What next?

It seems that every cruise we take, something else is missing.

We just returned from the Eclipse and there is no longer a supply of cotton balls and qtips. Now they give you a Vanity pack and they don't replace it twice a day unless you ask.

You also have to ask for facecloths.

We had chocolates only one night out of 14.

There are no longer any nuts at the salad bar. They told me to "just ask". I did and the walnuts were the blackest I have ever seen. Obviously I didn't ask again!

I can't think of anything else at the moment, but I am sure that those of you who read this, will also think of things that were removed.

You'll be charged for checked bags.

I personally don't mind the container of cotton swabs and cotton balls being replaced by vanity packs. The thought that these were there from cruise to cruise and just topped up as needed grossed me out. Nothing screamed more unsanitary to me.

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Nothing you posted really impacts our cruise experience so that's good.

On the Eclipse last month had face clothes without asking.

Always thought the cotton balls were unsanitary so prefer the vanity pack.

Chocolates did disappear at about night 10 but we never ate them so just assumed the steward stopped leaving them because we didn't eat them.

It seems that every cruise we take' date=' something else is missing.

 

We just returned from the Eclipse and there is no longer a supply of cotton balls and qtips. Now they give you a Vanity pack and they don't replace it twice a day unless you ask.

 

You also have to ask for facecloths.

 

We had chocolates only one night out of 14.

 

There are no longer any nuts at the salad bar. They told me to "just ask". I did and the walnuts were the blackest I have ever seen. Obviously I didn't ask again!

 

I can't think of anything else at the moment, but I am sure that those of you who read this, will also think of things that were removed.[/quote']

 

 

What type of stateroom did you have?

None of these issues on out June Reflection cruise.

Just because things are different/missing on one cruise on one ship, does not mean the whole fleet is doing so. Many times if revenue is down on a certain ship they will cut a few corners for a while.

It's all about the bean-counters and the bottom line. However, the overall experience is pretty much the same to me, and I've been doing the cruise thing for 4 decades. Still having fun after all these years!!

And these things impacted the enjoyment of your cruise? Seriously?

Oh my! We have always used the swabs and cotton balls to wipe off our lounger by the pool. :rolleyes:

Truth is change is inevitable...

Anyone who has taken Marketing 101 knows this... A product has to evolve in some ways to meet the times and a newer audience.

Ya sometimes it sucks when an old standby that you loved disappears

And sometimes a new addition is a good thing

Fact is you either roll with the changes... Embrace them... Or move on

Nothing wrong in either mix

At this point in time Mr Sloop & I are quite content with what Celebrity delivers overall... Be they Familiar or New so for now we are staying put

Cheers!

Truth is change is inevitable...

 

Anyone who has taken Marketing 101 knows this... A product has to evolve in some ways to meet the times and a newer audience.

What's described above isn't evolution. It's just examples of cutbacks without replacement.

It may be that those cutbacks don't bother you, which is fine. However, any regular cruiser of Celebrity will have seen a fair number of cutbacks over time, and know they're not related to evolution i.e. changes from one thing to another, but just simple cost savings.

Just off the Millennium, and now you mention it we did not have cotton buds or cotton balls, but I did not miss them. We did not get a vanity pack but we did get large tubes of body lotion, body wash, conditioner, shampoo, and wrapped soap. We always had fresh face washers and towels as often as we needed.

We did not get any chocolates at all, but on the first formal night of each cruise (we did a B2B, 2 x 7 day cruises) we got a wrapped chocolate mint cookie each and a rose and fresh flowers in a vase. We were in an inside room.

There were various seeds and nuts at the breakfast and salad bars.

What's described above isn't evolution. It's just examples of cutbacks without replacement.

 

 

 

It may be that those cutbacks don't bother you, which is fine. However, any regular cruiser of Celebrity will have seen a fair number of cutbacks over time, and know they're not related to evolution i.e. changes from one thing to another, but just simple cost savings.

As long as we cruisers continue to demand lower fares and more perks, things will disappear and evolve.

My grocery bill has increased dramatically this past year. Sometimes people forget that businesses are not immune from cost increases. So cotton swabs get swallowed up in a higher price for beef ...

It's good to know that these things may be missing though, as I for one, will now pack accordingly. Will now pack cotton balls and face cloths as I did make use of these. And seriously - cotton balls - unhygienic! Sheesh!! You can take hygiene a tad too far imho.

It seems that every cruise we take' date=' something else is missing.

 

We just returned from the Eclipse and there is no longer a supply of cotton balls and qtips. Now they give you a Vanity pack and they don't replace it twice a day unless you ask.

 

You also have to ask for facecloths.

 

We had chocolates only one night out of 14.

