Has Celebrity Changed or Was My Cruise a Fluke?

[kwokpot]

Most people I cruise with have noticed a deterioration in the quality of the food and service in the MDR. It's understandable as costs such as fuel are much higher than ten years ago..

Celebrity focuses on up selling specialty restaurants and Blu for the more discerning.

Overall I think Celebrity offers a great product for the price. I just booked a 15 day transatlantic cruise for $2200 , or about $150 a day ( a single ) for a veranda including food. You can't beat that. I expect the food to be good, not great.

Lastly I've always had a responsive friendly cabin attendant....

 

Hey, we were on the same Panama Canal cruise! Anyway I see you've sailed Regent many times How would you rate the food, service, and ship quality RELATIVE to the cruise price? In other words, do YOU feel Regent is is worth the price differential over a mass market cruise line?

[riandei]

riandei we were in an outside cabin way to the fore on the second deck. really a low entry to an outside cabin. the cabin was as good as any other outside cabin but it cost less, which left us more money to spend on upgrades on the ship.

 

omarchs, i agree. we went to the 2 specialty restaurants on formal nights to avoid the formal nights and signed up for select dining on the other nights.

 

steve

 

Thanks for the info...we are in an outside as well in may....we usually go balcony or aq and have had wonderful experiences so i wasnt sure if location was a factor with regards to experience

 

Thank you

[Ma Bell]

I still really enjoy the Celebrity product but I believe the changes have come about in response to the changing passenger mix and their desires. With the trend towards more casual cruises, anytime dining, drink packages,etc, it was inevitable that things would evolve and Celebrity would lose much of what differentiated them from other cruise lines.

 

I miss a lot of those "special touches" that used to be the Celebrity product but understand that they have chosen to appeal to a broader base to fill their much larger fleet. They still have a great product for the price, but it is different. I do hope they don't completely become just like all the others, but by reading these forums lately, it wouldn't surprise me.

[cartervan]

I've been very interested in this discussion, because I could have written the original post--except it would have been about the Zuiderdam on HAL. The cut-back on services was very noticeable in the 15 or so years that we've been cruising. And carpet in places was very worn, and the furniture looked very tired. Those of us who can remember "the good old days" are just kind of spoiled. However, as so many have pointed out--the cruise industry is so very competitive and they are forced to keep prices down. A cruise is a really great value, and poor people like us retired school-teachers couldn't afford to do it if they didn't cut corners. We still love to cruise, but just miss the little amenities we used to enjoy.

[Kevnzworld]

Hey, we were on the same Panama Canal cruise! Anyway I see you've sailed Regent many times How would you rate the food, service, and ship quality RELATIVE to the cruise price? In other words, do YOU feel Regent is is worth the price differential over a mass market cruise line?

 

I can sum it up this way. I would never cruise on Regent again unless they built a new ship. The itinerary, small ports etc are the reason to sail on lines like Regent.

The Celebrity ships are much nicer, especially the Solstice class. The food is somewhat better on Regent...as it should be.

Celebrity is a much better value, no question.

I just exited the Eclipse, and it was one of the best cruises I've taken.

[richsea]

I still really enjoy the Celebrity product but I believe the changes have come about in response to the changing passenger mix and their desires. With the trend towards more casual cruises, anytime dining, drink packages,etc, it was inevitable that things would evolve and Celebrity would lose much of what differentiated them from other cruise lines.

 

I miss a lot of those "special touches" that used to be the Celebrity product but understand that they have chosen to appeal to a broader base to fill their much larger fleet. They still have a great product for the price, but it is different. I do hope they don't completely become just like all the others, but by reading these forums lately, it wouldn't surprise me.

 

I was thinking of how to respond to the OP until I saw your post. Now I don't have to respond; you put it perfectly.

 

While the "attention to detail" is still there, it is not at the level it used to be. I remember when every table was set with the "X" on the dinner plate situated just so, & heard of a table being re-set prior to dinner due to a tiny stain that the waiter found on the tablecloth. When asked why he did that because it was hardly noticeable, the waiter said "That is unacceptable for Celebrity".