Airspeed

I lost it when I was presented by a celebrity on board sales representative with a $17,000 plus fare for a royal suite on a 7 day cruise in the Caribbean, while we were paying much less for the current royal suite on the Silhoutte for a 9 day cruise.

And we are not cheap cruisers. Before they ruined the Penthouse Suite on the Summit during their "devoltion" upgrade we were in there twice.

So Celebrity is downgrading their best suites and charging more and more, with the smug sales rep on the Silhoutte going "it is supply and demand" (he was not aware he was talking to a published economist), there has got to be a reckoning, especially with the new number of cruise ships coming on line...

On 4/1/2019 at 8:35 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

So nice to see what was and, sadly, is no more.  I do have pictures, but never thought to take a video.  Unfortunately, 3 of my next 5 cruises are on the Summit, 2 of them B2B for 28 days in 6148.  Maybe we'll have a funeral.  For sure, those stupid milk cartons on the balcony will have a funeral.  If I had known what was coming, I would have concentrated on the S class ships before Ms. Hoppen gets her grubby hands on them.  It was positively criminal to take out that gorgeous mosaic entry and the beautiful parquet flooring.  I will be on the Solstice in May.  Will enjoy that at least.

Hi happy cruiser,

When exactly are your necct cruises, or did they already happen? If they already happened, any impressions you would like to report back? Would love to hear your impressions.

On 4/4/2019 at 3:17 PM, chemmo said:

Much as the M PH has been best cruise room the S class experience has given us our best cruises. We have mainly cruised RS on Equinox, Solstice, Reflection and Eclipse with a splurge on the PH on one of our Eclipse cruises.

 

I don’t know what room you have chosen but the RS on S class offers cruisers everything they need whilst the PH is a total decadence of light and space...

 

Have a fantastic next cruise!

We are doing the RS on the Silhoutte. I am very much looking forward to that cruise.

Thanks!

On 4/15/2019 at 9:31 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

Really good design is also functional.  The two need not be mutually exclusive.  We're not talking clothing here, we're talking furniture.

Ditto. Post -modernism (1950s and 60s, post-Bauhaus) was all about form follows function, not the other way around. Modern design and functionality do not havev to be in conflict,  in fact good design is not gimmicky. But you will notice that good modern design blends well with traditional surroundings. A Barcelona chair (Miehs van der Rohe) would look stunning on the original wooden parquet flooring the Penthouse Suite on the Summit had....

4 hours ago, Covepointcruiser said:

$1500 a day for a Celebrity Suite is much too much.   We have enjoyed Cunards

Queens Grill and Seabourn’s Owner’s Suite for much less.   On Azamara now and

have booked a transatlantic in one of the higher suites for less than half the cost of the RS on the Silhouette crossing last year.   Celebrity needs to rethink their prices.   Those of us in the Elite + category have nothing to lose switching lines.  Of course on Azamara, your captains club credits transfer.    I can’t wait until we hear something similar on Silver Seas.   They have so many wonderful destination and are not stuck with the ports that can take large ships.

Hi, can you tell us what kind of suite on the Azamara you have booked? Thanks!

18 hours ago, chemmo said:

Sorry, did not mean to offend the piano!

 

When we were on board the Summit our piano had two tracks on memory and that was it. We did speak to the butler. They obviously did some work on it before you got on board. Our balcony furnishings were ‘softer’ than in your video so I think we cruised Summit prior to you...Our first ever M PH was on Millie....

 

That deck alone would still encourage us to book an M PH again although if we hosted a dine on deck event we may ask guests to bring their own chairs!!!

 

We haven’t booked M class for a few years now....we are not big Luminae fans and the lack of an Olympic/Ocean Liners...has been a real miss for us...Dining is ‘our evening entertainment’, on S class and particularly on Reflection and Silhouette there are lots of choices. We did really enjoy LPC but it is a once every so often experience....it is fun, not fine, dining which leaves M class with one speciality restaurant....

