iandjm

So I guess celebrity have saved a fair amount by cutting our stay from 2 days to one compared to the original itinerary?

Any cruise on Oceania is fantastic 😁

That has to be total rubbish. Ships pay to be in port by the hour so Celebrity are saving a small fortune halving the port stay.

The reason we feel it is celebrities fault is that they have also extended the port stay at Catalina island, which does not warrant more than a few hours stay. If we had left there mid afternoon we could still have cruised at a slower speed and arrived at San Francisco the day before, allowing an overnight in the city.

I am also on this cruise. To initially lose Monterey and have that substituted by Catalina island was disappointing (Catalina island is a few miles from Los Angeles, where we board, so we spend 17 hours drifting around before anchoring there) To now lose one whole day in San Francisco and have the port stay in Catalina Island extended so the ship can now travel painfully slowly from what is a port that nowhere near warrants a whole days visit, is pretty bad. I appreciate the reasoning of slowing down for whale migration (which has been known about for centuries) but I believe this is just being used to justify the fuel and port charge savings that Celebrity wishes to achieve. To be honest I would have rather skipped Catalina island and drifted to San Francisco to have two days there. San Francisco is one of the highlights of the whole trip. Now we have only 8am - 5pm there, which is just not adequate for a city of that size. The ship could easily have been scheduled to cruise at the lower speed and arrive the evening before, allowing us an evening out in the city. I have worked out the speed we now need to maintain after leaving Catalina island to get to San Francisco at the new time and it’s under 8 knots! Celebrity need to realise that we are not as naive as they think!

llutoff-perlo@celebritycruises.com works for me

Seems like they have removed the desirability of the ocean view cafe, want people to go to an already overcrowded MDR, with its questionable food quality and service, and have started charging for a viable alternative, room service. Meanwhile their marketing continues to tell us how wonderful they are. This is pure greed in my eyes and the beginning of their self destruction.

Plus I found in October the food variety and quality in the buffet was, until these changes far better than the MDR.

I guess the big problem is once you are elite plus the chances of making zenith are around zero unless I sail with them until I am 250 years old.

Especially as us singles pay the same on Celebrity to add drinks tips and WiFi as two people would!

With a 1% loyalty discount for elite plus and zenith 🤣

Sounds worryingly similar. The MDR food and service was awful compared to the normal Celebrity service. And what the heck were the two waiters going round signing and playing guitars at the tables. It was so downmarket. The restaurant management didn’t want to engage with any diners and the waiters seemed to be on their first cruise pre trained. and that’s before the cutbacks!

We were on that cruise too. It was a bit grim eh 😩

Sadly the food and service on the October canaries cruise was poor as they had filled the ship to capacity despite being short of crew. It was not a good experience.

I’ve just spoken to the exec office as well. Same story. The lady kept saying they are pushing ahead with changes anyway and will see what feedback is. I did suggest for example that higher loyalty club members could receive things like ‘free’ room service as they were the ones that knew that is was once included. She laughed. Says it all really.

Shows how brainwashed people get. It’s all about principles.

I think you talk about the biggest issue. We book a cruise with certain things included and these have now been taken away before we sail. It’s like ordering a car and it not having half of the features shown in the brochure when delivered.

The way Celebrity is you in they will be charging for toilet paper, by the sheet.

Exactly. We have principles.

I have had similar experiences when talking to the executive office. They were utterly clueless about Celebrity and its policies and quite frankly made a fool of both themselves and the company.

Yes the experience is being cheapened massively by all the new charges, reduced dining, poor quality food and service etc. Yet the cost of going on a cruise has increased a lot. Meanwhile Celebrity’s propaganda tells us how upscale they are. Afraid I’m moving away from Celebrity to Oceania, who on many occasions end up cheaper for a product that is far better.

I must admit my thinking is the same. I would rather go upscale and a cruise less than have the downgraded experience Celebrity now offers.

The increased prices for a decreased experience. My Silhouette October cruise convinced me Celebrity has lost its charm and service and quality are heading downmarket fast. The latest changes confirm I will not be booking any more Celebrity cruises as land holidays offer better value and quality for less money.

I agree totally. The dining is amazing and the entertainment does not annoyingly follow you around the ship to the point where you cannot even talk to friends without shouting. Funny enough the Oceania dining is not dissimilar to that I experienced on my first cruise on Millennium back in 2004.

I’m quite shocked at what is happening to the Celebrity I loved. I know it’s only a small thing, but it’s another small thing being eroded! Plus prices are now going through the roof to the point where it’s cheaper to cruise with Oceania and Azamara.