CRZR58

We always use Select dining. One time, we weren't ready to eat at our selected time, so we went to the desk and told them to give our reservation away about an hour early. We asked if we could reserve later and were told no. Also asked if we could simply show up later and get the buzzer and were told that would 'likely be OK'. We ended up eating in the Buffet instead and enjoyed our meal, so I don't have a definitive answer for you.

We always choose select dining and pre-book all of our dinners online prior to the cruise. It works great most of the time, except on Equinox where they don't have 2 lines, with reservations and without reservations, which caused us to wait for our table for the first couple of nights.

Once you realize that 'swim diaper' and 'fecal teabag' are the same thing, the answer becomes obvious.

What makes you think they are controlling costs over increasing margins? You're making assumptions. Do you think it is a simple matter to balance all the factors involved and still produce a product that people will buy and meet their fiduciary responsibilities? Do you really think this can all be boiled down to a few conclusiory sentences? You are delusional.

If you are you suggesting that X isn't increasing their margins, then it's you who are delusional.

I never said, suggested, or inferred that it's simple to balance all the factors involved.

Methinks that you protest too much for an average cruiser. :confused:

It's not so much that Celebrity couldn't continue to provide great food and service. It's that Celebrity is choosing to increase margins instead. They reduce the quality and availability of the so called 'free' or included food then charge extra for what used to be included. They reduce the number of staff then make the ones who are left work even harder. It comes as no surprise that the overall experience suffers.

They will continue the race downwards until they hit a point were they can't easily fill their ships. If/when that happens, they won't just be able to re-instate the last round of cuts to get their customers back. It will become increasingly expensive to entice the folks they already pissed off. Basically they will only have price to differentiate themselves from their competitors which, hopefully, will mean better prices for cruisers.

I wouldn't ignore any of the comments around here, but I would take all comments with a big grain of salt, both the positive and the negative. Those with negative comments aren't just complainers. They often have valid complaints, but those complaints may or may not effect your vacation.

Our first Celebrity trip was on Reflection and it was our best X experience by far. That being said it's also our experience the level of food in the MDR has gone way down in quality and the level of service has too. So much so in fact that our last vacation was an all-inclusive, which we found to be almost as good and significantly cheaper. If you expect fine dining, you will be unhappy. If you expect the Olive Garden at sea, you'll likely be very happy. If you expect the large hall experience, you're probably on the right track.

If X had decided to have an extra charge burger almost anywhere else on the boat, they wouldn't be getting a lot of the well deserved complaints. It's not just that it's an extra charge, it's that you can't get anything that isn't an extra charge poolside. Lawn club or Gastro Pub extra cost burger? No one complains.

They compounded the problem by misleading advertising regarding the Kobe beef. If they'd said x% Kobe style beef, they could have eliminated most of the rest of the complaints.

We charge for burgers is the antithesis of Modern luxury.

People have already spoken with their wallets. Equinox is the 2nd ship to get these upcharge burgers.

It's yet another example of death by a thousand cuts, but they can keep cutting until the ships are no longer full.

As for the OVC burgers... They were disgusting on our last cruise. They would have to be upgraded considerably to even make the old Mast Grill standards, which honestly weren't great but were included.

Why are you trying to start another argument?:confused: You're basically taunting folks who disagree with your positivity.

I've seen ILounge staff getting lots of abuse from angry passengers who "lost" their minutes, or just frustrated by internet performance.

Fair enough. I can see that happening. I'll change to Tender Driver. :cool:

Best: Working in the ILounge. Short hours and it's rarely busy.

Worst: Customer 'Service' Desk. Everyone's complaining and you can't do much about it.

I don't pack a suit or a Tux. I haven't even packed a dinner jacket and I don't stand out on Chic evenings. Then again, I wouldn't stand out if I wore a suit, Tux or dinner jacket either.

Just wear what you feel comfortable in, unless that's a wife beater with a baseball cap in the full lock position, short shorts and flip flops. Nobody wants to see that in the MDR on Chic nights.

These are not published results. It's generally considered proprietary information. In my previous career I was an executive for a national ISP that also created one of the first public bulletin boards. One of the things that we researched constantly was how close the anonymous posters on the boards were representative of our customer base (which was well over 1MM). Conclusions were based on an array of data points which were from focus groups, polling, customer service feedback and third party information (which were from studies done by market analysts).

We also compared the results we had arrived at to other similarly situated service industries that had also launched anonymous boards. The results were remarkably consistent.

 

You'll just have to take my word for it. If not...well, then believe what you want. Although I think you would be hard pressed to defend any statement that people who post on CC are proportionately representative of all cruisers. Further, the proof is in the pudding. If they were, then Celebrity and other cruise lines would far more responsive to posts here.

You'll have to forgive me if I don't take an anonymous posters stats at face value, especially when you have no links for me to check them against. As I've said before your premise doesn't match up to my personal experiences and I've been on BBS's since the 300 Baud days (Pre-ISP).

I'm sure you know that any data from years ago isn't accurate and may not even be indicative of the current situation. In short, I don't think you have proven your claim that 60% of anonymous users are 'passionate complainers'. In fact, it sounds like something that management uses as an excuse not to take social media posts seriously.

As others have pointed out your proof is in the pudding isn't proof of anything and other cruise lines do react to CC posts.

