One-sided changes in last 3 months...

[countingbackwards]

So I reserved my first cruise on Celebrity less than 3 months ago, that we'll be taking in 2 weeks. Before I get to the crux of the issue here…my family is is very looking forward to this cruise and we're sure we'll have a good time.

 

We are, however, getting concerned at the one-sided nature of the "agreement" we had to cruise with Celebrity.

 

We do not take that many vacations - due to limited vacation time, kids' commitments to school and sports teams, etc. What we have taken to doing is a family vacation or a couples vacation, in alternating years. What this means is…1 vacation per year. Given our location and the logistics (and cost) of travelling with kids, it makes more sense to do less vacations and have them be memorable. We are quite looking forward to a great cruise in a corner FV cabin!

 

We have done a variety of vacations - Disney, land-based resort, other cruises, and more "roughing it" style vacations. Every one of those vacations, the conditions of sale DID NOT CHANGE from booking to cruising. Disney, for example, frequently changes dining rules etc. on their programs - but it's clear from day one what the rules are (i.e. - if you book in March for September, the rules that will be in place in September are clearly indicated upon booking if you are willing to ask the right questions).

 

With Celebrity, it seems that they collect the fare, but will then be able to do as they please as to the terms of what is on offer.

 

Based on the research I had done at the time of choosing my cruise, the following SIGNIFICANT changes have happened:

 

1) I was quite looking forward to the Michael's Club and it's collection of draft beers, as advertised on the website. But then, a press release went out, and Michael's Club's doors got shut, to be opened only for 10% of the people on the boat. Nobody at Celebrity has made it clear if/where the craft beer will be available.

 

2) My wife was looking forward to the Zumba lessons by the pool. Those have been cancelled.

 

3) The last sea-day brunch buffet that we had read about on the website got canned.

 

4) Pricing has been increased from $5 to $7 at Bistro on 5 (will they change its name now too??). This upsets me quite a bit - was looking forward to eating there as a family, but $7 is the tipping point where it makes no sense to bring the kids who might or might not like it - so we'll bring them to the buffet and let them go to the kids' club while we go to Bistro on 5…which removes a potential family activity from a ship that didn't have many of them to begin with. The other specialties on Summit might be increased too, but that doesn't bother me as much as I wasn't planning to bring the kids to QSine at $45 (or is it $50?) a pop anyways.

 

5) There are reports of decreased selection on the Classic beverage package.

 

6) NO NEW FEATURES are present to replace these items.

 

Now, I might have still chosen Celebrity regardless of these changes, I just find it abhorrent that within a 3-month span, so many cutbacks in service can occur without warning. If you make a deal to buy a car, and when you go to pick it up they've decided to drop 3 features, well then you will have the option to either back out of the purchase or get a discount. If Celebrity can't operate in this manner, fine, but where are the upgrades to compensate for the obviously lower value level that I'm getting for the dollar amount already paid? Is this industry so unregulated that a company can collect your fare, and then deliver whatever they want?

 

Frankly, my choices were Celebrity Summit vs. Norwegian Breakaway on this cruise. I haven't read of any cutbacks on Norwegian. What this tells me is that going forward, I can't trust Celebrity to provide the product that they advertise, even compared to other cruise lines, let alone other vacation types.

 

Let's hope that the product delivered is of a high enough quality that it will be a ton of fun regardless of the clear drop in value that I will be receiving for my dollar from what the 'deal' was when I paid. Unfortunately, this is feeling like a bit of a swindle at the moment.

[Cruise Junky]

I can emphathize...I had a few of the same thoughts before our Solstice cruise last month but you know what? the cruise was absolutely fantastic, one of our favourites to date so yes, a couple of things have gone away or increased in cost but if you go and focus on those you'll miss out a lot. Go and enjoy your cruise. If your wife wants to participate in Zumba in the big scheme of things is $12 going to make a difference? You'll have a fantastic time and just let these changes go.

[gimletgal]

Sounds like way too much negativity to me. Why not just take the cruise, evaluate everything while you are on board, and when you get home, let the negativity come out, if that's what you wish to do. To declare that things that have happened are not what you agreed to when signing on, just starts this whole cruise out on the wrong foot. JMHO.