 

There are no longer any nuts at the salad bar. They told me to "just ask". I did and the walnuts were the blackest I have ever seen. Obviously I didn't ask again!

 

I can't think of anything else at the moment, but I am sure that those of you who read this, will also think of things that were removed.[/quote']

 

Did you find the oars under your bed ??? :) :) :)

 

 

Steve

So, is that the total review of your cruise and the ship? Seems to be lacking a wee bit of balance. :rolleyes:

Thank you for reporting this, OP. I for one did count on the cotton balls and Qtips being available. What was in the vanity pack?

I'm not enjoying any of the cutbacks Celebrity has been making. I want chocolate. I want ice, but I don't want to have to ask for it. I want washcloths. Even Motel 6 provides washcloths without having to ask for them. I'm a very laid-back person and dislike asking having to ask for things. I sincerely hope that Celebrity changes their website to reflect items that we can expect in our rooms versus what may available upon request.

just returned from the summit. Our balcony room had cotton balls, but our kids inside across the hall did not. chocolates only once the whole week i think.

What’s next? The venerable reaction from some - “a cruise is what you make of it, don’t complain”'

After that, look to airlines and see what is next.

Thank you for reporting this, OP. I for one did count on the cotton balls and Qtips being available. What was in the vanity pack?

 

I'm not enjoying any of the cutbacks Celebrity has been making. I want chocolate. I want ice, but I don't want to have to ask for it. I want washcloths. Even Motel 6 provides washcloths without having to ask for them. I'm a very laid-back person and dislike asking having to ask for things. I sincerely hope that Celebrity changes their website to reflect items that we can expect in our rooms versus what may available upon request.

The vanity pack was boxed (which cost $). It contained 2 cotton balls, maybe 2 q-tips and a miniature emery board. Can you imagine how many emerie boards I had leftover! ($$)

So much for cost cuts.

I guess there are those who have no need for cotton balls, but I use them, so like you, I will now bring my own. At least my post was useful to one person!!

To those who made snarky remarks: if you think your sarcasm is appreciated.....well...good luck to you.

To the person who asked what kind of cabin and the poster who mentioned inexpensive itineraries....this was a Baltic cruise. Although we had an inside cabin, it was the most expensive cruise we have taken to date...over $6000 for an inside.

To the person who thought this was a full report, I was addressing one issue only. How could you think this was a full report???

We cruise quite a bit and I don't appreciate that each time, something else has been eliminated.

I wonder how often someone from Celebrity reads these posts? Do they ever take the time to read through things like this? It might be helpful to them to gauge the feelings of consumers using their product.

Then your post and posts like it become useful tools.

Does anyone know if Celebrity reads these boards ever?

Thanks for the info.

The vanity pack was boxed (which cost $). It contained 2 cotton balls' date=' maybe 2 q-tips and a miniature emery board. Can you imagine how many emerie boards I had leftover! ($$)

 

So much for cost cuts.

 

I guess there are those who have no need for cotton balls, but I use them, so like you, I will now bring my own. At least my post was useful to one person!!

 

To those who made snarky remarks: if you think your sarcasm is appreciated.....well...good luck to you.

 

To the person who asked what kind of cabin and the poster who mentioned inexpensive itineraries....this was a Baltic cruise. Although we had an inside cabin, it was the most expensive cruise we have taken to date...over $6000 for an inside.

 

To the person who thought this was a full report, I was addressing one issue only. How could you think this was a full report???

 

We cruise quite a bit and I don't appreciate that each time, something else has been eliminated.[/quote']

 

A very good response, I'd say.

On a positive note...the new vanity pack qtips were much better than the old qtips...almost busted an eardrum as they had very very little cotton on the tips.

Your post was useful to me as well....we choose to use our carry-on bags to pack in and had eliminated a few items that were supplied, but I will be sure to start packing these items again.

The vanity pack was boxed (which cost $). It contained 2 cotton balls' date=' maybe 2 q-tips and a miniature emery board. Can you imagine how many emerie boards I had leftover! ($$)

 

So much for cost cuts.

 

I guess there are those who have no need for cotton balls, but I use them, so like you, I will now bring my own. At least my post was useful to one person!!

 

To those who made snarky remarks: if you think your sarcasm is appreciated.....well...good luck to you.

 

To the person who asked what kind of cabin and the poster who mentioned inexpensive itineraries....this was a Baltic cruise. Although we had an inside cabin, it was the most expensive cruise we have taken to date...over $6000 for an inside.

 

To the person who thought this was a full report, I was addressing one issue only. How could you think this was a full report???

 

We cruise quite a bit and I don't appreciate that each time, something else has been eliminated.[/quote']