Endless onboard Promotion/Sales and Marketing !

I just completed my 20th Celebrity cruise. I only know that from looking at my Captains club profile when I sign in.

I've noticed a continuous increase in onboard sales and marketing over the years but up until now I've been able to tune it out.

I just completed a month aboard the Silhouette. From the moment you board the ship the onslaught begins....It starts with drink packages, dining packages and photo packages then it becomes art sales, ,jewelry sales, cruise sales and on and on...The daily program of activities is now mostly thinly disguised product sales.

I counted one day, and two thirds of the " activities " were actually product promotions.

I finally lost it was during an excursion. We were docked next to a Viking ship, and all the tour busses were lined up. Half for Celebrity, half for Viking, all operated by the same company.

After visiting Olympus, our Celebrity busses stopped for two mandatory shopping stops at stores promoted by the bus ( Celebrity ).

I noticed the Viking busses driving by and back to the ship while we were stuck at a tourist shops for almost an hour .

On another non excursion but ostensibly just a transfer to Lindos, we again stopped. This time for 45 minutes , at a store mandated. It's abusive. I complained when we returned and received $20 per person refund. Celebrity mandates these to get the tour operators to give them lower prices and kickbacks from the stores.

Port shuttles that used to be included, and still are on Seabourn are now a charge. In the case of Palma Mallorca, the 10 minute shuttle from the port is now $16 per person.

The cruise pricing has increased over the years, im ok with that..its a price demand economy. But what irks me is that once I'm onboard it's like a contest to extract as much money as possible. Even the galley tour is now a charge!

One of the managers confided with me that the ships compete with each other, as to how much extra $ per person per day each ship can extract..

Is it just me, or is the marketing , sales and promotional activity become overwhelming and irritating?

I agree with your observation. Some tend to be aggressive in selling. Marketing is an essential part of business but I guess it can be done in a subtle way that will not take away the part of simply enjoying the cruise.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

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I took my first Celebrity cruise last month on the Equinox. I did not find the promotions and/or sales to be any worse than the other cruise lines I've been on in the last 2 years. Royal, NCL, Princess, Carnival, and MSC.

I've learned the gimmicks and don't fall for them anymore. The shopping presentations, the raffles at the shops, the art auctions, etc. I also don't get upset at the specialty dining and drink package pushes. I just keep walking and say no thank you. And I totally don't care for spa type treatments so that's another no thank you and I just don't slow down.

It has definitely increased over the last 8 years but we sail ncl too and celebrity do about half of the pushing ncl do. We just say, were already hooked to the dining, we say we've already got the drinks package and say no thank you quite often. I agree however with the op, it drives me mad when they pop a shop stop in a transfer.

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Hi Kevin...so you gave celebrity anther try :) yes activities are now selling events...the art gallery manager was introduced as a ships officer..etc. we sail celebrity when with friends and Oceania, etc when alone. There are few activities left that are interesting...the guest lectures and admittedly the casino contests. We skip the Fabrege unveiling, the art show champagne, the brown diamond spectacular and the rest of the things you saw. We solved the celebrity excursion issue years ago...we don’t take them with a few exceptions. Yes, it’s all about the $$$’s...

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We skip the Fabrege unveiling,

 

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When in St Petersburgh on a Baltic cruise trip I mentioned how Celebrity abuse / market the Fabergé brand. The tour guide was completely disgusted!

I really think the only way this practice could be stopped would be for fares to increase, and by quite a bit. The ancillary revenue is where they make their profits now, certainly not on fares.

In recent years we have done NCL and Celebrity and from my experience there was no comparison, Celebrity did far less promotions especially bingo. Also, the public announcements were incessant on NCL again promoting mostly Bingo. Celebrity of course generally does only one announcement per day.

On our B2B 7 day cruises last December there were no guest lectures. What annoyed me the most was trying to go from the theater to the restaurant after a show. The halls were so packed with sale tables and lines of guests waiting to "win" something or for an unveiling of the latest and greatest (fill in the blank). We finally resorted to going up or down to a deck without shops. Millennium in August was not quite as bad.

Celebrity does far less on board sales/marketing and much fewer announcements than Royal Caribbean. By the way some folks do want the opportunity to buy discounted dining packages and drinks packages on board. So not all bad.

Fortunately, there are many cruise suppliers available to consumers who wish a ship board ambience different from what is provided by Celebrity.

On my last Celebrity cruise, I came to the rescue of an elderly couple having lunch at the next table to us at the Oceanview Cafe - back deck at the stern. The staff member was harassing them to purchase specialty dining packages. Leaning over between them, saliva whipping from his mouth, hands waving. Their distress was overt. This went on for 10 minutes or so. I took pictures. Got up and told him to leave immediately - he was incensed. He said he needed these sales to make his quota. He left. The elderly lady took my hand and squeezed it and thanked me. I went immediately to the manager of the venue and showed him the pictures and told him this was not a selling feature making me want to purchase Celebrity again.

Not interested in patronizing any cruise supplier who supports this activity - nor any cruise provider where their ships are highly focused on shilling for sales.