 

There has been so much negativity on these boards recently that I am surprised anyone continues to sail with Celebrity. I just don't get it. I think you are in for a pleasant surprise. At least, I hope so. :)

[countingbackwards]

I'm not being negative here, and am looking forward to the cruise. The items I have listed are fact, not opinion, so aren't positive nor negative - and they don't take away the fact that I expect to derive a lot of pleasure from this vacation. Having not really had any time off since last July, I am overdue for some time off and very appreciative of the wonderful way we'll get to spend that time off. Really, for the bev package changes, I'll just upgrade to premium to avoid being concerned with it and make sure to enjoy. Thus falling into line with what Celebrity is after, but I may have upgraded our packages anyways.

 

But…in my line of work, "equity"/"fairness" are integral concepts, so perhaps that colours my view of things. I've just never seen anything like this, where I research a vacation and make a choice based on its features and amenities, and then those very facts change so close to my vacation. I'd understand somewhat if the vacation were booked 2 years out - changes happen in that amount of time. But there seems to be no WAY any properly run company could not have known about these changes when I booked 3 months prior to embarkation - if they were being up front about things, then there wouldn't be this negativity on the boards IMHO. It's the feeling of being swindled that upsets people. Had I known that there'd be no craft beers and no Michael's, I may have still booked or maybe not - the Breakaway was cheaper after all. But I'd have liked to be able to make that choice, given that there's no reason that the cruise should effectively be falsely advertised (Michael's was clearly listed as one of the "features" of the Summit, with no indication that it was only available until March 2014).

 

The one "killer" app that Celebrity has, though, for a family like ours and the cabin/itinerary we have, is the ability to have MDR dinner via room service if the kids are exhausted and we need to get them to bed early. As long as Celebrity don't remove that within the next 2 weeks, we'll be all set - because that was a major part of the reason we chose Celebrity (on the Breakaway, there seems to be no way to have reasonable in-room dining outside of a suite).

[mcrcruiser]

The way to evaluate your cruise pricing & what is given in exchange by Celebrity is to compare the same cabin type & cabin /ship amenities offered by Princess ,Holland ,NCL ,MSC . That way you will have a more accurate comparison going forward .;)

 

Yes Celebrity is making lots of changes & in our minds (we have over 30 sailings just with Celebrity * a total of 63 cruises) we prefer the older Celebrity with a more sophisticated atmosphere :)

 

.We are NOT abandoning Celebrity ;however ,we are now doing other vacation options & our cruising has been cut way back from what we have done each year .

[cpj]

Your kids would have really like the Breakaway. A lot more to do for kids.

[countingbackwards]

I'm sure my kids would have enjoyed the Breakaway, and I'm sure they'll enjoy the Summit as well. They've enjoyed every trip we've done as they're not particularly hard to please and generally take to any event with a good attitude - a pool, a good kids' club, and being allowed to eat fun food are more than enough to keep them having fun - so that wasn't a primary selection factor in our cruise since they'll get that on any mass market line. One of their favourite trips was one to a resort in Miami that had nothing for kids other than a nice pool. But man was that ever a nice pool! They spent all day in it.

 

I would consider "changes" to involve give & take: perhaps enhancements to the MDR menu, being financed by the removal of the grand buffet, the cutbacks to the bev plan, the increased specialty dining charges, and an increase in fares collected from suite pax due to enhanced amenities that resulted in the loss of Michael's. Or even moving the craft beers to Cellar Masters with an explanation that many pax have complained that they'd like to have fine beers and fine wines in the same location to accommodate groups with varying tastes. But what has been done are not "changes" - they're reductions in what is offered onboard being made after collecting my fare.

 

Changes to atmosphere are not things that I can comment on, since this'll be my first cruise on Celebrity. And those would not really bother me anyways, since any resort is free to set up the atmosphere that they see fit so long as it doesn't imply false advertisement of what they're selling. They're just not free to change the terms of the agreements made the way they have, by simply removing features without providing commensurate upgrades elsewhere.

 

It may not sound like it - but I'm not a complainer at all, and if this reads like a complaint than perhaps it's a lesson to all that the perception of negativity is perhaps disproportionate to the negativity inherent in the comments here.

