steaks back 4 times and this and that was bad, etc. People are afraid to tell it lke it is because they don't want to get flamed. Even on roll call when we got back there were those whom defended the food and in the same posts said the steaks were inedible and the fish was dry but we always managed to find something wonderful. I don't like to have to send back my food. I didn't because it slowed everyone at the table.
Celebrity is not going to fix it unless they hear the truth.

Jay, What part of SC are you from?

[jackdiamond]

I do not take umbrage with the auto tipping scenario which you describe; and, I respectfully suggest that some form of same has been instituted by almost all of the major cruise lines for good reason.

[jackdiamond]

Obviously, I am disturbed by your culinary experiences; and, I trust that we will not be subjected to same on our future Equinox and Constellation cruises. Otherwise, I am not overly distressed by the remainder of your complaints.

[dutchess43]

MHO is we have no one to blame if the food is no longer good in the MDR then ourselves. By proving that we would pay extra for good food a lot of the cruise lines have taken better cuts of meats etc, desserts like souffles, better presentations & placed them into their alternative restaurants only.

[hajekfam]

Originally Posted by jayoldschool

I don't ever remember live music in the MDR. Personally, I am thankful for that. I wouldn't want to listent to loud music while trying to carry a conversation with my table mates. There is plenty of live music throughout the ship in the various lounges. Easy to find before getting to the MDR for late seating.

It wasn't loud music - as previously stated - on Celebrity the live dinner music was just a string quartet, harpist or pianist playing dinner music. It added to the ambience of the diining room. It never caused a problem carrying on a conversation with our table mates and I am hard of hearing and cannot hear conversations at lounges where the party band plays.

[bphman]

We're doing our first Celebrity after our 2000 Galaxy cruise. Even though it was after the merger, they were still using Apollo for their food services. We were told that all food service would be through RCI in the future but they did not know when. We'll be on the Equinox in a few weeks so we are interested in seeing how things compare.

[Lois R]

Hi, sorry you had such an awful cruise I was reading another
review of the same sailing...totally opposite experience.
Seems to happen alot....2 people, same sailing, its like 2 different
cruises.