So have moved on to Oceania where the ship board ambience is exactly to my taste, along with the bundle of other attributes this cruise supplier provides.

Whether it is a cruise lines, restaurant chain, retail store - sometimes their product offering changes so much that it means you need to change suppliers to allow you to find your "niche".

There is so much change in the world of commerce in the past 5 years in particular (mostly reducing value with increasing cost), that brand loyalty is not necessarily in the interest of the consumer.

To the OP, there are other options out there, try another cruise line, like me, you may find you like it. Does not mean you can't patronize Celebrity in the future as well.

On our B2B 7 day cruises last December there were no guest lectures. What annoyed me the most was trying to go from the theater to the restaurant after a show. The halls were so packed with sale tables and lines of guests waiting to "win" something or for an unveiling of the latest and greatest (fill in the blank). We finally resorted to going up or down to a deck without shops. Millennium in August was not quite as bad.

Not sure what ship you were on but if it was an S class, just walk through the casino.

If you are "bored" enough on a cruise ship to get annoyed about that it´s just a sign that relaxation has reached the maximum level :)

We were on Silhouette and we, along with most of the theater goers, did walk through the casino so it was just as crowded as the sale areas. I have problems with my back and for some reason walking faster is less painful than a slow walk.

Can't remember ever being bored on a ship but did notice the lack of guest speakers.

Fortunately, there are many cruise suppliers available to consumers who wish a ship board ambience different from what is provided by Celebrity.

 

On my last Celebrity cruise, I came to the rescue of an elderly couple having lunch at the next table to us at the Oceanview Cafe - back deck at the stern. The staff member was harassing them to purchase specialty dining packages. Leaning over between them, saliva whipping from his mouth, hands waving. Their distress was overt. This went on for 10 minutes or so. I took pictures. Got up and told him to leave immediately - he was incensed. He said he needed these sales to make his quota. He left. The elderly lady took my hand and squeezed it and thanked me. I went immediately to the manager of the venue and showed him the pictures and told him this was not a selling feature making me want to purchase Celebrity again.

 

Not interested in patronizing any cruise supplier who supports this activity - nor any cruise provider where their ships are highly focused on shilling for sales.

 

So have moved on to Oceania where the ship board ambience is exactly to my taste, along with the bundle of other attributes this cruise supplier provides.

 

Whether it is a cruise lines, restaurant chain, retail store - sometimes their product offering changes so much that it means you need to change suppliers to allow you to find your "niche".

 

There is so much change in the world of commerce in the past 5 years in particular (mostly reducing value with increasing cost), that brand loyalty is not necessarily in the interest of the consumer.

 

To the OP, there are other options out there, try another cruise line, like me, you may find you like it. Does not mean you can't patronize Celebrity in the future as well.

If I remember correctly the OP did try Oceania, and gave a very negative review. If I have it wrong I apologize.

It seems he wants to compare a Mass Market line with luxury and upper premium lines. It's just part of it, I'm fine with it and tolerate it while on a Mass Market line. I do get annoyed when Oceania starts letting these types of things in. Port talks, big sales in the gift shop, bingo, very expensive wine tastings, etc.

I just disembarked from the Equinox last week and didn't notice much of this at all ... it was actually surprising that the only extra charge event we were even offered was the wine blending seminar. I kept saying we weren't interested and even though he was persistent, he stopped talking when I walked away. I barely even remembered this until someone mentioned the pestering. But, that was the only time we even approached us about spending money onboard.

I took my first Celebrity cruise last month on the Equinox. I did not find the promotions and/or sales to be any worse than the other cruise lines I've been on in the last 2 years. Royal, NCL, Princess, Carnival, and MSC.

 

I've learned the gimmicks and don't fall for them anymore. The shopping presentations, the raffles at the shops, the art auctions, etc. I also don't get upset at the specialty dining and drink package pushes. I just keep walking and say no thank you. And I totally don't care for spa type treatments so that's another no thank you and I just don't slow down.

Same here. I found Celebrity to be less annoying since they don't have announcements happening all day.

If I remember correctly the OP did try Oceania, and gave a very negative review. If I have it wrong I apologize.

 

It seems he wants to compare a Mass Market line with luxury and upper premium lines. It's just part of it, I'm fine with it and tolerate it while on a Mass Market line. I do get annoyed when Oceania starts letting these types of things in. Port talks, big sales in the gift shop, bingo, very expensive wine tastings, etc.

Unfortunately, once Celebrity was destined to become a Royal C clone, all of this hawking proliferated in a big way..Staff has pressure to sell sell sell...very crass.

I just completed my 20th Celebrity cruise. I only know that from looking at my Captains club profile when I sign in.

I've noticed a continuous increase in onboard sales and marketing over the years but up until now I've been able to tune it out.

I just completed a month aboard the Silhouette. From the moment you board the ship the onslaught begins....It starts with drink packages, dining packages and photo packages then it becomes art sales, ,jewelry sales, cruise sales and on and on...The daily program of activities is now mostly thinly disguised product sales.