 

I am very looking forward to my family's cruise, and am just amazed that a brand trying to move upscale and increase fares (and onboard spend) is actually taking stuff away unannounced. That seems to be a particularly bad way to go about things, when you don't have the climbing walls, water-slides and Broadway-caliber shows to fall back on.

[Nancyquilts]

Your kids would have really like the Breakaway. A lot more to do for kids.

 

For a trip to Bermuda and only 7 days, they will have plenty to do.:D

[4774Papa]

So I reserved my first cruise on Celebrity less than 3 months ago, that we'll be taking in 2 weeks. Before I get to the crux of the issue here…my family is is very looking forward to this cruise and we're sure we'll have a good time.

 

We are, however, getting concerned at the one-sided nature of the "agreement" we had to cruise with Celebrity.

 

We do not take that many vacations - due to limited vacation time, kids' commitments to school and sports teams, etc. What we have taken to doing is a family vacation or a couples vacation, in alternating years. What this means is…1 vacation per year. Given our location and the logistics (and cost) of travelling with kids, it makes more sense to do less vacations and have them be memorable. We are quite looking forward to a great cruise in a corner FV cabin!

 

We have done a variety of vacations - Disney, land-based resort, other cruises, and more "roughing it" style vacations. Every one of those vacations, the conditions of sale DID NOT CHANGE from booking to cruising. Disney, for example, frequently changes dining rules etc. on their programs - but it's clear from day one what the rules are (i.e. - if you book in March for September, the rules that will be in place in September are clearly indicated upon booking if you are willing to ask the right questions).

 

With Celebrity, it seems that they collect the fare, but will then be able to do as they please as to the terms of what is on offer.

 

Based on the research I had done at the time of choosing my cruise, the following SIGNIFICANT changes have happened:

 

1) I was quite looking forward to the Michael's Club and it's collection of draft beers, as advertised on the website. But then, a press release went out, and Michael's Club's doors got shut, to be opened only for 10% of the people on the boat. Nobody at Celebrity has made it clear if/where the craft beer will be available.

 

2) My wife was looking forward to the Zumba lessons by the pool. Those have been cancelled.

 

3) The last sea-day brunch buffet that we had read about on the website got canned.

 

4) Pricing has been increased from $5 to $7 at Bistro on 5 (will they change its name now too??). This upsets me quite a bit - was looking forward to eating there as a family, but $7 is the tipping point where it makes no sense to bring the kids who might or might not like it - so we'll bring them to the buffet and let them go to the kids' club while we go to Bistro on 5…which removes a potential family activity from a ship that didn't have many of them to begin with. The other specialties on Summit might be increased too, but that doesn't bother me as much as I wasn't planning to bring the kids to QSine at $45 (or is it $50?) a pop anyways.

 

5) There are reports of decreased selection on the Classic beverage package.

 

6) NO NEW FEATURES are present to replace these items.

 

Now, I might have still chosen Celebrity regardless of these changes, I just find it abhorrent that within a 3-month span, so many cutbacks in service can occur without warning. If you make a deal to buy a car, and when you go to pick it up they've decided to drop 3 features, well then you will have the option to either back out of the purchase or get a discount. If Celebrity can't operate in this manner, fine, but where are the upgrades to compensate for the obviously lower value level that I'm getting for the dollar amount already paid? Is this industry so unregulated that a company can collect your fare, and then deliver whatever they want?

 

Frankly, my choices were Celebrity Summit vs. Norwegian Breakaway on this cruise. I haven't read of any cutbacks on Norwegian. What this tells me is that going forward, I can't trust Celebrity to provide the product that they advertise, even compared to other cruise lines, let alone other vacation types.

 

Let's hope that the product delivered is of a high enough quality that it will be a ton of fun regardless of the clear drop in value that I will be receiving for my dollar from what the 'deal' was when I paid. Unfortunately, this is feeling like a bit of a swindle at the moment.

Sorry that these changes has got you down.

I suppose each to their own. While we like Bistro on 5, we don't see a two dollar increase a big deal. We didn't use Michael's Club, since it always seemed deserted when we entered. We exercise but don't do zumba. We don't do beverage packages, but will miss the Brunch (but not terribly, there is way too much food on board).

I think you are let down, but if you rethink of the significance of the items listed, you might enjoy your next cruise.