 

 

 

Our next cruise in December will be on the Silhoutte. Very much looking forward to this 9 day cruise, our first on the S class.

Chemmo said: " Some furnishings are always more about ‘the look’ than anything else the grand Pianois a good example but I do wonder if they simply purchased a warehouse full of furnishings and are now just trying to find our where to put them. "

I say: The grand piano is, or better was, a Yamaha C1, that is their upper line conservatory series. This is actually a good instrument (I have the monster C7, 7'4" at home). It is not just a piece of furniture.

I featured it extensively in this video I made of the Penthouse Suite last year prior to the Devolution:

Oh I wish they had not ruined it! I won't go into the new suite... I refuse to!

22 hours ago, Dr. Cocktail said:

The website has been updated with post - revolutionary photos....

 

https://webapps.celebritycruises.com/revolution/#

They call it "Revolution". Nice marketing, but inaccurate. The correct term is "Devolution"...

1 minute ago, texswamper said:

 

I'll be on the 4/20 sailing, so I'll try to give my thoughts afterwards.  Having never sailed in it pre Revolutionized, I don't have anything to compare it to besides photos & video but I will definitely be able to see if it feels like luxury now.  I know the space is the same but that's not always the criteria people are searching for when they are spending that kind of money on vacation and I know it's considered "first world problems" but still a valid concern for some.  

Thanks, looking forward to your report back.

On 2/19/2019 at 3:13 PM, goldsmip115 said:

I just had a frustrating “chat” with a Celebrity agent about the total absence of real pictures of the Millenium revolution.  I specifically asked about the Penthouse Suite since I have 19 nights booked in that suite on the Summit starting in April.  The agent said that there are no public pictures yet, but they hear that some will be coming soon.  Then I got the full PR sales job about the famous Kelly redesigning everything, blah, blah, blah.  He did end up sending me this link which has a total of 4 renderings.  For what it’s worth.....

 

If I want cheapo modern design, I go to Ikea, not the Summit!...

On 3/25/2019 at 12:49 PM, texswamper said:

 

I sure hope that chair in the living room by the TV is more comfortable than it looks.  Though the style of furnishings is not my taste at home, I'm looking forward to spending the week in a fresh new suite!  Is anyone concerned about how these light colored furnishings will hold up over time with all the use & abuse?  Stains & soil would be my concern with so much light colored upholstery & light carpet.  

They ruined the penthouse suite, in my opinion. Been in it twice, will never go in it again. That awful grey wooden flooring that replaced much better flooring, no piano, that bizarre egg shaped contraption of a chair taking its place. What were they thinking???

20 hours ago, First family said:

Egg shaped seat doesn’t sound comfortable. Too bad they didn’t think of recliners. More practical. I sail in 6148 this Saturday on Summit and I’m opening it up for a meet and greet for cruise critics.

I have been in both 6147 and 6148. Take pictures, or even better, do a video. I did one about a year ago, here is the link:

18 hours ago, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

 

But will you get as much real estate?

No piano. No parquet flooring. I checked out the Princess Grand Suite.

I now had a closer look at the new Penthouse suite on the Summit. Where they had the piano they now have a ridiculous egg shaped seating apparatus. And they tore out the beautiful parquet flooring and replaced it with some grey wood crap.

What a sad sight to see. Ruined a perfectly good product... Not going into that new suite, not worth the money...

Well, I have seen the first videos now, and it looks like they removed all the charm out of the Penthouse suite...

Well, the first videos of the remake are out, and from what I have seen, they did ruin the Penthouse Suite.

Oh well, one less potential customer....

1 hour ago, chemmo said:

 

Great post, we have cruised the M class PH a few times and are curious about how it looks now...We are hoping for a bit brighter but still classic, some decent deck furniture and hope that the pantry is still there.

 

 

I hope they still have the parquet flooring, and the grand piano...

Thank you!