I counted one day, and two thirds of the " activities " were actually product promotions.

 

I finally lost it was during an excursion. We were docked next to a Viking ship, and all the tour busses were lined up. Half for Celebrity, half for Viking, all operated by the same company.

After visiting Olympus, our Celebrity busses stopped for two mandatory shopping stops at stores promoted by the bus ( Celebrity ).

I noticed the Viking busses driving by and back to the ship while we were stuck at a tourist shops for almost an hour .

On another non excursion but ostensibly just a transfer to Lindos, we again stopped. This time for 45 minutes , at a store mandated. It's abusive. I complained when we returned and received $20 per person refund. Celebrity mandates these to get the tour operators to give them lower prices and kickbacks from the stores.

 

Port shuttles that used to be included, and still are on Seabourn are now a charge. In the case of Palma Mallorca, the 10 minute shuttle from the port is now $16 per person.

 

The cruise pricing has increased over the years, im ok with that..its a price demand economy. But what irks me is that once I'm onboard it's like a contest to extract as much money as possible. Even the galley tour is now a charge!

One of the managers confided with me that the ships compete with each other, as to how much extra $ per person per day each ship can extract..

Is it just me, or is the marketing , sales and promotional activity become overwhelming and irritating?

We noticed the same thing on our Eclipse cruise last February.

I even took different colored highlighters to the Daily one day and highlighted real activities in one color and sales pitches in another and the ratio is about what you found - 1/3 real and 2/3 sales.

We're sailing on the Eclipse again this February (still love being out of the cold for the month) and I was hoping things might have changed.

We'll find plenty to do on our own but it's annoying.

BTW - we're just off a month long cruise on Princess. There were TONS of real activities and lectures all day and all evening long!!! Of course, the CD had a staff of 6 people besides himself to help run those activities. Also, there was music in 4 -5 lounges all evening until late! I wish Princess still had the true 14 day cruises in February .

Hacpve you compared Viking prices to Celebrity prices, those stops go towards keeping prices down.

:eek: I definitely noticed it on our last Baltic cruise. They congregated outside of the elevator banks, especially near the buffet, like packs of vultures, pitching everything, everyday. Also circulating thru the buffet area, endlessly, everyday.

Each day I would return to my cabin to find sales pitch literature shoved in our mail slot.

Inside, I would always find the message light on our phone lit up. Thinking it might be one of our friends, I would retrieve the message only to find another sales pitch or four !!!

Every evening when I turned on the TV (usually to access the music channels) it indicated a "message" waiting. And you guessed it, not a legitimate message but MORE sales pitches.

I filed a complaint when I got home and of course never even had the courtesy of a reply. So much for customer care.

I am giving them a last try this January. Hoping for better treatment.

K

Sounds like the "pitches" vary by ship or itinerary. Our September Infinity cruise did not have too many pressures. When we first boarded, we stopped for a martini at the Martini Bar. The waiter did put a high pressure pitch to upgrade to the Premium package from the Classic perk we already had. He was persistent, but not obnoxious. We just said "no thanks". He tried again the next evening, but we just said "no thanks" (it was kind of humorous). He stopped trying after that, but did give us great service all cruise long.:D

Don't remember any other high pressure pitches for anything else. The sommelier one night did pitch the wine blending class, but was more "informational" than pressure. We were not pestered for anything else.

We do appreciate that Celebrity only has one morning announcement (and NOT within the staterooms). We will see what our 2018 Silhouette cruise brings...but, we feel equipped to "walk away". Any day on a cruise ship is still better than a day just about anyplace else. :p

On our Royal C cruise on the Oasis ( a mistake to begin with for us), we had a dress up family birthday dinner in Chops. Things went well but then between dinner and dessert which was the birthday cake...our gauche waiter presented us with some products we could purchase, like a wine aerator. We just glared at him and told him to go away!

It was a shock to have him do that and hope to never see that on X! But we would no longer be shocked....

These would stop happening if people would stop buying stuff. Just like telemarketing would go away if people stopped answering the phone and buying the products.

To ABoatNerd you wrote: On my last Celebrity cruise, I came to the rescue of an elderly couple having lunch at the next table to us at the Oceanview Cafe - back deck at the stern. The staff member was harassing them to purchase specialty dining packages. Leaning over between them, saliva whipping from his mouth, hands waving. Their distress was overt. This went on for 10 minutes or so. I took pictures. Got up and told him to leave immediately - he was incensed. He said he needed these sales to make his quota. He left. The elderly lady took my hand and squeezed it and thanked me. I went immediately to the manager of the venue and showed him the pictures and told him this was not a selling feature making me want to purchase Celebrity again.

I have been pitched on occasion in the Oceanview Cafe for Specialty Dining deals but usually respond with a polite "no, not interested" and they move on. You describe it as harassment for 10 min, present the appearance of the crew member in an unkind manner, and then you come to the rescue! Seriously? If this truly happened this way then it is a highly unusual situation. The crew is usually very polite.