[TLCOhio]

Sounds like way too much negativity to me. Why not just take the cruise, evaluate everything while you are on board, and when you get home, let the negativity come out, if that's what you wish to do. To declare that things that have happened are not what you agreed to when signing on, just starts this whole cruise out on the wrong foot. JMHO. There has been so much negativity on these boards recently that I am surprised anyone continues to sail with Celebrity. I just don't get it. I think you are in for a pleasant surprise. At least, I hope so. :)

 

We have done five different cruises, the last two being on the Celebrity Solstice. First was June 2011 in the Med from Barcelona. As noted in the live/blog below, we got off of the Solstice in February. No big "problems". All worked out well. Did we see things to improve, fine-tune, etc.? Sure. Were there some "changes"? Yes. But, overall things worked fine for us and the six other couples in our travel group from Central Ohio. Check out these postings for more info/background on this nice ship, its entertainment, food options, etc.

 

Much depends on what you are seeking and needing. For us, much is about the port and various stops. The cruise ship is of important and value, but it is not the only thing for us.

 

Go and enjoy!! There are lots of great options on these ships. These boards can be good for sharing information, but don't get too, too carried away in worrying and reading ALL of the negative posts that it damages your fun and upcoming cruise experience.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Back from doing a 14-day Celebrity Solstice, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure on this ship and getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for much more information and lots of wonderful pictures on these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 56,248 views for this fun posting.

[bar_20]

What ever craft beers were available probably weren't good ones in the first place. They showed Anchor Steam on their drink menu but could be found no where on the ship but they did add Red Stripe to their inventory of mediocre tasting beers. Bistro on Five is on deck 5 and has nothing to do with the price they charge. When in the MDR order their key lime pie and strawberry shortcake and let us know what you think. The ice cream is still free, now that's a plus. Oh and don't forget to try the pizza in the Ocean View café, the one with peas on it, yum. Not!

[ghstudio]

Celebrity's contract is no different than most other companies. All these contracts are as one sided as they can legally make them...the latest wrinkle being that companies are requiring you to agree that you can't bring a class action suit against them and everything must be arbitrated.

 

Blame the government, lobbiests and lawyers for the one sided contract.....don't single out Celebrity. In most ways, the UK (and EU) are far far ahead of the US on passenger/consumer rights.

[dkjretired]

So I reserved my first cruise on Celebrity less than 3 months ago, that we'll be taking in 2 weeks. Before I get to the crux of the issue here…my family is is very looking forward to this cruise and we're sure we'll have a good time.

 

We are, however, getting concerned at the one-sided nature of the "agreement" we had to cruise with Celebrity.

 

We do not take that many vacations - due to limited vacation time, kids' commitments to school and sports teams, etc. What we have taken to doing is a family vacation or a couples vacation, in alternating years. What this means is…1 vacation per year. Given our location and the logistics (and cost) of travelling with kids, it makes more sense to do less vacations and have them be memorable. We are quite looking forward to a great cruise in a corner FV cabin!

 

We have done a variety of vacations - Disney, land-based resort, other cruises, and more "roughing it" style vacations. Every one of those vacations, the conditions of sale DID NOT CHANGE from booking to cruising. Disney, for example, frequently changes dining rules etc. on their programs - but it's clear from day one what the rules are (i.e. - if you book in March for September, the rules that will be in place in September are clearly indicated upon booking if you are willing to ask the right questions).

 

With Celebrity, it seems that they collect the fare, but will then be able to do as they please as to the terms of what is on offer.

 

Based on the research I had done at the time of choosing my cruise, the following SIGNIFICANT changes have happened:

 

1) I was quite looking forward to the Michael's Club and it's collection of draft beers, as advertised on the website. But then, a press release went out, and Michael's Club's doors got shut, to be opened only for 10% of the people on the boat. Nobody at Celebrity has made it clear if/where the craft beer will be available.

 

2) My wife was looking forward to the Zumba lessons by the pool. Those have been cancelled.

 

3) The last sea-day brunch buffet that we had read about on the website got canned.