The Celebrity Summit is out of her 2019 refresh, now getting ready for more cruises in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I am very curious about how the refresh turned out, especially for the penthouse suite. So I hope to see lots of YouTube video postings showing the "new" Summit. I have sailed her three times in the last two years, and always liked her.

Thank you!!!

1 hour ago, Ma Bell said:

It always makes me laugh when people say older people are "afraid of change" since they are the ones who have experienced a lot of change and survived. Maybe when some of the "whippersnappers" are old they will have enough experience to figure that out.

Good point!

19 hours ago, BOLOCRUISE said:

My wife and I only cruise on Celebrity and although we love both S Class and M Class ships, we prefer the layout and flow of the M Class best.  In addition, the old school styling of M Class we favor.  However, the photos of the changes on Millennium I have seen look pretty amazing.  The MDR color pallet looks beautiful, with touches of brown, grey and champagne. The MDR looks elegant , classic and contemporary combined.  The lounges still have the classic feel, but are more light in color and are very classy.  The  cabins  have wonderful new color schemes and added storage.  The pools are updated with vibrant colors.

 

Personally I can't wait for our cruises on the "Edgified" M Class ships.  

I think the Summit is a really great ship, though a bit aging. The M class ships could use some refurbishment. But don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!

Here are some of the things that I really like about the Penthouse suite (I don't want any class warfare replies to my mentioning this): True parquet wood flooring, old European style, not bling. Fantastic bathrooms. A decent good piano. The suite feels like a home away from home. The Edge may be classy in its own right, but it will lose that warm touch. This is what really attracts me to the Millennium class, a makes these suites such an outstanding product. One of the best on the seas.
 

Some people on this discussion thread accuse people of my opinion to be old-fashioned and afraid of change. That is not the case, though. I am not afraid of improvement and change, as long as the change really is an improvement. I am not sure change always is...

On 2/2/2019 at 6:14 PM, First family said:

I am certainly hoping for great service on the Summit. My expectations are high when I pay $$$$$. I’ve noticed a large scale decline of service in all cruise lines lately, enough so that I nearly didn’t book this cruise on the Summit. I nearly gave up cruising all together. 

Summit is great! Service is outstanding! Enjoy!!

8 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Check out Princess Grand suites, Owner’s suites and the new Sky suites.  Around $500 give or take  pp/pd for the itineraries those in academia can go on whilst still working. Less for vista or window suites.  Amazing square footage- 600 to 1600 sq ft including balcony (not window suites).  Best perk is NO BUTLER and for the most part few and well behaved children on Princess ships in general. 

 

There is a lot of information on the Princess board about their suites. 

 

We sailed Celebrity last December in an Aqua stateroom. While we loved Blu we hated how small the room and balcony was. (And no closed private drawers in the night stands only open shelves yucko !!)

 

 at any rate   We simply can not get anything close to the square footage on Celebrity that we can get on Princess for the $1000 a day for the two of us we are willing to spend.  

 

I routinely check Princess, Cunard, Oceania (they come close but haven’t yet found the right itinerary for the right price at the right time). Sailed Cunard but again for the max price of $1000 per day for both of us  just can’t seem to elevate into the rooms the size of our Princess suites.   

Will do, thanks for the constructive advice!!!

On 2/2/2019 at 8:23 PM, Happy Cruiser 6143 said:

Royal Suites on the M class have a sliding glass door to the veranda.  That's a pretty good window on the world.

 

I think it's interesting that you are condemning the entire process when no one has yet seen it.

Photos and concept pictures.

I've been reading the many replies this topic has generated. I might want to clarify my main gripe: Why change the entire fleet over to the new Edge format when you don't know yet how the market is reacting to the new concept? Is this not an excessive risk you are taking?

In terms of "bashing something I have not tried yet": I have been reading the reviews here, on Cruise Critic, and they did not come out too hot. I am gauging this compared to other reviews of ships I know (not that many, by the way, only the Oceania Riviera and the MSC Divina). And on average, there seems to be at best muted enthusiasm for the Edge.

At this point you will not go wrong going on the Summit, trust me.