Companies do this type of statistical analysis all of the time. I know because I have assisted in multiple capacities. You claimed that CC is a good cross-section of cruisers in general. That's simply incorrect. Anonymous forums tend to attract specific personality types and polarized opinions, with occasional drop-ins by those that just want a a specific question answered. Further, about 60% of those that are vigorous or passionate complainers will be unlikely to complain when personally involved or when they have to identify themselves. In short, here you will mostly find a very vocal minority.

CC is a place to talk about cruising in general. This forum is talking about cruising with Celebrity. Although the users are anonymous, they are most likely Celebrity customers, former or maybe future Celebrity customers. Why would anyone else even be here?

You claim that 60% of anonymous users are 'passionate complainers' . That is certainly not my experience around here. In fact, I see more 'passionate cheerleaders'. Folks who are unlikely to complain in person are folks who would move on to another company rather than complain. That doesn't make their complaints any less real, and it certainly doesn't make them 'passionate complainers'. If anything, it makes them non-complainers. One would think that cruise companies would love to read what anonymous cruisers are really thinking.

Can you provide a link to a scientific study that you are getting your stats from? I'd like to read it.

What makes you think that posters are a god cross-section of cruisers.

I absolutely do not agree. in fact, statistically, anonymous online posters almost never representative of any company's actual customer base.

What makes you think that everyone who isn't posting agrees with your, or any specific, point of view?

How could anyone create statistics that say anything about anonymous posters?

After reading through this thread, I'd like to point out things that are misinformation IMO:

Those who don't post here aren't all happy. Some move on quietly. Some don't want to deal with the flaming from those who disagree with them. Some have no idea that CC even exists.

CC is a good cross section of cruisers. Those who have complaints don't post more than those who are happy. In fact, in my experience single negative posts are met by several positive or 'flaming' posts.

Both positive and negative posts, and everything in between, are valid. Ignoring either side of any disagreement or belittling it doesn't help anyone.

It's not just the Celebrity forum or CC, it's every online forum.

The 'Cheerleader's' want everyone to just say good things. They go out of their way to 'attack' those who say anything that's not positive. They can't understand why everyone doesn't see things the way they do and they expect those with complaints to stop posting and go somewhere else.

The 'Eeyore's' can't find anything good to say. They go out of their way to 'attack' those who thing things are fine. They can't understand why everyone else doesn't see things they way they do and expect those with 'Rose Coloured Glasses' to stop posting good things.

The 'Every-man's' just want to read everyone's experiences so they have the best info to go by. They take both the Cheerleader's and the Eeyore's for what they are and make up their own minds.

The only place we felt was crowded was at the pool. Lots of small areas to 'call your own' if that's what you're into.

Note... You can make reservations online before you board for select dining. Do it. It will save you from having to wait if you want to eat when everyone else wants to.

Gotta say I can't agree with those who say the MDR on Equinox is excellent. It's usually just OK. We got several inedible dishes and the wine waiters were pretty much useless on our last Equinox trip.

Loved the Tuscan Grill tho. When we get an on board discount, it's worth the money to us.

Celebrity posts the dress code. Some folks choose not to abide by it. Celebrity doesn't do anything about it. That's the whole story here.

Three years ago because of itinerary DH and I booked a Royal Caribbean 14 day cruise on Legend after many X cruises. It was a BIG reminder why we enjoy X. Definitely there have been changes to X since we started sailing on it, but the service, food, service, specialty restaurants, service, general atmosphere, service...and did I mention service (?) are SOOOO much better on X still. As far as we're concerned there is NO competition with Royal and certainly no competition with Carnival (who in our opinion is like a floating frat party)! I don't get those who seem to spend so much time posting what they don't like about any cruise line. If I were so unhappy with a particular cruise line, I'd simply not bother with them and move on. Why spend hours posting negatively trying to convince others to abandon ship? Speak with your wallet and book what you like is my motto. Why the need to get others to follow. I just don't get it!

A few points:

• I can't speak for RCI, but Celebrity was way better 3 years ago than it is today.
  
• We won't sail Carnival again either.
  
• We have spoken with our wallets. Our last trip was a 2 week all inclusive that was great and cheaper than 1 week OV when you take everything into account. We've got our eyes on a Windstar trip next.
  
• What's not to get about posting about a product that's going down hill? I get that Companies would love it if folks who didn't like their product would simply go away quietly and not complain, then they could 'pretend' that everyone is really happy. I don't get why other customers wouldn't want to hear opposing opinions, especially before they've booked.
  

If Celebrity really wants to become a better Carnival, then they are certainly going in the right direction. They are now in direct competition with Royal as well as NCL, MSC and Costa. How many RCI customers will they attract? Quite a few, I'd guess considering the points systems.

The only advantage that X has right now is that a lot of cruisers still see them as a higher end brand. That advantage will disappear as more and more ex X cruisers tell others why they left, leaving them to compete for traveler's wallets on a pure cost basis and land based, all inclusive, vacations are always going to be cheaper. (Don't make the mistake of thinking that they are only competing with other cruises)

I'm reminded of a Canadian story about a retail chain that owned two major types of stores. One sold higher end stuff and the other sold lower end stuff. Both brands, independently, brought in high priced corporate fixers to tell them how to maximize their profits. The higher end brand was told to bring in more mid range and low end stuff to appeal to a wider market. The low end brand was told to bring in more mid range and high end stuff to appeal to a wider market. Both brands implemented the very expensive restructuring plans and ended up going into direct competition with each other. One of the dumbest things to happen in Canadian retail as it only took a few years before it basically killed 2 brands.

If you insist on sitting at a table for two, near the window....well then you will wait unless you make a reservation.

Didn't say near the window. It's nice when it happens tho.