 

4) Pricing has been increased from $5 to $7 at Bistro on 5 (will they change its name now too??). This upsets me quite a bit - was looking forward to eating there as a family, but $7 is the tipping point where it makes no sense to bring the kids who might or might not like it - so we'll bring them to the buffet and let them go to the kids' club while we go to Bistro on 5…which removes a potential family activity from a ship that didn't have many of them to begin with. The other specialties on Summit might be increased too, but that doesn't bother me as much as I wasn't planning to bring the kids to QSine at $45 (or is it $50?) a pop anyways.

 

5) There are reports of decreased selection on the Classic beverage package.

 

6) NO NEW FEATURES are present to replace these items.

 

Now, I might have still chosen Celebrity regardless of these changes, I just find it abhorrent that within a 3-month span, so many cutbacks in service can occur without warning. If you make a deal to buy a car, and when you go to pick it up they've decided to drop 3 features, well then you will have the option to either back out of the purchase or get a discount. If Celebrity can't operate in this manner, fine, but where are the upgrades to compensate for the obviously lower value level that I'm getting for the dollar amount already paid? Is this industry so unregulated that a company can collect your fare, and then deliver whatever they want?

 

Frankly, my choices were Celebrity Summit vs. Norwegian Breakaway on this cruise. I haven't read of any cutbacks on Norwegian. What this tells me is that going forward, I can't trust Celebrity to provide the product that they advertise, even compared to other cruise lines, let alone other vacation types.

 

Let's hope that the product delivered is of a high enough quality that it will be a ton of fun regardless of the clear drop in value that I will be receiving for my dollar from what the 'deal' was when I paid. Unfortunately, this is feeling like a bit of a swindle at the moment.

 

I understand your concern but I think you were unfortunate to have hit a bad time period when a lot of major changes have been made. If your cruise was last year don't think there would been any major changes. Bad timing

Edited May 11, 2014 by dkjretired

[cpj]

Celebrity's contract is no different than most other companies. All these contracts are as one sided as they can legally make them...the latest wrinkle being that companies are requiring you to agree that you can't bring a class action suit against them and everything must be arbitrated.

 

Blame the government, lobbiests and lawyers for the one sided contract.....don't single out Celebrity. In most ways, the UK (and EU) are far far ahead of the US on passenger/consumer rights.

 

Celebrity one sided contracts does not mean they will hold up in court. Ask the NFL. One time the NFL told the owner they were not aloud to move there teams. How did that hold up.

[vulcan1971]

Sounds like way too much negativity to me. Why not just take the cruise, evaluate everything while you are on board, and when you get home, let the negativity come out, if that's what you wish to do. To declare that things that have happened are not what you agreed to when signing on, just starts this whole cruise out on the wrong foot. JMHO.

 

There has been so much negativity on these boards recently that I am surprised anyone continues to sail with Celebrity. I just don't get it. I think you are in for a pleasant surprise. At least, I hope so. :)

 

I read the OP post before any responses this morning and thought to myself... this level of thought (and length of post) could make sense after coming back from the cruise and having arrived at these concerns (or complaints)... certainly not before.

 

I've lived through (and cruised through) all of these changes and nothing has been so horrible IMHO to give this kind of worry, or feel the need to post about it, before going on the cruise.

 

I certainly hope some enjoyment can be found in the myriad public venues that are available.

 

:rolleyes:

 

Sent from my Samsung Note 2 on the T-Mobile 4G LTE Network

[Texed]

4) Pricing has been increased from $5 to $7 at Bistro on 5 , but $7 is the tipping point where it makes no sense to bring the kids so we'll bring them to the buffet and let them go to the kids' club while we go to Bistro on 5.

 

I do not believe the kid's club is open on embarkation day. Did not want you to have another disappointment.

[Scotty G]

OP, FWIW, I believe the name "Bistro on 5" refers to its location not the fee. I have no problem with the increase since the fare there is so good; besides, aren't food prices rising everywhere due to the cost of provisions?

 

We have only experienced Equinox and Constellation's thus far and they are excellent!

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/onboard/level3Type1.do?pagename=onboard_celebrity_restaurants_cafes_bistro_on_five&parentpage=onboard_celebrity_restaurants_cafes

 

ps, the website still show the price as $5.

[Cruising89143]

What Celebrity has changed is not limited to only Celebrity. Cruise lines makes changes and many times there are no warnings.

[scifimonkey]

Here we go, up pop the 'don't bring the kids brigade'.

Countingbackwards - please ignore it! Celebrity is great for kids! And if as you seem to imply you cruise in the school holidays there will be plenty of children on board.

Your disappointment with this raft of changes post booking is perfectly valid and Celebrity do need to be a bit careful about making quite so many cost saving changes in such a short time.

Unfortunately there is little you can do and the terms and conditions are fairly consistent across the industry. Even in the UK I doubt if our so called customer protections would cover any of these changes.

The difference between the OP and those of us responding is that we have been on Celebrity and know how good the experience can be ( even allowing for the changes the OP refers to) this is the OP's first X cruise and hopefully once they have had chance to experience it they will still feel that it is ahead of most of its mass cruising competitors as most of us do.

There are a lot of changes in progress since our last cruise and whilst those published so far do not make me want to stop cruising on X they never the less are nibbling away at the edge that they have compared to other lines.

As a suite passenger the suite lounge does not sound like it will offset the loss of Michael's as a specialist beer outlet for me but I await seeing what Cellermasters will be like as a specialist beer and wine outlet. Both venues used to be a bit too quiet for me despite my enjoyment of the beers, so trying to be positive, the combination of both in one location might just liven up the experience a little.

The brunch was an impressive spectacle and photo opportunity however it was also a bit of a bun fight and not something that I will particularly miss and I have to admit that the loss of the Zumba class will not impact on me at all. The other changes are basically price rises ( including the bev packages change) and that is a risk in any early holiday purchase along with currency changes and even port changes which we will have to put up with on our next X cruise.

I hope that the OP, being forewarned of the changes will be able to set them aside and settle back and enjoy their cruise rather than carrying the negative vibes on board. There are too many good things to enjoy to let a few negatives blow the holiday that you clearly value highly. Oh and depending on the age of your kids do not pass on Qsine too quickly, I know that it is pricy but if they are 8+ and handy with a tablet they will love it and it's a memorable family experience.

Celebrity do listen up however because if you do not maintain your USP's against Princess, Norwegian and even RCC you will start to lose market share rather than gain it. Please do not get involved in a race to the bottom in search of additional passengers at reduced cost.

Edited May 11, 2014 by scifimonkey

[squidward]

Prices on Summit haven't changed much in the last few years. During that time, they added the new martini bar, introduced my time dining, added 2 new restaurants, added new cabins, added aqua class and Blue, I could go on. Even drink packages, a great deal for many, are pretty new. So, all in all, I'd say over time the cruise line has added as many enhancements as cut backs, with prices fairly stable.

 

It just depends on your frame of reference. Cruise lines are like good restaurants. Always changing to stay relevant and profitable. If you want exactly what's on the Web site today, leave tomorrow. Otherwise, you have to expect changes. Some you'll like, some you won't, but in the end it is what you make it.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Forums mobile app

[wpm]

This isn't about whether the OP will enjoy the cruise or not, he makes it clear that he expects to enjoy it. What this is about is the changing the conditions on a contract. Even if Celebrity is within their legal rights, I for one find it disturbing.

 

We are going on the june 27 alaska cruise, and some of the reasons I chose celebrity was because of several of the perks that have been eliminated. I probably would have chosen them anyway, but I would have liked to have had that option.

 

Bill

[teecee60]

So I reserved my first cruise on Celebrity less than 3 months ago, that we'll be taking in 2 weeks. Before I get to the crux of the issue here…my family is is very looking forward to this cruise and we're sure we'll have a good time.

 

We are, however, getting concerned at the one-sided nature of the "agreement" we had to cruise with Celebrity.

 

We do not take that many vacations - due to limited vacation time, kids' commitments to school and sports teams, etc. What we have taken to doing is a family vacation or a couples vacation, in alternating years. What this means is…1 vacation per year. Given our location and the logistics (and cost) of travelling with kids, it makes more sense to do less vacations and have them be memorable. We are quite looking forward to a great cruise in a corner FV cabin!

 

We have done a variety of vacations - Disney, land-based resort, other cruises, and more "roughing it" style vacations. Every one of those vacations, the conditions of sale DID NOT CHANGE from booking to cruising. Disney, for example, frequently changes dining rules etc. on their programs - but it's clear from day one what the rules are (i.e. - if you book in March for September, the rules that will be in place in September are clearly indicated upon booking if you are willing to ask the right questions).

 

With Celebrity, it seems that they collect the fare, but will then be able to do as they please as to the terms of what is on offer.

 

Based on the research I had done at the time of choosing my cruise, the following SIGNIFICANT changes have happened:

 

1) I was quite looking forward to the Michael's Club and it's collection of draft beers, as advertised on the website. But then, a press release went out, and Michael's Club's doors got shut, to be opened only for 10% of the people on the boat. Nobody at Celebrity has made it clear if/where the craft beer will be available.

 

2) My wife was looking forward to the Zumba lessons by the pool. Those have been cancelled.

 

3) The last sea-day brunch buffet that we had read about on the website got canned.

 

4) Pricing has been increased from $5 to $7 at Bistro on 5 (will they change its name now too??). This upsets me quite a bit - was looking forward to eating there as a family, but $7 is the tipping point where it makes no sense to bring the kids who might or might not like it - so we'll bring them to the buffet and let them go to the kids' club while we go to Bistro on 5…which removes a potential family activity from a ship that didn't have many of them to begin with. The other specialties on Summit might be increased too, but that doesn't bother me as much as I wasn't planning to bring the kids to QSine at $45 (or is it $50?) a pop anyways.

 

5) There are reports of decreased selection on the Classic beverage package.

 

6) NO NEW FEATURES are present to replace these items.

 

Now, I might have still chosen Celebrity regardless of these changes, I just find it abhorrent that within a 3-month span, so many cutbacks in service can occur without warning. If you make a deal to buy a car, and when you go to pick it up they've decided to drop 3 features, well then you will have the option to either back out of the purchase or get a discount. If Celebrity can't operate in this manner, fine, but where are the upgrades to compensate for the obviously lower value level that I'm getting for the dollar amount already paid? Is this industry so unregulated that a company can collect your fare, and then deliver whatever they want?

 

Frankly, my choices were Celebrity Summit vs. Norwegian Breakaway on this cruise. I haven't read of any cutbacks on Norwegian. What this tells me is that going forward, I can't trust Celebrity to provide the product that they advertise, even compared to other cruise lines, let alone other vacation types.

 

Let's hope that the product delivered is of a high enough quality that it will be a ton of fun regardless of the clear drop in value that I will be receiving for my dollar from what the 'deal' was when I paid. Unfortunately, this is feeling like a bit of a swindle at the moment.

 

I'm sure my kids would have enjoyed the Breakaway, and I'm sure they'll enjoy the Summit as well. They've enjoyed every trip we've done as they're not particularly hard to please and generally take to any event with a good attitude - a pool, a good kids' club, and being allowed to eat fun food are more than enough to keep them having fun - so that wasn't a primary selection factor in our cruise since they'll get that on any mass market line. One of their favourite trips was one to a resort in Miami that had nothing for kids other than a nice pool. But man was that ever a nice pool! They spent all day in it.

 

I would consider "changes" to involve give & take: perhaps enhancements to the MDR menu, being financed by the removal of the grand buffet, the cutbacks to the bev plan, the increased specialty dining charges, and an increase in fares collected from suite pax due to enhanced amenities that resulted in the loss of Michael's. Or even moving the craft beers to Cellar Masters with an explanation that many pax have complained that they'd like to have fine beers and fine wines in the same location to accommodate groups with varying tastes. But what has been done are not "changes" - they're reductions in what is offered onboard being made after collecting my fare.

 

Changes to atmosphere are not things that I can comment on, since this'll be my first cruise on Celebrity. And those would not really bother me anyways, since any resort is free to set up the atmosphere that they see fit so long as it doesn't imply false advertisement of what they're selling. They're just not free to change the terms of the agreements made the way they have, by simply removing features without providing commensurate upgrades elsewhere.

 

It may not sound like it - but I'm not a complainer at all, and if this reads like a complaint than perhaps it's a lesson to all that the perception of negativity is perhaps disproportionate to the negativity inherent in the comments here.

 

I am very looking forward to my family's cruise, and am just amazed that a brand trying to move upscale and increase fares (and onboard spend) is actually taking stuff away unannounced. That seems to be a particularly bad way to go about things, when you don't have the climbing walls, water-slides and Broadway-caliber shows to fall back on.

 

I guess it MUST BE just MY PERCEPTION of all these comments that is the sole source of the negativity. :confused: :o :rolleyes:

[Oxo]

Prices on Summit haven't changed much in the last few years. During that time, they added the new martini bar, introduced my time dining, added 2 new restaurants, added new cabins, added aqua class and Blue, I could go on. Even drink packages, a great deal for many, are pretty new. So, all in all, I'd say over time the cruise line has added as many enhancements as cut backs, with prices fairly stable.

 

It just depends on your frame of reference. Cruise lines are like good restaurants. Always changing to stay relevant and profitable. If you want exactly what's on the Web site today, leave tomorrow. Otherwise, you have to expect changes. Some you'll like, some you won't, but in the end it is what you make it.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Forums mobile app

You really summarized all the changes. I'm sure they are all for the good. However, the good of INCREASED REVENUE. Now the CUTBACKS were made for ---- YES, the INCREASE IN REVENUE. It is self evidence, that many posting on this forum are not SATISFIED with the changes. So, they will make their changes and we will all see what happens over the months. Everything is going up, except wages/salaries. So, sooner or later people will cut back on----- food?, Housing?, or Cruising? Everyone has a choice and they will make it. In all my years on this forum, I have never seen so many negative comments regarding changes as I have seen within the past weeks.

Too many cruise lines out there to choose from. So, the choice is ours. Time will tell.

[jagoffee]

I think that is very unfair.

 

We are due on celebrity at the end of July. we are seasoned cruisers but this will be our first cruise on Celebrity. The free drinks package was a major factor in choosing this trip. I even upgraded 2 cabins from inside to outside to benefit from the free drinks package.

 

I too have been watching the recent posts about what is going to be allowed on the classic package and it does seem that we are not going to get what we originally thought. I am a wine drinker and the wines that I like are no longer available. My daughter boyfriend is a whisky drinker and all his brands have been removed.

 

Will it spoil our trip...no. But I am disappointed that the goal posts have been moved without any notice. However, our trip is sailing from UK and the UK list on the celebrity site still shows the full range of drinks. I wonder if the UK sailings and the US sailings will be treated differently. Only time will tell..and I'm not going to let it spoil my planning..and my enjoyment.

 

Even before the Price increases on some drinks IMO you needed to upgrade to the premium package to get the better wines, whiskeys, and beers. The fact that you only have the pay the difference if you buy something over $13 made it really nice. It only cost $11.50 a day more and it will offset any impact of the changes that pushed some drinks over the $8 Classic limit.

 

I agree that it is disappointing that so many more drinks cost more than $8 plus tip. I always upgrade to the premium and I suspect more people will now upgrade. I recommend that you consider it.

 

Enjoy your cruise.

[kathynorth]

The one "killer" app that Celebrity has, though, for a family like ours and the cabin/itinerary we have, is the ability to have MDR dinner via room service if the kids are exhausted and we need to get them to bed early. As long as Celebrity don't remove that within the next 2 weeks, we'll be all set - because that was a major part of the reason we chose Celebrity (on the Breakaway, there seems to be no way to have reasonable in-room dining outside of a suite).

 

I didn't read all the posts, but thought I pitch in my experience on this item since it requires timing. We've done this on several cruises (Summit + Reflection) and had the following experience.

1. When we called room service we were referred to our room steward for ordering.

2. We needed to know exactly what we wanted to order from the menu of that day so we could place our order through the cabin steward. On both occasions the cabin steward did't know what was on the menu for that day. The first time the steward ran up to the MDR to get us a menu. The second time we knew better and wrote down what we wanted to order and handed it to him.

3. All dishes were served at the same time, meaning they didn't arrive as courses like they do in the MDR.

4. The meal arrived to the room at the same time when the main entree was served in the MDR. This means that you need to place the order well enough in advance so you can locate your cabin steward, figure out the order, and have the meal retrieved from the MDR kitchen. This can feel like a long wait for little ones, so be sure to plan ahead.

5. You can place an order for first or second seating, but the meal will still be served when the main entree is served. I mention this because if you miss the first seating ordering window then it's a long wait for the second seating entree.

6. Both times our meals arrived hot and were great!